Lakers 06-07 Season Thread

[OCBucksFan]

You make some good points. I guess I was falling under the school of thought that the Lakers got those players because they could be solid roll players. I have never thought Odom lived up to the expectations since arriving in LA. However, while I agree no one is stepping up I don't think the problem is one sided. As noted, I don't think Kobe is doing enough to make the rest of the team better. I think both sides have fallen into a rut where everyone else questions their ability to step up and Kobe fills that gap so the situation stays the same.

Yeah, but as a fan, I have seen Bryant try to "make the rest of the team better" and go for the triple double every game and it just didn't work. I feel like Buss had to make a decision when the Shaq/Kobe issue happened, and I don't regret that he chose a young Bryant over an aging Shaq, and that's the important factor in that trade, what I hate about that trade is it went like a fire sale, we got crap and it wasn't like that crap all had 1-2 year contracts.

Buss is a smart man, he's done a great job at keeping the Lakers competing every year, yeah, this year is a bad one but it's not like it's been all bad times. We had some injuries that set us back, and we realize there's a lot of changes that need to be done, since West left it feels like the players coming in haven't been anything spectacular, it's like we are just trying to get enough people to play instead of getting the talent to win.

Also, Phil Jackson isn't doing anything this year as I can tell, he does well when he's given talent that can win but just needs a little work to be great, but his taking a team from start to finish leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[melrun78]

Yeah, but as a fan, I have seen Bryant try to "make the rest of the team better" and go for the triple double every game and it just didn't work. I feel like Buss had to make a decision when the Shaq/Kobe issue happened, and I don't regret that he chose a young Bryant over an aging Shaq, and that's the important factor in that trade, what I hate about that trade is it went like a fire sale, we got crap and it wasn't like that crap all had 1-2 year contracts.

Buss is a smart man, he's done a great job at keeping the Lakers competing every year, yeah, this year is a bad one but it's not like it's been all bad times. We had some injuries that set us back, and we realize there's a lot of changes that need to be done, since West left it feels like the players coming in haven't been anything spectacular, it's like we are just trying to get enough people to play instead of getting the talent to win.

Also, Phil Jackson isn't doing anything this year as I can tell, he does well when he's given talent that can win but just needs a little work to be great, but his taking a team from start to finish leaves a lot to be desired.

I really agree with your comments on Phil. I think we see the difference between a manager of talents (and egos) vs. a developmental coach. Maybe there aren't many of those in the NBA anymore but he sure doesn't appear to be doing any kind of maturing with these players.

 

[OCBucksFan]

I really agree with your comments on Phil. I think we see the difference between a manager of talents (and egos) vs. a developmental coach. Maybe there aren't many of those in the NBA anymore but he sure doesn't appear to be doing any kind of maturing with these players.

Exactly, simple fundamentals are missing from our young players. Take last nights game for example, 42 free throws by the Clippers, the Lakers basically gave them the game. Who taught these guys how to play defense? You don't need to grab the enemy player every time. It's just stupid, not to mention when 3 people are guarding Kobe Bryant there's no need for the rest of the team to constantly throw in three pointers, how about driving to the basket once in a while?

What a frustrating year to be a Lakers fan

 

[melrun78]

Exactly, simple fundamentals are missing from our young players. Take last nights game for example, 42 free throws by the Clippers, the Lakers basically gave them the game. Who taught these guys how to play defense? You don't need to grab the enemy player every time. It's just stupid, not to mention when 3 people are guarding Kobe Bryant there's no need for the rest of the team to constantly throw in three pointers, how about driving to the basket once in a while?

What a frustrating year to be a Lakers fan

I feel for you man. I spent some time in Sacto in the late 90's early 00's and was a Kings fan by default. If nothing else, you haven't suffered like those fans have. But I know what you mean by being frustrated. I surely hated seeing a team w/ so much promise wither away (choke might be the right word).

 

[Sky]

HAHAHAHA, Queens fan, what a bunch of fags. No really, I always like Miller (Purdue) and was really impressed that he was the first undrafted player to make the all-star team. Bibby is so hot and cold he's hard to watch.

 

[OCBucksFan]

Yeah, Bibby has some games where you just dread him touching the ball, and other games where he just bricks constantly. I think the whole Kings/Lakers "rivalry" has been put to bed. In all honesty, the Lakers don't really have a consistant "rival" that I can think of. The Clippers claim to be our #1 Rival, but they are more like a little brother who mom occasionally buys new clothes for instead of giving hand-me-downs. The Suns seem to be trying to get under the Lakers skin, but I am of the opinion that's more about them trying to get noticed.

It was really easy to hate that Kings team that made it to the Western Conference finals, Webber alone made it easy for me to go Bleh. Really though, their window of opportunity shut so fast that the "rivalry" there died quick, it was fun to hate them while it lasted though.

I do remember the Rick Fox/Doug Christie brawl, that was some funny shit right there.

 

[fourteenandoh]

Good Luck this week! I'm looking forward to it.

 

[melrun78]

Yeah, Bibby has some games where you just dread him touching the ball, and other games where he just bricks constantly. I think the whole Kings/Lakers "rivalry" has been put to bed. In all honesty, the Lakers don't really have a consistant "rival" that I can think of. The Clippers claim to be our #1 Rival, but they are more like a little brother who mom occasionally buys new clothes for instead of giving hand-me-downs. The Suns seem to be trying to get under the Lakers skin, but I am of the opinion that's more about them trying to get noticed.

It was really easy to hate that Kings team that made it to the Western Conference finals, Webber alone made it easy for me to go Bleh. Really though, their window of opportunity shut so fast that the "rivalry" there died quick, it was fun to hate them while it lasted though.

I do remember the Rick Fox/Doug Christie brawl, that was some funny shit right there.

Dude I hate Dough Christie. What a little girl and all the hoopla surrounding his wife was more like a soap opera. I was not sorry to see him go. And WTF is up with the Kings. They give up a bad apple in Chris Webber and go after Ron Artest. Then they hire a drunk coach and fire him after one year. They are currently on a bad slide. But what did they really expect with Corliss Williamson, Artest, and Rahim?

 

[OCBucksFan]

Dude I hate Dough Christie. What a little girl and all the hoopla surrounding his wife was more like a soap opera. I was not sorry to see him go. And WTF is up with the Kings. They give up a bad apple in Chris Webber and go after Ron Artest. Then they hire a drunk coach and fire him after one year. They are currently on a bad slide. But what did they really expect with Corliss Williamson, Artest, and Rahim?

I wondered the same thing when they got Artest, it's not like the guy has had a good track record in the NBA. I understand the off season didn't leave a lot of opportunities for most teams, however, Artest?!? Then again, I really can't say much, we have 6 players that I don't know how even got into professional sports, let alone on the Lakers.

 

[melrun78]

I wondered the same thing when they got Artest, it's not like the guy has had a good track record in the NBA. I understand the off season didn't leave a lot of opportunities for most teams, however, Artest?!? Then again, I really can't say much, we have 6 players that I don't know how even got into professional sports, let alone on the Lakers.

HAHA, that is funny. And you know I hate teams that tank to get the #1 draft pick but the Lakers should have considered that at the end of the season. It isn't like they were going to make it beyond the first round anyway so maybe moving up a few spots in the draft (and a few spots down in the standings) would have given them a few more options.

 

[yangup81]

Who do you think they should draft? I mean even Kobe took three years to get real good and I don't know if Kobe or the Lakers can wait that long.

 

[OCBucksFan]

Who do you think they should draft? I mean even Kobe took three years to get real good and I don't know if Kobe or the Lakers can wait that long.

It's hard to say at this point, the team needs a lot of work, we have a mix of young players and old players, and it's not working out too well. They need to decide if they want to win now, or if they are building a team, Kobe maybe has 4-5 years left, he's no longer a young player, same goes for Odom, Kwame and Walton, these guys are all veterans now.

So the decision has to be made, if we want to win now, we need to do some aggressive trading in the off season to get some talent around Bryant, people who can shoot and share the ball. That means not focusing too much on the draft and working heavily into free agency.

If we want to be a young team, then maybe it's time to talk to one of those teams who has one of the first 5 picks in the draft and see if we can work a deal.

One thing is for sure, the great Lakers teams have always been focused on a big man in the middle. If you go to Staples Center you see most of the retired numbers belong to Centers, that's been the staple of our success and Bynum isn't quite the next great big man yet.

 

[OSUScoonie12]

I agree...the Lakers need to go for another big name guy in the offseason. We had a chance at Kidd but didn't want to give up Bynum, and other things, for him. Odom was a great pick up a few years ago and has been our 2nd star. We now need that 3rd role player to step up for us.

As for Bynum, i say give him another year or so and he will be very good. You gotta remember he is only 19.

 

[Sky]

It's hard to say at this point, the team needs a lot of work, we have a mix of young players and old players, and it's not working out too well. They need to decide if they want to win now, or if they are building a team, Kobe maybe has 4-5 years left, he's no longer a young player, same goes for Odom, Kwame and Walton, these guys are all veterans now.

So the decision has to be made, if we want to win now, we need to do some aggressive trading in the off season to get some talent around Bryant, people who can shoot and share the ball. That means not focusing too much on the draft and working heavily into free agency.

If we want to be a young team, then maybe it's time to talk to one of those teams who has one of the first 5 picks in the draft and see if we can work a deal.

One thing is for sure, the great Lakers teams have always been focused on a big man in the middle. If you go to Staples Center you see most of the retired numbers belong to Centers, that's been the staple of our success and Bynum isn't quite the next great big man yet.

That's a good point. And really, even if Kobe will be in the league for 5,6,7, more years, his superiority may drop off in 3 or 4 years so frankly, if the Lakers want to make use of him I think they should go now. Maybe he will be "the" player for longer than that but I would say the time is now.

I agree...the Lakers need to go for another big name guy in the offseason. We had a chance at Kidd but didn't want to give up Bynum, and other things, for him. Odom was a great pick up a few years ago and has been our 2nd star. We now need that 3rd role player to step up for us.

As for Bynum, i say give him another year or so and he will be very good. You gotta remember he is only 19.

When it comes to Odom, I will second what OC says in that he hasn't really stepped up to the degree most expected. I figured he would be Robin to Kobe's Batman but its not even close.

Additionally, on Bynum, he hasn't shown much if he is going to be a great man down the line. I really look at Oden and say Bynum could have used at least a year in college. Maybe I will eat those words but watching him does not inspire me.

 

[OCBucksFan]

I agree...the Lakers need to go for another big name guy in the offseason. We had a chance at Kidd but didn't want to give up Bynum, and other things, for him. Odom was a great pick up a few years ago and has been our 2nd star. We now need that 3rd role player to step up for us.

As for Bynum, i say give him another year or so and he will be very good. You gotta remember he is only 19.

While on most teams Kidd would be a valuable addition I don't think he would have been all that on the Lakers. The reason is simple, he's an assist machine, but if no one can sink a shot then he's not as potent as he would be on say Phoenix or Dallas where they have a ton of people who can shoot from almost anywhere.

Odom was great on the Clippers, but as I have said, when your team sucks it's not hard to be the shining star. No one took them seriously, and played down to their level. He's a good player, but I think in that system he looked a lot better.

As for Bynum, age aside, he's lacked motivation. Kareem has made it a point to work with him, and for a while he showed up early every time and was working on getting better, then he started showing up later and later, and that would be what has soured me on him.