The Official Los Angeles Lakers thread

[Halu Sination]

LOL at Sasha getting all over Alston at the end, at least he stood up and said stop that Skip to my Lou shit but it was definitely his and the Rockets day.

Sasha's defense hasn't been as good this year as it has in the past (probably due to him actually having to use his energy on the offensive end) but dude still knows just how to piss his men off. I don't know what he's saying or doing but other teams really can't stand him lol. I hope he keeps improving his D, he could end up being like our Raja Bell.

sasha's role on defense is to annoy the shit outta whoever he's guarding. half of it is psychological defense, and half of it is him actually being that way lol. the way he bodies up his opponent, his retarded looking hairband... he just brings out the worst out of everybody. it's the dennis rodman effect.

[thisoneguy360]

LOL at Sasha getting all over Alston at the end, at least he stood up and said stop that Skip to my Lou shit but it was definitely his and the Rockets day.

Sasha's defense hasn't been as good this year as it has in the past (probably due to him actually having to use his energy on the offensive end) but dude still knows just how to piss his men off. I don't know what he's saying or doing but other teams really can't stand him lol. I hope he keeps improving his D, he could end up being like our Raja Bell.

sasha's role on defense is to annoy the shit outta whoever he's guarding. half of it is psychological defense, and half of it is him actually being that way lol. the way he bodies up his opponent, his retarded looking hairband... he just brings out the worst out of everybody. it's the dennis rodman effect.

LOL i'll co sign you on that one

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Seriously? Mihm, Bynum and Ariza have been down already for months. How long can people keep bringing that up? The team has already worked around those injuries the best they could. The injury that matters now is Gasol. Please stop making excuses.

Gasol going down magnifies the other injuries, because then we're playing with no center and not nearly as much perimeter defense to stop opposing guards from penetrating into the centerless lane.

[Hatesrats™]

IMO, Ronny should Replace Vlad Rad in The Starting 5 Once Gasol Returns Fulltime.

[SGV]

Gasol going down magnifies the other injuries, because then we're playing with no center and not nearly as much perimeter defense to stop opposing guards from penetrating into the centerless lane.

I'm def fully aware that Turiaf isn't a natural Center and Mbenga (sp) isn't exactly anyone's idea of a great Center, but at least they do have some size to help out. The Rockets lacked anyone bigger than 6'9" when Mutumbo was out of the game (which was most of the game). The Rockets just capitalized better.

[wcsoldier]

Gasol loss is important on the offensive end i.e , an alternative inside-outside game and VERY important for the court spacing BUT on the defensive end, he isn't a factor ... that's why I'd take a team with Bynum over a team with Gasol anyday .. even if Gasol is better and more versatile on the offensive end as of now ... Lakers are pointing the wrong pbs out .. this team needs to focus on D .. just look at what the Rockets are doing right now, I still think (without Yao) they have one of the poorest offensive game in the league but their team D is amazing

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Gasol going down magnifies the other injuries, because then we're playing with no center and not nearly as much perimeter defense to stop opposing guards from penetrating into the centerless lane.

I'm def fully aware that Turiaf isn't a natural Center and Mbenga (sp) isn't exactly anyone's idea of a great Center, but at least they do have some size to help out. The Rockets lacked anyone bigger than 6'9" when Mutumbo was out of the game (which was most of the game). The Rockets just capitalized better.

Size? LOL...Come on, now. Odom is lanky, but he's not exactly what you'd call size at the 5 spot. Mutombo and Scola are legit centers, which is more than I can say for anyone playing in a Laker uniform yesterday.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Gasol loss is important on the offensive end i.e , an alternative inside-outside game and VERY important for the court spacing BUT on the defensive end, he isn't a factor ... that's why I'd take a team with Bynum over a team with Gasol anyday .. even if Gasol is better and more versatile on the offensive end as of now ... Lakers are pointing the wrong pbs out .. this team needs to focus on D .. just look at what the Rockets are doing right now, I still think (without Yao) they have one of the poorest offensive game in the league but their team D is amazing

Gasol isn't an elite defender, but he's definitely a difference-maker on the defensive end, blocking shots and moving well on screen and rolls...I like what he brings on defense.

[Halu Sination]

Gasol loss is important on the offensive end i.e , an alternative inside-outside game and VERY important for the court spacing BUT on the defensive end, he isn't a factor ... that's why I'd take a team with Bynum over a team with Gasol anyday .. even if Gasol is better and more versatile on the offensive end as of now ... Lakers are pointing the wrong pbs out .. this team needs to focus on D .. just look at what the Rockets are doing right now, I still think (without Yao) they have one of the poorest offensive game in the league but their team D is amazing

Gasol isn't an elite defender, but he's definitely a difference-maker on the defensive end, blocking shots and moving well on screen and rolls...I like what he brings on defense.

gasol's a good shot blocker and help defender but he should work on his man-to-man defense. the funny thing is, bynum is an excellent help defender too but his man-to-man defense isn't that great either. but i give credit where due, he does seem to exert more energy than gasol. come play-offs time, we really could use a kwame brown as a back-up to contain the tim duncans and carlos boozers. i really wish grizzlies bought out his contract.

but going back to yesterday, all we needed was team defense since the rockets had nobody pounding us on the inside, so gasol definitely would've been a factor there

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Gasol loss is important on the offensive end i.e , an alternative inside-outside game and VERY important for the court spacing BUT on the defensive end, he isn't a factor ... that's why I'd take a team with Bynum over a team with Gasol anyday .. even if Gasol is better and more versatile on the offensive end as of now ... Lakers are pointing the wrong pbs out .. this team needs to focus on D .. just look at what the Rockets are doing right now, I still think (without Yao) they have one of the poorest offensive game in the league but their team D is amazing

Gasol isn't an elite defender, but he's definitely a difference-maker on the defensive end, blocking shots and moving well on screen and rolls...I like what he brings on defense.

gasol's a good shot blocker and help defender but his man-to-man defense isn't all that.

then again, yesterday all we needed was team defense since the rockets had nobody pounding us on the inside, so gasol definitely would've been a factor there

He's definitely not a great man defender at the 5, but his defense is very useful overall.

[Halu Sination]

Odom wanted more shots in the post
The Lakers forward says the team didn't recognize what was working in loss to Rockets. Jackson said if he wants the ball more, he needs to ask for it.

HOUSTON -- Ready or not, Lamar Odom is the Lakers' No. 2 option again.

He had been coasting along quietly, putting up substantial numbers as the third option behind Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, with the prospect of being No. 4 once Andrew Bynum returned from injury.
 
Then came another twist of fate after another injury, and Odom was pushed back up to secondary importance.

He had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the Lakers' 104-92 loss Sunday to Houston, and seemed to lament the fact that he wasn't found more often in the post.

"Guys have got to recognize as a team what's working," he said. "Tonight, we didn't do that. Other teams notice. It just takes recognition as a team, from all the guys, to what's working and what's not."

Coach Phil Jackson suggested that Odom act more forcefully if he wants the ball more often.

"He's kind of a non-presence out there with a great deal of stats and does a terrific job on the boards," Jackson said. "But he's not the guy that goes out there and asserts himself in the offense and there are times when it's opportunistic. He just takes advantage of the things that come his way."

Gasol said his moderately sprained left ankle was feeling "a little bit better," but he did not know when he would return.

The Lakers have not provided a timetable, although Jackson said Sunday that, "we'd be happy if he gets back before the end of this next week."

Gasol has been icing the ankle and receiving treatment when he hasn't been wearing a walking boot.

"The swelling went down and it's not as sore as when it happened," he said Sunday. "It's developing well. The MRI didn't reveal any major sprain, so it's all good things and hopefully the time will be limited."

Gasol chose to stay with the team for the rest of its trip instead of returning to Los Angeles.

"I like to be with the team and support my team, especially since we're going through such a crucial time of the year and every game is so important and so huge," he said. "I just want to be close to the team and help any way I can."

Jackson seemed impressed by the Rockets, whose 22-game winning streak is the second longest in league history.

"Tracy [McGrady] had probably as poor a game as he's probably played," Jackson said. "And they still were able to win. That shows the teamwork that they're playing with."

McGrady had 11 points on four-for-16 shooting.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakerep17mar17,1,7003105.story

[Halu Sination]

^ that's the kinda attitude i wanna see from odom. the rockets were NOT able to contain him at all, yet the team seemingly failed to recognize that. phil jackson is rite too, odom needs to be saying this shit to them, he can't just assume the youngsters are gonna immediately evaluate how well he matches up against his defenders and start dishing to him every time.

i was disappointed with kobe as well for taking so many heavily contested shots in the end of the game, i kno he was gettin frustrated that the lakers were bricking so many open 3-pointers, but any time kobe unsuccessfully tries to take over by himself and freezes out his teammates, he kills off all the team morale. kobe was being contained pretty well by battier's pansy defense, he shouldn't have risked doing that. with odom finally saying something, hopefully this doesnt happen again.

[Styles1]

Lamar wants to be a scorer? That must be the reason why The Devil ordered a winter jacket yesterday....

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Laker flashbacks:

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Laker flashbacks part 2:




































































(Part 3 tomorrow)