This Ariza guy...

PeterL wrote:
> Seems to be a pretty good player. Odom's replacement?

Should be Clodmanovich's replacement, not Odom's.
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

On Nov 24, 2:21 pm, Chainsaw <n... DeleteThis @all.net> wrote:
> PeterL wrote:
> > Seems to be a pretty good player.  Odom's replacement?
>
> Should be Clodmanovich's replacement, not Odom's.


He's 6'9, can handle, can defend, is athletic and multi dimensional.
He can do lots more than Vlad.
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

"PeterL" <po.ning.TakeThisOut@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:5f565a83-607d-4c5f-956e-e8c8ab8ba47a@r37g2000prr.googlegroups.com...
> Seems to be a pretty good player. Odom's replacement?

He might have to be, but I hope it's not escaping anyone's attention how
great Odom has been, too.

brink
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

On Nov 24, 2:58 pm, PeterL <po.n... RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> On Nov 24, 2:21 pm, Chainsaw <n... RemoveThis @all.net> wrote:
>
> > PeterL wrote:
> > > Seems to be a pretty good player.  Odom's replacement?
>
> > Should be Clodmanovich's replacement, not Odom's.
>
> He's 6'9, can handle, can defend, is athletic and multi dimensional.
> He can do lots more than Vlad.

Odom is really a PF and Trevor is a SF (or can play some SG maybe ...
only listed at 6'8", not 6'9", and I suspect even that's little
generous). So ... maybe he's our starting SF of the future .. but the
one thing Vlad does better is shoot the ball, which is an important
thing when you've got 2 7ft'ers in the post. Also, Ariza coming off
the bench is instant energy ... very useful.

Overall, I've got to say the rotation so far has been terrific just as
it is. The 3-man front of Bynum/Gasol/Odom, averaging about 30 min a
piece is killer. Ariza as the SF off the bench, outstanding. And
Farmar and Sasha have been solid. I don't know if they can afford to
pay both Odom and Ariza as bench players next year, but it sure would
be nice to maintain this kind of depth.

Rob
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

rdavis wrote:
> On Nov 24, 2:58 pm, PeterL <po.n... DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Nov 24, 2:21 pm, Chainsaw <n... DeleteThis @all.net> wrote:
>>
>>> PeterL wrote:
>>>> Seems to be a pretty good player. Odom's replacement?
>>
>>> Should be Clodmanovich's replacement, not Odom's.
>>
>> He's 6'9, can handle, can defend, is athletic and multi dimensional.
>> He can do lots more than Vlad.
>
> Odom is really a PF and Trevor is a SF (or can play some SG maybe ...
> only listed at 6'8", not 6'9", and I suspect even that's little
> generous). So ... maybe he's our starting SF of the future .. but the
> one thing Vlad does better is shoot the ball, which is an important
> thing when you've got 2 7ft'ers in the post. Also, Ariza coming off
> the bench is instant energy ... very useful.
>
> Overall, I've got to say the rotation so far has been terrific just as
> it is. The 3-man front of Bynum/Gasol/Odom, averaging about 30 min a
> piece is killer. Ariza as the SF off the bench, outstanding. And
> Farmar and Sasha have been solid. I don't know if they can afford to
> pay both Odom and Ariza as bench players next year, but it sure would
> be nice to maintain this kind of depth.

Agree on all points. The rotation has been wonderful... so much so that
it's been the 1st unit and 2nd unit taking turns as the team that carried
the Lakers to victory... lately the balance has been better with both units
building margins.

Despite Fisher's and Vlad's deficiencies, I actually think they make sense
playing with the first unit. So far, it's working and they have to play
sometime.

brink
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

brink wrote:
> rdavis wrote:
>> On Nov 24, 2:58 pm, PeterL <po.n....TakeThisOut@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Nov 24, 2:21 pm, Chainsaw <n....TakeThisOut@all.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> PeterL wrote:
>>>>> Seems to be a pretty good player. Odom's replacement?
>>>
>>>> Should be Clodmanovich's replacement, not Odom's.
>>>
>>> He's 6'9, can handle, can defend, is athletic and multi dimensional.
>>> He can do lots more than Vlad.
>>
>> Odom is really a PF and Trevor is a SF (or can play some SG maybe ...
>> only listed at 6'8", not 6'9", and I suspect even that's little
>> generous). So ... maybe he's our starting SF of the future .. but the
>> one thing Vlad does better is shoot the ball, which is an important
>> thing when you've got 2 7ft'ers in the post. Also, Ariza coming off
>> the bench is instant energy ... very useful.
>>
>> Overall, I've got to say the rotation so far has been terrific just
>> as it is. The 3-man front of Bynum/Gasol/Odom, averaging about 30
>> min a piece is killer. Ariza as the SF off the bench, outstanding.
>> And Farmar and Sasha have been solid. I don't know if they can
>> afford to pay both Odom and Ariza as bench players next year, but it
>> sure would be nice to maintain this kind of depth.
>
> Agree on all points. The rotation has been wonderful... so much so
> that it's been the 1st unit and 2nd unit taking turns as the team
> that carried the Lakers to victory... lately the balance has been
> better with both units building margins.
>
> Despite Fisher's and Vlad's deficiencies, I actually think they make
> sense playing with the first unit. So far, it's working and they
> have to play sometime.
>


Radmonivich has been unconcious with threes the past two games. Fisher has
been playing well also. The Denver game I went to showed me a lot that you
can't really see on the TV machine. Ariza is fast-fast. I mean quick-fast,
not just top speed though he's that as well.
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

On Nov 24, 1:32 pm, lazuli... RemoveThis @webtv.net wrote:
> Has been terrific, constant hustle, rebounding, defense, and more
> offense than anticipated. He's also playing with a lot of poise...the
> list is a mile long of guys who could throw down the most ridiculous of
> dunks in warmups, and peope gasp, but never had the smarts, or the
> desire to ever do much in a game...

Just as a point of reference how good he's been so far ... ranked #3
in Hollinger's player rating for SF.

http://tinyurl.com/6g6c7s
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

brink wrote:
> rdavis wrote:
>> On Nov 24, 2:58 pm, PeterL <po.n... RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Nov 24, 2:21 pm, Chainsaw <n... RemoveThis @all.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> PeterL wrote:
>>>>> Seems to be a pretty good player. Odom's replacement?
>>>
>>>> Should be Clodmanovich's replacement, not Odom's.
>>>
>>> He's 6'9, can handle, can defend, is athletic and multi dimensional.
>>> He can do lots more than Vlad.
>>
>> Odom is really a PF and Trevor is a SF (or can play some SG maybe ...
>> only listed at 6'8", not 6'9", and I suspect even that's little
>> generous). So ... maybe he's our starting SF of the future .. but the
>> one thing Vlad does better is shoot the ball, which is an important
>> thing when you've got 2 7ft'ers in the post. Also, Ariza coming off
>> the bench is instant energy ... very useful.
>>
>> Overall, I've got to say the rotation so far has been terrific just as
>> it is. The 3-man front of Bynum/Gasol/Odom, averaging about 30 min a
>> piece is killer. Ariza as the SF off the bench, outstanding. And
>> Farmar and Sasha have been solid. I don't know if they can afford to
>> pay both Odom and Ariza as bench players next year, but it sure would
>> be nice to maintain this kind of depth.
>
> Agree on all points. The rotation has been wonderful... so much so that
> it's been the 1st unit and 2nd unit taking turns as the team that
> carried the Lakers to victory... lately the balance has been better
> with both units building margins.
>
> Despite Fisher's and Vlad's deficiencies, I actually think they make
> sense playing with the first unit. So far, it's working and they have
> to play sometime.

That is unfortunately what has to keep Ariza on the bench at least for
the time being. But I think we'd still be doing fine if Ariza were
starting and Walton was his backup.
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

Chainsaw wrote:
> brink wrote:
>> rdavis wrote:
>>> On Nov 24, 2:58 pm, PeterL <po.n... RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On Nov 24, 2:21 pm, Chainsaw <n... RemoveThis @all.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> PeterL wrote:
>>>>>> Seems to be a pretty good player. Odom's replacement?
>>>>
>>>>> Should be Clodmanovich's replacement, not Odom's.
>>>>
>>>> He's 6'9, can handle, can defend, is athletic and multi
>>>> dimensional. He can do lots more than Vlad.
>>>
>>> Odom is really a PF and Trevor is a SF (or can play some SG maybe
>>> ... only listed at 6'8", not 6'9", and I suspect even that's little
>>> generous). So ... maybe he's our starting SF of the future .. but
>>> the one thing Vlad does better is shoot the ball, which is an
>>> important thing when you've got 2 7ft'ers in the post. Also, Ariza
>>> coming off the bench is instant energy ... very useful.
>>>
>>> Overall, I've got to say the rotation so far has been terrific just
>>> as it is. The 3-man front of Bynum/Gasol/Odom, averaging about 30
>>> min a piece is killer. Ariza as the SF off the bench, outstanding.
>>> And Farmar and Sasha have been solid. I don't know if they can
>>> afford to pay both Odom and Ariza as bench players next year, but
>>> it sure would be nice to maintain this kind of depth.
>>
>> Agree on all points. The rotation has been wonderful... so much so
>> that it's been the 1st unit and 2nd unit taking turns as the team
>> that carried the Lakers to victory... lately the balance has been
>> better with both units building margins.
>>
>> Despite Fisher's and Vlad's deficiencies, I actually think they make
>> sense playing with the first unit. So far, it's working and they
>> have to play sometime.
>
> That is unfortunately what has to keep Ariza on the bench at least for
> the time being. But I think we'd still be doing fine if Ariza were
> starting and Walton was his backup.

Ariza meshes well with the 2nd unit and his defense is a big reason why the
2nd team has been mostly building leads rather than giving them away like
last year.

Vlad is now shooting nearly 50 percent from three on the season, so I don't
see a problem at all with what he's giving the team. Fisher is the one
problem, his shooting has been terrible which would be OK if he were doing a
better job running the offense or defending. As it is, his shot selection
has been bad and his defense isn't helping.

I don't expect those last two problems to improve a ton but I do hold out
hope his shooting will get back to his good numbers from last year. If he
does that, he'll be fine.

brink
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

rdavis wrote:
> On Nov 24, 1:32 pm, lazuli....DeleteThis@webtv.net wrote:
>> Has been terrific, constant hustle, rebounding, defense, and more
>> offense than anticipated. He's also playing with a lot of poise...the
>> list is a mile long of guys who could throw down the most ridiculous
>> of dunks in warmups, and peope gasp, but never had the smarts, or the
>> desire to ever do much in a game...
>
> Just as a point of reference how good he's been so far ... ranked #3
> in Hollinger's player rating for SF.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/6g6c7s

He's been fantastic. He won't continue to fly under the radar for long...
like Bynum, people will begin to realize just how sorely he was missed by
last year's team and how much better LA is with both of them in the lineup.

Since the Finals, LA has added two 20+ PER core players to their rotation
who are also plus defenders while Boston has subtracted a key role player in
James Posey. The Lakers will be in a much, much better position to handle
them should they meet in the Finals again.

brink
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

On Nov 24, 2:58 pm, PeterL <po.n... RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> On Nov 24, 2:21 pm, Chainsaw <n... RemoveThis @all.net> wrote:
>
> > PeterL wrote:
> > > Seems to be a pretty good player.  Odom's replacement?
>
> > Should be Clodmanovich's replacement, not Odom's.
>
> He's 6'9, can handle, can defend, is athletic and multi dimensional.
> He can do lots more than Vlad.

I would dispute the handles part.
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

brink wrote:
> Fisher is
> the one problem, his shooting has been terrible which would be OK if he
> were doing a better job running the offense or defending. As it is, his
> shot selection has been bad and his defense isn't helping.

My sentiments exactly - Fish has been the weakest link so far this year.
I was hoping for a 2 for 1 trade to pick up a decent PG, but it hasn't
happened so far. He can shoot well on occasion, but the occasions have
been getting farther and farther apart and he definitely can't finish
and hasn't been a solid defender so far.

> I don't expect those last two problems to improve a ton but I do hold
> out hope his shooting will get back to his good numbers from last year.
> If he does that, he'll be fine.
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy... 

On Nov 25, 5:52 pm, "$Bill" <n... RemoveThis @SPAMOLAtodbe.com> wrote:
> brink wrote:
> >                                                             Fisher is
> > the one problem, his shooting has been terrible which would be OK if he
> > were doing a better job running the offense or defending.  As it is, his
> > shot selection has been bad and his defense isn't helping.
>
> My sentiments exactly - Fish has been the weakest link so far this year.
> I was hoping for a 2 for 1 trade to pick up a decent PG, but it hasn't
> happened so far.  He can shoot well on occasion, but the occasions have
> been getting farther and farther apart and he definitely can't finish
> and hasn't been a solid defender so far.
>
>
>
> > I don't expect those last two problems to improve a ton but I do hold
> > out hope his shooting will get back to his good numbers from last year.  
> > If he does that, he'll be fine.- Hide quoted text -

Fisher's main value to the Lakers has never been his game. It's the
stabilizing influence that he brings to the court and the locker
room. That Kobe is still a Laker is possibly at least the result of
Derek Fisher returning to the team. Of course, Bynum's improvement
and acquiring Gasol and Ariza were very important to that, but if
Fisher hadn't returned to buy some time for Dr. Buss and Kupchak to
get to work, we might have lost Kobe before those developments came
up.
 >> Stay informed about: This Ariza guy...