Lakers Thread

[air gordon]

Interesting. There was a lot of hype about this guy here when he was drafted. Or perhaps a typical case of wishful thinking of a 2nd round pick being a steal

[NovU]

I remember you scorning jackal about that. I guess it is what it is. Everyone hopes their new player to be something special like I did for James Ennis.

[air gordon]

Lol just pointing out what was said

I know I never dropped my pants when it was announced bairstow was drafted in the 2nd round

[Bruce]

Interesting. There was a lot of hype about this guy here when he was drafted. Or perhaps a typical case of wishful thinking of a 2nd round pick being a steal

If you've seen any of the Lakers game/game replay/highlights or if not I recommend you see it now. It is still the pre-sesason but I think the Lakers did make a steal with Marcelinho Huertas. Russell has some flashes, but that is just it, it is just flashes. I still feel that Russell is inconsistent and his decision making as a PG is still not there. I wouldn't be surprised if Huertas steals the starting PG spot this season from Russell.

[NovU]

Interesting. The other day I had someone claiming Raul Neto will steal Trey Burke's starting job. But Huertas seems to have a stiffer competition in LA with so many capable backcourt players. Even if he cracks rotation, I doubt he'll make much noise. Kobe, Lou, Young, Clarkson, Dangelo, just too many mouths to feed.

BTW how is Randle doing?

[Bruce]

but that's just it, Huertas can do the feeding. Lou, Young, Clarkson and Kobe would be in each other's way in terms of scoring opportunities and spots.

Randle has been handed the job of pushing in transition. IMHO, he is doing that OK. Randle is pretty much the same player for me though. I think Randle would need to have a softer touch around the rim to be a more efficient player.

[mp3]

I've being watching a lot of Lakers this preseason and I love the work Randle has being putting in but I really think that Russell will have such an up and down year.

Kid can't even decide on a hairstyle lol I've seen him with 3 different looks in 3 weeks lol

But he will have a great career once he settles in.

[[Q]]

Marcelinho has been much more consistent, especially in finding open teammates. It's cool to see a traditional PG in an era of scoring PGs. Traditional PGs are a dying breed

[Bruce]

I've being watching a lot of Lakers this preseason and I love the work Randle has being putting in but I really think that Russell will have such an up and down year.

Kid can't even decide on a hairstyle lol I've seen him with 3 different looks in 3 weeks lol

But he will have a great career once he settles in.

Kind words, but to put it simply, Russell hasn't lived up to being the 2nd overall pick yet. Looks to me like Russell has to make better decisions on when to pass and when to shoot. Also, it seems Russell's D is inconsistent. Too bad Nash bled the Lakers for the last paycheck of his playing career and left the team. Hopefully instead of Nash, Huertas can tutor D'Angelo. Would love it if Magic can come in and tutor Russell, instead of Magic running his mouth to the press. Magic is such a likable guy, but I think his comments and criticism to the press are no longer helping the team.

[Kevin]

Season still hasn't even started. Lakers were trying different things in the preseason. Let's see what he can do this season.

[air gordon]

100pts for the kings in 3qtrs. Yeesh!

[Andrew]

Kobe's shooting 31.3% from the field, and more than half his attempts are coming from three point range, where he's shooting 21%. He has 52 points on the year on 51 shots, for an average of 17.3 ppg. He's also averaging 1.7 apg, so he's not really being much of a facilitator in the whole Lakers youth movement. Also, it's early days, but his field goal attempts per 36 minutes are right up there with his career high ten years ago. And it's an 0-3 start.

The scary thing is, while this has the air of a retirement tour, he's not ruling out coming back next season, be it for the Lakers or someone else. Generally speaking, I'm all for people giving something a go as long as they're willing to try, finishing on their own terms and not when other people say they should, and all that. But I also think there's dignity in knowing when you're done, and calling it day. His age, all the minutes he's played over a 20 year career that's included deep Playoff runs, the injuries of the past few seasons...they've clearly taken their toll, and there's no shame in that. Father Time is undefeated, as the saying goes. Surely, this has to be his last season; he's an all-time great, but there's not much he can offer the Lakers, or anyone else, at this point.

You have to wonder whether it'd be worth pulling an Elgin Baylor, rather than finishing out the season.

[NovU]

I personally would like to see him traded to a contender and perhaps try playing a 6th man role. But there's probably little possibility.


Kobe situation is definitely going to get interesting as season matures when his legs are tired and teammates get more grumpy about his ball hogging nature. I still think he'll finish the season as a Laker though and gets standing ovation from home fans at season end. And Kevin will shed tears in front of the TV. I called it here first.

[Bruce]

I personally would like to see him traded to a contender and perhaps try playing a 6th man role. But there's probably little possibility.


Kobe situation is definitely going to get interesting as season matures when his legs are tired and teammates get more grumpy about his ball hogging nature. I still think he'll finish the season as a Laker though and gets standing ovation from home fans at season end. And Kevin will shed tears in front of the TV. I called it here first.

I think at some point Kobe will find some semblance of consistency. We have seen Kobe struggle so many times before. Also, it's not as if the team is looking to get anywhere near contention soon. It's D'Angelo Russell that really gets me worried. Sure the coaches try to protect him, hardcore fans dismiss his troubles as growing pains or inexperience and that they see "flashes" of brilliance from the youngster. What is troubling for me that after the summer league, the pre-season and four games in into the season, Russell has not played 1 single game where I can say I wish he played like this every night.

[Andrew]

He might lift his game a little, but it looks like he's pretty much done at this point.

phpBB [video]

[[Q]]

I personally would like to see him traded to a contender and perhaps try playing a 6th man role. But there's probably little possibility.


Kobe situation is definitely going to get interesting as season matures when his legs are tired and teammates get more grumpy about his ball hogging nature. I still think he'll finish the season as a Laker though and gets standing ovation from home fans at season end. And Kevin will shed tears in front of the TV. I called it here first.

I think at some point Kobe will find some semblance of consistency. We have seen Kobe struggle so many times before. Also, it's not as if the team is looking to get anywhere near contention soon. It's D'Angelo Russell that really gets me worried. Sure the coaches try to protect him, hardcore fans dismiss his troubles as growing pains or inexperience and that they see "flashes" of brilliance from the youngster. What is troubling for me that after the summer league, the pre-season and four games in into the season, Russell has not played 1 single game where I can say I wish he played like this every night.

He looked great in the first game, but last night he had no lift on his shot. I agree I think he will bounce back, and also worry about Russell. I think he's hurtng the team more than helping. He's like the 4th or 5th best PG on the team lol

[Andrew]

He might've "looked" great, but his numbers in the season opener certainly weren't stellar. His percentages might come up a little, but I don't think he's going to look a lot better as the season wears on, and fatigue sets in. I mean, we're just a few games into the season, and we're seeing plays like this:

phpBB [video]

It's not just the airballs, but not running back on defense, his whole body language. He looks exhausted and fed up already.

[NovU]

Nothing new. Kobe airballed 4 shots in a row one night against Utah.

Again, it sucks to see Kobe doing whatever he is doing on this Lakers team. Ask for a damn trade to a contender.

[Andrew]

If by some chance Kobe is seriously considering playing beyond this season, I think the Lakers' brass has take a tough stand, one they probably should have a couple of years ago. It actually reminds me of the Overseer's speech at the end of the original Fallout:

"I've made a lot of tough decisions since I took this position. But none of them harder than this one. You saved us, but you'll kill us. I'm sorry. You're a hero...and you have to leave."

[[Q]]

Well there's no way he'll get traded and no way he'll quit, so we'll see him struggle until the eventual injury that'll put him on the shelf for good

[Andrew]

Hopefully, he can leave on his own terms. But again, I think the time has indeed come to call it a day. No shame in it, after the career he's had and how many minutes he's logged.

[[Q]]

Is this what Jordan looked like at the end?? I don't remember. All I remember was him missing the open dunk in the all-star game.

[Jackal]

This shit is painful to watch.

Is B. Scott really as inept as he seems? The last good memory I have of a coach is when Bernie Bickerstaff took over for a bit.

Sigh.

[Andrew]

Is this what Jordan looked like at the end?? I don't remember. All I remember was him missing the open dunk in the all-star game.

Not quite this bad, probably because he wasn't taking a lot of threes. His stats in Washington - though they paled in comparison to what he put up in Chicago - weren't too bad, and if a lesser player were posting them in their prime, you'd probably call them quite respectable. Definitely below standard though, and there were some low moments; single digit scoring games, missed dunks, that kind of thing.

This shit is painful to watch.

Is B. Scott really as inept as he seems? The last good memory I have of a coach is when Bernie Bickerstaff took over for a bit.

Sigh.

In his defense, he doesn't have a lot to work with. The young players aren't where they need to be yet, the established players in their prime are mostly average at best (and/or new acquisitions), and the most accomplished players on the team are at the tail end of their careers. They're trying to transition into a new era, while at the same time hosting a farewell tour for Kobe. That's not to say he couldn't do better, but I think he's in a tough spot.

[NovU]

Not quite this bad, probably because he wasn't taking a lot of threes. His stats in Washington - though they paled in comparison to what he put up in Chicago - weren't too bad, and if a lesser player were posting them in their prime, you'd probably call them quite respectable. Definitely below standard though, and there were some low moments; single digit scoring games, missed dunks, that kind of thing.

Jordan was actually pretty good even in his last year with the Wizards.

Most importantly the team remained relevant nearly to season end and just missed out on playoffs and that's with not much help. Washington had 12 more losses in the following year and players he played worse without MJ than with MJ. Only issue was that he stalled team's rebuilding process by not allowing them to tank and being not good enough singlehandedly to put the team into the playoffs. But he was a still pretty good player even in terms of stats and being able to play under team structure to be positive influence, nothing like what Kobe's been doing in last few years.