Rebounding Presence

Second game of the season, and I'm not liking our rebounding stats. Mihm, Grant, Odom...these guys are doing what they can to crash the boards, but they aren't getting the job done, especially in the game tonight.

So my question is...do you think it's about time to sign a rebounding forward?

EDIT: Not "about time"...but should we consider it later on down the road, if we are having trouble?

One name: Dennis Rodman.

There's both good and bad to this. The good is that he can still pull down boards, and he's not too old to play.

The bad is his attitude...but look at Griffin. I believe Eddie G has found his team in Minnesota, and we might have missed out, but who knows.

One thing I do know...is that Rodman will play for minimum. We don't need a scorer...we need a defender in the paint and someone to rip boards down. When I think of all the guys we could sign, Rodman comes to mind 99% of the time.

:thumbsup: or :thumbsdow ???

 

thumbs down on rodman. First of all, we'd have to cut Tierre Brown if we sign Rodman. That would thrust Vujacic into the rotation.

Secondly, this team is young and impressionable. Right now, Kobe is trying to establish himself as a leader, and adding rodman may undermine Kobe's efforts.

Third, Rodman is really old. He was a great rebounder when he was playing, but who is to say he'd still be a good one now

And finally, with Rodman on the floor, they will be doubling Kobe off of Rodman. Right now, Brian Cook and Odom are threats that at least make the defenses pay for leaving them. This is not the NBA that Rodman left behind. Guys can leave him and play zone now. When he was in San Antonio and Chicago, they'd put him in the high post and guys would be obligated to defend him due to the rules, even if Rodman posed no threat to score.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting notMuchgame:</div><div class="quote_post">thumbs down on rodman. First of all, we'd have to cut Tierre Brown if we sign Rodman. That would thrust Vujacic into the rotation.

Secondly, this team is young and impressionable. Right now, Kobe is trying to establish himself as a leader, and adding rodman may undermine Kobe's efforts.

Third, Rodman is really old. He was a great rebounder when he was playing, but who is to say he'd still be a good one now

And finally, with Rodman on the floor, they will be doubling Kobe off of Rodman. Right now, Brian Cook and Odom are threats that at least make the defenses pay for leaving them. This is not the NBA that Rodman left behind. Guys can leave him and play zone now. When he was in San Antonio and Chicago, they'd put him in the high post and guys would be obligated to defend him due to the rules, even if Rodman posed no threat to score.</div>
Well, I was talking in desperate needs...if we are having trouble like we did tonight late in December.

Plus, I wouldn't cut Tierre. I'd make a trade with George, Rush or Medvedenko (2 for 1, or draft picks) and make room for a Malone return or signing Rodman.

Either way, I'm not referring to our current situation...just if we are looking bad later on down the road. What do we have to lose?

 

Ok first off its just one game. Dont panic.

This was a bad night for the Lakers and I hope that every player has learned from it. The players that we have now are good enough.

Big thumbs down about Rodman. That man is way too old to play in this NBA. Like said before it isnt the same as he left.

 

^^ i agree. Lets not panic here. If the Lakers are under .500 come all star break. PANIC! LOL

 

Our frontcourt is razor thin, and needs depth drastically, but I don't feel Dennis Rodman is the answer. He may be the best rebounder all time, but when I think of Dennis Rodman, I think about distractions. How do we know he can come in and play a huge majority of games without himself trying to draw attention? Plus, this is a young up tempo team now. How old is Dennis Rodman exactly? Heart also plays a factor, and who knows whether or not he still has the heart and will to play in the NBA?

I say no to Rodman. Maybe if we can work a trade in the near future, and pick up a guy with some muscle, then I'll be content with that.

 

I don't like Rodman. He's a great rebounder and a solid role player, but he would bring too much negativity to the Laker right now. I would rather see the Lakers sign recently released Bo Outlaw. He's a solid rebounder.

 

Remember, I'm talking about mid-season, if we are in trouble.

Age shouldn't play that much of a factor if the team is at the point where making the playoffs is falling out of sight. Malone is just as old, yet we'd step up to the plate to get him back.

If we end up being under .500 by the time February rolls around, and if we can't make any trades for George or Rush...I say we take the chance, because it's a minimum contract and a signing out of desperation, so it doesn't have to be permanent.

I'm not predicting that it'll get that bad, but in those circumstances, we need to give it a go. It's better than signing Keon Clark or someone that's never contributed to anything in his life.

 

hmm.. it may not be a bad idea at all. if rodman was even half the player he was he would still contribute 10 rbs a game. why not take the chance?

 

The lakers should try to trade Luke,Rush,Grant For someone that is still a free agent that cant help us out and plus it will make space for karl, and brown then the player they trade for. But i think the lakers should try to get Jefferson.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting LakerSource:</div><div class="quote_post">The lakers should try to trade Luke,Rush,Grant For someone that is still a free agent that cant help us out and plus it will make space for karl, and brown then the player they trade for. But i think the lakers should try to get Jefferson.</div>
Al Jefferson? I would love that, but there's no chance.

 

I feel that Laker management should have shopped Dampier extremely hard during the offseason. Did any Laker fans think about this possibility before he was picked up? He would have solved A LOT of your paint issues, and I think he actually grabbed more boards that Shaq did last year.

 

Would Mullin of traded Dampier to L.A though? sending him to a team who they could battle with for a playoff spot would not really be that smart. Could Payton/George Slava got the trade done? I don't know, Dallas seemed to have just what Golden State wanted. I do agree though, L.A would of been a real threat with Dampier on the current Lakers roster. He takes up so much space in the paint and really changes guys shots. Lakers right now just don't look like being anything but average because of their lack of frontcourt quailty.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I feel that Laker management should have shopped Dampier extremely hard during the offseason. Did any Laker fans think about this possibility before he was picked up? He would have solved A LOT of your paint issues, and I think he actually grabbed more boards that Shaq did last year.</div>

Dampier would have been great to have in a Laker uniform, but I don't think the Lakers would have gave him the kind of contract Dallas did.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting bdubb:</div><div class="quote_post">Dampier would have been great to have in a Laker uniform, but I don't think the Lakers would have gave him the kind of contract Dallas did.</div>
No way, not unless they could give up Grant's contract. If the Lakers would've shipped off the low-paid talent that we have, we'd have Kobe, Grant, Odom, and Dampier all with huge paychecks, when only Kobe and Odom deserve what they make.

If we are into getting another expensive player, I'd rather make the run for Jason Kidd.

 

Why are you guys worrying, you played the Jazz, I'm not going to lie, right now, the Jazz are a better team than the Lakers, yes it was a domination, and yea Lakers had a bad gaeme, but they just need to get everything together.

Odom wasn't used as he should've been, they weren't taking advanatage of his passing abilities, their was too much isolation, people weren't making shots, but San Antonio is next, so it won't get better just yet.

Also Eddie Griffin isn't that good a rebounder, Odom, Grant and Mihm are all better rebounders than him. Griffin would be grabbing about the same amount of rebounds as Mihm currently is if he played about 5 more minutes.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Why are you guys worrying, you played the Jazz, I'm not going to lie, right now, the Jazz are a better team than the Lakers, yes it was a domination, and yea Lakers had a bad gaeme, but they just need to get everything together.</div>

I agree that the Jazz are a good team, but you could see the Lakers had problems rebounding the ball in the preseason and against the Nuggets.

 

I agree with og15, you guys seem like you are panicing over one game. It's only the 2nd game of the regular season, the Lakers haven't even fully gelled yet. Like someone said, you can start panicing if they are still doing bad come the All-Star break.
It is one game.
The Jazz were opening the season on thier home court and were anxious to play. The Lakers were fatigued from the back-to-back. Not to take anything from the Jazz though because they are and were the better team yesterday.

I agree, rebounding is a big problem for this Laker squad. I don't think the Lakers management will do any moves or signing in the rebounding aspect because they are majorly depending on the Karl Malone factor. Chris Mihm will get eaten alive by most of the centers from the elite teams in the West and the East as most are stronger then him.
Lamar Odom is a good rebounder but it will be tougher for him to get rebounds over bigger players constantly.
He has a skinny, athletic frame that could rip down (offensive) boards
in the East but in the West, which is more stronger in terms of rebounding, he's going to have to crash the boards more frequently and stronger to accomplish the task.

Anyways, I'm disappointed with Odom's play so far, I expected him to contribute effectively as soon as the season started but he is having difficulty. I think he hasn't fully grasped Rudy's style yet and isn't fully comfortable playing yet. But in due time, the adjustments will be made. Odom, IIMO, won't break out like he did in Miami until the all-star game or so. Hopefully, I'm wrong and he does so sooner because the Lakers need him. Desperately. If we have another "all Kobe, no Lakers" show like yesterday, expect the Lakers to lose much more. Odom (supposedly the Pippen) needs to pick it up.

 

Thats true but i also wanted to not some stuff that went on during the game i mean cmon did you see all the offensive fouls they were calling on us i swear i saw at least 10 offensive fouls call against us i mean they werent even fouls we were touching the player the ref was calling a foul how do you want our big men to position themselves for points or to rebound? I mean cmon the refs have to be lenient if you call it on one side call it on the other.