The Lakers have gotten off to terrible starts in the 4th quarter the last two games. In the Atlanta game they went 1-10 and last night they went 1-7 to start the 4th quarter. I'm not sure if fatigue is catching up to the team, but those two let downs have allowed teams to comeback against us after we've taken a double digit lead into the final period. This is a trend I hope the team corrects because this will be a disaster if we allow this to happen in the playoffs. Championship teams know how to close teams out and put the foot on the throat. Lakers haven't quite figured this out yet and it makes the games harder than they need to be. NMG mentioned it in another thread about Jordan Farmar's defense slipping. I paid attention to this last night and Farmar was getting beat easily off the dribble and taking the wrong angle when a screen came at him. He's been sub-par lately and I wonder if he's hit the "wall" again after a fast start. He gave up that 3 pointer to Bogans last night that tied the game up after not rotating fast enough and getting caught in no man's land. Last 4 games: 1-5 v. ORL 1-5 v. ATL 3-8 v. NJN 1-6 v. WAS Total - 6 for 24 He's shooting only 25% from the field in the last 4 games. I went back and looked at how he did in February last season and he went through a similar funk. He shot only 30.3% last February after shooting a high percentage from Oct thru January. Last March his field goal dipped even lower to 28%, but he did rebound in April to shoot 37%. Combine 2006-2007 Farmar shot 45% Pre-All Star and 31.8% Post-All Star. The Lakers better monitor him this season so he doesn't lose confidence in himself and burnout before the post season starts. Unfortunately, we don't have JCritt on the bench to turn to when Farmar is struggling and our advantage at point guard looks a little shakey right now.
Crittenton put Farmar in a situation. He either had to step up and produce or lose him minutes to Critt. Now that Critt isn't here to keep pushing Farmar, I really hope Jordan hasn't taken his foot off the throttle and is getting lazy. If that's the case, I'm over 100% sure we traded the wrong PG. Speaking of his defense, it's been slipping for awhile. Thank God Fisher has been on lately. I miss Critt.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Black Mamba @ Feb 9 2008, 01:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Crittenton put Farmar in a situation. He either had to step up and produce or lose him minutes to Critt. Now that Critt isn't here to keep pushing Farmar, I really hope Jordan hasn't taken his foot off the throttle and is getting lazy. If that's the case, I'm over 100% sure we traded the wrong PG. Speaking of his defense, it's been slipping for awhile. Thank God Fisher has been on lately. I miss Critt.</div> Thank God the Machine has been on target off the bench. Right he's the only consistent player off the bench for us. I don't think Farmar is lazy because JCritt isn't there anymore, but I do think he's wearing down because of the extended minutes he's had to play this year. Maybe PJax needs to get Coby Karl into the rotation to take some of the burden off Farmar. With the space Gasol and Kobe are creating on the court Karl will get a lot of wide open looks and one thing he's good at is shooting.
It's a 9 game road trip. The all-star break is coming up. I wouldn't start panicking about his play just yet. Even Kobe went through a slump earlier in the year. His defense has been sub par for a while though, but I think that's something that will have to be corrected during the offseason.
I think he just needs some homecookin'. If his play stays this way after the long roadtrip, then it'll be time to panic. But he's not a lazy person, he's a gym rat.
Jordan's play has been dissapointing lately. He used to be one of the leaders of our bench, but his play has really fallen off. I don't think he's slacking off, because he is a hard worker, and he has a winner's mentality. I just think this road trip is really starting to get to some of these young players. How long have we been on the road now? When was our last home game? If you're a veteran, you can stick through this, but young guys like Jordan Farmar may start feeling the wear and tear of all the traveling. I just think he needs to return to the Staples and get some home cooking to spark him up again.
I just think it's the road trip wearing down on him. He's also played a lot more minutes this year than he did last year, which could also be a factor. I think the All Star Break is going to do him and everyone on our roster wonders.
I think Jordan will come back from All-Star break rested and good. I don't believe at all becasue Crit is gone that he's slacking, it doesn't bother me to see him on the floor. On a different note, I don't know why everyone is so hung up on J-Critt, from what he showed in his limited time he looked kinda lost on the court and his shots we're erratic. I wish him good luck however in Memphis!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (brok3n @ Feb 11 2008, 06:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>On a different note, I don't know why everyone is so hung up on J-Critt, from what he showed in his limited time he looked kinda lost on the court and his shots we're erratic. I wish him good luck however in Memphis!</div> Crittenton is a 19 year old rookie. He played only 1 year of college basketball. Of course he's probably going to look a bit lost on the court. He's a raw player, but has shown star potential here and there. The coaching staff was extremely high on him as well. All signs say that he will be a very successful player in the future. I don't know if he'll end up becoming a star, but I believe without a doubt he will have a successful career. I wish him the best of luck in Memphis. We barely even knew him
