I don't expect any defense from him but I like his touch around the basket and his midrange jumpshot.
As others have said before here, I'm happy to have him. He will bring you the effort and can hold his ground at PF. More so he's one more good influence on Randle besides Kobe. Working out with him every day will help JR in the long haul. Booz will only be here this year (I doubt we resign him) and will work as hard as he can to get paid. So it's a win-win for us. I like his attitude and in the interviews he sounds like he really enjoys being here with the Lakers.
One thing no one will have to tell him is that he needs to get more arc on the ball. He is not on Jermaine Jones' level from many years ago, but getting there.
Boozer finally had a good game tonight, was nice to see. He was aggressive on offense and defense, 6 steals, gotta love that.
The Boozer signing was a good one given how little we had to pay him. Had he gone to Cleveland people would be praising them for adding a veteran presence. Comes to the Lakers and he is absolute garbage. Ultimately, I want him coming from the bench and Randle starting, but I liked the signing at the time and still do.
Great game from Booz. I don't expect him to play as well as that every game, but I would like to see more of that all around effort and hopefully more of that offensive success. He played both ends and that was huge for us.
I know what you mean, but if Pau stays healthy......Yeah. We beat him up again last year for his performances a lot...... until toward the end of the season, but once again he was battling bleep with this time it being plantar fasciitus (sp?) which is no joke once you have it. Defense, though and putting a body on guys down low, like Pau did in our two championship years, maybe Boozer is better at that now? Real nice game from Booz last night!!
I dig what Carlos brings. He's a more consistent option at PF while Randle works through the kinks. I have to assume the coaching staff has asked him to use his hands more defensively because he's not really an athlete at this point in his career.
What Pau WAS good for was being a player who could effectively create his own shot, in the post. That went away, and defenders easily pushed him out of the paint and took that away from him. He started settling for jumpers which he wasn't hitting consistently, he became even slower and could not get back on defense far too often, and he was often boxed out on rebounds. Boozer isn't the same creator as Pau, but he's definitely a complimentary PF. He's an experienced PF who excels in the pick and roll. Pretty consistent jumper, great at attacking the basket, though not an above the rim guy. Doesn't need the ball to be effective, and he still has some legs left to get up and down the court. Defense is not his calling card, but he's still a strong guy and definitely goes after boards. Between Hill/Davis and Boozer, they clean up the defensive boards fairly well.
I think overall we'd get a little more offense/rebounding from Pau and a little less defense. I like that the coaching staff has showed Boozer how to be more effective defensively without trying to be a rim protector. Pau was actually a decent help defender, albeit not great for his size. Boozer has shown he has very good hands and can disrupt passes in the lane. I think Pau would give us a similar output from Boozer IF Pau was at his healthiest mentally. Unfortunately Pau had all but lost his edge here. He would give us a consistently below average performance and wonder why he wasn't doing more. Boozer has a much healthier mentality here. He's more confident and therefore more effective. Overall, I think Boozer gives us more, but only because Pau's time here was done.
I absolutely agree. It's not about talent, which Pau still has a lot more of than Booz at least on the offensive end. It's more what they do with it and the mentality they bring. Pau checked out three years ago (actually four to my counting because he was so out of it in Phil's last season). Booz is in a contract year and is hungry. And he's playing like it! He wants to prove his worth here and Pau would have just been basically playing out his last years at what he considered a "discount rate", and would have still harbored resentment for the Chris Paul trade and for D' Antoni's jerkiness towards him. It was OVER for Pau here. Booz wants to be here right now. Also of course I agree that while Booz is no great defender he puts in way more effort on that end than Pau has since our back to back championships. On top of that there is just no way at all that Pau's lazy style would have jived with Byron as head coach. Booz is in great shape and is willing to do the work that comes with Byron. Pau would not have been and I can't see him getting with that program at all. I'm actually glad Pau is in Chicago where I can root for him though. I still like Pau the person and I think he made the right choice to go to Chi Town where he can really contend in the East. I would have truly hated seeing him in a place like Houston or the Spurs where he would be a direct competitor. The Bulls have been my favorite Eastern conference team for some years now so I'm happy he's there playing under Thibs alongside Rose and Noah. Looking forward to them hopefully kicking butt on the Cavs and the new Miami.
You know I think if we'd gone directly from Phil to Byron, or even from Brown to Byron, Pau might have been saved. I think Byron's hard style would have been difficult for Pau, but the shock of a coach like that might have gotten him back on track. Byron has shown that he's willing to give the veteran player a chance to prove himself again. He's doing it with Boozer and he's been patient with Nash. I think he'd have been able to get Pau at least more in line with what the team needed than what Pau was doing. That being said, after D'Antoni it was just over. There was nothing Pau would give us after that and I don't necessarily blame him for that. I blame him for the lack of activity, but not for leaving. It was time. I'm with you on Booz though. He's got me pretty happy right now. His shot isn't always going to fall, but I really like what I'm seeing from him defensively right now and he's a pretty good rebounder still. He's already developing some good chemistry with Kobe and I like that a lot. Kobe is already trusting Booz around the rim offensively too. Booz has had his problems in the League, but I don't recall chemistry ever being one of them and I'm excited to feel that way about our team again.
^^ Yep, I agree with you on all of it realdeal. Byron directly might have been able to get Pau back on track but he was done after the D' Antoni treatment. Booz is going to try hard and I think he was an amazing pick up for the price tag. I like what he brings to the table for us and honestly I consider him a slight upgrade over Pau at this time for us because of what we discussed. Not in terms of talent, but overall attitude, energy, and effort. And I do think he'll be a good mentor for Randle as well.
Yeah if nothing else he'll show Randle how to consistently show the right energy out there. Boozer is twelve years deep in the NBA and he's still a guy who plays with fire and passion out there. Got to appreciate that.
Is it me, or does Boozer seem more motivated than he has been in awhile. I don't remember seeing this Boozer on the Bulls. It's like he's enjoying being out there, no pressure, and being a veteran presence. Love what I've seen from him so far.
I didn't watch him closely enough in Chicago to see a huge difference, but he certainly seems to be enjoying himself. I'm digging what he brings to a locker-room.
