I hate to admit it, since I like rooting for the underdogs, but I kinda have to agree with you on Jeremy Lin, big_j_ny. Lin has been exposed here in Houston. Maybe it's the pressure of being one of the franchise guys along with James Harden (who is also struggling to be the man as well), but....his points production are down from that small sample in NYK, and his turnover problems have not gone away, which must be why he's losing minutes to Toney Douglas.
Anyway, the Clippers are just rolling right now. Sure they need to work on their defense and defensive focus, but...MAAAN~! The bench is practically like a second starting unit. It's crazy. Definitely one of the deepest benches in the league, if not the deepest. Though Gregg Popovich would probably disagree with me LOL.
Anyway....about the Lakers, I really think that their recent struggles have to do with how poorly constructed the team is. Sure there's the weak bench, but the Starting Lineup, to me, is a patchwork of players brought in for their individual talents, but those talents aren't quite lining up well. That, and they bring in coach D'Antoni because of his familiarity and success in running the run and gun offense with Nash. However, they'll be doing this with aging legs, and I don't think it will work. Metta World Peace? Dwight Howard? Pau Gasol? I'd dare say they operate best in a half-court set than in the transition.
I mean, sure we have yet to see the team in full strength, which contributes to their slide, with Nash and Gasol out, but I think they should give up on one of their two bigs. I prefer they keep Gasol, as he has a more refined post game and can shoot free throws better than Howard, but since Howard has been slated as the new franchise guy after Kobe, find a 4-ward that could shoot outside the paint, so that Howard can be firmly planted under the basket. Also, at the end of the season, Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak, especially Jim Buss, should come to Dr. Phil's door with a gift basket and a heartfelt apology, and beg him to come back to the Lakers for at least one last run for the title with Kobe (6th for Kobe, 12th for Dr. Phil's other big toe). After that continue to break up the roster and go into a rebuilding mode for the team so they can pick high in the draft for a new secondary franchise guy, assuming that Howard will stay long term for the purple and gold.
Expecting the Lakers to win a championship with this patchwork of a starting roster, especially after seeing their body of work so far, seems unrealistic, IMO.
