Tag Archives: Pau Gasol

Waiver Wire: Is Dwight the Problem?

Many thought this Lakers team was a mortal lock for the Western Conference Finals, if not the NBA Finals. I had them losing to Oklahoma City in the West Finals, primarily because of the Steve Nash/Russell Westbrook defensive matchup, but why quibble – even projecting them to make the conference finals was a gross over-estimation of their collective ability. They stumbled out of the gate, getting Mike Brown fired in the process, and have yet to show any sign that they’ll turn things around.

The Lakers have a host of problems, but many of them can be traced back to Dwight Howard. He’s been an awful fit playing alongside Kobe Bryant. He doesn’t like being a complementary player on the offensive end – even though he’s probably the Lakers’ fifth-best scorer. His presence has pushed Pau Gasol out of position. Gasol has been ineffective playing the four, fallen out of the starting five, and like Howard, taken to sulking about his role.

What’s Mitch Kupchak to do? He may have an out. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but according to reports, Dwight Howard is unhappy, isn’t sure what he wants to do with his next contract, and may be traded at the deadline. It might make an awful lot of sense for Kupchak to cut his losses and see what he can get for Howard, rather than risk losing him for nothing in the offseason. A deal sending Howard to his hometown Atlanta Hawks could bring back Josh Smith, a deal that might make sense for both teams.

Of course, there’s a very real possibility that Jim Buss was the real force behind the Howard trade, which could complicate matters significantly. Not to mention Howard’s lingering shoulder injury, which caused him to leave Wednesday’s game. (He should be back in action on Friday.)

via Waiver Wire: Is Dwight the Problem? – RotoWire.com.

MSG.com NBA Playoff Roundup

Leave a reply

While they might look unimpressive at times during the regular season, the Lakers always manage to turn it on in the playoffs, right? And while the Dallas Mavericks may look like world-beaters, they tend to fall apart in the post season. We might need to re-think both teams’ reputations, as the Lakers are in a 0-2 hole after dropping Games One and Two – at home – to the Mavs.

The Lakers’ core – Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher – has been together for years. But they’re playing like a squad thrown together at the trade deadline. After the game, Bynum told reporters the team has “trust issues.” Bryant explained Bynum’s comment as a way of expressing their poor communication on defense. Or was it Bynum’s way of saying, “Hey Kobe, you took more shots than me, Gasol and Odom combined in Game One – cut that out.”

via Playoff Roundup – Charlie Zegers – MSG.com.

What’s Next for the Lakers?

Leave a reply

Note to the rest of the Western Conference: if you think the champs are going to be an easier mark next year — or the year after that — you might want to re-think your position. With most of the team’s core locked up through the 2013/14 season, the Lakers aren’t going anywhere.

2010-11 Roster:

Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Ron Artest are signed for the next four seasons (though Artest has a player option for 2012/13). Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum are locked up through 2011/12, and the team has options on both players for 2012/13. That’s a pretty solid core, especially if Bynum can ever get healthy and develop into the player many think he’ll become.

Bench players Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton are also signed for next season. The team holds options on Shannon Brown, Adam Morrison and Jordan Farmar. Brown will almost certainly be back, but they’re expected to let Farmar walk, and the nameplate above Morrison’s locker is probably gone by now.

Free Agents:

The Lakers’ only significant free agent is point guard Derek Fisher, who is expected to re-sign with the team.

Needs and How to Fill Them:

If Farmar walks as expected, the Lakers’ biggest need will be point guard. Some have suggested the team might look for a younger/more athletic point to start alongside Kobe, which would shift Fisher to the second unit.

The Lakers have no first-round pick this year, and they can’t bank on finding a quality point picking 42nd or 58th. The crop of free-agent point guards is somewhat slim, but there are a few intriguing names — Detroit’s Will Bynum, the Clippers’ Steve Blake, even Orlando’s J.J. Redick, to name a few — who might be willing to sign for less to chase a championship with Kobe and company.

Question Marks:

The only real area of concern for this team: who’s calling the plays? Phil Jackson’s contract expires after the season, and the Zen Master has suggested Laker management will ask him to take a pay cut. Should Jackson sail off into the sunset, the two primary candidates to take over are assistant coach Brian Shaw and Laker great Byron Scott.

Outlook for 2011-12:

Even if Jackson leaves, and even if a Western Conference competitor somehow manages to sign one of the top free agents, the Lakers will go into next season as big favorites to return to the Finals for the third straight season.

What’s Next for the Lakers? originally appeared on About.com Basketball on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 10:58:14.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Give and Go: Holiday leftovers

Leave a reply

From: Charlie Zegers
Sent: Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009 7:48 AM
To: Christopher Liss
Subject: Give and Go: The Holidays and the Aftermath

I didn’t get to see much of the NBA’s Christmas Day marathon. This, of course, is a side effect of having two little kids; I spent much of the day with a mega-pack of AAA batteries, a wire cutter, a Phillips screwdriver and some really unkind thoughts for the people who design packaging for toys.

Oh, and for the record … Transformers have gotten way more complicated than they were when I was a kid. I actually had to consult the directions to turn Bumblebee into a Camaro without inadvertently removing his arms. I blame Michael Bay.

Sounds like Kobe Bryant and Stan Van Gundy had a worse Christmas than I did. What’s your take on the Cavs’ demolition of the Lakers? Personally, I don’t buy the “L.A. just came out flat” explanation being floated by some observers – though that may be because I just got through Chris Ballard’s “The Art of a Beautiful Game,” which describes Kobe as one of the five most competitive people on the planet. I’m more agreeable to the idea that having Shaq in the mix allows the Cavs to single-cover Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum down low, which makes Cleveland’s defense much more effective against strong low-post teams.

Which was the point of acquiring Shaq – in response to Cleveland’s playoff loss to the Magic – in the first place.

I’m not particularly interested in owning the big fella in a fantasy league this season, but I’m starting to think he’ll help the Cavs a lot more than his box score shows, particularly in the playoffs. I do still think they could use a mobile power forward – the Antawn Jamison rumors make a lot of sense. On the other hand, LeBron James is approximately the same size as Charles Oakley – maybe he’s the mobile four they need.

I suspect the Cavs will make some sort of move, if only because they stood pat last season and wound up getting killed for it. If you’re Danny Ferry, what are you looking to add?

Of course, the way Andrew Bynum has been playing of late, the Cavs could probably defend him with Delonte West and still do OK. Bynum scored just four points on 2-of-5 shooting in the Cleveland game, then posted a three-point, 1-of-9 stinker in 37 minutes against Sacramento the next night. The kid looked like an all-star early this season, but since Pau Gasol returned he’s been a major disappointment. We’ve talked about looking for skills and not situations when drafting fantasy players – and clearly, Bynum is a player with skill and 20-and-10 potential. But it also seems clear that he’s having trouble adjusting to his role in the offense when Gasol is on the floor. Are you buying or selling Bynum for the rest of this season?

And speaking of 20-and-10 potential … where do you rate Zach Randolph at this point? Z-Bo has posted averages of 23.3 and 14.3 for the month of December. Those are “Young Shaq” numbers. And he’s shooting over 90 percent from the line, blocking the occasional shot, and – as near as I can tell – hasn’t been a problem on or off the court. Is it time for us to re-consider how we value the talented-but-troubled Randolph? Because the way he’s playing right now, he’s a borderline top-10 fantasy player.

via Give and Go: Holiday leftovers – Fantasy – Yahoo! Sports.

The Next Time You’re Moved to Comment on Stan Van Gundy’s Turtlenecks…

Leave a reply

You might want to take a look at what NBA coaches were wearing in the seventies. The image of Larry Brown wearing overalls and looking like one of the lesser characters in a production of The Wiz will be with me for a long, long time.

But Coach Brown has come a long, long way. He was listed as one of the league’s snappier dressers — as selected by Charles Oakley — in Details magazine this month. Oak also lauds Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James for their style, but doesn’t much care for Pay Gasol’s scruffy appearance or Charles Barkley’s safari suits.

The Next Time You’re Moved to Comment on Stan Van Gundy’s Turtlenecks… originally appeared on About.com Basketball on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 13:58:17.

Permalink | Comment | Email this