Sat. 10/16 - Lakers vs Nuggets - Predictions & Comments

Ebanks had a hell of a game. Is Artest's spot in jeopardy?

Devin proving all of his doubters wrong. Even though this is preseason, he is looking really good.

loving ebanks game at this early stage. caracter looks a tad lost out there

KB24@CL wrote:pre-season is sooo unimportant...I really don't care at all...I haven't even bothered to watch a pre-season game yet...

Wow don't understand that. You have missed some highlight reel plays by a number of our players already this year and the fun of seeing how deep we really are and how good the bench is. Hell how huge of an improvement Theo has been over DJ. This guy can still ball and block shots.

LTLakerFan wrote:

KB24@CL wrote:pre-season is sooo unimportant...I really don't care at all...I haven't even bothered to watch a pre-season game yet...

Wow don't understand that. You have missed some highlight reel plays by a number of our players already this year and the fun of seeing how deep we really are and how good the bench is. Hell how huge of an improvement Theo has been over DJ. This guy can still ball and block shots.

Pre-season is mostly boring to be honest. It was nice to get to see all the new faces tonight though. Ratliff is a big improvement over Dacos and Ebanks has a very, very good chance to be on the Lakers roster for years to come.

bruddahmanmatt wrote:Yeah umm...if Ron is gonna be hitting like that from downtown all year other teams may as well just give up.

Remember last year when Ron was heavier and could hardly get off the ground and had the plantar problems. Wow he looks great on the lift with his J this year and a very sweet looking stroke. No more cringes. He solved it all and earned his comfort level with Game 7 last year especially that huge 3 in crunch time at the end. He is just solid all around this year already.

team is looking much better on offense, especially kobe and the bench players (barnes mainly).

defensively, we could use some work. too many guys getting lost on rotations, lots of scrambling. just need better communication.

this is the first game that i felt good about the team's performance.

A few things that occur to me :

1. Kobe looked very good out there. Not quite the usual mid-season form, but certainly much closer. He seems to be getting familiar with the knee and is looking a lot more smooth out there. Last night he almost had a double double and had quite a few assists.

2. Pau is looking good too. At least in my mind, it seems clear he's not giving 100%, but probably something closer to 85%. And even at 85% he's doing very, very well so far. He looks confident, smooth, and his game is really just becoming more and more effortless.

3. The bench looked great. And I mean great great.
Shannon Brown : Two games in a row he's looked like the Lakers' big scoring option off the bench. His shot is looking much better, he's not forcing much of anything, he's not dribbling too much for the most part. And he's really understanding where to get his shots off and when to drive or pass. It's really great to see.
Matt Barnes : His defense is where he's valuable, but he's also an experienced and versatile offensive option. He's becoming more comfortable on the floor and his cuts are looking spot on. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can be as a defensive presence on this team.
Steve Blake : The guy is a perfect fit for this team. Cool, confident, and a leader. He runs the second unit so well and gets them moving so efficiently that it's almost hard to believe that he's not a veteran of the team.
Ebanks : I won't say much because everyone else already has. If Sasha isn't careful, they'll find a way to get Ebanks his minutes.

4. Lamar continues to look like the best Laker out there. He's so confident right now, his game is just on target. The best part is, it isn't like he's on a hot shooting streak, he's just absolutely comfortable on the court. Obviously this can't last forever, but when he's playing like this, the Lakers are going to be hard to beat.

5. Artest looks fantastic. He's not quite in a regular season groove yet, but he's trimmed down and he's moving extremely well. I can't wait to see his game through the start of the season.

I love Blake, he doesn't come in and start firing wild shots and going out of control and giving up our leads like Farmar did. I used to fear Farmar coming in, he had no idea how to manage a team or when he would shoot one shot too many. Blake, knows exactly how to manage a team, I feel super confident when the ball is in his hands, love the pickup.

Weezy wrote:I love Blake, he doesn't come in and start firing wild shots and going out of control and giving up our leads like Farmar did. I used to fear Farmar coming in, he had no idea how to manage a team or when he would shoot one shot too many. Blake, knows exactly how to manage a team, I feel super confident when the ball is in his hands, love the pickup.

Blake is, well, the Anti-Farmar. He actually plays like he has confidence in himself and his abilities and isn't playing as though he has to prove himself to anyone. I'm going to enjoy watching Blake play for us this year.