Monday 31 December 2012

2013

My dear friends,

Here we go again. 365 new pages to write on, new year, new stories, new adventure! 

I dare you to keep on dreaming, to dream higher, to dream bigger, so that you will always have hope for a better tomorrow! Trust me, have a little faith in Him, 2013 is going to be awesome! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!


Best regards,


D.

Friday 14 December 2012

Catastrophe in Laker Land


I will never get tired when it comes to the LA Lakers. I'm a big fan of the Lakers, and as a caring fan, I'm really concern about what's been going on the LA LA land these days.

I just finished reading the game report of the Lakers loss tonight in MSG. It's quite shocking, on the report I read that small possibilities for the Lakers to lose (yep, there I said it) in single digit figure looking by the first half stats. But as we all can predict, when this former Minneapolis lake team are struggling, number 24 is not going to just sit and watch. The mamba strikes again on the second half and guess what? Their plying the D "quite" well on the remaining time.  Unfortunately the Knicks are too strong, they played better ball, although they are lacking in rebound number and Melo is out, I have to admit they got a hell of a game.

Now enough with the game review, let see what we can analyse from the Lakers' last 4 games. 

1. I'm kinda fed-up listening to the saying "everything's gonna be okay when Nash and Gasol returns". You know what? Screw Nash and Gasol. Why? Honestly, looking at the stat, Nash is not that good at playing D, and Gasol seems to be left-out in this D'Antoni's system. Sure when they return, people may expect an explosive scoring machine, but what are the odds of one machine gun against a robust tank like the OKC, Heat, Memphis or as we saw tonight, the Knicks? They need to work out on their D. Where to start? Rebound. Both sides. Minimise the turnovers, the team are not young guns who can run back and forth, therefore it is better for them to optimise the shot clock period. Playing in slow paste like the Pacers is not a bad idea. Looking at the players' stamina at the moment and their current resource, this type of O is (IMHO) more efficient than the run & gun. Moreover, it will also help reducing  the turnover number.

2. Optimise the bench. If you remember the other night when the Lakers are playing against the Nuggets, Jamison and Meeks scored 61 points combined. That's just insane. I realise not every night you can play like that, but they have the potential. On one hand, Meeks are an ultimate shooter, he should fit with D'Antoni perimeter O system. On the other hand, Jamison is a 'big' small forward, coach Mike should've known how to use him like he used (Tyson) Chandler while he was coaching the Knicks, plus he can shoot from the perimeter as well. Last but not least, Jordan Hill. This guy proves the management that he's an asset to this organisation with his outstanding play on the playoff last season. With Howard, Jamison, Gasol/Hill it should be impossible for the opponents to score lots of point from the paint, but yet they did (so far). 

3. Shooter(s). Other than Mr. Bryant who can coach Mike relay on when it comes to killing the opponents from beyond and inside the arch? Personally I would say NO ONE. Sure, MWP hits some 3's lately, Jamison & Meeks had their moments with the Nuggets, but that's not enough if D'Antoni wants to implement his famous O by killing the other teams from shooting. Its either he (D'Antoni) needs to adjust with the current players available or make an extra effort to "create" a new shooter(s) from the available options OR bring in some shooter(s). CMIIW, Lakers has always been a strong front court team, whereas all of D'Antoni's teams are strong on back court and perimeter.

4. Is it too late/soon to call the Lord of The Rings? It's never too soon to bring him. We all know KB24 wants him and we all know Phill is one of the few coaches out there who can 'work' with Kobe. But personally, I would still give D'Antoni chance, it's a bit unfair judging him with the result of the last 4 games. His 2 first options playmakers are out, one his powerful big man is out, all the players nor D'Antoni didn't get the chance to practice together on the summer camp, and last but not least, the fans are nagging. It's a perfect storm for the Lakers organisation. 

So what's my forecast for the Laker nation? If by the All Star weekend they can't reach at least number 6 of the Western conference division, then I doubt they'll win the ring this season, heck, they might not even make it to the playoff.

Well that's my two cents regarding the Lakers situation at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a Laker fan, just saying my opinion. I hope coach D'Antoni can sort things out.

Go Lakers!