When I look at the new look lakers i'm encouraged. I enjoyed seeing at least three yellow jerseys running down court on the fastbreak. I've gotten so used to seeing a one man fastbreak in Kobe Bryant. And it's nice to see multiple players hitting 18 to15 points in the same game. I also remember people talking about how old the lakers looked last year and they just have no depth at all. Well I got news for you, they are not looking so old anymore. And don't blink but I think the Lakers have a lot more depth then they did last year not to mention multiple *scoring options* something they've been missing ever since glen rice left. We have huge versitility in <u>Lamar Odom</u> who is an outstanding player and a blue collar worker, which is the foundation for any basketball club. He offers scoring(he can't make it from anywhere on the court) rebounding, court vision, and what I like most of all competitive attitude(not unlike kobe's) and a strong desire to win. Then comes <u>caron butler </u> an up and coming player who has some nice moves and knows how to put points on the board Now one player i'm still unsure about is <u>Chucky atkins </u> he had his good and bad moments but the thing I liked was that he was constantly pushing the tempo and seemed liked he has a decent outside shot. <u>Tierre Brown </u> and <u>bobbit</u> ook like nice adittions still not exactly sure about which one we are gonna be taking nice if we could have them both. But especially Tierre Brown looks really solid. But we are gonna need to focus on defense now that we are getting multiple scoring options and bobbit seems to have a lead in that category both are really solid players. Then there are the the lakers that are left over from last year's dismantling. We have <u>luke walton </u> who looks to be a solid player and give us some quality minutes. Not to mention in the playoffs it seemed like he had really improved his outside shooting. Then comes my boy <u>Kareem rush </u> who I really hopes has a breakout year, we all know he can shoot the ball, but he needs to find some consistent numbers I mean we never know if we are going to get five points or 18. Now i don't know who saw the clippers game but brian cook was dropping it from all across the court with a nice quick release. And it always helps when you have a big man that can hit jumpers not to mention threes. To top it all off one person i'm very interested to see play is Valade Divac. He might not have huge numbers but his leadership and passing ability will be huge factors and I think could really help the lakers out this year. Finally, I have to cover the main man <u>Kobe</u>. A lot of controversy has come up lately about rather or not Kobe can lead a team, not to mention the man just came out of proably the hardest days of his life. Now no matter what is said things are what they are and the Lakers will depend heavily on him this year. He is going to have to elavate his game to level it hasn't reached before. And i'm not talking about numbers. We all know he can't get those but i'm talking about consistency. Not just dropping 30 every night but doing it efficently going for about 48 to 52% on a regular basis. Learning that he can count on his teammates to make shots. He has a lot more to work with in terms of passing the ball if you ask me and I think he needs to realize that. And also realize now he has another playmaker on his team who can create oppurtunities for him. And lastly he must maintain that competitive fire that he is known for especially on the defensive end. No matter who you ask you always hear people talk about how competitive Kobe is well the lakers will be talked about and looked upon with much doubt for accomplishing anything this year. He need s to make sure he looks past that and stays foucused. If he can maintain that competitive fire his teammates will see it and they too will have that same hunger. All in all I can't wait till the season gets underway. I'm gonna look into getting NBA TV so I won't miss a game this year. Oh and December is looking to be especially good....
I don't want it to seem like I am only here to hate, but I would just like to point out the Caron Butler choked majorly in the playoffs. I have heard people mention him as a significant part of the Shaq trade......please. The boy is an alright baller, but hasn't proven anything. Guys with "great potential" are a dime a dozen. Even if he is lucky enough to have a healthy career, it doesn't guarantee that he will ever average more than a medicore 12 ppg. I don't believe that he will have a very big impact this year, that's all.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jurassic:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't want it to seem like I am only here to hate, but I would just like to point out the Caron Butler choked majorly in the playoffs. I have heard people mention him as a significant part of the Shaq trade......please. The boy is an alright baller, but hasn't proven anything. Guys with "great potential" are a dime a dozen. Even if he is lucky enough to have a healthy career, it doesn't guarantee that he will ever average more than a medicore 12 ppg. I don't believe that he will have a very big impact this year, that's all.</div> Caron Butler averaged 12 PPG and nearly 9 boards in the playoffs last year...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting realdealbneal:</div><div class="quote_post">Caron Butler averaged 12 PPG and nearly 9 boards in the playoffs last year...</div> He sure did play horribly in those games against the Pacers though. I remember open layups being missed. A lot of people think that Wade handled the ball because he was hot. It was also because some other players on that team weren't doing their job in that series. Caron and Alston being two main ones.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jurassic:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't want it to seem like I am only here to hate, but I would just like to point out the Caron Butler choked majorly in the playoffs. I have heard people mention him as a significant part of the Shaq trade......please. The boy is an alright baller, but hasn't proven anything. Guys with "great potential" are a dime a dozen. Even if he is lucky enough to have a healthy career, it doesn't guarantee that he will ever average more than a medicore 12 ppg. I don't believe that he will have a very big impact this year, that's all.</div> Well while 12-15ppg might seem like medicore to you, in my book that is huge considering we only had about two people averaging consistent numbers last year. Now we have multiple people who we can expect to hit in the 12 to 15 point range. But goodness we haven't gotten a quality young forward in years. We need to start recruiting some big men or some good blue collar workers to mix it up in the paint. Gosh I wish Dennis rodman had a son. lol! We could really use a dependable rebounder and defender we have plenty of scoring now I think.
As a Kings fan,i gotta admit this new Laker team looks pretty damn good.i expect the Lakers to be competition for everyone in the NBA West.i see this Laker team as a more speeider,efficent Laker team than in the past seasons.
Yeah, I agree what Sac King said. And now I really love how there are now mure players that are willing to shoot. And more faster players.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting KB8_Remix:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, I agree what Sac King said. And now I really love how there are now mure players that are willing to shoot. And more faster players.</div> Which means better games.peroid
I love it. Kobe, Odom, and Butler all look good so far. Chris Mihm looks a lot better than expected, I think we will shock people this year, we arent title contenders anymore, but we are good enough to spoil some teams hopes for the title I think.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MR_SAC_KING:</div><div class="quote_post">As a Kings fan,i gotta admit this new Laker team looks pretty damn good.i expect the Lakers to be competition for everyone in the NBA West.i see this Laker team as a more speeider,efficent Laker team than in the past seasons.</div>Great to hear some postive feedback from outside the Laker fan circle. Best of luck with your season as well.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting trenchteam:</div><div class="quote_post">Great to hear some postive feedback from outside the Laker fan circle. Best of luck with your season as well.</div> Thanks.i actually want both teams to do well this year.after all i believe the Pacific conference will be fought between the Lakers and Kings this year.so i want both teams to be on their best game when facing each other that's more than a fan can ask for,great Basketballl playing,right?
This Lakers team looks good on paper, but then again so did the team last year. This team is not as good as the team they had last year, Shaq, Payton, and Malone (I doubt he will be in a Laker uniform IF he comes back) will be missed morst definantly. I see that as a decent team, but not a top seed in the playoffs, I am thinking about 5th seed actually. HomeCourt Advantage would be a surprise.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheMegaGreg:</div><div class="quote_post">This Lakers team looks good on paper, but then again so did the team last year. This team is not as good as the team they had last year, Shaq, Payton, and Malone (I doubt he will be in a Laker uniform IF he comes back) will be missed morst definantly. I see that as a decent team, but not a top seed in the playoffs, I am thinking about 5th seed actually. HomeCourt Advantage would be a surprise.</div> What? This Laker team looks terrible on paper. Mihm, who Boston threw out the window, and Vlade, who's "old and worn" from his years with the Kings ...it doesn't sound good there... Brian Grant (bad knees), Caron Butler (2nd year disappointment), Lamar Odom (LA Odom), and a point guard that isn't even starting material in Atkins...all of that on paper makes us look like the Bobcats. But then factor in Kobe and team chemistry, and other role players from last year's team...and improvements from most all of the players we received...and we are looking great.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting realdealbneal:</div><div class="quote_post">What? This Laker team looks terrible on paper. Mihm, who Boston threw out the window, and Vlade, who's "old and worn" from his years with the Kings ...it doesn't sound good there... Brian Grant (bad knees), Caron Butler (2nd year disappointment), Lamar Odom (LA Odom), and a point guard that isn't even starting material in Atkins...all of that on paper makes us look like the Bobcats. But then factor in Kobe and team chemistry, and other role players from last year's team...and improvements from most all of the players we received...and we are looking great. </div> I agree pretty much, but I dont like you calling Butler a 2nd year dissapointment...he was injury plagued all last year and played decent in the playoffs..I expect him to be good for us, and I dont think he should be labeled as a disappointment last year...just my 2 cents.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kobe 8 Ball:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree pretty much, but I dont like you calling Butler a 2nd year dissapointment...he was injury plagued all last year and played decent in the playoffs..I expect him to be good for us, and I dont think he should be labeled as a disappointment last year...just my 2 cents.</div> No no That's just what everyone sees when they look at our team on paper. Butler put up 12 PPG and nearly 9 boards in the playoffs last year...really good if you ask me.
Oh...thanks for clearing that up for me, and I agree..I will take that from him any night...12 and 9..that are great role player statistics we need.
Caron scored like 18 pts in one quarter against the Sonics... where it's only preseason but it speaks just how willing AND capable he is to produce when his number is called. Honestly, I've liked how the Lakers have played in the preseason games so far. They seem to be very balanced offensively with Kobe leading the way. I think he is going to surprise a lot of people and critics in terms of how well he involves these other Lakers and make them generally better. I think the Lakers are going to be just fine in the season.
