Archive for November, 2009

Pau Comes Back And Looks Strong

Friday, November 20th, 2009

From: LA Lakers Jersey

Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers came back last night and looked strong in his return. Pau Gasol celebrated his return to duty with a double-double as he scored 24 points, 13 boards, 3 assists and 1 block and didn't show a bit of rust from the 11 regular season games he has missed thus far due to a hamstring injury...

It'll be interesting to see now how the LA Lakers will play and adjust now that they have all of their starters and super start back in the lineup.

Ron Artest continues to play well for the Lakers and seems to have seamlessly replaced Trevor Ariza and the only weakness the Lakers have showed thus far this season has been the same as previous seasons... their inability to play against smaller and quicker point guards.

Jordan Farmar started the other night for the Lakers and spent most of the night chasing whoever he was guarding and while Shannon Brown is impressive offensively the Lakers already have Derek Fisher and basically need someone to defend and give DFish a break so he can be fresh for the playoff run.

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Did the Lakers Make a Mistake on Letting Trevor Ariza Go?

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

From: Bleacher Report

Hindsight is 20-20 and what my hindsight is telling me is that the Los Angeles Lakers missed out on Trevor Ariza.

As of writing, Ariza has been flourishing with the Houston Rockets. His numbers? Oh, he's been averaging over 23 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, hitting 3 three-balls and getting almost 2 steals a game. By getting 14 extra minutes per game, Ariza as triples his scoring output and the three pointers he's hitting (and taking). At the rate he's going he could be an All-Star in a couple of years.

The Lakers on the other hand have found little success with Ron Artest.His numbers suggest he has yet to fins his stroke on the field (32% shooting) and on the stripe (a dismal 36%!). I think Artest is still surprised he's wearing purple and gold.

By looking at the numbers objectively, the virtual swap between the Artest and Ariza looks like a lemon for the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Lebron James To The Lakers?

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

From: Yahoo Sports

Next summer is going to be crazy in the world of the NBA with all the talented folks who are going to be free agents and nobody is going to be feeling it more than the world's biggest free agent: LeBron James(notes).

For a short while, it was believed that James would move to New York so he could dominate that city and expand his empire. But the New York Knicks have continued to implode, so there's no real attraction to leaving the comforts of home to attempt to right a quickly sinking ship. What everybody seems to think now is that James will eventually re-sign with the Cavs for a tidal wave of cash. But now comes another option: Move to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers don't have a lot of salary room but they'd love, love, love to team up Kobe Bryant(notes) and LeBron James, according to Bulls.com. The 31-year-old Bryant is going to need someone to pass along the keys to the Laker Mythologymobile. And why not the 24-year-old James? James doesn't seem afraid to take a strong supporting role, which would likely suit Bryant just fine.

But somehow L.A. has to convince Cleveland to do a sign-and-trade deal because there is no other way to fit James under its current salary structure right now. Still, that could mean a talented player for Cleveland instead of the big nothing it will get if James walks next summer.

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Laker Bench Overrated?

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

From: Bleacher Report

The whispers have already begun, and it may be time to stop perpetuating the myth. If the Los Angeles Lakers are to repeat as NBA champions it will probably be on the backs of their top six players.

The reserves have failed to live up to their "bench mob" moniker, and have instead been one of the weakest parts of the defending champion's team.

In two out of the first three games the bench has been responsible for blowing double-digit leads, and forcing coach Phil Jackson to re-insert his starters on short rest. (more...)

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