are DEEP this year. :)

well, let's not get too excited yet. 2 games does not a season make.

let's see how things go when the ballhog comes back. i want to see if kwame can play like he did in last season's playoffs. i want to see if odom will defer yet again to the ballhog, instead of staying aggressive like he is now. smush still can't guard his shadow and still makes careless passes. vujacic is a waste of roster space; farmar should get all of his playing time. radmanovic is recovering from an injured hand, so the jury is out, but i hope he doesn't play like he did for the clippers. i like this maurice evans kid; lots of energy, hustles all the time, makes good cuts to the basket. turiaf isn't a full-time player, but i liked what i saw last night and he always gives a good effort. bynum is still a teenager and plays like it. hopefully he learns his lessons from kareem well, because he'll need all the help he can get. shammond williams? who?

let's see how they go in the home-and-home with seattle this weekend.

Yes, it is only two games, but two games without Kobe. The thing is, Kobe really distributed the ball well to end the season, if he comes back doing that, they will be deadly. He can draw 2 and 3 defenders with a quick move, with all the others playing their parts, they will be able to score alot easier. Once Brown and Mihm come back, that will bring more inside presence. They scored 56 in the paint last night, I look for that to rise once the injured guys come back.

actually, i look for the inside points to drop when mihm and brown return. why? well, mihm isn't a scorer and kwame has always been reluctant with the ball in the paint. this will put more emphasis on the backcourt scoring and some on the forwards [if mihm/brown aren't on the court together].

i actually envision mihm playing the 4 when he returns, that way you can rotate him with touriaf and you can rotate kwame with bynum.

Mark my words. Lakers don't win dick this year. :)

Mark my words. Lakers don't win dick this year. :)

They may not win the championship, but they will be in the second round.

Mark my words. Lakers don't win dick this year. :)
i don't think they'll win the title this year, but this team is looking very athletic and may wind up being pretty deep once they get everyone back from injury.

i liked what i saw in tonight's game, however it should have never been that close with the start they got. don't know if anyone noticed, but this is the 2nd game they've got over 50%. they're still turning the ball over far too many times however.

this team might resemble some of the bulls teams from the 90's when this season is over. of course, keep in mind what i said in my first sentence, because i don't think they'll win it all even with that comparison.

i don't think they'll win the title this year, but this team is looking very athletic and may wind up being pretty deep once they get everyone back from injury.

i liked what i saw in tonight's game, however it should have never been that close with the start they got. don't know if anyone noticed, but this is the 2nd game they've got over 50%. they're still turning the ball over far too many times however.

this team might resemble some of the bulls teams from the 90's when this season is over. of course, keep in mind what i said in my first sentence, because i don't think they'll win it all even with that comparison.

I agree with this.

Kobe was not 100% and it showed. I am sure Phil is going to bust their balls regarding the turnovers and lead they had. Just some adjustments that need to be made. But 3-0 is a good start. Odom has really stepped it up.

Donald, the sooner you realize you need the big man in the middle to win it all, the better you will be.

Donald, the sooner you realize you need the big man in the middle to win it all, the better you will be.

Brown - 6'11" 270lbs / Mihm 7'0" 265lbs / Bynum 7'0" 270lbs.

Their 3 centers.

? :)

well, mihm is more of a power forward than a true center. kwame was also until he finally got right in the head and played up to his potential in last season's playoffs. he can be more than serviceable in the pivot. bynum is still VERY young and shows it more than not, however you can see the improvement in his game thanks to his working with KAJ. he's still 2-3 years away from being really good if he continues to improve as he has now.

Did I mention they were deep? :D

Lots of ball to be played.

Lots of ball to be played.
exactly.


although they are showing more than most people thought they had in them. this team is very athletic, however they take POOR care of the ball and dribble far too much, sometimes showing no movement whatsoever in the triangle.

let's see what they do against san antonio in a couple of weeks.

Even if they were to finish in first place, it's all about the playoffs in the NBA. Anything can happen and some teams just rise and perform at the right time.

This team shocked alot of people in the playoffs last year, most thought they would not make it. The team is now better than that old team with a DEEP bench, all the way down to the 15th man. Mark my words now, they will be on fire after the all star break (barring any unforseen injuries). They will have the triangle down and really know each other. Also, they have a favorable schedule this next month.

11-5

They are doing what they need to do: Defend their home turf.
I have watched every game so far, and still I wasn't impressed, until I saw them destroy Utah.
Andre Kiralenko(sp?) played well defensively against Kobe the last time they met. The next time they met it was a different story. Kobe for 52, on one leg?? He was on :fluff2: Still the best and most complete player in the NBA.

Good luck with that. If I were starting a team from scratch, I would take Lebron every day of the week.

Good luck with that. If I were starting a team from scratch, I would take Lebron every day of the week.

lol. I can tell you are an east coaster. Lebron has not scratched the surface of what Kobe has done and never will.

I actually like Lebron, but ask him who he thinks the best player on the planet today is.
Also, Lebron hasn't showed me that he can play defense yet.

*whistling* :D :love:

Don't stop whistling til after the playoffs.

Don't stop whistling til after the playoffs.

I wont! :)

I called it the first game into the pre-season, they have something special this year...they will go FAR, that is all.

BTW: Raiders are still going to the super bowl, just watch. lol

...and the beat goes on... :nutkick:

Great group of wins after that triple overtime debacle in Charlotte.
Phil Jackson with 900 wins!
"the ballhog" is distributing the ball well huh?

Great group of wins after that triple overtime debacle in Charlotte.
Phil Jackson with 900 wins!
"the ballhog" is distributing the ball well huh?

The Lakers are proving the haters wrong. Missing Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown (two starters) and they are still missing their original 7' starter Chris Mihm, they are winning games. The only team in the NBA who is undefeated against teams in their division and with the fewest losses against teams in their own conference.

Ummm...The Lakers are in 2nd place. Big deal.

Ummm...The Lakers are in 2nd place. Big deal.

The big deal is they are holding their own against ELITE teams, WITHOUT two starters, one of them being the second biggest star next to Kobe. That is the big deal.

well, they did beat dallas, san antonio, houston [twice], and phoenix [but that was EARLY in the season]; however they did lose to detroit at home and utah on the road. they've also lost to teams they should have beaten like milwaukee, seattle, chicago, washington, NOK, and charlotte.

imagine how good that record could be had they played like the team they looked like last night?

their biggest problem is that they still play to the level of the competition and they lack the killer instinct. they still commit far too many turnovers and miss defensive assignments. they got a break on that last drive by terry because he was fouled before walton shot the last two free throws.

let's see where this team is when lamar gets back and how they do on the road, where they're still nothing more than a .500 team. when they hit .600 on the road, then that will be a big deal.

The Lakers..... Have played like shit the last two games.
We'll see how they do tomorrow.

yeah, I am really surprised they did not start playing like shit sooner, with 3 starters injured (all big men) it sort of hurts.

I hear they are in the running for Webber right now, the next couple of days could be interesting.

well, they didn't play too badly tonight, but they still allowed a high shooting percentage. thing i didn't like was that the lakers have been getting the short end of the stick on calls the last few games. <shrug>

well, they didn't play too badly tonight, but they still allowed a high shooting percentage. thing i didn't like was that the lakers have been getting the short end of the stick on calls the last few games. <shrug>

yeah, NO calls. :)

A win is a win though, especially playing without 3 starters.

true, but the zebras don't help whatsoever when you barely breathe on someone and you get a lame assed tickey tack foul and then your team captain gets T'd up when voicing his displeasure at the disparate amount of free throws being awarded to the visiting team.

true, but the zebras don't help whatsoever when you barely breathe on someone and you get a lame assed tickey tack foul and then your team captain gets T'd up when voicing his displeasure at the disparate amount of free throws being awarded to the visiting team.

yeah, that was frustrating. There was a few times Kobe went to the hole and was slapped across the forearm or face.

As Rasheed Wallace said "You cannot even look at Wade, it is a foul, you cannot even say boogety boogety boo, cause that is a foul".

On another site someone took the pic of Wade and Kobe shaking hands to start the game and there was a ref in the background, they photoshopped in "foul on #24, there is no touching Dwayne Wade".

Nice win last night, I was hoping they would pull it off.