What Happened to the '11 Lakers?

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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#61 » by Tesla » Sat Jun 27, 2020 6:51 pm

A lot of people already gave great points, some of it I'll repeat that I agree with.

First the general feel atmosphere:

-Phil had just told the team he was diagnosed with cancer, wasn't going to return, I believe it was right before the playoffs/or either the new orleans/dallas series. He regretted the timing, but it put the mood of the team in a definite funk
-Much of the staff got pretty much "let go" right as playoffs began or during the new orleans series, again pretty horrible timing and again adding onto the mood/momentum of the team in a negative direction
-3 finals in a row, this was 4th deep playoff push in a row, very hard to do especially with an aging cast.
-IIRC there was some rumor about Pau and his significant other with one of the teammates (Brown?), if true or not, it still was a nasty rumor floating around and again messing with the team
-Kobe was going through at the time a divorce (they reconciled later) but hard not to think that did not have a big toll mentally

Second, on the actual play/talent

-One of the biggest things to me was the featuring of Bynum, this was really the first year since 2008 pre Pau, pre Bynum injury, that they actually were featuring Bynum at the 5, and running offense through him/funneling defense through him. Pau at the 5 was just such a better Laker team, even though Bynum produced well and IIRC was an All Star that year, he had a lot of intangibles missing from his game and it really reared its head in the playoffs. This to me was probably the biggest thing that changed and really messed that Laker team up. He wasn't ever supposed to be a feature like that, especially post injury. He couldn't really move the ball properly from the post, especially when you are comparing him to one of the best to ever do it in Pau, it was a huge downgrade and it drastically changed Pau's effectiveness, both offensively and defensively , I stress defense because people just do not realize everything Pau brought to the table, from 2008-2010 Pau really was one of the best players in the league

-Second, Kobe physically was not the same, his legs already were giving out in the 2010 playoffs, but it was even worse in 2011. Right after Game 4 of New Orleans series I remember he got his knees drained, and he came out and played a bit like the Kobe we were used to, but those legs were messed up. Our matchup against Dallas over the years, even when the Lakers were not so good, was in the Lakers favor because of what Kobe could do to them, he really was able to slice them up and do what he wanted to, that was not the case anymore, and Kobe's play could in the past neutralized how good Dirk was (and oftentimes surpass it) but this time it was not there, and Dirk really turned the tables.

-Third, Kidd/Chandler. These two players really made Dallas different from years past, you had a tough interior with intangibles and a tough perimeter with intangibles, it really gave that boost to Dallas to become a champion in my opinion. You had a player that really could control the tempo and play smart defense and provide an extra layer of leadership, and then you had the guy inside that really did everything you want from a defensive and rebounding stand point/intangibles

-Lastly, Dallas was really good, they won the championship so all this shouldn't take away, just trying to provide some insight of what I felt and saw as a Laker fan. Dirk was amazing, the team really put a beat down on the Lakers. After the comeback in game 1 they really gained the confidence to just put the Lakers away, Lakers played almost perfect in game 3 but they could not close out the end of the game and it reminded me of game 4 of the 2004 series against Detroit, where the Lakers really played a game that should have been able to win but couldn't hold on in the end and it slipped away simply because they just were not the better team


Also, had the Lakers made it to the finals that year, I strongly believe Miami would have had their way with them. It just was not in the cards for them that year.
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#62 » by His Airness 23 » Sat Jun 27, 2020 8:03 pm

Wasn’t Kobe having is Colorado troubles during this season?
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#63 » by beantownski » Sat Jun 27, 2020 9:01 pm

kobe never gets flack for getting swept by the same mavs team that lebron gets crushed on for losing to.
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#64 » by ejs78 » Sun Jun 28, 2020 1:37 am

Great post as always.

People forget this team started out like 25-5 or something before Butler went down for the year and Dirk got hurt (yes I know injuries are part of the game)

They tied the Lakers record wise and could have easily been the 1 or 2 seed. Everyone just slept on them and didn't realize guys like Chandler, Stevenson, and Butler before his injury made the team much tougher physically and mentally.
Texas Chuck wrote:Look in all seriousness, this wasn't a bad matchup for the Lakers. The Lakers had dominated the Mavs for years. This was a case of Dallas being a lot better than people realized(though in retrospect all the evidence was there all year how dominant they were when Dirk played) and the Lakers being physically and mentally worn down. Kobe's body wasn't right and Pau's mind wasn't right and remember Odom was never a good NBA player again and this was the end of the myth of Bynum being a good player.

The Lakers were just at the end of a great run and the Mavs were really freaking good. Maybe if the Lakers hold on in game 1, they put up a fight, but it was pretty clear the Mavs were just the better team and its hard to see a scenario where the Lakers win that series. And the whole thing looks worse because in the first half of game 4 Peja and Terry literally couldn't miss and then the Lakers just quit and its hard to blame them down 0-3 and 20 points. Kobe and Pau to their credit handled the situation with class. Shame Odom, World Peace, and Bynum couldn't.


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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#65 » by Eric Millegan » Sun Jun 28, 2020 2:13 am

Dallas put a beatdown on them. That's what happened to them. That was my favorite playoff series of all time and I'm not even a Dallas fan.
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#66 » by laronprofit9 » Sun Jun 28, 2020 2:15 am

3-Peating is just really hard to do. The 80s Celtics, 80s Lakers, 10s Warriors, and the Heatles were never able to achieve it. Some truly GOAT level teams couldn’t do it.

It’s not just about talent, and having the right pieces. There is burnout and mental fatigue that happens. That is why only the 00s Lakers and Jordan’s Bulls were the only teams to achieve it since the 60s dynasty Celtics.

I feel not a enough credit is given for 3-peating. I just hate when people say replace Kobe with another top 5 wing and the Lakers win more during Shaq’s Lakers years. That is certainly not true, 3-Peating is just flat out hard. It gives the rest of the league 2 years to close the gap. A lot can happen in 2 years for contenders who are on the cusp to push them over the edge
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#67 » by boomershadow » Sun Jun 28, 2020 9:11 am

Some people think the difference between winners and losers is a mile wide because the winners won and the losers lost.

Sometimes, though, really great teams lose because they were playing other really great teams, and only one could win.
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#68 » by dhsilv2 » Tue Jun 30, 2020 5:10 pm

NPZ wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:Deep playoff runs year after year break teams and most players down. It's brutal.


That's a big aspect people will just gloss over in the attempt to find just one cause for a complex result. It's never just one thing. Dallas swept them, it should be obvious that the Lakers were done and/or it was a bad mismatch and/or some teams have a "year" where they can't lose. Nothing happened in 2011 that didn't happen in 2003.

And WTF at 2011? How many people here are really too young to remember 2011? Are you people going thru puberty or what? I could understand a 2003 thread, but 2011? 2003 wasn't the smartphone era, 2011 is.


Hell, I didn't have a smart phone till 2017. I miss not having one, they're nothing but trouble lol.
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#69 » by Doug_12 » Tue Jun 30, 2020 7:42 pm

Vanessa made Gasol's girlfriend dump Pau, which made him play like an average bench player. Kobe and Bynum alone were very thin against that deep Mavs.
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#70 » by TheBomb81 » Tue Jun 30, 2020 7:59 pm

They were getting older and they were in the finals three times, that can eventually where on some teams. Injuries to Matt Barnes and Bynum didn't help. Kobe was starting to decline. Pau Gasol's fiance at the time broke up with him. Dallas just went on and gave it to them.
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#71 » by NPZ » Wed Jul 1, 2020 12:31 am

dhsilv2 wrote:
NPZ wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:Deep playoff runs year after year break teams and most players down. It's brutal.


That's a big aspect people will just gloss over in the attempt to find just one cause for a complex result. It's never just one thing. Dallas swept them, it should be obvious that the Lakers were done and/or it was a bad mismatch and/or some teams have a "year" where they can't lose. Nothing happened in 2011 that didn't happen in 2003.

And WTF at 2011? How many people here are really too young to remember 2011? Are you people going thru puberty or what? I could understand a 2003 thread, but 2011? 2003 wasn't the smartphone era, 2011 is.


Hell, I didn't have a smart phone till 2017. I miss not having one, they're nothing but trouble lol.


I had a cellphone in the early 2Ks sans all that nonsense screen stuff. I didn't a smartphone until 2013. I got tired of everyone I know giving me that you are WEIRD look whenever this topic came up (as opposed to my other weirdness-es). I thought 13 was bad. How did you go about it? Another: I've never set foot into or drank any coffee from Starbucks (not counting the stuff they sell in stores). I don't know if anyone else in California my age who hasn't been to Starbucks even ONCE.
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#72 » by dhsilv2 » Wed Jul 1, 2020 12:37 am

NPZ wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:
NPZ wrote:
That's a big aspect people will just gloss over in the attempt to find just one cause for a complex result. It's never just one thing. Dallas swept them, it should be obvious that the Lakers were done and/or it was a bad mismatch and/or some teams have a "year" where they can't lose. Nothing happened in 2011 that didn't happen in 2003.

And WTF at 2011? How many people here are really too young to remember 2011? Are you people going thru puberty or what? I could understand a 2003 thread, but 2011? 2003 wasn't the smartphone era, 2011 is.


Hell, I didn't have a smart phone till 2017. I miss not having one, they're nothing but trouble lol.


I had a cellphone in the early 2Ks sans all that nonsense screen stuff. I didn't a smartphone until 2013. I got tired of everyone I know giving me that you are WEIRD look whenever this topic came up (as opposed to my other weirdness-es). I thought 13 was bad. How did you go about it?


To be honest, I still barley get any real "use" out of the "smart" part of the phone outside of playing games while on my "throne". I however did get a text about what to wear to a wedding I was in that didn't exactly make it to me correctly and I messed up. So that plus work getting me a deal where I got the phone plan for the same as my non smart phone, that's honestly the reason I got one. I now also have a work phone...though I basically never use that either.

The best part however was that the last few years of my non smart phone life, I'd broken a newer model phone and was rocking a VERY early 00's THICK as they got phone. So I wasn't just not using a smart phone but I was using a 15 or so year old phone which worked perfectly.
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#73 » by chrisbanksy562 » Wed Jul 1, 2020 12:55 am

Doug_12 wrote:Vanessa made Gasol's girlfriend dump Pau, which made him play like an average bench player. Kobe and Bynum alone were very thin against that deep Mavs.



This is true, at the time, all the lakers fans in the forums were mentioning this. There was some big issues in the lockerroom that year and it was obvious that Pau was just not into playing basketball anymore. Multiple times you can see Bryant trying to motivate Pau on the bench and all he had was the 1000 yard stare. They needed 100% effort from all to beat the Mavs that year and they didn't have it.

The Mavs just had the perfect team of Vets who knew their place and knew how to ride the Big Dog Nowitski.
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Re: What Happened to the '11 Lakers? 

Post#74 » by LAKESHOW » Wed Jul 1, 2020 2:04 am

Yup, Dirk was heard saying, Pau, I'm gonna make you a punk bi*** for the 2nd time this week!
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