they were still better defensively..fox for as much as I hated him was a pretty good defender, fisher was younger, Horry could provide defense at times, and Shaq's presence alone down low was affective....you can't really compare these two teams especially considering the lopsided mismatch upfront....that team mainly had trouble guarding the pick and roll...this laker team has trouble guarding the pick and roll, post up players, and at times they don't even feel the need to close out on 3 point shooters.
I was surprised Kobe Bryant wasn't more assertive offensively when he got in there. Actually, the entire second half he played like the game was over. It's almost like he wanted the Lakers to lose the game to fuel his intensity in game 5.
Defense is about effort. You're not gonna play good D if you don't give good effort, and Lakers don't give out good effort consistently unless they play elite teams they believe can challenge them. How horrible was our defense this year against teams like Boston and Cleveland?
Remember game 4 against Utah and game 2 against you guys? Kobe is going to come out in that same mindset in game 5.
dude if you're going to base how great a defensive team you are based on 4 games in the season then I don't know what to tell you. What was the excuse against Boston last year???....were they not "great" enough?
in some ways I hope he does. The lakers are most dangerous when there offense it totally clicking. What's Odom's status?
The Lakers this year and last year are different teams. It's not only 4 games of the season either. You're acting like the Lakers are completely incapable of playing defense, but that's false. They do D up when they play with effort, and they only play their hardest when they're matched up with elite teams. I've seen plenty of moments throughout this season, where the Lakers got a key defensive stop when they needed one. But it wasn't consistent throughout the game, because they don't always play with 100% effort. It's there if they want it, but they don't always show up because they believe talent alone will guarantee them a victory. And that, like I've already stated, is a cause for concern.
No word on Odom yet. TBH, I hope he sits. I still firmly believe that Bynum just needs a jump start and come confidence. Phil needs to set him up with a few possessions from the get go. When he is dominant, he gets the ball from the start of the game. He can't be any worse than Odom has been this series.
how?....this is the same exact team from last year, with the exception of shannon brown (who has game). Bynum looks like he might be hurting more than helping.
maybe...I think dude has just got to play through the injury. I think he's worried about hurting it again.
Seriously. Saw Tmac and was like .. ugh, saw Yao and was like ... I know how you feel man, and u can just tell by watching the two in their suits on the bench... Yao getting excited when Brooks finished the alley pass from Artest to close out the 3rd quarter. TMac fixes his hair.
How? Trevor Ariza is a huge upgrade over whoever we had last year. The addition of Shannon Brown is also huge because it finally gives us a point guard who can play defense. Essentially you replace Vladimir Radmanovic/Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar/Derek Fisher with guys who can actually D up. Not to mention this team last year was relatively inexperienced in the postseason. Besides Kobe and Lamar nobody had much experience outside the first round, and if they did, they were mostly rarely used (Luke). Experience is obviously important, as shown by the Blazers this year in the playoffs. The team also had an actual training camp to work together, where they supposedly put more emphasis on D.
Agreed. It is mental, he is afraid of getting down low again. He started the year this way until he overcame it. He just needs the confidence to do it again.
If the Rockets win game 5, I expect them to close this series out in 6. The Rockets have more heart than any other team in the league.
Certainly, Trevor is much better than those guys. And Farmar has cost this team 3-4 wins by himself this year, anyone who followed this year would know that. He's not the same player but we gutted out a game 3 from him due to fortunate circumstances and the matchups.
