Lakers Roster Needs Tweaking

I attended the Lakers-Pistons game last night and wanted to write a recap on the game.  However, the game can be summed up in one sentence.  Kobe did not decide to show up until there were 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter and by then a few missed shots made it far too late to do anything, especially against the talented Pistons.

Outside of that, I must admit I fell in love with my girlfriend all over again last night.  At the end of the first quarter she proclaimed that she was going to cheer for the Pistons. 

Tayshaun Prince

“Why?”, I asked.  “That’s the wrong team.  We live in LA.”

“I love this Prince guy”, she responded. 

“But I thought you loved me?  And don’t you think he’s a bit, mmm, awkward looking?”

“I do, but he does everything.  He shoots and makes shots, passes, blocks shots, plays defence, brings the ball up the court, everything.  And he’s not flashy.”

I mean most girls who go to their first NBA game ever usually fall for Kobe, or, in LA, spend most of their time staring at Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, or maybe even the Laker girls.  But no, my girlfriend cheered for Tayshaun Prince for the entirety of her first NBA game because of his all-around skills and work ethic.  Who couldn’t love that?

The game did, however, give me a good chance to review the Lakers team and see what I liked or did not like about their talent.  There are a lot of moving pieces to analyze, but I think the easiest way is to go through player by player.

Starting Five

• Kobe – Obviously needs to step up much earlier in the game.  I know he often does, but if wants to be a legend he needs to play that way for all 48 minutes.
• Derek Fisher – He looks as strong and solid as ever.  But Fisher needs to stop jawing with the refs.  I had not seen him get so frustrated before, but he clearly upset NBA referee James Capers last night by complaining about a few calls against him (even at times late in the game when they were trying to foul, or at least fine fouling, which is ridiculous) and Capers made him pay with a few calls later on.  At his age, Fisher should lead by example and I do not think that attitude is helpful.
• Radmonovich- This guy is solid.  I would take him on any team unless you had a superstar small forward that you were building the team around.  The Lakers are obviously not doing so and thus he is a good asset at small forward.
• Pau Gasol- This is where it gets tricky.  The Lakers are deep with size, but need this guy to play.  If he shaves his Euro-scruff he may even earn the respect of most LA fans, which would really help this season.  He works hard until the end and plays with the goal of getting his team a win, like most European-trained players.
• Andrew Bynum- This guy starting at Center could lead to a reason the Lakers cannot win a championship this year.  He is soft and, as I’ve heard many times, you can’t teach toughness.  He a great body, but he has bad hands and no desire to be out on the court.  Not once did I see him make a play based on giving the slightest extra effort.  They may be able to teach him solid skills and show him to run the full court or even keep his hands up when trapping (I saw a trap he was involved in get broken by the ball being thrown over his head…he hadn’t even put his hands up at all), but they cannot teach this guy to give a shit.  This guy really could have benefitted from playing some college ball (as could have Kwame Brown, who could have pushed Bynum around even more if he was smart enough to realize that).

Reserves:

• Lamar Odom- So, this guy has to sit the bench and split time with Bynum, just because they are trying to give the big guy a shot and some minutes?  Odom is just beyond having an entire team built around him any more, but that does not mean he should suffer for minutes.  I smell a trade in the works.
• Trevor Ariza- This guy is good.  He will have a solid NBA career because, if anything, he tries.  He finishes strong (10x stronger than Bynum), and does it not because he was told to or wants to be on Sportscenter, but because his instinct tells him that dunking on this guy as hard as possible will be the most effective way of making sure he gets those points.  He rebounds the same way.  I saw him outrebound Bynum a couple of times last night, where they were the only two near the ball.  He just wanted the ball more.
• Jordan Farmar – Good backup point guard, especially to Fisher.
• Sasha Vujacic- I’ve never liked this guy.  It might be his hair, but I’ve always felt he tries to make it looks like he works hard and that he is not that great of a shooter.  Did not get to see much of him last night and in the end, does it really matter?  Kobe will get his 40 minutes a game, so unless there is an injury, Vujacic will always just be a low-minute backup.
• Chris Mihm, Josh Powell, Luke Walton- These are three more big men sitting on the bench that are suffering because of their depth of size.  Walton should ask for a trade to somewhere he can play.  He’ll never get much time behind Gasol, Odom, Bynum, and Radmonivich.  Or, he could luck out if Odom or Bynum get traded and Gasol plays Center.  The other two have no shot other than to be injury backups, but fortunately they give the Lakers the support to be able to trade away a quality big guy and not lose depth.

In the end, this giant mess of big men could end up meshing together, but if they stick with Bynum I just don’t see how they can win a championship.  Phil Jackson did not play him in the fourth quarter, and that can’t last.  Fortunately they have 40 or so games to work it all out.  If no trades are made, I imagine Odom will end up with more minutes and Bynum slowly ends up becoming one of those guys you have to play only against Shaq and Yao.

*image source: tv20detroit.com