Interview with the Enemy: The Lakers Nation

Last week, we exchanged questions and answer with The Lakers Nation, a great blog that follows the Los Angeles Lakers. Our answers are up on their site right here. Here are the queries that we had for their lead writer, Jonathan Somers-Harris.

3 Shades of Blue: If Kobe, Lamar, Pau and Bynum all expect to participate in the offense, how do you think the attitudes/egos will mesh?

The Lakers Nation: Well, I think it will be easier than most people think. Kobe is the undisputed top dog, there's no question about who's taking that final shot. Pau is a very good 2nd option, and in fact you could probably argue that he's more comfortable in that 2nd option role than as a first option. That just leaves Lamar and Bynum. Lamar would be happy averaging 10/10/8, scoring or not scoring isn't going to hurt his ego. The only problem i can see would be Bynum. Right before he got injured, he was showing great promise as an offensive option (not just put-backs and alley-oops). He was regularly scoring in the 17-25 point range while picking up 13-16 rebounds leading up to the injury. (No center, no matter how good, scores 17-25 points a game on put-backs and alley-oops alone)

He may turn out to be a pretty selfless guy, and he shoots such a high percentage that he may not need a whole lot of touches, but he's the one guy that i can see having a problem being the 3rd option in his contract year. (I wouldn't be happy either if a 5year/80M contract was on the line)

3SoB: If Kobe's finger forces him out during the season, will the Laker faithful be kind to him or not?

TLN: Lakers faithful: we're faithfully fickle. The same people who are praising him now for his "competitive spirit" or whatever they want to call it will be cursing his poor judgment. I don't think it will stop us from loving him though. I will liken the situation to that of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United. before he came back from Injury, people were saying how they wouldn't cheer for him anymore. However, as soon as he was ready to start warming up for his first game back from injury. (even before he was introduced as a substitute) the crowd went crazy for him.

In the same way, we might grumble a bit about the surgery, but in the end, we need him to much to not be kind to him.


3SoB: Last year the Lakers bench was critical to the team's success, but disappeared in the Finals. Is there any concern that the bench won't live up to that level with so many big name players in the starting lineup now?

TLN: This all depends if Lamar comes off the Bench or not. if he doesn't come off the bench, our projected "bench mob" will be

PG: Farmar
SG: Sasha
SF: Ariza
PF: Powell
C: Mihm

The only real difference between this year and last would be Powell replacing Turiaf (I will miss that man) and Mihm replacing Mbenga. Either way, Gasol is still expected to see some time at C and Lamar is expected to see some time at PF too, so there's not a whole lot of drop off from this year as there was last year. A bigger concern for the Lakers is that if both Lamar and Ariza are playing the SF position, then Kobe won't be able to slide over the the SF slot, and the three guard lineup that was so effective last year (Farmar/Fisher, Sasha, and Kobe) won't get a lot of court time.

3SoB: When do you expect Jordan Farmar to claim the starting PG role? Is it Derek Fisher's spot for the foreseeable future?

TLN: It's up to Farmar to claim the starting PG role. Fisher performed far beyond expectations the last year, but the Lakers cannot continue to expect that from him, as age will have to affect his performance at some point. That being said,Farmar needs to make the next big jump in his game in order to take the starting gig from Fisher outright. Farmar had a great first 60 or so games last season, and during that time he was getting about 24MPG. For whatever reason though, his production tailed off dramatically after that, and Fisher was forced to play upwards of 30MPG for the rest of the season/playoffs.

I think we'll see Fisher average 20MPG this season as a starter, and the probably the transition will happen in the 2009-2010 season

3SoB: Should Lamar Odom start at SF or come off the bench as a 6th man this season?

TLN: He should definitely start, if only so that the Lakers can see how a big, yet fast, line up works. If the "Lamar as a starting SF" experiment fails, then we can move him to the back up PF roll. there won't be a huge learning curve there because Odom has played the PF position for the Lakers for the best part of 3 years now, plus he's usually the only starter playing the the bench players during line-shifts, so he's already used to having to run the show/being a first option.

Speaking of big line ups, if you will indulge me for a second, I've been really excited about the possibility of Sun Yue (6'9") winning the starting PG spot at training camp this year. Imagine a starting line up where your shortest player was Kobe Bryant at 6'6"?

PG: Sun Yue. . . . . . . 6'9"
SG: Kobe Bryant. . . . 6'6"
SF: Lamar Odom. . . 6'10"
PF: Pau Gasol . . . . . 7'0"
C: Andrew Bynum . . 7'1"

It probably wouldn't work, but its exciting to think about.

3SoB: Which team in the Western Conference concerns you most as a potential playoff opponent next spring?

TLN: New Orleans, without a doubt. Fisher does a good job staying in front of bigger guards like Deron Williams and Jason Kidd, but Chris Paul is an absolute nightmare. I'd like to think that Gasol and Bynum gives us too much size for them to cover, but that won't matter if we can't stop Chris Paul.

A lot of people are surpised that I don't say the Rockets, but in truth, they don't worry me as much, and here's why. Unless they're going to effectively slap Shane Battier in the face and make him Ron Artest's back up, the Rockets are going to lack some defensive size. If they play all of T-Mac, Artest, aand Battier at the same time that limits the minutes that Luis Scola gets, and by extension valuable players like Carl Landry won't get time either.

3SoB: Your thoughts on Coby Karl, who looked like a future Hall of Famer in his Summer League game against the Grizzlies?

TLN: How did you know that Coby Karl was my favourite Lakers player? Honestly, If Sasha had left the Lakers I would have been fine with it, because I felt Coby Karl could replicate most of his production. I think he has a great career as a solid back-up in this league. Personally, I'm hoping he has the balls to ask for the No. 8 shirt coming into camp this season, because that would be the most amazing thing since. . man. . that would just be awesome.

3SoB: What were your expectations for Pau Gasol last year and how much have they changed for the upcoming season?

TLN: I expected him to be a lighter, more versitile Andrew Bynum on the S/R's with Kobe, everything beyond that was a bonus. this year, I'm expecting to see more of his short/mid-range game obviously. I think we underutilized him last year, hopefully this year we can incorperate more of his offensive skill set into the game plan.

3SoB: True or False: Jerry West is the best SG in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers.

TLN: In finished History, true. by the time Kobe is done, we might have to revisit this question. (see how i dodged that bullet? haha)

3SoB: If the Grizzlies and Lakers were to switch divisions, how much would that affect each of their records for the upcoming season?

TLN: Oh man. well, between not having to play Spurs, Hornets, Mavs, and Rockets that extra 1-2 times each (4-8 games) as well as being able to play the Clippers and Warriors that extra 1-2 times (2-4 games) or vice versa. I'd expect the Grizzlies to win about 5-8 more games, and the Lakers to win about 2-3 less (The Lakers had a great record against playoff teams in the West last year). It would definitely lower the winning percentages of all the teams in the Southwest division, and they would probably all still qualify for the playoffs. . that's just crazy to think about.

We want to thank Jonathan and The Lakers Nation for doing this interview and would love to be able to wish them the best for the upcoming season....except that it is the Lakers, so we'd rather die a slow painful death than to wish them anything but misery and doom. We can't help it -- it is ingrained in us to hate them with every fiber of our being.

Links: Quick Thoughts Edition

Chris Herrington (Beyond the Arc) did a lot of hard work to round up the biggest and best rumors revolving around the Grizzlies as the draft approaches. As always, it is a must read -- especially since it talks about the possible return of Whit E. Boy.

Via TrueHoop: Brian Windhorst, the great columnist for the Akron Beacon-Journal, is in the hospital right now, so I'm asking all of you to send your thoughts and prayers his way.

Mediaverse has some information on the recent decision by Gary Parrish and Geoff Calkins to leave 730 ESPN.

Hardwood Paroxysm continues to drop knowledge and insight.

Mike Miller didn't make the Team USA roster that is headed to China in a couple of months, but that's okay. Upside and Motor have you covered on everything you need to know about the guys who did make the cut.

Seven Dirty Grizzly Words from The Nation of Grizzlam

Grizzlies Insider Returns with Behind-the-Scenes Look at 2008 Draft

Links: Counting Down to the Draft

We participated in the Mock Draft being hosted by Ridiculous Upside today. You can click over there to find out who we selected at #5 after Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo and Eric Gordon went off the board in the first four picks. Also, check back on their site later this week to see who we take at #28.

DraftExpress has the details on who is in and who is out for the draft.

One of the players that is in, despite a knee injury, is Kansas State's Bill Walker, who the Grizzlies are reported to have some interest in. The Pistons (29th pick) are also said to be high on Walker.

Catching up with Mike Miller about the Grizzlies, Team USA and basketball clinics.

For a fantastic look at bloggers vs. traditional media on the issue of objectivity, head over to the Portland Tribune to see what Dwight Jaynes has to say about it.

Mike Kahn (FoxSports.com) says that former Grizzlies big man Pau Gasol is "in a much better place now".

Blog of the day: Eric Musselman's Basketball Blog

Links: Hardwood Paroxysm is all you need

If you haven't added Hardwood Paroxysm to your daily reading list, then I don't know what to say other than "What are you? Some kinda moron???"

Matt and Corn have entertained us here at 3SoB all season long and we feel confident that if you read a few of their posts that you will reach the same conclusion.

The published the results of their 2008 NBA Blogger Season Awards and we are very proud to say that 3 Shades of Blue tied for 1st place in the Western Conference (Bloggers' Choice Division) with Sactown Royalty and came in 2nd place in the Southwest Division behind Hornets 24/7. We are very appreciative to all the bloggers who voted for us.

In addition to that, if you haven't already, go check out the playoff previews that HP put out last week (you know, before the playoffs began), as well as the fantastic Five Things posts that Matt has been writing for The Fanhouse for every single playoff game.

The final edition of the Blogger MVP/ROY Rankings have been posted on We Rite Goode. The MVP rankings came down to the same three candidates that the rest of the NBA world is trying to figure out the correct order of, while the ROY rankings weren't much of a surprise to anyone. They even added a few new categories, including Coach of the Year, Most Improved Player and 7th Man. They also added some great graphs that chart the MVP candidates through all the rankings. Really great job guys!

David's Grizzlies Blog: The Memphis Grizzlies - Where Amazing Happens

Bleacher Report: What's Next for the Non-Playoff Teams

We need all the fans we can get, so I'm happy to see young Ainsley join the club.

Interview with the Enemy: BobcatsPlanet

In our continuing quest to educate ourselves about every single team in the NBA, we turned to Ziggy at BobcatsPlanet.com to learn more about the Charlotte Bobcats. He was kind enough to answer a few questions, which we greatly appreciated.


1. In the preseason, many of the experts were predicting that Charlotte would make the playoffs this season. They are currently 3 games outside of the 8th spot in the East. Do you think they can make up that gap or are they just not ready to make that leap yet?

I think that there is still hope. Even after two tough losses against the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets the Bobcats are 5-3 since they released Jeff McInnis. Waiving Jeff allowed Raymond Felton to get the bulk of the point guard minutes instead of being forced to play out of position as an undersized shooting guard. If they can continue their recent pace over the next 17 games, then its possible that they may be able to make up those 3 games and sneak into the #8 seed in the east.

2. Gerald Wallace recently returned from a concussion and told the coaching staff that he won't last much longer if they continue to play him out of position at the PF spot. Given the financial commitment they made to him in the offseason, will they have to move him over to his natural SF position, creating a time crunch at the wings among Wallace, Matt Carroll, Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley? Also, is this the best move anyway once Sean May returns to full health?

Its definitely in Gerald's best interest to play the SF position. Gerald has had 4 concussions since hes been a Bobcat along with a couple of other frightening injuries, If he continues to match up with guys that are 3 inches bigger and 30 pounds heavier then its only a matter of time before something bad happens again. With that being said, and despite Gerald's request to get away from the PF position, our coach had him playing PF minutes in his return game against the Mavs and in Friday night's game against the Rockets.

Playing Gerald at the SF does create a time crunch at the wing. Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace should be the starters, but rookie Jared Dudley deserves minutes and you have to get Matt Carroll on the court also... And how does this all work out next season when Adam Morrison returns? It should be interesting, I wish I had the answer.

We're taking a wait and see approach on Sean May's return next season. Because of his knees, he has been able to play only 58 games in 3 seasons. He has to prove that he can keep his weight down and stay healthy.

3. Emeka Okafor didn't sign a long term extension this past offseason and will be a restricted free agent this summer as a result. Do you think the Bobcats will make it a priority to re-sign him or will they let another team sign him to an offer sheet and then decide whether or not to match?

This situation is troubling. Emeka was offered $13 million per year over the summer but he turned it down. I think that they will let another team sign him to an offer sheet, that would take some of the pressure off of the Bobcats as far as determining Emeka's market value.I also wouldn't put it past Emeka to not sign anything this summer which would allow him to be an unrestricted free agent next summer. At that point, he could seriously cash in.

4. What do you see as the biggest need for this team in the offseason?

Of all the questions, this is the easiest. We need better coaching.. Some of our coaching decisions this year have been bizarre to say the least.

* making a borderline D-League backup your starting PG for the majority of the season (Jeff McInnis)
* burying Walter Hermann on the bench early in the season
* repeatedly using a small lineup which forces Gerald to play PF
* until very recently not playing Nazr Mohammed and Emeka Okafor on the court at the same time

In a recent poll on our site, Sam's approval rating was a whopping 13%, and thats up from 6% prior to the Bobcats 5 game winning streak.

Handing Out Awards

As the inspiration for the querie that Henry Abbott (TrueHoop) put to team bloggers to be used in ESPN.com's 2007 NBA previews, Chip and I felt that it was our duty to select the best questions that were submitted. It turned out to be a difficult task, as nearly all the bloggers were creative in the questions they would ask their team's GM. So here are our Top 5:

1. Lang Whitaker, slamonline.com: Atlanta Hawks

2. J.E. Skeets, The Basketball Jones: Toronto Raptors

3. Dumpy, NetsDaily: New Jersey Nets

4. Liston, Introducing Liston: Minnesota Timberwolves

5. Wizznutzz: Washington Wizards

All the bloggers did a fantastic job and we here at 3 Shades of Blue salute you.