Venice Beach All Stars watch (Inspired by Sedale Threatt)

[Slava]

This thread is dedicated to keep a watch of what our bench will be giving us all season. For the uninitiated, the Venice beach all stars, whose combined salary has pushed the Lakers franchise into deep luxury tax territory include:

Jordan "Elephant ears" Farmar
Luke "Skywalker" Walton
Sasha "Throws a brick" Vujacic
DJ "the mysterious man" Mbenga
Josh "J-Peezy" Powell
Shannon "Highlight reel" Brown
Adam "Crazy Stache" Morrison



Game 1 vs Clippers

9 pts 7 rebs 0 asts 4 stls 0 Blks 2 TOs[+/- : -9]

Game 2 vs Mavericks

28 Pts 10 Rebs 5 Asts 3 Stls 0 Blks 4 TOs [+/-: +7]

Game 3 vs Hawks

27 Pts 7 Rebs 7 Asts 5 Stls 1 Blk 5 TOs [+/-: -22]

Game 4 vs Thunder

6 Pts 6 Rebs 2 Asts 0 Stls 0 Blks 2 TOs [+/-: -27]

Game 5 at Rockets

16 Pts 12 Rebs 4 Asts 1 Stl 0 Blks 2 TOs [+/-: -6]

Game 6 vs Grizzlies:

35 Pts 17 Rebs 14 Asts 1 Stl 0 blks 3 TOs [+/-: +19]

Game 7 vs Hornets

46 Pts 12 Rebs 11 Asts 3 Stls 1 Blk 4 TOs [+/-: +2]

Game 8 vs Phoney-ex Suns.

45 Pts 17 Rebs 17 Asts 2 Stls 2 Blks 5 TOs [+/-: +3]

Game 9 at Nuggets

16 Pts 18 Rebs 4 Asts 3 Stls 2 Blks 4 TOs [+/-: -50]

Game 10 vs Rockets

18 Pts 7 Rebs 6 Asts 0 Stls 2 Blks 1 TO [+/-: -19]

Game 11 vs Pistons

30 Pts 11 Rebs 5 Asts 3 Stls 2 Blks 4 TOs [+/-: -10]

Game 12 vs Bulls

25 Pts 14 Rebs 4 Asts 4 Stls 1 Blk 5 TOs [+/-: +5]

Game 13 at Thunder

24 Pts 17 Rebs 7 Asts 3 Stls 3 TOs [+/-: -48]

Game 14 vs Knicks

9 Pts 18 Rebs 10 Asts 2 Stls 7 TOs [+/-: -37]

Game 15 vs Warriors

44 Pts 15 Rebs 12 Asts 3 Blks 2 Stls 1 TO [+/-: +72]

Game 16 vs Nets

35 Pts 17 Rebs 8 Asts 3 Stls 1 Blk 8 TOs [+/-: -11]

Game 17 vs Hornets

34 Pts 13 Rebs 8 Asts 4 Stls 1 Blk 7 TOs [+/-: +2]

Game 18 vs Heat

14 Pts 8 Rebs 2 Asts 1 Stl 2 Blks 2 TOs [+/-: +11]

Game 19 vs Suns

33 Pts 20 Rebs 5 Asts 1 Stl 2 Blks 7 TOs [+/-: +15]

Game 20 vs Jazz

25 Pts 16 Rebs 4 Asts 4 Stls 3 Blks 2 TOs [+/-: +43]

Game 21 vs T-Wolves

35 Pts 10 Rebs 4 Asts 2 Stls 1 Blk 2 TOs [+/-: -6]

Game 22 at Jazz

18 Pts 8 Rebs 3 Asts 3 Stls 0 Blks 5 TOs [+/-: -17]

Game 23 at Bulls

24 Pts 11 Rebs 6 Asts 4 Stls 2 Blks 1 TO [+/-: +34]

Game 24 at Bucks

15 Pts 9 Rebs 4 Asts 0 Stls 1 Blk 4 TOs [+/-: -25]

Will be updated as the season progresses.

[dockingsched]

bench REALLY needs pau gasol. he's a 1st option for them. i don't think the benchers play well with kobe since they want the ball in their hands too.

[iamworthy]

[Slava]

bench REALLY needs pau gasol. he's a 1st option for them. i don't think the benchers play well with kobe since they want the ball in their hands too.

Yeah but still we're getting next to nothing off these guys for quite sometime and lets see if Odom moving over will make a difference.

The weakness of the Lakers bench is a big point of debate and that's why I wanted to keep track of how we improve if we do.

[snaquille oatmeal]

I want pictures!

[Slava]

You asked for it!

[Slava]

Phil Jackson benches the bench mob

Things have gone from bad to worse for the Lakers Bench Mob. Just how bad are things? Things are so bad that Phil Jackson benched the bench last night in their game with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It was the first night of back-to-back road games. Normally you would expect the reserves to see a good number minutes in that first game to give the starters a breather.

But would you believe it if I told you that four of the five Lakers starters put in 43 minutes or more?

The facts are Kobe Bryant played 46 minutes, Lamar Odom 43 minutes, Ron Artest 47 minutes and Andrew Bynum 49 minutes.

The only Laker starter not to log in more than 49 minutes was 35-year-old point guard Derek Fisher. He was on the court for 35 minutes.

That’s a lot of basketball!

The entire bench put in only six points, four by Josh Powell and two by Sasha Vujacic, and a total of five rebounds.

[That Nicka]

Our bench really sucks

[TyCobb]

This thread is gold.

[izzatizzy]

bench REALLY needs pau gasol. he's a 1st option for them. i don't think the benchers play well with kobe since they want the ball in their hands too.

True.
The bench is suddenly disoriented just because Pau is out. Its like they totally forgot their roles and responsibilities on the court.

Can't wait for that day when the Venice Beach A.S. turn into the Bench Mob again.

[DubaLakers]

Benga & Powell could possibly be gone this week if Mitch decideds they aren't needed, but I don't think that will happen. A decsion is due for both this week.

[Tekkenlaw]

Lakers dropped the ball this offseason, they really could have bolstered their bench. Let's see who did they have shots at? Rodney Carney, Chase Budinger, Rashad McCants, Anthony Parker, Marquis Daniels...

Screw being deep into the luxury tax, I can't wait until guys like Vujacic, Morrison, and Walton are off the books so we can actually improve the team in the off season.

[semi-sentient]

I know I'm going to get slammed for this, and maybe that's justified, but what about getting Iverson from the Grizzlies for Farmar? It's a shame that I would ever say that, but our bench is absolutely atrocious and come playoff time our starters are going to be worn out from playing heavy minutes. I don't think having Odom coming off the bench is going to make much of a difference either. He doesn't exactly give us the consistent scoring that we need.

I'm probably one of the biggest AI haters that there is, but something tells me that he wouldn't be doing all this bitching if he was actually on a contending team (and I can't believe he was dumb enough to think the Grizz would contend). AI, as much as I hate his style, would provide us with some much needed offense off the bench and can be a real asset if he can get his attitude in check. If things don't work out then it doesn't matter because we can just let him go anyway. I'd gladly take 10-12 PTS on ~44% shooting off the bench. We've never had that -- even when our bench was playing well.

Thoughts?

[TonyMontana]

Our bench is DISCO DISCO right now............. They're still on the bus going through the parade.

[b shaw20]

You asked for it!

........who is this chick?

[Sedale Threatt]

I know I'm going to get slammed for this, and maybe that's justified, but what about getting Iverson from the Grizzlies for Farmar? It's a shame that I would ever say that, but our bench is absolutely atrocious and come playoff time our starters are going to be worn out from playing heavy minutes. I don't think having Odom coming off the bench is going to make much of a difference either. He doesn't exactly give us the consistent scoring that we need.

I'm probably one of the biggest AI haters that there is, but something tells me that he wouldn't be doing all this bitching if he was actually on a contending team (and I can't believe he was dumb enough to think the Grizz would contend). AI, as much as I hate his style, would provide us with some much needed offense off the bench and can be a real asset if he can get his attitude in check. If things don't work out then it doesn't matter because we can just let him go anyway. I'd gladly take 10-12 PTS on ~44% shooting off the bench. We've never had that -- even when our bench was playing well.

Thoughts?

Watch your step, semi. You're going to lose all your cred.

[semi-sentient]

True, and I can't even believe I would suggest that because I've railed hard on Iverson over the years, but that's how bad our bench is. I'm searching for other options but I'm drawing a bunch of blanks. We need some capable, consistent scorers coming off the bench so hopefully we can do something with Farmar/Morrison via trade.

[TruSkool]

iverson wants to be a starter....no room for him anyway...he should have gone to the bobcats

[Sedale Threatt]

True, and I can't even believe I would suggest that because I've railed hard on Iverson over the years, but that's how bad our bench is. I'm searching for other options but I'm drawing a bunch of blanks. We need some capable, consistent scorers coming off the bench so hopefully we can do something with Farmar/Morrison via trade.

I'd probably bring in just about anybody if it meant helping the team. But I'd have to draw the line at AI. He's just too much -- ego, selfishness, you name it. I've totally soured on him over the past couple of years. He deserves to finish his career bitching about minutes/shots on an invisible franchise like the Grizz.

But agreed -- our bench just sucks. It still boggles my mind how veterans like Luke, Sasha and Jordan can look so utterly inept. Those plus/minus figures are staggering. It's one thing to be mediocre -- we can live with that -- but out-right crappy? It's going to kill us in the long run.

It's not even December and I'm already worried about minutes. Gasol we should be able to manage as long as Drew and Odom are around. But Kobe? Who do we have to keep him under 40? We just can't afford to sit him at this point.

I'm sure that will improve a bit when Gasol gets back, but it's totally embarrassing that our veterans on the bench can't give us 10 decent minutes.

[hermes]

this might be my favorite thread