Who Is The Most Overrated Laker?
by JasonT on Aug 21, 2009 10:40 AM PDT
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PrintIt seems like the media and fan obsession with all things Lakers hypes marginal players into stars. Or turns guys who are superstars into messianic deities. Has there ever been an underrated Laker? Probably not. And now that they won the title last season, the hype train is in overdrive.
With that said, who on the current Laker roster is MOST overrated. Because all Lakers are overrated, you have to pick the one who is most overrated. My pick right now is Lamar Odom. That dude has a long history of disappearing during crucial games. And now that he had like 3 good games in the playoffs last season, he is all of a sudden a top 10 power forward in the game?
So who is it? Comment below, vote in the poll, or both.
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All of them.
I know less than half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
by haildablazer on Aug 21, 2009 10:46 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Rec.
My thoughts exactly.
My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.
by OCBlazerFan1 on Aug 22, 2009 7:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Morrison. That guy would be overrated if he were underrated.
by MiledAnimal on Aug 21, 2009 10:52 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
snap
I know less than half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
by haildablazer on Aug 21, 2009 12:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Bynum would be second choice
That guy is always supposed to be the beast that is going to be the “missing piece” of a new Laker dynasty. Yet, when they actually won the title, he was a very small and really insignificant contributor. The Lakers could’ve got a lot for Bynum a couple of seasons ago. Now they’d be lucky to get much in return for him.
bynum played like 30 great games.
it might be more of a love for bigmen than love for lakers as source of hype on him. or just both.
Phil Jackson
Kobe is the player and the coach on that team
Trade for Luis Amundson!!Do it KP!!
by CroRupt on Aug 21, 2009 11:17 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Give him some credit
Some teams snap under high expectations. Jackson’s teams rarely do, although they might be lackadaisical instead. I think it’s hard to be stressed when your coach is talking about frogs on lily pads in the middle of a championship.
by Epimenides on Aug 21, 2009 1:20 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Gotta Andrew Bynum
He’s had his injuries just like Greg Oden, but it’s insane how much L@ker fans hype him up and how much he gets paid. He’s still a player that wants to do too much in a team that already has enough scorers.
But then again, L@ker fans can say that about our Greg Oden.
The Kings have the best bench I’ve seen. There are easily 14 guys on this team good enough for every bench in the league. Now if we could only get some starters, I’d totally jizz in my pants.
Kings fan
They can?
I know less than half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
by haildablazer on Aug 21, 2009 12:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Its Kobe
He’s a phenomenal player— top 5 in the league— but he’s simply was not as good as LeBron, CP3 or Wade last year— he just had a far superior supporting cast to any of those guys.
I voted in the poll for Bynum but that was a mistake. Its Kobe.
by jksnake99 on Aug 21, 2009 11:59 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I voted for Odom...
but I can’t disagree with you.
Kobe is great. So it’s hard to think of him as overrated, but when he is constantly compared to Jordan (though that seems to have died down a bit) it just makes me roll my eyes. Kobe is not even close. You put Jordan in his prime on the Laker team they have now and it’s a dynasty.
I voted for Bynum
But I agree with you. I’m just sick of Bynum.
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
I went Bynum....
since all the Laker fans jumped off the Sasha bandwagon… that dude became a victim of his own hype.
Sasha, "the Machine" Vujacic
Seriously, this guy is not good enough to have a nick name.
Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?
Going with Bynum
Stat-stuffer for a few games, usually against poort teams, invisible man in big ones.
If there was ever an underrated Laker, it might have been Horace Grant. Like Battier, he was much better than his stats; though probably overrated in Chicago, just right in Orlando, then an oversight in LA. But he was their starting PF when they had their most dominant playoff run, probably a better indicator of that era’s teams’ strength than regular season record. Even when they won championships, their defense could be exploited by good teams, and could be pathetic against opposing forwards, except that year. Grant shored them up, but seemed to be considered just another, and lesser, supporting cog.
by Epimenides on Aug 21, 2009 1:04 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Ron-Ron
Tough guy, but no longer an elite defender…and he never was as good an offensive player as he thought he was (didn’t stop him from abusing us, but still).
by Hawthorne Wingo on Aug 21, 2009 1:36 PM PDT reply actions
to me he can guard the big threes but not the quick twos anymore.
the problem is the big threes just happen to be the main closers on lakers main competition. lebron/pierce.
Kobe Bryant
I am so sick of the Jordan comparisons, he just isnt on that level and I wish people would quit trying to put him there.
I voted for Fisher...
Under the theory that no one hypes or cares about hyping Ma-ma-machine or Luke or Morrison, who all put the YUCK in SUCK (Walton not quite as bad as the others, but you get the point).
Those voting for Bynum are as wrong as the Oden haters. Same exact deal with those two… Give him time, he’s shown signs of being a special player.
timbo
Confessed Laker Lover
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
by timbo on Aug 21, 2009 4:05 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Agree about Bynum
He shows development in spite of the injuries. Some nights he looks pretty intimidating out there and we better be ready for years of nasty battles in the paint between GO and Bynum.
My most overrated was almost Farmar but he has no heft; at least he can pass and dribble. That leaves the man that has choke written all over him, Sasha Vujacic. He must be relatively cheap to put on the floor.
Agree with you on Bynum and Odom
It’s hard to say Bynum is overrated, he has put up very solid numbers the last two seasons and has been truly dominant at times. The only two things missing from him becoming an all-star are more consistency and better health. He also is still just 21 years old, so it’s pretty reasonable to expect him to continue to improve.
Odom is very very good, sure he is flat out crazy and does some really stupid things on the basketball court, but I don’t question his talent or contributions. He is the definition of a nightmare matchup, he’s strong, he has a very good handle, he can shoot, he can create off the dribble for himself and for his teammates. He also rates extremely well in APM (sixth in the league) and WP48.
Although I do think K*be is overrated since he definitely isn’t the best player in the league (but he is top5), I went with Ron Artest. I think Artest is a SWAC on the offensive end and can only be effective on defense when he gets away with handchecks and/or pushing his guy around (the way he is officiated really really annoys me, nobody in the league gets away with that stuff!).
by WildlyRamified on Aug 21, 2009 8:27 PM PDT up reply actions
He said Bynum and Oden.
*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
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><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
In order:
Bynum (Has had probably MORE expectations than Oden gien the team he was on and his expected role… team performed WAY better w him on the bench, neer sees crunch time minutes, only tries if he’s getting touches (UNLIKE Oden))
Artest (a full-time 4 who thinks he has Kobe’s offensie game)
Kobe
Most underrated:
Gasol
Gasol
Gasol
Man, that guy’s better at basketball than he is ugly.
Do you really think Gasol is underrated?
He was in Memphis, but since he became a Laker he’s the “final piece” that got the L*kers a title. The guys got skills, but still plays soft at times. To me he’s a top-notch complimentary player who gets hyped as a star cuz he’s wearing purple now.
by 52therim on Aug 22, 2009 6:02 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
He has definitely improved his game
He would be a legit star anywhere.
He is as vital to LA as Kobe, IMO. A year ago, he was a very good player, but he went up a level this year.
I thought LMA would be owning him by 2010-11. For that to happen, LaMarcus will have to improve a lot.
"if Nate has Roy or Miller in the game at all times, that stagnation will turn into conflagration" -- two4larue
I agree w jscot
That that scouting report is a year behind the times. He legitimately got tougher and more clutch, two of the hardest ares for players (esp eterans) to improe because they are intangible. He was the most important player on this year’s Laker team and the reason they were a championship team this year on not last. He is the smoothest-moing 7 footer in the NBA by a wide margin and can do ANYTHING from the high post with ease
also
was the best player on a 50-win Memphis team. Isn’t that enough to make him a “star” before we consider what team he plays for?
Bynum is the most overrated player in the entire league.
Last summer, he was ranked higher than Roy among “under 23” NBA players according to the 4 letter network. lol
Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Rudy, Batum, Outlaw, Webster, Bayless, Blake, Miller, Joel... Holy crap!
BRoy was 24 last summer (after july 23rd)
"Goals are good. Plans are better." -Ben.
by Sabonis4Ever on Aug 23, 2009 3:21 AM PDT up reply actions
Here it is:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=Under23-Intro
Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Rudy, Batum, Outlaw, Webster, Bayless, Blake, Miller, Joel... Holy crap!
Wow!
That’s horrible. It’s also funny that Oden is ranked higher than Roy. All the rest you could at least make a case for.
Look at the link in the original post. Both Odom and Gasol are ranked as a top 10 power forwards. Gasol yes, but Odom….please!
Why is this even a topic of discussion on here?
I don’t give two hoots about anyone in purple and gold.
The magic # is 0!!!
Seriously…it has to be Ron Artest. I mean, the guy will heave up anything from anywhere and call it a shot. I was glad to see the Lakers get him and let Ariza go.
My first thought was that it had to be Bynum…but he’s not really overrated is he? In order to be considered overrated, people have to think pretty highly of you in the first place.
derek fisher
easy call for me. the guy plays like an absolute scrub for an entire season then hits 2 lucky threes and all of a sudden he’s mr. clutch unsung hero.
the lakers are horrible at point guard, just horrible. it’s about the only weakness they have but maybe it will cost them.
I'd feel hypocritical calling Bynum overrated,
considering that my hopes of Portland winning a title rest squarely on the centers of our own emo, oft injured big man. If we’re giving Oden a pass after his second year in the league because of all the time he lost due to injury, I don’t think it is quite right to call Bynum overrated in just his 5th year.
Odom, on the other hand, is overrated. Bigtime. He isn’t really a glue guy like Shane Battier is in the sense that Battier’s contributions towards winning go beyond what he contributes statistically. Odom’s contributions, on the other hand, are his box score, and nothing but. He ought to be a 5×5 threat, or at least a triple double threat, a la LeBron. But often Odom is more Joe Smith than LeBron James.
"B-Roy is the best shooting guard I have played against"
-Ron Artest
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