Steve Blake Discussion: Out Indefinitely (p. 102)

borri wrote:Thank you Phil for leaving Blake in for the 4th quarter.

Blake had an amazing debut tonight, he did a little bit of everything and even hit the game winner when it looked like the Lakers may let one slip away. He's a perfect fit for the Lakers and I know we're going to see a lot more from him during the season as Fisher is kept on the bench for longer and longer stretches of time.

The hunger he brings to this team can't be understated, in his post-game interview in the locker room he made it clear how he wished he was out there getting a ring with his teammates, and I know that will drive him and also help inspire the other Lakers who already have rings to continue to play hard and not become complacent.

Take that Houston!

high-five!

That didn't take very long to endear himself to the team and the city. What a huge 3 with the game on the line.....I've already forgotten that he used to be a Blazer

blake was clutch. i see more to come from steve blake. great addition to this team.

Blake was great but I gotta give props to Phil for FINALLY STICKING WITH THE LINEUP THAT WAS PLAYING THE BEST. Phil has always been known to revert to his starting 5 or his default closing 5 in the 4th regardless of who's playing well, but he changed things up last night and went with who was playing best. Thank you....finally.

nameant wrote:Blake was great but I gotta give props to Phil for FINALLY STICKING WITH THE LINEUP THAT WAS PLAYING THE BEST. Phil has always been known to revert to his starting 5 or his default closing 5 in the 4th regardless of who's playing well, but he changed things up last night and went with who was playing best. Thank you....finally.

Yeah seriously....what a pleasant surprise!!

Steve Blake introducing himself to the Lakers!!!

breath of fresh air. Finally we see what a skilled backup PG is. Him being on there revealed how much better this Laker team can be.

Yeah, Phil had a tendancy to stick with Fish to close out games, but when the next option is Famar to close out games, can you blame him?

loving what I see so far.

Blake was awesome last night on both ends of the floor. He and Shannon pretty much keyed that comeback. Such a sigh of relief compared to Farmar. I like how Phil kept him on at the end of the game.

Not only did Blake hit that huge shot in the closing seconds, he played some good defense on Brooks after Brooks spent much of the game torching us. Great all-around game by Blake.

He's living up to the expectations I had for him coming into the season.

CheezStake wrote:That didn't take very long to endear himself to the team and the city. What a huge 3 with the game on the line.....I've already forgotten that he used to be a Blazer

And the Thuggets....

Love me some Steve Blake. Loved the way he played in Portland, and it was obvious from the get go that he would be a nice fit here.

He was in the wrong spot a couple of times out there and it looks like he rarely looks to finish at the basket when he gets in the lane, but his post entry passes are excellent and that three ball is money. He should help out our 2nd unit immensly.

annnnn wrote:BLaker

^^^ I'm going to use that from now on!!

gill wrote:Blake was awesome last night on both ends of the floor. He and Shannon pretty much keyed that comeback. Such a sigh of relief compared to Farmar. I like how Phil kept him on at the end of the game.

Barnes had as much a role in the comeback as those two. The guy was everywhere, getting rebounds, trapping, setting picks, cutting, and most importantly filling the running lanes correctly on the break by going out wide enough to take a defender with him. He also pretty much took Martin out of that 4th quarter while Brown and Blake took Lee and Brooks.

^^ Agreed. I like BDG's nickname for those three - the Killer B's. I'm sticking with that. Those guys did exactly what you would hope your bench would do: inject some energy and a real spark. They did that on both ends.

Mitch cannot be praised enough for what he accomplished this off-season. Stealing Blake away from 5 other suitors for less than full MLE money, re-signing Shannon Brown, and acquiring Barnes and Ratliff for peanuts when the opportunity presented itself. Awesome moves. Just as important was the decision to let Farmar go and move on when it was clear that he wasn't a good fit for the future.

While this may be premature, I am hoping that they just let Sasha expire this year and use some of his salary to lock down Barnes for a couple more years in the off season. I sense that he could be a real contributor for us off the bench for the remainder of this current run with Kobe, Pau, Lamar and Artest. As Kobe ages, it's great to have a guy off the bench that you can bring in who will hustle and play the hard-nosed D that it takes to win championships. He's a cheap contract right now, but he will need to get paid a bit more after this I believe. I hope we retain him unlike what happened with Boston and Posey. Ever since they let him walk they have not been the same team defensively. Barnes is a very similar type of role player - or at least I hope that he will be.

What lot of fun it should be this year to contrast Blake with Farmar. Unselfish play, post entry passes, good 3 shooter, decent defense, etc... all that stuff that mostly wasn't in Farmar's game. Yes there were times when he goofed his place in the tri, but he's an intelligent player so I expect him to really get it as the season goes on.

Great finally seeing a true point guard playing for the Lakers. I cant believe Phil left him in the game during the 4th quarter. Seems like Phil trusts Blake more now then he ever did Farmar.

gninerfan21 wrote:Blake is non-deserving of this thread.. he hasn't done anything for the Lakers.

KHRIS wrote:Great finally seeing a true point guard playing for the Lakers. I cant believe Phil left him in the game during the 4th quarter. Seems like Phil trusts Blake more now then he ever did Farmar.

gninerfan21 wrote:Blake is non-deserving of this thread.. he hasn't done anything for the Lakers.

when I wrote that he hadnt done anything..

gninerfan21 wrote:(Disclaimer- Don't bump this post 8 months from now saying I'm wrong, I think he'll be great I just think its too early)

I even threw in a disclaimer..

He won't start, but he will get the lion's share of minutes which is what Phil wanted Farmar to do. That way Fish stays fresh for the playoffs and Blake gets a better grip on the offense and clutch situations during the year.

gninerfan21 wrote:

KHRIS wrote:Great finally seeing a true point guard playing for the Lakers. I cant believe Phil left him in the game during the 4th quarter. Seems like Phil trusts Blake more now then he ever did Farmar.

gninerfan21 wrote:Blake is non-deserving of this thread.. he hasn't done anything for the Lakers.

when I wrote that he hadnt done anything..

gninerfan21 wrote:(Disclaimer- Don't bump this post 8 months from now saying I'm wrong, I think he'll be great I just think its too early)

I even threw in a disclaimer..

You failed bro. It took all but one game for Blaker. All of us could see in the pre season that he was light years ahead of Farmar and warranted an appreciation thread even if it was pre season. Heck just by watching that scrimmage video of practice against the starters had us appreciating.

Now go and walk that fluffy pup of yours.

WOW, not THAT is what I call a first game. I love this guy already.
And btw, I doubt he starts, he fuels the bench in a way fisher couldn't, but he will play more than fisher.