2698 replies to this topic

[Thats Ridiculous]

Nash, Jamison, Dwight!

and now Jodie Meeks.


Updating a previous item, the Lakers have agreed to terms with Jodie Meeks on a two-year deal.
Meeks said he had larger offers from the Bucks and Wizards, but wanted to sign with the Lakers for a chance to win a championship. The deal is for about $3 million and the second year is a team option. Meeks will be a reserve SG and three-point shooter, who will be hard-pressed to match his 8.4 ppg from last season with all of the new firepower in the Lakers' rotation.

Did the Lakers also get Barbosa?  Or was that just a rumor.

[Thats Ridiculous]

Btw, it's not a forgone conclusion that the Lakers will win the Championship.
The Miami Heat made some solid upgrades with Ray Allen & Rashard Lewis.
I'd love to see these 2 teams battle it out.

I'm also looking forward to seeing the Lakers battle teams such as the Thunder and Clippers.

[michael_scott]

Competitive balance incarnation

[ballsohard]

Grand theft summer.

[nomidi]

The Jodie Meeks signing was a good under the radar move to get a backup shooter that can play the SG position. You have to figure that the Lakers will want to limit the MPG of Nash and Kobe in the regular season to around 30-32MPG to keep them fresh...especially for Kobe since he has been playing non-stop basketball the entire year.

The Lakers bench is vastly improved with Antawn Jamison able to slot into the SF position and soak up minutes as a stretch back-up PF (no doubt he should be able to get 25-30MPG considering MWP's on/off again effectiveness)...you have Steve Blake that can still burn 10-15MPG at the PG spot and Meeks who can probably spell Kobe for 10-15MPG as well. Throw in Jordan Hill who should get 15-20MPG backing up both PF/C positions and the Lakers have a much better bench from last season.

The Lakers will probably let Matt Barnes walk as they have Devin Ebanks who can slot into the backup SG/SF positions as an energy/hustle guy off the bench.

Edited by nomidi, 10 August 2012 - 06:27 PM.

[lbjames6]

The Lakers organization is clearly not religious because they broke the 8th commandment.

[nomidi]

The personnel are all there now...it is highly unlikely the Lakers make any more moves this off-season. The real question will be what type of offense are we going to see from Mike Brown and his staff - rumors were Eddie Jordan and the Princeton offense but we will have to see how that translates. Will Kobe relinquish his role as a ball-stopping iso player and cut down on his bad FGA for the good of the team? The Lakers starting five have overwhelming offensive firepower and it would be best to put the ball in Steve Nash's hands to create and get D12/Gasol a ton of high/low touches.

In a perfect world Kobe would take around 16-18FGA all around the elbow era and on the high post with a couple FGA from 3PT land if they are wide open. If he did this and let the shots be created by Nash and his big men he could easily average 50% from the field...but we are talking about Kobe.

[hornrimmed_rambis]

Has a team with this much offensive firepower (and particularly post talent) ever employed the Princeton Offense? My big concern now is that Mike Brown is the worst offensive coach in the league. Seriously, I have no idea how this guy keeps getting jobs, and he's only got the best coaching job in the world. His "give it to Lebron" offense was a classic. Now he gets to figure out how to manage great assets, who MAY not complement each other.

I wonder if this team would do better with NO coaching. Or with Nash as player/coach. I like the idea of giving it to Nash, and keeping it very simple. High pick/roll with Gasol, Dwight pitching a tent down low, Kobe doing a curl, and a shooter parked on the 3. Let's not screw them up trying to fit a system.

(Maybe Brown's lack of any system will be a good thing? I'm so conflicted. Say what you will about the Princeton Offense, at least it's an ethos.)

[ballsohard]

hornrimmed_rambis, on 12 August 2012 - 01:42 PM, said:

Has a team with this much offensive firepower (and particularly post talent) ever employed the Princeton Offense? My big concern now is that Mike Brown is the worst offensive coach in the league. Seriously, I have no idea how this guy keeps getting jobs, and he's only got the best coaching job in the world. His "give it to Lebron" offense was a classic. Now he gets to figure out how to manage great assets, who MAY not complement each other.

I wonder if this team would do better with NO coaching. Or with Nash as player/coach. I like the idea of giving it to Nash, and keeping it very simple. High pick/roll with Gasol, Dwight pitching a tent down low, Kobe doing a curl, and a shooter parked on the 3. Let's not screw them up trying to fit a system.

(Maybe Brown's lack of any system will be a good thing? I'm so conflicted. Say what you will about the Princeton Offense, at least it's an ethos.)

I'm not sure why you're so critical of Brown. There's a reason he's a highly sought after coach, and it's because he's one of the best defensive minds in the game and understands the game far deeper than most other people.

His offensive deficiencies are pretty much masked when he has a guy like Lebron on his team, and with the Lakers bringing in Nash this year, I can see a very similar program being utilized.

[Skoodog]

ballsohard, on 12 August 2012 - 02:02 PM, said:

hornrimmed_rambis, on 12 August 2012 - 01:42 PM, said:

Has a team with this much offensive firepower (and particularly post talent) ever employed the Princeton Offense? My big concern now is that Mike Brown is the worst offensive coach in the league. Seriously, I have no idea how this guy keeps getting jobs, and he's only got the best coaching job in the world. His "give it to Lebron" offense was a classic. Now he gets to figure out how to manage great assets, who MAY not complement each other.

I wonder if this team would do better with NO coaching. Or with Nash as player/coach. I like the idea of giving it to Nash, and keeping it very simple. High pick/roll with Gasol, Dwight pitching a tent down low, Kobe doing a curl, and a shooter parked on the 3. Let's not screw them up trying to fit a system.

(Maybe Brown's lack of any system will be a good thing? I'm so conflicted. Say what you will about the Princeton Offense, at least it's an ethos.)

I'm not sure why you're so critical of Brown. There's a reason he's a highly sought after coach, and it's because he's one of the best defensive minds in the game and understands the game far deeper than most other people.

His offensive deficiencies are pretty much masked when he has a guy like Lebron on his team, and with the Lakers bringing in Nash this year, I can see a very similar program being utilized.

This statement is the reason why Mike Brown is a terrible coach.  His entire Cleveland strategy was "pass the ball to Lebron."  There was no strategy, which is why he couldn't win the championship and why with him as head coach, he won't be able to win here.

[Thats Ridiculous]

Mike Brown is not a great Offensive Coach.  His specialty is Defense.
That's why the Lakers are hiring Eddie Jordan as an assistant coach.   The Princeton Offense will be in full effect.

I'm really excited to see the new-look Lakers.  It's gonna be a fun year!

When Kobe and Pau hugged after today's Olympic Gold Medal game, you know they were saying "Now let's get another NBA ring!".

[nickalero99]

Thats Ridiculous, on 12 August 2012 - 09:38 PM, said:

Mike Brown is not a great Offensive Coach.  His specialty is Defense.
That's why the Lakers are hiring Eddie Jordan as an assistant coach.   The Princeton Offense will be in full effect.

I'm really excited to see the new-look Lakers.  It's gonna be a fun year!

When Kobe and Pau hugged after today's Olympic Gold Medal game, you know they were saying "Now let's get another NBA ring!".

They definitely were.  Now it's up to the rest of the league to come up with a solution to this collection of talent.  Miami and OKC have the top guys to do it and the Spurs might still be a better TEAM.  Going to be very fun to watch.

Fantasy wise I think all of the guys take a hit in points and the efficiency of each should go up.  Having another good rebounder there should hurt Howard's rebounds, but I bet his blocks see a jump without having to be the only stopper in the lane.

[StreetCred]

The Lakers look fantastic on paper, but Howard's 'overall impact' seem a bit overstated at the moment. The Lakers already had an equally talented, All-Star caliber center with more upside and less mileage. Howard is considerably better on the defensive end, but then there's the FT woes and a not-so polished post game. This Howard-Bynum trade could end up being a wash.

Edited by StreetCred, 12 August 2012 - 10:06 PM.

[ballsohard]

StreetCred, on 12 August 2012 - 10:05 PM, said:

The Lakers look fantastic on paper, but Howard's 'overall impact' seem a bit overstated at the moment. The Lakers already had an equally talented, All-Star caliber center with more upside and less mileage. Howard is considerably better on the defensive end, but then there's the FT woes and a not-so polished post game. This Howard-Bynum trade could end up being a wash.

I don't know about others, but I'd agree with you. However, I'm still upset at the trade because the Lakers simply continue making incredible moves that people wouldn't expect to ever happen.

Anyway, both conferences have a lot of similarities right now. You got young, athletic favorites in both conferences (Thunder/Heat), you got old teams that just reloaded with fresh faces with a shot at upsetting the aforementioned favorites (Lakers/Celtics), and then you got a dogfight for the rest (pretty much everyone else in the West, and then the Sixers/Pacers/Nets/Knicks in the East).

[Thats Ridiculous]

I think the true difference-maker this year will be Steve Nash.
It wouldn't matter if the Lakers have Bynum or Dwight.  Nash has a knack for making players shine.

But speaking of Bynum VS Dwight.  yes, Dwight is a better defender, he's quicker, and a more all-around athletic and explosive player.

Edited by Thats Ridiculous, 13 August 2012 - 04:12 PM.

[nomidi]

The difference between Howard and Bynum defensively is fairly large as Howard has the ability to block and alter shots that no one in the league can on a regular basis...even last season vs OKC whenever Westbrook or Durant got into the paint Gasol/Bynum were powerless to effectively block any of their layup attempts or make them difficult enough to miss. Throw in the fact that Howard has substantially quicker feet than the slow-plodding Bynum and your P&R defense is already much better.

Generally speaking, Howard's post game isn't nearly as developed as Bynum's and you can't exactly throw him the ball in crunch time given his FT% woes and lack of consistent effective go-to post moves...but given the make-up of the Laker team and the offensive firepower that they have I don't think they will need to force-feed Howard in the post very much - maybe a 4-5 times a game...Most of his points will come from wide open dunks and working the offensive glass and you can still go to Gasol at any time as he is still a lethal scorer in the post (throw in Kobe who is most effective now getting the ball right on the block as well).

[ballsohard]

The problem with Howard on the offensive end is that he relies way too much on his strength and athleticism. He uses little to no fundamentals at all to set up position and/or score, because all he does the entire offensive possession is bulldoze, bulldoze, and bulldoze. Every once in a while he'll throw in a hook shot here and there, but no where near utilizes that shot to its potential. And of course, this play style results in him frequently complaining to the refs for either an offensive foul he disagrees with, or a no-call on a perceived foul on his defender.

[w00funk]

ballsohard, on 13 August 2012 - 05:33 PM, said:

The problem with Howard on the offensive end is that he relies way too much on his strength and athleticism. He uses little to no fundamentals at all to set up position and/or score, because all he does the entire offensive possession is bulldoze, bulldoze, and bulldoze. Every once in a while he'll throw in a hook shot here and there, but no where near utilizes that shot to its potential. And of course, this play style results in him frequently complaining to the refs for either an offensive foul he disagrees with, or a no-call on a perceived foul on his defender.

Agreed.  The reason this problem is highlighted though is because Magic were set up so that they would feed Dwight down low and space the floor for 3's.  Because Dwight is not Tim Duncan on offense, Magic was a perimeter oriented team that lived and died by 3's, even with the best center in the league.  Dwight's lack of offensive moves is not much of a concern for the Lakers though, as nomidi pointed out, Pau and Kobe can both work the post and block, and Dwight just needs to be in position to receive passes/clog up space and rebound.  Dwight is also very good at kicking out and finding the open men out of double teams, as he had plenty of practice doing that as a Magic.

[nomidi]

I also think people are focusing too much on Dwight and need to look at how much better the Lakers will be with Steve Nash...he's an even bigger acquisition than D12. Never had the Lakers had this type of PG that could create offense for everyone else and make mediocre players look good all the while being arguably the best outside shooter in the NBA. Add into the equation that Nash hasn't played with this kind of talent since the Amare/Marion days (we know how that turned out in terms of offensive efficiency) and the Lakers are going to be a problem for any team to stop.

[Pirate]

Just the amount effort it takes to defend Howard will wear teams down. It's like night and day guarding Howard v Bynum. Only thing that will prevent them from winning which I hope it does is team chemistry.