2014-15 Los Angeles Lakers Thread

Definetly have some talent out there i'm interested to see how they mesh.

Kobe Bryant - Looked a 1st Team All-NBA caliber player. I was blown away. Elevation on his jumper, quick, sharp moves, and even looked good on the defensive end. Couldn't have asked for a better showing. Played more off the ball, with a lot of elbow catches. (more on that later)

Steve Nash - Was moving well, and looked like himself. Unfortunately, part of that is being a TERRIBLE defender. I really don't think it's wise to play him and Kobe together. I'd love to see him with the 2nd unit.

Carlos Boozer - Pleasantly surprised by his defensive rotations and awareness. His years in Chicago instilled some good habits. He's not a good one-on-one defender, but he rotated well. Offensively, he's not what used to be. But he played hard and played smart. Underrated passer. Replaces much of Pau's value in this respect.

Wesley Johnson - An important player in a very old starting lineup. Has to become a lockdown defender, which he's capable of. 3 & D. Nice job of it tonight.

Jordan Hill - Great garbage man, poor rotational defender. Can't play him at the 5 with Nash @ PG. Way too many easy buckets allowed. His jumper looked improved and that could be huge for this team.

Julius Randle - Showed why people are excited about him, but also showed why he's a rookie. TREMENDOUS first step and ball-handling for a person his size. He did a rip through that ended up as a reverse layup that could only be described as "violent". Scored in the paint with a great up and under, and set up a brilliant screen that got him a thunderous 2-handed dunk. Great zip on his passes too, I love that, and so will the shooters on the team. On the negative end of things, he was often out of control, and missed some opportunities to finish with his right hand. Was slow to rotate times, and doesn't seem to be in the greatest shape. Solid on the boards, although he gave up some offensive rebounds.

Aside from how Kobe looked, the 2nd most encouraging thing that I saw tonight was his potential on the defensive end. He's not a rim protector, and not really a SF either. But he has really quick feet, and showed some promise vs. the pick & roll. Good debut.

Jeremy Lin - Didn't think he played very well, despite the 10 assists. Seemed very uncomfortable running things, and didn't create many opportunities with his attacks in the paint. Better defender than Nash, but still not good. His speed's an asset though. I'd prefer he was paired with Kobe in the starting lineup.

Jordan Clarkson - First player off of the bench with Young out. The Lakers are high on him....I just don't see it. I don't think he's a PG, and he doesn't stand out to me as a future combo guard of any significance. Runs the floor well, plays hard, but wastes possessions. Has a long way to go.

Wayne Ellington - Better player than Clarkson, IMO, and a more well-defined role. Knocked down some nice pull-ups and navigated a nice double screen for a 3. Defense was so-so.

Ed Davis - This was my favorite sneaky pickup of the offseason. Put up some really nice rim protection & pick & roll numbers last year in Memphis, but they had already paid 3 bigs and weren't gonna pay a 4th. Easily the best defensive big on the team. Finished well around the hoop and swatted everything in sight, getting 12 points & 4 blocks in just 12 minutes. If the Lakers surprise people this season, he will play a role in it.

Robert Sacre - He's nails on a chalkboard to me. Hit a couple of mid-range shots, but was basically in the way on offense. Active, but still an average defender at best. If he plays over Davis in the regular season I'm going to be highly upset.

Byron Scott - You can tell that there's an increased focus on the defensive end, which is great. But you can focus on it all you want....if you're starting a lineup of Nash/Kobe/Johnson/Boozer/Hill, you're not going to be a good defensive team, at least on the first unit. I'd like to see a lineup of Lin/Kobe/Johnson/Hill/Davis, with Nash running the show with the 2nd unit. Substitution patterns were good. Offense was clunky and involved a lot of pin down screens. Nice to see weak side motion, but the spacing is poor. Very screening heavy, but we don't set very good screens. It's obvious that the offensive end hasn't been an emphasis, and that's fine. But if we're going to have a defensive identity, we need to play our best defensive players.

Yeah I had class last night but was able to catch 2nd half. Kobe and Nash were moving real well. Kobe looked like 30 year old kobe.

Boozer is what he is: an undersized PF. All I can ask of him is to play anything remotely resembling defense and hit some open shots.

I want to seemore of randle this preseason but he looked very impressive. I agree with Pete, he does have a nice quick first step. That reverse layup where he blew by his defender is going to be something I hope we see a lot from him.

Awesome, thanks LA.

This team is obviously better than last years, so we have that going for us. I caught the 2nd half. Our energy and rotation on defense is like night and day from last year. I like Ellington, he surprised me a bit, as did Davis. Randle needs to slow down, guy freaks me out, gives me anxiety. He's so talented, just needs to take a deep breathe. I've always thought Lin sucks, but he has to shoot the ball better. And that's not just for this team, but for any longevity in the NBA. He doesn't do anything else well enough.

I don't feel like talking about Boozer, I'm still getting my head wrapped around the fact he is on the team I root for. No way Byron let's Sacre play in a Laker jersey this year, he knows it's a disgrace.

Really stoked about how Kobe and Nash looked. All I care about is health, the game is clearly still there. Whenever Hill and Randle are in there are the same time, we are going to simply out hustle front courts and get tons of loose balls/ugly offensive rebounds...which makes me happy.

Randle is just a beast. He just needs to keep a good head on his shoulders and he will be a perennial all star.

not sure why you are so down on Clarkson, LA, he looks like he's got a lot of talent. raw, but solid potential there.

Ed Davis was a sneaky pickup, played amazing last night.

oh...and #23 for the Nuggets, their Center, the worst player I've ever seen lmao. his first two shots barely even hit the backboard and then he also had a wide open layup and just missed. and LOL @ Mozgov getting rejected by the rim

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Kobe Bryant - Looked a 1st Team All-NBA caliber player. I was blown away. Elevation on his jumper, quick, sharp moves, and even looked good on the defensive end. Couldn't have asked for a better showing. Played more off the ball, with a lot of elbow catches. (more on that later)

Steve Nash - Was moving well, and looked like himself. Unfortunately, part of that is being a TERRIBLE defender. I really don't think it's wise to play him and Kobe together. I'd love to see him with the 2nd unit.

Carlos Boozer - Pleasantly surprised by his defensive rotations and awareness. His years in Chicago instilled some good habits. He's not a good one-on-one defender, but he rotated well. Offensively, he's not what used to be. But he played hard and played smart. Underrated passer. Replaces much of Pau's value in this respect.

Wesley Johnson - An important player in a very old starting lineup. Has to become a lockdown defender, which he's capable of. 3 & D. Nice job of it tonight.

Jordan Hill - Great garbage man, poor rotational defender. Can't play him at the 5 with Nash @ PG. Way too many easy buckets allowed. His jumper looked improved and that could be huge for this team.

Julius Randle - Showed why people are excited about him, but also showed why he's a rookie. TREMENDOUS first step and ball-handling for a person his size. He did a rip through that ended up as a reverse layup that could only be described as "violent". Scored in the paint with a great up and under, and set up a brilliant screen that got him a thunderous 2-handed dunk. Great zip on his passes too, I love that, and so will the shooters on the team. On the negative end of things, he was often out of control, and missed some opportunities to finish with his right hand. Was slow to rotate times, and doesn't seem to be in the greatest shape. Solid on the boards, although he gave up some offensive rebounds.

Aside from how Kobe looked, the 2nd most encouraging thing that I saw tonight was his potential on the defensive end. He's not a rim protector, and not really a SF either. But he has really quick feet, and showed some promise vs. the pick & roll. Good debut.

Jeremy Lin - Didn't think he played very well, despite the 10 assists. Seemed very uncomfortable running things, and didn't create many opportunities with his attacks in the paint. Better defender than Nash, but still not good. His speed's an asset though. I'd prefer he was paired with Kobe in the starting lineup.

Jordan Clarkson - First player off of the bench with Young out. The Lakers are high on him....I just don't see it. I don't think he's a PG, and he doesn't stand out to me as a future combo guard of any significance. Runs the floor well, plays hard, but wastes possessions. Has a long way to go.

Wayne Ellington - Better player than Clarkson, IMO, and a more well-defined role. Knocked down some nice pull-ups and navigated a nice double screen for a 3. Defense was so-so.

Ed Davis - This was my favorite sneaky pickup of the offseason. Put up some really nice rim protection & pick & roll numbers last year in Memphis, but they had already paid 3 bigs and weren't gonna pay a 4th. Easily the best defensive big on the team. Finished well around the hoop and swatted everything in sight, getting 12 points & 4 blocks in just 12 minutes. If the Lakers surprise people this season, he will play a role in it.

Robert Sacre - He's nails on a chalkboard to me. Hit a couple of mid-range shots, but was basically in the way on offense. Active, but still an average defender at best. If he plays over Davis in the regular season I'm going to be highly upset.

Byron Scott - You can tell that there's an increased focus on the defensive end, which is great. But you can focus on it all you want....if you're starting a lineup of Nash/Kobe/Johnson/Boozer/Hill, you're not going to be a good defensive team, at least on the first unit. I'd like to see a lineup of Lin/Kobe/Johnson/Hill/Davis, with Nash running the show with the 2nd unit. Substitution patterns were good. Offense was clunky and involved a lot of pin down screens. Nice to see weak side motion, but the spacing is poor. Very screening heavy, but we don't set very good screens. It's obvious that the offensive end hasn't been an emphasis, and that's fine. But if we're going to have a defensive identity, we need to play our best defensive players.

Good stuff bro i believe Eventually the rotation will be Lin/Kobe/Johnson/Randle/Davis from what i saw i think that would give them the best chance to win. I believe this unit would have the best balance offensively with Lin, Kobe, and Randle. Defensively they would have an adequate inside out duo with Johnson and Davis.
Why so down on Clarkson? He definetly is raw but he has some skills.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:
Kobe Bryant - Looked a 1st Team All-NBA caliber player. I was blown away. Elevation on his jumper, quick, sharp moves, and even looked good on the defensive end. Couldn't have asked for a better showing. Played more off the ball, with a lot of elbow catches. (more on that later)

Steve Nash - Was moving well, and looked like himself. Unfortunately, part of that is being a TERRIBLE defender. I really don't think it's wise to play him and Kobe together. I'd love to see him with the 2nd unit.

Carlos Boozer - Pleasantly surprised by his defensive rotations and awareness. His years in Chicago instilled some good habits. He's not a good one-on-one defender, but he rotated well. Offensively, he's not what used to be. But he played hard and played smart. Underrated passer. Replaces much of Pau's value in this respect.

Wesley Johnson - An important player in a very old starting lineup. Has to become a lockdown defender, which he's capable of. 3 & D. Nice job of it tonight.

Jordan Hill - Great garbage man, poor rotational defender. Can't play him at the 5 with Nash @ PG. Way too many easy buckets allowed. His jumper looked improved and that could be huge for this team.

Julius Randle - Showed why people are excited about him, but also showed why he's a rookie. TREMENDOUS first step and ball-handling for a person his size. He did a rip through that ended up as a reverse layup that could only be described as "violent". Scored in the paint with a great up and under, and set up a brilliant screen that got him a thunderous 2-handed dunk. Great zip on his passes too, I love that, and so will the shooters on the team. On the negative end of things, he was often out of control, and missed some opportunities to finish with his right hand. Was slow to rotate times, and doesn't seem to be in the greatest shape. Solid on the boards, although he gave up some offensive rebounds.

Aside from how Kobe looked, the 2nd most encouraging thing that I saw tonight was his potential on the defensive end. He's not a rim protector, and not really a SF either. But he has really quick feet, and showed some promise vs. the pick & roll. Good debut.

Jeremy Lin - Didn't think he played very well, despite the 10 assists. Seemed very uncomfortable running things, and didn't create many opportunities with his attacks in the paint. Better defender than Nash, but still not good. His speed's an asset though. I'd prefer he was paired with Kobe in the starting lineup.

Jordan Clarkson - First player off of the bench with Young out. The Lakers are high on him....I just don't see it. I don't think he's a PG, and he doesn't stand out to me as a future combo guard of any significance. Runs the floor well, plays hard, but wastes possessions. Has a long way to go.

Wayne Ellington - Better player than Clarkson, IMO, and a more well-defined role. Knocked down some nice pull-ups and navigated a nice double screen for a 3. Defense was so-so.

Ed Davis - This was my favorite sneaky pickup of the offseason. Put up some really nice rim protection & pick & roll numbers last year in Memphis, but they had already paid 3 bigs and weren't gonna pay a 4th. Easily the best defensive big on the team. Finished well around the hoop and swatted everything in sight, getting 12 points & 4 blocks in just 12 minutes. If the Lakers surprise people this season, he will play a role in it.

Robert Sacre - He's nails on a chalkboard to me. Hit a couple of mid-range shots, but was basically in the way on offense. Active, but still an average defender at best. If he plays over Davis in the regular season I'm going to be highly upset.

Byron Scott - You can tell that there's an increased focus on the defensive end, which is great. But you can focus on it all you want....if you're starting a lineup of Nash/Kobe/Johnson/Boozer/Hill, you're not going to be a good defensive team, at least on the first unit. I'd like to see a lineup of Lin/Kobe/Johnson/Hill/Davis, with Nash running the show with the 2nd unit. Substitution patterns were good. Offense was clunky and involved a lot of pin down screens. Nice to see weak side motion, but the spacing is poor. Very screening heavy, but we don't set very good screens. It's obvious that the offensive end hasn't been an emphasis, and that's fine. But if we're going to have a defensive identity, we need to play our best defensive players.

if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even know what is going on. You should be the coach, and I am not even kidding

ha ha, I have been wearing my Lakers t-shirt so many days in a row now that my wife spirited it away while I was asleep and washed it.
Lakers shirt, check
SF Giants hat, check
weird looks, check

Glad you guys enjoyed the breakdown. I'll try to do that more this year. I think this is going to be a better season than many folks expect. I think this team will go at least .500 if Kobe plays 70+ games.

As for Clarkson, I'm not necessarily down on him, I'm just not as high on him as many others are. He's okay, definitely a nice grab with the #47 pick, but I think what he does best is get his own shot...and he's not great at that. I can think of at least 10 different plays that I'd want to see more than Clarkson trying to break his man down one on one. He's a solid spot up shooter, which could be valuable, and decent with ball pressure on the other end, but I don't think he's a rotational player at this point of his career. He certainly has time to develop into one though, no doubt.

@LakersReporter
Byron Scott said he'll likely stick to the line up groups from Game 1 tomorrow, but switch them up next week to see how diff. players mesh.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:
Glad you guys enjoyed the breakdown. I'll try to do that more this year. I think this is going to be a better season than many folks expect. I think this team will go at least .500 if Kobe plays 70+ games.

As for Clarkson, I'm not necessarily down on him, I'm just not as high on him as many others are. He's okay, definitely a nice grab with the #47 pick, but I think what he does best is get his own shot...and he's not great at that. I can think of at least 10 different plays that I'd want to see more than Clarkson trying to break his man down one on one. He's a solid spot up shooter, which could be valuable, and decent with ball pressure on the other end, but I don't think he's a rotational player at this point of his career. He certainly has time to develop into one though, no doubt.

Pete. Nice breakdown. Now, please watch a Warriors game and give a complete analysis of everyone on their roster. I will look forward to that and expect it by next week.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Glad you guys enjoyed the breakdown. I'll try to do that more this year. I think this is going to be a better season than many folks expect. I think this team will go at least .500 if Kobe plays 70+ games.

As for Clarkson, I'm not necessarily down on him, I'm just not as high on him as many others are. He's okay, definitely a nice grab with the #47 pick, but I think what he does best is get his own shot...and he's not great at that. I can think of at least 10 different plays that I'd want to see more than Clarkson trying to break his man down one on one. He's a solid spot up shooter, which could be valuable, and decent with ball pressure on the other end, but I don't think he's a rotational player at this point of his career. He certainly has time to develop into one though, no doubt.

Ahh i see i certainly cant't say i don't agree with you the rawness in his game is apparent.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Glad you guys enjoyed the breakdown. I'll try to do that more this year. I think this is going to be a better season than many folks expect. I think this team will go at least .500 if Kobe plays 70+ games.

As for Clarkson, I'm not necessarily down on him, I'm just not as high on him as many others are. He's okay, definitely a nice grab with the #47 pick, but I think what he does best is get his own shot...and he's not great at that. I can think of at least 10 different plays that I'd want to see more than Clarkson trying to break his man down one on one. He's a solid spot up shooter, which could be valuable, and decent with ball pressure on the other end, but I don't think he's a rotational player at this point of his career. He certainly has time to develop into one though, no doubt.

Been working too much! Thanks for catching me back up. GO LAKERS!!!!!!

warriors @ Lakers on NBATV right now.