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Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

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  • #46
    Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

    Originally posted by BillS View Post
    Well, there are an awful lot of people saying that the Pacers only have great defensive numbers because most teams have played like crap against them.

    Me, I give the defense a HECK of a lot of credit for that, but who am I next to ESPN?
    I have not seen anybody saying that and yes we have to give the Pacers D a lot of credit for what they are doing, specially Roy and Paul George.
    @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

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    • #47
      Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

      Originally posted by Heisenberg View Post
      No one said he'll ever be an "impact player." Certainly not me. Just that he's far from a walking $4 million mistake like so many people are quick to accuse him of.
      Apologies....."impact player" is the wrong word to use. I meant more of a rotational Player that can be counted on to contribute on the offensive and defensive end of the court...think a "slightly better offensive version" of Jeff Foster.

      To be clear, I am not disagreeing with you that Mahinmi ( much like Green ) just needs some time to adjust to his role on the Team and that he can contribute more....I'm simply trying to assess his offensive skills beyond a solid mid-range jumpshot ( for a Big Man ), getting put-back points while going for rebounds and being a solid FT shooter for a Big Man.

      What I don't know if he has any other type of reliable go-to-moves that can be relied upon if he is called upon to score....or if he will get his points like the way that Foster did
      Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

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      • #48
        Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

        Originally posted by CableKC View Post
        Apologies....."impact player" is the wrong word to use. I meant more of a rotational Player that can be counted on to contribute on the offensive and defensive end of the court...think a "slightly better offensive version" of Jeff Foster.

        To be clear, I am not disagreeing with you that Mahinmi ( much like Green ) just needs some time to adjust to his role on the Team and that he can contribute more....I'm simply trying to assess his offensive skills beyond a solid mid-range jumpshot ( for a Big Man ), getting put-back points while going for rebounds and being a solid FT shooter for a Big Man.

        What I don't know if he has any other type of reliable go-to-moves that can be relied upon if he is called upon to score....or if he will get his points like the way that Foster did
        The guy had taken a total of ~400 attempts *total* in his previous four seasons. Expecting well developed, reliable offensive moves might be a reach at this point in his career.

        This is the first time in his career where he's actually being given the chance to really contribute offensively. A decent midrange shot along with put-backs seems like a good start. Expecting a refined post game is more realistic within a year or two.

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        • #49
          Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

          Originally posted by Since86 View Post
          The great defensive numbers have continued to hold for the Ps. They hold opponents to the worst fg% in the league, rebound the most, outrebound their opponents the most, and leading the league in blocks.

          If the Pacers ever figure out to be consistant on the offensive end, the can really turn their record around quickly.
          This is what I am saying.......the defense and offense for the Starting lineup is great....but the weakest aspect of this Team is the 2nd unit and it's ability to score. It may take another month...but I think that with a combination of Vogel figuring out what the best combination of Starters and the 2nd Unit and DJ, Green, Mahinmi and ( most notably ) Stephenson becoming more comfortable with their roles when they are on the floor...I think that the scoring end of the 2nd Unit equation is going to figure itself out. I know that it will suck for another couple of weeks if not for the next month....but I think that they just need time. As you suggest....once they figure it out....heck, even if Green and Stephenson becomes more confident.....we'll become far more competitive.

          Another related question in relation to the 2nd unit....we know that the offense sucks with most of the Players from the 2nd unit ( often having to rely upon a Starter to score )...but how is the overall defense of Green, Mahinmi, Young and Stephenson ( I'm including him in the discussion for the long-term ) when they are on the floor?
          Last edited by CableKC; 11-28-2012, 04:46 PM.
          Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

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          • #50
            Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

            Originally posted by CableKC View Post
            This is what I am saying.......the weakest aspect of this Team is the 2nd unit and it's ability to score. It may take another month...but I think that with a combination of Vogel figuring out what the best combination of Starters and the 2nd Unit and DJ, Green, Mahinmi and ( most notably ) Stephenson becoming more comfortable with their roles when they are on the floor...I think that the scoring end of the 2nd Unit equation is going to figure itself out. I know that it will suck for another couple of weeks if not for the next month....but I think that they just need time. As you suggest....once they figure it out....heck, even if Green and Stephenson becomes more confident.....we'll become far more competitive.

            Another related question in relation to the 2nd unit....we know that the offense sucks with most of the Players from the 2nd unit ( often having to rely upon a Starter to score )...but how is the overall defense of Green, Mahinmi, Young and Stephenson ( I'm including him in the discussion for the long-term ) when they are on the floor?
            Surprised you haven't pointed out that 3 out of the starting 5 (Hill, George, and Hibbert) are shooting at or below 40%?

            Isn't that an issue?

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            • #51
              Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

              Originally posted by docpaul View Post
              Surprised you haven't pointed out that 3 out of the starting 5 (Hill, George, and Hibbert) are shooting at or below 40%?

              Isn't that an issue?
              Not as much of an issue compared to the 2nd unit scoring.

              I'm not as concerned as much with the scoring from Hill, GH and Hibbert....I think that their scoring and shooting will improve over time as they adjust to life without Granger...for the next 2-3 months...and then will continue to improve when Granger does return.

              Believe me, I hate the PG shooting percentage sucks compared to last year....but I know that he also has a far different role than he did last year. I hate the Hibbert has reverted to Bruce Banner compared to the Hulk that he was in the Playoffs last year....but I think that all of these concerns will recede over time.
              Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

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              • #52
                Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

                Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post
                I have not seen anybody saying that and yes we have to give the Pacers D a lot of credit for what they are doing, specially Roy and Paul George.
                ESPN today pretty much said the Lakers' only problem was their offense. No real mention of Pacers' defense, at least while I was watching at the health club.
                BillS

                A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
                Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

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                • #53
                  Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

                  Originally posted by BillS View Post
                  ESPN today pretty much said the Lakers' only problem was their offense. No real mention of Pacers' defense, at least while I was watching at the health club.
                  Well their offense is horrible, not just for the game last night but the whole season reason why they got rid of Mike Brown and hired D'Antoni(an offensive coach).
                  @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

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                  • #54
                    Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

                    Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post
                    Well their offense is horrible, not just for the game last night but the whole season reason why they got rid of Mike Brown and hired D'Antoni(an offensive coach).
                    I thought their offensive average was 99 ppg. Last night they scored 77. Now, either their offense was 20+% worse than their usual bad offense, or the Pacers' defense made them look even worse than usual.
                    BillS

                    A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
                    Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

                      Originally posted by BillS View Post
                      I thought their offensive average was 99 ppg. Last night they scored 77. Now, either their offense was 20+% worse than their usual bad offense, or the Pacers' defense made them look even worse than usual.
                      By bad offense I mean no offense at all, I've been watching them since the begginning of the year and they don't know what to do in offense, yes they score 99 points per game but they score that much because of the weapons they have not because their offense is that good.

                      Not saying that the Pacers D didn't have anything to do with it but acting like the Pacers shut them down is not accurate in my opinion.

                      Edit: For example Morris was open must of the night and he made 0 out of 6 open uncontested shots, Artest had similar open shots and made 1 out of 8, Jamison 1 out of 7, Duhon 0 out of 3, Meeks 0 out of 3.

                      Note that I'm just counting the players that in the majority of their time on the floor were shooting long jumpers and uncontested 3's, Kobe, Gasol and Howard were to me the only ones that were taking contested shots must of the time and great job by the Pacers defense for somewhat controlling them.
                      Last edited by vnzla81; 11-28-2012, 06:05 PM.
                      @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

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                      • #56
                        Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

                        Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post
                        By bad offense I mean no offense at all, I've been watching them since the begginning of the year and they don't know what to do in offense, yes they score 99 points per game but they score that much because of the weapons they have not because their offense is that good.

                        Not saying that the Pacers D didn't have anything to do with it but acting like the Pacers shut them down is not accurate in my opinion.
                        These are serious questions, I'm not just blowing you off -

                        1) If a "bad" offense is still "effective" - meaning it puts up 99 points per game - what exactly are you describing as "bad" and what is it that makes the "bad" part of the offense matter? My reason for asking this is that even if your offense is "give it to the superstar and let him score" I wouldn't describe it as "no" offense unless the superstar isn't scoring. For it to be "bad", there must be something that renders it vulnerable - inconsistency, subject to failure if a single component isn't present, etc.

                        2) If a "bad" offense is rendered "ineffective" - meaning it puts up 20% fewer points in a game - what DID shut them down? Is it that the offense as it stands has already shown to have a deviation that in and of itself explains a 20-point swing? I'd submit that this is the lowest regular season point total for the Lakers, 5 points lower than the previous (which was against San Antonio, arguably a strong defensive team that WOULD get credit for "shutting them down"), and near the outside end of 2 standard deviations from that average point total. That would qualify, to me, as "shut down" no matter how "bad" the opponent offense actually is.

                        In other words, yes, the Lakers aren't the offensive powerhouse they have been in years past. However, the Pacers defense took the current Laker offense to an extended low, which can't be sufficiently explained by the inconsistency of the Lakers offense or by unforced failure of individual players. After such an analysis, I think we CAN say the Pacers defense was more than just peripherally involved and was likely the most significant factor in the Lakers offensive (in both senses of the word) performance.
                        BillS

                        A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
                        Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

                          The Lakers scored 115 against the Mavs over the weekend, btw. Their offense is improving. We exploited their offensive weaknesses by clogging the lane with our bigs and they don't really have anyone to take advantage of our biggest weakness at PG. i also thought we did a good job limiting Kobe's effectiveness as a facilitator and closing out on threes. For a team without players to create offense for others by getting into the lane, a big team like the Pacers is a nightmare.

                          If they had hit a regular percent of FTs and limited TOs a bit, I still doubt they would have cracked 90. We definitely lucked out a bit but, then again, we had some bad luck on offense too. We'll take it.
                          Last edited by rexnom; 11-28-2012, 06:22 PM.

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                          • #58
                            Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

                            By the way did anybody else noticed that people were yelling at Morris not to shoot it anymore? that guy is just a horrible player.
                            @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

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                            • #59
                              Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

                              Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post
                              By the way did anybody else noticed that people were yelling at Morris not to shoot it anymore? that guy is just a horrible player.
                              Well, I know some fans that were cheering him ( and Duhon ) to shoot more
                              Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

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                              • #60
                                Re: Odd Thoughts: Super quick L.A. thoughts....

                                BAMF's go to move, his "Reggie Miller curl off screen, leg kicking 3PA" = pushing into 2 guys, literally shoving them away and then hitting the soft one footed fade away. He might be the most physical pure offensive player in the game. I swear he actually enjoys the contact as part of his scoring move. You could probably defend him better by not letting him bump into you.



                                Ian absolutely has an issue with ball handling on drives, that's his weak spot and the next area he needs to improve. I think he can, but for now it's a TO waiting to happen. He is athletic and smooth enough to get it, much in the way that PG could also take better care of the ball.


                                I love/hate Joey Crawford
                                Me too. I love the insta-tech, not dealing with this crap attitude, but sometimes he needs to realize that not every call is beyond question. Let a guy have a voice on a call that maybe you missed or was at least close. There are ways to handle things without being so over the top.

                                However I do think a lot of this comes from a passion he has for reffing. And that brings me back to liking him.

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