First Quarter Report Card

The first quarter of the NBA season is over and I think we can all agree that the Lakers as a team passed with flying colors.  On an individual level… not so much.  Time to go school teacher on the Laker roster and grade the performance of everyone on the roster:

Straight A’s on the report card?  Even the Lakers aren’t that good.

Ron Artest: Ron-Ron’s statistics don’t look that great, but it is pretty clear that he is doing exactly what the Lakers asked him to and that is to toughen up the defense and toughen it he did.  Right now, the Lakers are currently the second most efficient defense in the entire league, just barely trailing the Boston Celtics.  Defense is a team effort, but it is hard to argue that Artest hasn’t helped them turn the corner from a good defense to a great defense.  As for offense, though his point totals remain Artest is definitely coming around, but he is shooting the lights out from three lately and that is really all the Lakers need. – GRADE = B+

Shannon Brown: I seem to be the lone critic of ShanWow!, but know that my critique of his game isn’t out of hatred but out of love.  I REALLY want Shannon to be good, but he just does some truly bone-headed things every time I start to think he is putting it altogether.  His defense has been solid but unspectacular and he gets out of control on offense sometimes, but for the most part, Brown is a nice bench player and he definitely gets credit for all the show-stopping dunks. – GRADE = B-

Kobe Bryant: Breaking news, Kobe is still freaking awesome.  Kobe has infused a dynamic post-up game into his offensive repertoire and is now second in the league in scoring and shooting almost 50% from the field, which is simply bonkers for someone who shoots as much as he does and is nearly always double-teamed.  Moreover, he is setting an example for everyone else by not letting his motivation waver.  Even though he doesn’t have the hunger for a fourth ring anymore, the Mamba is as focused and deadly as ever.  Heck, he even seems like he is having fun out there on a nightly basis.  – GRADE = A+

MVP anyone?

Andrew Bynum: Bynum is going to be an All-Star, there are no two ways about.  However, he hasn’t fully arrived just yet.  Most nights, Drew is excellent, but every four or five games, he just doesn’t seem to care about anything but scoring and ceases to look to pass and only grabs rebounds that happen to bounce straight into his hands.  Still, that is really all there is to complain about when it comes to Bynum right now and that is a great thing for the Lakers. – GRADE = A-

Jordan Farmar: Farmar has salvaged his grade in the last two weeks, but he still isn’t exactly the head of the class just yet.  If he had been playing like this all season he might actually be a threat to steal the starting gig from Derek Fisher, but for now he is going to have to keep grinding it out off the bench.  A few more weeks of consistent play might get that conversation going, but consistency and Farmar are not two terms that are often associated together. – GRADE = C+

Derek Fisher: Fisher’s list of accomplishments this season include a clutch three-pointer in the final seconds against the Heat last week.  That is the end of the list, everything else that Fisher has done has been utter disappointment.  He can’t shoot anymore and his defense has been worst than ever.  If he was any other player on the Laker roster, fans would be calling for his head, but because he has such a storied history of heroics for the franchise, nobody says anything.  Well, I’m saying something.  Fisher blows. – GRADE = F

Pau Gasol: Pau should hurt himself more often because since coming back from his tweaked hammy, he has looked better than ever.  He’s been much more aggressive on offense and displayed an impressive array of moves both in the paint and away from the hoop.  His totals aren’t eye-popping, but a real argument could be made that no big man is playing better than Gasol right now.  Still, I do have to penalize him a bit for missing so many games, that is the only reason he doesn’t get an A+. – GRADE = A

Who knew that an injury was the way to unlock Gasol’s inner beast?

DJ Mbenga: Mbenga is always just Mbenga.  He didn’t really hurt the Lakers at any point when he was part of the rotation, but with the exception of his rebounding during his two starts, he didn’t exactly help them win either.  – GRADE = C+

Adam Morrison: So much for Ammo being used as sharp-shooting specialist.  Morrison has actually gotten into a fair number of games and not just in garbage time, but he has done absolutely nothing to earn any additional minutes going forward.  Morrison has shot poorly, which is really too bad because the Lakers need someone off the bench to help spread the floor.  Expect him to be on the inactive list every night once Luke Walton is healthy. – GRADE = F

Lamar Odom: Phil Jackson said it best about Odom this year, “Sometimes I just don’t know what he is doing out there.”  On one hand, Odom has anointed himself the de facto playmaker of the second unit and has done well in that role.  He is also a consistent presence on the glass.  On the other hand, he seems as if he developed an allergy to going to the rim.  All of the sudden LO thinks he is a long-range bomber, jacking up 2.6 threes per game, making only 30% of them.  He now takes just five two-point shots per game and almost never gets to the line.  If he wants to be a playmaker, fine, but he shouldn’t just ignore scoring, especially with the uneven performance the bench mob has been handing in all season long.  – GRADE = C-

I know, Lamar, I don’t know what you are doing either.

Josh Powell: Everyone forgets about J-Peezy and that is a damn shame.  He never does anything flashy, but he held his own filling in for Pau Gasol during the first few weeks of the season.  He’ll never be a starter or anything, but he knows his limitations and does what he can within those limitations.  That’s really all you can ask from a role player like him.  It is just too bad that he is pretty much out of the rotation altogether now that Pau is healthy. – GRADE = B

Sasha Vujacic: Apparently Vujacic is Slovenian for “epic fail.”  Let’s just say that when you are slumping so badly that the only thing you can think to do to break out of said is slump is to cut your hair, then you are probably having a terrible season. – GRADE = F

Luke Walton: Luke with a back injury?  Shocking.  Clearly Walton wasn’t at 100% in the nine games he did appear in, so let’s be nice and withhold judgment for the time being. – GRADE = Incomplete

Tags: Adam Morrison, Analysis, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Josh Powell, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Sasha Vujacic, Shannon Brown