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| Lakers Forum | | | | | LAST FORUM POSTS | | | Topic | Replies | | Views | | Rating | | Poster | | Date | | Time |  LA-Thunder game 3: We draw blood. | 10 | | 524 | |
| | Katie | | May, 20 | | 02:52 | | Chalk Another One Up To Kobe Bean! | 32 | | 571 | |
| | SPQR | | May, 20 | | 02:51 | | Lakers vs. Thunder | 5/19/12 | Round 2, Game #4 | go to [pg. 1] | 1046 | | 11037 | |
| | ralppcobarde | | May, 20 | | 02:51 | | A message to Pknight and all other who are suffering | 4 | | 115 | |
| | ralppcobarde | | May, 20 | | 02:37 | | This core needs to be broken up | 41 | | 638 | |
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| | NbaFirstRow | | May, 20 | | 01:50 | | At the end of the day, we're still the LA LAKERS. | 9 | | 170 | |
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| | F***davidstern | | May, 19 | | 22:28 | | What if Steve Blake started against OKC? | 8 | | 156 | |
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LA-Thunder game 3: We draw blood.
Posted by: SPQR on Saturday, May 19, 2012 - 03:20 AM
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Going into the third game of the LA –Thunder series, it was imperative we draw blood and draw it in the amounts that would spell victory. No team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit in a best of seven series so this game was literally win or die.
And win we did, coming through with a 99-96 nail biter that kept your season and playoff hopes alive. After a blowout loss in game one and that monumental heartbreaker in game two, it was nice to see them walking off the court with blood on their faces for a change.
The game was decided on the free throw line, where LA marched to the charity stripe an amazing 42 times, making an even more incredible 41 shots. Also heavily involved in the Lakers victory was limiting the Thunders offense to below 40 percent shooting. This was a testament to the type of defense played by the Lakers against so profligate an offensive team. Even the assist total, never our métier was in our favor by a 20-13 margin.
In watching the three games so far, there is some good and some bad. One thing we knew coming in that was reinforced in the first lopsided game is that we cannot play at the Thunders pace and compete, let alone win. That first game showed what a younger, more athletic, faster team will do to us if we let them bend us to their will.
One the good side, in the last two games, the Lakers have indeed slowed the pace down and been able to get a defensive grip, at least enough to take the Thunder out of that frenetic pace they would prefer.
One game played at their pace, two at ours. Score a plus for us.
One the other side of this same coin, while we know we can’t beat them at our game, it is also become apparent that they can it at our pace and go toe to toe with us. The beat us in the second game and almost pulled it off again tonight. After the game, their coach was asked about the pace of the game. His response: “We can play it that way. We are a very good defensive team. We can win either way.”And two close, low scoring games what the teams split show he is right.
This predicates two things: We must play these games at our pace, never theirs, and if we do play at our pace, it gives us a chance to win, but will not guarantee it. Which does point out the difficulty of winning this series. Because even if we play all the games our way, it does not mean we will win all of them. That being said, if we play them all our way, it does give us a chance to win them all, something that can’t happen at the Thunder’s preferred pace. And they know it.
The other pattern that is developing that is a bit alarming is that they are making Kobe shoot a lot of shots to get his points. That cost us dearly in the first two games and almost did again in this last game. If this is going to be the model for the rest of the series, then one suspects before it is played out, it will again cost the Lakers another game or even two along the way.
So as I look to tonight’s fast turnaround game, what will I look for to give me hope we can come back and battle on even terms in this series?
First off, don’t expect the team to get to the line 42 times. That won’t happen. So the Lakers will need to manufacture offense from the offense itself, and not rely on that many trips to the foul line.
But even more important will be this: We have played the game at our pace for two consecutive games. There is no doubt the Thunder will try to speed things up a bit. And one suspects tonight they will make a concerted effort to do it. Can we keep this slow pace up? Can we enforce it for the rest of the series? We will have to in order to entertain any chance. So watch and see if we can pull the trick off again. If we can, a pattern is being laid. One that won’t guarantee we win, but one that will give us a chance to.
And lastly, our two top scorers, Kobe and Drew have to become more effective in shooting percentage. Most especially Kobe since it is apparent he is going to take the lion’s share of the shots. If the Thunder keep holding him to 9 of 25 shooting nights, it then becomes a game of Russian roulette where eventually we will pull the trigger on a full chamber and the Thunder will get that third win. This game of roulette needs to stop, and soon, because if it catches up to us again, that’s all she wrote.
We finally drew blood. Finally got in a punch to the head. For the first time, made them feel the bitter sting of losing. Give them pause, make them think about making adjustments. But after three games, we have one only once, that by 3 points. It tells you just how close these wins will be for us. They can play our game and keep it close, even win. So even though we know what we have to do, the questions are, can we follow the formula three more times and even if we do, can we do it just a bit better than they can?
So watch those crucial patterns. Can we slow it down, grind it out for another game? And can Kobe and the team find ways to get him up to a better shooting percentage? If the answer tonight to both those questions is yes, perhaps we will draw blood yet once more and head back to Oklahoma…..and try do it all over again.
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The Thunder euthanize LA in game one.
Posted by: SPQR on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - 12:34 AM
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The Thunder came prepared for a street fight. The heard the talk: the veteran Lakers were coming to town. The Lakers who knew how to win, led by the biggest winner extant in today’s NBA-Kobe Bryant. The return of the Big Elbow, who they last saw decapitating James Harden when LA had perhaps their best, most improbable win of the year. And so they came, ready for a knockdown, drag out fight with Kobe, Metta and the Lakers, who knew how to win.
But when they arrived at the stadium for the assignation, they didn’t find what they expected.......
No reason to really recap this route in detail. Some simple stats say it all. Against a team that ranked 30th in the league in turnovers, the Lakers managed to produce a paltry 4 compared to 15 of their own. And the Thunder converted those for 22 points while we managed 6 off our turnovers. And even worse, it seemed like almost every turnover on our part led to a fast break or layup. No resistance at all.
Westbrook went for 27 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds and 1 turnover. Durant hit for 25 points, and 8 boards, while Harden lit us up for 17.
What Westbrook did was no surprise. This team simply cannot put pressure on even a mediocre point guard, let alone of the elites. It has been our story all year. Really for two years.
The Thunder big three did what they wanted, when they wanted, how they wanted. It was that easy.
The bench was outscored 50-26, with most of our bench points coming in garbage time. Blake, a hero of the Denver series, scored zero. Hill, who looks like he is playing in Houston again, had four. When two important bench players have that little production, you know it’s gonna be a long night.
Fast break points, 13-0. Though it seemed like the Thunder had 33.
You knew it was over in the third, when Kobe started jacking up long shots even when covered. Because against this team, that kind of intellectually lazy, mentally unfocused approach is death. I am sure Kobe thought he would bring us back, god knows, he has done it before. But against this team, against the tough defenders- Harden and Sefolsha- at the they put on him, age of 33, the only thing that mindset will bring is us from 15 points back to 30 points back.
If Kobe falls into that trap over and over, against this team, we will be hard pressed to win one game, let alone a series. It is no mystery why Kobe has had such problems with this team. And forcing things against them is exactly what they want him to do. Basketball is about matchups and this team, because of the nature of its defenders, is a very bad matchup for Kobe hero ball. He needs to understand that, now.
It was fitting to see Devin Ebanks tossed and removing his shirt. The last time we saw that was Andrew Bynum against Dallas. And this game showed that we are in as much peril for a very quick playoff exit, and the team collectively taking off all their shirts for the last time this year, as we were last year against the Mavericks.
The Lakers must somehow find a way to regroup. And there will be talk that the Thunder won’t be able to hit jump shots like that all series. But they are a jump shooting team. It’s their identity. And they are really good at getting open and hitting them. Just ask Dallas about how often they can do it. For the Lakers to hope for them to cool off is tantamount to suicide. They have to find their own recipe, their own identity to try win some of these game.
And so it was. The younger, faster, more athletic team showing just why speed and athleticism kills, and how it is better to have a star in his prime, than one past his, having their way with a team that was the best, a few years ago.
After the game, the young star in his prime, Kevin Durant, was asked about the series loss to LA two years ago. And he replied with cold, true logic: “That was two years ago.” And he is right. Two years can be a lifetime in athletics, in balancing the scales of which team is rising, which is falling and who is the real championship contender.
And those two long years, really may just the whole thing here. Time passed for one team, time now for the other.
And so the Thunder came for a gang fight. But instead of finding a ready, willing, capable foe........
they found a prostrate, sick, weak form in front of them. An opponent that could only look up and stare, hardly able to even move. And since this is all about killing off your opponent, this is all about finishing the other off and moving on, they did what they had to do.
They put their hand over our eyes, put a gun to our temple and squeezed the trigger, leaving our brains all over the wall. It was just that easy and fast.
In some quarters, when you do that to the terminally ill, it is called euthanasia. A mercy killing.
We have played the Thunder four games now. And the only win we have was a perfectly played game that enabled us to barely win at home, coming back from 18 points down. Can this Lakers team, which looks just like the unsteady, unstable, rudderless team we have seen all year and in the Denver series, come up with that kind of brilliance?
Next gang fight is scheduled for Wednesday night. But can a team without the speed, without the athleticism, without an identity all year, even try to make it one? That is the only question right now.
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Could Bynum be the next Robert Parish?
Posted by: lakeshowsd on Monday, May 14, 2012 - 03:00 AM
Lakers Blog
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As a student of NBA history, I've examined some of the All-Time Great Hall of Fame (and future Hall of Fame) 7 footers and looked to see how Andrew Bynum could one day measure up to them before his career is all said and done. I'll admit that most Laker fans have firmly concluded that Bynum won't ever reach the pinnacles of legendary dominance reserved for the Shaquille O'Neals, Wilt Chamberlains, Kareem Abdul-Jabbars, Hakeem Olajuwons, Tim Duncans, and a few other All-Time great, legendary 7 footers. Those guys are simply in a league above Bynum at this point, and that may very well remain true for the remainder of Bynum's career.
So that leaves the question, what levels of greatness can Bynum aspire to reach? What Hall of Fame center can Bynum one day measure up to as Drew looks to carve his own little niche in the annals of NBA lore? The answer? Legendary Celtic center Robert Parish.
If we just go by the career numbers, Bynum already matches up favorably with the legend Parish, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Parish and Bynum are very close in many areas, including career field goal percentage, free throw percentage, steals, blocks, and assists. Naturally, Bynum can close the gap in career scoring and career rebounding averages as he continues to have All-Star caliber seasons in the future, but even now they compare favorably in a lot of ways. Naturally Bynum will have to remain healthy for the vast majority of his prime years in order to truly close the statistical gaps that separate him from Parish, but it's certainly a VERY attainable and realistic goal.
Now that I've mentioned their statistical similarities, I understand that there are some very dramatic difference between Parish and Bynum. For example, Parish was 50 pounds lighter than Bynum, and as a result it was easier for Parish to get up and down the floor during fast breaks and transition defense; things that Bynum still struggles with on a regular basis. Parish was also a very good outside shooter and a very consistently good free throw shooter, which are rarities for NBA centers.
Bynum has shown the aptitude to be a proficient jump shooter from 15 to 20 feet on the rare occasion he opts to take those shots, and Bynum has even expressed a desire to expand his shooting range to the 3 point line. It's not inconceivable that Bynum could one day have the same reputation that Parish did as a reliable outside shooter. As for the free Throws, Drew is already right there with Parish, shooting very close to 70% on his career. Despite his slow start from the foul line this year, it seems like we can now trust Drew on most nights to convert his free throws at a high rate. Just look at the most recent game 7 VS Denver, where Drew was 8 of 11 from the free throw line, scoring half his points at the stripe, and converting his free throws at a 72% clip. Drew is shooting 73% from the foul line in the playoffs thus far, which is a proud mark for any NBA player, and outright AMAZING for a 7 foot center. Parish also did that kind of stuff all the time if his own career free throw shooting numbers are any clue.
Lastly, one thing I find most interesting about Bynum and Parish is that both of them played a significant part of their careers as part of a 1-2-3 punch combination that featured 2 gifted post scorers, and a dominant perimeter scorer. I just think that's a very interesting coincidence and it's become even more interesting as Bynum has shaken his injury troubled past, and continued his upward level of development to All-Star levels this season.
So now that we've discussed some of the similarities and differences between Parish and Bynum, I'll leave it up to you guys to discuss and debate whether you feel that Bynum can VERY realistically one day measure up to an All-Time Great center like Robert Parish. The kinds of stats Drew put up this year (18 points, 11 rebounds, 1.9 blocks) are the same kinds of numbers Parish put up during the prime years of his career. Drew just needs to do that for another 6 to 8 years and after his career has ended, he'll be right there in the discussion with Robert Parish as a legit Hall of Famer. With those consistent numbers, and multiple strong post-season performances, Drew might even get a chance to earn a spot for his jersey in Staples center next to Chamberlain, Jabbar, Mikan, and the other All-Time great Laker centers one day.
I firmly believe that Bynum can still be one of 2 or 3 centerpiece players needed to build another Laker Dynasty in the post-Kobe years. The real trick will be finding a successor to Bryant and Gasol after they call it a career and take their final exit from the stage to join the other Laker legends of years past.
So in closing, I'll be the first one to admit that Bynum may very well never be the next Shaq, the next Wilt, or the next Kareem, but greatness may yet still be in his future; because with continued luck in terms of his health, I think Bynum could at the very least be the next Robert Parish. And that would be quite an accomplishment indeed.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parisro01.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bynuman01.html
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LA-Denver game 7: If the knife doesn’t work, choke em dead.
Posted by: SPQR on Sunday, May 13, 2012 - 02:35 AM
Lakers Blog
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The Lakers fought with pride and passion tonight, and they had to, or the season would be over.
Many analysts said before tonights game that LA needed to come out fast, with the stiletto, slide it in fast and deep, gut Denver and take them out fast. Remove their confidence, don’t let them hang in, because if they did, the tide would turn on the Lakers in there desperate struggle to get a grip on the Nuggets.
Well, it didn’t happen that way. The Lakers didn’t get an early blowout and you knew at that point they would have to earn a trip to Oklahoma the hard way. And boy did they ever play hard. And wasn’t it a pleasant switch to see?
The Lakers one chance to put it away was when they extended to a 16 point lead in the second half. They had the knife pressed to Denver’s throat, but couldn’t slide it across the jugular. The gritty, gutsy Nuggets came back to take a four point lead and you could hear a pin drop as Ty Lawson was running through, around and over the Lakers and singlehandedly tearing our defense apart.
But unlike the last two games, the Lakers showed the heart and desire. No moping, no laziness, which seemed to seep into the team’s body and soul as before when the Nuggets turned up the heat. The Lakers didn’t, couldn’t use the knife for the easy kill; so instead, they got Denver in a choke hold and smothered the breath out of them. Sometimes, there is another way to kill off an enemy. Sometimes, you kill them bit by bit, taking away all the things that worked for them, one piece at a time till there is no avenue of escape left, no breath left to take.
Some moments, some players, some plays that keep playing over in my mind? The seminal turning points that paid off in victory, which slowly choked the life out of Denver’s paths to a potential upset victory:
Can a man win a series MVP for playing in only one game? I have never seen it, but man, tonight would be that time. Metta World Peace was back and just in the nick of time. He returned like he had never left, wrapping his own brand of manic defensive intensity and immovable body and strong quick hands around Andre Miller like a bear embracing a fawn. Miller literally was stopped in his track, in everything he wanted to do, all the things he did the entire Mettaless series to hurt us over and over again. Metta turned Miller from an all star into a has been. And with Lawson going off yet again, this was crucial in stopping Denver from gaining that second path to opening the Lakers defense up to an effective attack. By negating Miller, Metta took away much of what Denver needed to win in Staples. Add to this 15 very badly needed points to an offense that was sputtering so badly and you see where this guy just did it all to put us over the top in his long awaited return.
If a man can ever win a series MVP by playing in one game, we just saw it happen tonight.
Andrew Bynum with 16 points, 18 rebounds and 6 blocks. Pau Gasol with 23 points, 17 boards and 6 assists, 4 blocks. When you combine what Metta did with the ferocity of our inside game, Denver’s avenue to victory was strangled even further. Who can forget Pau Gasol, soft as can be in game six, jumping again, and again, and again, and again, looking all the world like Moses Malone, on that one play that was microcosm of the whole game, till he finally tipped the ball in. That play, exemplified the difference in commitment, energy and effort that was so different this night for LA. It was a message, to Denver and more importantly, to his teammates. No going gently into that good night this evening. This night, the Lakers would fight till lungs screamed and blood vessels burst.
Another Denver road to victory, so well traveled the last two games was LA’s abysmal outside shooting. But tonight, the Lakers put up a dead end sign for that avenue as well. Hitting outside shoots including 11 of 24 threes, Denver could find no hope treading that old ground either. This time, the Nuggets did pay for doubling Drew and staying so close to basket. Steve Blake was a maestro of the shot tonight, playing with confidence and verve, like a veteran of clutch playoff shooting. His shooting cut off even more breath from a team that was turning blue in the face from lack of oxygen.
And Kobe, the recipient of double teams tonight as well, played like veteran who wanted to win a game regardless of his personal stats. He drew the defense and passed off again and again, not forcing shots, not challenging a defense that so badly wanted him to play for Kobe Bryant and not for a crucial seventh game team win.
And so all these players combined, each in their own way, to deny the Nuggets attempt to become just the 9th team to come back from a 1-3 deficit in a best of seven series. When it was over, as the final seconds ticked off, the Lakers were standing because they cut off the all the ways Denver had breathed life into the last two games. And in the end, it is LA that will move on while the Nuggets were metaphorically, strategically, physically asphyxiated of their avenues of victory and playoff hopes.
After a game, during the player press conferences, you usually get the same old banal platitudes. But this time around, perhaps befitting such a tight, some remarks were made that certainly were a cut above the usual in the interest department.
Pau Gasol said after the game, in the flush of his physical performance, “I can’t worry about whether I am getting enough touches. No matter what, I have to get my *ss in there (the low post) and play.”
When was the last time you heard the quiet, introspective, introverted Pau Gasol use language like that? When was the last time Pau played like that? I liked the Pau I saw on the court and I loved the Pau I heard in the interview.
George Karl said in his post game press conference, “I hate Steve Blake tonight. Just as much as I loved him when he played for me. What a player he is.” You could see the respect Karl had, both in his face, his words and timber of his voice.
And Karl wasn’t the only one who mentioned his respect for Blake. Kobe Bryant said, “People don’t understand what an insane competitor this guy is. Not just on the court, but off.” From Kobe Bryant, the ultimate competitor, this is the ultimate compliment
Finally, without question, the most arresting comment that caught my attention above all else, with good reason, was Coach Brown’s remark about instructions he gave Pau: “If Kobe waves you off again on the pick and roll defense this game, don’t listen to him. Just go out and play it and I will handle the situation.”
Not the remarks or instructions of a yes-man. Nor someone cowed or threatened by Magic Johnson’s ridiculous remarks earlier in the week concerning Brown losing his job if the Lakers lost. It was the remarks of a confident man, sure of his position both in the front office, on the team, and regarding its legendary best player. It was a comment of extreme honesty and clarity, both regarding strategy, his own feelings about who is coaching and giving the direction that one rarely hears in the cloistered, protected and hidden atmosphere of athletics.
And so we move on.
Our reward for winning a tough, seven game series? Playing an even tougher Thunder team, only without the home court advantage that was so enjoyable tonight. Doesn’t seem like much of a reward, does it? But at this time of the year, rewards only mean you get another chance to move on up, one more chance to fight again in that torture test that is the NBA playoffs. At this point, the rewards are nothing less than exquisite torture. And Monday, the exquisite torture starts up all over again.
Kobe was asked in his press conferance: Will the team have to play better to beat the Thunder? He kind of smirked, laughed a little, then replied, "Yeah, a little." Meaning a lot.
So buckle up and get ready for the ride. It doesn’t get any easier from here. It just gets harder.
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Lakers migration to finals turns into a bloody last stand.
Posted by: SPQR on Friday, May 11, 2012 - 03:43 PM
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The NBA playoffs are a migration. At the end of the season, 16 fortunate teams start that hard, brutal trek though the playoffs all them trying to reach the game location: the NBA Finals and spot in history as the champions of all of basketball.
It is an anthropomorphic replica of the great migrations of the African plains where thousands of water buffalo migrate during the dry season in search of food and water.
And just like those migration, the teams of the NBA are judged along the way. The best, the strongest, the most capable continue through time and peril, while the weak, the incapable, are culled away from the vast herds by the predators and elements they must face. In both migrations, only the fittest survive and reach sanctuary.
A few years ago, the Lakers were the dominant bull of the migrating herds. Strong, fast, tough and capable, it trampled everything in its path to win the NBA finals. Last year, the journey ended shockingly, quickly at the hands of Dallas, a surprise predator that knocked the Lakers out on its own journey of greatness and survival.
This year, after an up and down season, the Lakers began their journey anew. After last year, questions remained: Was last year’s failure a sign of a permanently weakened team? A bull no longer able to survive the harsh tests of playoff migration? Or was it just a single aberration of team that would bounce back yet again to lead the others in glory?
The long march started out well this year. The Lakers looked big and tough and healthy in taking a 3-1 series lead against Denver, a team that was only a sixth seed and was expected to fall aside to stronger foes. But something went wrong during the fifth game at home, the supposed closeout game.
The Lakers showed all the signs of vulnerability that plagued them against Dallas last year and were still apparent at times during the regular season. And these signs were amplified in the horrific bloodletting Denver drew in game six back at their home floor.
Suddenly the Lakers, who for a brief moment looked to have the capability to journey far, are now severely wounded, staggering, losing blood and equilibrium as they search for an answer they must find in the seventh game. Because if they don’t, they will just be another sun bleached carcass to be fed on by predators and scavengers while the strong leave them behind.
I posed the question at the end of the regular season: Can a team with no identity win an NBA title? I also asked the question, could the Lakers accrue an identity in the Denver series, before the opponents became even tougher? In both cases, the answer seems to be a definitive NO.
After the game, Coach Brown brought up the reasons we are no fighting for your lives against one of the lesser NBA teams: the bigs are not running with Denver’s bigs. The bigs are not executing the pick and roll defense leaving Denver shooters open. We are not hitting shots. We are not cutting to the basket. Our savior point guard made Ty Lawson look lke Oscar Roberton. Our "bench" outscored by Denvers 246-112 during the series. We are not moving the ball. All the things that made us what we were during the regular season and contributed to a very bad road record. In essence, we are exactly what we were all year. A team that really can’t do any one thing well, a team even unable to take advantage of your mismatches to the degree it should, a team not good enough to complete the NBA championship migration.
When you look at the roster of this team, you see a talented big three: Kobe, Drew and Pau. But when you look deeper, at those so important ancillary parts, you start to see why this team has no identity. All the secondary players are jacks of all trades. Ok at most things, special at nothing. There is no great defensive stopper, except perhaps the aging Metta. There is no great passer. There is no sure scorer. There is no individual great skill we can call on from any of them. Nor is there an overall team ethos to rely on. Contrast this to the other top teams, where you can see one player as instant offense. Or another as a top flight defender, or terrific passer. Or as teams, they rely on top defense, or speed, or running, or shooting or ball movement. Where they have that team métier, that one team skill that they always can rely on to win against other good teams.
This is a team that relies on the greatness of Kobe Bryant, the mismatch problems caused by Pau and Drew…with nothing else special to call on to buttress its fortunes. This is a team without an identity, a skill, a method to fall back on when things get rough. They can’t take full advantage of the low post because they have no shooters. They are not a running team, not a defensive team, not a ball movement team. They are a team lacking in the essential so needed to complete this trip.
Each of our ancillary players would fit in, on their own, with other teams that have identities. They could use their all around skills to provide nice minutes. But the Lakers have too many of these types of players and not enough who offer something strong and unique to the mix. A Michael Cooper to provide that hard defense on a problem player. A Byron Scott to put in one jumper after another. A Vinnie Johnson on offense, a Shane Battier on defense. This is a team that has some great parts, even some good role players. But there is more a championship than that. There is chemistry, a vital synergy of parts that mesh and work together to build a great whole, a greater method that it imposes on its foes. And this team does not have it. And because of it, we are in a blood fight, at the very start of our journey.
And so here we are; a team that has found itself in a fight for its life, right at the start of the long journey. Now we must stop our flight, turn, stand our ground and live or die in one last stand against our tormentor. We are bloody and weakened, our flaws fully on display. We have been bitten and clawed and our blood stains the ground and high grass. We are gasping for breath as we prepare to ward off Denver’s last pounce.
I do believe the Lakers will find the way to win. If only because it is almost impossible to beat a team three straight games, especially when that third game is at home. In the NBA’s entire history, only 8 teams have come back from 1-3 to turn that improbable trick.
But even if we do, if after the last gaping wounds are inflicted on each other, the final blood from both teams is spilled then dried, after the ground stops shuddering from the pounding footsteps of the death match struggle, after the screams of the battle finally fall still and the loser whose journey ends falls silent, if we move on, what then?
What does a team with no identity have waiting down the road, if it staggers away, suffused with deep wounds, from one of the lesser predators, knowing full well, the real killers of the NBA, who have watched our struggle, lay crouched hungerly in wait, hidden in the high grass, just a short distance up the road?
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Who is Andrew Bynum?
Posted by: KB24*BM on Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 01:40 PM
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Born on October 27, 1987, Andrew Bynum is an American professional basketball center who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. Drafted 10th overall in the 2005 NBA draft as the youngest player ever straight out of high school ( St. Joseph High School, Metuchen, New Jersey), though he had planned to attend University of Connecticut.
As a teenager in the NBA, Bynum was viewed as a project and future player who was greatly supported by Jim Buss. The Lakers hope that he could be at least 80% of what the great Shaquille O'Neal was. From his start in the league, Bynum was plagued with adversity. He was a child thrown to the wolves in Hollywood. Fans expected him to produce fast and become their new Shaq, but Bynum was slowly progressing. Kobe wanted him traded for the great Jason Kidd. For every one step forward Bynum took, he rolled down 20 steps with injuries. People started losing hope and wanted to just traded him while he still had value. The Zen Master didn’t trust him as a player to build around.
Then came Dwight Howard, he first flirted with Lakers fans by saying he wanted to rock our uniform. Fans went loco of the thought that the Best center in the game could be part of the team. Following that fantasy, CP3 was a Laker for 2 hours and rumors had it that Howard was on his way. (I am not gonna lie, I was pretty excited that we could have a team of Kobe, CP3 and Howard). All that fantasy meant that Bynum and other would be the victims. I don't need to remind you of what happen with the “Dictator” of a commissioner ruling the NBA.
For the most part, Lakers fanatics were very skeptical of Bynum's future. We knew that the boy was very talented and we were rooting for him to not get anymore injury because at the time he was an humble kid who was going throw hard times. We loved the fact that he continue to persevere though it all, but could we count on him with his knees. To most, it seemed like every year he was hurt. In all he missed more game due to injuries than he played. A lot of fans wanted Howard so the fear and anxiety felt every time Bynum jumped or stumbled could go away.
And Finally 2012 happened. Bynum came out swinging this year. He basically improved in almost all the category as a player. He averaged 19+ ppg and 12+ rebounds. He was active and he was HEALTHY. Health for Bynum is the biggest award out there. The fruit of his labor was his first All-Stars appearance and instance national coverage even though people knew him from Lakers winning a couple of titles. His so-called potentials that people were raving about started sparkling, though still not fully uncovered. Fans started to believe in the 7 footer young man. The nicknames rolled out of people's tongue: the BEAST, Bynumite, Monster, etc. Life was good for the up incoming 24 year old. His supporters multiplied and instance debates follows as to what the future hold for Andrew Bynum.
The humble, quiet kid finally started experiencing success though he had been a 7th year veteran.
And then something happen. Call it ego, fame, pressure, rebellion, experiencing, defiance. Bynum started changing. The immaturity that was for the most part bottled inside started showing up. The comments got slick and created uproars. Straight “Getting his Zen on!” People stated questioning if he could be the franchise player and superstar that Lakers need post Kobe Bean Bryant. How will Bynum react to upcoming fame? Is his current behaviors just a phase that will eventually past without too much damage?
To some fans, Bynum seemed to be all about himself. If I don't get the ball (I totally agree that he should be fed more in the post) then I wont give my best. My effort and focus on defense depends on whether I had a good shoot-around, or I'm involved on offense, or if I had a shoot-around at all. The defiant actions and comments about his head coach started popping out. “Ill shoot more 3s.” People wanted to know why is Bynum acting this way. He is too good of a player to behave in such manner. Eventually, the FO fined him an undisclosed sum. The obvious lack of effort on some games puzzled fans. How could he be outplayed by the KING of NOT TOP 10 plays aka Javele McGee. Which Bynum will show up to every game?
Due to his recent success, the level of expectation grew, couple that also to the Bynum fan who proclaimed him as the new face of the Lakers (even with Kobe present). Fans want effort every night, especially when it is the playoff. For example, Kobe got a lot of critics and though he is my favorite Lakers, he sometimes deserve the various criticism that he shoots too much, he has an ego, etc. But, no one can say that Kobe didn’t show effort. He brings it every game and sometimes he shows too much effort that leads him in playing hero ball. Bynum needs to master that trait, Sometimes, things do not go your way, you just got to find a way to help the team. And one thing that Bynum can do every game is being a force on the defensive side. He is too big and smart to not be able to impact that side of the ball,
Sometimes, people think that because you criticize a player, you are a hater. Unfortunately, that could be further from the truth. I want Bynum to be the next Shaq and be the face of our great organization. I want Bynum to take the torch from the aging Black Mamba. I want Bynum to be the BEST Center in the league, I want Bynum to average over 25+ppg and 13+ rebounds and be the league's MVP. On the other hand, I see a lot of stuffs that he needs to improve to fulfill those goals. He need to grow up and be more mature and a leader of man ( as Stephen A Smith always says). He needs to show up to play any and every game and have that Kobe killer instinct. He needs to improve against double teams. Finally the most important thing is that he need to be more CONSISTENT. The Lakers will only get so far if Bynum is not engaged and focus.
Like I have always said, this is Bynum first year of fame and he has a lot to learn. Is he the best player on the team? No, but he is a very very important part. Is he the best Center in the game? No, people seem to forget all of what Howard has done before this season. Is Bynum the best offensive Center in the game today? Yes, he is so talented in the post and he has not even entered his prime.
For Bynum the future looks bright and promising, but he need to realize that he has not attain full potential yet. To achieve his potentials he need to be more mature. Couple of years ago, people were saying that Bynum needs to be healthy to be his potential, he has been healthy this year. One advice I would give Bynum is to never be satisfied. The great of the game, players like MJ, Kobe, Magic, Kareem, Shaq were never satisfied, they always wanted more and went after it.
Bynum has the talents to be the best center in today's game if he focus and matures. I am so rooting for him to be the best, but he has to bring the effort and maturity or he will always stay in that “He got so much potential” state.
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LA-Denver Game 5: It's about more than Kobe and Drew
Posted by: SPQR on Wednesday, May 09, 2012 - 02:53 AM
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It is funny how this always turns into Kobe vs Drew with every loss.
Reading throught the game day thread, that enevitable fight broke out yet gain. Kobe lost the game. Drew lost the game. Big surprise there. And both so wrong.
For all the Kobe fans who blame Drew tonight, yet take his word for gospel law, here is the law layed down by Kobe after tonights loss: "The Nuggets are sitting in Drew and Pau's laps. WE have to start hitting all the open shots this is giving us."
Coach Brown said the exact same thing.
And you know what, both Brown AND Kobe are right.
Anyone who watched this game should not blame Drew or Kobe on the offensive end. All of them can be blamed on D, including Kobe and Drew. When your team gives up 46 percent shooting, that speaks for itself and all the players on the team.
On offense the problem tonight was the same problem we have had all year. We have two very good low post players, but when the defense collapses on them, WE, the team, AS KOBE SAID, don't consistantly take advantage of it. IE, they miss too many open shots.
The Lakers shot 38 percent tonight, at home. And that number was inflated in the last few minutes when Kobe and Blake and Sessions hit some shots or it would have been lower.
Also, notice how quickly we came back when the shots started dropping in the last four minutes? When the team did take advantage of the defense.
But doing that for a lousy four minute stretch in a full game is not enough. They have to do that for more often. And its not surprise when they do, we usually win very easily.
When you look at some of the stats from the game, you would think we won. We outrebounded them and had more second chance points. But then you look at our shooting percentage, and bench scoring, 50 for them and 19 for us, a 31 point swing and loss becomes apparent.
This loss was caused by the Nuggets daring LA to shoot from outside, to take advantage of that defense stacked up inside. And it couldn't. This aint the first time nor the last time it will happen. It has happend many, many times this year. The Nuggets, like every other team in the league knows where we are strong and more importantly, where we are weak.
This team is what it has been all year. A team with certain stars, with certain talents, certain great parts, but not team with all the ancillary pieces to be as good as they should. It lacks some parts that are essential to open up the low post game and take advantage of the way the defense tries to stop our low post game.
This loss doesn't fall on Drews shoulders nor Kobes. I swear some of you guys just keep coming back to this all the time, like two bitter, old, senile men in an old folks home who argue about something out of rote because you have nothing at all better to do to pass your time and frustrations away.
I have no doubt that we will go on to win this series. Denver just doesn't have to horses to take three straight from us.
But when you look down the road, at better teams that will have home court, when you couple that with the flaws that have been there all year, up to and including the Denver series, it doesn't take a psychic to predict the eventual end.
I have no doubt about that either. Get used to the idea, because it's going to happen. And start to look at this team as whole, not some silly Kobe vs Drew debate after every loss, to understand this teams real problems go team deep, and not run just as shallow as its two best players.
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LA - Denver game 4: The Lakers end the series the right way.
Posted by: SPQR on Monday, May 07, 2012 - 12:03 AM
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Going into this series, I did not have a single worry.
The reason was simple: Our third best player, Pau, would be Denvers best player. Then you think about Kobe and Drew, and Sessions, and Blake and the new Superman Hill and you think of Denver and....and...and..um...well you see the point.
But with the Thunder and San Antonio and Miami most likely in our playoff path, there was somethings I was looking for in this series.
First off, would we play as a team. And yes we have. All the players have had their moments. Kobe, Drew, Pau, Hill, Blake, Sessions. No one Laker player has cast a hero ball shadow over his teamates, leaving them in the dark and feeling underutilized and groping blindly about.
I really liked the way this game ended, with Kobe throwing that pass to Blake, who really came up with some clutch shots and huge block. A good friend texted me and said, "Jordan to Paxon."
And yes, so it was. But I remember the Bulls playing the Lakers in the lousy finals we lose, and Jordan shooting, shooting and shooting and missing, missing, missing the Bulls towards a loss until Phil had to call timeout and say to him, "Who is open Michael? Who is open?" Jordan, didn't answer at first, then finally replied, "Paxon."
Coach Brown didn't have to call time out for Kobe to hit the right guy at the right time. Kobe could have gone into hero mode and shot. He could have ignored Blake, but he did the right thing at the right time, unlike Jordan that night, of his on volition.
It was a nice team play. And it finished off the game for us. That is usually the reward for team plays. It really does work that way. Kobe and Blake really are doing a great Jordan-Paxon impersonation.
Hill has to be singled out too. I mean 14 points and 11 boards. Honestly, where would we be without him? This guy was like found money. You just can't believe you got it. For those of you who liked Hill after that trade. You guys were right. He really can play.
Drew had a solid game. So did Pau. So did pretty much everyone. Nobody really stood out, nobody destroyed our chances either. It was just a solid, nice team game.
The other thing I was looking for, that I considered essential, was winning a big game in Denver. This has been a bad road team all year, and they had to take one in Denver. They have to believe they can win on the road. They have to win on the road. It is where they are. If they can't, they have no chance. And win on the road, they did. That was good to see too.
The second half was terrific fun, played a high pace and level. The Nuggets were fighting or their lives and we were fighting to end it.
The Nuggets are one of those teams that made it on grit and character, but are short on talent. They showed that grit and character the other night, and again tonight. But they are one of the NBA's playoff cattle teams, destined to be herded to the slaughter house by a more talented group. And in this series, we are the herdsmen. In LA, we pushed them closer and closer down the the chute that contains the hammer gun that puts down the cows. And tonight in Denver, we got them right up into the chute, their head in the box and tuesday night in LA, we will fire the bolt to put them out of their misery.
And so with that last win left to get, that we will get tuesday, one can't help but think of the monumental challenge of the Thunder that lies ahead.
They are not a cattle team. They too are herdsmen, used to leading the other team to slaughter. Just ask Dallas. That series, which will be upon us before you know it, will tell us all we need to know, will give us the final answers about what this team is capable of doing, or not.
So enjoy tuesday, it will be fun. Because from after that moment on, the real playoffs will begin. We will find out if we have grown in the Denver series, or whether it was just the destruction of weak team by a stronger one. The stakes will be high in the Thunder series. How high? Well, a champioinship could be on the line. Thats pretty high.
As an aside, I really do feel for Karl. Like Sloan, he is an old time NBA lifer. He is a really good coach. But he never is the herdsman, always the cattle. I wonder if late at night, looking at playing another superior team, for the seemingly endless time, does he ever think, "Why can't I ever have the most talented team?" Who could blame him for that little whine when he is all alone after all these years?
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Would you trade Saint Andrew of Bynum for anyone?
Posted by: SPQR on Thursday, May 03, 2012 - 06:53 PM
Lakers Blog
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Well,
We have Drew slowly but surely work his way through the endless critics.
We have seen young Drew overcome debilitating injuries, vast inexperience, being the youngest player drafted in NBA history, doubtful, jealous and even scornful teamates who didn't like him, didn't want him, and neglected him, to slowly move up in the teams heirarchy.
And now, in the last stages of his ascendance, we have seen him move up in the final meritocracy: the NBA's hierarchy.
A couple days ago, I read where Lakerdude said he would not trade Drew for anyone. This caught my attention because me and my friend Steve (lakeshowsd) were texting about this exact thing a few weeks ago during a game.
So that begs the question, would you trade St. Andrew for any other player in the league?
I don't mean a package of say Westbrook and Durant and others for Drew. I mean a one-on-one player trade.
I am also not asking if you think Drew is the best player in the league right now. Because most would not say that, for good reason.
What I am asking is, at his age, with his size, his ability, his future and yes, his very aggressive demeanor, is there any player you would trade him for?
My answer, like Lakerdude, is no. I see Drew as potentially (a close potential and getting closer all the time) as the most dominant player in basketball.
He is changing things fast, almost too fast to keep up. As an example, after last year, it was proclaimed that Zippy Griffin of the Clips was by far the best young player in the league. The future star who would rise and burn all before him in a blaze of athletic glory.
Well, I have seen Zippy a few times this year and I when I do, I think: Drew makes this guy look like a munchin size wise, and Drew makes him look like a midget in his effect on the game.
I wouldn't trade Drew for Zippy no matter what.
And for me, that shows how quickly Drew's development put tomorrows dominant young player in the rear view mirror.
I know how I answer the question. And I have a feeling I know how a few others here will, lol. But I will let them speak for themselves.
My anwer is: NO WAY would I trade Drew, at his age, with his size, with his ability, his aggressiveness, his accomplishment, his growth, his prime still years away, for ANY player in the NBA.
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LA-Denver game two: It’s a storm warning!
Posted by: SPQR on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 12:57 AM
Lakers Blog
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Before the second LA – Denver game, my cell phone sent me a storm warning: Thunder, lightning and heavy rain.
And boy was that right. The storm got so hard that I lost my hi-def picture a couple times and had to change to the analog feed to get the picture. But the storm passed and in the end, all was well.
But Pittsburgh Pennsylvania wasn’t the only city that had a storm. In LA, where storms are few and far between, another more ominous burst of nature was about to burst down on the Denver Nuggets.
Make no mistake, it was a must win game for the team from the Rocky Mountain state. They knew it, we knew it, and they played like their very playoff lives were at stake, because they were.
But one thing we have learned over long history is that human will, human effort, pales in comparison to violent vicissitudes of nature, and so it was again tonight in Staples center.
Portents of the storm to come came early. Thunder, low and loud, in the form of Andrew Bynum early, doing what he wanted, when he wanted. The warnings of the thunder reverberated around the Nuggets with each basket and rebound. And the thunder Drew unleashed battered Denver for 27 points. For the Nuggets, the sound of thunder must have been deafening.
But thunder is only half a storm. It is the introduction to something that can be even more violent and destructive: Lightening.
And it was lightening indeed that followed thunder tonight. Lightening in the guise of Kobe Bryant, who twisted, turned, drove, lit up the sky with flashes of magnificent light, scorching the Nuggets with high voltage burns with every unerring strike. The damage was so severe that the fire department and paramedics surrounded Staples, but no survivors from Denver would escape a storm so ferocious and ceaseless. They say lightening never strikes the same place twice, but Denver will tell you that is a lie, because tonight it struck them 38 times. And for the Nuggets, those strike were blinding and fatal.
For Kobe Bryant, it was a remarkable, unfathomable 83rd time he breached 30 points in a playoff game. How many games is that? One more than a full season of basketball. Who says lightening doesn’t strike the same place twice? It does when that lightening is named Kobe Bryant.
But Denver was resilient in the face of the storm, the deafening thunder, the flashing deadly lightening. It took more than just thunder and lightning; it took rain and wind too. Jordan Hill kept hitting the boards hard, like they were his girlfriend, trapped in a corner. He is becoming the new Lamar Odom for this team. No, he can’t pass like Odom, he can’t handle like Odom, but he has size like Odom, effective size, and he rebounds like the good Odom and plays with an energy that the old Odom perhaps no longer has.
Pau Gasol chipped in some thunder of his own, with 13 points and 10 big boards.
At the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, with Thunder and Lightening on the bench, the other Lakers stepped forward to increase the lead from 7 points to 13. The sign of a winning team.
And Ramon Sessions rained in 10 crucial points in the fourth quarter, when Denver put up their last stand, when we needed a boost the most. The sign of a clutch winner, in his first ever playoff series.
And with 2:15 to play, with LA clinging to a four point lead, just when Denver came close, when hope of surviving the storm gleamed in their eyes, flowed from their drenched bodies, Kobe struck one last time with a lightening steal and passing to Drew for a thunderous dunk and the foul, to extend the lead to seven.
If a storm gets violent enough, if it is mean enough, it can cause all kinds of damage. It can hurt, it can kill, it can knock the lights out. And with that Kobe steal and Drew dunk, they hurt the Nuggets, they killed the Nuggets, they put the lights out on the Nuggets’ season.
The Nuggets played their hearts out. They had to. It was a must win game. There is an old axiom that a series hasn’t started till someone loses at home. But the fact is, barring a catastrophic injury to the Lakers, the Nuggets will not beat a bigger, better team that has home court four of the next five games. It was desperation time for Denver. They showed it in how hard they fought against all the odds and the force the storm threw at them.
And now the scene shifts to Denver. They will fight even harder there. They will try to run even more. But in the end, that team will have no answer for the Thunder and Lighting of LA.
And as the weather forecasters in Oklahoma look ahead a week or two, as they always do, they must wonder: What will be the weather forecast be?
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