Is Phil the problem?

[The Skyhook]

Kobe was also a much better decoy in the past than he is now. I think this is hurt our offense. He used to hold on to the ball for longer periods of times without getting it taken away from him. Now guys see that Kobe can easily be stripped and they shake the ball lose from Kobe right away leading to extra possessions for the opposing team and less opportunities for us on offense.

[LAKESHOW]

i sometimes ask the simple question, who is the leader of this team?

in my estimation, there is no doubt, KOBE is the leader of this team.

military, corporation, business, team the buck stops at the top.

i believe KOBE has to figure this out. jackson is not going to teach anything new at this point, some of these guys been in this system for years, and KOBE for almost a decade. i seriously believe, that is KOBE wants to be the best in the game(i do believe that he does), if he wants to be known AS THEE GREATEST thereby winnin 6 championships, this is his burden to carry. his crossroads to overcome. his river to cross. KOBE is not gonna be given the title that surpasses or equals MJ, unless he goes through this pivotal point.

the ride is gonna be interesting, im hopin he does, because that will mean another championship for our team. we shall see...

[Jase]

I don't think Phil is part of the problem. These are just regular season games and things he does are lessons to prepare this team for the playoffs.

So, you're saying we need to go on useless losing streaks, where our superstar is thoroughly pi**ed off at his teammates, in order for us to find postseason success? We're not working in enough new players to have this kind of learning curve. This is all inexcusable, and Jackson -as our coach- deserves as much blame as anyone, though it isn't his fault, alone.

[DEEP3CL]

players gotta start playing, that simple.

Cash is right this is all it boils down to. We can sit and moan and complain all day about Phil..........he ain't going now where and he isn't going to change.

[DubaLakers]

Just instinct, but that's what I live by following sports and it hits much more than it misses. I think Mitch is burning the candle at both ends. Something more will happen, this is not the final roster. There is huge pressure to find that one more big move. This is the final year for PJax and he will go out with a bang. Do or die time. One more title for PJax, Fish & Kobesan, this is the year of the Swan Song (Swan Lake). Lebron & his pharmecutically enhanced self will have to wait. Magic will happen, we just need to be patient. Will will find the monster within...stay tuned.

[laduane1]

Paying Kobe over 25 million a season is the reason the Lakers do not have any money to spend on other players. This is a trend that will be our future and could be our down fall over time.

[Kalidogg24]

Paying Kobe over 25 million a season is the reason the Lakers do not have any money to spend on other players. This is a trend that will be our future and could be our down fall over time.

We got the talent were just not executing and playing cut throat defense right now.
This teams potential is still really high.
Tough stretch we are struggling through as of lately.
Hopefully we can learn off of all these terrible losses .


As for Phil, he's somewhat held accountable for this recent slide as well .

I Still wouldn't have any other coach.
He'll bring his troops back to order.

[chefy]

+1 we have enough talent. I don't see us making any big trades this season at all honestly.

[penquin11]

Is Phil Jackson the problem with this many of these losses honestly no matter what is going on, on the court he never adjust he always brings in FIsher. When was the last time Fisher came in and somethin good has happened its always a close game then Fisher comes in and we are down 20 every time i turn around. Is it time someone else took over this team cuz it seems like Phil has just loss it, do yall think its time we give the couching job to someone else?

Message from a Lolcats fan (bobcats):
Holy Sh*t you guys have only lost 3 games!!! Calm down you guys are fine... Is it a championship year for you guys? Maybe not... Is it a playoff year for you guys? Definitely..... Dont get ahead of yourself

[LAKERS_1981]

PHIL IS NOT THE PROBLEM

I think he is know looking for a place for his 11 ring because he has just 10 fingers.

Phil is a great coach and he job is to try to win a ring for the Lakers(he has done that 5 times). He knows that in the regularseason you have your ups and downs and the trick is to dont go hi on W and dont go low with a L.

In the early regularseason he is just trying to let the new guys learn the system, get players healty, keep the mins low(Kobe at 33min) and just try to hitt the peak when the playoffs starst.
How often do you see team like Cleveland, Orlando, Dallas, Suns, Atlanta, Portland and so one have a great regular season but then fail in the playoffs.
It is hard to stay focus in the regularseason after going to the finals 3 times, not many teams have the strenght to go to 4 finals in a row
Lakers 87,88,89(bad season in 1990)
Detroit 88,89,90(sweep in 1991)
Bulls 91-93 and 96-98 - reading a Phil jackson book he said that Jordan was just menaly out after 93 and 98.
Lakers 2000-2002 (2003 the team was just physical and mentaly out)

Then you have a team like Spurs that just cant go back to the finals even if they have a stron team. They won in 99,03,05,07.

So if the Lakers go back in the finals that will be legendary for the team.

[MixedUp]

The Los Angeles Lakers started 13-2 (with a 8-0 start) and since then have been 8-8.

I myself have watched most of the first 10 games and was very impressed so I'm kind of bummed to see this downfall. What happend to our boys?

[H00PDREAMS]

@ penquin11 - I agree!

Apparently KOBE is taking responsibility for this loss. Sure, go ahead No. 24, but we all know youre not going to continue to take the blame for your team mates not showing up.

I didn't see the game in its entirity but I saw some NBA FASTBREAK on ESPN last night. Watching the clips they noted somethings I thought was rather interesting.

Pau Posted 9 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Sorry youre an all-star Pau you carried a team for years 9 points WTF! Stop passing Kobe the ball with 3 seconds left on the clock and get YOUR shot! PAU only got 8 shots!!!!! Done here...

Fisher Totaled 2 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals... Ridiculous! Nuff said.

Suprises of the game. Some would say this has been a trend of the past games. However something needs to be done about it.
Why is Brown getting more shots than Lamar or Pau or Fish?????

Matty Barnes is ballin' give the guy more playing time please...

Bynum is putting in solid work and returning to form. Why isn't he getting the ball more? Time to start Bynum...

Code: Select all

Player POS MIN FGM-A 3GM-A FTM-A O D T AST PF ST TO BS PTS
Bynum  c  21:52  4-4  0-0  2-8  2  5 7  1  1  0  1  1  10

[Blackmun]

lol aaww man its funny,how can phil have so many titles and this thread exists...he coaches the way he coaches,and honestly i dont see it changing.the players need to adjust.

you see that's the problem the lakers have. we're hanging onto past 'reputations'.

I'd say "hanging on to the past" when that past includes being the reigning champion is pretty common sense.

You know NBA fans have hit the gutter when bandwagoners are bitching about Phil.

Apparently KOBE is taking responsibility for this loss. Sure, go ahead No. 24, but we all know youre not going to continue to take the blame for your team mates not showing up.

He should, for two reasons.

First of all, with 10-22 shooting, it wasn't just his teammates not showing up.

Secondly, he's the leader of the team, and the play maker on the court. At least some of the responsibility will always be on him. You know what they say... "the buck stops here."

[Mr 24 eight]

Since when is 10-22 not good?

[JollyJoker]

I think its Brian shawthat is not cut for his role. Maybe phils crew is just not good enough to mesh the strengths of the players without tex winter there. You have ron artest taking a back seat on offense, lamar odoms production diminishing and Paul playing less confidnent. The black mamba if he wants to be vocal he needs to lead by example not by going 1 on1 but my improving on d and he should complain less , last night a few times you could see him complaing to the ref and not getting back when he thought he was fouled.

Phil is right to leave the lakers this season because there isn't the competitve juice. We all assume lakers win this year kobe gets 6. The thing is there isn't a coach that can substitute phils services.

Forget about bryon scotts or brian shaws. They are overrated players coaches not the kind of coach that demands respect and plays it cool. I see Brian shaw as no better than Allan Houston as a vocal leader. Infact Brian shaw looks like a high school student next to phil in his high chair.
Neither larry brown fits that bill in this age. Maybe I would give brown a shot if he were to take a much smaller salary unguaranteeed because that guy has less desire.
Any other coach in the nba and Kobe will get on his back and have him in a tough position after the first few months.

Maybe coach K gets kobes respect but he aint leaving duke. So the way i see it the roman empire that the lakers have built is going to crumble. The pinnacle of their civalization comes tumbling down because of the mount everest egoes and feelings from top down. Once you lose "caesar" phil jackson you only have kobe and he is playing the role o prince instead of gladiator.

[TruSkool]

phil is leaving after this year, and more likely than not, this team will explode after this year if we dont win it all again...with the exception of kobe and gasol.
im expecting big changes for the lakers next season...and for the record, phil is fine and he has his hardware to prove it...its upto the players now, specifically kobe and gasol.

[Patterns]

Why the hell would it be Phil's problem? Hasn't he proven enough?

The problem is Fisher and Artest. We play 3v5 out there.

[PatrickBateman]

Why the hell would it be Phil's problem? Hasn't he proven enough?

The problem is Fisher and Artest. We play 3v5 out there.

Sure but who's fault is that? Fisher was one of the worst starting PG's in the league last season. Bringing him back for, especially for that $, was a terrible idea especially if Blake wasn't going to start. And as much as I love me some Crazy Ron he was never a great fit for this offense. Add up our poor bench strength and you can see where this is headed. Time to shake things up and make trades or this season will slip away.