LOL @ the complaining despite #1 record in NBA

[TheUrbanZealot]

Here are some of the common complaints I see on this board:

- Radman's defense
- Ariza should be starting
- Farmar's defens
- PG production
- LO sucks

Let's address a few of these, shall we?

Radmanovic is not a lock down defender!! Simple as that. The guy only plays 20 mins a game for God's sake, and some you act like he is solely responsible for the demise of every Laker game. The guy doesn't even play enough to warrant placing blame on him for one. For 2, Bynum is there to protect any perimeter deficiencies. Radmanovic' purpose is to spread the floor, which he is doing a tremendous job of already (shooting around 45% from 3). He makes the post players jobs easier because his man simply can't double to leave him wide open, and when they do, well you see the 3pt %. It's funny how you only hear the negative aspect. Further, if I remember correctly, Paul Pierce didn't just blow by Radmanovic, he blew by EVERYONE. Not even Kobe was able to stop Pierce in the NBA finals. There are plenty of equally inept (or adept, whichever way you want to look at it) defenders in the league that don't have as bad a rep because they haven't been "blown by" in the NBA finals.

Ariza is a great player, no doubt, but let's say we start him -now we have less energy coming off the bench, less balance. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Granger was doing his work in the 4th on Ariza last night, so it's not like Radman was the sole responsible party (Granger didn't even shoot well - 10-27). Ariza is still not a consistent outside shooter and doesn't spread the offense. He is great as an energy guy, but he is not a dagger guy in the sense that Radmanovic is. Ariza is a guy that can change the tempo and help maintain a lead, but he isn't a guy that is going to break the other team's spirit with a cold-blooded 3. The offense Phil has needs a consistent 3pt. threat to keep everything spaced, so until Ariza becomes consistent with his shot (and his free throws), the bench remains his best role.

Farmar is another guy who gets a bad rep for his supposed lack of defensive prowess. Farmar is not a lockdown defender! Farmar's role is to run w/ the 2nd unit. He's another tempo guy. Farmar plays his role and sometimes takes a step into star-caliber, but for now he serves his purpose. Remember, with Bynum there now, a lot of the perimeter shortcomings should be cleaned up by him. If players are making their shots when driving in, that's more of a testiment to the player just being good (see Devin Harris) as opposed to a supposedly inept defense.

PG production- the lakers have 2 PG's, who combined, average about 19-20 a game. If your starting PG is averaging 15, and your backup is averaging 5, you are fine. The Lakers PG production is plenty since their offense is not geared around the PG. I've heard some people even wanting someone like Marbury? The best teams have a balance which should remain undeterred until the Finals. You have a savvy vet in Fish who can hit clutch shots and been through the Finals before. You have a young, up and coming back-up who can step in Fish's place. That's a good formula to me and doesn't need to be tampered with. You don't need 5 20PPG scorers. You need a couple to carry the load, and everyone else to play their role.

People have talked about LO sucking for some time. Is he soft? Yep. Does he take initiative? Very seldom. Does he have a lot of talent that probably doesn't get utilized? Possibly. But you know what? for this particular Lakers team, he fits in excellent. The reality is that LO's never been a #1 player. He's best in a complimentary role. You aren't going to rely on LO carry you to the championship. He can, however, carry you in spurts. Since the Lakers already have 2 all-star scorers ni Bryant and Gasol, with so many other productive players in the mix, LO is great as a #3/4 guy off the bench. He doesn't need a lot of shots, he's versatile, and now he can play against many teams' 2nd units. Lakers don't need anymore scorers! Lakers need players that know and stick to their role, which LO has been doing.

Bryant- superstar #1
Gasol - superstar sidekick
Bynum - Defensive anchor
Odom - Versatile 6th man candidate
Farmar - tempo changer
Ariza - do it all
Radmanovic - 3pt specialist
Vujacic - 3pt specialist/hound
Fisher - GLUE

The above represents the primary players on the Lakers roster, and their role. Lakers right now have as good a formula as you need in the NBA for success. They are 14-2 and on pace to win over 60 games. How anyone is complaining is beyond me and comes across as extremely reactive. I doubt this team will lose 3 in a row all season, and I bet that still you will have people wanting changes...

[Sedale Threatt]

Let's just stand pat, ignore our weaknesses and quit trying to get better -- I like it.

[shobe_81]

And we don't have the #1 record in the NBA

[Erik Eleven]

Rondo will torture Fish and Farmar on Christmas unless something is done to our perimeter defense.

[DubaLakers]

Oh EE you just want your player at PG, who was it Ariza I can't remember now, or was it Sasha?

To the OP, who said Lamar stinks? That's not even worth discussion.

[shobe_81]

Rondo will torture Fish and Farmar on Christmas unless something is done to our perimeter defense.

Well one thing is for sure:

Fisher is horrible in Transition Defense
And Farmar is horrible in Half-Court Defense

Our only answer for Rondo would be to Put Kobe on him. Kobe had a lot of success in game 4 where Rondo struggled with his shot but in the 2nd half they put in House and he took and made plenty of 3's.

[CHIMOCHI]

the best part is how kobe forgot to secure the rebound , and prty much let murphy get it
if he had done what he was supposed to do,lakers would of won, no threads liek this

[Legend Killer]

Lakers taking it this year. Who cares if u have 2 loses.....Everyone knows Celtics can't compete now...Last years finals was fixed too!

[The Laker Kid]

one loss is one too many. If we treat this like "oh it's only one loss, blah blah.." next thing you know it's two losses, then three, then four... see what I mean jellybean?

[snaquille oatmeal]

Here are some of the common complaints I see on this board:

- Radman's defense
- Ariza should be starting
- Farmar's defens
- PG production
- LO sucks

Let's address a few of these, shall we?

Radmanovic is not a lock down defender!! Simple as that. if I remember correctly, Paul Pierce didn't just blow by Radmanovic, he blew by EVERYONE. Not even Kobe was able to stop Pierce in the NBA finals.


Ariza is a great player, no doubt


Farmar is another guy who gets a bad rep for his supposed lack of defensive prowess. Farmar is not a lockdown defender!


If your starting PG is averaging 15, and your backup is averaging 5


People have talked about LO sucking for some time. Is he soft? Yep. Does he take initiative? Very seldom. Does he have a lot of talent that probably doesn't get utilized?

what did Obama say? "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still Sarah Palin" or something like that.

[Legend Killer]

one loss is one too many. If we treat this like "oh it's only one loss, blah blah.." next thing you know it's two losses, then three, then four... see what I mean jellybean?

ha ha like your attitude!

[hermes]

Let's just stand pat, ignore our weaknesses and quit trying to get better -- I like it.

it seems like you've said this before

[Sedale Threatt]

It sums up my entire philosophy towards life.

Complacency -- the personality trait of champions.

[TheUrbanZealot]

Rondo will torture Fish and Farmar on Christmas unless something is done to our perimeter defense.

Well one thing is for sure:

Fisher is horrible in Transition Defense
And Farmar is horrible in Half-Court Defense

Our only answer for Rondo would be to Put Kobe on him. Kobe had a lot of success in game 4 where Rondo struggled with his shot but in the 2nd half they put in House and he took and made plenty of 3's.

Damn, it's like you guys expect the Lakers to be able to literally shut down every single player in the NBA. Rondo is one of the fastest players in the league! You think Kobe is going to be able to prevent him from getting to the paint? lol...

The reality is that's what Drew Bynum is for! You have a defensive anchor that is supposed to alter/intimidate shots so that no one WANTS to go in the paint!

The notion that Fisher and Farmar are poor transition/half-court defenders is no different than comparing a fast player to virtually any defender in the NBA. Plus, if they were such inept defensive players why even play them? Why not just play Sasha, who supposedly is a good defender in their place? Or wait, does Phil Jackson, a 10 time champion, just simply not knows what he is doing? lol...

I think the Lakers winning so much has gotten people spoiled, so they expect a blow-out every single damn game. Some of you fail to realize that virtually ANY player with ability to create their own shot can blow by virtually any defender in a 1 on 1 situation. That's why you have something called team defense. If a player goes by your man, and gets in the paint uncontested, that is not the fault of the perimeter defender, it's the fault of the interior and help defense.

[TheUrbanZealot]

Let's just stand pat, ignore our weaknesses and quit trying to get better -- I like it.

Yeah, so let's bench all of the "weak parts", bring in all of the "strong parts", and risk interrupting an obvious chemistry that's led to one of the top 2 records in the NBA.

I remember watching the Sonics in the 90's when they had 10 starters, literally. I remember in 93-94' they used to blow everyone out and just came at you in waves. The problem is they had 10 starters and maybe only 1 or 2 stuck to their role. Similar, but not to the success of the Sonics, were the TrailBlazers in the late 90's too, same deal.

Sometimes you have to chalk up your "weaknesses" as a foregone reality, and simply let those weaknesses eradicate over time, or work progressively to mitigate. The Lakers don't have enough of a glaring weakness to justify making reactive changes right now. Remember, this same team, minus Bynum, went to the Championship!!!

Am I the only one that remembers this same team went to the Championship, and is even stronger with a future all star center??

[hermes]

Damn, it's like you guys expect the Lakers to be able to literally shut down every single player in the NBA. Rondo is one of the fastest players in the league! You think Kobe is going to be able to prevent him from getting to the paint? lol...

i expect them to shut down Rasho and Murphy

and that didn't happen, so i'm complaining

[TommyTheCat]

i like ice cream!!

[semi-sentient]

Let's just stand pat, ignore our weaknesses and quit trying to get better -- I like it.

[biggamejames2]

While I agree that there is much room for improvement with the defense just a couple of things worth pointing out. Last year there is no question that the Celtics were the better team but lets take a look at the changes that have been made from this season to last...

The C's have virtually the exact same roster minus Posey. I think the only player that may have really improved from last season to this one could be Rondo but Powe played out of his mind and the rest played above avg. on the whole i'd say. The loss of Posey is bigger than anyone is really giving credit for here. There were times when he straight up shut down Kobe. Sure Pierce did a satisfactory job on Kobe occasionally for short periods but he is realistically the only player on their roster that has a shot at containing Kobe and if Doc were to stick him on Kobe for considerable minutes he would need a wheel chair with light speed by game 5 because his legs wouldn't even function anymore.

The Lakers biggest criticsm was getting owned in the paint like Shaq owns cheeseburgers these days. Also the 2nd unit got torched and we lacked the lengthy quick defender to help cover the perimeter shooting of the C's. With Bynum in the middle I'd like to think that the rebound battle/defending the lanes with holes big enough to make modern day Barry Sanders lick his chops should be rather improved upon for us. In addition with Ariza's speed, length, and quickness on D I think that's a fairly solid addition to try and resolve that leak.

So sure the C's were the better team last year. Was it close? Not very. But factoring in these differences in what figures to probably be a re-match this year how do we not like our chances?

[Sedale Threatt]

Yeah, so let's bench all of the "weak parts", bring in all of the "strong parts", and risk interrupting an obvious chemistry that's led to one of the top 2 records in the NBA.

I remember watching the Sonics in the 90's when they had 10 starters, literally. I remember in 93-94' they used to blow everyone out and just came at you in waves. The problem is they had 10 starters and maybe only 1 or 2 stuck to their role. Similar, but not to the success of the Sonics, were the TrailBlazers in the late 90's too, same deal.

Sometimes you have to chalk up your "weaknesses" as a foregone reality, and simply let those weaknesses eradicate over time, or work progressively to mitigate. The Lakers don't have enough of a glaring weakness to justify making reactive changes right now. Remember, this same team, minus Bynum, went to the Championship!!!

Am I the only one that remembers this same team went to the Championship, and is even stronger with a future all star center??

You need to read a hell of a lot closer because I'm not advocating that we make any knee-jerk trades, or fire the coach or anything "reactive" like that.

The point I'm trying to make is very, very simple, and hardly original: Unless we return to playing defense as we did over the first few weeks, we have absolutely no shot of winning a championship. None.

Poor defense contributed mightily to our failure to win a ring last year, and it will cost us again if we continue to play with the lack of cohesion and focus that we've played over the past two weeks, culminating with last night's debacle.

This is not an unreasonable objective; we were fantastic through the first seven or eight games.

Why can't we do that on a consistent basis -- not every single night for 82 games, but on a reasonably regular level? If you can give me even one good reason why we shouldn't be able to D up in seven out of 10 games, I'll shut the hell up and never bring it up again.

Otherwise, I repudiate your entire argument that we should "simply let (our) weaknesses eradicate over time." What the hell does this even mean?

So we made the Finals last year. Big deal. We're the Lakers -- how does that rank as an achievement?

And so what if we've added Bynum and Ariza. Big deal, again. It makes us a better team, but if it doesn't guarantee a damn thing, certainly not a victory over the Celtics if in fact we meet again.

If seems like I'm overreacting, it certainly doesn't feel like it from my standpoint.

This is clearly a championship-caliber team, so why not expect the very best and harp on even the smallest defect, let alone a glaring flaw like defense? Why take the chance? Why not crack the whip now, in early December, rather than just sit on our asses and pretend like nothing's wrong only to be disappointed again in June.

Sorry, but no thanks. You root how you want to, but I don't want any part of that.