2014-15 Official Lakers Season Thread, Vol: We Love Each Other

[lovehateself]

My question is why would you wanna make it to playoffs to get embarrassed by the Spurs or Thunder???

reference, Warriors vs. Mavs 2011

wont matter if we're in or out, our pick goes to PHX......

unless for some reason, we're battling houston for the 8th seed and we win out and somehow their pick which is owed to us becomes even more appealing

 

[champcruthik]

Da future hopefully

Plays angry with a chip on his shoulder. Hard to bet against that type of motor and relentlessness.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

That's what I've been afraid of. I just don't want Byron to want a pure post player to throw the ball to, then give most of the minutes to Boozer when Randle doesn't fit his idea of one.

What makes you think byron scott would do that?

 

[bravelude]

lol. its.football time. everyone going Stephen A Smith about LA. relax boys. no Center in the West though. wonder gow fast boozer will foul out lol.

 

[senorroboto2k5]

Undrafted guard Keith Appling has reached agreement on a non-guaranteed training camp contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources told RealGM.

In four seasons at Michigan State, Appling was an integral starter as part of two Sweet Sixteen teams and an Elite Eight finish this year. He averaged 11.2 points and 4.5 assists as a senior, and the 6-foot-1 product went into the pre-draft process assuring teams he would find his offensive game again after dealing with injury issues last season.

Appling played two games for the Portland Trail Blazers in the July summer league.

Appling, 22, participated in the McDonald’s All-American Game while attending high school in Detroit.

Some news, though he'll probably be gone by mid October.

 

[mjsaver]

My question is why would you wanna make it to playoffs to get embarrassed by the Spurs or Thunder???

I guess it's all perspective

There's nothing alluring about the lottery for me, I'd rather go to the playoffs and lose than get a lottery pick.

Obviously that makes some people sick....but LOOKING FORWARD to the lottery is sickening to me so again it's all about what each type of fan is looking for.

 

[SORIANOTRON]

Yea Byron Scott coaching Randle is starting to concern me. Seems like Randle wants to expand his game but BScott may delegate him to sctrictky a back 2 the basket type player

if randle can handle the ball in this league he will,

if he cant he wont.

simple.

 

[denni5themenace]

camp fodder

 

[mjsaver]

Post players are such a rarity in this league these days it seems like it would be a good thing for him to develop and work on that skill first and then expand his game instead of working outside then inside.

Why not put the kid where he should be the most comfortable and therefor probly more effective ?

 

[CP1708]

Why not put the kid where he should be the most comfortable and therefor probly more effective

He's more comfortable off the block. And less effective off it.

Cal forced him down low late in the year, which is part of why Kentucky went on their run, early in the year, Randle wanted to be in the mid range area, where he was most comfortable.

 

[senorroboto2k5]

Because he's not strictly a post player, that's the whole point.

Much of Randle's game combines his strength with his ability to handle and get past defenders - either as much or more than backing a defender down, based on what I've seen.

Look at the videos Essential posted. They give a pretty good idea of where he likes to catch the ball and how he tries to get to the basket from there.

 

[mjsaver]

Why not put the kid where he should be the most comfortable and therefor probly more effective

He's more comfortable off the block. And less effective off it.

Cal forced him down low late in the year, which is part of why Kentucky went on their run, early in the year, Randle wanted to be in the mid range area, where he was most comfortable.

Wow that's kinda confusing he doesn't like the block but he's more effective there....interesting.

Seems like Cal made the right choice tho from what you're saying , threw him in the post and boom off they go.

Does he have the tools to play from the perimeter ? Above average shot and ball handling skills ?

 

[CP1708]

Why not put the kid where he should be the most comfortable and therefor probly more effective

He's more comfortable off the block. And less effective off it.

Cal forced him down low late in the year, which is part of why Kentucky went on their run, early in the year, Randle wanted to be in the mid range area, where he was most comfortable.

Wow that's kinda confusing he doesn't like the block but he's more effective there....interesting.

Seems like Cal made the right choice tho from what you're saying , threw him in the post and boom off they go.

Does he have the tools to play from the perimeter ? Above average shot and ball handling skills ?

He's shorter, so he is gonna battle against taller defenders, especially those that get off the ground well or have long wingspans.

He uses his first step from the outside to gain his edge.


I spoke with a Kentucky fan who knows his stuff that said Cal let him roam, explore, etc, have his fun, but when it came Tourney time, he nipped that **** in the bud. From there, the team started to do pretty well and of course made their run.

I'm not even close to comparing their games, but think Sheed. Sheed was GREAT on the block, but he HATED it there. Portland fans loathed that dude for not standing on the block for 48 minutes a night. Difference being, Sheed did have major range, but he was more effective in the box, he just hated it.

 

[pmatic]

Julius Randle's situational statistics are probably a little bit different than most would expect. While 20.9% of his offense coming from post-ups is far from an insignificant amount, it ranks as only average in this group, as does the 0.79 points per possession he generated in these instances. While a little bit of improvement in Kentucky's floor spacing could have opened up the paint a little bit more for Randle and helped improve this number some, further refinement of his skills and becoming more comfortable using his right hand will be needed in the future as well. The 39.3% he shot on post-up opportunities was well below average among power forwards we looked at, although the overall efficiency was buoyed by his ability to draw contact and get to the line, as he drew shooting fouls on 26.2% of his post-up possessions, one of the better rates among this group.

Where Randle was most dominant was on the offensive glass. The 2.4 possessions per game Randle generated off of put back attempts was the second best in this group among players that we currently project to be drafted, only slightly behind Khem Birch's 2.7 possessions per game, and the 1.21 points per possession Randle scored off of these created opportunities was the third best in the group. Randle's high volume and efficiency in put back situations resulted in 114 points for the Wildcats last season, one of the top marks in the entire country among all players, prospect or not.

Another area where Randle showed potential was as an isolation threat, as the only collegiate prospect among this group who used more possessions per game in isolation situations than Randle was Dwight Powell. While his efficiency wasn't all that great at 0.76 points per possession -- hurt somewhat by turnovers, predictability due to an unrefined right hand, and by not being much of a threat shooting away from the basket -- should Randle improve in any or all of these areas, he will have a quickness advantage against most of his defenders at the next level, and could really expand this part of his game.

Link

 

[bravelude]

why people keep.saying he has a chip. lol. just cuz passed on him? the rage can turn into a motivational factor though, but these bennetts, sullingers are too common. we have yet to see.

LA front court looks like balsa wood.

 

[mjsaver]

* Alonzo gif *

Sounds like a tweener tho, not usually a good thing to be a too short post player or a big without an effective mid range jumpshot.

Not saying he can't develop and obviously for the sake of the team I hope he does, just doesn't sound like a good recipe off the top.

He seems tough and strong which can't be said about a lot of the bigs in the league these days so hopefully he has that to fall back on regardless.

 

[pmatic]

David Lee or poor man's Blake Griffin sounds more accurate than the Z-Bo comparisons honestly.

 

[CP1708]

I'm stickin with David West/Z-Bo tweener, but he needs to develop that West mid range shot.


I should note, and I do not mean this lightly, the person I spoke with that followed Randle a lot at KU, said Chris Webber lite was a better comparison than Z-Bo. He said only reason people say Z-Bo is cuz they both left handed, and he hates that lazy comparison.

C-Webb lite sounds a bit much, but I would not complain one single bit if he even approached that.

 

[bravelude]

but zbo was hood tho, not this kid.

 

[kingjaffejo]

C'mon he would be C-Webb lite lite

C-Webb skills as a big man was insane.
But I could understand it I guess. Randle has a better handle than most big men, he seems to have good court vision for a big man. Although C-Webb had a jumper that wouldn't quit.

I hope this year all Randle works on his mid range jumper & his right hand

 

[bravelude]

crobber is a crook, he still to this day, will not talk about those days. he took the funds at Michigan. but he got paid a lot and got destroyed mentally.

 

[mjsaver]

View media item 1115272

 

[grandtheftbike]

the white david lee

 

[darthska]

He can pass and play d entirely better than _avid Lee.

How tall is Cousins?

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

C'mon he would be C-Webb lite lite

C-Webb skills as a big man was insane.
But I could understand it I guess. Randle has a better handle than most big men, he seems to have good court vision for a big man. Although C-Webb had a jumper that wouldn't quit.

I hope this year all Randle works on his mid range jumper & his right hand

I don't see how the ZBO comparison is lazy but a CWebb lite comparison is any better

The skills and feel for the game that CWebb had since a high schooler were light years ahead of what Randle has, and Webber's ball skills only improved rapidly as he became a pro. The knock I have for Randle is that he is so raw and really has no refinement. Webber was the epitome of being a refined big man, almost like a guard ever since he was a teenager.

Randle likes to run the break but tbh his handle isn't really anything to brag about right now. His ball skills are elementary. He's prone to go through you than around you