by crucifido on Sun Oct 17, 2004 9:36 pm
Well, well, well...
That was a great game (the games on my birthday are usually good just as a useless side note) by everyone involved.
The positives:
Brian Cook showed signs of desire. Possibly the biggest concern I have for Cook is the fact that he doesn't consistently show that he wants to play his hardest. That's something I expect from all professionals (especially in sports).
Sasha Vujacic played a much more concise game. He had moments of indecisiveness, but that can easily clear up with minutes and knowledge of the team he will be running with. Of course he showed the typical European flair for shooting the 3 and absent minded "D", but that can't take away from the fact that he improved greatly from summer league, to the first pre-season game to this game.
Kobe. I don't think enough can be said of his instant display of excellent leadership qualities. His willingness to talk to the new guys about what to do and where to be without chastising them has thus far gone unnoticed by most, but not here. The first exhibition game he was out to show that he is still the best offensive threat in the league and this game he got everyone involved expertly and perfectly.
Mihm is better than the Celtics or the NBA wants him to be. It's no surprise to me as I've touted Mihm's abililties all along and was ecstatic about the trade that brought him our way. The guy only needed consistency of minutes, coaching and systems and he will be an incredibly solid player at the 4 or the 5. Just another good showing for hiom so far.
Team spirit and support is running rampant on this squad. It is beyond great to see this team instantly bonding and learning fro meach other while looking to enjoy playing basketball. I think a lot of that is due to Rudy and his demeanor and style. But a good portion of that can be attributed to Kobe as well and the attitude he's taken with his new teammates and coaching staff. I'm just happy to see the Lakers having fun playing the game again.
The negatives:
I won't spend al ot of time on this, because focusing on the negative only bring the negative to the forefront, so here goes.
Rebounding seems to be a bit of an Achilles heel at the moment. I'm sure however that once Grant gets his legs back into the swing of playing, Vlade comes back in the middle and Malone rejoins the team that rebounding will clean up rather quickly.
Defense does have some holes. Most of these holes are more than likely due to a new system being installed and the lack of familiarity of the team. Nonetheless the communication on court on the defensive end needs to be more active and assertive.
Anyway, sorry for the long post, just in a good mood about the team and my birthday and felt like rambling.
Last edited by
crucifido on Sun Oct 17, 2004 9:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill