Welcome to ASFN Fan Forums! We're glad to have you here. Please feel free to browse the forum. We'd like to invite you to join our community; doing so will enable you to view additional forums and post with our other members.
Registered Members don't see these ads. Register now it's free!
So, with the Finals winding down, and a loss to the hated Celtics and their crew of Miracles, all focus is on next year and GETTING the chip this time around. Nobody expected us to be here, but here we were. Next year we come back stronger.
Our first FA signing is Andrew Bynum, a powerful young big, proven shotblocker and second best dunking bigman behind Dwight Howard. Not a bad signing, I must say.
Question marks. How fast do we move Vlad? Do we trade Lamar for a defending or scoring 3, since Pau will move to the 4? How much do we pay Sasha? Do we resign Ronny? Do we have to keep Luke?
My hope...freaking rematch. the 84 and 85 finals all over again.
In the meantime, Team USA is going to be siiiiick.
Registered Members don't see these ads. Register now it's free!
__________________
Quote:
Mr. Garrison: Kenny, would you please climb that ladder and take down the star above the stage?
I hope we stay healthy next year, although I doubt the Gasol trade happens without Bynum getting hurt.
Ariza would have helped a lot more in the playoffs if he had more court time during the year. He did look energized and healthy when he saw some playoff minutes.
Overall - I'm psyched for the future. If Luke Walton wasn't in that future...that'd be cool with me also.
__________________
"If Chuck is Solo, Larkin is his Fett!" - Morgan
Do we trade Lamar for a defending or scoring 3, since Pau will move to the 4?
Wow, I hope you're just asking this as a general question and not actually backing this notion. That would be one of the biggest mistakes any team could make.
I honestly don't know what the Lakers can do to have a better chance next season, but I don't think a drastic shake up is the place to start. What we need most is a strong backup for Odom. Odom is too inconsistent in the playoffs, but I still wouldn't get rid of him. We wouldn't have gotten as far as we did without him. He's solid, he just needs to learn to avoid foul trouble in the playoffs. Getting rid of him would be a tragic mistake.
The Lakers need to get better on defense and they'll be fine. Good defense trumps good offense every single time. Right now, the Celtics are head and shoulders better then the Lakers. Honestly, I'm not sure there is much of anything the Lakers can do about it. The matchup isn't even close right now, I'm not really seeing how anyone can think we'll beat them next season.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian in Mesa
Overall - I'm psyched for the future. If Luke Walton wasn't in that future...that'd be cool with me also.
Agreed 100% I want Walton off this team. He flat out sucks.
__________________
Tim Hightower destroyed the periodic table because he only recognizes the element of surprise.
For the Los Angeles Lakers, a trip to the NBA Finals can hardly be considered a bad thing.
True, they were overmatched for the majority of the series, their dream season reaching an ugly end in a 131-92 spanking at the hands of the world champion Boston Celtics in Game 6.
But this Lakers team was about more than this game, this series, this season. It’s about building a program the right way, learning from the losses, realizing that they’re not that far away from a title of their own.
Like all great franchises, the Lakers have a guy who can carry them when things aren’t clicking, a man with era-defining talent and unmatched drive. And now, Kobe Bryant is at the pinnacle of his career and surrounded by a more-than-capable cast.
So about 0.2 seconds after the Celtics claimed their 17th banner, and Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Finals MVP Paul Pierce were fitted for championship rings, the Lakers were No. 1 again. At least, they’re No. 1 in the West heading into next season, which begins right now.
Obviously, the pain of defeat, and losing their final game of the year in the manner in which they did, will linger.
Then training camp will arrive.
Then injured center Andrew Bynum will return, joining Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom to form the best frontcourt in pro basketball.
Then youngsters like Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Ronny Turiaf will enter the season after having experienced a Finals for the first time.
Then veterans like Bryant and Derek Fisher, and Coach Phil Jackson, will be as hungry as ever. All will be aiming to prove that the sting from such a nasty last-game defeat can only help you grow.
None of this is an earth-shattering proclamation, as most people who reach this level enter the upcoming season with a renewed sense of hope, a belief that something truly special is in store. But no one has the right to feel as confident as L.A.
A lot of NBA analysts considered this year’s Lakers to be a power. They have a Hall of Fame coach in Jackson, one of the greatest players of all time in Bryant, and a foreigner with frightening skills in Gasol. And that’s all great.
But dig a little deeper than that and you’ll see the Lakers are a relatively average bunch. Or at least they were on paper.
Fisher is far from a genuine point guard, as he’s never been one of those playmakers who directs the offense or makes setting up teammates his life’s purpose. Odom is very good, a borderline All-Star even -- but he won't exactly ring up any memories of James Worthy. And Vladimir Radmanovic can really shoot, but sometimes, it’s easy to forget he’s even on the floor.
As for everyone else, well, you never really knew what you were gonna get.
That’s not meant to belittle the Lakers’ role players. It’s just intended to show that, when you really look at this team, nobody outside of Bryant ever needs to be the focus of your defense. Basically, nobody outside of Bryant has consistently proven he can beat you.
So when you really look at this team, you’ll see that this was Jackson’s greatest coaching job to not end in a title – and more importantly for the Lakers, Bryant’s greatest season as an individual and as a teammate. He’s matured into the type of veteran who understands that it should only be about him when the need calls for it, and he’s smart enough to determine the very moment such a situation arises.
Both the coach and star spent the entire year making believers out of guys who had little reason to believe, and instilling passion in players who occasionally did just enough to get by, and little else.
Yes, the midseason steal of a deal for Gasol helped considerably. But it’s how the Lakers came together after the trade that was really impressive.
Are they champions? No, not today. Can they take pride in what they were able to accomplish this season? Absolutely, but of course, that’s never enough.
Is there reason to believe that things can be even better next year and beyond?
No doubt about it.
And that truth should be enough for the Lakers to spend the summer thinking, “Hey, it’s all gonna be alright.”
I agree with a lot of that. I'm very happy about the year we had, and where we sit in the West. The Lakers are by far the best team in the west, I don't think anyone else can even compete. The closest is the Hornets, but with our entire team being healthy, it's a pretty sizable gap.
My concern isn't the West, my concern is Boston. They are WAY better then the Lakers and I simply don't see how the Lakers plan to close that gap.
__________________
Tim Hightower destroyed the periodic table because he only recognizes the element of surprise.
So, with the Finals winding down, and a loss to the hated Celtics and their crew of Miracles, all focus is on next year and GETTING the chip this time around. Nobody expected us to be here, but here we were. Next year we come back stronger.
Our first FA signing is Andrew Bynum, a powerful young big, proven shotblocker and *third* best dunking bigman behind Dwight Howard *and amare stoudemire*. Not a bad signing, I must say.
Question marks. How fast do we move Vlad? Do we trade Lamar for a defending or scoring 3, since Pau will move to the 4? How much do we pay Sasha? Do we resign Ronny? Do we have to keep Luke?
My hope...freaking rematch. the 84 and 85 finals all over again.
In the meantime, Team USA is going to be siiiiick.
FTFY
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew
I needed a good 5 minute petting session with my dog to somewhat feel back to normal after such a loss...
Trevor Ariza
He missed a large chunk of the season with a broken right foot before finally seeing some select minutes in the NBA Finals.
Ariza has an opt-out clause in his contract, but said he will return to the Lakers, calling it a dream to play in the city where he grew up.
"They told me this is a good place for me, that I fit in really well," Ariza said.
Ariza said he experienced no pain in his foot during the playoffs, but has an MRI scheduled Monday as a precaution to see how it reacted to playing time.
This summer, he said he will focus on handling the ball and shooting and trying to add 10 pounds.
Next season, he will change jersey numbers from No. 3 to No. 1.
Bryant, who will be representing Team USA for the first time, told Gasol: "Being that we lost this series, you (guys) have no chance at a gold medal. I ain't goin' 0 for 2, homie."
Tetris Champion!
Linear Mode
