Lakers actual odds and scenarios... Part 1

   The LA Lakers have been a great Franchise for many years, but with the Kobe era looking like an ending sooner than later...  This upcoming seasons roster looks like a Mavericks Franchise team snagging individual talent and prospects from everywhere. Chris Kaman (Mavericks) here. Nick Young (76ers) there. Jordan Farmar (Euroleague stud) back here in purple and gold, and Wes Johnson (Suns). there. With Elias Harris and Marcus Landry (Summer League and D-League) also being signed as decent young players who could possibly learn to contribute. 

   So Young, Hill, Farmar, Harris, Blake, Sacre, and Meeks looking like the bench once Kobe is back, which is soon in terms of the NBA schedule. I consider Nick Young, Jordan Hill, and Jordan Farmar pluses off the bench with their last NBA seasons being each of their best... Except Nick Young who scored 10.6ppg for Philly off the bench mostly in 23.7 minutes of action). He averaged over 18ppg for the Wizards one year and maybe being around Kobe and Pau and Nash will rub off on his shot selection and open looks. 

   I recently saw the Lakers bench rated 27th, out of 30 teams of course. You mean the 4th worse bench in the NBA? That was last season. With a whole different roster. I think there are at least 7-8 teams with less talent off their bench...  Detroits a great starting five with Drummond and Monroe and Josh Smith with Jennings and likely Billups at SG. What's that bench.... Let alone looking at the Bobcats, Nets, Magic, Hawks, Jazz, Suns, and Raptors weak benches this upcoming year. Much different than last year. 

   Isn't Kobe looking healthy and on pace for a October-November comeback? If he can bring a roster of Odom, Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, and Luke Walton team to a playoff team, then he can get a decent to legit roster there again, even at this age. He hasn't failed us yet in terms of competing. That in itself, along with future Hall Of Famer Pau Gasol logging a large portion of his minutes back at Center where he belongs should improve his production as well. Though 14 Ppg, 8 RPG, 3.5 assists a game and a block aren't shabby. I think he'll improve or put up the same but in about 4-6 mpg less. Exactly as Duncan did sliding over from PF to C. 

   But with Kobe starting sooner than later, I have a feeling Wes Johnson will fit that SF spot well with Nash, Kobe, Gasol, and Kaman (all-star level Center, offensive guy, brings a nice starting five. And if Kobe misses 10-15 games, Nick Young is a very capable scorer and back home in LA. That would deplete the bench, and it's possible he starts with Kobe playing Small Forward. All are possible. Gasol could end up the starting Center bringing Kaman off the Bench and Hill starting at Power Forward, strengthening the bench. 

 

BENCH UNIT(w/Last years numbers and role or skills):

Jordan Hill, (6.7ppg, 5.6rpg, 15.8mpg)

Nick Young (10.1ppg, create own shot))

Jordan Farmar (17, 4 and 6 in Europe)

Steve Blake (3pt specialist)

Jodie Meeks (3pt specialist)

Robert Sacre (High iQ backup Center)

Elias Harris (Stretch four... tBD)

Marcus Landry (3 and D and hustle)

Compared to last years Jamison, Clark, Marcus Morris, That Goudelock guy that shoots every time and rookie Sacre, with Meeks and Blake. Id definitely say they've improved a step, maybe even two. 

Why? Well, Young is a legit Sixth Man of The Year type player in that role if he's happy and has a green light from D'Antoni. He fits very well. Wes Johnson could really fit well too as a more traditional small forward. Jordan Hill was great before his injury (now healthy) and Farmar who I truly believe will surprise many fans and that has me sold. Add in Meeks, Blake, Harris, Sacre, and they are looking like more of a middle of the pack type team... Like 15-20 bench production. Add Kobe will have minute restraints possibly and the bench gets more minutes. We all know Kaman and Gasol will start, but likely will pull Kaman and roll Gasol to Center at the. 6 minute mark to insert a Hill or Young or Farmar (who can guard two guards alright; D'Antoni ran Blake and Nash together a ton. Two guards on the floor has sorta become the norm lately in the NBA.

I think the Lakers are almost getting truly Hated on now for thinking they can make the playoffs. Nobody is saying they are winning the NBA title from the smart Laker fans.

And to World Peace getting amnestied, his 12.5 low PER speaks for itself. His defense was legit but his offense is so bad and out of synch it doesn't outweigh the good on defense. He's not Shane Batter. 

Who thinks the Lakers have slander articles written about them just out of Kobe and Laker hate? Who thinks we aren't being objective? Nobody said we are gonna win the ship. 

I'm Back! Too bad the NBA isn't...

Goodbye HoopsHardcore.com.  You were a truly EPIC FAIL...

R.I.P.

     Trying to launch a basketball related site while the NBA goes into a lockout was the end of that.  Maybe I'll give it another shot, but for now I still feel the need to write, blog, rant, and have my voice heard by the 3 readers of this site!  As the NBA lockout continues I'll be writing about everything there is related to basketball.  This won't be a source for the constant "updates on the CBA talks and lockout updates", though I might have the occasional blog discussing it.

     Instead, as of now, I'll be writing about things of the past related to the NBA, things of the future, as well as how players are doing over in Europe (like American born Deron Williams playing in Turkey for team/franchise Besiktas as well as Russian born, previous Euroleague stud as a young-man turned NBA star Andrei Kirilenko playing back in the league he came from).  Watching NBA players try to adapt to the Euroleague, as well as the other leagues around the world, is quite an interesting concept most of us hardcore NBA fans never really imagined happening.

     Watching a top 5 NBA Point-Guard like Deron Williams put up 11 points and 5 assists in 23 minutes while he lead his team to a huge 30+point win seemed fitting considering the other team couldn't match the talent level of D-Will, let alone guard the gigantic PG (especially for Europe) at 6'4''+ in shoes as well as his big frame of 215 pounds.  Combine that with his deceiving athleticism and speed, his ability to shoot the ball consistently well out to 23-24 feet, but also his high IQ for the game, and I don't think Besiktas should lose a single game with him there. (I'll be writing about him more).

    Now that we know the first 2 weeks of the season have already been cancelled many of the "common fans" of the NBA are already so disinterested they no longer have the NBA in their thoughts.  Damn, I wish I didn't have this obsession for the game, but the CBA and lockout does have some interesting components.

     I mean come on, who doesn't love watching millionaire players/reps argue with the billionaire NBA owners and commissioner? That damn Stern wanting "parity" in the NBA. Damn him for wanting the league to be more fair in terms of giving the small market teams a better chance to compete in terms of signing Free Agents and trying to keep the NBA from turning into the MLB (with no hard cap or even luxury tax), allowing the NY Yankees to have a $160 billion dollar payroll these days and consistently signing most of the big-time free agents.  On the other side, of course, are the players who are the ones that truly "run the league".  They are the ones we go and watch, and they are sticking with that fact to an extreme it seems, barely budging in negotiations (though they have agreed to take a hit already and I'm not saying they are wrong or right in what they're doing).

     To be honest, none of us truly know what's happening in the lockout negotiations.  All we do is form our opinions about it based on what the owners and NBA upper's, along with Stern, say and what the players and player reps say.  All fed through media outlets. Seeing that we aren't stupid, it's easy to see that both sides are very extreme in what they say about the other side, and surprisingly (not at all actually) both sides are lying to the news and fans about what is actually going on.

If you aren't in the meetings you won't have an actual basis to discuss what's going on.  This is why I will not be blogging updates on the negotiations daily, nor will I be calling either the owners or players greedy or power hungry.  Wait a sec, strike that, right now I will call both the players and the owners power hungry... hah.

But in good faith let's just hope there is a season; even if it's 50 games.  For the sake of the fans and all the people losing jobs/money (talking to the lower/middle class citizens that work at arenas and restaurants and other businesses located closely to or around the 30 NBA team's arenas; businesses that depend on 41 home games a season for a partial (or even majority) part of their profits.  Then of course for the sake of the players and the league in general.

Let us hope for an NBA season this year!

For now, favorite this amazing blog so you can visit it daily and witness the miraculous phenomena known as "JoshFarc's Genius Blog".  And while I hope you realize I'm being extremely sarcastic (about the genius, not about bookmarking this site as a favorite...), if my writing doesn't make you want to come back, maybe this awesome video will...

     One love my people. Bookmark this site damnit! Also, I do all my forum discussion at HoopsHype Forum. So if you want to talk hoops in a pretty active forum (considering there is an NBA lockout and all basketball sites are taking a big hit), make your voice heard!  There's a link to the forum at the top of the page. I am also "JoshFarc" on the forum.

See all 3 of my loyal readers tomorrow!