Some Corrections That Can Be Made

POTw

Congratulations to LakersKB8LO7 for winning Post of the Week! As the Lakers have struggled over their last games, this member looks at possible solutions to Laker woes. Discuss his analysis here.

A lot of corrections will be made when the deeper intracacies of the triangle is learned by all the players. But for now here’s the thoughts.

1. EVERYONE NEEDS TO STOP DEPENDING ON KOBE- As much as Kobe likes shooting the ball im sure he doesn’t want to be taking 38-42 shots per game or anything close to that. His teammates need to realize that they have to contribute to the team, and not give the ball to Kobe with three seconds left on the shot clock and force him to jack up a out of rhythm, difficult shot. Once other players step up and realize that the team together is better than Kobe by himself, they will improve a whole lot.

2. LAMAR ODOM NEEDS TO DEMAND A DOUBLE TEAM- Lamar Odom obviously has the skills, and obviously lacks the aggressiveness. Lamar Odom is so versatile, he needs to make other teams double team him. Be aggressive and take the ball to the hole. We should start out the game letting him take the first couple shots, and hopefully get into a rhythm. This will do a lot of things. It will make defenses pay more attention to Odom as a scorer, which will then lead to him being able to make better passes because defenses would collapse on him. It would also allow Kobe to get better shots, and take some pressure off of Kobe to shoulder the entire offensive load. As a result Odom’s points would skyrocket, his assists would go up, and he would be the all-star he can be. He needs to become our 2nd legit scorer, and just overall be more aggressive. We definitely saw glimses of this during the last Knicks game, he does that consistently, and we will be a playoff lock. Just think of Odom posting up on the strong side, a weak side defender comes over to double team , he kicks it out to Kobe, another defender comes to double team him, they swing the ball, the weakside defender tries to rotate back but can’t in time, and we have 2 or 3 wide open defenders on the other side of the court.

3. KWAME NEEDS TO BE MORE ASSERTIVE DOWN LOW- Being a physical specimen like himself should be enough against most defenders for 8-10 points a night. But Kwame needs to learn how to use his body to take advantage of defenders. Once he learns how to do that, he will be the Kwame that every lakerfan anticipated the change of scenery to LA would make him. He has done a great job defensively on most occasions, with some lapses now and then. With slight corrections to some of his defensive game, he could be an elite defender. For instance, on a screen and roll, he like to come way over the top and sometimes cant rotate back in time for the offensive guy rolling down the lane, once he learns how far he can push the PG out, before he has to return to his guy without a. the PG driving the lane, or b. his guy rolling wide open down the lane, he will be much improved. He also anticipates passes a lot, but is usually only a fraction of a second to late to steal the ball. He gets a bit quicker reaction time, and he will be a great high post defender/stealer. Now on the offensive end, he needs to focus on a go-to move. He likes to use the spin-move it seems. With a slight correction to that. Something where he uses more force to overpower the defender, he could posterize a lot of players in the NBA.

CHRIS MIHM NEEDS TO STAY OUT OF FOUL TROUBLE- Obviously well documented, Mihm’s foul trouble is a real problem. He is proven effective these past couple games, and can be a good defender when he doesn’t give away cheap fouls. Him and Kwame correct these small problems and we have a dynamic defensive duo down low.

Some of these problems are out of our control but will iron out over time. As everyone learns the triangle, we will be getting a lot of easy baskets, and the team will develop a lot of chemistry, and we will win more games. Once Luke Walton returns our team will be much improved too. He is a excellent magnificent passer. He is especially awesome at getting big guys the ball. I know when he returns Mihm and Kwame will be the players that benefit the most. Luke can also hit the 3ball, run a fast break, and he provides hustle and grit, something we lack. He is a smart player and fundamentally sound. He wont make silly mistakes or turnovers like a lot of our current players do. He is capable of getting double digit assits/points or rebounds on any given night. Im really looking foward to him returning, and Im sure the Lakers will benefit from his return.