Mitch Puts Players on Notice

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">General manager Mitch Kupchak, traveling with the team, visited the Lakers' locker room after Monday's game. With the Feb. 24 trade deadline looming, interim coach Frank Hamblen said players were put on notice.

"We've got three guys that started in the league last year who are sitting on our bench in street clothes," Hamblen said, referring to Bryant, Devean George and Vlade Divac, all on the injured list.

"A lot of guys are getting an opportunity to play and show their wares in the NBA. And they are being evaluated."

The Lakers went down 14-0 to the Hawks before Monday's game was five minutes old, missing their first eight shots, then fell behind by 29 points early in the second quarter. They gave up 62 points -- a season-high for Atlanta -- in the first half.

Their defense was non-existent before halftime. Rookie Josh Childress lit up the Lakers (Jumaine Jones, in particular) for 15 points in the first half. Even 34-year-old point guard Kenny Anderson and reserve center Jason Collier were too tough to stop.

One third-quarter play saw the Lakers all but give up. Boris Diaw sneaked in from behind to poke the ball free from Chucky Atkins as the Lakers guard approached midcourt. Childress ended up with a dunk at the other end as the Lakers stood and watched.

The Lakers (24-22) could have been forgiven for feeling as if they were playing in a morgue, with Philips Arena not even a quarter full at tipoff. There were more empty seats in the building than the Lakers have played in front of the past two seasons combined.

"This is a great franchise, and we're taught to be professionals," Odom said. "A game, if that's the case, you're supposed to take care of your business. We have a much better ethic than that."

Hamblen was mystified by the Lakers' lack of energy, especially after a bitter 103-102 loss to Houston on Sunday afternoon. His team arrived in Atlanta early Sunday evening and should have been rested. They took Tuesday off to rest and regroup.

"I thought our guys would say, 'OK, we lost the first one on this trip, now here's an opportunity against a team that's struggling,' " Hamblen said. "I thought we'd really come out well, and we didn't."

For now, the Lakers are out of answers, with Bryant's return still uncertain, Phil Jackson riding a motorcycle around New Zealand at last report, and 22 of their final 36 games on the road.

If they can hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves and get into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, the Lakers likely would get a first- round matchup against the San Antonio Spurs -- the NBA's best team -- as reward. </div> Source

 

Someone should actually put Mitch on notice.

 

Yes the Lakers mantra should be TEAM DEFENSE from here on out. They've had some nice individual defensive plays, but as a team...well they haven't learned to play defense as a team yet. Case in point, how many times did the Hawks run back picks on the Lakers? There was no communication the pick was coming, and also no rotation by the help defense. Lack of communcation has also created the problem of opponents getting offensive rebounds. When ever the Lakers go into a zone, they don't communicate who they plan to box out and pick up after a shot goes up. So instead of every player being accounted for by a Laker, the Lakers often have two guys boxing out 1 player, while the free man goes in for an easy put back.

One change the Lakers have done well is to limit their three point shooting. They are attempting 15 per game instead of 30, when Rudy T was on the sidelines. So it's down by 50%, while the FT attempts have gone up as well. This is a positive sign and I hope they continue doing it. For starters, it doesn't mean the Lakers have to live and die by the long ball. Secondly, it prevents opponents from grabbing long rebounds and getting out on fastbreak opportunities against the Lakers. Finally, taking higher percentage shots, means the Lakers can set their defense, and pressure the ball more off of the inbounds.

As for Kupchak my rant on him is his lack of vision. He's been a decent GM, but when you are replacing Jerry West and coming aboard the Lakers, you need to be more than decent. You need to be amazing. Kupchak did not have control over the Shaq-Kobe-Phil fiasco. Instead of keeping the situation under wraps and manageable he, poured gasoline on the fire by taking Kobe's side and making it clear Shaq would be traded. He should have been the intermediary to fix the problem and keep both superstars and their hall of fame coach.

What made Jerry West great for the Lakers was his creativity and eye for late round talent. He was great at finding role players to compliment his stars. He surrounded Magic, Kareem, and Worthy, with hard working big men in AC Green and Mycal Thompson. The Lakers had tough players to do the dirty work and play solid defense to give the LakeShow fastbreak more opportunities to score.

Kupchak has drafted Rush, Walton, Cook, & Sasha. None of these players are physical on defense. The Lakers really miss an athletic defensive presence in the middle coming off the bench. I'm also amazed Kupchak hasn't made use of the $1.5M exception the Lakers still have.

Now this article comes out with Mitch putting players on notice. What's the point? He originally wanted everyone (the fans) to be patient with the team and players. Now he's retracting his original sentiments and is rushing this team to win. The team has to feel alienated by those comments and the timing couldn't be any worse. The Lakers just had their biggest loss of the season and now Mitch has issued a warning to all of them that 'changes' could be made.

The only change I want to see made is one involving Kupchak out of Los Angeles.