Shaq and Nash

[rjvir]

Since Nash got traded to LA, no one seems to have brought up the 2008 and 2009 Suns, which had Nash along with Shaq and Amar'e. Those seasons were a disaster, and the only time the Suns became good again is when they got rid of Shaq in 2010, and later made the WCF.

Obviously, Shaq in 2008 was very different than Bynum today, but the similarities are there. Neither of them can keep up with a fast paced Nash offense, and both are primarily are good through low post scoring, without much outside range.

My question is, how will this Lakers team be much different from those disappointing Suns teams? How much different would Bynum be than Shaq? Is anyone else worried about this?

[Matt6288]

It'll be a lot different, we have Kobe and Pau and we will be using a completely different system.

[PurpleMamba]

Ohh I don't know, but 1 word comes to mind............KOBE.

Steve Nash was THEE guy in phx, here in LA he MIGHT be the 3rd option

[JustAwesome]

I'm hoping that his immaturity won't cause him to do it, but Bynum can slow down Nash by not passing to him as an outlet after a rebound. That could help him sway the team into running a half court set. I normally wouldn't even think of something like that, but Bynum isn't exactly a brilliant individual.

[iamworthy]

I have wondered about this as well. Honestly I haven't been able to come to any conclusion on how Bynum is going to work with Nash. Nash made a living with Amare. Obviously we are hoping for the same magic with Pau Gasol. Gasol will not finish like Amare did but who cares. Amare had the Monster dunks, while gasol will have a finger roll and some dunks. Two points are two points right? Gasol is ten times the passer Amare was so at a minimum I see Gasol getting the pass from Nash, low post defenders rush to recover, and Gasol throwing a sweet lob to Bynum. I also think Bynum will do what has always been asked of him, play defense and rebound. If Bynum is not a top 5 defensive player in this league we are not going to win JACK. Bynum will still average 15-19 points per game. But all this is a guess at best. Maybe Bynum is super awesome with Nash and he takes the Gasol role.

[JustAwesome]

Bynum prefers to create for himself in the post. I know the Lakers haven't exactly had a guard to create for him, so we don't really know if he can mesh with Bynum. He needs to study tapes of Malone.

[stunnar0b]

the big differnece from that team and ours is that we have multiple high iq play making guys on our roster. and we wont be running the same **** they did. the only thing we need bynum to do CONSISTENTLY is run the floor and protect the paint, if he could do that we'll be close to unbeatable.

[stunnar0b]

Ohh I don't know, but 1 word comes to mind............KOBE.

Steve Nash was THEE guy in phx, here in LA he MIGHT be the 3rd option

what does that even mean being the third option? i always hated when kobe would say whos the first second and third option. how about just pass the rock to whoever has the best shot attempt. now with kobes advanced age, that hero ball mind set wont work for us anymore. i really hope when push comes to shove he wont try to take over games and just allow the ball to flow through nash.

[DEEP3CL]

Once again erase your minds of this " fast pace Nash plays" theory, he even said himself the Suns weren't running as much as people thought they were. Tempo control will still be our point of emphasis each game. And the other part to that is if Drew wants to be on the scoring end of those easy passes from Nash, then he'll have to bust his butt and run. By the feel here you'd swear Drew has cement blocks for feet.

[AcecardZ]

Bynum does have cement blocks for feet... Pretend otherwise all you want but the guy has zero athleticism and it costs us dearly. Looking at him one would think "dayum this guy's a monster" but in Bynum's case looks are deceiving...

And fwiw Kobe isn't looking all that great these days... He looks decent once in awhile but nothing more and if we can't rely on him to be a top five player in the league next year we're going to be in for another disappointing season. Getting Dwight is an absolute must if we're to hope for a championship next year...

[Doormatt]

comparing broken down old as **** shaq to bynum at his peak is pretty derp.

[Dagameplaya PnG]

That Suns team likely would have made the playoffs if Amare didn't go down, the problem was even though Shaq had a nice stretch of games, he was just go old to be consistant with it at that point. With amare their he'd have had more chances to rest more.

[Stebo_SSK]

comparing broken down old as **** shaq to bynum at his peak is pretty derp.

Alot of you guys have a poor vision of Shaq looking back. He wasnt really broken down and washed up until he got to Cleveland. His full season in PHX in 08-09 was pretty impressive.

Statline: MPG 30.0, PPG 17.8, RPG 8.4, BPG 1.4, FG% 60.1, FG per 11.2
Per 36: PPG 21.3, RPG 10.1, BPG 1.7. FG per 13.4

In reality Shaq has never really been an unproductive player. Even if you look at his numbers in Boston per 36 min he was putting up 16 and 8. His health robbed him of playing big minutes but when he played he was still a force even in Boston.

[Speedlot]

It's different because we have Kobe and Gasol. Good god.

[Dr Aki]

its different because the lakers will play completely different to those suns teams

[DEEP3CL]

Bynum does have cement blocks for feet... Pretend otherwise all you want but the guy has zero athleticism and it costs us dearly. Looking at him one would think "dayum this guy's a monster" but in Bynum's case looks are deceiving...

And fwiw Kobe isn't looking all that great these days... He looks decent once in awhile but nothing more and if we can't rely on him to be a top five player in the league next year we're going to be in for another disappointing season. Getting Dwight is an absolute must if we're to hope for a championship next year...

If you're basing the Lakers season on the hopes of this one acquisition alone and thinking that him alone will cure all of the Lakers other decencies then you are purely in denial period.

Will say it again and will keep saying it, getting him won't solve nearly enough of the BS that's wrong with this team. I've seen stupid ass comments here already saying that getting him will solve our bench woes.....WTF are you kidding me ? This is why I say guys act like he's GOD.

[Sofa King]

They'll be fine as long as Bynum doesn't steal one of Nash's reality tv show idea.

[DEEP3CL]

what does that even mean being the third option? i always hated when kobe would say whos the first second and third option. how about just pass the rock to whoever has the best shot attempt. now with kobes advanced age, that hero ball mind set wont work for us anymore. i really hope when push comes to shove he wont try to take over games and just allow the ball to flow through nash.

Or how about who's just having the more dominate game ? The ball doesn't have to flow through Nash or anybody for that matter. We don't need Nash excessively pounding the rock to be effective...that is what I don't want to see at all.

[Stebo_SSK]

Bynum does have cement blocks for feet... Pretend otherwise all you want but the guy has zero athleticism and it costs us dearly. Looking at him one would think "dayum this guy's a monster" but in Bynum's case looks are deceiving...

And fwiw Kobe isn't looking all that great these days... He looks decent once in awhile but nothing more and if we can't rely on him to be a top five player in the league next year we're going to be in for another disappointing season. Getting Dwight is an absolute must if we're to hope for a championship next year...

If you're basing the Lakers season on the hopes of this one acquisition alone and thinking that him alone will cure all of the Lakers other decencies then you are purely in denial period.

Will say it again and will keep saying it, getting him won't solve nearly enough of the BS that's wrong with this team. I've seen stupid ass comments here already saying that getting him will solve our bench woes.....WTF are you kidding me ? This is why I say guys act like he's GOD.

Dude why are you so abrasive about people here wanting Dwight? You act as if this team has a gang of issues. They had a few glaring issues thats it. Nash has solved our PG problems. Our bench is slightly better and if their is a Dwight acquisition there is a good chance Jrich comes with him. Lakers 3 main issues last year were Pick n Roll defense, lack of offensive flow (due to triangle being gone and no real PG) and the bench. Dwight is a top 5 player overall in the NBA and is probably the best defensive impact player in the game. If he can make Orlando a top 5 D with his play with those player what do you think he can do with LA? Then you pair him with a PG like Nash that is great on PnR. Dwight is a great PnR big. So now you are looking at a bench with Hill, Jamison, Jrich and Blake, hypothetically. How is that not a top 2 team in the league? Where are all these issues?

[s3antana5757]

This is why Howard is a better fit than Bynum.