I'm glad to see the Lakers are off to a good start, I think the Suns-Laker rivalry will be fun this year GL
<div class="quote_poster">YourNewChef Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Man imagine how much the lead would be if Lakers made their free throws. Btw, has anyone else noticed that teams FT% is pretty crappy with this new ball. I was watching the Celts-NOK game and they stank at FT too.</div>Bulls were also awful at the line tonight. I don't really think it has anything to do with the ball though, cause so far, we've seen some teams shoot ridiculous percentages from the field, as the Bulls hit 60% last night, the Magic got that number tonight.
Sweet, good start. I'm really impressed by the bench play, Walton is looking like a stud out there and Turiaf is a beast. I'm worried about Sasha, he's been cold since last night..
<font size=""5"">OOOOOH WEEEE! Yeah buddy!</font> Man, the Lakers pwn right now. I was kinda pissed that Turiaf didn't get to play much against the Suns, but he sure made up for lost time against GS. Bynum only played 11 minutes this game though... was it because of his foot? Odom played great, I just hope he can continue like this when Kobe comes back.
I didn't see the game, but I also noted that Bynum had 4 first half fouls. I think coupled with Turiaf playing so well might have been a reason for his lack of PT tonight. That and maybe some fatigue from last night possibly?
Rambis didn't feel comfortable giving him heavy minutes tonight because of the foot injury he suffered in the 2nd quarter of last night's game. Factor in the fouls and Turiaf's play, that's the reason for lack of minutes.
22/9/9 DAMN! I got robbed of the Triple Double I said Odom was gonna get!! =D This game was pretty slow, but Lakers played well, let's keep this winning streak going baby
I think the boos from the homecrowd at the Oracle could be heard all the way down in LA Wow, same sht, different packaging.
<div class="quote_poster">Franchise4Ever Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">1. Who will lead the Lakers in scoring tonight? Odom 2. Who will lead the Lakers in rebounds tonight? Odom 3. Who will lead the Lakers in assists tonight? Odom 4. Who will Andrew Bynum "truck" tonight? Murphy 5. Will the Lakers win or lose? Win 6. Will Lamar Odom get a triple double? No 7. Will the Lakers have more FTAs or 3PTAs? FTA's 8. Will the Lakers have under or over 20 turnovers? Over</div> I was close atleast.
All I can say is you guys are looking good, and who is this Odom? This team should be real nice when Kobe returns if everyone else can continue playing the same way.
That's the biggest worry. If Kobe comes back, and wants to score a lot, I think what we have now won't work. If Kobe starts to pass more (we all know that he can), kinda like two seasons ago, I think things will work out.
Another impressive victory last night. My initial concern was the Lakers second unit trying to match up with the Warriors. Last night showed me our depth is solid and we can go 12 deep once everyone comes back from injuries. In both games a 3rd man has stepped up to provide scoring. In Game 1 it was Mo Evans off the bench, and last night it was Turiaf. The difference between this Laker and Warriors is team chemistry. The communication our players have with one another is great to watch. They're always talking and pointing things out to take advantage of the other team. There's no finger pointing and players take accountability for their mistakes. I also love the poise and discipline of this young team. Everyone has their head in the game (except Smush on a few occassions), and it's allowing us to compete against teams with more talent. Last night we had 29 assists on 39 FGs, and that's even more impressive considering we got to the line 41 times. Unfortunately, you don't get credit for an assist when your player goes to the charity stripe for 2. One area the Lakers need to improve on is free throw shooting. We were shooting under 40% in the 1st half, and shot 80% in the 2nd half. Missing 14 free throws on the road usually puts you on the losing end, we're just lucky the Warriors were actually worse. I think Baron Davis actually airballed one of his FT attempts. Lamar Odom is playing amazing basketball right now for the Lakers, and I'm not worried at all about it when Kobe returns. This team has been playing the same style since the second half of last season, and the difference this year is everyone is starting out on the same page, instead of spending the first half figuring out where they need to be on offense and defense. Radman hit his 1st three point basket of the season, and looks fluid in the offense. He had a beautiful touch pass leading to a Laker layup, and recognizes mismatches right away. Whenever he had a smaller defender on him, he ran straight to the post and demanded the rock. I also liked what I saw from Shammond Williams. He's a fiesty defender and has no hesitation in shooting the ball. If he can give us some spot minutes off the bench I'll be happy with his addition to the squad. Bynum played limited minutes because of a foot injury he suffered in the Phoenix game. He was a game time decision last night, and played limited minutes because of the foot and early foul trouble. He picked up a cheap 4th foul early in the 2nd half and that was pretty much the end of his night. Also the fact Ronny Turiaf was dominating the paint allowed the Lakers to keep Bynum on the bench. Stat of the night 11 Lakers played over 10 minutes and almost 7 Lakers scored in double digits.
I must say, when Phil gets back, I don't see Farmar and Shammond and having over 22 minutes each.......
