We finally lost three games in a row, a feat that had not been accomplished since acquiring Gasol. That being said, it is just the regular season. I see a lot of issues with our group, and hopefully we can get everything straightened out before the postseason starts, which is like, what, 20 games away? First and foremost, this team is playing nowhere near its potential, and we have the second best record in the league. That alone should account for something. The problem is, can we get it together when it counts? The biggest issue with this team is chemistry. Everyone knew that in the offseason, when Ron was brought in, there was going to be an adjustment period. Couple that along with Big Drew finally staying healthy and playing big minutes in the starting lineup, a lot of adjustments had to be made. I didn't watch the entire game today against the Magic, but when I was watching, one thing stood out to me. And it has been occurring all year. We HAVE to get back to running the offense. I see too many isos and one and one play, which includes Kobe. I much rather see Kobe run the offense and get his shots within the offense rather than pulling up with a hand in the face 3 seconds into the shot clock. Yes, I know we got back into the game because of Kobe, but one of the reasons why we found ourselves down so much was because we were not running the offense. Guys were playing too much one on one basketball, from Kobe, to Lamar, to Shannon Brown. It's funny because when Ron was brought in, people said he would kill us offensively because he'll force up shots. Ron hasn't been the big problem, as far as I'm concern, he has no problem passing the ball and playing within the offense. But it's the rest of the guys that have to step up. Shannon is starting to develop that nasty chucking habit, he'll shoot with a hand in his face. Unless you are on fire, let's just run this offense. You are not Kobe Bryant, run the offense and don't waste possessions. When I see the Magic, on the other hand, they put the ball down low, they have guys cutting and moving, and they create open opportunities for their shooters. We have to start doing that more often. The biggest issue for us so far, has got to be chemistry and offense. Luckily for us, that can be fixed, we just have to work together. Maybe Phil can switch up the lineups, bring Drew off the bench, something. But we'll have to play with more cohesion when postseason starts because this team does not look in sync at this current moment. Defensively, we are very solid statistically. But one thing that continues to irk me is that we continue to leave guys wide open to double some random big, or whoever. This killed us in the Miami game because we gave up so many open looks down the stretch (Haslem killed us). I am no basketball genius, or coaching god like Phil, but this has been happening forever. Point guard wise, Derek was actually pretty solid today defensively, but maybe that's just because I'm comparing him to Farmar. The trade deadline has passed, so I don't know how much we can improve in that department, but priority #1 in the offseason is to find a point guard who can D up. Farmar's defense is an absolute joke. As of now, we just have to weather the storm, because point guards are going to be killing us left and right in the postseason, and there's not much we can do about it. - Pau needs to step up. He's been playing soft all year. We need him to play the way he did last year, a man on a mission. - Pau and Drew haven't lit the world on fire. I'm definitely warming up to the idea of having LO start and bringing Drew off the bench. A Pau-LO frontcourt just works better, they have great chemistry together. Bringing Drew off the bench allows him to get more touches and he can dominate other team's second unit. - Kobe needs to get his groove back. Adjust himself back into the team, and others need to adjust to him as well. - Shannon has to start playing smarter. He's been jacking up a lot of shots lately, which is a nasty habit. He does not have the talent or skill to be going one on one offensively. We already have Farmar to do shit like that, Shannon needs to play under control. I dunno, long post. I just wanted to get my thoughts out. This has been a very boring regular season, and frustrating as well. I think it's clear to anyone who watches this team play that we do not have the same chemistry as we did the past couple of seasons. The positive is that we currently have the second best record in the league, and we haven't even tapped our potential. Negative? Not much time left to get it all together. I understand this team may just be bored, but you're kidding yourself if you don't agree we have issues chemistry wise. If we get it all together and start playing more cohesively as a unit, I can only imagine how good this team can be. In the meantime, I'm still waiting for postseason
What concerns me right now is Gasol and Bynum don't work well on the court together. You're right Kobe is running a lot of isos, but the problem is no one is moving off the ball when Kobe has it in his hands. The bigs aren't setting meaningful picks and no one is slashing hard to the rim for Kobe to create for.
The problems we had before are still the ones we have at the moment... and i was burned for pointing them out "earlier" in the season LOL
So I guess having the 2nd best record in the league, even with injuries and numerous chemistry issues, means we suck. Nice logic.
TROUBLE IN LA http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ba...t=AhY1GQBm7M_qPR7TbOmyBqi8vLYF?urn=nba,226619 Its says that the lakers are good enought to win a championship even at this stage... the problem is... will they... Remeber, this is a championship or bust season... So yeah, i stand by what i said... atm they suck bec. there is no way that they could win the title atm.
^says who? what about? its obvious. WITH THE WAY THEY ARE PLAYING... they will/can loose to teams like cleveland, orlando, dallas deep in the playoffs... take note WITH THE WAY THEY ARE PLAYING RIGHT NOW
Dude, you're an idiot. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost 3 games in a row TWICE this season and you're going fucking apeshit because the Lakers lost 3 games consecutively which took them TWO years to do after acquiring Gasol? Wake up, we lost to the Magic (2nd in the east), at Orlando (tough arena), by 2 points. Be proud of the fact that we played hard in the 4th quarter and made a strong comeback to ALMOST taking the game. Kobe even said in an interview that the loss was good for us. Calm the fuck down.
i don't care about the 3 lost games... who said im bitching about the losing streak? thats the reason i posted the article, read it PLEASE... all i care about is how our team is playing, both in wins and losses... kobe shouldn't have to knock down game winning shots (although all of them are amazing) bec. we should be blowing everyone out or at least dominating them!
So you're telling me that if the Lakers haven't of loss 3 games in a row you wouldn't of posted about how poorly they're playing? Pfft.. Clearly you care a lot about the losses. You do realize those 3 games were all road games right? Against some very tough teams I might add, besides Miami.
Dude... see post # 4 (my initial post in this thread)... that's where i said that ive been saying the same shit even before when we were winning... All everyone kept on saying back then was "calm down, at least we won, blah blah" And now everyone thinks i've started ranting just coz of the losing streak? Kobe just hit a gamewinner, and i still think the Lakers suck. The road SHOULD mean next to nothing to teams as good as the Lakers, Cavs, etc. Yes the road IS tougher, but with the personnel the Lakers have, it shouldn't mean a thing... Bottom line, if the lakers play the way they should... it doesn't matter where they play, no team can beat them... just like last year...
