Luke Walton: Legendary "Appreciation" Thread

You guys are right, he did play great defense on Lebron......



The fact that Lebron struggle was because we as a team were on the same page defensively. Gasol, Odom, and Powell were guarding the basket and preventing Lebron from driving to the hoop and giving his easy baskets, we made him a jumpshooter and that was the key. To say Luke was the main factor of Lebron struggling its quite funny if you ask me!

Shadow wrote:You guys are right, he did play great defense on Lebron......



The fact that Lebron struggle was because we as a team were on the same page defensively. Gasol, Odom, and Powell were guarding the basket and preventing Lebron from driving to the hoop and giving his easy baskets, we made him a jumpshooter and that was the key. To say Luke was the main factor of Lebron struggling its quite funny if you ask me!

It shows how hyped Lebron is. If you take away his driving lanes he's done. Unlike Kobe, Lebron is a straight line dribbler to the basket, his one on one skills are limited to a drive to an open basket on a fast break or an open lane. Make him a jump shot shooter and he's done.

I love his post up and fade away only to get blocked.....Its rare to see anyone do fade aways and still get blocked these days.

khmrP wrote:I love his post up and fade away only to get blocked.....Its rare to see anyone do fade aways and still get blocked these days.

Not if you can't get off the floor. He tries his post moves with almost no possibility of success.

WeLoveLA wrote:This guy just does so many things that don't end up on the stat sheets. He runs the offense better than almost anyone on the team. Always a willing passer. Can hit the 3 when asked to. Plays solid team defense.

Luke's IQ is vastly underrated here, he really is a great fit in that starting lineup and I want to see him there for the rest of the season.

I agree with you 100% but you won't get much agreement here.

I thought Luke has performed well on this road trip to his ability.

Does he have holes in his game? Sure. He's not particularly athletic and he is prone to making the occasional head scratching play, but there are things he does well.

He knows how to find people within the offense. There is the "hockey assist" play, the pass that leads to the assist and Luke (and Odom to an extent) are good at that. Plus when we are healthy (when Bynum is healthy) a guy who likes to make plays for others is key to have available when everyone else loves to score. I seem to recall him hitting a shot in the post and a wide open 3 on the baseline, but the haters will just ignore those plays and concentrate on the mistakes, the same mistakes everyone on the team makes from time to time.

A high octane offense like the Lakers (apparently we've averaged a ridiculous 110 ppg during the road trip) requires guys who actually like to pass in order for it to work. Ball movement is key to the triangle offense working and Luke is a part of that. We're fortunate to have guys who know how to play within the system which is why we're having success.

I think people need a pariah even if there's no logical reason for it. It's just something you have to accept but I do agree with your post.

Juronimo wrote:

WeLoveLA wrote:This guy just does so many things that don't end up on the stat sheets. He runs the offense better than almost anyone on the team. Always a willing passer. Can hit the 3 when asked to. Plays solid team defense.

Luke's IQ is vastly underrated here, he really is a great fit in that starting lineup and I want to see him there for the rest of the season.

I agree with you 100% but you won't get much agreement here.

I thought Luke has performed well on this road trip to his ability.

Does he have holes in his game? Sure. He's not particularly athletic and he is prone to making the occasional head scratching play, but there are things he does well.

He knows how to find people within the offense. There is the "hockey assist" play, the pass that leads to the assist and Luke (and Odom to an extent) are good at that. Plus when we are healthy (when Bynum is healthy) a guy who likes to make plays for others is key to have available when everyone else loves to score. I seem to recall him hitting a shot in the post and a wide open 3 on the baseline, but the haters will just ignore those plays and concentrate on the mistakes, the same mistakes everyone on the team makes from time to time.

A high octane offense like the Lakers (apparently we've averaged a ridiculous 110 ppg during the road trip) requires guys who actually like to pass in order for it to work. Ball movement is key to the triangle offense working and Luke is a part of that. We're fortunate to have guys who know how to play within the system which is why we're having success.

I think people need a pariah even if there's no logical reason for it. It's just something you have to accept but I do agree with your post.

The op was confounded by the Walton hate, and people are trying to make him aware of faults they see in his game. I don't think their opinions have anything to do with needing to label him as a pariah. If you read the posts, there are clear consistencies w/regard to Luke's shortcomings. You make it sound like everybody is unfairly victimizing Luke. You say there's logical reason, but if you just look at his stats, you'll see that it's very logical to find fault with Walton's game. He is a pathetic starter. He's a decent player, but shouldn't be starting. If you think that's far-fetched, then I think you might be overly-biased.

I don't think it's hate but frustration with the fact he is so bad yet starting on such a good team.

Bynum&Gasol wrote:

Juronimo wrote:

WeLoveLA wrote:This guy just does so many things that don't end up on the stat sheets. He runs the offense better than almost anyone on the team. Always a willing passer. Can hit the 3 when asked to. Plays solid team defense.

Luke's IQ is vastly underrated here, he really is a great fit in that starting lineup and I want to see him there for the rest of the season.

I agree with you 100% but you won't get much agreement here.

I thought Luke has performed well on this road trip to his ability.

Does he have holes in his game? Sure. He's not particularly athletic and he is prone to making the occasional head scratching play, but there are things he does well.

He knows how to find people within the offense. There is the "hockey assist" play, the pass that leads to the assist and Luke (and Odom to an extent) are good at that. Plus when we are healthy (when Bynum is healthy) a guy who likes to make plays for others is key to have available when everyone else loves to score. I seem to recall him hitting a shot in the post and a wide open 3 on the baseline, but the haters will just ignore those plays and concentrate on the mistakes, the same mistakes everyone on the team makes from time to time.

A high octane offense like the Lakers (apparently we've averaged a ridiculous 110 ppg during the road trip) requires guys who actually like to pass in order for it to work. Ball movement is key to the triangle offense working and Luke is a part of that. We're fortunate to have guys who know how to play within the system which is why we're having success.

I think people need a pariah even if there's no logical reason for it. It's just something you have to accept but I do agree with your post.

The op was confounded by the Walton hate, and people are trying to make him aware of faults they see in his game. I don't think their opinions have anything to do with needing to label him as a pariah. If you read the posts, there are clear consistencies w/regard to Luke's shortcomings. You make it sound like everybody is unfairly victimizing Luke. You say there's logical reason, but if you just look at his stats, you'll see that it's very logical to find fault with Walton's game. He is a pathetic starter. He's a decent player, but shouldn't be starting. If you think that's far-fetched, then I think you might be overly-biased.

Everyone has faults in their game. Besides who else is going to start at the 3? Calling someone "Puke" in every other post doesn't qualify as him being the pariah of the team? Ariza is clearly better coming off the bench and we have been winning with Luke in the starting lineup. If he's the worst player in the NBA as some would imply, how are we still winning? He must be doing something right.

If we want to focus on faults, every Laker has them. Let's look at our starting lineup:

Fisher: Poor finisher, has trouble containing quick guards
Kobe: Only plays defense against all stars
Odom: Poor free throw/jump shooter
Gasol: Lacks physical strength, not an anchor

If we want, we can just dwell on those only and not acknowledge anything good they do. That's what people do with Luke.

KB24@CL wrote:Luke Walton is disgusting...he can't rebound to save his life...every time the rebound bounces his way, he will either fumble and not get it anyway or tip it to the opponent...

he is a willing passer because he can't do anything else with the ball...he is a definite momentum killer on the floor right now.

I just hope he will find a way to get back to that good season that he had. He is aweful, considering he is the starting SF of one of the best teams in basketball is amazing and sickening at the same time.

And ppl continually make excuses for him. He is TERRIBLE. This has nothing to do with the players that are surrounding him. Luke flat out sucks.

Usually we will win despite his mistakes. I guess he have to play him now though. If he was near the bottom of the rotation I wouldnt mind, but starting and getting starting minutes, plus the nod in crunch time is amazing.

If I see one more of his hot potato rebound-tabs, I swear.

Good defense? Luke is probably the slowest "in-shape" swingman that I have ever seen. Ever. Id have a simile or metaphor for him but words cant describe. Hits 3s when we need him too? LMAO. Is that why every team has Luke's defender leave him wide open to double Pau and Kobe or clog the paint?

IMO its not his teammates that make him look bad being that they are so much better than him. I think its more them covering for his ridiculous mistakes. Just like Kwame and Smush, without Kobe and Co. covering for Luke, he'll be exposed and end up riding the pine even on a crappy team that needs any help they could get.

The problem with Luke is that he isn’t the best… or hell even second best at anything on the starting unit but passing and even then it’s a tossup between him or Kobe as the best starting passer, but considering we have a monster rebounder and defender in Bynum (which covers up Walton’s weaknesses at both of those), a spot up sniper that spreads the floor in Fisher (they cover up both of their flaws in that Walton can’t shoot and Fisher isn’t a true PG), arguably the best passing and finesse big man in the league, and then that guy Kobe, he doesn’t need to be. All he needs to do is facilitate the offence without being a matador on defense, and while he’ll never be DPOY, he’s not a matador like Radman was. I mean if people here were to actually watch entire possessions instead of the last pass and basket to see how well he fits in they might see what he brings to the starting lineup, which is the spark that fires the offence and the oil that makes it flow effortlessly while not being a huge f*ckup on defense 90-99% of the time.

As stated before he makes some bone head moves and he has some deficiencies, however when this team plays as a team he’s the synthetic oil that makes our 10,000 horse power monster offence work effortlessly, but when the teams out of sync he’s like adding that same synthetic oil to water, which means it’s like watching an environmental disaster take place. Like most people here that’s when I hate that he’s on this team and wish we would ship his @$$ out, but those times where he’s making all the cylinders fire and all the gears click I feel his contract is 100% justified. Now I would love for Ariza to start over him, but people here really need to recognize that Ariza is so much better with the second unit because you only ever need one lockdown man to man defender at a time on the floor for the hot hand (which is Kobe for the starters) and they play an up tempo game built to run the score up that Ariza, Odom, Farmar, and Sasha are perfect for, Walton is not. What Walton does bring is solid team play and while he’s nowhere near all-star caliber like Kobe, Pau, Lamar, and Drew, having him start the game and sometimes finish games makes the rest of the starters better since his bonehead plays on offence and defense have been diminishing, while his facilitating and team defense since fully recovering from the ankle injury has been improving.

I remember someone on here over the summer reported a Luke Walton sighting in Vegas where they saw him smoking cigarettes. I honestly couldn't believe it. I was pretty livid...I still hope it was made up BS.

Anyways...the whole "Walton is the best passer in the starting lineup" myth gets busted up pretty bad when you look at the rest of the current starters.

Kobe is definitely a better passer.
Pau is an awesome post passer and in my opinion much much better on the fly with his passes than anything Luke can generate.
Lamar is arguably better as well...especially on the move

The only starter I'd give Luke an edge over is Fish.

Yeah....best passer.

Luke is an ok facilitator for the Tri with no other value to his name. Can we ive without him, yes. I'd love to have a real SF how do we get emm? not a clue...and please don't mention Morrison that is Mr softy. Hopefully, we end up with Lamar at 3 which is really the best we got right now with Ariza off the bench.

Luke for some second round picks works for me...

Luke isn't highlight material and isn't an offensive machine and for that, he loses many fans right there.

I agree with alot of folks here that actually see through Luke's many deficiencies to realize how his overall play affects this team's success. I agree that he can be a frustrating player to watch at times, but overall, he does demonstrate a knowledge for the game that makes him serviceable in a league that is loaded with athletic talent.

Luke can play among super freaks and that alone is a testament to his knowledge of the game. He makes poor decisions at times, but so does any other player.

When I look at the overall record of Luke as a starter, you quickly forget all his physical shortcomings. The team did not struggle once Vlad was demoted. In fact we went 6-0 on a tough road trip that barely relied on Vlad at all. We put up incredible offensive numbers even without Vlad's dead precision from deep. We shut some prolific scoring players/teams down with our defense. Luke actually deserves some credit there. He has a tough exterior, which reminds me of Matt Harpring. He helped Kobe and Ariza in bodying up Pierce and LeBron. Folks understand that Luke isn't a superior one on one defender, but as part of a team cog, he is very serviceable on that end of the floor.

Offensively, we know what he brings to the team game.

If you ask any Lakers fan what they dislike about any Lakers player, it will most likely be their contract rather than the player themselves. Luke, like Vlad, might fall victim to his contract. But as a player, I don't know why he garners so much hate by Laker fans. When you offer the moniker of "Puke"....that's blind hate. There's really no other reason to stoop that low in criticizing a ball player.

I would be the first one to pull the trigger on moving Luke for financial flexibility. But thats not because I am unappreciative of the ball player. Luke has a been a great team guy. He has sacrificed in the past to help this team with flexibility (ie took a 2 year extension once his rookie contract expired to offer the Lakers the option of signing players that expired in 2007..remember the 2007 plan?) Luke's current contract is a form of repaying him the sacrifices he made earlier for us. Unfortunately, it might result in him getting trading in these coming years, but you don't see Luke pout and become a deterrent to the team. He is a professional and a solid basketball player.

The sooner fans can appreciate it while he's still here, the better. We got a great team around us. They are a solid championship contender. Lets enjoy the ride and offer constructive criticism to a team that clearly gets it. Childish hate should be reserved for players that do not wear purple and gold.

He has a tough exterior, which reminds me of Matt Harpring.

What? Are you in bad comedy mode? If he even had half of Harpring's toughness, I'd like him. I love hustle players who work hard and make plays through effort...that's Matt Harpring to a tee. It is definitely not Luke Walton, you never see the guy scrap or hustle.

luke as a starter, yes! much hate; but off the bench, he gets all love baby...

Nah kray...I'm in appreciate your team mode.

Luke does bully his way in the post when he has certain mismatches a la Matt Harpring.
Luke's physical build reminds me alot of Harpring.

Luke is scrappy just as well. During the Celts game, I noticed a couple of occasions where Perkins was being a bit too demonstrative on the offensive boards and setting picks. Luke threw his weight around and didn't back down from a guy that clearly was bigger and taller than he was. I noticed that same ferocity on LeBron....the mentality being, you are taller, stronger, bigger, quicker and far more athletic than me, but I will body you up and encourage you to jump over me, rather than bull your way through me.

I'm not saying Luke does it all by himself. But when it comes to the team, he does contribute and its hard to ignore....in appreciative mode. It would be comedy to actually overlook his efforts.

I don't have anything against him off the bench. He's a career role-player.

Those those who say the team is doing just fine with him out there... sure. It does.

But the team with Kobe/Pau/Ariza/Odom/Fisher/Bynum would do just fine with me in the lineup. That does not mean Luke should be a starter. Against bench players he can do ok, starters kill him on the court, because unfortunately for Luke -- his position might be the most athletic in the league.

Ariza has said that he prefers to come off the bench with the 2nd unit, cause its more geared to his style of play.

How can fans fault Luke for that or Phil for making the best of rotations with such a deep team.

We are simply pointing out the things he should be working on: namely, shot and defense. He looks bad out there bricking mid range Js, and letting people blow by him. If Ariza does not want to start now -- he will eventually, or we'll find someone to replace Luke.

kenshi1023 wrote:luke as a starter, yes! much hate; but off the bench, he gets all love baby...

yes.
luke is decent, decent enough to be getting minutes like josh's from the bench and similar salary
but instead he is starting, playing 30 minutes a game against starters and getting paid 30 mil... for being decent

thats why i hate him

To think three seasons ago, there was a thread comparing Walton to Rick Fox. LOL! Seriously, he does bring stability to the first unit because he moves the ball, cuts and knows where he is suppose to be. It is scary when he does his "jump pass" which usually leads to disastrous results. Same goes when he tries to create on his own off the dribble. His best game is when he is at the post against a player of the same size and weight. Walton is crafty enough to get the shot off. Whether it goes in is a crapshoot. Another thing is that Walton lags behind on transition defense. That is painful to watch.

Let's just be reminded that this is LA, and Luke doesn't fit the prototypical format of an LA Laker. We're use to flash, athleticism, speed, quickness, high-light reels, Posterizing moves, earth-shattering dunks, air-defying acrobatics, behind the back-no-look passes, an ocassional Technical Foul, and being ejected (not too much though), some hand slapping in the front row with Jack-Shades and the rest of the all-star celebs.

That's just not Luke. He's an average ball player with enough skill & ability to work in the NBA, probably more than most within his class. Where he lacks in everything listed above, he makes up for in Basketball IQ, being a good Team-Mate, and an ocasional nice pass/assist, and a few good looks every once in a while. This IMO is a great place for him to be just what he is, a good solid role player.

Would I trade him? In a Heart Beat, but not without getting something better or as good in return for some Cap relief...

I think its funny that Luke currently has the longest remaining contract of any Laker...

lkrfn85 wrote:I think its funny that Luke currently has the longest remaining contract of any Laker...

I find it actually quite sad. Mitch completely overvalued Luke and gave him the long contract at full MLE without Walton even having tested the market to see what his actual value was at the time. Bummer. It's kind of coming back to haunt us.

I've expressed my opinion at why I'm so pissed at Luke in the 3 pointer thread. Basically, it boils down to the fact that in addition to being slow and unathletic ("High B-ball IQ"?), things he can't really help and I don't blame him for, his shooting form is absolutely HORRIFYING. Total trash from anywhere on the court, close or long range. That comes down to his lack of work. He had a shooting coach and put in the work during his contract year. He got paid and he dropped the coach and reverted to EVEN WORSE form than before the coach. His shot sucks. He needs to get back with a shooting coach immediately. He got paid partially on the improvements he made in that department. Time to get back to work, Luke.

He should really work on the J, because that's one thing you CAN work on. He does not have to become Ray Allen or Kapono as a shooter, but he has to be able to improve. Sometimes, when he hits the backboard from 15 ft I can't believe my eyes. I swear I could suit up right now, although I am much older then him and haven't played organized ball in years (and I don't even practice anymore) and hit that shot.