Lakers' problems just beginning: Gasol and Howard out indefinitely with injuries

[Dan Druff]

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/s...l-indefinitely

Gasol took a nasty elbow last night against Denver and has a concussion.

Dwight Howard has a torn labrum in his shoulder, suffered against the Clippers on Friday.

While Gasol hasn't fit into D'Antoni's offense, and Howard has been underwhelming thus far, this will really hurt.

It will especially hurt because the Lakers do NOT have a deep bench.

If you think the defense sucks now, wait until you see it with the absence of these two big men (especially Howard).

This could also hurt the Lakers' chances of trading Gasol, something that was assumed to occur sometime in the coming month or so. Some concussions take a very long time to go away, and a few players never recover from them.

I thought the Lakers' chances this season were bleak, but now they look really bad.

[SrslySirius]

This pleases me.

[Dan Druff]

And in case anyone's wondering, here is my take on why the Lakers have been so bad this year, despite the lofty expectations of many going into the season:

- Gasol has not fit into the offense of either coach this season -- especially D'Antoni. He is being severely under-utilized, and therefore is mostly ineffective. The fact that he's now reduced to taking outside shots and coming up with Steve-Nash-like assists is laughable. Neither should be his role.

- Kobe can't play defense anymore. He was once a great defensive player, but that has evaporated with age. He is incredibly talented and hard-working, which has allowed his offensive game to stay sharp. However, he has lost the quickness and reflexes he had from his younger days, and has now become a defensive liability.

- Howard is no Shaq. While Howard has been pretty good on the defensive end, he has been inconsistent offensively, and also simply does not have the raw size that characterized Shaquille O'Neal's dominance. When O'Neal was on the floor, it made a major difference on both ends, and teams absolutely hated facing him. With Howard, not so much. He's good, but not great. And despite all that, Howard's free throw problems are just as bad as Shaq's.

- The bench can't play defense. Sure, Jodie Meeks can drain a lot of three-pointers, and Antawn Jamison can occasionally go off for a lot of points. But what about the defense? When the Lakers' 2nd unit is on the floor, there is virtually no defense, and the opposition scores on them at will. If guys like Meeks are also having a bad shooting night, then the bench especially gets crushed. The Laker bench was also terrible last year, and while the faces are new, it has not improved. The conventional wisdom was that the bench wouldn't matter much in the playoffs, but it is killing them in the regular season, and it is terrible to the point where it will also hurt the team in the postseason (if they even make it!)

- Steve Nash keeps turning the ball over. Steve Nash is doing some things very well. He's still a master at finding open teammates. He still shoots well. He can make free throws with his eyes closed. However, he has become a turnover liability, and it only seems to be getting worse. He's also 39 and in the first year of a 3-year deal. Ouch.

[simpdog]

I agree with most points here. It's too bad things went sour with Odom (although he's still not himself) and Matt Barnes is thriving as a Clipper. Could really use his 3 pters + energy/defense.

I thought landing Howard + Nash would instantly push the Lakers to #1 contenders...boy was I wrong. They still need some better 2nd string players + some better 3 pt shooting as well.

I think they will do better since Nash is back and he can control things, but they're still nowhere the top teams.

[badbilly32]

This pleases me.

i hate when teams try and buy championships(except the yankees of course)

[ShadyJ]

I thought Gasol was out with an injured ego after Blake Griffin kept dunking on his face.

[ShadyJ]

And in case anyone's wondering, here is my take on why the Lakers have been so bad this year, despite the lofty expectations of many going into the season:

- Gasol has not fit into the offense of either coach this season -- especially D'Antoni. He is being severely under-utilized, and therefore is mostly ineffective. The fact that he's now reduced to taking outside shots and coming up with Steve-Nash-like assists is laughable. Neither should be his role.

- Kobe can't play defense anymore. He was once a great defensive player, but that has evaporated with age. He is incredibly talented and hard-working, which has allowed his offensive game to stay sharp. However, he has lost the quickness and reflexes he had from his younger days, and has now become a defensive liability.

- Howard is no Shaq. While Howard has been pretty good on the defensive end, he has been inconsistent offensively, and also simply does not have the raw size that characterized Shaquille O'Neal's dominance. When O'Neal was on the floor, it made a major difference on both ends, and teams absolutely hated facing him. With Howard, not so much. He's good, but not great. And despite all that, Howard's free throw problems are just as bad as Shaq's.

- The bench can't play defense. Sure, Jodie Meeks can drain a lot of three-pointers, and Antawn Jamison can occasionally go off for a lot of points. But what about the defense? When the Lakers' 2nd unit is on the floor, there is virtually no defense, and the opposition scores on them at will. If guys like Meeks are also having a bad shooting night, then the bench especially gets crushed. The Laker bench was also terrible last year, and while the faces are new, it has not improved. The conventional wisdom was that the bench wouldn't matter much in the playoffs, but it is killing them in the regular season, and it is terrible to the point where it will also hurt the team in the postseason (if they even make it!)

- Steve Nash keeps turning the ball over. Steve Nash is doing some things very well. He's still a master at finding open teammates. He still shoots well. He can make free throws with his eyes closed. However, he has become a turnover liability, and it only seems to be getting worse. He's also 39 and in the first year of a 3-year deal. Ouch.

Cliffs- The Lakers suck

[Bootsy Collins]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOO CLIPPERS!!!!!!

[BCR]

If Howard actually has a torn labrum he is going to be essentially worthless the entire season. He can play through it, but he'll be severely limited on a team already struggling. Even a minor labrum tear surgery takes 4 months to recover from before he could play. They are in deep trouble. I had my doubts Howard was going to sign a contract with the Lakers before this. Most guys love to get to LA, but his body language has felt off the entire season and he has seemed to simply be going through the motions. I recall a few weeks ago I almost pulled the trigger getting 8-1 on the Lakers missing the playoffs entirely. Wish I would have now.

[Sloppy Joe]

And in case anyone's wondering, here is my take on why the Lakers have been so bad this year, despite the lofty expectations of many going into the season:

- Gasol has not fit into the offense of either coach this season -- especially D'Antoni. He is being severely under-utilized, and therefore is mostly ineffective. The fact that he's now reduced to taking outside shots and coming up with Steve-Nash-like assists is laughable. Neither should be his role.

The underutilization of Pau is a semi-travesty. The USA only beat Spain by 7 to win the gold this year. Why? Pau Gasol completely dominated offensively. He's an excellent player. It made sense to trade him to acquire Chris Paul; no other trade has really made sense as I'm not a fan of some goofy deal with a shit team like Toronto or Milwaukee. Seeing him jack up useless shots night after night is draining.

- Kobe can't play defense anymore. He was once a great defensive player, but that has evaporated with age. He is incredibly talented and hard-working, which has allowed his offensive game to stay sharp. However, he has lost the quickness and reflexes he had from his younger days, and has now become a defensive liability.

Kobe has always been overrated defensively and seems to be mailing it in this year. Maybe he's banged up...or just old.

- Howard is no Shaq. While Howard has been pretty good on the defensive end, he has been inconsistent offensively, and also simply does not have the raw size that characterized Shaquille O'Neal's dominance. When O'Neal was on the floor, it made a major difference on both ends, and teams absolutely hated facing him. With Howard, not so much. He's good, but not great. And despite all that, Howard's free throw problems are just as bad as Shaq's.

All true but he's the third or fourth best player in the league when at full strength. I have season tickets for the Charlotte Bobcats (lol) and was stunned the first time I saw him in person; most imposing physical specimen in the league.

- The bench can't play defense. Sure, Jodie Meeks can drain a lot of three-pointers, and Antawn Jamison can occasionally go off for a lot of points. But what about the defense? When the Lakers' 2nd unit is on the floor, there is virtually no defense, and the opposition scores on them at will. If guys like Meeks are also having a bad shooting night, then the bench especially gets crushed. The Laker bench was also terrible last year, and while the faces are new, it has not improved. The conventional wisdom was that the bench wouldn't matter much in the playoffs, but it is killing them in the regular season, and it is terrible to the point where it will also hurt the team in the postseason (if they even make it!)

The bench is devastatingly bad, one of the worst in the league. Antawn Jamison has sucked and they whiffed on a lot of guys this summer.

- Steve Nash keeps turning the ball over. Steve Nash is doing some things very well. He's still a master at finding open teammates. He still shoots well. He can make free throws with his eyes closed. However, he has become a turnover liability, and it only seems to be getting worse. He's also 39 and in the first year of a 3-year deal. Ouch.

Steve Nash has been puzzling; new team/system still? I still think they're too good to miss the playoffs and if they pull it together can make noise.

[Dan Druff]

Jordan Hill out for the season for the Lakers.

Just keeps getting worse.

[son of lockman]

Who honestly really gives a f*ck about the Lakers. I should say Fakers. Jim Buss should be run out of town and total control given to his sister. Atleast she has a functioning brain.

[Pooh]

Nash has always had turnover problems, he just wasn't on your team so you never noticed. His assists are down though.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/...46vZ9YIy0ZPKB4

Also, when you say your jew prayers every night I'd start incorporating a prayer that your Lakers DO NOT re-sign Dwight Howard. This guy is the biggest cancer in the NBA imo. He'd make TO and Barry Bonds blush. The crap he put Orlando through is unforgivable. He got the coach and GM both fired. He said he would stay if they were let go. They let them go and boom he still left. You don't want this guy another 5 years, trust me on this one. Plus, he is a career loser. Just not a team player and terrible in the locker room. Everyone hates the guy and you should too.

I can't stress enough how bad that guy is and I will be 4Beting you (I told you so) when you guys are barely making the playoffs for years to come with that bum.

[SrslySirius]

Nash has always had turnover problems, he just wasn't on your team so you never noticed. His assists are down though.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/...46vZ9YIy0ZPKB4

Also, when you say your jew prayers every night I'd start incorporating a prayer that your Lakers DO NOT re-sign Dwight Howard. This guy is the biggest cancer in the NBA imo. He'd make TO and Barry Bonds blush. The crap he put Orlando through is unforgivable. He got the coach and GM both fired. He said he would stay if they were let go. They let them go and boom he still left. You don't want this guy another 5 years, trust me on this one. Plus, he is a career loser. Just not a team player and terrible in the locker room. Everyone hates the guy and you should too.

I can't stress enough how bad that guy is and I will be 4Beting you (I told you so) when you guys are barely making the playoffs for years to come with that bum.

http://deadspin.com/5958111/deadspin...man-of-unfunny

Before that, Howard turned on some pleasant music so he could groove in front of his locker while he got dressed, his teammates all already long gone to the bus. Before that, he asked a Lakers staffer if hitting his free throws meant he could have his Halloween candy. Then he asked again. And again.

Before that, Howard mooned a TV cameraman whom he suspected of having his camera on while Howard had his underwear halfway down. Howard responded by sticking his rear end farther out, saying: "I've got a wide shot for you." And he giggled.

The season's less than a week old and Lakers writers are already tired of this shit.

[simpdog]

Lakers will sneak in the playoffs this year...book it.

[PLOL]

Lakers will sneak in the playoffs this year...book it.

Contact PLOL for rates...

[Dan Druff]

They got blown out by the Celtics tonight.

Dwight Howard is clearly getting to dislike Kobe. In an interview yesterday, he said, "Kobe's not a doctor", in response to Bryant's comments that Dwight should play despite the shoulder injury.

The Lakers are below .500 after 50 games (23-27) for just the second time since the 1978-1979 season. That's how successful this franchise has been. They've been at least moderately good (such as throughout the mid-late '90s) even when they weren't winning titles.

I agree with Pooh's assessment of Howard. I am starting to believe that he really is a team cancer, and that he's not good enough otherwise to warrant keeping him around despite that. Barry Bonds was also a team cancer, but he was a superstar, even when he wasn't on steroids. Howard has always seemed like a poor man's Shaq to me. He's strong, but doesn't have Shaq's size. He's a good center, but not super-dominant inside like Shaq was. They both couldn't hit free throws, but Shaq's other strenghts made up for it.

Kobe can also be said to be a team cancer to some degree, but again, he was such a great player that they managed to win titles despite that. Now, with some of Kobe's skills degrading (especially defense), it really might be time for him to retire after next season. The problem is that I don't think Kobe can accept having someone else on the team "take over" as the primary superstar. David Robinson did that for Tim Duncan, but Robinson was a lot more easygoing (and less ego-driven) than Kobe.

Simply put, the team is in trouble -- and not just this year.

Regarding Nash, I guess he has always been a high turnover guy, but I just didn't notice because he seemed to always own the Lakers so hard when he played against them. Seemed like he had eyes in the back of his head, and constantly shot the ball out to the open man perfectly. Was frustrating to watch as a fan of an opposing team. Now that he's on the Lakers, I guess his other skills no longer make up for the turnover problem, so it appears more glaring to me.

Nash has been okay this year, but he's nothing like the mid-2000s Nash, just like Kobe is no longer the mid-2000s Kobe.

I would be very surprised if Howard came back next year. Maybe he would if Kobe retired, but Kobe is playing next year for sure.

I have a feeling that this team will have to take a few years to completely rebuild, much like it did in the early '90s after Magic left. This will be unpalatable to Lakers fans, who are used to constant title contention, but I think that's what's going to happen. There are some outside rumors that Lebron will eventually end up in LA, but I don't see that happening.

[Pooh]

They got blown out by the Celtics tonight.

Dwight Howard is clearly getting to dislike Kobe. In an interview yesterday, he said, "Kobe's not a doctor", in response to Bryant's comments that Dwight should play despite the shoulder injury.

The Lakers are below .500 after 50 games (23-27) for just the second time since the 1978-1979 season. That's how successful this franchise has been. They've been at least moderately good (such as throughout the mid-late '90s) even when they weren't winning titles.

I agree with Pooh's assessment of Howard. I am starting to believe that he really is a team cancer, and that he's not good enough otherwise to warrant keeping him around despite that. Barry Bonds was also a team cancer, but he was a superstar, even when he wasn't on steroids. Howard has always seemed like a poor man's Shaq to me. He's strong, but doesn't have Shaq's size. He's a good center, but not super-dominant inside like Shaq was. They both couldn't hit free throws, but Shaq's other strenghts made up for it.

Kobe can also be said to be a team cancer to some degree, but again, he was such a great player that they managed to win titles despite that. Now, with some of Kobe's skills degrading (especially defense), it really might be time for him to retire after next season. The problem is that I don't think Kobe can accept having someone else on the team "take over" as the primary superstar. David Robinson did that for Tim Duncan, but Robinson was a lot more easygoing (and less ego-driven) than Kobe.

Simply put, the team is in trouble -- and not just this year.

Regarding Nash, I guess he has always been a high turnover guy, but I just didn't notice because he seemed to always own the Lakers so hard when he played against them. Seemed like he had eyes in the back of his head, and constantly shot the ball out to the open man perfectly. Was frustrating to watch as a fan of an opposing team. Now that he's on the Lakers, I guess his other skills no longer make up for the turnover problem, so it appears more glaring to me.

Nash has been okay this year, but he's nothing like the mid-2000s Nash, just like Kobe is no longer the mid-2000s Kobe.

I would be very surprised if Howard came back next year. Maybe he would if Kobe retired, but Kobe is playing next year for sure.

I have a feeling that this team will have to take a few years to completely rebuild, much like it did in the early '90s after Magic left. This will be unpalatable to Lakers fans, who are used to constant title contention, but I think that's what's going to happen. There are some outside rumors that Lebron will eventually end up in LA, but I don't see that happening.

Here's the best case scenario for the Lakers. Sign and trade Howard at end of year in a three team deal that involves the Lakers receiving Kevin Love. He is the perfect compliment to Kobe, he's from the area and he is a great team player. Injury prone but almost everybody his size is.

[Dan Druff]

They got blown out by the Celtics tonight.

Dwight Howard is clearly getting to dislike Kobe. In an interview yesterday, he said, "Kobe's not a doctor", in response to Bryant's comments that Dwight should play despite the shoulder injury.

The Lakers are below .500 after 50 games (23-27) for just the second time since the 1978-1979 season. That's how successful this franchise has been. They've been at least moderately good (such as throughout the mid-late '90s) even when they weren't winning titles.

I agree with Pooh's assessment of Howard. I am starting to believe that he really is a team cancer, and that he's not good enough otherwise to warrant keeping him around despite that. Barry Bonds was also a team cancer, but he was a superstar, even when he wasn't on steroids. Howard has always seemed like a poor man's Shaq to me. He's strong, but doesn't have Shaq's size. He's a good center, but not super-dominant inside like Shaq was. They both couldn't hit free throws, but Shaq's other strenghts made up for it.

Kobe can also be said to be a team cancer to some degree, but again, he was such a great player that they managed to win titles despite that. Now, with some of Kobe's skills degrading (especially defense), it really might be time for him to retire after next season. The problem is that I don't think Kobe can accept having someone else on the team "take over" as the primary superstar. David Robinson did that for Tim Duncan, but Robinson was a lot more easygoing (and less ego-driven) than Kobe.

Simply put, the team is in trouble -- and not just this year.

Regarding Nash, I guess he has always been a high turnover guy, but I just didn't notice because he seemed to always own the Lakers so hard when he played against them. Seemed like he had eyes in the back of his head, and constantly shot the ball out to the open man perfectly. Was frustrating to watch as a fan of an opposing team. Now that he's on the Lakers, I guess his other skills no longer make up for the turnover problem, so it appears more glaring to me.

Nash has been okay this year, but he's nothing like the mid-2000s Nash, just like Kobe is no longer the mid-2000s Kobe.

I would be very surprised if Howard came back next year. Maybe he would if Kobe retired, but Kobe is playing next year for sure.

I have a feeling that this team will have to take a few years to completely rebuild, much like it did in the early '90s after Magic left. This will be unpalatable to Lakers fans, who are used to constant title contention, but I think that's what's going to happen. There are some outside rumors that Lebron will eventually end up in LA, but I don't see that happening.

Here's the best case scenario for the Lakers. Sign and trade Howard at end of year in a three team deal that involves the Lakers receiving Kevin Love. He is the perfect compliment to Kobe, he's from the area and he is a great team player. Injury prone but almost everybody his size is.

I don't think they should worry who complements Kobe at this point, if Kobe is serious about retiring after the 2013-2014 season.

They need to think about a long-term rebuild that will establish the team for years to come.

[Pooh]

Here's the best case scenario for the Lakers. Sign and trade Howard at end of year in a three team deal that involves the Lakers receiving Kevin Love. He is the perfect compliment to Kobe, he's from the area and he is a great team player. Injury prone but almost everybody his size is.

I don't think they should worry who complements Kobe at this point, if Kobe is serious about retiring after the 2013-2014 season.

They need to think about a long-term rebuild that will establish the team for years to come.

Regardless, Love is a perfect fit all around.