Do Lakers have the passion and hunger and to win the title?

[ihatetimthomas]

To answer the topic question, I will wait and see how the Lakers respond in game 2 to make my judgement. But this really is what we have seen all year long. Once the Lakers start winning and begin to feel invisible, they become complacent. And this leads to lack of intensity all 4 quarters and most importantly, on defense. But the Lakers have a history of fueling the fire when needed. And as bad as losing game 1 is, I am going to take the positive and hope that this is a wakeup call that they need to bring it and know they can be beaten. The Lakers looked out of sync all game, perhaps its the time off and Kobes illness. Either way, I think the team will take this game as a learning and growing expereience and play the way they can play.

[SoCalMike]

Originally Posted by ihatetimthomas

To answer the topic question, I will wait and see how the Lakers respond in game 2 to make my judgement.

this is a smart approach....

[Lamar Doom]

Originally Posted by NoGunzJustSkillz

80% lakers vs. 100% cavs, lakers lose. you don't agree?

i don't actually. this is a very hard thing to argue because we so rarely play to our fullest potential but talent and versatility wise i think we have one of the very top NBA teams of the decade. you could argue (successfully) that being consistent is part of being a good team, and that's true, but I just think the gap between us and the rest of the league is (SHOULD BE) pretty wide


edit- i think with the possible exception of the 04 lakers this would be one of the biggest failures in my era of NBA fan-dom of any team to not win the championship. i give a lot of credit to the rest of the league always, but we were dealt the best hand by a good margin this year in terms of what we have and what everyone else does not.

[djwhizard]

I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about the level of passion/hunger/heart/intensity/effort/energy that this team has, and whether they can win the title playing the way they have been almost all year.

Every loss the second half of the season, we always wondered if they would take some lessons from that loss, and ramp up their effort and intensity. It just never really happened. They never took it to the next level, never seemed to adjust or learn from their mistakes and play with an edge. We have had this same discussion time and time and time again.

Last year they were the team with the best talent, looked dominant all through the playoffs, and met a team who was hungrier than them who took them out. I sorely hope that doesn't happen again this year, as Cleveland looks like they really get it - and have the hunger and will do anything to get a championship. The Lakers just don't look like that team right now. (They looked like that team when they beat Cleveland earlier this year, but haven't seen this much of that type of intensity since).

Ugh. Please don't let yourselves down again Lakers!!! Show that you want this!!! I'm not giving up hope on this season, but I certainly have some reservations regarding the fact of whether this is the year for the Lakers or not.

[crisoner]

Originally Posted by ihatetimthomas

Once the Lakers start winning and begin to feel invisible, they become complacent.

BINGO

That is a HUGE problem with this team IMO.
If this team can play with the intensity and focus they had when they played the Celts and Cavs back to back this year they can beat any other team in the NBA. But complacent.....great word to describe this team.

Phil Kobe and Fish need to start talking to these guys because the rest of the West...hell...NBA watched what happen last night and trust they all have no fear of the Lakers.

But We will see how they respond tomorrow before we press the panic button etc.

But if you are worried I can't blame ya...cause the Lakers laid a fat egg last night during the f*cking playoffs.

[EllEffEll]

Originally Posted by All Net

You don't expect the Lakers to win the title then?

I agree with the post stating Lakers won't be able to beat the Cavs at 80%. Bynum needs to improve but he won't need to be amazing...just soild. Lamar has to play like in did in round one.

If I had to bet a paycheck, I would have to say no.

I base this on feeling that we do seem to be operating at around 80% of what we could be. From mid December, through the first part of February, this was a team on a mission, although little things started to crop up when Farmar got hurt in late December. Surprisingly, when Bynum went down, the team seemed to barely miss him. . . . for a while.

After that road trip where we beat Boston and Cleveland, the air was slowly leaking from our balloon. Lack of focus was the first symptom as no lead was safe and we even gave away some games we should have put away because of it. Then it just looked like the guys were run down.

I kept thinking they were just cruising during the dog days but the funk just got worse. When it was time to get firing on all cylinders during the last few weeks of the season, it actually got worse.

Starting out against Utah, we were pretty flat, but got the job done in a most unimpressive way.

Meanwhile, other teams like Houston, Denver and Cleveland have been playing some of their best ball of the season, peaking at the right time.

Fisher is really struggling with his shot and he needs way too much help on D lately. If his shot was falling, it might offset the other issue.

Our alternatives to Fisher are inconsistent at best. Brown has been a breath of fresh air as far as expectations go, but I don't see him ready to take a starting role. Farmar and Sasha are seemingly regressing.

Bynum is going to take more time to get back into form and he's getting rookie-like treatment from the refs with respect to fouls.

Pau looks like a shell of himself lately. He truly appears to have no gas in the tank right now.

Lamar is the only one with some fire in his eyes. He's busting his butt.

I don't know if Kobe's finger is bothering him, but his outside shot has been very fickle and he cannot drive to the hoop like he used to. The speed is not there anymore. He really has to work for his shots a lot harder than in the past.

As a team, the ball busting D we were playing earlier this season is rarely seen in recent months.

Denver and Cleveland on the other hand are playing really well together and seem as loose as a goose. Right where they want to be. This ain't your grandma's Nuggets. Cleveland has been consistently strong with very few lapses and Houston did not get the memo that explained that they were supposed to lay down for us like Utah did.

Now we lose Game 1 at home in a pretty lackluster way. Where there's smoke, there's usually fire and I smell smoke.

Painful to say it, but I'm just not getting that championship feeling right now.

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but just being honest.

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

this is really the lakers front offices fault to an extent. you'd have to be brain dead if you didnt think fisher would run into problems somewhere down the line dealing with these fresh, young, quick as lightning point guards.

[SoCalMike]

Source: Jackson reassures Lakers fans: “The sky is not falling”

EL SEGUNDO — The Lakers had a more intense on-court practice than you would normally expect for a day between playoff games, but Phil Jackson is determined to do one fundamental thing with his team before Game 2 against Houston: “Get in sync.”


Jackson gave his team two days off during the week without a game after eliminating Utah and said his team’s practices on the other days were not that productive. So he is hoping to reconnect his players, which he thinks is the basic thing that was lacking in Game 1.


“The sky is not falling,” Jackson said.


One player Jackson could return to the rotation in Game 2 is Luke Walton, who practiced fully with the team and then stayed on the court afterward for a lengthy individual shooting session. Walton tore the deltoid ligament in his left ankle on April 25.

[Lamar Doom]

let's go boys!!! god i'm so excited. i wish i could fast forward 12 hours

[EllEffEll]

Originally Posted by SoCalMike

Source: Jackson reassures Lakers fans: “The sky is not falling”

Touche Mike! Like I said, I'll happily accept a "CL" avatar if I'm wrong.

I wonder if he'll use a size 16 wingtip to "reconnect his players". I iimagine he'll have their full attention now. . . .

[gts]

Originally Posted by ihatetimthomas

I am too aware that he is struggling and is making mistakes that many youthful bigs do, but I think you may be being a bit too harsh on the guy. You have to remember this is his 1st playoffs ever, and clearly, he hasnt gotten the rhythm he had prior to his injury. Also, he has gotten pretty inconsistent minutes, thats going to hurt an inexpereinced big in the playoffs. And the Jazz were not a very great matchup for him.

I am not making excuses for him, he hasnt played well and thats that. But its not really fair to throw out those stats and compare him to LO bc LO is getting steady and consistent minutes. And he has been the better matchup in the 1st round.

that's all well and good.. now ask yourself, what do you value more today with the lakers down 1 game in the series? getting bynum experience as a starter or winning the series...

and it is more than fair to compare him to LO because if Bynum starts LO sits, if LO starts Bynum sits... comparing their numbers is very relevent at this time

look i'm not say park bynum on the end bench for the playoffs, i just don't like on the job training this time of year when there is a very real and viable alternative...

[LA.MJ&KB#1]

I'm sure most feel the same way about the passion of these Lakers..


just not sure about this current TEAM and the directions its headed with the current players. I'm resting my case until the season is over to voice my opinion on the season....

[SoCalMike]

Originally Posted by gts

that's all well and good.. now ask yourself, what do you value more today with the lakers down 1 game in the series? getting bynum experience as a starter or winning the series...

and it is more than fair to compare him to LO because if Bynum starts LO sits, if LO starts Bynum sits... comparing their numbers is very relevent at this time

look i'm not say park bynum on the end bench for the playoffs, i just don't like on the job training this time of year when there is a very real and viable alternative...

as even bynum said yesterday (which i posted in another article), pjax using LO is going to his "comfort zone" which would make a lot of sense. LO helped get them to the finals last season without bynum.

[crisoner]

It's funny I keep reading post from other Laker fans and keep thinking do not panic. It's just one game. But I would be lying to say that I do not feel the sense of urgency myself. So far I am just so disappointed in this team right now. We should eat up teams like Houston and to lose a game one at home is HUGE IMO. I know its just one game but championship teams do not do this.

And YES...I panic like f*ck back in 01 against the Sixers when we lost game one and that Laker team more then redeemed themselves. But I have no idea if this Laker team can. The visions of last year Finals lost against the Celtics still linger. And it's not just we lost the Finals and it was the Celtics etc. But it was how we lost in game 6 that disgusted me. It was like the Lakers as a team were overcome by the situation. They showed no backbone at all. And watching them last Monday I felt the same way again about this team.
If this team can just find their swag they are more then capable of greatness and that's what pisses me off most. I hope they find it tonight after this game 1 lost....I really do. Because I really feel this of the year for the Lakers to win it all...and we SHOULD of had home court throughout but they choked that away. That probably was the first tell sign IMO the playoff performance so far is the second (losing huge leads...lack on Dee...game 1 lost to Houston).

BE A LEADER KOBE AND FISH!!!!

Go Lakes!!!

[ihatetimthomas]

Originally Posted by gts

that's all well and good.. now ask yourself, what do you value more today with the lakers down 1 game in the series? getting bynum experience as a starter or winning the series...

and it is more than fair to compare him to LO because if Bynum starts LO sits, if LO starts Bynum sits... comparing their numbers is very relevent at this time

look i'm not say park bynum on the end bench for the playoffs, i just don't like on the job training this time of year when there is a very real and viable alternative...

Im not saying I want him to get more minutes over LO. The argument I am making is that his foul troubles and overall rhythm are somewhat caused by his inconsistent minutes and past injury. Do I think he should get more minutes over LO so he can produce more consistently? No I dont bc LO has been there and has played well. I dont think I ever said I wanted him to get the minutes over LO. Im just saying by throwing out stats about his fouls compared to LO is not a very valid argument bc of those inconsistent minutes. It makes no sense to compare the fouls a starter who gets the consistent minutes to a bench player who is only in for a few minutes at a time.