I think some of you are losing sight of the objective. Yes, developing young players are important. But we need to win games too. So we have to balance our long-term (development) and short-term (winning) targets. Ideally, you'd want to do both simultaneously, but if it came down to choosing, I'd take winning every goddam time. If that meant benching Russell and starting Clarkson at PG, so be it. "We're not making the playoffs" or "this season is a lost cause anyway" may be your reasoning for prioritizing the development of rookies. That is a loser's mentality. It's not just about developing their skills or building chemistry. You have to teach them the sacrifices and intricacies of what it takes to win. Look how timid and tentative Russell looks out there for being gift-wrapped a starting spot he doesn't deserve. If I were Byron I would tell him to man the F up and bench his arse. And I'm not kidding.
I'd still put Clarkson at the 2 guard, with Huertas as the 1. Mainly because neither Russell nor Huertas can play the 2 effectively. Hell Huertas may even wave Kobe off a couple times a game.
So tell me who do you start in place of Russell? Williams - a tweener. Not a true point guard and too small to play the two. Will get eaten alive on the defensive end. Huertas - Guy looks like a solid backup point guard, but he hasn't shown an ability to shoot the ball and give Kobe, Randle, and Clarkson the room to operate. Clarkson is terrific, but he's not a true point guard. You keep putting all this blame on Russell, but there is no offensive system right now. Scott is playing him off the ball too much. Do you honestly think benching him for an inferior player helps the Lakers win games? I don't see it.
Russell is still playing off the ball. Why? Because we have no offensive system or sets. We have some success with pick and rolls with Russell and Black in the last game and in the next game hardly ran any. When Russell started to get a rhythm he was pulled.
Hmm, where did I put any blame on Russell? Don't jump to conclusions. I don't put blame on rookies. This is more about who to play as starters. Russell clearly looks tentative and doesn't seem ready to contribute to immediate wins. I don't like that our starters are blowing leads in the 1st quarter and we may need to shake things up. Unfortunately for Russell he is the odd man out because every other starter is playing better than him, and you can't bench Kobe. And saying Lou is inferior to Russell is ridiculous. He is a proven NBA talent and a reigning 6th man of the league. "Getting eating alive on the defensive end" is what is happening to Russell. Or have you missed the last 3 games?
Have you? Russell was hardly on Rubio and Rondo if that's what you're referring to. Lou Williams is a terrific SIXTH MAN I never denied that, but you cannot start him. I love the guy, but let's be real he's a chucker and he already has been. He makes a lot of difficult shots, but we don't need another guy who won't move the ball on the starting unit. Russell clearly needs to be more aggressive, but the ball also needs to be in his hands more. How can he not contribute to wins if he has the ball more? With his superb court vision and his ability to make plays and get players easy shots absolutely will contribute to wins. Yeah we need to try and win, but benching Russell doesn't help us accomplish that. These young guys including Russell need that experience, they need to develop, and benching him doesn't accomplish that either. Let him, Clarkson, and Randle play together and learn how to play with one another.
@Lakers2015 Like I said, if we can win and develop players simultaneously that would be great, but we're not winning. So we need to change things. OK? Next --- firing Byron or benching Russell --- which is more likely to happen? We all know about Byron's ineptitude, but why keep beating a dead horse when nothing's likely to change? Benching Russell doesn't mean replacing him with a guard. In fact I'm in favor of plugging in a SF. That may rejuvenate Kobe. I'm sick of losing and we may have to mix things up a bit.
The starting unit needs less Kobe, Clarkson trying to force the issue, and more Russell with the ball in his hands and Kobe and Clarkson using screens to get open. Randle can do whatever the hell he wants because that boy is a beast, and Hibbert should be there to miss those gimmes.
i'm still not getting why anyone thinks Russell hasn't earned his spot. he's clearly our best true PG. the problem is he isn't being utilized properly and Kobe is as big of a black hole as i've seen his entire career. i never thought i'd see the day when I cringe every time Kobe gets the ball. How is a 19 year old NOT going to be tentative when he gets pulled every time he makes a single mistake? Heck, he gets pulled every time he makes a couple good plays too.
So I think it's a foregone conclusion that Clarkson will be getting his $$$ this offseason. I'm thinking like Chandler Parsons money.
Dude is legit, constantly attacking and taking good shots and making them at a good rate. He's honestly our best player right now.
Rock solid from preseason until now. Thick too. Seriously though, he was PG at first and did well, then he was asked to go back to SG and he does no problem. Finds his spots, Russ sets him up a few times, doesn't miss a beat. I liked that one play where he probed toward the lane, constantly looking around for a play, who was moving, saw nothing, so he took the smart shot from the corner of the FT line, drained it. Playing so poised and efficient. Defense could use work, but on this team that goes for everyone.
SPECTACULAR offensive game tonight. Simply beautiful to watch. Agreed with Weezy, though, he needs to really get sharper on that defensive end.
This team isn't winning games regardless who is playing because of the terrible team defense ...so develop the young players ... to have a chance to win games later
I don't think playing Russell 35 minutes versus 28 minutes will have a meaningful impact in expediting his development. Look at how much Randle developed after the injury and Clarkson after playing in the D League. I don't think it really matters. When he's ready to blossom he will. Something needs to click in his head it seems. We should focus on trying to win games because Russell will develop regardless of his playing time.
It's not only a question of minutes number but also a question to put him in the right conditions and schemes ... still playing during the money time is an important and needed experience . Each time one of our three prospects isn't playing down the stretch , it's a loss ... added to the actual one... We're 0-4 despite playing "vets"/better players over DA in the clutch
