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The book on Brandon Rush is that he has all the tools in the world, a sturdy frame, leaping ability and speed but that it's unlikely, at this point, he will care enough to put it all together. He could even be a defensive stopper in the mold of FIBA Iguodala, but Kobe's season high stats thank him for staying as undeveloped potential.
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Shannon Brown's now-receding-from-immediate-memory offensive efficiency at the beginning of the season might be easier to latch on to, but Matt Barnes slippery brilliance should not be discounted. He finishes at the rim better than any Laker 3 we've seen since 2009 post All Star Break Ariza. He does 'whatever the team needs.' The spectacular rebounding can't be discounted: 2nd in the league among 3s last year. Hell, if they put him on Psycho-T, the Lakers might not have ben outplayed so egregiously. He is as invaluable, if not more, than Luke in his prime.
I think the last sentence implies that Barnes is an adj. +/- stud and yes, I will not stop mentioning that because every opinionator worth his weight in bytes writes like the world depended on his words (e.g. Hitchens, Christopher).
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Kobe. Airballs. What?
Mildly concerned.
Kobe. Still The Greatest Right Now. He was the bulwark, holding back the tides of a shameful Staples Center blowout.
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It's worth noting that despite Pau's unparalleled output over the last three years, few are either unwilling or unable to imitate his repertoire. Even the classically-trained (read Walton schooled) Hibbert favors the Luis Scola feint right, shimmy and righty hook over left shoulder combo rather than the intricate low block Gasol ballet. It's almost as if any move Gasol can conceive, his nimble seven feet and long arms can achieve.
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Oh 50% 3-ballin' Fish, we hardly knew ye. Oh newly reliable Brown and old steady Blake, how thou hast teased us. Regression to the mean is an ugly phrase, but it means so much. Then again, who would be truly happy if this Lakers team defied the narrative of every Lakers team ever and emerged Terminator like out of the mist, perfectly formed and ready to ruthlessly murder on the way to 79-2?
Would Denver Tyrone Foster exist if there was nothing to remark on, if everything was remarkable?
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Even if one grants that Indiana is a potential playoff team, this is still one of the worst losses of the year. Pau was neutralized by a center who this author saw play at Georgetown, by play I mean he looked like a tall kid shoved out to the middle of the floor for the wolves to feast on, desperately miming what a basketball player was supposed to do and hoping nobody would notice. The bench did not earn their pay, excepting Barnes. Brown routinely blew assignments and Bryant wasn't exempt either. LO was good at least. Fisher should start preparing for the snide remarks now. Luke should've played more. The Pacers finally won in Staples Center.
But please, don't call this a 'skid.'
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