koolruningz
2009 NBA CHAMPIONS
Originally posted by Dr. Strangelove
I would agree with most of that with the exception of Walton. He's a perfect fit for the triangle and he is doing to what Diaw does for the suns and is a big factor in the Laker's improvement.
Couldnt agree more, but Kapono is no different for the Heat, he compliments their system perfectly because he is money when Wade kicks it out to him. I love having Walton on our team and he is probably the best Laker when it comes to using the offense to get his shot off or create for others. Kobe (contrary to popular belief) uses the offense to get his shots but its usually off ball reversals into an isolation or from the "guard around" on the pinch post. He has been know to free lance to from time to time as well. 😉
This is were I disagree. Now I don't have a problem with Kobe taking shots. He's Kobe Bryant, arguably the best scorer in the league. But he took 500 more shots last season than Gilbert Arenas, a dude who has been called a ball hog many times. There's no excuse for that. I know that one of the reasons Kobe took so many shots was because his teammates weren't hitting open ones. But don't you think that's partly his fault? I'll try to explain my point by doing my Hubie Brown impression: "Now you're Smush Parker, your teammate, Kobe Bryant, just took an off balanced three pointer with two defenders on him while you were wide open. Now if you're Smush Parker, are you supposed to be confident shooting the ball after that?"
I dont believe Arenas is a ball hog, he's a great scorer who takes some bad shots exactly like Kobe. See i've defended Kobe alot over the years but i've never had a problem calling him out for taking bad shots. The problem with that is that they are not necessarily bad shots for him, he practices them all the time. Same with Arenas, some might say a pull up 3 with a dude right in his grill is a bad shot but the mentality of a scorer like Kobe, Arenas, AI and even Jordan is that "i can score on anyone from anywhere" and its reflected in the way they play. Those same 25ft fadeaways with 2 guys on him that he misses are the same ones on Sportscenter when he makes them. The perfect example is the game winner against the Suns in the playoffs last year, pull up jumper over 2 guys - obviously someone else was open and if he'd missed that would have been an issue but he didnt so its ignored.
Kobe has tried to break that mentality this season (which was previewed in the playoffs last year and the last 15 -20 games of the regular season) and sometimes i think he is too passive but you can clearly see he is trying to step back and take a lesser role. Jordan did the same thing at around the same age and i dont think its easy for either of them because both want to ultimately win and dont necessarily trust anyone but themselves to get it done. Jordan managed to embrace the team philosophy and now is talked about like he always played that way, when its quite the opposite. The real test for Kobe is going to be in times like these when things aren't going well and he has to fight the urge to just get the ball and do it all himself, they may win the game but it doesnt necessarily help the team in the long run and so far Kobe seems to get that now.
Well I've always thought Iverson was overrated as hell but during his MVP season, he was pretty much the only option offensively. AI had to score and put up shots whereas as this year shows, Kobe didn't need to do that last year.
I disagree with that and here's why. Last season there were 4 players who knew the triangle, Kobe, Walton, George and Cook. I dont know if you've ever studied the triangle but if you have then you'd know its a very complex offense which is more about reading the defense then reacting. When its run properly it has counters for any defense even zones, but when its run badly like it was last season then its a struggle to get anything from it. Lamar looked lost in it, Smush, Kwame, Mihm and all the other triangle virgins struggled (with good reason) and even players like Luke will struggle if the other guys dont know what they are doing. Luke towards the end of last season and this season has looked great but alot of that is down to Lamar getting it and finding Luke in his spots. I personally dont believe either Phil or Jerry Buss would have tolerated the Lakers missing the playoffs for the 2nd straight year so as Phil has said on many occasions he let Kobe carry the offense until the other guys caught up. The turning point came after ASW and the Lakers started rolling, all of a sudden Lamar was a triple threat, Kwame was catching the ball because he wasnt thinking where he had to be all the time and Walton was looking like a bonafide starter. Sure Kobe went overboard some nights, like i said his shot selection pisses me off sometimes but he is getting better at not trying to do it all. Dont forget he was the leading assist man in the 3-Peat years, so he can step back when he knows the guys can get it done.
Point taken but I do think you're a little too hard on the Lakers role players, in my opinion. I'm not saying they are amazing, but they are solid, and they give more effort than most.
Dude i love the guys we have on the team now, they are inconsistent like most youngsters but they are only going to get better. Bench players like Turiaf, Evans and Farmar make me very optimistic about the direction the Lakers are heading.
I understand that but as an example, I just can't see Lebron being a better candidate for MVP than Wade at this point. Lebron team is doing much better that Wade's team but Lebron has pretty much been coasting these first three months, and yes 26-6-6 is coasting for Lebron, he's that talented. The amount of effort and work load Wade is putting up is much more than Lebron right now and that is the reason I see Wade being a MVP candidate even though his team isn't doing well.
I dont disagree with any of that bro, i think the way the MVP is decided is a crock. But thats the way the NBA wants it and unless Wade's team goes on a crazy run to end the season he wont get anywhere near it (unless he really is Sterns lovechild). 😛
Nice to finally have an intelligent argument with someone.
No rule that Kings fans and Laker fans cant get along, nothing but good vibes from me bro.
😮💨