Lakers are in trouble?
by E5 on May 10, 2009 4:38 PM PDT
48 comments
The Lakers have not played well in the playoffs given their regular season record and Kobe is looking slow and no very interested. Andrew Bynum is clearly not 100% and Odom is just doing what he always does when the light is shining. (I.E fading away) The Lakers bench has been less then helpful and even though Pau Gasol is playing fairly well he is also failing to rebound and play good defense. I would say this team is in major trouble against the Nuggets if they get even that far.
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I was wondering when the panic posts would begin.
Its the same thing we’ve heard
“The Lakers dont play like they want to win a championship”
“They have no killer instinct”
“Kobe is too slow, he’s lost a step”
“Kobe can’t carry this team, he’s not being a leader”
“We play down to the level of our competition”
“We will never win a championship”
One game isn’t the end all be all, unless its Game 7 of a series. Worrying too much over one loss or rejoicing too much over one win is dumb. If you spend too much time worrying about what might happen you really miss all the good things taking place. Just watch the games and enjoy the ride..
Thats why you play the games
i am
By any means not a Laker fan, in fact i am a Kings fan, but damn dude, ya’ll should have KILLED the Rockets! I mean No T-Mac, no Yao I mean the Lakers are better at every position (well SF is to close to call) but still, IDK the Lakers looked really SOFT in this game. I know it’s just 1 game, but damn, and well all know Kobe likes to give up (C’s last year, Suns 06 <—up 3-1 and still lose?) I hope Kobe doesn’t give up though it would be a real shame if the Lakers got bumped by a less talented team….
by shadowchicken on May 11, 2009 1:02 AM PDT up reply actions
Everybody looks soft next to the Rockets.
SF is too close to call? You are talking Ron Artest v. either Ariza or Walton being nearly a wash!? And you’re a Kings fan? I would strongly disagree. In fact the Rockets have many advantages.
PG and SF and PF are all in Houston’s hands. But the difference is not big. On the other hand, SG and center (Pau) are hugely in LA’s favor.
LA has more options off of the bench as well.
What do you think of the likely Denver matchup following this?
And who are your favorite Kings right now?
well
1) lakers arn’t just soft against the rockets i’m going to throw that out there right now
2) the SF is Shain and Trever! that’s way to close to call!
3) I’m not sure if the Lakers can get to the Finals anymore
4) fav. Kings, K$ JT, and (hopefully) Ricky RUBIO!!!
5) I think Spencer Hawes is better than Bynum (just throwing it out there) ( i think Hawes is smarter and has more to his game than just dunking, though for a Center Dunking is a lot so)
by shadowchicken on May 12, 2009 1:28 AM PDT up reply actions
Whenever Houston is playing LA
and Battier is guarding Kobe and vice versa, then Battier is the SG. In this series Artest is the SF. Either way, I’m sure you could ask anyone in the league minus a few biased Lakers fans and they would tell you they that Battier is the superior player to Ariza hands down.
"I am from one of the top 15 cities in the world. Buffalo, New York." - TrentEdwardsHoF2018
Yeah,
Like he says above, the SF is Artest. Rockets run two oversized SG types that switch off on SF duties, so I see the reason for your confusion. Still, I don’t think anyone in their right mind picks Battier/Artest under Trevor “The Turnover” Ariza. That is like me saying Channing Frye shows more promise than Spencer Hawes. Sorry man.
Rubio – if anyone can get him… you have a better chance than my Blazers, that is for sure.
I agree
that the Lakers should have come to play, but they are definitely not better at every position. Aaron Brooks is definitely making a case for being the best PG in the series and Artest is far superior to Ariza and Walton combined.
"I am from one of the top 15 cities in the world. Buffalo, New York." - TrentEdwardsHoF2018
Why does everyone forget
(To quote Phil) The Rockets are a damn good team, give them some (bleeping) credit.
phil also said
That kobe is a selfish player and that Kobe would rather lose playing his way, than win playing anyone elses…..so IDK
by shadowchicken on May 12, 2009 1:29 AM PDT up reply actions
How long ago did he say that?
Opinions and thoughts CAN change.
What remains to be seen is if these are who the Lakers really are
or if they have been coasting since the ASG and will pick it up again when things actually get rough. We will almost certainly see now, because things did just get rough.
And the sky isn’t falling. The Houston or Blazer matchup was supposed to be the hardest for you in the playoffs except for maybe the championship.
Yeah, Denver is doing well. But they are playing the Mavs (who no one thought would make the playoffs this year) and they beat the heavily injured Hornets. Woopee!
And Cleveland? They are playing teams that aren’t even as good as the Jazz. That makes it pretty easy to look unstoppable, doesn’t it?
Personally, I think any fans who think a Championship is their destiny in any given year are simply arrogant. It only looks easy after the fact. This is the playoffs. The Lakers are still favored to win the championship. But they’d need to earn it even if a young Magic Johnson stepped through a time machine to replace Fisher tomorrow.
Honestly, this is all playing out how many neutral observers predicted. They also predicted the Lakers would win in the end.
If you check further, he is doing this as a reaction to a post a Laker fan made over a fearthesword.
It is entitled: “Cav’s in trouble?”
More correctly
A lakers apologist. Take a long hard look at your team and see that they are on the ropes. The Cavs may not win the title but they stand a much better chance at winning it all seeing as how they should win the East and the Lakers at this point would be very fortunate to win the West. You teams flaws are being exposed every game and Kobe can’t or will simply not cover up for them any more. Besides it is bad for your team that Kobe takes over because Odom and Gasol pout like little children when the don’t get the ball. The Cavs play as a team and if Lebron needs to take over they welcome it and don’t play childish games. The Lakers bench isn’t playoff tested and none of your bench players could start on any other team.
Baseball is God's sport! All Truth Goes Through Three Stages 1.It is ridiculed 2.It is violently opposed 3.Finally, it is accepted as self-evident. kinesiologist
by E5 on May 10, 2009 5:04 PM PDT up reply actions
Odom would start on many teams. Oh wait.. Bynum would start on many teams.
1. The Cavs look good right now because they are playing teams that wouldn’t even have been in the playoff race had they been in the West. The Hawks are a joke out here. They have some good players, but the East has needed super teams to compete (like the 2008 Celtics or Shaq’s Heat) since MJ’s days.
2. The Cavs have struggled mightily against the other ‘elite’ teams. They have struggled incredibly against the Lakers. Cavs v. Lakers means the Lakers are clearly favored.
3. The Cavs will be lucky to get past Orlando. This is another team they struggled with.
Basicly the Lakers are thought to be in a tougher conference, but have a better team, than the Cavs. As for flaws being exposed, no team in the East currently has the skill to take advantage of the flaws that the Lakers do have.
Personally, I don’t like the Lakers. But I believe they are playing their most difficult series right now. They have the size to kill the Nuggets and the talent to rip the Cavs. The only thing they lack is an offense that can simply dominate the best defense in the league.
Lastly, if you are going to make a copy post of someone else, please try to bring it up to half the quality they did.
Only thing lacking is Heart
and the will to win. Oh I also forget Kobe is a selfish ball hog who only cares about Kobe. An overrated over the hill coach and a soft as jelly center and a back up who can’t stay out of foul trouble. Funny how people say the west is always the best conference but the East always wins the title. You can say the Hawks are awful but the beat a pretty good Miami Heat team with D. Wade, J. O’Neil and Michal Beasley. This hawks team is also basically the same team that took the Celtics to game 7 last year. How many games did your series last? Ask the 2007 Cavs about regular season records. The 07 Cavs destroyed the Spurs in the regular season then were throughly dispatched in the finals. Just face facts the Lakers were over rated complied a good regular season record but have major playoff flaws.
Baseball is God's sport! All Truth Goes Through Three Stages 1.It is ridiculed 2.It is violently opposed 3.Finally, it is accepted as self-evident. kinesiologist
by E5 on May 10, 2009 5:46 PM PDT up reply actions
see Shaq
Baseball is God's sport! All Truth Goes Through Three Stages 1.It is ridiculed 2.It is violently opposed 3.Finally, it is accepted as self-evident. kinesiologist
by E5 on May 10, 2009 5:50 PM PDT up reply actions
I see Shaq
and I see how after he left his teams he burned the bridges he crossed. After Miami wasn’t going to make the playoffs, he made it clear that he didn’t want to play with scrubs on the Heat and then was traded to the Suns.
This was a man that did not think to get surgery on his injuries in the offseason and decided to get it during the regular season and jeopardize the team’s chances of contending for the title.
Shaq was also the dominant player and was hugely responsible for the glory he brought to the Lakers, but if you are going to bring up history you should bring up everything instead of just bits and pieces to make your argument stronger.
June 14, 2000: Game 4 vs. Indiana (NBA Finals). The “I Got You” Game.
Shaq fouled out early in overtime. When he went to the bench, KB said to him, “I got you.” The eight points he scored in that overtime changed the series. Those 5 minutes were the reason the Lakers two games later won their first chip since 1988 and the ultimate reason they were able to three-peat.
You consider the Heat to be a good team?
No wonder you are delusional. I’m assuming you list O’Neil and Beasley to show why they lost.
For the record, there are only three good teams in the East. They are the Cavs, the Magic, and the Celtics. Oops. Only two now. No other team would be likely to beat the Jazz in seven. East always wins the title? The Spurs have been winning 50% of them alone for the past decade. Before that the Lakers won three in a row. Hmmm… so the Celtics and the Heat managed to mortgage their future like someone living in Riverside, CA and won 1 title each. Impressive! If that is the east’s only way of winning titles, than no wonder they are chronicly bad.
So while you pat yourself on the back for winning in the E-league, the Lakers have been playing basketball against professional squads. Next round against the Magic you can start to make comparisons via Lakers against the Nuggets.
So you’re argument is that the Spurs beat the Cavs in 2007 finals, so everyone needs to take that fact to the obvious conclusion that the Lakers suck? Wait! Doesn’t it mean that the Cavs have the EXACT SAME FLAWS??? You think you would’ve realized that your example includes the Cavs and states that they ARE the ninnys that couldn’t handle the final round, while at the same time, with dubious chances of success, trying to convince anyone that the Lakers are similar to the mediocrity of Cleveland in the final round.
Lastly, you are cheering for the Cavs while pointing out that another team has a selfish ball-hog? Don’t make Jesus call you a viper.
You need to up the quality of your arguments.
Really? You fell back on Kobe is a selfish ball hog? You managed to go after last year’s MVP and this year’s runner up, one of the best coaches in the history of basketball, and an all-star (and in some expert’s opinion, first team power forward) all in the same sentence without a single thing to back up any of these statements? Your game needs to improve.
Hawks
are a joke then why did your team lose to them? Why did you lose to Detroit and Orlando? Those are clearly inferior teams that your team should blow out and since they were/are in the playoffs that was a quality team.
Orlando might not win their series it is 2-2 so its a little early to call that one.
Baseball is God's sport! All Truth Goes Through Three Stages 1.It is ridiculed 2.It is violently opposed 3.Finally, it is accepted as self-evident. kinesiologist
by E5 on May 10, 2009 8:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Really?
Jan 4 at Washington L 77-80
Jan 29 at Orlando L 88-99
Mar 17 vs Orlando W 97-93
Apr 2 at Washington L 101-109
Apr 3 at Orlando L 87-116
I’m pretty sure the Washington Wizards are a clearly inferior team so why didn’t you guys blow them out?
Orlando is not an inferior team as evidenced by their blowouts against you, their regular season record, their competitive game at the Q.
Like the FryingDutchman said, your game needs to improve.
How many playoff loses do you have?
Thats right 3. One lose against a totally depleted team that wouldn’t even make the playoffs with its current roster. Say what you will but when you have a team playing like your team has then you are in trouble. Lets review lack of focus, no defense, lack of team chemistry and a scorer who is off his game then you are in trouble. The most point the Cavs have given up is 85 and the least your defenseless team has given up is 86. The Cavs are blowing teams away. Your team has survived many games and lost 3 already so tell me again which team is in trouble.
Baseball is God's sport! All Truth Goes Through Three Stages 1.It is ridiculed 2.It is violently opposed 3.Finally, it is accepted as self-evident. kinesiologist
Here is what I see the whole point of you coming to SS&R.
The Cavs have won all their games so far in the playoffs.
The Lakers haven’t.
You want to brag about it.
You haven’t addressed any of the rebuttals you have recieved (and you were lucky to receive them because of little thought put into your own arguments).
1) Cavs playing much weaker teams than the Lakers are in their respective series.
2) Throughout the season, our best indicator of team success, the Cavs have nearly always beat weaker teams to a pulp. However, they have struggled with other elite teams. The Lakers have nearly always beaten elite teams to a pulp. However, they have struggled with the Bobcats (and a split with my Blazers! yeah!). We can see that the Lakers tend to rise to the occasion but overlook weaker teams. The Cavs are solid against weaker teams, but can’t rise to the occasion.
3) As we can see from last year, it may be the team the has to struggle the most, improving itself throughout the playoffs, that wins the championship: the attitude of the Cavs this year is similar to that of the Lakers last year.
It seems that you want to compare apples to oranges. If you want to get a much better pulse on the difference between the two team’s strengths, pay attention to the series following these ones. Lakers v. Nuggets and Cavs v. Magic will be a much better test of momentum going into the finals. That is, if the LeBron can score against the Magic… Not the best matchup, didn’t the Cavs get blown out last time?
And don’t be absurd. The Rockets have made into the playoffs wihout Yao before. They only seems to play better through injury.
1) Rockets minus T-Mac, Yao is less then Atlanta or Detriot
2) Regular season vs Playoff is huge difference even the 90’s Bulls lost against top teams
Seeing how the Cavs lost only two and Home and one was a season ender that none of the Starters played or player serious minutes and they have Home Court through out that seems to be in their Favor.
3) 09 Cavs vs 08 Lakers don’t even compute. Totally different style teams and team chemistry
Houston just out hustled out played your team tonight and it might not happen the rest of this series but Denver is no push over thats for sure. You also shouldn’t count the Magic in as of yet because that series is now 2-2 like yours.
How come the Rockets can play through adversity and yours can’t?
Baseball is God's sport! All Truth Goes Through Three Stages 1.It is ridiculed 2.It is violently opposed 3.Finally, it is accepted as self-evident. kinesiologist
by E5 on May 10, 2009 8:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Like an earlier comment, you need to up your argument's quality
1.) I have to disagree. Detroit lost their leader in Chauncey Billups and traded him for Iverson who contributed nothing to their playoff run. Atlanta is a team that has very little discipline and has a very suspect offense. The Rockets minus T-Mac played great team defense and solid offense. They would have beaten the Pistons (who were about to pack it in) and gave the Hawks great competition.
2.) It’s funny that you mention that the regular season and the playoff season because who did the Cavs lose their first home game to?
3.) How come last year’s Lakers and this year’s Cavs doesn’t compute? He was talking about the course of the playoffs and frankly, their paths are eerily similar. What difference does style of play make? You either like each other or you don’t. Last year’s Lakers loved playing with each other (despite all the ESPN national writers), just like how this year’s Cavs love playing with each other (as evidenced by their off the court antics).
4.) Houston beat us tonight. No arguments there.
5.) Adversity? We responded pretty well when facing a 0-2 hole. We responded well in Game 3 when we lost a locker room leader and played fantastic in a hostile environment to take the 2-1 lead. Doesn’t that show the team can rise to the occasion or is there a different definition of “adversity” that you are adhering to?
Very Well Said Staylost
Keep this argument in mind for a possible fanpost when the Finals roll around
Here is where the points can be distorted
Your point is saying that because the Cavs have given up less than 85 points doesn’t take into account the pace the team plays. The Lakers are free flowing and fast so the possessions go up which would inflate the points for both teams.
Please think through your arguments because when you claim that the Lakers have a lack of focus, have no defense, have a lack of team chemistry, and have a scorer (Who’s that? Did you drop Kobe down to the role of a scorer because that’s what ESPN sees him as?) who didn’t shoot well, you put your credibility in jeopardy because not only does it make your argument appear weak, it also makes you appear like the type of people that want to jump the gun.
Free flowing offenses
don’t win NBA titles. Even the Lakers in the early decade played excellent defense and this current version doesn’t do that.
Baseball is God's sport! All Truth Goes Through Three Stages 1.It is ridiculed 2.It is violently opposed 3.Finally, it is accepted as self-evident. kinesiologist
by E5 on May 10, 2009 8:22 PM PDT up reply actions
Let me put the case in point of:
the 1980’s Showtime Lakers. Free flowing offenses don’t win NBA titles? Magic Johnson led the most potent offense of all time and won 5 titles in that decade and the Lakers also went into the postseason every year.
Why is that?
You seem to omit the fact that all those teams also played above average defense. You say that the Lakers in the early decade played excellent defense? I disagree. Aside from the first year Phil Jackson came in, the teams were generally near the top of the league in defensive ratings, just as this current version is too (6th in defensive efficiency).
E5, At this point...
I see no choice but to treat your posts like Cavs propaganda. Please review our rules here. You haven’t really violated any of them yet, although the previous comments I mocked you for came pretty close, so we won’t ban you or even warn you.
However, you really aren’t bringing much to the table besides trying to talk shit without backing it up so as to get a rise out of us, so it is my suggestion that others stop trying to change your mind because it’s falling on deaf ears.
The Cavs look great so far in the playoffs, so congrats for that. They look like the favorites right now. All the parallels between 09 Cavs and the 08 Lakers in the world can’t change that. So, there, I agreed with your post. Can you go away or start more relevant and intelligent arguments now?
Looks like you view the Lakers as a serious threat.
Otherwise, you wouldn’t bother with it. At least I would hope not. I’m pretty condfident no one on this blog has gone to the Hawks blog and let them know that their team is in trouble.
my thoughts exacty.
I was going to say something along these lines but you said it better then i would have been able to.
All you kids and the media crack me up
If you remember boston was horrible last year in the playoffs. HORRIBLE. They needed 7 games and numerous lucky shots just to advance every round. I don’t remember hearing everyone saying, “oh my there is no way boston can win a title playing like this!”
But yet every time the lakers don’t play perfect basketball there is someone in the media saying, “oh there’s no way they can win a title like this!” I even heard 1 announcer during game 4 saying that the lakers are the 3rd best team in the playoffs right now! LOL
Imagine that, to suggest that the Lakers are inferior to the nuggets specfically because of one bad game. Hilarious I tell you. Not to mention the fact that the nuggets just match up horribly against the Lakers and they also KNOW they can’t beat them. It’s a tough think to mentally push past when a team gets dominated as much as the nugs do by the Lakers.
Anyway, I digress.
Why is everyone so doom and gloom on the lakers? Every single team in the playoffs has laid an egg this year save the cavs, but the lakers are the only one getting shit for it. Because they have the most talent? Ok I buy that…kinda. But every team plays down to it’s competition, it’s something that happens by nature unless you have some major killer instict and the Lakers only have 1 Kobe.
Well, so far the Lakers have the "horrible in the playoffs" part down pat...
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
This
This is exactly why the Lakers lost on Sunday. Scola, Battier, Landry, Lowry, Hayes, BROOKS… no one ever told these guys they can’t win without Yao and T-Mac. They have killer instincts. Too bad as a unit they probably don’t have the talent to do much more.
And on an unrelated note, why is everyone so suprised about Chuck’s post defense?
He should be good at it by now having to guard a guy that’s literally a foot taller than him in practice.
"I am from one of the top 15 cities in the world. Buffalo, New York." - TrentEdwardsHoF2018
by Artest4Prez on May 11, 2009 10:50 AM PDT up reply actions
Lakers are like Elevators, they go up and down up and down. Is thier a moment where they continuously played the same way each and every game? Absolutely NOT! So what can they do to improve. Well if you ask me…its all mental. Lakers need to be mentally motivated in each game to WIN. They need mental and motivational coaching system. I know one thing about myself, if I have something in my mind that I want, I dont care how I get or where I get it or how hard I try to get it, I am going to get it! And that’s what the Lakers forget to bring to the court sometimes. Practice like a Championship team, play like a Championship team and you will win Championships!(Tommy Lasorda statment) They need to play phyiscally and mentally. LAKERS THINK HARD AND PLAY HARD! LET’S GO LAKERS!!! BEAT THE FOCKETS OOPS I MEAN ROCKETS!! LOL
by The Queen has spoken on May 11, 2009 9:12 AM PDT reply actions
BY THE WAY
IT’S NOW ABOUT WINNING THE GAME, ITS HOW YOU PLAY IT!
by The Queen has spoken on May 11, 2009 9:14 AM PDT reply actions
Maybe
I am not good at making a point but this leads some credence to what I am say.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ArnLipBIyY8oxT02lC786Iu8vLYF?slug=jy-lakersrockets051009&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Baseball is God's sport! All Truth Goes Through Three Stages 1.It is ridiculed 2.It is violently opposed 3.Finally, it is accepted as self-evident. kinesiologist
Lakers need to trade Andrew Bynum to the Rockets for Shane Battier or Aaron Brooks
If only you were allowed to trade players during the playoffs. The rockets can get a 7 footer to match up with Pau and the lakers can get a good player in return.
Thanks but no thanks.
Giving up 2 starters for a another injury prone center doesn’t sound like something Morey would be interested in.
"I am from one of the top 15 cities in the world. Buffalo, New York." - TrentEdwardsHoF2018
Do or die in game 7
I would say you are in trouble.
Baseball is God's sport! All Truth Goes Through Three Stages 1.It is ridiculed 2.It is violently opposed 3.Finally, it is accepted as self-evident. kinesiologist
LAKERS VS. MAGIC
LAKERS IN 6. YOU WITH ME?
by The Queen has spoken on Jun 1, 2009 12:35 PM PDT reply actions
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