Machiavellian said:
Why keep Caruso's when you basically just replaced him for less money and did not have to go into a bidding war. I am not dismissing the stats, I am saying that if you only look at the stat sheet but not the win losses you only tell part of the story. The key point is that the Lakers without LB and AD would never have made it to the playoffs so they decided to go after another person who can score when both or one are down. Will this work, who the hell knows but until we see how they work together its all just a bunch of opinions. The thing is, the team was able to get Russ and also pretty much keep players who shoot above 38% from the 3 which is pretty standard for any team in the NBA at this point in time. With no cap room, they still have the ability to spread the floor with the current talent of LB and Russ who need floor spacers. Yes, its great to have individual defensive players but its the defensive scheme and how players communicate and work together that really matters. Its the coach scheme to understand what the offense is trying to do and either take away their main option or have less capable people handle and shoot the ball. Really how many iso defensive systems do you see in the NBA. Lets not just look at the Playoffs, do not forget before AD and LB got hurt during the regular season they limped into the playoffs. If it was not for their start before the All Star break, they would have been sitting at home. Yeah, I knew you were being facetious with Korver but to be honest when you brought up his name, I was like "Hey, what the hell is Korver doing and then I was thinking didn't he retire". Lol, I thought that was an interesting article. Personally, I really do not care if LA ever gets another championship, my team is Miami which by all intent have made great moves and I see them in the championship dance. My basic opinion on the Lakers is that they can make it work with Russ. I believe they have the right tools and this will allow LB mins to decrease which is something I believe he wants. Does that mean they will be a championship team, I do not care, but I believe they should be interesting to watch with all these old heads running up and down the court for 80+ games. | 
