The Laker’s 5 starters average 95.5/ppg, against the Bulls they scored 59 points. Granted, the bench did not do the same job defensively but that will improve when Gibson joins the bench as Boozer joins the starters.

@dengsucks, give it up. With out Deng the Bulls would not be doing what they are doing. He is a top 10 SF and is paid like a top ten SF. Right now he is filling the role as the second scoring option and has responded in a spotty fashion. But let’s remember that his intended role is the third scoring option after Rose and Boozer. He will fill that role admirably and be a major factor on defense and that is how the Bulls were intentionally constructed. The front line will have a big time scorer (Boozer) and two solid scorers (Deng & Noah) with two above average defenders (Deng & Noah) sandwiching an average defender (Boozer).

I am okay with this 7 point loss to a Top 3 team in their building.

Besides the defensive mismatches, the other key to the game last night was Pau’s fourth quarter defense. We could not score in the paint, even though Lakers had Barnes and Bryant at the forward spots. That left us shooting jumpers, and we couldn’t make them.

When you look at Bogans & Brewer you see grunt payers. When you look at Korver, you hope for something better than that with the jumpshot he has and the speed coming off of screens. Where was that last night?

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/22017/stackhouse-on-heat-release-no-complaints

Agreed that Shannon Brown would have been a better choice at the 2 than Brewer for the long-term. My problem with Bogans and Brewer is that they have extremely overlapping skill sets. They are both strong defenders; Bogans is a moderately better shooter (not saying much); and Brewer is bigger and can finish better around the basket. Like you said, Brown has a much more complete offensive game. And he would’ve come about 2 million cheaper than Brewer. He’s got a player option for only 2.3 million for the 2011-12 season, while Brewer has 4.7 million guaranteed for that season.

I imagine the Lakers will try to lock him up as the 2 for the post-Kobe era, but we might still have a shot at him with his Chicago ties. Combined with the other pieces we have for 2012-13 and beyond, I’d like our shot in the Eastern Conference with the homegrown backcourt of Rose and Brown.

But, returning from my daydream about the future, I have a question for Matt. Do you think we’ll see a lineup with Deng at the 2 and Gibson at the 3 once Boozer gets healthy? We’d lose (a tiny bit of) 3 point shooting, but Deng, Gibson, and Boozer can all space the floor with their strong medium-range shooting. Plus, that would be a hell of a team for defense and rebounding.