D'Antoni to Kobe, "We had a good start before your return, cancer."

[irishock]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- After Kobe Bryant (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/110/kobe-bryant) downplayed the Los Angeles Lakers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/lal/los-angeles-lakers)' modest success in going 10-9 without him, saying Monday, "It's not like we were gangbusters before," coach Mike D'Antoni came to the defense of Bryant's teammates."I have to disagree with that," D'Antoni said after Tuesday's shootaround in advance of the Lakers' game against the Phoenix Suns (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/phx/phoenix-suns). "We were 6-2 in the last eight [games before Bryant's return] and I thought we played extremely well, winning three [in a row] on the road. ... So, that's not quite right. I'm really proud of what the guys did."
Whether the difference in opinion has more to do with Bryant's elevated standards as a five-time champion than it does with him disparaging his teammates is open to interpretation. But even D'Antoni had some critical remarks for the team Tuesday.

"We're back to square one in figuring out the best combinations with Kobe in the lineup, how that works and who plays off of who better," D'Antoni said. "It will take a few games to sort that out, but in the meantime we need to win and we need to play hard, and if we do that, it will take care of itself."
One of the players who struggled to find his rhythm in Bryant's return was Steve Blake (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1994/steve-blake), as he failed to register five assists or more for just the fifth time all season (finishing with four) and also scored fewer than five points for just the third time (finishing with three on 1-for-6 shooting) against the Toronto Raptors (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/tor/toronto-raptors).
"It will be a little bit of a challenge, but I was [playing off the ball] in the beginning of the year when [Steve] Nash (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/592/steve-nash) was playing," Blake said. "I'm going to have to try to get comfortable with that situation again, hopefully sooner than later."
Now the Lakers go back about their business of reintegrating Bryant and seeing if they can indeed start playing like gangbusters with him back.
"It's difficult," D'Antoni said. "If it was anybody else it would be kind of tragic if you had to, but it's Kobe Bryant. We're happy to do this. It's just the necessary process that we have to go through."

....

[Michael Jordan.]

Boiled down, Kobe is a loser. He loses games.

[Katherine Robinson]

Kobe Bryant is saving the tank job, Lakers are winning when they have to be losing. Kobe is earning that 30m

[irishock]

Lakers get a top 5 pick and Kobe gets to stat pad some more, good for both sides imo

[Clipper Nation]

At least Pringles knows how to boil it down, tbh....

[Katherine Robinson]

Lakers get a top 5 pick and Kobe gets to stat pad some more, good for both sides imo

Exactly, why bother trying when you would struggle for a 7-8 seed and be swept once again.

[CitizenDwayne]

Damn...that "gangbusters" comment is low even for Kirby. Way to crush team morale.

[Spur-Addict]

Damn...that "gangbusters" comment is low even for Kirby. Way to crush team morale.

Yeah, that's his punk ass way of saying, "It's not like they would accomplish anything major without me"


(Aside from team basketball tbh)

[Thebesteva]

Boiled down, Kobe is a loser. He loses games.

He's like Terrell Owens since 2010

[DMC]

Exactly, why bother trying when you would struggle for a 7-8 seed and be swept once again.

Lakers just won the ring in 2010. They don't get to tank a couple years later because they didn't make the Finals last year. Otherwise, sure, give back season ticket money and proclaim you're not competing to win. The self-entitlement Lakers fans feel is amazing.

[HarlemHeat37]

Winning is more difficult when you don't have the best frontcourt in the league, tbh..

[RsxPiimp]

Man, that's why I love Kobe. He doesn't sugar coat it. :lol

I understand Mike D'Antoni is happy with 500 ball but in L.A. where you're measured with how many championships you bring, a feel good story that wins 50% of the time ain't gonna cut it.

[DMC]

Man, that's why I love Kobe. He doesn't sugar coat it. :lol

I understand Mike D'Antoni is happy with 500 ball but in L.A. where you're measured with how many championships you bring, a feel good story that wins 50% of the time ain't gonna cut it.

You got it backwards. Kobe was downplaying the Lakers season thus far to boost himself. Only a faggot would see it any other way.

[RsxPiimp]

You got it backwards. Kobe was downplaying the Lakers season thus far to boost himself. Only a faggot would see it any other way.

They are playing 500 ball and out of the playoff spot even before Kobe returned, downplay what you fuckin farmer:lol

Playing with heart and hustle is nice, that is if you're writing a script for a movie. Champions like Kobe, are all about reality, and the reality is he's playing with scrubs and rejects most teams doesn't want. Spin that shit grumpy.

[Spur-Addict]

Winning is more difficult when you don't have the best frontcourt in the league, tbh..

Pretty much this

[ElNono]

Man, that's why I love Kobe. He doesn't sugar coat it. :lol

I understand Mike D'Antoni is happy with 500 ball but in L.A. where you're measured with how many championships you bring, a feel good story that wins 50% of the time ain't gonna cut it.

That makes no sense. Why did they throw that boatload of cash to the has-been if they're looking for championships?

[Cry Havoc]

One more nail in the coffin of the most overrated player of all time.

[Clipper Nation]

Champions like Kobe, are all about reality
If that was the case, Kirby wouldn't be making $50 mil, tbh :lol

[DMC]

That makes no sense. Why did they throw that boatload of cash to the has-been if they're looking for championships?

Fair question that won't be answered truthfully by Lakers fans. The answer would probably be that the Lakers are redefining themselves as a business 1st organization, an entertainment company, not a competitive sports company. Competition is expensive, but you can keep a face for relatively cheap. 48m for two years isn't really that expensive if they don't pay anyone else anything. They have the TV contract, and likely Kobe's 2 year coincides with the TV deal. That's my opinion.

[spurraider21]

i think the TV deal goes beyond these 2 years, if i'm not mistaken

[Rogue]

Agree with KR, the one who's imparing the Lakers tanking job is MVPau and they have every reason to throw him under the bus while continuing to worship Kobe, giving him 30m this season and another 50m for the next two seasons which he all deserves.

[Katherine Robinson]

Lakers just won the ring in 2010. They don't get to tank a couple years later because they didn't make the Finals last year. Otherwise, sure, give back season ticket money and proclaim you're not competing to win. The self-entitlement Lakers fans feel is amazing.

If you have a potential high pick in a very appealing draft, you typically tank if you're not in place to actually compete. The Lakers won in 2010 on a different roster for the most part, with a much younger core in NBA years.

Fans come to see competitive games, but tanking doesn't mean you outright lose every game - rather you underperform. A franchise who is about to lose their star player to retirement is keen to consider the future and the upcoming draft is an ideal opportunity to replace their star player. Season of tanking is little impact on a the draw the Lakers have on the LA market and there is no guarantee a franchise will do its best to win a championship,

The Lakers are a franchise, not a bastion of fan entertainment.

[DMC]

i think the TV deal goes beyond these 2 years, if i'm not mistaken

Yes it's a 20 year deal, which is why I didn't use the word "concurrent".

[Dex]

:lmao Days Of Our Lives shit going on in LA.

[Baseline]

Nobody likes playing with K. Bryant. Not even scrubs who are just glad to be in the league. Bryant makes NOBODY better.

[Baseline]

Damn...that "gangbusters" comment is low even for Kirby. Way to crush team morale. Nothing new. He's been doing it for 15 years, but Laker fans are so stupid that they still love the guy.

[DMC]

Lakers going to go tits up now. Kobe basically shitting on their first 20 games by saying he's not concerned with disrupting chemistry, since they weren't doing so well anyhow. They were doing better than he was this time last year.

He's the best at building lasting trust amongst teammates and cultivating friendships.

I called him out on it before Mike did.

[RsxPiimp]

You guys are really judging this in a small ass sample?:lol


Wait for several games and let's see how he acclimates himself in the system. Kobe played so well yesterday against the Suns, even holding his opponents to 4 pts while force feeding Gasol to get his confidence up since he's been so shitty.


I know you guys are trolling but you can't be serious about this :lol

[HI-FI]

sometimes I overdo it with the Rapist hate, but even I was surprised by the "gangbusters" comment. It's hard to think of a more selfish or narcissistic player in any sport.