I guess Josh Powell having a breakout game against San Antonio wasn't enough to earn him any minutes tonight. What's up with that?
Wow, didn't even realize he didn't play tonight. Was he injured or something? Unless that's the case, there doesn't seem to be a reason to not play him, especially since Farmar and Walton are still out.
Lamar stepped up tonight, I'll give him props. But with his expiring contract, if this organization is really intent on winning this year, and in the future, they'll use it to get somebody like Hinrich or someone else to upgrade the point guard position. I love Josh. He was great for the Clippers when he was given the minutes, and whenever he steps onto the floor for us, I see nothing but positives. I think we'll make out just fine with Powell as a backup PF, and Mihm possibly seeing more playing time (if we keep him). Point guard is our weakest spot, it is absolutely terrible. We NEED an upgrade if we seriously want to win this thing. Otherwise things are going to be very difficult if we have to rely on Fish and Farmar.
I think you bring up a great point Lost, Lamar is most likely gone after this year and it seems as if we have a glaring need for PG depth/stability. Josh has looked great for us when he's in, I suppose the Front Office is still in love with what they saw from LO last season when Bynum went down.
Hinrich is a starter in this league. Is Dooling? I haven't seen him enough to comment. What are his strengths/weaknesses? Although pretty much anyone is an upgrade at this point.
You don't remember him from Miami's championship run? Tough perimeter defender, shoots 3's well (43.5% this year), and has the foot speed to stay in front of guards.
I agree with Brian. Powell will cover the loss of Lamar very nicely. Sign and trade Lamar to get a great point guard, and make Fisher a backup.
Another weird decision by Phil. Powell has been pretty damn good this year when given the opportunity, but Phil doesn't give him any burn. I don't get that. I think he could have really helped us out there tonight. Brian, I think you can give up on the idea of trading for Hinrich or someone. No way in hell is this organization going to run Fisher out of the starting lineup. Phil has a man crush on him and would never subject him to the bench. If we did subject him to the bench, then Farmar is in the lost zone. You all know I'm not a big Farmar fan, but I'd rather have him than Fisher. I think our biggest problem is Fisher right now. His defensive liabilities are carrying over to Bynum and the rest of our big men. When Farmar is healthy, would it be so wrong to hope that Fisher snaps an ankle?
Lamar's play was a double edged sword tonight. He made some huge plays tonight for us, but he missed three key FTs in the fourth quarter that could have really helped us. I'm personally all for bringing in Hinrich. He's a tough player, good shooter and a HUGE upgrade defensively over both Farmar and Fisher. Plus, if we bring him here, we don't have to rush Farmar back and we can use him to spot both Fisher and Kobe.
I'd love Hinrich to play the point for us... although how will Kirk, Fish and Jordan split minutes at the point? Odom for Hinrich + Nocioni? or Farmar, Walton, Mihm for Hinrich?
Maybe they want to get Odom going? Get him into better rhythm with 30 minutes a night? Not that I exactly approve.
Well, as long as Odom plays well, which he did for the most part tonight, I'm ok with him getting more minutes, even if it means Powell racks up some DNPs.
I think we're on the same page, because I was just about to post this. Though, really, I'm not sure if I'm too fond of trading him right now. He's played well these last couple games and if he keeps it up, he's a very, very valuable asset to the team because of his versatility. Though the only issue (or huge positive, whichever you wanna spin it) is obviously his expiring contract, and I can't imagine the Lakers are going to bring him back, unless he takes a rather healthy pay cut.
