There still isn't a team in the West I'm worried about. If we want to win titles we have to sort out our SF issues and rotate better.
not big deal he played against smaller players, so he took them often to the paint very impressed by josh powell, good game for him he was part of the come back at the start of fourth
Ok. Well, I guess he wasn't hurt, so that's a good thing. We also showed we could win without him tonight, in comeback fashion.
Point guards have ALWAYS killed the Lakers. Bibby, Parker, etc. Even when you guys brought in GP, Chauncey lit him up. Something about Phil's "brilliant" defense schemes tells his team "let their pg bend us over and rape us in any position he chooses". It's going to be a serious problem in the playoffs if you meet up with Denver, New Orleans, or Utah. Also Kobe's defense is somewhat overrated. He seems to thing that as long as he outscores the guy he's guarding that it's okay for that guy to score 20+ points as long as he turns on his defense in crunch time. Call me a hater, but I'm right.
Kobe's defense hasn't been impressive this year because he isn't even trying, offensively and defensively. When he is focused though, his defensive presence sky rockets. I do think his defense is somewhat overrated, in being that I don't believe he deserved so many First Defensive Team awards, but ask the guys who played with him in the Olympics. Who was their best defender? As for our point guards, we've just got to go with the flow unless a better option arises. Last year though in the postseason, our point guards held down the fort and played some decent defense against Denver/Utah/San Antonio, before blowing up (like the rest of the team) in the Finals. Obviously an upgrade at point guard is welcome, but if the rest of the roster wakes up and plays to their potential, it may offset some of the defensive inefficiencies at point.
Denver matches up poorly with us from what I've seen this season and prior ones. New Orleans could give us a problem and possibly Utah. Not that I would pick against us.
Kobe may have played the best defense, but he was NOT the best defender on the team. I'd take Prince and probably Dwight over him. In Olympic play it's a guard/sfs game, so Kobe's defense was needed. Prince also didn't play much. But we are talking about pgs here. The Lakers got burned by the this whole decade. And who was their starting PG for most of it? The same guy who is their starting pg now, with Shaw and Lue as back-ups. Even if you were to get to the finals, Rondo would absolutely destroy you guys, he is that much better.
Great win. Loved the game. Showed our grit. The Knicks were simply on fire in the first half. Come second half, Kobe took over. Bynum was beasting, and our D was nice.
I'll admit, Kobe is a step slower, but thats due to mother nature. His defensive prowness has always been good, and still is. When called upon like during these past OLYMPICS, Kobe can still lock up anyone. He still has it.
You obviously didn't watch enough of TEAM USA this year to know how good Kobe still is on the defensive end of the ball. Its also obvious that Kobe would guard SF/Guards because thats his position right? It would be stupid to ask him to guard a center or power forward, so i dont know whats your reasoning about the Olympics. Kobe was definitely the best defensive player this year for TEAM USA. As for Rondo burning everyone.. Put him on another team without a KG, Pierce, and Allen and see how dominant he can be as a single player. We all know Kobe can be the most dominant playing for any team in the NBA. For Rondo, I think its the system he's in and the players around him. I highly doubt he would DESTROY the Lakers playing for any other team relying solely on his own skillset. I dont believe he's that much better. The team overall is much better and has one year more together as a unit. There were not many changes to lasts years Championship roster in Boston. So Rondo is finding his comfort zone in the system. Individually, there are a ton of other PG's who would kill him 1 on 1.
I've had it with Farmar. He has shown almost no improvement in his game. He is good against Pre-season scrubs, but he can't keep it during the season when it matters. He's horrendous. He doesn't drive, is the worst defender in the NBA, and bricks everything. We should've tried to get Critter back.
you're a smart man. I was watching the post game show on NBA TV and both GP and C Webb failed to mention the pathetic defense played by both teams.........the game was hella entertaing though. I still think the lakers should look to move Odom. He put up good numbers last night, but his defense was bad and for some reason it didn't seem like he impacted the game that much.
I was thinking the same for the longest, but with the way they guard the pck and roll I'm thinking Nawlins might be a tough matchup.....I would include my Rockets, but we have that girl on our team...........Still not sure that I can trust her..........
i used to cut for Farmar, but yeah he does seem to be a little inconsistent.......at least you'll still have D Fish (although he's getting up there)
I watched every game. Kobe happened to be guarding the best player, doesn't mean that he was the best player on the team. Prince is a better defender, I'm sure coach K would agree. But of course Prince didn't get minutes because Kobe is the better overall player. [video=youtube;Pj28VvPsjHk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj28VvPsjHk&feature=related[/video] It doesn't really matter WHY Rondo is doing well, all that matters is that he is doing well. If you lose to the Celtics it wouldn't make sense to say "well we only lost because Rondo plays in a good system for him". LOL. So? He plays for the Celtics right? So it doesn't really make sense to say, "well if he played for another team he wouldn't torch us". If you meet him in the Finals, he'll be playing for the Celtics right? So what is your point again?
My point? Rondo is not a very good player. He just happens to be playing on a good team. Thats my point. You make it sound as if he's the reason for the season. I highly doubt it would be Rondo doing the destroying if we were to lose against the Celtics again. It would be PP again. We have no one to guard him. Absolutely no one at this point.
