rondoallaturca & BleedGreen1989
PG: Jose Calderon | Jose Juan Barea | Michael Carter-Williams
SG: Wesley Matthews | Carlos Delfino | Jeremy Lamb
SF: Quincy Pondexter | Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
PF: Dirk Nowitzki | Ed Davis | Kelly Olynyk
C: Marc Gasol | Jermaine O'Neal
HC: Tom Thibodeau
IntroductionTHE BASKETBALL PHILOSOPHERSThe 2013 CBlog Lakers are certainly not going to win anyone over with exciting players that produce highlight reel after highlight reel. Rather, BleedGreen1989 and I have assembled one of the most cerebral, fundamentally sound teams to ever grace a NBA court. Each piece fits perfectly and we have one of the most cohesive teams in the whole league.
Defensive philosophyANTI-BLITZKRIEGThe versatility of the defense on our wings will ensure that our team can readily respond to any and every sort of offense thrown its way. Matthews and Delfino can both cover SG/SF. Pondexter can cover PG/SG/SF. Mbah a Moute can cover PG/SG/SF/PF. These guys aren't exactly defensive slouches, either. Delfino is the worst of the group, which says a lot because
he's a great defender when he's focused on that end of the court - and with Thibodeau at the helm, you can be sure that Delfino, and every other Laker, will have defense firmly ingrained in their head. Matthews is probably one of the best "3&D" players in the league, with Synergy ranking him #39 offense and #87 defense. Pondexter emerged last season as a talented defender,
capped off by his performance against Chris Paul in the playoffs.
And then, of course, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute: the defensive god, the Swiss army knife, the best defender in the NBA -
Kevin Durant certainly thinks so. Outside of Lebron, I can't think of too many other players
who can successfully defend the top talent at four separate positions. Milwaukee bloggers even initiated
an investigative study on why he's so good at defending top-tier studs like Lebron, Durant, Melo, and Kobe.
Behind the wings stands Marc Gasol, reigning Defensive Player of the Year. You can argue Gasol didn't deserve it, but you can also argue he was snubbed of the All-NBA defensive first team. Fact of the matter is that Gasol is indeed one of the best defenders in the league, who has unparalleled instincts and positioning. His frontcourt mate, Dirk Nowitzki, is not the best defender in the world, but he's far from being the "bad" defender that he's often labelled -
especially after his defensive improvements in recent years. Dirk has learned to use his body more effectively and also has better positioning now, and the work is paying off; Dirk gave up only 0.80 points per possession last season, ranking him #61 overall - and this is with him coming off the biggest injury of his career. Plus, we all know what happened the last time Dirk was paired with an elite defensive center.
That leaves Jose Calderon as the one and only weak link in our first unit's defense, and we'll take it. We're not going to try and defend his defense, because there's no getting around it - Calderon's simply a bad defender. However, measured by PER differential,
Calderon won more matchups than he lost this year. Furthermore, his net PER difference registered a plus both
when he was a Raptor and
when he was a Piston. Also, for what it's worth, Synergy ranks Calderon's defense ahead of starting PGs like Rubio, Lawson, and Teague, to name a few. Keeping in mind that last season, Toronto and Detroit were respectively #22 and #23 in defensive efficiency, what happens when Calderon is actually supported by a competent defensive cast? Calderon's a cerebral player who at least positions well, and with two excellent help defenders in the frontcourt as well as some of the best wing defenders in the league, the Lakers are more than equipped to ably reinforce their sole weak link. Besides the point, many teams - even championship contenders - have succeeded with a defensive liability on board. It's going to take a lot more than just Calderon's defense to sink the whole ship.
Offensive philosophyMAXIMUM REAL ESTATEThe floor spacing for this team will be glorious, and no team will come anywhere close to our offensive efficiency - and that's a fact. Our four core players - Calderon, Matthews, Nowitzki, Gasol - all have career TS% exceeding 57%. Last year in particular, Jose Calderon had a ridiculous 61.6 TS%,
proving why he's one of the best pure shooters in the whole league. There simply is no one way to shut down this offense, because we have the personnel to shoot high-percentage shots near the rim,
take advantage of the increasingly obvious value of the three-pointer, and burn defenses in the mid-range. All our big men can extend to at least the mid-range, while every guard/wing without five words in their name is a legitimate threat from deep. To put our 3-point proficiency in perspective, here's a look at some of our players' 3PM / 3PT% from last season...
Matthews: 2.4 / 39.5% (T-#5 3PM)
Delfino: 2.4 / 37.5% (T-#5 3PM)
Calderon: 1.8 / 46.1% (#1 3PT%)
Nowitzki: 1.4 / 41.4%
Barea: 1.3 / 34.6%
Pondexter: 1.0 / 39.5% (1.6 / 45.3% in playoffs)
This offense will be anchored by one of the best true playmakers in the league (Calderon) and the best passing big in the game (Gasol). Calderon has consistently maintained one of the most elite AST/TO ratios in the game, and his 4.11 ratio last season was second only behind Chris Paul - imagine what Calderon could accomplish actually playing for a competent team for once! Gasol managed 4.0 assists per game last year, which is crazy good for a center, but what's more impressive is that he bumped that number up to 4.5 following the Rudy Gay trade. Complemented by one of the best shooting power forwards to ever play the game as well as a whole bunch of 3-point snipers, the Spanish Connection will make sure that pick-and-rolls will be a force on this team. We have one of the best inside-outside games in the whole league, and a fluid motion offense with this sort of roster will ensure that defenses will constantly be on their toes and hardly ever establish their preferred positioning.
Our scoring will be led by the Big Diggler, Dirk Nowitzki. He might be 35-years old, but his game is true to the wonders of German engineering. Coming back from the biggest injury of his career, Dirk still posted very impressive stats last season. Despite being brought along slowly to the tune of 31.3 minutes and his lowest usage rate in 13 years, Dirk still posted 17.3 points per game in his typically highly efficient manner. No one should doubt his potential to put up 18-20 each night this season. More importantly,
he remains one of the most clutch players in the game, and we cannot think of too many other players we'd rather have the ball during crunch time situations.
OutlookSAN ANTONIO STATE OF MINDNone of our players are flashy, but they all get it done in their own respective ways. We have proven veterans mixed with promising young talent, meaning this team is built to win now and in the future. The team will heavily rely on pick-and-roll's, three-point shooting, high-percentage shots, and low turnovers. The team's defense is strong and features some of the game's premier defensive talents. Both our offense and defense figures to be top 10 in the league. Our roster can adapt and matchup with anybody. I could keep going, but by now it should be clear that our team has a lot of similarities with the real life San Antonio Spurs. Like them, we have high aspirations. Despite the stiff competition in the West, we think this team is more than capable of not only winning the conference, but the whole darn league itself.
Contact usFREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSWe eagerly await your questions, comments, and concerns!
Topic: 2013 CB Draft: Pacific Division Press Conferences (Read 21359 times)