Doubts

For the first time in over ten years, barring a spectacular the likes of which the Lakers have not had this year, it looks like the Purple and Gold will not be in the playoffs. Five straight losses, two games under five hundred and 3 1/2 games out of the 8th seed, making plans in late April and May will not be the same as preceding years.

Lamar Odom gets a C+. He , when all is said and done, was a disappointment. We knew we weren't getting fair market value for the traded center but at no point did we expect the level of inconsistency I feel these two players have brought to the table. Lamar has been a helluva rebounder. But his fadeaway layups when he attacks (using this word loosely) the hole (and the subsequent crying for a foul to the ref) were probably more harmful than his rebounding was helpful. Not to mention his early season propensity to shooting the 3 ball.

Caron Butler gets a C+. Caron "I'm guaranteed at least one charge per game" Butler had his highlights. But in lies the problem, he seemed entirely too eager to be a second Kobe on the team chasing Kobesque highlights when we could have used his good midrange jumper instead of missed layups or charges.

Chris Mihm gets a C-. Don't even want to give him a whole paragraph. I wanted to like him as much as I wanted to like the two above. But I can't. Weightroom. Two hands. Know when to foul. And lastly, weightroom.

Chucky Atkins was the highlight of our offseason pickups. Though he has faded the past couple of games, his jumper kept us in and won a lot of games for us this season.

Tierre Brown gets a C+. Has been a spark but often is the cause of turnovers due to simple bad decision making

Luke Walton gets a D+. Too hesitant to shoot. Could earn his way to more playing time if he was more willing to take an open shot.

Jumaine Jones B+. Good defense, great hustle. Probably the best pure shooter on the team.

Sasha Vuchachic gets a B-. In his limited minutes, he didn't turn the ball over, and made pretty good decisions when running the team in garbage minutes. Decent shooter.

Stanislav Medvedenko gets a B. If he could guard somebody, he would get 30 minutes a game. His midrange jumper is definitely needed. But his tendency to pick up quick fouls is a liability. Still I have feelings for Slava and know that all he needs is some other tangible to garner some playing time whether it's rebounder, passer, or defender.

Brian Grant gets a B. Despite his complete inability to block a shot, he could body up a player (read: Mihm -> weightroom) and didn't make a whole lot of mistakes. He wasn't the presence we needed in the lane but then again he wasn't exactly replacing the presence we needed in the lane. His baseline 15 footer was pretty consistent. His true weaknesses were more related to circumstances he couldn't control ie his missing knees....

Kobe Bryant gets a B+. You're probably expecting a whole diatribe here but no. He played well.

Vlade Divac and Devean George. I want their asses expelled. Particularly Devean George who was supposed to be back in November, then in January. Now it's the end of the season and this cat hasn't even played. Vlade was a mistake from the get go....salary cap handcuffs these two are!!