Can Lakers overcome lack of youth/bench

[zelezeal]

and make it back to the promise land?

I think this season will ultimately come down to many things. I want to say this is not a knee-jerk reaction to the Miami game, but losing always put things in perspective...i must say though, these sentiments with me have been brewing for sometime.

I think the Laker's are clearing missing intensity...for several reasons.

Motivation. Health. Lack of Youth. New Editions. Chemistry Issues. Pick one.

There is a reason I was big on Sasha and Farmar. These two guys were energy guys; they are spot-up shooters; they are scorers. They put pressure on the defense. Farmar was an athlete/skilled player who could penetrate a defense and score the ball. (also finish the break) Sasha (and people forget this) had a 20+ points in that game 3 versus Boston in 2008. (he showed up and helped KB when nobody else did) More than that, the passion and intensity that Sasha plays with on both ends is something you cannot teach. (is something this team is sorely missing this year)

I like Blake's veteran qualities, and Matt Barnes is okay, but at the end of the day --- you can't teach youth or talent. Sasha and Faramr gave us that young talent and intensity that we sorely missed on Christmas day. I think a lot of teams make the mistake of parting with their youth after winning championships.

I hope I'm wrong, I hope Blake and co have a great impact going forward... However, I initially thought parting with Farmar and Sasha was a mistake, and I do fear it might come back to bite us..we have not established a potent bench all season..not like in the past.

[dockingsched]

blake/barnes are so much better than farmar/vujacic its not even a comparison. i think you got a serious case of nostalgia.

[zelezeal]

blake/barnes are so much better than farmar/vujacic its not even a comparison. i think you got a serious case of nostalgia.

Look, we brought Blake in here to provide veteran leadership and hit timely shots. However, talent wise, Farmar is clearly better. Do you remember his dunk in KG's face in game 6 of the finals last year?

That's the type of engery and athleticism/scoring ability we had last year from the backup point guard position. You cannot teach that kind of stuff. Jordan Farmar puts pressure on the defense and that's a fact. Also, he was not always consistent, but he has the talent to be a very good defensive player.

Blake on the other hand, is all effort. Do you think he stands a better chance guarding the Dwilliams and Rondo's of the world? Not really. Were banking on him giving a more consistent effort, but he simply does not have more talent on either side of the ball than Farmar.

Like I said, I hope Barnes and Blake work out, but you have to acknowledge, with the Lakers main guys (Gasol and Kobe) battling injuries and looking a step slower this year, we could have used our young guns more than ever. Like I said, I hope I'm wrong.

[Wavy Q]

New Editions and Chemistry issues becoming problems are not issues at all, Health will always be an issue, for every team, lack of youth is a problem for teams with bad coaches who don't know how to rotate their players.

[zelezeal]

New Editions and Chemistry issues becoming problems are not issues at all, Health will always be an issue, for every team, lack of youth is a problem for teams with bad coaches who don't know how to rotate their players.

Well, Phil has rotating guys (particularly Artest and Fisher) different than last year. I seen some games were Artest barely played this year. Artest even said he does not mind it. Look Fisher is older and everything, but did he turn 80 since last year? Some people act like the guy cannot play anymore, are we saving him for the playoffs?

I donno, but I think he still has a lot left, the wheels couldn't have fell off since he was bustin 3's in the finals last year.

[stunnar0b]

andrew bynum needs to stop playing COD and get his ass in shape. what does he weigh like 300 lbs or something.

ron artest needs to stop worrying about his popularity, get your ass in the gym and put up a acouple thousand shots already. what is he shooting like 20%

this team has x amount of flaws but none that cant be fix come playoff time

[chefy]

no offense OP no one here is gonna take this thread serious if you think sasha and farmar > blake and barnes.

[Jetset]

Barnes + Blake >>> Sasha + Farmar.
And its not even close, we have Blake who plays in the system unlike Farmar who disrupted the offense at times trying to take over. And we have Barnes who plays good defense and won't almost cost a pivotal 6 in Phoenix.
Agree with everything stunnar0b said, Bynum is 10-15 lbs overweight and he needs to get in shape fast. Artest needs to stop trying to be an attention whore (appearing on late night shows, selling his ring etc.) and try to study the offense that he seemingly just cannot comprehend.

OT: Didn't Artest say the whole reason he came to LA was to win a ring, now he's just going to sell it.... I just dont understand.

Anyway, this teams refusal to keep and develop and 1st rounder will hurt later, just not now

[Gek]

and make it back to the promise land?

Are you asking if they can, score?

[zelezeal]

no offense OP no one here is gonna take this thread serious if you think sasha and farmar > blake and barnes.

Well, first you don't speak for everyone. Second, I really dont need anyone else to validate my opinions on players. Finally, instead of the ole "i speak for everyone agrument" how about coming up with a decent rebuttal? Try selling me on why Blake is so much better than Farmar or why Barnes has been anything but a glorified "hot head" hustle player his whole career..

Simply put, Steve Blake is a glue guy. Being a glue guy doesn't make you the better player. It simply means he's here because the Laker's failed to resign Farmar and needed a solid replacement. He's a solid shooter, decision maker, okay on defense. Talent wise, Farmar is clearly the better player who coming off our bench put tremendous pressure on the defense along with Odom and co last year.

Look, I think Blake is okay. Barnes is decent. I hope they contribute mightly to this team down the stretch. However, what I see so far this season is a team that looks older. I see Gasol and Kobe a step or two slower. I see Fisher looking the same. What I think this team could use more than anything is establishing that energy and offensive potency off the bench they had one or two years ago.. I simply think they had that with Farmar and co. So far, I do not think Blake and Barnes put the same amount of pressure on the defense as those other two did.

BTW, someone said that Farmar goes outside the offense now and then? So... it's called a fastbreak...this current laker team could use some easy points... everything is a set play in the half court, very predictable.

[mike-]

Farmar was so terrible, its hard believe anyone even likes him anymore.

[MoLakers]

dude barnes hustles so much. he sucks at finishing, but his hustle brings energy. for kobe and the bigs, shooters like blake are key. when u have new players, it takes awhile to get them into the flow. do we know what five the lakers will use down the stretch of games? all the rotations? is bynum back forreal? there are so many questions but thats why we have 82 games. lets let things happen and chemistry develop.

would it be nice to have young talent give the lakers energy? of course! but we got a solid backup pg who can space the floor in blake, and barnes who hustles and D's up real well. they are so much better than sasha and farmar.. its not even funny. blake and barnes have not even been here for half a season. give them time!

[semi-sentient]

Farmar was so terrible, its hard believe anyone even likes him anymore.

As bad as he was, he's better than Fisher at just about everything except hitting clutch shots here and there, which he was never in a position to do. We would have been better off with a Blake/Farmar PG rotation, IMO. Fisher is that bad.

[RocketPower23]

Sasha rarely played the last two seasons and for very good reason, he was a spot up shooter that forgot how to shoot. I don't see how anyone could say we miss him when we're getting better contributions out of Shannon Brown on both ends of the court then we ever got out of Vujacic.

As for Farmar, I never disliked him as much as others have. He could hit the occasional shot and every now and then attack the basket. But for every good thing he did, he did an equally dumb thing on both ends of the court. Blake provides stability, Farmar may be more talented, but he has an IQ of peanut. His loss is compensated by the expansion of Brown's role on offense and Barnes, who is surprisingly athletic.

We're not struggling because of our bench, last year our bench was anemic at times, we're struggling because Kobe & Pau both look a step slower and Bynum isn't in our starting lineup. If we're still playing like this come April, then we have reason to be concerned.

[andrewww]

Sasha rarely played the last two seasons and for very good reason, he was a spot up shooter that forgot how to shoot. I don't see how anyone could say we miss him when we're getting better contributions out of Shannon Brown on both ends of the court then we ever got out of Vujacic.

As for Farmar, I never disliked him as much as others have. He could hit the occasional shot and every now and then attack the basket. But for every good thing he did, he did an equally dumb thing on both ends of the court. Blake provides stability, Farmar may be more talented, but he has an IQ of peanut. His loss is compensated by the expansion of Brown's role on offense and Barnes, who is surprisingly athletic.

We're not struggling because of our bench, last year our bench was anemic at times, we're struggling because Kobe & Pau both look a step slower and Bynum isn't in our starting lineup. If we're still playing like this come April, then we have reason to be concerned.

good points, although i would say the biggest reason is gasol's poor play for the last month and obviously w/o a fully healthy bynum our two biggest bodies aren't playing anywhere close to what theyre capable of, which is leading to a chain reaction of sub par play.

[microfib4thewin]

Farmar attacked the basket once in a full moon. He never seem the same after he had that foot surgery. Currently it's our starters that are not playing up to expectations, not the bench. Without Kobe or Pau playing like their usual self it is difficult to win games against anyone.

[joebe25]

I rarely watch Lakers game.But base on my observation.
I think the problem is Chemistry.Its like KB is going back to the past
were he has always the ball.
Second,Health it is always a problem.
For me they need to make the youth have more mins..

[Nett]

Wait til the playoffs.