Biggest loser on trade deadline day = The Fakers

[rondohondo]

Yes they have Pau,Kobe,Artest + Odom ,but they didn't adress their biggest need, speed at the PG position......

2 years ago Rondo abused Fisher, last year Brooks abused Fisher . I don't see Shanon brown as the stopper most think he is , he is not very good. Fisher is a great clutch shooter and leader ,but he is really old and will get abused by just about any PG in the west .


Their bench is still awful with Sasha vuja**** , Walton , Brown ,  farmar and Odom. Odom is the only one on their bench that really contirbutes.


Let's just hope the C's make the finals so the can expose the lakers lack of depth.

I knew this would be the downfall of the Fakers. Westbrook is blowing by Fisher at will. Even if they get past OKC they could be seeing Parker+ Hill ,Nash,Deron Williams ,Rondo + Nate, Nelson . All of these PG'S can get by Fisher any time they want.

[moiso]

The Lakers could win a title this year, but I think their chances would be a lot better with Hinrich.  I'm glad they didn't get him.

[CoachBo]

The Lakers, with Bryant clearly too banged up to be a significant factor, are no lock whatsoever to survive the first round.

[Who]

The Lakers should sit Fisher and start Sasha Vujacic at the point.

[Jon]

The Lakers, with Bryant clearly too banged up to be a significant factor, are no lock whatsoever to survive the first round.

It's about time age started to catch up with them.  Yes, we're an older team, but with the way the media talks and with the way we've been hit by injuries, if you were a casual fan, you'd think that we were the only team in the league that was old. 

Not that I really want anyone to get hurt; but if we're going to get bit by the injury bug because of age, it's darn well time the largely 30-something Lakers do to. 

[fairweatherfan]

The Lakers, with Bryant clearly too banged up to be a significant factor, are no lock whatsoever to survive the first round.

It's about time age started to catch up with them.  Yes, we're an older team, but with the way the media talks and with the way we've been hit by injuries, if you were a casual fan, you'd think that we were the only team in the league that was old. 

Not that I really want anyone to get hurt; but if we're going to get bit by the injury bug because of age, it's darn well time the largely 30-something Lakers do to. 

Seriously - I was watching the Lakers game last night and the announcers said something about Pierce's game winning shot and how Paul was "standing up for the old-timers".  All I could think was, "You realize Paul's all of 9 months older than Kobe, and Kobe's been in the league longer - is he an old-timer?  Will you call him one this time next year when he's older than Pierce is now?"

It is kind of sad to see how much zip Kobe has lost, but it was really a matter of time - I expected him to fall apart last year after going through the Olympics after the 08 Finals.

[Jon]

The Lakers, with Bryant clearly too banged up to be a significant factor, are no lock whatsoever to survive the first round.

It's about time age started to catch up with them.  Yes, we're an older team, but with the way the media talks and with the way we've been hit by injuries, if you were a casual fan, you'd think that we were the only team in the league that was old. 

Not that I really want anyone to get hurt; but if we're going to get bit by the injury bug because of age, it's darn well time the largely 30-something Lakers do to. 

Seriously - I was watching the Lakers game last night and the announcers said something about Pierce's game winning shot and how Paul was "standing up for the old-timers".  All I could think was, "You realize Paul's all of 9 months older than Kobe, and Kobe's been in the league longer - is he an old-timer?  Will you call him one this time next year when he's older than Pierce is now?"

It is kind of sad to see how much zip Kobe has lost, but it was really a matter of time - I expected him to fall apart last year after going through the Olympics after the 08 Finals.

And let's not forget about the Cavs who feature Shaq (38), Big Z. (almost 35), Jamison (almost 34), and Parker (almost 35). 

[MBunge]

They did win the title with him last year, but Fisher's been obviously declining on defense for the last few seasons and LA refused to try and replace him or seriously upgrade their back-up PGs.

I think the real time the Lakers lost out, however, was when they swapped out Ariza for Artest.  He's still a physical on-ball defender but he doesn't contribute much to team defense.  Artest has never been a great offensive player and he's clearly fallen from his peak in that area.  Most importantly, though, is how much athleticism the Lakers gave up when they let Ariza walk away.  The only exceptional athletes on that team now are Kobe (who seems hurt and worn down) and Odom (who has returned to his normal inconsistent efforts).  That means the Lakers are now almost always "out-athleted" at 2 or 3 positions for the entire game.  It takes effort to overcome that, which is something these Lakers have never been good at.

Mike

[CoachBo]

The Lakers, with Bryant clearly too banged up to be a significant factor, are no lock whatsoever to survive the first round.

age started to catch up with them.  Yes, we're an older team, but with the way the media talks and with the way we've been hit by injuries, if you were a casual fan, you'd think that we were the only team in the league that was old.  

Not that I really want anyone to get hurt; but if we're going to get bit by the injury bug because of age, it's darn well time the largely 30-something Lakers do to.  

Seriously - I was watching the Lakers game last night and the announcers said something about Pierce's game winning shot and how Paul was "standing up for the old-timers".  All I could think was, "You realize Paul's all of 9 months older than Kobe, and Kobe's been in the league longer - is he an old-timer?  Will you call him one this time next year when he's older than Pierce is now?"

It is kind of sad to see how much zip Kobe has lost, but it was really a matter of time - I expected him to fall apart last year after going through the Olympics after the 08 Finals.

And let's not forget about the Cavs who feature Shaq (38), Big Z. (almost 35), Jamison (almost 34), and Parker (almost 35).  

The Cavs aren't that young, but Shaq and Jamison are really bit players.

[apc]

why do they need a PG?
to move the ball half court and pass it to Kobe?

[moiso]

The Lakers, with Bryant clearly too banged up to be a significant factor, are no lock whatsoever to survive the first round.

It's about time age started to catch up with them.  Yes, we're an older team, but with the way the media talks and with the way we've been hit by injuries, if you were a casual fan, you'd think that we were the only team in the league that was old. 

Not that I really want anyone to get hurt; but if we're going to get bit by the injury bug because of age, it's darn well time the largely 30-something Lakers do to. 

Seriously - I was watching the Lakers game last night and the announcers said something about Pierce's game winning shot and how Paul was "standing up for the old-timers".  All I could think was, "You realize Paul's all of 9 months older than Kobe, and Kobe's been in the league longer - is he an old-timer?  Will you call him one this time next year when he's older than Pierce is now?"

It is kind of sad to see how much zip Kobe has lost, but it was really a matter of time - I expected him to fall apart last year after going through the Olympics after the 08 Finals.

It's always sad to see great players decline, but if I had to pick one to decline it would be Kobe.  It even seems like his ego has declined with his athletic ability, which is a good thing.  Sometimes when I watch Wade blowing by everyone to get to the rim, it reminds me how a young Kobe could do that.