There have been two big surprises since I last wrote about the Lakers:
First, here's what I said about Luke Walton:
I feel Luke over Vlad is a big win, except for one thing- teams are scared of Vlad's shooting. It's convenient that Vlad's a little injured, because I think the goal is to get Luke as much playing time as possible, without revealing to the rest of the league that he's better than Vlad is.Well, Luke is still starting, he looks awesome, and would definitely get my homer vote for most improved player.
The second is related (in that Vlad has stayed in the second unit) and it's that the Lakers look so deep right now. For one thing, they're doing well without their best two centers (Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown) and their second-best player (Lamar Odom). But more importantly, even after the promotions to cover for injuries, the second squad is playing incredibly.
Take a look at the Lakers' top five-player combinations (also unsorted at 82games). The Lakers most common second unit has the best plus/minus on the team. This doesn't mean those guys should be starting, but it does indicate that they're dominating their counterparts on the other teams (and in some cases squads with starters in them).
Also worth noting on that list is that the third place plus/minus has a couple of starters, but not Kobe, which is a huge step up: last year he was in each of the top ten floor units. Finally, I said last time I wanted to minimize having a rookie point-guard and a sophomore center, looks like that backup unit has proved me wrong.
So even though I wasn't a huge fan of the Vlad signing, he's been a big part of the second unit's success, and considering that group has basically won a couple of games by themselves recently, I can think of worse ways to spend the mid-level exception.
And man, it's been a great season to watch so far. If only the guy
from the Sonics' front office would stop calling to sell me more
tickets; I keep telling him I only come to the Lakers games!
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