The Optimistic Thread! (TRD's FREEDOM THREAD!)

Now I can sleep peacefully

Ariza3 wrote:CDR went for 49pts/8ast/7rb. wow.

he can flat out play. shouldnt be in the dleague at all.

Ariza3 wrote:CDR went for 49pts/8ast/7rb. wow.

can't believe we kept Ebanks and let this guy go

Alcindor wrote:

Ariza3 wrote:CDR went for 49pts/8ast/7rb. wow.

can't believe we kept Ebanks and let this guy go

and we all know next time he plays against the lakers he's gonna drop 30 and 10

Even though starter minutes are a little high (while running more), they seem more like "easy" minutes, as Kobe once described a while back. They don't have to overwork themselves just to buy a basket, so that's definitely good in the long run.

I thought the offense looked a lot better against the Rockets than the game before against the Suns. It looked less forced somehow. Maybe they're just getting used to the uptempo more. It was flowing this game.

Oh yeah, and we're finally .500!!

I'm liking the offense lately, players seem to feel comfortable and confident taking shots, and there is less pressure to score in a certain way and more awareness that a made basket is better than a missed basket. In addition to that, Lakers are actually looking for easy opportunities more often and trying to push tempo.

But what is really nice to see, although it isn't exactly reflected on the final score tally, but this Lakers team is still capable of playing stifling D on any given possession. It's going to take some work perhaps to make that consistent, but it is encouraging to know that the improved offense doesn't necessarily come at the expense of the defense.

I mean, for as much as defense wins championships and all, the Lakers, at least in the Kobe-Pau era, have usually been best when they were offense-focused. Usually the conventional wisdom is that defense leads to offense, but the 2peat teams seemed like they were more 'offense leads to defense', almost as if the simple act of scoring more points simply fired them up to hustle on the other end.

Dwight's also been looking a lot more spry lately.

Alcindor wrote:

Ariza3 wrote:CDR went for 49pts/8ast/7rb. wow.

can't believe we kept Ebanks and let this guy go

Blame is on Brown for this one. 100%

kenzo wrote:

Alcindor wrote:

Ariza3 wrote:CDR went for 49pts/8ast/7rb. wow.

can't believe we kept Ebanks and let this guy go

Blame is on Brown for this one. 100%

^^ I don't see why. Can you explain? I've bashed on Brown plenty but I don't see how that had anything to do with him. That was a FO call as far as I can see. They had a lot of guards already under contract, plus Ebanks was already contracted. CDR was always going to be a long shot to make the team. We needed Sacre for that last backup big, especially at the 5. Certainly if Clark weren't under contract I think we would have picked up CDR but we would have had to waive a guy we were paying in order to pick up CDR, right? With this payroll?

Don't get me wrong. I really wish we had CDR right now. I thought he was great and I was pretty bummed we let him go. He's NBA ready unlike a talented but undersized kid like DJO.

I think the only mistake on Brown's part with the whole CDR was not giving him more run, when it both practice (reported) and game, he was doing really well.

Doc Brown wrote:I think the only mistake on Brown's part with the whole CDR was not giving him more run, when it both practice (reported) and game, he was doing really well.

No doubt. Maybe that's what Kenzo was referring to. But by all accounts, like you said, it was reported that the Lakers staff and Mitch seemed to really be impressed with him.

Like most decisions in the NBA, I think this was a financial one as I mentioned above. If I'm wrong, please go ahead and correct me.

lakerswiz wrote:I could see that.

But at the same time, front office chose Darius Johnson Odom over him, who we saw even less of during preseason.

Blaming Brown for this one is just over the top silly.

^^ That's pretty much what I thought, too. Seemed all financial.

No I agree with you LJ and I agree with Wiz. They already invested 500k in DJO before he was even on the team. It was basically a guaranteed deal for him money wise.

Overall it was a matter of too many guaranteed deals and not enough room. IMO if everyone (Blake/Duhon/Morris/Ebanks/Clark) had non-guaranteed deals like Glock/CDR, our roster would look a little different. It is what it is.

Ohh well we are putting up ridiculous offensive numbers right now and winning. Can't really complain.

Doc Brown wrote:No I agree with you LJ and I agree with Wiz. They already invested 500k in DJO before he was even on the team. It was basically a guaranteed deal for him money wise.

Overall it was a matter of too many guaranteed deals and not enough room. IMO if everyone (Blake/Duhon/Morris/Ebanks/Clark) had non-guaranteed deals like Glock/CDR, our roster would look a little different. It is what it is.

Ohh well we are putting up ridiculous offensive numbers right now and winning. Can't really complain.

^^ Agreed. And this is coming from three guys who weren't exactly Brown fans to begin with.

I guess the CDR thing just became more of a sore point because he had that breakout game scoring 49 points, and then our wing guy Ebanks just scored a DUI and is in the doghouse.

Yeah, can't really complain too much, although I wonder if you could void Ebanks' contract for that and pick up CDR. Someone said Dallas owns his rights now though?

missed like a gajillion free throws and still won

defense was really good when it mattered

over 0.500 now

over .500!


but the free throw shooting is just embarrassing. come on

fkmikebrown wrote:missed like a gajillion free throws and still won

defense was really good when it mattered

over 0.500 now

Indeed, defense was good to end the game, finally got over .500, did it by beating one of the few legit good teams we've played, and still no Nash.

Wallace owes Kobe 5 grand

Defense was awesome. We gave up only 33 points in 2nd half. Our bench didnt play well but it didn't get pummelled either, NJ has a nice scoring bench. They got only 17 against our 10

Very encouraging

Nets scoring just 6 points in the final 5:22 of the 4th. Hit only 2 of final 10 shots.

Over .500, feels good.

A three game winning streak! It's been a while!

Made three FGs in the 4th and still won a game.

We even won the 4th quarter