Real Deal

I wouldn't mind seeing Morris get more minutes, actually. I think Darius Morris can be a decent backup in this league, as long as he plays a bit slower and feeds off of Kobe, Bynum and Gasol. Until then, though, he's going to have to earn it...the play he sustained at Michigan won't get him where he wants to be here in the pros. I still want Fish on the team, though...because I think he can help Morris understand how to play alongside guys that dominate the ball. Morris seems like a player that would get out of hand during games, trying to do too much, so that's where Fisher steps in and teaches him how to shoot the ball better, how to practice spacing, etc.

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You were banned, but all accounts and posts were deleted when we were hacked. Otherwise, I'd have your account...and I've searched almost every one of them for your old display name (including previous names that were changed), and it's just not there.

I don't want to dive into this too much, but I probably will. I'm not looking at the loss, but how we run our offense and execute our defense. 1) The Lakers are TRYING to run what the Spurs used to back when Mike Brown was assistant under Pop. It's a "four out, one in" offense (there are multiple names for it), and I don't think it's going to work. Popovich worked the opposing teams with a Duncan/Robinson duo, one being the greatest PF of all time, the other an incredibly underrated center that is one of the best we were watching in the 90's. Let me put it this way: now we know why we signed Kapono and Murphy, and why we drafted Goudelock. My gripe with it all is...Bynum is not an effective passer out of the post. You can tell him over and over again (Phil did), and it won't register. He will not create out of the post. He's not Hakeem, not Shaq, and he never will be. Sure, if you took Gasol's mentality (someone who wants to create) and mixed it with the aggressive low post play of Bynum, we'd have the perfect center...but that's not how it works. Gasol is not a low post player, and Drew is not a low post facilitator. This also seems to take the ball out of Kobe's hands more often, which is okay...except, when he does get the ball, despite being at his "sweet spots" (as Brown noted he wanted to see happen), the defense doesn't have much of a problem doubling him because they are not worried about our three-point shooters. When Kobe catches at the elbow, for example, his positioning makes it easy for a perimeter defender to leave his man and double...and what man would he leave? Ron? He would gladly do it. Gasol? Sure thing. We aren't going to get very far with this offense. Something has to give. I would not be surprised to see changes very early in the season. 2) Our defense isn't impressive, and not because of the system, but because of our players. At some point, even Brown's system will look bad. Our defensive transitions are terrible. Aside from McRoberts, I didn't see much weak side help. Recovering and contesting outside shots...didn't see much of it, and it's not always about effort, but our players are getting worked because the Clippers (who are a new team) used spacing to pull our defense apart, and when a defense feels disconnected, it tends to collapse inward, and that's where we let shooters drift to the outside, far too open for us to contest. Half of our guys don't have the legs to cover that kind of ground for all 48 minutes, and this will get worse as we progress through an 82-game season (well...66 this year). 3) We will have no depth on our roster. I'm actually fine with Ebanks and Morris starting, but both will be eaten alive many times throughout the season. What does that matter, though, when I can say the same about Artest and Fisher/Blake? Artest will only be good for us defending Paul Pierce (can't say he'll be effective against Durant, as I've seen KD in practices, and he has been focusing on eliminating his problems against physical defenders...won't get into it, because I'll type forever, but you'll see this season). In other words, Ron shouldn't see much time on the court. His contract, and now his play, is a detriment to our game. I like the guy, but I have to be honest. Same with Fisher and Blake. I know just how bad Fisher will play this season, so I didn't need to see him...but Blake does not rake in enough defensive attention to create for anyone, and a simple post-entry pass every time down the court doesn't make him any more valuable than Darius Morris. Outside of McRoberts, who will be a pretty good sixth man for us, we won't have much. Barnes isn't the same player we saw in his early years with other teams...just too many minor injuries stacking up and changing his game. Goudelock could be fine, but the verdict is still out on him. Walton is done. Fisher is done for 95% of the minutes he will play (I'll give him the green light to shoot a clutch shot at the end of the game, but that doesn't make up for his bad play for the other 20 minutes or so). I'd like to see us do something with that TPE, even if it means getting a starting PG or SF...but looking at other rosters, I'm not sure what would be available right now, aside from dealing Drew and the TPE to Orlando, which I would do in a heartbeat. -------- Again, this isn't about us losing. I expected the loss, as long as the Clippers were going to play Griffin, CP3 and their starting unit for a significant amount of time. As I said in another topic, the Clippers put together a team of guys that compliment each other well. The fact is, our team of guys only compliment each other in the triangle offense, and when Kobe is able to dominate. Rewrite the script, and expect more out of our post...we don't make it. Gasol is not a low post player, and Drew is not THAT big of a threat under the rim (and if he was, he would still decline to pass the ball). Brown needs to understand that this is NOT Tim Duncan and David Robinson. An offense that asks for our bigs to facilitate for Kobe? That hasn't happened since Shaq, and that was really only in the early stages of the dynasty. Tonight, the Clippers ran through the motions. They played off of open shooters, took what was given to them. When we play them again (twice), in January...especially the late January game...they could be rolling, and I wouldn't be shocked to see them roll completely over us. Giving them a month to learn how to pick and roll with CP3, drawing up fast break plays with Griffin and Jordan running the sidelines...they didn't do that tonight, but they will soon. We were out there to win, not to experiment, and what we saw from our guys duplicated what we saw from them against the Dallas Mavericks, minus better play from Kobe...and that tells me nothing will change, because all of that was based on teams exploiting our many weaknesses, something that isn't hard to do against a team led by a 16-year veteran that needs his teammates to hit open shots, take the low post and attract defenders, and create a few shots of their own as he plays off the ball a bit. In short, don't expect to see much improvement from last season. A healthy Kobe would've still seen a loss to an elite Dallas Mavericks team. The difference is, now, we have trashed an offense that led to five championship rings, and has been the staple in Kobe's career. We may see more athleticism on the defensive end, as guys like Ebanks, McRoberts and Morris will see time on the floor...but our defensive awareness will still suffer, and above everything else, our offense will be a thorn in our side, unless Brown realizes what he truly has in the frontcourt, and adjusts accordingly.

Favorite Lakers as of tonight: 1) KB 2) McRoberts 3) Morris

Looks cool. I can tell I'm going to miss the Joker, though.

Hmm...

The NFL season was too complicated for me this year. I feel behind far too early, and I still can't gain any ground. Last year, I thought it was pretty cut and dry...didn't have too many problems with picking games. Around Week 13, I was about five points ahead of everyone, and it didn't really change much from that point, especially when the playoffs rolled around (because we were all picking the same teams, at some point).

And, Media Takeout is reporting that he was cheating with Jessica Burciaga. Vanessa was leaving Kobe after 10 years anyway. He probably knew. I couldn't care less about it...none of my business, and if Vanessa planned to stay with him for the money, good for Kobe, getting with a hotter chick. If she was genuine and wanted it to work, bad for Kobe, for screwing up the marriage. I wouldn't be surprised if Vanessa had it planned all along, though. I could name many females, that I know personally, who would stick with a guy for another seven years or so...if it meant they would get a HUGE ring, millions of dollars during the relationship, and millions of dollars forever after.

You get the feeling he's a bit hesitant when he's got an opportunity to score, almost as if he's intimidated. I'm most impressed with the patience he has, though...he knows how long to hold the ball, and when to hit his teammates. With all of these PG's the Wolves have tried to cycle through, in trades, signings or drafts, this is going to be THE one...finally.

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You never re-registered after the hack, right? I'm looking for your old account, but I'm thinking you didn't.

They look even worse here: http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/393328_10150458428173463_8245623462_8718716_1737524459_n.jpg The "franchise player" with his Robin, and his Alfred.

Haha, I'm done. This was the week I had to take a few chances, just to break free and take the lead, but I took the chances on the wrong games. I actually had KC beating Green Bay, then I flipped that and decided to go for broke elsewhere, picked Denver, Jacksonville, and Buffalo all winning their games...and none of those worked out. My Carolina pick did, though, but that was the only one. Needed to do something desperate, at 5th place, but I just bumped myself out of the race. Not enough games left now.

That Bayless pass was NICE. Hope he keeps that up...the team really needs it from him. Blah, I'm probably more focused on this damn Packers/Chiefs game now. I didn't expect it to be this close, lol.

This sucks. I can't find this game on any of the League Pass channels. Usually, I'm always a couple days late ordering LP, so...do they never show preseason games?