Monday, February 4, 2008

Easy Tiger

Let me the voice of caution here. Remember the last time Jax got a talented but soft European? Kuckoc? Slava? Jax can make players worse.

He just beats them up for what they don't do (play D, rebound), screws with their minutes and wrecks their confidence. If he doesn't change his way with Gasol, you're going to see a shell of the former player, a guy struggling to find flow in 20 minutes of action.

Plus, while Bynum had a great 20 games there, it helped that he was an afterthought for opponents. He got points off junk plays. Now he's getting a rep, and will become a point of emphasis for the good teams, especially in the playoffs, and he may not overcome all that newfound attention. That's why guys backslide all the time in this league, they can't take on determined, focused opposition.

Just sayin...

By the way, "Easy Tiger" does not mean what I think it means anymore

1 comment:

flyE said...

Kukoc? The guy with three rings? OK, yes please.

I think Bynum was getting attention in the last few games, and it was making it easier on Kobe. You simply can't leave him to help on a drive, otherwise, oop.

I hear you about the 20 minutes... when everyone is healthy, the Lakers have a lot of guys who need some tick. If Mihm is your 12th man, who is 11th? Sasha?

Still, that's a much nicer problem to have than What Scrub Can We Sign To A 10-Day?... I'm looking at you, DJ.

[And Tiger: no kidding. He always plays well at Torrey Pines, but a 10-stroke lead in the final round is a bit much. Then his comeback yesterday, get out. Also: He is farther ahead of #2 Mickelson in the rankings than Mickelson is ahead of #1000. He is good, very good.]