Game Thread: Bobcats Vs Lakers Jan 31, 2014

[Retroram52]

Yea, LALakersboy and B. Scott just hangs his head. They have run out of the nice adjectives permitted by the telecast but I bet they could both light it up with all sorts of expletives.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

I'd actually gladly have Byron Scott as our head coach. Knows how to take a team to the finals and right now I'd have road kill over D'antoni.

 

[Black Adam]

I'd actually gladly have Byron Scott as our head coach. Knows how to take a team to the finals and right now I'd have road kill over D'antoni.

ex Morningside Monarch running the team? lol i'd have no problem with it...

 

[trojanfan12]

That may be true if the guys we had on the floor were all as old as Pau. But Kelly and Marshall are 22, Harris is 24, Hill and Meeks are 26 and Young is 28! Plus the team just had a two day break. Giving up 110 to the bobcats at home is inexcusable.

But look at the names that are missing. Yes, those guys are young and can still recover quickly, but if the Lakers are fully healthy, Marshall and Harris aren't even on the team and Kelly probably isn't seeing the minutes that he currently is.

The injuries aren't just about fatigue, they are also about players being thrust into roles that they are unaccustomed to and in some cases, unequipped for.

For example: Marshall does a pretty good job most of the time, but he also has stretches where he shows why he was in the D-League. He is a nice 3rd PG, maybe even a #2 PG, but he is not a starting quality PG. If we had Farmar and Blake healthy, Marshall gets spot minutes. If we have Farmar, Blake and Nash healthy, Marshall is still in the D-league.

If Kobe and X are healthy, Harris is also still in the D-league. Kelly is likely the only one that would still be seeing quality minutes and that's only because he can be the stretch 4 that the offense needs.

 

[Retroram52]

Well with all of this playing time, all players mentioned above will get better and that will be a very nice problem to have going forward.

 

[trojanfan12]

Well with all of this playing time, all players mentioned above will get better and that will be a very nice problem to have going forward.

Exactly and that's the point I'm making when I preach patience with everything about this team (including D'Antoni).

Remember, back when we had a relatively healthy team, the Lakers were 10-9, hanging around the 9th spot in the West and looking like they were starting to gel? Remember how we were all getting excited that the Lakers might surprise some folks if they could continue to gel?

Then the injuries hit full force and it's been a series of patchwork lineups and wildly inconsistent play ever since.

The Lakers need to get through this season, see who they intend to keep, who they get in the draft and who they can get via free agency. As the roster turns over and better players are added, I think that many of you will be amazed at how much smarter D'Antoni gets (having talented players tends to do that for a coach).