GT #2 Lakers @ Blazers 7:30 PT 10/31

[semi-sentient]

How the **** is Kobe Bryant so good? Why can't we defend well when our coach is a defensive specialist and we got some good defensive players? Boggles my mind...

Howard and Artest are the only good defensive players in our starting lineup. Nash, Kobe, and Pau are all liabilities. Off the bench Ebanks and Hill are the only guys that impress me, so there's nothing mind-boggling about it considering this team is made up of mostly average/poor defensive players that are slow and unathletic on top of it.

They'll eventually get better once the communication improves, and once our offense becomes more efficient guys can get back/set on defense so we limit transition opportunities.

All the complaining about Mike Brown is pointless. He's not going anywhere, and there's really no reason to point the finger at him this early. The team needs time to gel and our best player is still not near 100% which is impacting his ability to play monster defense. Give it time.

[Peregrine01]

How the **** is Kobe Bryant so good? Why can't we defend well when our coach is a defensive specialist and we got some good defensive players? Boggles my mind...

Howard and Artest are the only good defensive players in our starting lineup. Nash, Kobe, and Pau are all liabilities. Off the bench Ebanks and Hill are the only guys that impress me, so there's nothing mind-boggling about it considering this team is made up of mostly average/poor defensive players that are slow and unathletic on top of it.

They'll eventually get better once the communication improves, and once our offense becomes more efficient guys can get back/set on defense so we limit transition opportunities.

All the complaining about Mike Brown is pointless. He's not going anywhere, and there's really no reason to point the finger at him this early. The team needs time to gel and our best player is still not near 100% which is impacting his ability to play monster defense. Give it time.

While the whole team has been collectively playing terrible defense, Pau has been Amare-like with the pick and roll defense. Weak hedging, slow to recover, out of position guarding no one. The other teams sees this, which is why they always pick and roll with the guy Pau's defending. Point guards been having a field-day with the high screen and roll.

[PacificBlazer]

Why wasn't Lillard's name tossed around more often during the draft for the 4th or 5th pick?

I didn't think he was a better prospect than Davis, Beal or MKG but guys like Drummond and Barnes consistently mentioned ahead of him. I can't believe he didn't receive more consideration considering how open it was beyond Beal and MKG.

Also, that 21/9 fact is such a useless fact to dig up. John Wall had a 28/5/9 in his second game in the league and followed that up with a 29/9/13 in his third. Rookies make a splash all the time. I don't think it matters if its in their first or 20th game. I don't put much weight on it.

The only other players in NBA history to debut with at least 23 and 11? Oscar Robertson and Isaiah Thomas. So I will put a little bit of weight on it, with a dash of a grain of salt.

But in the bigger picture I agree with you, 1st or 20th game, it is all a learning period for the rookies.

On a side note I lurk the Lakers forum from time to time and am impressed by the amount of quality fans and posters. Good luck this year (and that will be the only time I say it, haha)!

[Mass Rig]

While the whole team has been collectively playing terrible defense, Pau has been Amare-like with the pick and roll defense. Weak hedging, slow to recover, out of position guarding no one. The other teams sees this, which is why they always pick and roll with the guy Pau's defending. Point guards been having a field-day with the high screen and roll.

Pau and Dwight are just not there physically yet. They are slow and destroyed on the boards. Give them a month or so and everything will be fine.

[Jack wore plaid]

Some quick thoughts from a non antagonistic Blazer fan

You guys complaining about fouls, LA still shot 4 more FT's than Portland

Lillard joins Oscar Robertson and Zeke Thomas as the only players to go for at least 20/10 in their debut

You all need to relax. The Lakers have a lot of talent and will undoubtedly win in spite of Mike Brown.

Dwight Howard is an absolute beast, and in the playoffs, when it really matters, he and Kobe will destroy people, while Portland will be sitting at home watching and trying to figure out who to pick in the top of the lottery.

[tysonironmike]

How the **** is Kobe Bryant so good? Why can't we defend well when our coach is a defensive specialist and we got some good defensive players? Boggles my mind...

Howard and Artest are the only good defensive players in our starting lineup. Nash, Kobe, and Pau are all liabilities. Off the bench Ebanks and Hill are the only guys that impress me, so there's nothing mind-boggling about it considering this team is made up of mostly average/poor defensive players that are slow and unathletic on top of it.

They'll eventually get better once the communication improves, and once our offense becomes more efficient guys can get back/set on defense so we limit transition opportunities.

All the complaining about Mike Brown is pointless. He's not going anywhere, and there's really no reason to point the finger at him this early. The team needs time to gel and our best player is still not near 100% which is impacting his ability to play monster defense. Give it time.

I agree Semi that Nash is a poor defensive player, But I feel Howard and Artest are elite defenders, While Kobe these days is still just above average defensively, While his ball handling has taken a major hit. Gasol is a weird one because his D on pick and rolls has been very poor but he is still a smart post defender, Overall I'd say he's a little above average too but certainly has been playing poorly in the first 2 games.

What I'm trying to say is when you have 2 of the elite defenders in the NBA, 2 above average defenders and a poor one, I think that line up should be good enough to lock teams down, But its no where near that, Its actually pure **** on defense, So how could we not put blame on our "defensive specialist" head coach?

[Anklebreaker702]

How the **** is Kobe Bryant so good? Why can't we defend well when our coach is a defensive specialist and we got some good defensive players? Boggles my mind...

Howard and Artest are the only good defensive players in our starting lineup. Nash, Kobe, and Pau are all liabilities. Off the bench Ebanks and Hill are the only guys that impress me, so there's nothing mind-boggling about it considering this team is made up of mostly average/poor defensive players that are slow and unathletic on top of it.

They'll eventually get better once the communication improves, and once our offense becomes more efficient guys can get back/set on defense so we limit transition opportunities.

All the complaining about Mike Brown is pointless. He's not going anywhere, and there's really no reason to point the finger at him this early. The team needs time to gel and our best player is still not near 100% which is impacting his ability to play monster defense. Give it time.

I agree Semi that Nash is a poor defensive player, But I feel Howard and Artest are elite defenders, While Kobe these days is still just above average defensively, While his ball handling has taken a major hit. Gasol is a weird one because his D on pick and rolls has been very poor but he is still a smart post defender, Overall I'd say he's a little above average too but certainly has been playing poorly in the first 2 games.

What I'm trying to say is when you have 2 of the elite defenders in the NBA, 2 above average defenders and a poor one, I think that line up should be good enough to lock teams down, But its no where near that, Its actually pure **** on defense, So how could we not put blame on our "defensive specialist" head coach?

Helluva post Mike

[Kilroy]

At this point, I think Dwight is probably the only elite defender on this team.
MWP can look elite in certain matchups but beyond that, I'd say he's a 'good nba defender.' I think Pau falls into that as well. And perhaps Kobe... But Kobe has looked pretty average on D for a while now to me.
Nash is probably average too...

So this team is only going to be able to rely on Dwight for lock-down D every night. But I think this team can definitely learn to play elite team D in time. Like the Celtics used to.

But just like the offense, it's going to take time. And the largest burden falls on our players to figure out how to work together.

I'm not the biggest fan of the Mike Brown hiring either... But I don't think this particular situation is all his fault.

Now if we're still below 500 in the next couple of months, I'll probably be calling for his head louder than anyone.

[semi-sentient]

I think that Howard is definitely the only elite defensive player that we have. Artest is still really good, certainly well above average, but he can't deal with really quick players anymore so it's match-up dependent.

Kobe has turned into a liability on defense. He can't stay in front of anyone anymore, and he does a horrible job of recovering on shooters and contesting shots. He'll have a few nice weak-side plays here and there and he still plays the angles well, but overall his defense is below average. It's understandable given his mileage as he's clearly lost a lot of athleticism.

Gasol is also a liability. He's probably better suited guarding 5's than he is 4's, but his PNR defense has sucked for a couple of seasons now regardless of where he plays. God damn his PNR defense was awful last night. **** was really pissing me off. He's too damn slow and his length is pointless considering he has a 2 inch vertical and gets beat off the dribble by just about everyone.

Nash is definitely below average, but again for his age that's to be expected since he's never been more than average defensively anyway.

[laduane1]

0-3 if the clips play well....