Posts tagged: Houston Rockets

Lakers Sign Shannon Brown & Ron Artest

The Lakers signed guard Shannon Brown for two more years today, while a few days ago they secured Ron Artest for three years at the mid-level exception.

I can’t say I’m unhappy with those two actions. Shannon Brown obviously contributed plenty to the Lakers’ season last year and with a shaky Jordan Farmar and aging Derek Fisher around, it was important for him to stick around. However, now we have a 3 point guards situation which is never good on any NBA team. I think with Fisher playing less and less minutes, it might actually work out, but I’m shaky on this topic.

Elsewhere, Ariza chose the money and wasn’t happy with the mid-level 5.8 million per year offer. Can’t blame him I guess. The guy shut his mouth all year to put up with Kobe, won a ring, and is 24. Of course he’s going to go for more money elsewhere. And trust me, a lot of people will ask for him! The addition of Artest in his spot is an interesting one. I think Ron is still a good player, but on the other hand, he’s still Ron Artest. Will Kobe and Phil Jackson be enough to control him and keep his head in the game? The thought of Ron Artest & Lamar Odom on the same team would have scared me to death a few years ago. I’m not so sure now… I think in the long term it’s a good deal. We’re going for an older guy (Ron) vs. a younger guy (Ariza) to save money and add more experience to the team. In a couple of years, we’re obviously going into full rebuild mode once Kobe calls it quits. In the long term however, the right move was to keep Ariza. I guess money is tight these days, and one has to do what one has to do…

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

categories Basketball | Eddie | datetime July 7, 2009 1:47 am | comments Comments (0)

Disgusting

There is no other word I can use right now to explain the Lakers’ showing today. That was disgusting. Not showing up to a Playoff Game when you’re a title contender is inexcusable. I’m a Lakers fan, and always will be, but today made me sick to my stomach. We don’t deserve to play in the Finals. In fact, I don’t want us to play in the Finals. Why make LeBron look even better than he already is? The Cavs would crush us with this type of play.

Having gotten the emotions out of me, I tried to figure out what happened. We played no defense for three quarters. I don’t know why. I can’t explain to you why. That was the biggest problem today. Houston’s shots were going in, and when you’re not playing defense against a team whose shots are going in, you’re gong to get embarrassed, which we did. Second, Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher are just non-existent at this point in time. I don’t remember if it was Van Gundy or Jackson that said it on commentary today, but at this point in time you might as well play Mbenga if you’re Phil Jackson, and hope that Jordan Farmar get out of the slump. The Lakers don’t have a point guard. Shannon Brown played well today, but not having enough minutes in the regular season is showing. Those are the two biggest problems. Then there’s also this “heart” argument. Where is the heart?! I’ve been asking this since the beginning of the season! If you want to be a champion in this league, then you have to play like it. You have to show that passion. You have to give it all in your game. The Lakers don’t. That’s not a champion.

I’m disgusted, and extremely mad. What a terrible game!

Tags: , , , , ,

categories Basketball | Eddie | datetime May 10, 2009 2:51 pm | comments Comments (0)

WordPress Themes