[::2009 Champion LAKERS OFF-SEASON THREAD Vol. Boring Non-News Days Causing In-Thread Tension::]

[th0mas cr0wn]

@ my dude Ron



and ya'll ain't know about Luke? dude gets all the snow bunnies

as ugly as he is

he runs San diego lol

 

[notorious 858]

[h1]Lakers' quest to repeat begins Wednesday[/h1]

The Lakers have their media day today and open training camp Wednesday. Their first exhibition game is Oct. 7 against Golden State in Anaheim, and the Lakers begin defense of their NBA title on opening night of the NBA season, Oct. 27, when they play host to their Staples Center neighbors the Clippers. Although oddsmakers have pegged the Lakers as favorites to repeat as champions, it's a long time between now and the NBA Finals in June. Here are five story lines to look for as training camp opens:

1. Heeeere's Ronnie

On an unforgettably frenetic July afternoon, forwards Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza swapped spots within hours, Artest accepting a five-year deal with the Lakers and Ariza taking a similar five-year deal with Houston. Will Artest be a model citizen and continue playing top-notch defense? Or will the Lakers regret letting the younger Ariza walk?

2. Which Bynum will it be?

Center Andrew Bynum was on a roll before suffering a torn knee ligament in January. He was never the same after sitting out 32 games, averaging a measly 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in the playoffs. It's easy to remember that he averaged 26.2 points, 14 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots in his last five games before getting hurt, but it's also easy to recall that knee injuries have short-circuited his last two seasons.

3. Happy to have him back

It took a while, but Lamar Odom eventually signed a four-year, $33-million contract to stay with the Lakers. With him, they're favored to win it all again. Without him, they might have had trouble getting back to the Finals with a whisper-thin bench.

4. When will Father Time beckon?

Kobe Bryant comes to camp at age 31 for his 14th NBA season. Fourteenth! He was practically flawless in winning the Finals MVP award last June, but his playing time has decreased each of the last four seasons. Just the same, here's guessing he puts up another strong season, coming close to the 26.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists he averaged in 2008-09.

5. Repeat quite a feat

The NBA hasn't had a repeat champion since the Lakers did it in 2002. San Antonio, Portland and Denver will chase them in the West. Boston or Cleveland could await them in the NBA Finals. Let's just fast-forward to June.

Projected starters

* F -- Ron Artest. After admiring the Lakers from afar, he finally gets his chance to play with them.

* F -- Pau Gasol. Went through another long summer -- a deep playoff run with the Lakers, a large time investment with the Spanish national team -- but Gasol has already demonstrated he can handle such a schedule.

* C -- Andrew Bynum. Entering his fifth NBA season and the first year of a lucrative contract extension that will pay him $12.5 million this season.

* G -- Kobe Bryant. Ended a seven-year itch by winning his fourth championship.

* G -- Derek Fisher. Now 35, the clutch playoff shooter is in the final year of his contract.

Projected bench contributors

* Lamar Odom: New wife, new contract but same old role -- coming off the bench and providing a boost if Bynum falters.

* Shannon Brown: Showed some zing after being acquired from Charlotte in February, but can he produce at the same level over an entire season?

* Sasha Vujacic: Will try to forget a season in purgatory that was punctuated by going scoreless in the NBA Finals.

* Luke Walton: Might not see as much time with the arrival of Artest, who has averaged 36.9 minutes a game over the last seven seasons.

* Jordan Farmar: Entering the final year of his contract, perhaps his last with the Lakers.

* The rest: Adam Morrison -- had a great run in summer league (20.8 points in four games), but how will he do against the big boys? DJ Mbenga -- fan favorite is back again. Josh Powell -- Like Mbenga, won't be called upon unless the frontcourt is hit by injuries.

Key dates

* Dec. 25, vs. Cleveland: A biggie, for obvious reasons.

* Jan. 12, at San Antonio: First game against new-look Spurs.

* Jan. 31, at Boston: Always intriguing. Always.

* Feb. 6, at Portland: Will the Lakers ever win up there?

Endgame

Anything less than a championship is a failure. Period.

Quick takes

The Lakers are expected to carry only 13 players, their lightest roster in years. . . . Training camp was supposed to be held in Honolulu but will instead be at the team's El Segundo facility, saving the franchise about $500,000.

Link:

http://www.latimes.com/sp...p29,0,3190616,full.story

 

[notorious 858]

Luke's chick at the wedding has a banging body but the face & nose

need some work done.

 

[notorious 858]

[h2]2009-10 Forecast: Los Angeles Lakers[/h2]

By John Hollinger
ESPN.com

[h3]2008-09 Recap[/h3]
Is there an opposite of "team of destiny"? The Los Angeles Lakers won 65 regular-season games and needed five games in the NBA Finals to cruise to the championship, but at no time did it feel preordained. In fact, for much of their playoff run the focus was more on the Lakers' problems -- the struggles of Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher, the lack of toughness that derailed them a year earlier against the Boston Celtics, and a couple of woeful efforts in the second round against Houston.

And despite the white-hot spotlight that glared on the league's most popular team, Boston and the Cleveland Cavaliers stole a lot of the Lakers' limelight during the regular season. For their part, the Lakers didn't really look like champions until the fifth game of the conference finals … at which point they won six out of their next seven to storm to the crown.

The Lakers also threw us off their championship scent with an embarrassing showing in Games 4 and 6 of the Houston Rockets series. Despite playing without Yao Ming, Houston exposed every L.A. weakness -- complacency, softness, lack of quickness at the point guard spot, and shot selection in the backcourt -- en route to a pair of lopsided wins.

In a way, perhaps the Lakers should thank the Rockets. Seeing such a harsh light shone on those weaknesses seemed to compel L.A. to address them, and the sloppy play magically cleaned itself up over the final month. Shannon Brown cemented the guard rotation, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher stopped forcing the action, and the Lakers benefited from not having to face a point guard with Aaron Brooks' quickness the rest of the postseason.

Additionally, history should have taught us that second-round struggles are a common problem for eventual champions. As I noted at the time, the Lakers are the seventh straight champion to hit a major speed bump in the second round, and surviving those scrapes seemed to propel them toward the championship rather than slow their progress.

That was certainly the case for L.A. But before it could reach that point, a number of events needed to happen to push them to 65 wins and a top seed in the Western Conference. For starters, Lamar Odom accepted a bench role, moving from small forward to power forward in the process. That move netted two huge, positive effects for the Lakers. First, it allowed L.A. to use a devastating three-man frontcourt rotation of Gasol, Bynum and Odom that few opponents could battle. Second, it permitted Trevor Ariza -- filched from Orlando in a trade the previous season -- to move into the starting lineup and solidify the small forward spot.

Less well documented is perhaps the greatest salary dump in franchise history. The Lakers are more renowned for accumulating payroll than shedding it, but it was their divestment of the Vladimir Radmanovic mistake that reaped rewards this time. Guard Shannon Brown, included as a throw-in from Charlotte, provided much-needed stability as a backcourt reserve and hit some huge shots in the playoffs -- most notably when he turned the tide in the crucial Game 5 of the conference finals with an earth-shattering third-quarter dunk.

Brown's addition helped the Lakers overcome two major disappointments -- the off year from Jordan Farmar and the inability of Bynum to come back at full strength from a midseason injury.

Slated as the heir apparent to Fisher at the point, Farmar suffered a nightmare season and was largely out of the rotation by the playoffs. As for Bynum, he played extremely well early in the season, a performance that made L.A. notably stronger at the defensive end over the first half of the season. But for the second year in a row a midseason knee injury threw him off stride. While he returned in the postseason, Bynum proved ineffective until the Finals and never regained the All-Star caliber form he'd shown earlier in the season.

The fact L.A. won the title despite huge setbacks from its two most prominent young players is a testament to the depth and quality of the Lakers' talent. With Bryant and Gasol, the Lakers were a fearsome offensive team even when others struggled, as evidenced by their third-place finish in offensive efficiency.

Unusually for a dominant offensive team, L.A. wasn't particularly good at long-range shooting. The Lakers nailed only 36.1 percent of their 3-pointers, a bit below the league average, and didn't attempt the shot with great frequency.

Instead, L.A. overwhelmed its opposition two points at a time. L.A. claimed the league's fifth-lowest turnover rate and, thanks to the size advantage in the frontcourt, it's third-best offensive rebound rate. As a result, only two teams averaged more shot attempts per possession. Additionally, they were potent shooters inside the arc -- L.A. converted 50.5 percent of its two-point shots, again finishing third in the league. While primarily an offensive team, the Lakers demonstrated an improved defense as well. They ranked fifth in defensive efficiency, with exquisite 3-point defense being their primary calling card.

The Lakers held opponents to only 34.5 percent shooting from the arc, which was the third-best mark in the NBA. They further amplified the impact by convincing opponents to fire from distance -- only three teams allowed a higher rate of 3-pointers per field-goal attempt. While normally that's a bad sign, because L.A. defended the 3 so well, it turned into a positive. In fact, their opposition had a better true shooting percentage inside the arc, which is unusual.

This appeared to be part of a larger defensive strategy by L.A. -- they'd let opponents fire 3s off the dribble on pick-and-rolls, and keep their big men back to protect the basket. Some quick guards were able to take advantage, but many opponents shot themselves out of the game trying. Like most of Phil Jackson's gambits, it worked, and as a result he won a record-setting 10th championship. That wouldn't have shocked anybody if you'd told them before the season, but for much of the spring it seemed they were on a very different path.
[h3]Offseason Moves[/h3]
It's a bit much to call the Lakers fiscally "conservative" -- they're probably going to have the league's highest payroll this season, and their willingness to shell out $15 million more in luxury tax was what made the 2008 heist of Pau Gasol possible.

But for a world champion team that is pulling in revenue by the fistful, L.A. definitely shows caution with marginal payroll increases. In addition to last winter's salary dumps of Radmanovic and Chris Mihm, the Lakers held the line in contract negotiations with three rotation players this summer and avoided trades that would take on additional salary.

Let Trevor Ariza go, signed Ron Artest for five years, $34 million. This was the biggest roll of the dice in the Lakers' summer. They didn't want to pay Ariza more than the midlevel exception and turned to Artest when they couldn't agree on a deal with Ariza. While the risk of paying Artest for five years is huge -- nobody knows what he'll do five minutes from now, let alone five years -- L.A.'s willingness to venture into the tax makes it better able to withstand the risk than most.

The Lakers also benefit in a couple of other ways from this deal. First, Artest is capable of playing the 4, which adds to the Lakers' lineup options. Second, he's a much better spot-up shooter than Ariza -- Artest hit 39.9 percent on 3s last season, while Ariza is at 29.9 percent for his career. Ariza's hot shooting from the corners in the playoffs last season convinced some people that he's a good long-range threat, but history says he's not.

Obviously, this comes with some risks, too. Artest is half a decade older than Ariza, isn't nearly as good a finisher, and may submarine the offense if he isn't willing to become L.A's fourth option. And of course, he's Ron Artest. But the Lakers weren't likely to repeat if they stood pat given the arms race going on in the East, and Artest is unquestionably the league's most qualified player to defend LeBron James one-on-one -- a salient point given the likelihood of facing Cleveland in the Finals.

Re-signed Shannon Brown for two years, $4 million. This was a fair value deal for a great bench energizer in last season's playoff run. Brown had never played well before so he couldn't command the salary he might have as a more proven quantity, but he's a solid insurance policy against flameouts by Fisher and/or Farmar.

Re-signed Lamar Odom for four years, $33 million. This was unquestionably the biggest story of the summer in L.A., as the two sides briefly walked away from the negotiating table when the Lakers wouldn't meet Odom's number. This would have proven hugely costly if Odom had been willing to relocate, because L.A. had no way to replace his spot under the salary cap rules. Fortunately, it turned out to be a great poker move by the Lakers. Odom loves Southern California and desperately wanted to return, so he ended up agreeing to a very favorable deal for L.A. The fourth year is a team option at a lower number than the first three, giving the Lakers a great deal of salary flexibility as they move into the future.

Drafted Chinemelu Elonu. The late second-round choice was a stow-away pick and is almost certainly headed for Europe. His name is better than his game -- he's a project forward who may be heard from in a couple years, if ever.

http://

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[h3]Biggest Strength: Frontcourt[/h3]
Sure, they have Kobe Bryant, and that's enough of an advantage on many nights. But the advantage that doesn't get enough attention is the Lakers' size and quality up front. A lot of teams just can't deal with L.A. because of the size of Bynum and Gasol up front. Bynum is the big bruiser who occupies the opponent's biggest post defender, with the Lakers frequently using him to register first-quarter body blows in the post before turning things over to Bryant and Gasol.

Although Bynum's presence often forces Gasol to play away from the basket, it also allows the 7-footer to feast on size mismatches against smaller 4s. Additionally, it spares Gasol the physical pounding of being a full-time center and instead lets him indulge in the finesse game that he plays so well.

And then there's the change of pace with Odom. The few opponents who have the size to deal with Gasol and Bynum rarely have a big man who can match up against Odom farther from the hoop. His ability to take bigger players off the dribble provides an offensive staple for the second unit, and on some nights creates even more mismatches than the Gasol-Bynum starting combo.

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[h3]Biggest Weakness: Point Guard[/h3]
The Lakers are rock solid at four of the five positions, but point guard remains a major question mark. While Fisher righted his ship enough to hit some big shots in the conference finals and NBA Finals, he was brutal for the first half of the playoffs and wouldn't start for most of the league's teams. L.A. was fortunate to avoid quick point guards in the final two rounds last season, but playing in a conference with the likes of Chris Paul and Tony Parker means they may not be spared such a fate in this go-round.

Brown was the best of the Lakers' three point guards in the postseason, but he's also the least accomplished, careerwise, and is more of a 2 than a 1. He's a nice stopgap to have off the bench, but he's nobody's idea of a long-term starter at the spot.

That leaves Farmar, who's undeniably the most talented of the three despite a horrid campaign last season. He's the one Laker with the quickness to defend the speedy guards that give L.A. problems, but he'll have to improve his focus and technique and, above all, he has to make more shots.
[h3]Outlook[/h3]
Despite the fact that Orlando and Cleveland spent the summer arming up while L.A. largely stood pat, the Lakers have an excellent chance to repeat as champions. They won 65 games and a title a year ago despite Bynum's and Farmar's struggles; if those two recover and the others hold steady, the Lakers could be phenomenal. Bynum, in particular, presents the prospect of a big performance jump if he can just stay on the court for the whole season.

Of course, while other teams would kill to have the Lakers' problems, it's worth noting that they do have some warts. For instance, Bryant is 31 and his free-throw rate dropped precipitously last season, Fisher is 35 and his two backups don't inspire waves of confidence, Bynum has missed nearly as many games as he's played the past two campaigns and Artest is on another planet.

That said, the Lakers are an overwhelming favorite to win the West, especially since the other perennial contenders have fallen off the past two years. I'm projecting them to prevail by a whopping 10 games, so even if some players fall well short of my estimates, they should still finish as the conference's top playoff seed.

For a second year in a row, the Lakers also may benefit from their Finals opponent. Last season they got a break with a Jameer Nelson being hampered for Orlando, after he was one of many quick point guards who riddled the Lakers' defense in the regular season. This time around they may benefit again -- Nelson is back, but I'm projecting Cleveland to meet L.A. in the Finals. With Artest in tow, the Lakers couldn't possibly match up better against the Cavs, which means Phil Jackson may be able to break out his "XI" hat next June.
[h3]Prediction: 65-17, first in Pacific Division, first in Western Conference[/h3]
http://




Link:

http://insider.espn.go.co...;page=LakersForecast0910

 

[thachosen123]

Originally Posted by Notorious 858

Luke's chick at the wedding has a banging body but the face & nose

need some work done.

Really??

I'm curious, what exactly do you see wrong with her face/nose

 

[frenchblue23]

There's nothing wrong with that chick, NT just likes to put women under a microscope.

 

[notorious 858]

Bring on the F***in� C's



I seriously want them in the Finals this year. Lebron will just have wait 1 more year to get beat in the Finals when the Lakers complete another 3 peat !!!

 

[notorious 858]

Hey fellas you can watch Lakers media day live streaming here:

http://cbs2.com/video/[email protected]

 

[notorious 858]

^

Sorry wrong link for live media day coverage.

Not sure if there is any live coverage on the internet.

 

[notorious 858]

Alright some pics so far from media day:

DFish caught up in some MannyWood Mania

The newly wed

Sasha with the new hair look

One of the best and scariest defensive tandems in the league right now:

Mamba, Pau, Ron Ron, and Zen Master:

Pre season media guide:

 

[notorious 858]

DFish media day interview:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/66299102b655e30e/

 

[frenchblue23]

notorious, where are you getting those pics from?

I can only see the derek fisher one. Do you have a link to the website? Thanks.

 

[thachosen123]

Yea, can we get a link, I only see the Dfish pic also

 

[hybridsoldier23]

I picked up my tickets for game 1 and the Christmas game this morning. Freaking $425 for two tickets, so I dropped near a G. The Clippers game is a"premiere" game because of the banner raising ceremony so tickets are like 15% more.

God I feel bad for those dudes having to play in Staples night in and night out and watch us raise the banner in their gym

Dudes gotta look at that every night

 

[thachosen123]

Here's the link to RealGm's laker media day page

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=946338&start=15

 

[frenchblue23]

No wonder the cheap seats are $100 for opening night, the 15% increase.
I'm going to still find a way to go, even if I have to go by myself, I'm not missing the banner being raised to the rafters.

chosen123, thanks for the link. Looks like Pau got a haircut finally!!!

 

[westcoastsfinest]

damn im excited

...i cant wait to defend our title...i can barely seethose pics on realgm though

the squad with dodger gear

...bynum doesnt look to happy with that dodgerhat on though...i bet hes a yanks fan

 

[notorious 858]

Sory guys I got the pics off a twitter page from some member of the thelakersnation who works in the media industry.

That's the reason why I think some of the other pics arent showing up here.

Sorry fellas but I've been busy watching the classic comedy flick Friday on blu-ray

I don't know I just had to watch it today because I just got it in the mail from amazon and I've been fienin lately on missing SoCal while I'm outhere in Germany where it's starting to get cold.

 

[notorious 858]

Originally Posted by HybridSoldier23

I picked up my tickets for game 1 and the Christmas game this morning. Freaking $425 for two tickets, so I dropped near a G. The Clippers game is a "premiere" game because of the banner raising ceremony so tickets are like 15% more.

God I feel bad for those dudes having to play in Staples night in and night out and watch us raise the banner in their gym

Dudes gotta look at that every night

Nah don't get it twisted dog. Staples Center was primarily built for the Lakers & Kings. The arena was privatley funded and built by co Laker ownerPhilip Anschultz, Donald Sterling had nothing to do with it. The Clippers are just tenants who just get to play their for the revune money they bring in.

Heck go to a Lakers @ Clipper game when the Clips are the home team and you'll see at the arena that Laker fans outnumber Clipper fans every single timethe 2 teams play.

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by Notorious 858

Originally Posted by HybridSoldier23

I picked up my tickets for game 1 and the Christmas game this morning. Freaking $425 for two tickets, so I dropped near a G. The Clippers game is a "premiere" game because of the banner raising ceremony so tickets are like 15% more.

God I feel bad for those dudes having to play in Staples night in and night out and watch us raise the banner in their gym

Dudes gotta look at that every night

Nah don't get it twisted dog. Staples Center was primarily built for the Lakers & Kings. The arena was privatley funded and built by co Laker owner Philip Anschultz, Donald Sterling had nothing to do with it. The Clippers are just tenants who just get to play their for the revune money they bring in.

Heck go to a Lakers @ Clipper game when the Clips are the home team and you'll see at the arena that Laker fans outnumber Clipper fans every single time the 2 teams play.

Not only that, the whole arena color combo is either purple, black or gold.

 

[lakerskobe]

Originally Posted by HybridSoldier23

I picked up my tickets for game 1 and the Christmas game this morning. Freaking $425 for two tickets, so I dropped near a G. The Clippers game is a "premiere" game because of the banner raising ceremony so tickets are like 15% more.

God I feel bad for those dudes having to play in Staples night in and night out and watch us raise the banner in their gym

Dudes gotta look at that every night

Where'd you pick up your tickets, out of curiosity?

 

[CP1708]

Who started last years thread?

That person needs to start it this year, don't none of ya'll try and do it, let him do it.

We won it last year, don't tempt fate and screw it up.

Was it LTB? KidSkillz? I forgot.

 

[MajinZuub]

Originally Posted by CP1708

Who started last years thread?

That person needs to start it this year, don't none of ya'll try and do it, let him do it.

We won it last year, don't tempt fate and screw it up.

Was it LTB? KidSkillz? I forgot.

LTB made it

 

[2g00d4u]

Originally Posted by zube42

Originally Posted by CP1708

Who started last years thread?

That person needs to start it this year, don't none of ya'll try and do it, let him do it.

We won it last year, don't tempt fate and screw it up.

Was it LTB? KidSkillz? I forgot.

LTB made it

who did it in 08?

 

[hybridsoldier23]

Originally Posted by LakersKobe

Originally Posted by HybridSoldier23

I picked up my tickets for game 1 and the Christmas game this morning. Freaking $425 for two tickets, so I dropped near a G. The Clippers game is a "premiere" game because of the banner raising ceremony so tickets are like 15% more.

God I feel bad for those dudes having to play in Staples night in and night out and watch us raise the banner in their gym

Dudes gotta look at that every night

Where'd you pick up your tickets, out of curiosity?

Ticketmaster using the American Express preferred member presale. I've got a gold card through my work.