The 2012-2013 Season is finally upon us!

Metta World Peace interests me this season.  Something tells me he's going to break out and have a great year for the Purple and Gold!

edub, I agree with you about MWP.  Not only is he back in camp in great shape (which was certainly not the case going into the lockout shortened, truncated season last time around), but I feel like with Dwight Howard anchoring and somewhat redefining how this team operates defensively, it give Metta that extra incentive to continue his stalwart, defense-first ways.  On the offensive end, I think Nash will be hitting him much more in stride and in better spots to up his otherwise woefully inconsistent shooting percentage.

I really want to see how Jamison works with the second unit as well as Chris Duhon as well as Meeks.

Yes rhd, lord only knows the bench players have much to prove in terms of exponentially improving upon last season's bench production...which shouldn't be difficult.

I really don't hope they overuse Steve Nash in the regular season as well as Howard...

My biggest concern with Howard isn't so much his back and the assimilation issue (which I'm actually feeling pretty good about), but it's moreso the fear that Howard may constantly find himself in early foul trouble as the otherwise fairly defenseless Lakers continually funnel players in towards Dwight in the paint.  This is where two things have to happen - Metta has to really focus on intially containing his man - usually the opposing team's best player - and Jordan Hill and Earl Clark have to step up as more than adequate backups to Howard at the center position.

[http://www.nba.com/lakers/releases/
121001lakers-sign-chris-douglas-rob
erts]

Lakers-sign-chris-douglas-roberts

Yeah, saw that - a fairly odd signing, given that the Lakers already have Devin Ebanks under contract at that position (backing up MWP), and further signed ex-UCLA Bruin forward Reeves Nelson to a rookie contract.  I'm guessing CDR is just more training camp fodder.

Jefe, I've been loking at some of CDR's highlights and the kid got game.  He scored 30 or more points a couple of times and over 20 a lot. He can go to hop and score and has a good short range jumper and he is only 25 with speed.   Can not remember when a Laker other than kobe, the G-Man, or Andrew scored over 20 in the last two seasons.  I think CDR could be the missing link we are looking for.  Hope he make the team.

JT, the only question I have about Chris Douglas-Roberts is whether or not he has the wherewithal to supplant Devin Ebanks, Jodie Meeks, or even Darius Johnson-Odom (and Andrew Goudelock, for that matter) on the Lakers depth chart.

As QID has already pointed out, the 15 man roster I expect to see as the regular season gets underway on 10/30 is;

PG: Nash, Blake, Duhon, Morris
SG: Kobe, Meeks, DJO
SF: Metta, Ebanks
PF: Gasol, Jamison, Clark
C: Howard, Hill, Sacre 

Again, to quote QID, "Sacre and DJO will both be non-guaranteed deals, so the Lakers can release one during the season if they want to pick up someone who is released (should an enticing player become available).  The only other player in contention IMO is Goude, but he's too duplicative with Meeks."

Sadly, there are only so many roster spots to go around - not sure where exaclty CDR fits in the bigger scheme of things...especially as the postseason eventually rolls around and Mike Brown shortens his rotation down to 8-9 players!

MAN, I wish it was a 16 man roster.  With this teams make-up I think CDR could be the best back-up SG in the NBA.  I know that's saying a lot, but I like the kids game.  I like QID roster and think it can brign another banner to LA, just wish CDR could be part of it.  

jefe.  ur right about the roster limit making it tough to choose fringe players. And Ideally you want 3 deep at every positions. 

At PG we have four and 1 has to go.  IMO morris has never had the skills to be at this level.  Unfortunately somebody decided to give him a contract (hopefully not guaranteed)  He'll get no time at all since he doesn't have any versatility.

At SG we're pretty set with Kobe/Meeks and DJO who I believe from day 1 would make this club.  Not recognizing his talents would be pure politics (like the one keeping Morris around)  DJO is the far superior Darius to keep around.  He's not trying to be the next Andre Miller by learning how to attack the basket with smoke and mirrors and bailouts.  DJO already knows how to get to the rim - the direct way.  Smash it. More importantly, he's a skilled shooter and a combo guard with abilities to guard the quick PGs  as well as the deadly shooters - athleticism and willingness. 

At SF Metta and Ebanks have enough prowess and versatility on both ends to be quite effective with the core players.  But this position is 2 deep.  Since Douglas is listed as 6'7" 200lbs, he can certainly man the 3 and is my choice to take that 3rd SF slot.

At PF we have an ideal combo in the post presence of Pau and outside threat of Jamison.  Clark can be a useful player (collecting 11 reb/2 blocks/14pts in 30 minutes - his only 30+ minute game)  That's what we need from the 3rd in depth role player.  Someone who steps ups when called on.

At Center Howard& Hill with Pau serving really as a 2nd center, it's about as ideal you'd want.  Sacre will probably get cut when Howard comes back 100%.

Morris has only 1 trick -  passing.  No point keeping that around.  If you want just passing abilities, Machado is an immensely better prospect.  In the NBA if you have 1 trick- it better be shooting or rebounding.  This is where Goudelock should be considered for a spot. Far better to be redundant with a shooter.  Guys get cold, guys get hot.  For instance Meeks ended his last 11 games going 5/31 (17%)  When a guy gets that cold, having another shooter to step in could help.

Morris' contract is fully guaranteed for this season Dimes

Dimes, great post! - I totally agree with you that, ideally, and for a total sense of balance on a 15 man roster, we should be three deep at each position.  There does seem to be something of an imbalance at the 1 and 3 slots carrying 4 PGs and just 2 true small forwards, but with Nash, Blake, Duhon and Morris all under contract, it is what it is.  Maybe something will happen by the trading deadline to rectify that, but I wouldn't count on in.

If Dwight Howard is truly good to go to start the season, then I wouldn't mind seeing Sacre sent down to the D-Fenders and CDR make the team and kept on the active roster for good measure at the 3 spot.  I really feel that between Jamison, Clark and Hill, there is enough talent and size there to adequately back up both Gasol and Howard at the 4/5 positions.

By the looks of the new, slimmed down, lean and mean version of Metta World Peace, I actually don't know how much depth behind his we really need - I actually wouldn't mind seeing MWP out on the floor for 35-38 minutes per contest, if he's game.

This whole thread brings a tear to my eye. To think this is where we are at after a few months ago blowing those games to OKC. Man i love being a Laker fan lol.

To add to this, MWP not only has been in great shape as reported, he is also knocking down shots. This is great news since he is going to be shooting a lot of wide open looks lol 

We gonna dominate the boards this year. Its gonna be silly.

Early observations from the game. The starters along with Dwight are not going to have any issues. The chemistry will be worked out. You can see in their faces they re determined. Even in few minutes of Nash and Kobe, Kobe is playing in the wing and Nash handling up top. All the haters are just that. Haters. The bench? That's another story. That's going to be the big bet. All of them are limited offensively. The second unit should post Hill or play though Jamison. Which brings me to coach. I don't know what his thinking on the second is yet. Now I know it's the first minutes of a preseason game and I'm not placing any concrete conclusions but its just some early observations that can be seen even this early. The starters are going to have no issues in terms of chemistry though. Good season Lakernation!!!

Quick takes on the game tonight:

1.Nash was incredible as expected.  That five-hole pass to Sacre for a bucket was great.  Ditto for his crossover three on Jack.  The offense just looks so fluid with Nash at the reigns.
2.Kobe was Kobe. Pau was Pau.  Nothing more to say.
3.Metta, as resported, looks like he's in phenominal shape.  He looks lighter on his feet and obviously still has the strength (see the play where he pushed Harrison Barnes all the way under the hoop).  Those two made threes were a good sign (though the play he shot one with an open Nash in the corner was a no-no).
4.Sacre looks the most respectable out of any of the filler bigs.  If the Lakers carry another center it will be Sacre.
5.I thought Ebanks looked good, especially his shot.  Two of his three misses were force ups at the end of the shot-clock, so really he was 3-4 (though one was a lucky fadeaway).  Still, he has a respectable mid-range shot and plays hard on defense.  The backup small forward spot is his.
6.Jamison showed off his awkward/patented unorthodox floater on his only hoop, but other than that, he didn't show much.  He clearly can't defend anymore, and he isn't someone we can run the offense through (more on that below).  Brown played him predominately at the three tonight.  Not thrilled with that.  It will only magnify his defensive deficiencies having to guard smaller, faster players.
7.Meeks can really shoot it off the catch.  He isn't someone who can dribble around and pull up, but off the catch he's definitely an asset.  Liked his defensive effort tonight as well.
8.Jordan Hill took too many 18-20 footers tonight.  I don't care if he made some, that's not what we want him doing.  The energy was there as expected though.
9.Blake and Duhon can't penetrate if their lives depended on it (cue the most obvious statement of the century).
10.Darius Morris isn't ready.
11.DJO is making this team.  I want to see more of him on Wednesday.
12.7 points in 8 minutes for CDR.  He can definitely score.  Color me impressed.
13.Dwight said Goude is more like a gardner snake than a mini black mamba.  Love that.

Overall, there were two main takeaways tonight.  The first is that our starters are going to dominate.  The second is our bench is not going to score unless Pau plays with the reserves.  If LA rolls out straight reserves no one can create anything (see 28-0 run by G-State tonight).  It'll just be ugly, because no one can dribble penetrate and Jamison can only post against much smaller players.  If LA is planning on having Hill cast 20 footers for bench scoring than I'm heading to LA locked and loaded to hunt Brown down.  The only way this works is if the offense runs through Pau, and spot up guys like Meeks, Blake/Duhon, Ebanks and Tawn can play off him in the catch and shoot game.  This is mostly rehashing what most of us have been saying forever, but it was reinforced in full tonight.   

I definitely liked what I saw out of the starters though.  Never been so excited for the season to start 

I should also add Earl Clark is a good defender because of his length, but he's a space cadet on offense.  Shot is broke.

Nori made an excellent point on twitter: Jamison was misused at the three and needs to get the jumpers Hill got as a stretch 4.  Couldn't agree more. Thought Brown's rotations were kind of fked tonight to be honest.  Not sure why he went so big in the second, but Meeks needs to be on the floor instead of a third big (I'd don't want to see a Jamison/Hill/Sacre backup front court lineup).  Too immobile defensively and a crippling group offensively.

1 - 4.  Agree.   The starters are the starters.  Can't wait to see Howard join them.

5. Ebanks seems comfortable with the team now.  This is his 3rd season, so the jitters are gone and no one is really taking his spot.

6.  Jamison was never a great defender, though I would like to seem him play within a team defense which wasn't really going on with those second string and beyond tonight.  I don't think Brown is going to play him as much at the 3 as he did tonight.  Brown rotated three centers out there tonight plus Gasol.  Hill played a lot a the 2 tonight and probably more than we will see during the season.  This probably explains the high degree of outside 18-20 foot shot.  At times, when Hill and Gasol were on the court at the same time, I wasn't sure who was playing the 1 on offense.  Clark put in a lot of time at the 4, so Jamison was just squeezed out.  And the Lakers are light at the 3 once you get past Ebanks and MWP.

7.  Agree with Meeks.  Wish he had more time in the game.  Because he is a catch and shoot, it be nice if there was better point playing while he was on the floor.  Will be interesting to see Meeks in the game while Nash is on the floor.

8.  Hill again.  Yes, he did take a lot of outside shots.  Maybe something he's working on that outside shot if he plays a lot more at the 4.  I'm assuming if Gasol were to get hurt, Hill will take the 4 while they leave Jamison coming off the bench to defend against second string players.

9. Blake and Duhon.  It was hard watching them.  When the second string needed some get them back on track, they weren't help.

10. Darius Morris, agree, hasn't shown that he's ready. Put on some muscle, though.

11.  DJO.   I like, too.  Wanted to see more time on the court tonight.

12.  CDR.  Worked on his game in Europe.  Though I would like to see him play when the lakers aren't so deep into their bench and things aren't as crazy.

13.  Goude.  Hope he has more game.

Pau will probably play more with the second team, but not as much as last year if the second team is going to feature Hill and Jamison as fixtures.  The more Pau you have, the more Jamison has to spend time at the 3.  Too bad the team really needs to keep Sacre, because it squeezes out CDR.


 

 
I'm sure you guys found this confusing, so, let me correct some numbers.

Hill played a lot a the 2 4 tonight and probably more than we will see during the season.  This probably explains the high degree of outside 18-20 foot shot.  At times, when Hill and Gasol were on the court at the same time, I wasn't sure who was playing the 1 5 on offense.  Clark put in a lot of time at the 4, so Jamison was just squeezed out.  And the Lakers are light at the 3 once you get past Ebanks and MWP.

Pretty much what Q said.

Just to add a few things:

1. Nash is an incredible court leader. Not just with the ball, but vocally. He truely is a QB out there and displays confidence with everyone on the court with him. I can't wait to see him dropping those dimes to Dwight instead of Sacre.

2. Speaking of Sacre, I really liked what I saw and think he'll stick in the league. Defensively, he'll be able to contribute right away. He moves his feet very well, and understands how to help. Really smart player.

Also, I'm not worried about the bench at this point, they looked good in the first half with most of the regular rotation players. I see a lot of overreaction this morning to that 3rd quarter, but people need to understand that that's a rotation that will never be seen in a real NBA game. Reeves Nelson and Greg Somogyi probably can't even make the Defenders team and they were out there against GS's starting unit. Our bench will be fine.

Reeves Nelson and Greg Somogyi probably can't even make the Defenders team and they were out there against GS's starting unit. Our bench will be fine.

Final scores on a Preseason game in any sport are trivial, heck saw this game and what GS starters were still doing on the court after half time, same with the Clippers and Nuggets game the night prior. 

Sacre is a energy player .... a 7 footer with a motor, heck I'd keep him just so other teams don't get a shot at this guy

So far, so good ... a preseason game with no injuries is bigger than a WIN to be honest

Sacre is a energy player .... a 7 footer with a motor, heck I'd keep him just so other teams don't get a shot at this guy.

I didn't get to see the game last night (damn you cable companies!) but, by all accounts, it seems that Sacre may well be worth keeping around, especially if there are any setbacks with respect to Howard's back rehab. Even if Dwight is healthy, it still seems that Sacre may get a roster spot, if only because Jordan Hill can play the 4 spot just as well as he can the 5 spot.

Sadly, this does not bode well for Chris Douglas-Roberts, who I suspect the Lakers could probably really use, especially at the 3 behind MWP and Ebanks, but will likely get let go because we're carrying 4 point guards.

Quelle Dommage!

PG: Nash, Blake, Duhon, Morris
SG: Kobe, Meeks, DJO
SF: Metta, Ebanks
PF: Gasol, Jamison, Clark
C: Howard, Hill, Sacre

Jordan Hil with a herniated disk.  Timeframe TBD.  Sacre looking like a lock now more than ever.  

Also, Kobe retiring in 2 years due to "lack of motivation" according to Berger.  Good lord.  He's retiring because the Lakers wont offer him more than Howard will get via extension. That's not an insult either.  It's just how he functions.  He's not going to be the second highest paid player on a team with anyone, let alone Dwight.. Hopefully he gets 7.  He'll never be better than Jordan, but with 7 he'll think he is, and that's good enough for me.. 

That's a bad break. Depending on location specifically and severity of Herniation may mean big trouble. Let's hope for the best. I would put Clark in that spot. He showed his athleticism and defense. We need the roster spots. As far as Kobe, it's amazing that he does what he does at this age. Top 10 player of all time. But yes MJ always best.

I don't want Clark anywhere near the rotation.  The obvious move to me is to buy Morris out, then add Kenyon Martin while retaining DJO and Sacre. It just comes down to are the Lakers willing to pay for it.  If they're cutting anybody it's Morris or Clark.. Just about finances now.  They've already spent so much.  Might as well secure the frontcourt.  I like Sacre but I'm not sure he's ready to be a backup/spot duty center on a championship team.  Rather have proven vets

Serious question QID.

You think Howard re-signs now that Kobe said he's retiring for sure after the 2013-2014 season? I see no reason for him to sign back to be honest with you. In 2 years Nash will be 40, Kobe will be retired, and Gasol will be a free agent.

Lakers could be in huge trouble after these 2 years if Kobe retires and Howard decides to take his talent somewhere else.

Also, Kobe retiring in 2 years due to "lack of motivation" according to Berger.  Good lord.  He's retiring because the Lakers wont offer him more than Howard will get via extension. That's not an insult either.  It's just how he functions.  He's not going to be the second highest paid player on a team with anyone, let alone Dwight.. Hopefully he gets 7.  He'll never be better than Jordan, but with 7 he'll think he is, and that's good enough for me.. 

if Kobe does get 7 titles, the debate can rage on who is better but bottomline, Kobe did more for the Lakers than Jordan did for the Bulls.  Individual accolades, well ... let's say the Lakers are looking for the next linage of players in Dwight Howard and Kobe in 2 years, there could be this guy that we missed out in with CP3 ... and as Jefe pointed out, welcome back to LA Kevin Love.

I don't truly know if he will honestly retire QID, impending divorce and seeing your assets cut significantly could truly motivate most men to extending their careers far more than they want to. If Jordan didn't have the Jordan brand, I can see him be in the ranks of Antoine Walker after his massive divorce.

and Jordan Hill and Earl Clark have to step up as more than adequate backups to Howard at the center position.

I have this wierd feeling that Hill and Clark will do a better job than Murphy and McRob last year, just a hunch.

Part of this is and as a Laker fan I'm optimistic about, is Kobe being OK with a diminished role on the team and not taking "forced" shots.  While I'm excited about the new pieces, some old habits need to change for this experiment to work.  In the long terms, this should extend Kobe's career and less wear and tear.  For some reason I can see more of a spike in Pau's production with the addition of Nash but for Kobe to relinqish the ball far more and trust Nash's decisions good or bad.

Like I said, giddy about the season ... hope there will be alot of Lakers games on TNT/ESPN this year with TWC blocking out some games.  Expectations are raised, but c'mon as Lakers fans aren't we used to it by now? lol

Couldn't be more excited about this season! I am not sure I have ever been more excited for a season to start! Getting NBA League Pass this year I think so I can watch every Lakers game this season! Being from Wisconsin all I see are the national televised games. Kobe has about 2-3 more years left in him why not enjoy every single last game of his! 

rhd420, I think we can relax about Kobe giving up the ball.  A lot of Kobe ball hogging is more perception.  If there are other players that can get the job done, Kobe will shoot less.  If the 2003 season is any indication, then the Lakers should be fine.  That was the season with Payton and Malone.

That season and the season before, Kobe was the leading scorer for the Lakers and Shaq was already in his "I play myself into game shape" mode.   In 2002 season, Kobe averaged 23.5 FGA per game while Shaq averaged 18.1.   Fisher was next in line with 9.5.  That next season with Payton and Malone, Kobe averaged 18.1 FGA while Shaq averaged 14.1.  Gary Payton followed with 12.5 FGA and Malone with 9.5.  Kobe gave up over 5 shots while Shaq gave up 4.

Kobe and Shaq went from averaging 30 and 27.5 points a game to 24 and 21.5 points a game.  They were followed by Payton and Malone with 14.6 and 13.2.   The season before, Fisher was the 3rd leading scorer at 10.5 points a game.  

Also, Kobe's 23.5 FGA attempts were the most in one season except for the 2005 season where Kobe average 27.2 FGA and won thhe scoring title that year.  That's when he went off for 81 points and score 40 points everyone few games.  It should be noted that that season, Kobe scoring option after Odom was Smush Parker and Chrim Mihm while Kwame clogged the paint.

In the 2004  season, his first without Shaq, his FGA went back up to 20, but he was injured a lot that year, also.   2005 he had the spike, of 27.2 and then went down to 22.  The three years the Lakers went to the Final beginning with Bynum breaking out and the acquiring of Gasol, Kobes FGA went down to 20.6, 20.9 and 21.5.

In 2010, the last season of Phil Jackson, Kobe's FGA went down 20.0, but his minutes also decreased from 38+ to about 33+.  Last season, Kobe's FGA went back up to 23.0, but his minutes went up by 5 to 23.5.  Kobe shot more because he was in the game more minutes.  But if you look at his per 36, Kobe's FGA went from 21.2 to 21.5.  Per game, Kobe took more shots than the previous season, but  he show about the same per minute as the previous seasons.

I expect Kobe's minutes to fall and his FGA per game to less than 20, especially if his minutes fall to less than the 33.9 he had 2010.  But it depends on the injuries and play of other players.

But my real point is, if you look at the seasons where Kobe actually had more scoring options around him, he shot less and scored less.  When Kobe has less scoring options on the team, he's played more minutes, also.  Last season, the plan was to play Kobe less minutes than the season before, but he actually played a great deal more.  The Lakers were searching for reliable scoring options after Kobe once they got pass Gasol and Bynum, especially with Odom no longer there.  This season, they should not have that problem.

My only concern is playing Kobe too many minutes because of the lack of talent in the back court.  Meeks right now is the back up shooting guard with undersized Goudelock and Johnson-Odom.  The Lakers signed Chris Douglas-Roberts to a training camp contract.  He's a 6-7 swing, shooting guard and small forward.  He's very athletic and can score, usually slashing to the basket.  He's not spreading the floor because he's not known for his 3s. But he has length and athletism over Meeks (6'4) and the other under-size shooting guards.  I would love to see Douglas Robert on the team, but the Lakers only have two of the 15 slots left and Goudelock, Johnson-Odom and Sacre are fighting for them.  

Sacre may make it because he allows resting Howard more at the beginning of the season.   Johnson-Odom is the unknown at the NBA level, though the Lakers didn't acquire his draft pick from Dallas for nothing.  Chris Douglas may be a better player after his play in Europe last season, so I think it will be decided in training camp.