2012 Los Angeles Lakers Thread

[ZB1224]

Yeah the refs have been AWFUL, but I would put this loss on early turnovers and poor pick and roll defense more than anything.

Hopefully we can pull out a win though.

[ZB1224]

Momma there goes that man! Playing GREAT in the 4th.

[C47]

Defender was fuging draped on Nash and no whistle but you breathe on LeBron or Wade and it's a foul....again, fug you Crawford....

[ZB1224]

Well it was a good showing, but we couldn't all click. Refs were awful for the Lakers, but I won't use that as an excuse. Lakers pick and roll defense, turnovers and Kobe having his worst game of the season were the reasons :/

[C47]

Well it was a good showing, but we couldn't all click. Refs were awful for the Lakers, but I won't use that as an excuse. Lakers pick and roll defense, turnovers and Kobe having his worst game of the season were the reasons :/

Ditto, I'm not using it as an excuse either because without the turnovers the Lakers win this game by 10 or more. Still, that's no excuse for the bullshit that Crawford and his crew subjected the Lakers to tonight....

Only way it would have been worse is if we would have seen this number....

[Kakarot]

Heat! Damn Lebron went off last night. The best player in the game, for sure.

[ZB1224]

Heat! Damn Lebron went off last night. The best player in the game, for sure.

Yeah big props to LeBron... he definitely showed out.

[Password is Taco]

Raps take down the Lakers.

[King Taharqa]

We've got one buried in the Bobcats forum, but KT will throw a hissy fit for sure if it gets bumped...

LOL. Not at all. I believe that thread got moved over here to this forum, if it isnt, I will move it. Why would I throw a hissy fit over an aging superstar who plays with 4 HOFers, 2 former DPOY's and cant get to .500? I feel sorry for you guys.

[Kevin Greene]

LOL. Not at all. I believe that thread got moved over here to this forum, if it isnt, I will move it. Why would I throw a hissy fit over an aging superstar who plays with 4 HOFers, 2 former DPOY's and cant get to .500? I feel sorry for you guys.

Amazing isn't it.

We know the problem isn't 24, he's having a career year.

Jim Buss, coaching and the rest of the roster: guilty.

[teeray]

Amazing isn't it.

We know the problem isn't 24, he's having a career year.

Jim Buss, coaching and the rest of the roster: guilty.

There is too much talent on that roster to have one guy shooting 32 times and only making 10 shots while the rest of the team that is made up of all-stars is shooting 50%.

The problem with Kobe and many of his biggest fans is they look at his stats and say, "See he is playing good, the rest of the team stinks and coaching stinks". It isn't true. Kobe is having a good statistical year, but sometimes he hurts the team as a whole on offense because he kills ball movement and forcing defenses to move side to side.

When Kobe starts dribbling to set up a one on one move or starts rocking the ball back and forth and jab stepping, the defense doesn't have to do anything. The only way you get beat is when Kobe is making those tough shots. But it literally hurts everyone else on the offense.

Coach D'Antoni is having the same issue in LA that he had when Carmelo was healthy in NY. His offense won't work as well if one guy stops ball movement. It is not a coincidence that NY played great when Anthony was hurt and struggled once he got healthy again. And it isn't really a knock on Anthony, he just hurts that particular type of offense.

Carmelo and Kobe are great players. And great one on one players. Which is why the triangle offense worked so well through Kobe. Because it is a lot of two and three man games that cater to players with great individual talent. D'Antoni's offense has to have constant movement.

I the Lakers decide to keep D'Antoni they should trade 24. No joke.

[Kevin Greene]

There is too much talent on that roster to have one guy shooting 32 times and only making 10 shots while the rest of the team that is made up of all-stars is shooting 50%.

......

I the Lakers decide to keep D'Antoni they should trade 24. No joke.

Kobe is shooting at a .47% rate this year, not 10 of 32.

Jordan shot under .50% for his entire career if you need a benchmark.

Add 5 assists and 5 boards a game and I dont know what you want from a shooting guard.

Horrible team game plan from Antonni and inconsistent work from the rest of the roster and you have the Lakers problem.

Kobe is the same guy he always was, love em or as most do hate 'em.

What he is doing this year has been good for 5 rings in his career.

Incidentally Metta and Gasol are shooting at a .42 and .43 pace. Every time I see this Antonni game plan resulting in Metta shooting 3s I know the Lakers will never succeed in its current form.

Trade 24? I've already said in another thread Kobe may demand a trade this offseason, if it is Jim Buss' intent to move forward the next few years with Antonni you may as well blow up the entire team and at least build a roster that fits Antonni's scheme.

[Kevin Greene]

I think Jim Buss thinks Antonni will bring back Showtime.

.

[teeray]

Kobe is shooting at a .47% rate this year, not 10 of 32.

Jordan shot under .50% for his entire career if you need a benchmark.

Add 5 assists and 5 boards a game and I dont know what you want from a shooting guard.

Horrible team game plan from Antonni and inconsistent work from the rest of the roster and you have the Lakers problem.

Kobe is the same guy he always was, love em or as most do hate 'em.

What he is doing this year has been good for 5 rings in his career.

Incidentally Metta and Gasol are shooting at a .42 and .43 pace. Every time I see this Antonni game plan resulting in Metta shooting 3s I know the Lakers will never succeed in its current form.

Trade 24? I've already said in another thread Kobe may demand a trade this offseason, if it is Jim Buss' intent to move forward the next few years with Antonni you may as well blow up the entire team and at least build a roster that fits Antonni's scheme.

The reason the rest of the roster is inconsistent and shooting a low percentage is, at times, because of Kobe. Antoni's game plan works if the team moves the ball. It doesn't when one guy stops ball movement to start dribbling around or rocking back and forth while jab stepping trying to get off a shot.

It is hard to get good shots, thus shoot a high percentage from the floor, when the ball does not move.

As I said earlier it is the same issue in NY last season. When Carmelo killed ball movement the entire team would struggle. It is not a coincidence that the team played better without Carmelo than with Carmelo.

And as far as comparing Kobe and Michael on FG% consider this. Kobe is having a "career year" this year. He is currently shooting .468 form the field. Michael Jordan's worst season in Chicago was .465, (in seasons where he played over 20 games). So Kobe's "career year" in FG% is on par with Jordan's worst year.

In D'Antoni's best year in Phoenix (2005) he had 5 guys who played 30 minutes or more per game. The shot distribution per game that season among the 5 players that played the most minutes:

16.7 Amare Stoudemire

15.9 Shawn Marion

14.4 Joe Johnson

13.2 Quentin Richardson

11.4 Steve Nash

What incredible balance. The 4 starters that were not the point guard all shot more than 13 times a game. The two highest were the 4 and the 5 positions. Only 4 shots per game separated the highest guy to the lowest guy in the 2,3,4, and 5 positions.

Compare that to the Lakers this season:

22.1 Kobe Bryant

11.2 Pau Gasol

11.2 MWP

10.6 Dwight Howard

8.2 Steve Nash

So when you look at the Lakers, the two guys shooting the second amount of shots per game, are both lower than the lowest of the 5 starters in Phoenix. You have ONE guy accounting for more than 1/3 of all the shots (22.1 of 63.3) taken by the starters.

That Phoenix team had some good players on it too. But they are probably less talented at every single position than the Lakers this year and they won 62 games.

Unless those numbers above change and even out to be me more like the Phoenix teams, the Lakers will struggle.