Game Thread: tOfficial Lakers Summer League Thread

[DJ]

Mitch did much better in the draft than free agency.

Russell, Nance, and Brown are all going to be solid to really good players.

 

[DJ]

Scott's going to have to make adjustments to the offense.

 

[Retroram52]

Yea, I think B. Scott is going to have to somewhat leave the Princeton offense and get one that accommodates the talent and speed he now has.

 

[TheSnowdog]

From what I saw Russell started off slow but warmed up as the game went along
I didn't see anything to change my opinion that he is going to be a great player for the Lakers

Add in Clarkson who I thought looked great and I agree with the assessment of others on here that the Lakers have something special in a Clarkson/Russell backcourt

Nance Jr. looked good

As far as the Okafor vs. Russell comparison last night - both players showed why they were drafted as high as they were
Of course this was one game and a summer league game at that

As a Sixers fan I wanted them to draft Russell - for one thing I do think he is going to be a great player in the league but I I also wanted the Sixers to draft Russell because of the Sixers' situation at the time of the draft - I was hoping Embiid would play this year and IMO the Sixers didn't need another front court player but did need a player like Russell in the backcourt

Well that went out the window when Lakers grabbed Russell but now with the recent news that Bynum...um...Bowie...um...Embiid is going to be out this year and seeing the way Okafor has been playing I am very happy so far with the Okafor pick

Okafor had some flat shots last night but that should get better as the year and season progresses
He will be a night in/night out double-double machine

This is a situation where both the Lakers and the Sixers both won out no matter how you slice it

 

[TheSnowdog]

We don't need Okafor. The days of dominant big men are far behind us and it's more of a faced paced, guard-oriented game.

If we can get Hibbert to protect the rim for us and Black, Randle and Nance Jr can get the rebounds, we'll have the guards doing the scoring.

I respectfully disagree with this statement

Yes Golden State won the championship and more power to them
They have an outstanding deep team
Curry and Thompson are a great backcourt but those 2 are not the reason why the Warriors won the championship - they certainly helped but it was more than just them

Golden State's deep bench and their defense had a big part in it
And let's not forget the contributions of Draymond Green and David Lee (when he was inserted into the lineup) - both front court players

So I do agree that it helps having a fast paced guard combo like Curry/Thompson but I'm not ready to discount a dominant front court

 

[Retroram52]

And this quote: " Well that went out the window when Lakers grabbed Russell but now with the recent news that Bynum...um...Bowie...um...Embiid is going to be out this year and seeing the way Okafor has been playing I am very happy so far with the Okafor pick", is interesting as the Sixers have just not had very good fortunate as of late with their bigs selections. Perhaps Okafor will change that trend.

 

[tomodach10]

Yea, I think B. Scott is going to have to somewhat leave the Princeton offense and get one that accommodates the talent and speed he now has.

I think so too. To much standing around with this offense.

 

[tomodach10]

I'm not saying you're wrong, i'm saying you bitch and moan more than a teenage girl!

You have literally NOTHING good to say about anything that's happened over the last month. What's more, you don't give any reasoning for your beliefs. No, "I think Okafor would fit better in with the Lakers rather than Russell because...". It's all "I'm not happy".

Will you at least give some constructive criticism for fucks sake!

Your childish rants are rediculous. The reason I felt Okafor was better for the Lakers is because I watched him all year. His footwork, passing skills, were reminiscent of past stud big men like Hakeem and Duncan. He is a special talent that does.not come along often. There aren't many dominant big men period. My line up would have been rando for one year with Clarkson. Having said that, obviously you have an ax to grind against my comments. If you would be objective about my post, you would have seen that I have said good comments about russell, but don't let facts get in the way of your foolishness. I will ignore your nonsense from now on!!

 

[Retroram52]

Definitely too much standing around Tomodach10.

 

[Vitamike]

I'm talking about centers, not forwards. Okafor fits more in the "camp out in the paint" model, rather than guys like Lebron, Davis, Love, Griffin who can actually make a shot from more than 10 feet from the basket.

Reggie Miller had it right when he called Okafor a "dinosaur" last night.

Let's face it all but 3 of the 7 bigs on that list are not 'camp out in the paint' guys (LeBron, Duncan & Love) Even then those three do pretty well hanging around the rim (Griffin is just beginning to pick up a mid range game but still makes his living in the paint) Okafor will develop, much as Griffin but considering dude is only 19 years old and understanding his advantages playing in both HS and College the last two years, of course that's where his game has developed the most.

I've always been more of a 'In Mitch we trust" guy and never the 'Mitch Cupcake' detractor type. So like I said before, I haven't warmed up to Russell just yet, but I'm willing to ....

 

[Vitamike]

Let's face it all but 3 of the 7 bigs on that list are not 'camp out in the paint' guys (LeBron, Duncan & Love)

Wait I said that wrong it should be... Let's face it all but 3 of the 7 bigs on that list are not 'camp out in the paint' guys (LeBron, Duncan & Love)

Reggie Miller had it right when he called Okafor a "dinosaur" last night.

BTW- When Reggie said that, it was meant as a compliment. Speaking in terms of the down low skill sets being or becoming a lost art.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

BTW- When Reggie said that, it was meant as a compliment. Speaking in terms of the down low skill sets being or becoming a lost art.

Exactly right! The NBA is evolving! It's a much faster paced game now and personally I see Russell being much more useful than Okafor will be.

 

[Vitamike]

Well I hope you're right SD11!

Having skills sets that are uncommon and unique make it hard to guard against. Funny thing though, that's sort of what Russell brings to the table being a lefty and all.

TBT - I've always have been a fan of Hibbert and think he will flourish with the change of scenery. Sounds crazy but with that in mind, I like the value Roy has compared to the cost of bringing in a Jordan.

For this, drafting the top guard makes since. Just never been a big fan of drafting needs so highly in the draft.

Just curious, if the Lakers had the No. 1 pick overall and did not trade it, would you have been good with drafting Russell?

 

[wildturkey]

LOL at you guys just now realizing Byron Scott's offense is garbage. Better late than never I guess.

 

[trojanfan12]

Read an article this morning that makes me feel a little better about the Lakers taking Nance Jr. in the first round.

Apparently, by his junior year, he was considered a first round pick and was looking to leave school after his junior season for the NBA draft, but tore his ACL. He came back from that and finished his senior season averaging 16.1 points and led his team to a conference title and NCAA tournament bid.

Still doesn't mean that taking a guy at 27 that likely would have been there at 34 was the best use of the pick, but it does make it a little more understandable, imo.

 

[lakersrule]

LOL at you guys just now realizing Byron Scott's offense is garbage. Better late than never I guess.

Even worse with Madsen. I'm starting to think that he is nothing better than a big body to bang against the bigs in practice.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

LOL at you guys just now realizing Byron Scott's offense is garbage. Better late than never I guess.

Offence has never been an issue - defence is. Hence them getting Hibbert.

 

[trojanfan12]

Offence has never been an issue - defence is. Hence them getting Hibbert.

I agree.

The Lakers averaged 98.5 points per game last season, which ranked them right about the middle of the league. They actually averaged more points per game than 3 playoff teams.

However, they gave up an average of something like 105.3 points per game.

I don't know if they would score more points in a different offensive system, but I know that it won't matter what the offensive system is if the defense doesn't improve.

 

[wildturkey]

Offence has never been an issue - defence is. Hence them getting Hibbert.

They both stink. If you can't see that, you're kidding yourself. Scott's offensive vision handicaps any talent the roster could possibly acquire. PPG isn't the best way to look at it. Look at the offensive rating which is on a per possession basis which accounts for a team's pace of play, etc. The Lakers were 24th out of 30 last year. But let's ignore more of the advanced stats and think of it this way. That 98.6 pts per game could easily be in the hundreds if he'd actually enter this century with his style of play.

If they had any foresight, they'd hire Steve Nash as an assistant and essentially let him be the team's offensive coordinator and guard skills coach. Byron's job would just be to call timeouts and make subs.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

I would argue that we would have used Clarkson and rando. Have to wait and see. I would not put Upshaw in the Okafor category.

I wouldn't either, at least not yet, but the fact is that the Lakers had a lot of holes to fill. I feel like the Lakers had a very good draft, potentially getting 1st round talent out of an undrafted Center and getting one of, if not, the best PG in the draft. In terms of filling holes in the roster, I don't think the Lakers could have done much better. But as TF12 has said, we likely won't know for a couple of years whether they were the right decisions, but at this time it certainly looks like they made great choices.

Compare the Lakers' situation with that of a team like the Mavericks, who refuse to rebuild and are looking at a 1st round exit again this year, and I feel pretty good. We have a nice core of young talent moving forward.