The Lakers Nation

Forum Blue & Gold: I just got done checking the NBA Rulebook, and it turns out the NBA does not award style points.

So, while we Lakers fans can nit-pick another win, remember that this team did what it needed to do - they stuck with the game plan and got the bigs involved early and often, they forced a turnover on 20% of the Bulls possessions and they held them to a 45.7% shooting (eFG%). The Bulls hung in early because Drew Gooden hit shots, and frankly if he’s the guy beating you then so be it, that’s what you want to force as a defense. But the Lakers did adjust and the Bulls couldn’t really counter that, and then the Lakers started to pull away (the first time). Plus, that Rose guy is pretty good. The game got a little sloppy at times and once again the Lakers seemed to try to avoid playing the triangle, but I think that was in part because of the pace (109 possessions, which is a little faster than the Showtime era tempo).

It’s a win. They don’t all have to be perfect and pretty, particularly in November.

• Apparently the tiff between Ariza and Sasha was because Ariza got mad at Sasha for not moving the ball in the offense. It’s a valid point, but if that’s Ariza’s beef he’s got a lot more people to be pissed at than just Sasha.

Continue reading ‘FB&G: Fast Break Thoughts’

Forum Blue & Gold: Nomuskles called it a “lopsided polygon,” but whatever term you want to use what the Lakers have been running on offense of late is not the triangle. The off the ball movement is minimal (particularly with the starers) and the passing that made this team a joy to watch late last year has been replaced with more isolation and relying on talent rather than the offense.

Bill Bridges, one of the smartest members of the family around here, broke it down in the comments, and his thoughts deserved a broader audience and discussion:

If the first half of the season can be devoted to experimentation such as determining the rotation and the best fit combos, we are now a fifth of the way through this stage. I would strongly urge that Phil devote the second fifth toward a different set of lineups and rotations.

If we discount the 3 games against the Clippers and Mavs and the first game against Portland (where they were obviously affected by first game jitters and the loss of Oden). The Lakers are 3 - 1. During many of these games and even against Dallas and the Clippers the starting unit put the Lakers in a hole to climb out of.

Continue reading ‘FB&G: Experimenting With The Offense’

Forum Blue & Gold: We can nit-pick this team if we want (and we my a little bit), but we Lakers fans need to step back for a second and enjoy this moment. We need to savor watching this team play, the passing, the breaks, the dunks and the beauty of well-played basketball. Don’t just think about the next game with Detroit or ahead to Boston or anyone else. We should live in the moment, because this is a very good moment.

The Lakers are 7-0 and just beat the second best team in the Western Conference (in my opinion, even if it hasn’t translated that way in standings yet) on the road on the second night of a back-to-back with travel in between. Did it get a little sloppy in the fourth quarter? Yes. But last year’s Lakers team lost that game and probably gave back the lead by the end of the first half.

Another big game tomorrow, but fellow fans, we need to savor what is happening now.

Continue reading ‘FB&G: All Is Right With The World’

Forum Blue & Gold -

Records: Lakers 4-0 Rockets 4-2
Offensive ratings: Lakers 110.7 Rockets 105.2
Defensive ratings: Lakers 88 Rockets 98.6
Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Vladimir Radmanovic, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum
Rockets Rafer Alston, Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest, Luis Scola, Yao Ming

The LA Times Misses the Point: We rarely get into what the beat writers say about the team here, mostly because they have a hard job and the guys following the Lakers do it really well. But today, the meme seems to be “the Lakers aren’t shooting well.”

This is where using traditional NBA stats is lacking. First and foremost, what really matters most is not points per game - that’s a stat where the pace a team plays at impacts that number dramatically. The Lakers play at one of the fastest paces in the league (third right now) so PPG is high for the Lakers. In any game, the two teams playing each other are going to have the same number of possessions - what matters is who uses those possessions most efficiently. Right now, the Lakers are sixth in the league at 109.7 points per 100 possessions. Maybe not what we expected, or where it will be at the end of the season, but not bad.

Continue reading ‘FB&G - Preview: The Houston Rockets’