There's no question that Barbosa is a much more suitable backup than Blake. The fact is, Blake seems to be an immovable object in Brown's offense so who knows if the option will be explored.

AntiGrav1ty

Germany2310 Posts

October 09 2012 17:12 GMT

#1642

It wasnt really the 2nd unit playing vs GS as it was the third or fifth unit. I think Blake or Duhon can create decently enough with either Howard or Gasol still in the game and Jamison on the Wing.

krndandaman

Mozambique16569 Posts

October 09 2012 17:21 GMT

#1643

--- Nuked ---

a176

Canada6688 Posts

October 09 2012 17:33 GMT

#1644

On October 10 2012 00:06 Ace wrote:
I actually think having Barbosa run the offense of the second unit would do wonders for them. He'll get eaten up defensively but that's much better than what the bench looks like right now.

except barbosa cant run anything. he is a pure wingman, just run and gun. if brown can make his bench into a fast break style, then sure, he'll be great. but i dont think their bench is setup like that.

seanisgrand

United States1039 Posts

October 09 2012 17:52 GMT

#1645

You give Mike Brown too much credit. Bench setup? Pshawww. Starters play 40mpg who needs backups.

a176

Canada6688 Posts

October 09 2012 18:06 GMT

#1646

On October 10 2012 02:52 seanisgrand wrote:
You give Mike Brown too much credit. Bench setup? Pshawww. Starters play 40mpg who needs backups.

this too, lol

XaI)CyRiC

United States4471 Posts

October 09 2012 20:47 GMT

#1647

With the top-heavy roster and the lack of anyone who can create offense on the bench, the Lakers will have to find a way to keep at least one to two of the big four on the floor at all times. The good thing is that Nash, Kobe, Pau and Dwight have all had experience being the focal point of an offense and creating offense for teammates. Ideally, they would be able to have one of either Nash or Kobe, and Pau or Dwight on the floor at all times to have a constant big/small combination, but that might be hard to pull off while still keeping their PT low to withstand the grind of the regular season.

I think they could get away with having just Pau or Dwight on the floor with 3 pt shooters around them, i.e. combination of Blake, Meeks, Jamison, Duhon, Goudelock/Johnson-Odom, and MWP. It would be a huge boon for them if MWP can play like he did last season when Kobe was out and prior to him knocking Harden out, because he's also capable of leading an offense as well (i.e. with the Kings and Rockets).

At the end of the day, barring injuries (knock on wood), the Lakers will have 4 (or 5, if MWP has a resurgence) players who are capable of creating offense for themselves and others on the roster. They've all done it as the leaders of their respective teams and being the focus of the opposing team's defense. If Miami can do it with just three such players, there's no reason the Lakers can't figure out a way to do it with 4-5.

MassHysteria

United States3678 Posts

October 09 2012 21:01 GMT

#1648

Ya I am thinking that MWP might silently be gearing up for a good season with him slimming down some and maybe able to move around quicker than the last 2 seasons. We shall see quickly though as he will probably given a lot of space by opposing teams when out with the starters.

BeanerBurrito

1010 Posts

October 09 2012 21:23 GMT

#1649

Seeing nash break ankles (hell you could say he broke that guys knees) was the highlight of the game imo

XaI)CyRiC

United States4471 Posts

October 22 2012 18:03 GMT

#1650

Disappointed that I missed the Lakers-Kings game last night, but am looking forward to attending this Wednesday's game live

I'm hoping that the Lakers play their starters significant minutes and try to win like they did against the Kings. I feel like the chances are good since they still need to give their starters actual game experience to gain familiarity with each other and iron out the wrinkles, plus the game is against their crosstown rivals who also revamped their roster.

Ace

United States16096 Posts

October 22 2012 19:31 GMT

#1651

Pau Gasol is the key to the Lakers fortunes. I'd never trust Dwight to "run" an offense as in Orlando they really didn't play through him the way you'd play through a normal center ie post ups and entry passes. Part of that is Dwight isn't really a dominant post scorer and secondly he is terrible at passing and always has sky high turnovers.

I think they should do the Miami routine and stagger their starters, giving Nash and Pau an early rest in the first, and letting Kobe/Dwight close off. At least that way if the bench struggles the Lakers went in with a lead. Pau and Nash are best suited to creating for sub par players instead of Kobe going 1 on 5 or Dwight getting double teamed and turning it over all the time.

XaI)CyRiC

United States4471 Posts

October 22 2012 21:22 GMT

#1652

On October 23 2012 04:31 Ace wrote:
Pau Gasol is the key to the Lakers fortunes. I'd never trust Dwight to "run" an offense as in Orlando they really didn't play through him the way you'd play through a normal center ie post ups and entry passes. Part of that is Dwight isn't really a dominant post scorer and secondly he is terrible at passing and always has sky high turnovers.

I think they should do the Miami routine and stagger their starters, giving Nash and Pau an early rest in the first, and letting Kobe/Dwight close off. At least that way if the bench struggles the Lakers went in with a lead. Pau and Nash are best suited to creating for sub par players instead of Kobe going 1 on 5 or Dwight getting double teamed and turning it over all the time.

Agree with all of this. As underrated as Dwight's offense is (and it is underrated), the Lakers would be well-served to use him mostly as a finisher and let the other three HoFers create the offense for others. The exception would be against teams who try to play small, at which point having Dwight back down a non-Kendrick Perkins big would force the teams to adjust to the Lakers. Although even then the size advantage could be capitalized on with just running pick-and-rolls with Dwight and watching the undersized bigs try to prevent the lobs.

RowdierBob

Australia13293 Posts

October 25 2012 03:25 GMT

#1653

Does anyone know much about Chris Copeland who was signed by the Knicks?

He's looked very impressive in the pre-season coming off the bench for the Knicks and look like he could be a genuine contributor on an NBA team. Did a quick Google of him and it looks like he has been carving up the Euro league for the last couple of years.

RowdierBob

Australia13293 Posts

October 25 2012 06:49 GMT

#1654

Nice stat line for Bledsoe vs Lakers: 22pts, 11 asts and 9(!) stls.

Wonder when the last was someone hit a TD with pts/asts/stls?

Holcan

Canada2593 Posts

October 25 2012 07:11 GMT

#1655

" November 1st, 1996, Clyde Drexler had 25 points, 10 rebounds, 10 steals and 9 assists" closest date I could find

Here is a list I found
Jerry West, L.A. Lakers vs. Seattle, 12/7/73
Larry Steele, Portland vs. L.A. Lakers, 11/16/74
Fred Brown, Seattle vs. Philadelphia, 12/3/76
Eddie Jordan, New Jersey vs. Philadelphia, 3/23/79
Johnny Moore, San Antonio vs. Indiana, 3/6/85
Lafayette Lever, Denver vs. Indiana, 3/9/85
Clyde Drexler, Portland vs. Milwaukee, 1/10/86
Alvin Robertson, San Antonio vs. Phoenix, 2/18/86
Alvin Robertson, San Antonio vs. L.A. Clippers, 11/22/86
Ron Harper, Cleveland vs. Philadelphia, 3/10/87
Gus Williams, Seattle vs. New Jersey, 1/29/88
Michael Jordan, Chicago vs. New Jersey, 1/29/88
Alvin Robertson, San Antonio vs. Houston, 1/11/89
Alvin Robertson, Milwaukee vs. Utah, 11/19/90
Kevin Johnson, Phoenix vs. Washington, 12/9/93

but it only goes up to 1994-1995 apparently.]

I found that too, but if we look here http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199905130PHI.html we see that he is 5 assists and 5 rebounds short of a triple double.