Lafayette Blog|Your Blog About Lafayette
Feb
21
Filed Under (Basketball) by
Marcus Robbins asked:
After losing in the NBA finals, the stakes for the Lakers are even higher this year. The Lakers had a relatively quiet offseason…but with the healthy return of Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza, as well as having both Pau Gasol and Ariza for the full season, many are picking the Lakers as the favorites to win the title.
The only loss on the Laker roster this offseason was Ronny Turiaf. Ronny was a great hustle and energy guy off the bench who would come in, get some rebounds and block some shots. But it was wise for the Lakers to not match the salary he signed for. He simply wouldn’t be worth it (especially with the Lakers being over the cap), as his loss shouldn’t be a big factor anyways with Bynum back. The Lakers will look to the athletic 6-9, 240lb Josh Powell to fill Turiaf’s role, which would be significantly smaller this year anyways. The Lakers also resigned DJ MBenga for more depth at C.
At the guard positions, the Lakers resigned Sasha Vujacic, and drafted Sun Yue (2007) and Joe Crawford (6-5, 207lb guard from Kentucky), as well as picking up Dwayne Mitchell, Brandon Heath, and CJ Giles. Sun Yue is an intriguing prospect down the road but he’s simply a project at this point and shouldn’t have any effect on this year. Joe Crawford was a solid player at Kentucky (17.9 pts, 3.6 reb, 2.1 ast). He had one really nice move in summer league….I’m not expecting to see any of those this year though. But as long as he shows he can play solid defense and hit the three, he has an outside shot to make the roster. Dwayne Mitchell is a pretty interesting prospect. A 6-5 220lb guard out of Louisiana Lafayette. He was a D-League all-star before shipping out to play in Germany. Mitchell was actually picked up after impressing Kupchak during Josh Powell’s workout. He’s a very athletic and explosive guard. Something the Lakers could definitely use. His outside shot and decision making seems to be suspect, but the explosive athleticism and upside is nice.
Heading into the season the major questions for the team are:
Is Andrew Bynum 100%?
All indications are that Bynum’s knee is 100%. Bynum seems especially confident and excited about the upcoming season. To me it was a real shame seeing Bynum go down last year. He was really improving daily and right before our eyes …and then he gets hurt. This year, Phil has said he would like to get Bynum even more involved in the offense….to expand his game to where he can help in the facilitation of the offense rather than just going one on one or catching a lob dunk for scores.
Will Kobe’s pinky be OK?
It should be fine. Kobe’s stats were basically the same before and after the injury. The pinky can’t get any worse as its just a completely torn ligament and it seems Kobe has gotten used to playing with it. The only problem is that it can cause pain at times when someone slaps at it. This wouldn’t be a big deal…except it could be in a playoff game where any off night can affect a series. Still, I agree with his decision to forego the surgery. After seeing how ridiculously competitive the West was last season, losing Kobe for two months would just be too costly. More than the pinky, Phil seems more concerned about Kobe’s minutes. After playing deep in the playoffs and playing in the Olympics, Phil has said he will try to limit Kobe’s minutes. But with the competitive West, I’m not expecting a significant decrease in Kobe’s minutes.
How will Andrew Bynum’s return affect rotations and roles?
The obvious question seems to be the role of Lamar Odom. Initally talk of a “huge” lineup of Bynum, Pau, and Lamar has now changed to whether or not Lamar should come off the bench. I actually like the idea of Lamar coming off the bench. They don’t really need Odom as a scorer in the starting lineup. He played well last year on the interior with Gasol. The interior passing ability of both was really nice. But with Bynum, Odom gets moved out and he’s not a great perimeter player…and his inconsistant outside shot could even be a liability in that particular lineup. Kobe, Gasol, and Bynum with Fisher is good enough offensively.
I never really liked Odom playing at the 3. I would play him at the 3 for certain matchups but for the most part he is better at the 4 where he’s more of a mismatch playing PF from the guard slot and it also better utilizes his very good rebounding skills. But coming off the bench, you still have flexibility of where to play him and to exploit various matchups. And he could play a semi-point forward role at times. And coming off the bench, he will likely have some shooters around him as well. So along with Odom, guys like Farmar , Sasha, Vlad could provide some offensive spark. (Keep in mind its not like Odom won’t be on the floor with the “stars” ever either.) As of now though, it seems that Phil will open with the “big” lineup with playing all three together but will definitely experiment with Lamar coming off the bench.
Pau will have to play more in the high post this year…but he is perfect for that role.
The Lakers seem poised to make another strong championship run. With a full year of having Gasol and Ariza, I could see the Lakers actually improving upon their record last year, provided they stay healthy. In the playoffs, the Lakers will really need to step up their defense and physicality. Bynum should immediately help in that area, being stronger and a better shot blocker than Gasol. Fisher and Farmar were repeatedly torched by better PGs in the playoffs…but hopefully both Farmar and Sasha continue to improve and develop and again, Bynum being in the middle should also help them on defense. The Lakers are still the most talented team in the league. However, they will have to commit to playing defense and just be tougher, both physically and mentally. Also I hope Phil learns from last year as well. I’ve said it many times, Phil isn’t a great game time coach. He sticks with what works but doesn’t make adjustments fast enough when they don’t. I love the triangle, but its it’s a base system that you can expand on. So I hope this team can get out and run a bit more with their overall speed and length. Finally, without picking up any “veterans” this offseason, the youngsters off the bench will have to step up their games this year. After being labeled as one of the best benches in the league, they totally fell apart in the finals. After the finals ended Kobe said they were “young”. ….they won’t have that excuse this year.
LEHAN
After losing in the NBA finals, the stakes for the Lakers are even higher this year. The Lakers had a relatively quiet offseason…but with the healthy return of Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza, as well as having both Pau Gasol and Ariza for the full season, many are picking the Lakers as the favorites to win the title.
The only loss on the Laker roster this offseason was Ronny Turiaf. Ronny was a great hustle and energy guy off the bench who would come in, get some rebounds and block some shots. But it was wise for the Lakers to not match the salary he signed for. He simply wouldn’t be worth it (especially with the Lakers being over the cap), as his loss shouldn’t be a big factor anyways with Bynum back. The Lakers will look to the athletic 6-9, 240lb Josh Powell to fill Turiaf’s role, which would be significantly smaller this year anyways. The Lakers also resigned DJ MBenga for more depth at C.
At the guard positions, the Lakers resigned Sasha Vujacic, and drafted Sun Yue (2007) and Joe Crawford (6-5, 207lb guard from Kentucky), as well as picking up Dwayne Mitchell, Brandon Heath, and CJ Giles. Sun Yue is an intriguing prospect down the road but he’s simply a project at this point and shouldn’t have any effect on this year. Joe Crawford was a solid player at Kentucky (17.9 pts, 3.6 reb, 2.1 ast). He had one really nice move in summer league….I’m not expecting to see any of those this year though. But as long as he shows he can play solid defense and hit the three, he has an outside shot to make the roster. Dwayne Mitchell is a pretty interesting prospect. A 6-5 220lb guard out of Louisiana Lafayette. He was a D-League all-star before shipping out to play in Germany. Mitchell was actually picked up after impressing Kupchak during Josh Powell’s workout. He’s a very athletic and explosive guard. Something the Lakers could definitely use. His outside shot and decision making seems to be suspect, but the explosive athleticism and upside is nice.
Heading into the season the major questions for the team are:
Is Andrew Bynum 100%?
All indications are that Bynum’s knee is 100%. Bynum seems especially confident and excited about the upcoming season. To me it was a real shame seeing Bynum go down last year. He was really improving daily and right before our eyes …and then he gets hurt. This year, Phil has said he would like to get Bynum even more involved in the offense….to expand his game to where he can help in the facilitation of the offense rather than just going one on one or catching a lob dunk for scores.
Will Kobe’s pinky be OK?
It should be fine. Kobe’s stats were basically the same before and after the injury. The pinky can’t get any worse as its just a completely torn ligament and it seems Kobe has gotten used to playing with it. The only problem is that it can cause pain at times when someone slaps at it. This wouldn’t be a big deal…except it could be in a playoff game where any off night can affect a series. Still, I agree with his decision to forego the surgery. After seeing how ridiculously competitive the West was last season, losing Kobe for two months would just be too costly. More than the pinky, Phil seems more concerned about Kobe’s minutes. After playing deep in the playoffs and playing in the Olympics, Phil has said he will try to limit Kobe’s minutes. But with the competitive West, I’m not expecting a significant decrease in Kobe’s minutes.
How will Andrew Bynum’s return affect rotations and roles?
The obvious question seems to be the role of Lamar Odom. Initally talk of a “huge” lineup of Bynum, Pau, and Lamar has now changed to whether or not Lamar should come off the bench. I actually like the idea of Lamar coming off the bench. They don’t really need Odom as a scorer in the starting lineup. He played well last year on the interior with Gasol. The interior passing ability of both was really nice. But with Bynum, Odom gets moved out and he’s not a great perimeter player…and his inconsistant outside shot could even be a liability in that particular lineup. Kobe, Gasol, and Bynum with Fisher is good enough offensively.
I never really liked Odom playing at the 3. I would play him at the 3 for certain matchups but for the most part he is better at the 4 where he’s more of a mismatch playing PF from the guard slot and it also better utilizes his very good rebounding skills. But coming off the bench, you still have flexibility of where to play him and to exploit various matchups. And he could play a semi-point forward role at times. And coming off the bench, he will likely have some shooters around him as well. So along with Odom, guys like Farmar , Sasha, Vlad could provide some offensive spark. (Keep in mind its not like Odom won’t be on the floor with the “stars” ever either.) As of now though, it seems that Phil will open with the “big” lineup with playing all three together but will definitely experiment with Lamar coming off the bench.
Pau will have to play more in the high post this year…but he is perfect for that role.
The Lakers seem poised to make another strong championship run. With a full year of having Gasol and Ariza, I could see the Lakers actually improving upon their record last year, provided they stay healthy. In the playoffs, the Lakers will really need to step up their defense and physicality. Bynum should immediately help in that area, being stronger and a better shot blocker than Gasol. Fisher and Farmar were repeatedly torched by better PGs in the playoffs…but hopefully both Farmar and Sasha continue to improve and develop and again, Bynum being in the middle should also help them on defense. The Lakers are still the most talented team in the league. However, they will have to commit to playing defense and just be tougher, both physically and mentally. Also I hope Phil learns from last year as well. I’ve said it many times, Phil isn’t a great game time coach. He sticks with what works but doesn’t make adjustments fast enough when they don’t. I love the triangle, but its it’s a base system that you can expand on. So I hope this team can get out and run a bit more with their overall speed and length. Finally, without picking up any “veterans” this offseason, the youngsters off the bench will have to step up their games this year. After being labeled as one of the best benches in the league, they totally fell apart in the finals. After the finals ended Kobe said they were “young”. ….they won’t have that excuse this year.
LEHAN
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