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Kold
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WELL, it has been awhile so HELLO fellow Laker brethern. I just want to start off by saying I'm not trying to step on the toes of others who may have made similar threads, but I'm doing this because it's been a LONG time since I've done a thread and I haven't really broke down my thoughts on the upcoming season...but before I do that, let me first say that I know that this is such an unpoplar statement, but I REALLY wanted this organization/team to tank the season this year.There is a once in a generation draft class coming up and a top 5-7 pick almost guarantees a franchise player or all star. Well, now that I've got that out of the way...
I saw my first FULL preseason game of our team last night and well, it was interesting. Completely different from last year, last night they actually LOOKED like a team, and a team that wanted to be on the same court with each other. Now whether you want to say that's on Kobe or Dwight...or Earl Clark(lol), then that's on you. I see the spacing on offense being ten times better than it ever was last year because everybody in the starting lineup(outside of Nash) needed to be in the post at some point in the game last year.
Going to this year's team, I've been saying for like 3 years now that the Lakers just need to get some young ball handlers that can create their own shot on a consistent basis to take pressure off of Kobe. So I'll start with Nick Young. Nick Young has been a wildly erratic and inconsistent player for the better part of his career...but for his entire career he's never played had options on one team like he'll have this year. The best person I can remember him playing with was Gilbert Arenas. What I'm saying is, now that he's on a team such as the Lakers, I think he'll be forced to fall in line and he won't be AS erratic as years before. As for Wes Johnson and Xavier Henry, they have been perennial busts for the most part, but at best it looks as if they can get their own shot off the dribble. Xavier also did a pretty decent job with the second team last night. I only saw a little bit of him, but this Marcus Landry kid was looking pretty good out there. Moving on, it was pretty nice to see Pau out there looking healthy and back in the post. Steve blake is well...Steve Blake. I personally think that Marcus Landry or Xaiver Henry should be running the point guard when the 2nd team comes in because Blake STILL has this thing to where he drives in the paint and then he panics. He's just not a prototypical point guard, he can knock down a shot however. I still think we should of traded him when he went on that tear last year, probably could of got something really decent. Steve Nash had another minor injury last night....the guy can still go on offense, but we are going to do our best to hide him on defense this year. Lastly, Shawne Williams is a big guy that can knock down a three, so basically he has a spot no matter what on a Mike Dantoni team.
Which brings me to my next point...our coach Mike Dantoni. I'm still not on board, but I will say this...I always thought that if u got the right pieces for his system and everything broke right, you'd have a team that could contend for a title. My thing is this, from what I saw last night, we're still not going to be up to par defensively(understandably so), and I still hate Dantoni's substitution patterns....but I've accepted long ago that this guy is GOING to be here for awhile so I might as well just accept it. I'm putting alot of faith into Kurt Rambis for the fact that I know that he'll emphasize defense.
and last but certainly not least, Kobe bean Bryant. I must say that we've been saying to others to not take Kobe for granted...but I must admit, this is the FIRST year, when I've felt like the end is near. Now whether the end is this year, the next year, or the year after, I have NO idea...but this is the 1st time when I've said, it's about to come to a end. As for this year, I think he'll come back and he WILL be AS good as he's been as far as the late stages of his career goes. More importantly, as was the case for that 5 game stretch last year, I think we'll see some more of "Kobe Johnson". That's if people are coming through when he passes, because if they don't, you know he's gonna take it upon himself.
As for this year, I'm not expecting alot...I'm just ready to see alot of young, new faces push the tempo, I'm ready to see if Kobe can overcome this achilles injury, and I'm ready to see if Pau can get back to being himself in the post. Also, I'm looking forward to a NORMAL, NON turbulent year this year. If anything, this year is going to be interesting to say the least
I saw my first FULL preseason game of our team last night and well, it was interesting. Completely different from last year, last night they actually LOOKED like a team, and a team that wanted to be on the same court with each other. Now whether you want to say that's on Kobe or Dwight...or Earl Clark(lol), then that's on you. I see the spacing on offense being ten times better than it ever was last year because everybody in the starting lineup(outside of Nash) needed to be in the post at some point in the game last year.
Going to this year's team, I've been saying for like 3 years now that the Lakers just need to get some young ball handlers that can create their own shot on a consistent basis to take pressure off of Kobe. So I'll start with Nick Young. Nick Young has been a wildly erratic and inconsistent player for the better part of his career...but for his entire career he's never played had options on one team like he'll have this year. The best person I can remember him playing with was Gilbert Arenas. What I'm saying is, now that he's on a team such as the Lakers, I think he'll be forced to fall in line and he won't be AS erratic as years before. As for Wes Johnson and Xavier Henry, they have been perennial busts for the most part, but at best it looks as if they can get their own shot off the dribble. Xavier also did a pretty decent job with the second team last night. I only saw a little bit of him, but this Marcus Landry kid was looking pretty good out there. Moving on, it was pretty nice to see Pau out there looking healthy and back in the post. Steve blake is well...Steve Blake. I personally think that Marcus Landry or Xaiver Henry should be running the point guard when the 2nd team comes in because Blake STILL has this thing to where he drives in the paint and then he panics. He's just not a prototypical point guard, he can knock down a shot however. I still think we should of traded him when he went on that tear last year, probably could of got something really decent. Steve Nash had another minor injury last night....the guy can still go on offense, but we are going to do our best to hide him on defense this year. Lastly, Shawne Williams is a big guy that can knock down a three, so basically he has a spot no matter what on a Mike Dantoni team.
Which brings me to my next point...our coach Mike Dantoni. I'm still not on board, but I will say this...I always thought that if u got the right pieces for his system and everything broke right, you'd have a team that could contend for a title. My thing is this, from what I saw last night, we're still not going to be up to par defensively(understandably so), and I still hate Dantoni's substitution patterns....but I've accepted long ago that this guy is GOING to be here for awhile so I might as well just accept it. I'm putting alot of faith into Kurt Rambis for the fact that I know that he'll emphasize defense.
and last but certainly not least, Kobe bean Bryant. I must say that we've been saying to others to not take Kobe for granted...but I must admit, this is the FIRST year, when I've felt like the end is near. Now whether the end is this year, the next year, or the year after, I have NO idea...but this is the 1st time when I've said, it's about to come to a end. As for this year, I think he'll come back and he WILL be AS good as he's been as far as the late stages of his career goes. More importantly, as was the case for that 5 game stretch last year, I think we'll see some more of "Kobe Johnson". That's if people are coming through when he passes, because if they don't, you know he's gonna take it upon himself.
As for this year, I'm not expecting alot...I'm just ready to see alot of young, new faces push the tempo, I'm ready to see if Kobe can overcome this achilles injury, and I'm ready to see if Pau can get back to being himself in the post. Also, I'm looking forward to a NORMAL, NON turbulent year this year. If anything, this year is going to be interesting to say the least
