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iceberg01
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Joined: 15 Apr 2001
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
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 Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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Couple of things I've noticed so far/thoughts:
1. Will Kobe continue to shoot this much when Gasol, Bynum & Artest are on the floor? I'd like to see him pull back a little & get everyone involved first, like he did for most of last year. My gut says he will--he's just trying to work some kinks out of his game, too.
2. Bynum MUST become a more aggressive rebounder. But, if the past is any indication, he's already ahead of schedule: typically, he starts off the first 20 games looking like a newborn foal: awkward & knock-kneed, and unable to do much, then progresses to a scoring C that doesn't like to rebound, then finally puts it all together before he gets hurt.
So far, he's already at the "scoring C that doesn't like to rebound stage", which, I guess is good. So, hopefully, within 10 or so games, he'll get his rebounding aggression & anticipation back. Because, in order to DOMINATE, Bynum's going to have to be a 10-11rpg player on the boards.
3. Liking what I'm seeing from Artest so far. As I thought, he's looking like Rick Fox deluxe--stronger, a better rebounder, better ball-handler & passer, and about the same or slightly better from 3-pt range. I'd like to see the Lakers use him on the block more, especially when he's out there with bench players. I also anticipate that he'll turn it up defensively in the regular season, but the fact that Corey Maggette didn't light the Lakers up as usual already gives us a sneak-peek at Artest's defensive value. |
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iceberg01
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
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| Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:05 pm Post subject: |
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One last observation:
Sasha is FINALLY taking 15-20' shots, and it's making ALL the difference in his game. From DAY ONE, I've always felt that Sasha was iffy from 3, but perhaps one of the better mid-range jumpshooters I've seen--I always thought his potential was to be more of a European Rip Hamilton, rather than Reggie Miller: I think he just doesnt' have the strength to consistently hit threes at a 40+% clip. But I always thought he was an IDIOT for not taking a dribble & shooting a 20'. Maybe the light has finally gone off.
Sasha really has an opportunity to re-shape his game around mid-range jumpers. So far, I'm liking what I'm seeing. |
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LakerSanity
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Joined: 30 Nov 2006
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Location: Long Beach, California
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| Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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| iceberg01 wrote: | One last observation:
Sasha is FINALLY taking 15-20' shots, and it's making ALL the difference in his game. From DAY ONE, I've always felt that Sasha was iffy from 3, but perhaps one of the better mid-range jumpshooters I've seen--I always thought his potential was to be more of a European Rip Hamilton, rather than Reggie Miller: I think he just doesnt' have the strength to consistently hit threes at a 40+% clip. But I always thought he was an IDIOT for not taking a dribble & shooting a 20'. Maybe the light has finally gone off.
Sasha really has an opportunity to re-shape his game around mid-range jumpers. So far, I'm liking what I'm seeing. |
If there was a player Sasha should try to emulate, that player would be Bruce Bowen.
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angrypuppy
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Joined: 13 Apr 2001
Posts: 32765
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| Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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| DancingBarry wrote: | | StuLantz#1 wrote: | | I know some people in the game thread have been wanting to see more out of Artest, but I personally love the role he's playing and hopes he continues to do exactly what he's doing. |
Yeah, I like it too. He's letting the game come to him and not forcing the issue. I think we'll be asking more from him, for sure... Phil will be calling some Tri sequences to run just for him, but even then I think he seems willing to play within the offense, no ball stopping and always looking for teammates. That is huge. |
Playing with the first unit, yes, it's important that he let the game come to him. But with Lamar and Pau out, I still thought he erred on the side of passivity, the root of which was probably attributable to him not fully understanding his role with the personnel on the floor.
On a side note, that might explain why Phil reintroduced the Odom-Gasol-Bynum front court. It would give Ron Ron a chance to work with the second unit, and perhaps ignite him into a more active role, which presumably might carry over when he plays with the first unit. |
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angrypuppy
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Joined: 13 Apr 2001
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| Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Brown  With the size of the Kings guards, Brown was first off the bench at the 3:25 mark to match up with Evans. In those deep bench units where there is no one able to create or collapse the D, Brown's game suffered. He had to create or force a few shots. He's better when we've got more talent on the floor with him and can run our offense through others. Perhaps that's an obvious statement, but his tweener game and lack of true point skills is why he finally found a home here in the triangle versus with other teams. |
Absolutely on target, DB. This game exposed why Shannon Brown hasn't been able to stick with another team. When he shares the floor with a team that relies on others to create or break down a defense, his weaknesses are masked. I would just like him to sharpen his ball handling skills, and play more minutes with the first unit. |
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StuLantz#1
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Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Posts: 3020
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| Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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| iceberg01 wrote: | Couple of things I've noticed so far/thoughts:
1. Will Kobe continue to shoot this much when Gasol, Bynum & Artest are on the floor? I'd like to see him pull back a little & get everyone involved first, like he did for most of last year. My gut says he will--he's just trying to work some kinks out of his game, too.
2. Bynum MUST become a more aggressive rebounder. But, if the past is any indication, he's already ahead of schedule: typically, he starts off the first 20 games looking like a newborn foal: awkward & knock-kneed, and unable to do much, then progresses to a scoring C that doesn't like to rebound, then finally puts it all together before he gets hurt.
So far, he's already at the "scoring C that doesn't like to rebound stage", which, I guess is good. So, hopefully, within 10 or so games, he'll get his rebounding aggression & anticipation back. Because, in order to DOMINATE, Bynum's going to have to be a 10-11rpg player on the boards.
3. Liking what I'm seeing from Artest so far. As I thought, he's looking like Rick Fox deluxe--stronger, a better rebounder, better ball-handler & passer, and about the same or slightly better from 3-pt range. I'd like to see the Lakers use him on the block more, especially when he's out there with bench players. I also anticipate that he'll turn it up defensively in the regular season, but the fact that Corey Maggette didn't light the Lakers up as usual already gives us a sneak-peek at Artest's defensive value. |
Yeah, I've been wanting to throw out the Fox comparison too, only Artest has a lot more inherent ability. But the reason I loved Fox, and the thing he still has over Artest, is he showed he could consistently come up big for us in the playoffs--something that's yet to be determined with Artest. And it's funny because you bring up something that crossed my mind regarding that reporter's twitter on Artest being a step slow on Maggette--you can't always stop a guy like Maggette, but overall he did a great job on the guy (and like you said, Maggette typically blows us up yet wasn't much of a factor in the first two games). |
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DancingBarry
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Joined: 07 Sep 2001
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| Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 4:09 pm Post subject: |
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| DancingBarry wrote: | | StuLantz#1 wrote: | | I know some people in the game thread have been wanting to see more out of Artest, but I personally love the role he's playing and hopes he continues to do exactly what he's doing. |
Yeah, I like it too. He's letting the game come to him and not forcing the issue. I think we'll be asking more from him, for sure... Phil will be calling some Tri sequences to run just for him, but even then I think he seems willing to play within the offense, no ball stopping and always looking for teammates. That is huge. |
Well, as suspected... Phil: "He's trying to be the right guy and try to fit in and not try to crowd his way in there, but he's got to do that. I'm going to have to force him to do it."
Look for Phil to start calling some Tri plays for him. |
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StuLantz#1
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Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Posts: 3020
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| Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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| DancingBarry wrote: | | DancingBarry wrote: | | StuLantz#1 wrote: | | I know some people in the game thread have been wanting to see more out of Artest, but I personally love the role he's playing and hopes he continues to do exactly what he's doing. |
Yeah, I like it too. He's letting the game come to him and not forcing the issue. I think we'll be asking more from him, for sure... Phil will be calling some Tri sequences to run just for him, but even then I think he seems willing to play within the offense, no ball stopping and always looking for teammates. That is huge. |
Well, as suspected... Phil: "He's trying to be the right guy and try to fit in and not try to crowd his way in there, but he's got to do that. I'm going to have to force him to do it."
Look for Phil to start calling some Tri plays for him. |
I partly understand, because Phil knows teams will eventually start playing loose on Artest--look at all of Ariza's opportunities last year. I'm just afraid that if they light that fire under him he'll turn into a gunner, or at the very least take a lot of shots that would otherwise go to a more efficient scorer. Artest is a talented guy, but he's not incredibly efficient, and I just want to keep the bricks to a minimum. I'd rather they exhaust this option only if it's literally the last option and teams are just way neglecting him. I guess it's just exhibition and you can experiment at this point, I just worry that when you hit that switch with Ron there's no coming back. |
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Sage_10
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Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 6668
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| Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:52 am Post subject: |
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Thanks DB! Good stuff.
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