I got a few thoughts during this game.Forgive me, but the lakers remind me of the pistons during their run. The pistons seemingly fell behind in every series b4 coming back and winning (except when they lost). Of course, LA would have to underachieve for at least a couple of more years to compare.
I give Houston a ton of credit. But, if LA could play with the effort Hou does, this series would be over. Hou is missing, both, their two best players and their first two centers. I didn't really notice Gasol or Odom trying to be big and make post plays to take advantage that. I don't really know if Odom is into posting up, but Gasol is, right? Seems like he should have been posting a lot more.
LA finished the game with Farmar. Brooks has been owning Fisher all series. Who do you think LA will have at the PG to close game 7? Who do think LA will start at PG next year? Is that Shannon Brown character that good? Fisher isn't gonna get any faster.
7 comments:
If they were smart they would start Farmar, but i really think Jackson is doing a terrible job coaching. Why are they even guarding Hayes?
I think the Lakers have a pretty easy formula for winning this game, but will they use it? I think they will, but if they don't, they should get rid of Jackson. That guy doesn't have the passion anymore.
yea the lakers don't look as scary at all right now as i thought they would a month ago.
i think you are right tom, if la played with the gusto that shane and ron and the guys have shown, they would smash anyone in their path. this has a lot to do with shashers 'is kobe a winner' question in that other post too i think.
it seems they would be playing more to their advantages (size, ie gasol, odom) but is that the rockets taking them out of their element more than phil jackson just not thinking of that idea? i dunno enough about coaching i guess, but it seems that the rockets have some pretty serious D (one might argue even more serious with chuck hayes at C) even if the lakers are mailing it in offensively.
we should axe jeremy whats up with phil.
hey jer do you still read this? is phil still a winner? whats up with kobe? if they can't get it done right now, should they just throw in the towel? should this too be a whole new post?
I am sure i heard them saying they needed to feed Gasol earlier in the series. And they did a good job of that in a game or two, if i remember right.
I think they just weren't executing that game 6 and at some other times.
I still think Kobe is the man. I think he IS a winner. I think he has been playing fantastic team ball the last couple years. Maybe I just think all that cause kobe wants me to think all that; he is smart enough to maintain an appearance:) Point is, i think it is his teammates more than it is him. To me, kobe always seems motivated and focused on the floor.
I can't help but be a Kobe fan. He is just too good at basketball for anything else to really taint him. That is the most ridiculous thing in the world; but as they say, it is what it is.
Of course, i want Denver to crush LA, all the same.
The 'Flakers' theme has been plaguing me since March. I couldn't quite identify why it all made me so anxious. I could analyze some of their weaknesses in pieces (i.e. bench play, defense, 3 pt shooting) but couldn't really put a finger on the holistic picture; the core problem(s) that destabilized the system. I hope you're wrong Tom but when you compared them to Detroit, I got a knot in my stomach. It rings too true. Obviously I really disliked them for beating the Lakers in the '04 Finals but I never really gave them enough credit; I was always able to blame it on the Lakers' internal struggles at that time. I really started despising them over the next few years because the only time I feel like I saw them at their best was the '04 & '05 Finals, robbing all NBA fans of watching great basketball. I feel the same way exponentially with the Lakers this year. As a fan, they’re ripping me off. The opportunity for history is fading fast; the time is now and as Adelman said: “Nobody’s giving this to you; You’ve got to TAKE it!”. I don't know if it's arrogance (which I'd always attributed to DET), or a plethora of things but it's driving me crazy.
I do believe Phil has lost a step a little. He’s always been known as a master motivator but he’s failed miserably the past couple seasons (well, the Finals last season & the second half of this season). Also, his adjustments (match ups, etc.) seem to come later than usual (which feeds a theory of mine that Tex was the true strategist behind the scenes), they’ve been more reactive rather than proactive, and, though we don't hear everything he says, I haven't heard him say a word about the importance of defense & rebounding. That had been a staple of his teams in prior years. He did say a little about them being Jeckll & Hyde effort-wise (which defense is mostly about) but if he is saying it off-camera, Odom & Gasol are only taking it to heart about every 3rd game (or less). They're not playing Bynum enough for my liking either. I knew there'd be some problems reintegrating him into the lineup but he didn't play hardly at all in the 2nd half of game 2 and that's huge to me. Even if he's not scoring, his rebounding & defense (not individual defense but as a basket guard - changing shots, etc.) are tantamount to overall success. They need to start Bynum, Gasol, Odom, Kobe, & Fish & bring Ariza, Farmar, Walton, & Vujacic off the bench for energy. At the end of the game, I’d love to see Fish seated, with Ariza at the 2 and Kobe at the point. That’d be the longest capable squad in the league.
I feel like whatever the original problem was it has resulted in dysfunction that they can all feel. The defense is lackluster, the 3 point shooting is definitely suffering, and ball movement is horrible most of the time. I really like they way they play when Kobe is sitting because when he’s on the floor, the whole team seems content to let him play one-on-one and he eats that shit up. It has to change. He’s needed on the defensive end, but he’s got to look to get his teammates involved more early. Drive & kick. I haven’t seen that in months and it helps everything they do. When he’s sitting, they actually play more like a team… I hope they figure it out but if it weren’t LAL, I’d be rooting against them.
I actually think denver has under performed, as well, in the last couple games. The bench finally came back since they were home. But, melo had a bad game, and chaucney ahd a really bad game. Denver missed a load of open threes.
And just like La, denver at times plays great defense, and at times lets anyone in the lane that wants to.
The den-la series has been great because they have been close games and there have been clutch plays. But, don't think i haven't been thinking about how great this series would be if both teams sustained their highest level of game throughout 48 minutes. Game three was the ugliest yet.
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I never heard tex was a puppet master. YOu really think that? I actually either didn't know tex or had forgot about him, until he passed.
I wouldn't necessarily say puppet master because it implies control. I don't know this in any way at all but it's kinda how I see JVG’s assistant coach now w/ the Celts (Thibodeau). The Head Coach would be the Chief Psychologist & the assistant coach is the primary strategist. So Phil (and/or Doc) cultivate & motivate the personalities and Tex (and/or Thib) weigh in on some of the most important tweaks. I doubt this is exactly how it works because it kinda implies the rest of the coaching staff is worthless. I do know that Tex is the architect of the triangle (or triple-post) offense & Phil's admitted that he looks to Tex for tweaking the offense based on personnel (ie. MJ & Shaq). I also read a few years ago that because Tex is so old, Phil looks to him to give Kobe shit when he's playing bad because Kobe respects him so much (i.e. he doesn't throw a tantrum when criticized). BTW, Tex isn’t dead. He had a stroke and he's in a rehab facility in KC [insert KC=dead joke here].
Along the lines of coaching staff arrangements, there was a verbal conversation somewhere (Patrick’s house?) a couple years ago pondering whether the NFL coaching structure would benefit an NBA team (Head Coach, Off Coordinator, Def Coordinator). I think there was general agreement that it was at least worth trying (and would probably be beneficial for some of the reasons above). Some of the commentary for one of the recent Cavs games actually mentioned that this is how Mike Brown arranged his staff... thought that was interesting.
Yeah puppet master was not an accurate way to put it. I think i have seen the Most Valuable Puppets commercials too many times (which i think are pretty funny).
Sorry about calling Tex dead. That is almost as bad as getting someones gender wrong. I think i was confused by all the old NBA dudes that died this year. Daly, Davidson, the Jazz owner..
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