OMG Rockets......

[traitoravery]

SUCKK!!!!! Yao looks old and crippled. What Happened to the dominating Yao and the unstoppable T-Mac. :dizzy :dizzy :dizzy

[Tigole Bitties]

too slow and plodding against the Suns

[Tigole Bitties]

McGrady shooting 7-25 and Barbosa having a career night doesn't help either.

[leemajors]

yao is just coming off a major injury, and playing the 2nd night of a b2b.

[traitoravery]

It looked like he was limping all night. If you are limping should you play? Maybe he needs a couple more weeks to rest his leg. They just did not look good at all.

[DOMINATOR]

all 3 games so far against the suns are back to back games for the rockets while the suns have 3 days of rest
JVG should have put Snyder on Barbosa in the 2nd half. big athletic guard would have slowed him down. instead JVG wanted to play catch up ball and jack up 3s all night while Rafer and Tmac bricked em.
Yao had big night last night, 37 pts etc... expected a slow game from him

[JMarkJohns]

Yao has never played well against the Suns. Never. As long as the Suns run length and athleticism at him for 40 minutes, he'll always struggle. He's just not quick enough to react with certainty on any move or pass. He's on system overload awaiting the next swarm or doubleteam or blindside flopper to know just what to do in any given situation. Way too tentative to succeed in such helter skelter surroundings.

[ca®lo]

u do realize yao's coming back from an injury right?

[JMarkJohns]

Yeah, but like I said, he's rarely been able to do much against the Suns under D'Antoni. A few solid games, maybe a good game or two, but in three years, the Suns own the Rockets and Yao probably averages around 12/15 ppg, 6/9 rpg...

[Purple & Gold]

Granted I only saw the first half, but I did not see the Suns take Yao out of the game. I keep hearing this from Suns fans. I don't watch all the Suns/Rockets matchups so I can't speak for the past. But last night in the first half I saw the offense running through Yao and running well through him. If he's not shooting it, he's making a good pass. He did have an off night scoring and his defense was a little late especially when Barbosa was laying it up (not all his fault). But he looked like he was in the flow of the game no problem. Even if he doesn't get the board, he's the reason why the Rockets rebound it. What I did see is that McGrady had a bad shooting night and the rest of the Rockets are not really that good. I'm still wondering why they made that trade for Battier. He's a good player, but a number 8 pick was way to much for him.

[DOMINATOR]

I think its obvious that T-Mac has A.I. syndrome. He's a great explosive fun to watch player but he doesn't make his teammates around him better and he doesn't work well with bigs.

On paper the Rockets should be a lot better even despite the injury. They have some savvy vets and solid role players but the chemistry with this team has sucked ever since T-Mac came aboard.

nice to see you only watched yesterdays game,if that, and nothing before that. he is the best decision maker on the rockets and top 5 in the league. he leads the team in assists.

[RonMexico]

nice to see you only watched yesterdays game,if that, and nothing before that. he is the best decision maker on the rockets and top 5 in the league. he leads the team in assists.

I agree - that douche had no idea what he was talking about... T-Mac has completely carried the team this year and he's averaging a career high in assists to prove it.

And for that other dumbfuck ripping on Battier, T-Mac is probably averaging that many assists because he can pass to good players like Shane Battier and not some worthless No. 8 pick from last year's weak draft.

[Purple & Gold]

And for that other dumbfuck ripping on Battier, T-Mac is probably averaging that many assists because he can pass to good players like Shane Battier and not some worthless No. 8 pick from last year's weak draft.
Only a dumb ass would trade the #8 pick for Battier. (And Ron just proved to us that he is one) You do realize that it's a #8 pick right? Battier will never be an all-star while a #8 pick (I don't care how weak the draft is) has a damn good possibility of being one. Since you only think short-term you might want to find another sport to try to comment on. Next time keep your opinions to yourself and you won't sound like such an idiot.

[RonMexico]

Only a dumb ass would trade the #8 pick for Battier. (And Ron just proved to us that he is one) You do realize that it's a #8 pick right? Battier will never be an all-star while a #8 pick (I don't care how weak the draft is) has a damn good possibility of being one. Since you only think short-term you might want to find another sport to try to comment on. Next time keep your opinions to yourself and you won't sound like such an idiot.

Hmmm... All-Star or Olympian... which one would the intelligent person take? Oh, yeah - probably the future Olympic gold medalist.

[DOMINATOR]

Only a dumb ass would trade the #8 pick for Battier. (And Ron just proved to us that he is one) You do realize that it's a #8 pick right? Battier will never be an all-star while a #8 pick (I don't care how weak the draft is) has a damn good possibility of being one. Since you only think short-term you might want to find another sport to try to comment on. Next time keep your opinions to yourself and you won't sound like such an idiot.
that rookie would never get minutes from JVG and never develop and rockets want to win now while Yao and Tmac are still in their prime years instead of 3-4 years from now. battier is the perfect role player for the rockets only problem is he tends to disappear against the top teams of the league.

and dirties robbed me, thats fine thats your opinion but if you are counting any of the first games of the season its kind of off on grading T-mac because his back was killing him before he went to that doctor. now both are healthy again and expecting to do well in the playoffs.

[mabber]

Only a dumb ass would trade the #8 pick for Battier. (And Ron just proved to us that he is one) You do realize that it's a #8 pick right? Battier will never be an all-star while a #8 pick (I don't care how weak the draft is) has a damn good possibility of being one. Since you only think short-term you might want to find another sport to try to comment on. Next time keep your opinions to yourself and you won't sound like such an idiot.

If you think you have a chance to win this season and the next couple of seasons (which the Rockets should think with TMac & Yao) then trading a #8 pick for Battier is a no-brainer IMO. Plus, Battier is a great fit for that team.

[Purple & Gold]

Honestly how good do you guys think Battier is? He's a good defender, not a lock down defender. Good rebounder, not a great rebounder. Decent shooter. He does everything well and nothing great. He's an above average player IMO. Nothing great and not the difference maker between winning a Championship or not. The Rockets were not that close to winning the title were Battier is the difference. I feel the FO pushed the panic button way to early.

You also have to realize that when this trade was made there were also health questions. T-Mac has been injured the last couple of years. Why build around a Tracy McGrady with back issues. Luckily he's had his problems and now seems to be better. But the jury is still out on him, his back could flare up at anytime. Battier is not the missing piece for a Championship. And winning titles is the only thing that matters.

Let's say you keep Gay or make a move with that pick. (Trading down and drafting a PG, trying to move up in the draft, etc.) There's many things that could have done. No you will not be a better team this year and maybe not a better team next year. But by that 3rd year that rookie could very likely be a very solid player. Maybe even a fringe all-star type of player. I would rather have that than an above average SF, that does nothing great. The Rockets are missing that third piece, and Battier is not it. They were not that close to the title; when they have glaring holes at PG, a defensive PF, and no bench.

[Purple & Gold]

Hmmm... All-Star or Olympian... which one would the intelligent person take? Oh, yeah - probably the future Olympic gold medalist.
No that's what you and the Rocket FO would take. Neither of them being intelligent people IMO.

[DOMINATOR]

rockets are building more around Yao than T-mac. battier is a candidate for the DPOY so not sure how you can say he is an average defender.
as for the rockets not being close to a championship... injuries killed the season last year and we will see who goes farther in playoffs this year, lakers or rockets.

also why wait 2-3 season to develop a rookie when you can have a veteran and have a better chance to win in those seasons instead of waiting and risking career ending injuries to T-mac/Yao

in the long run Rudy Gay will probably have a better career than Battier but rockets wanted to win now...

[Purple & Gold]

rockets are building more around Yao than T-mac. battier is a candidate for the DPOY so not sure how you can say he is an average defender.
as for the rockets not being close to a championship... injuries killed the season last year and we will see who goes farther in playoffs this year, lakers or rockets.

also why wait 2-3 season to develop a rookie when you can have a veteran and have a better chance to win in those seasons instead of waiting and risking career ending injuries to T-mac/Yao

in the long run Rudy Gay will probably have a better career than Battier but rockets wanted to win now...
DPOY candidate, now that's a stretch. Don't get me wrong Battier is a good fit for any team. But DPOY candidate, that's heavy homerism. The days of 2 players winning a championship are over. And Tracy and Yao are not Shaq and Kobe. Even if they were healthy all year (which everybody in the world knew wouldn't happen) I still can't see them winning a title. I like them as spoilers, but nothing more. If you're happy with getting farther than the Lakers in the playoffs than you made a good trade. But if you wanna win Championships it was a stupid trade.

The fact is you can't win now. Unless you consider a second round/maybe third round (at best) exit winning. Maybe that's the difference between the Lakers and the rest of the league, we don't play to do well in the playoffs. We play to win the whole damn thing. And if we can't, we develop our team to win in the near future. That's why we didn't trade Bynum, when we could have had a whole host of players for him.

And the Rockets are not building around Yao. If they were they wouldn't have traded their lottery pick.

[Roxsfan]

DPOY candidate, now that's a stretch. Don't get me wrong Battier is a good fit for any team. But DPOY candidate, that's heavy homerism. The days of 2 players winning a championship are over. And Tracy and Yao are not Shaq and Kobe. Even if they were healthy all year (which everybody in the world knew wouldn't happen) I still can't see them winning a title. I like them as spoilers, but nothing more. If you're happy with getting farther than the Lakers in the playoffs than you made a good trade. But if you wanna win Championships it was a stupid trade.

The fact is you can't win now. Unless you consider a second round/maybe third round (at best) exit winning. Maybe that's the difference between the Lakers and the rest of the league, we don't play to do well in the playoffs. We play to win the whole damn thing. And if we can't, we develop our team to win in the near future. That's why we didn't trade Bynum, when we could have had a whole host of players for him.

And the Rockets are not building around Yao. If they were they wouldn't have traded their lottery pick.

the lakers winning days are in the past.
dominator has schooled you on his posts. :dizzy

[Purple & Gold]

the lakers winning days are in the past.
dominator has schooled you on his posts. :dizzy
Well I'm glad your happy with your team and the moves they have made. Fact is you can't win this year. Why trade a lottery pick for somebody that wont put you over the top? It's a stupid move.

As for the Lakers the winning days are never in the past. You should have already learned that by now.

[RonMexico]

Well I'm glad your happy with your team and the moves they have made. Fact is you can't win this year. Why trade a lottery pick for somebody that wont put you over the top? It's a stupid move.

As for the Lakers the winning days are never in the past. You should have already learned that by now.

Nice job trying to call out the Rockets' front office when you should probably be looking at Mitch Kupchak and figuring out why he hasn't pulled a deal to get a quality point guard in there to help your team out. 33-31 is pathetic based on all the praise that was showered on the Lakers early in the season. You probably think Kobe is the most important player on your team, but it's actually Lamar Odom. You probably also think the Lakers should develop rookie like Jordan Farmar or a young guy like Andrew Bynum rather than pull a trade for a guy that could help them right now.

On I realized that the inept front office in LA is your guide, it made your terrible posts about the Rockets so easy to understand.

[Roxsfan]

Well I'm glad your happy with your team and the moves they have made. Fact is you can't win this year. Why trade a lottery pick for somebody that wont put you over the top? It's a stupid move.

As for the Lakers the winning days are never in the past. You should have already learned that by now.


Keep thinking that..............laker's winning days left with shaq.

Shaq 1 ring post LA
Kobe 0 rings post shaq

Roxs have a good chance to do damage in the playoffs this yr...but the Suns look scarry to me......postseason will have some great games.

[Bob Lanier]

James Posey: 1 ring post Memphis
Pau Gasol: 0 rings post James Posey

[traitoravery]

^ :rollin :rollin :rollin

[Flopper]

DPOY candidate, now that's a stretch. Don't get me wrong Battier is a good fit for any team. But DPOY candidate, that's heavy homerism. The days of 2 players winning a championship are over. And Tracy and Yao are not Shaq and Kobe. Even if they were healthy all year (which everybody in the world knew wouldn't happen) I still can't see them winning a title. I like them as spoilers, but nothing more. If you're happy with getting farther than the Lakers in the playoffs than you made a good trade. But if you wanna win Championships it was a stupid trade.

The fact is you can't win now. Unless you consider a second round/maybe third round (at best) exit winning. Maybe that's the difference between the Lakers and the rest of the league, we don't play to do well in the playoffs. We play to win the whole damn thing. And if we can't, we develop our team to win in the near future. That's why we didn't trade Bynum, when we could have had a whole host of players for him.

And the Rockets are not building around Yao. If they were they wouldn't have traded their lottery pick.

The Rockets are just a good PG away.

You should worry about your Lakers before coming down on the Rockets.

Bynum? I'm sure there's alot of teams banking on the future...like say the Hawks, Bobcats, Sixers; those are the mentality of a lottery team.

[RonMexico]

The Rockets are just a good PG away.

You should worry about your Lakers before coming down on the Rockets.

Bynum? I'm sure there's alot of teams banking on the future...like say the Hawks, Bobcats, Sixers; those are the mentality of a lottery team.

Pretty much exactly what I said - he can't get his head out of Jerry Buss's ass long enough to realize it

That and he's now obsessed with the Kobe "witch-hunt"

[Purple & Gold]

Nice job trying to call out the Rockets' front office when you should probably be looking at Mitch Kupchak and figuring out why he hasn't pulled a deal to get a quality point guard in there to help your team out. 33-31 is pathetic based on all the praise that was showered on the Lakers early in the season. You probably think Kobe is the most important player on your team, but it's actually Lamar Odom. You probably also think the Lakers should develop rookie like Jordan Farmar or a young guy like Andrew Bynum rather than pull a trade for a guy that could help them right now.

On I realized that the inept front office in LA is your guide, it made your terrible posts about the Rockets so easy to understand.
So are you a Rockets fan or a Suns fan? Don't tell me you're one of those people that say they have multiple teams. :wtf

As for Mitch and Smush I have a dartboard with both of their pictures up on it. Everytime I think of Smush being our starting PG I break out the ol dartboard. But if it took Bynum to get a PG, no thanx. We'll take our lumps this year and wait it out. As for Lamar being the most important player on the team, if you're talking about that we need him to succeed than I will agree. He's inconsistent and we need a consistent Odom to succeed. We know what we're getting with Kobe. Now if you're trying to say that Odom is the best player on the Lakers, then you've been smoking way to many rocks. Just because he made Marion his bitch last year doesn't mean he's the best player on the team. Bringing up our record and calling it pathetic? It must be nice to conveniently forget that Odom, Kwame, Walton, Mihm, and Radmanovic have been hurt for extended periods of time this year. We usually have at least 2 of our starters hurt every game. Kind of hard to win a lot of games when you've been through the injuries we have this year. Farmar is trade bait, he will be moved for the right piece. Bynum will only be moved for a couple of players. He's as close to untouchable as you can get. As for trying to win now. If the move doesn't bring us a ring, we'd rather not do it. We have a nice young center that will be a force in this league. The Lakers play to win Championships, not just make a nice showing in the playoffs. Maybe you should have given the Rocket FO that memo.

[Purple & Gold]

The Rockets are just a good PG away.

You should worry about your Lakers before coming down on the Rockets.

Bynum? I'm sure there's alot of teams banking on the future...like say the Hawks, Bobcats, Sixers; those are the mentality of a lottery team.
Coming down on the Rockets? I made one observation about how I thought it was dumb to trade the #8 pick for Battier. I think it was a dumb move. I like Yao, he's one of my favorite players in this league. I think they should have built around him, instead of building around him and T-Mac. You must be a new Rockets fan and not understand that building a solid team is through the draft and not with quick fixes. Honestly, I expect more from Rocket fans. It's not like you haven't won a ring before.

[Purple & Gold]

Pretty much exactly what I said - he can't get his head out of Jerry Buss's ass long enough to realize it

That and he's now obsessed with the Kobe "witch-hunt"
Stick to commenting on your own team. You sound stupid when you talk about things you don't know.

[RonMexico]

I'm from Phoenix and not a Rockets fan, but I just can't figure out why you keep ripping on them so much when your teams are so alike. Let's break it down very quickly:

You say the Lakers are building around Kobe and Bynum... ok, Rockets are building around Yao and T-Mac... therefore, both teams' have a core of a playmaking swingman and dominant (or "future dominant" in Bynum's case) center.

Now, what other piece do they need to add in order to make it click?... well, the Lakers have Lamar Odom who was playing extremely well this year before his injuries - a guy that can pass, shoot and rebound... on the other hand, the Rockets have Shane Battier, a hustle guy who will get rebounds, play tough man-to-man defense, and knock down open jumpers.

Next, the Lakers have Luke Walton who really is coming into his own this year as a passer and shooter and the only other guy at his size and position that can pass like that is Boris Diaw... the Rockets do not have a similar counterpart for Walton because he is a rare commodity, but Houston also plays a different style with a slower pace, crashing the boards and defensive intensity. Therefore, a tough, hardworking bruiser like Chuck Hayes fits very well with this team and there's a reason he's taken over the starting duties from Juwan Howard: Van Gundy and the fans love his toughness and energy, much like I think the fans in LA have grown fond of Luke's abilities to "do the little things" and his expanded outside game.

Lastly, both teams are lacking at the point guard position with shoot-first streetballers starting for both squads: Smush Parker for the Lakers and Rafer Alston for the Rockets... both players are the biggest weaknesses on their respective teams and each FO hasn't been able to make the moves necessary to get the PGs they need. Also, both teams don't have much on the bench, although the Lakers have the edge because I think Farmar already is really good and will develop into a quality PG... the Rockets really have a shooting guard in Luther Head and an undersized and underskilled John Lucas III in reserve.

I can make more comparisons (i.e. tall, white PF that can shoot the 3 - Vlad for the Lakers and Steve Novak for the Rockets), but that's tedious... you get the point I'm trying to make. Therefore, I don't understand why you can rip on the Rockets for trading away a lottery pick in a draft that wasn't very deep for a proven guy who will fit right into their system. The Rockets have suffered their fair share of injuries to Yao and T-Mac this year, but they're still holding strong to the 5th spot. As long as Van Gundy is the coach, these are the types of players they will put into this system. Basically, both teams need better PGs, but those guys are scarce these days and can cost a lot in trades.

Maybe you should take some of your own advice and "stick to commenting on your own team." I may not watch the Lakers or Rockets a lot and know everything about them, but I definitely know basketball and I certaintly know the NBA, so please show a little more humility and respect. You can only throw out the "all our starters are injured" plea so many times before it falls on deaf ears. And I think you'd actually realize that the Rockets won those two rings in the 90s by building around a center (Hakeem) and adding proven guys (Clyde Drexler, Kenny Smith) to the mix in order to win those titles. Teams like Orlando (who they swept in the Finals) definitely built their teams up with drafts, but the veterans won those titles for the Rockets.

[Purple & Gold]

^^ Not reading all of this. If I thought it would be interesting and if I thought you had something intelligent to add maybe I would. But to clear it up for you one last time: Tracy McGrady has back issues. I would build around Yao and not T-Mac and Yao. Battier is IMO only worth trading a lottery pick for if he's the "missing piece". The Rockets are more than just a Shane Battier away from winning a ring.

But I did read the last paragraph and there you go again breaking your arm patting yourself on the back. You don't sound like you know a lot about basketball and the NBA. I don't think you actually realize how many players have been injured. But if you don't buy it I could really care less. And the Rockets actually did build through the draft. Robert Horry and Sam Cassell were huge pieces to that team. They were draft picks by the Rockets.

[RonMexico]

How are Sam Cassell and Robert Horry any different than them adding Luther Head and another pick this year? Retard.

[Purple & Gold]

How are Sam Cassell and Robert Horry any different than them adding Luther Head and another pick this year? Retard.
We'll the difference is that the Rockets in the 90's signed free agents. They didn't trade away lottery picks. You get it now?

[DOMINATOR]

^^ Not reading all of this. If I thought it would be interesting and if I thought you had something intelligent to add maybe I would.
how can you be taken serious when you admit you dont even read posts in an argument?

good luck to you and your team sir. i dont plan on replying to any of your posts soon.

[RonMexico]

We'll the difference is that the Rockets in the 90's signed free agents. They didn't trade away lottery picks. You get it now?

Who would you have picked last year smart ass? Rudy Gay? Fucking idiot - Gay will never pan out as you think he will because he has a terrible attitude... actually, no wonder you like him, he reminds you of your entire starting line-up

(Oh yeah, remember when Bynum started thinking he was the shit earlier in the year and Phil benched his ass for showing up late and lazy to practice?)

[DNS Error]

Beig a Memphis fan, Ive seen both Rudy Gay, and Shane Battier. Shane Battier is a versatile player with the size to play inside and the range to score from further out (particularly the corner three-pointer). However, he makes his living as a hustle player on the defensive end, where he defends three positions (shooting guard, power forward, small forward) with a high degree of skill, nets a good number of blocks and steals, dives for loose balls, and frequently draws offensive fouls from his opponent.

Whether or not he is a great defensive player is all your own opinion. I personally thought he was a great asset to us. I thought the trade was good for both teams. While Shane isnt Houston's missing piece, they are lucky to have a player like him. Memphis, at the cost of wins and fan attendance, wants to have a youthful team, and were willing to trade our best player, Gasol before the trade deadline for some young players. Finding none they really liked, they decided to keep him.

Gay might have some attitude issues, but the FO is confident they have a great prospect on their hands. I'll agree, however, with Purple & Gold, and say that Houston could have used a lotto pick on someone better. They had Marcus Williams still on the board, but I guess they are confident that they can get Chauncey Billups in FA this year, and if they do they will have used both the draft and free agency deftly, and have a great lineup of Yao, Tracy, Shane, Chauncey, and I suppose Juwan at PF.

Bottom line is. The Rockets are a PG away from being a good team in the West. Yes they could have taken a PG or a Pf with the 8th pick, but they got aproven player in Battier, and could trade for their PG, or sign him.

The Lakers are injury riddled, thats whats stopped them from being better this year.
Still you have to think Bynum, Kobe, Odom, and I think Walton starts for them, and with Farmar looking like a good prospect, they are also a team to watch for.

[ponky]

dang raptors making a comeback after being down by 22 points to the rockets

[resistanze]

dang raptors making a comeback after being down by 22 points to the rockets
:lol as soon as I stop watching to go do a paper.

[Purple & Gold]

how can you be taken serious when you admit you dont even read posts in an argument?
If he had ever had a good take before, then I would have read his long-winded post.

good luck to you and your team sir. i dont plan on replying to any of your posts soon. :dramaquee
I'll try not to lose any sleep over it.

[Purple & Gold]

Who would you have picked last year smart ass? Rudy Gay? Fucking idiot - Gay will never pan out as you think he will because he has a terrible attitude... actually, no wonder you like him, he reminds you of your entire starting line-up

(Oh yeah, remember when Bynum started thinking he was the shit earlier in the year and Phil benched his ass for showing up late and lazy to practice?)
Yes I would have kept Rudy Gay. I would have traded down and picked up one of the many PG's in the draft. I would have tried to trade up and grab one of the other players. There's many things I would have done. I wouldn't have made that trade though. But that's just my opinion.

And your point about Bynum? You seem to be a great judge of character, especially for people that you don't even know. I know you read a lot of ABC and ESPN articles, but come on now. You also seem to have no clue on how Phil operates. Why don't you ask Kareem what his opinion of Bynum is. Let me remind you one more time that he is the youngest player ever drafted.

[DNS Error]

Age?

[Purple & Gold]

^^ For Bynum? 19. He was 17 when drafted, with limited time playing basketball. He is basically as raw as it gets.

[RonMexico]

Dumbass, Bynum said it in an interview at the beginning of the year. He got off to a hot start and then said that he'd been getting limited minutes in a few games because he showed up late to practice and was letting his good play get to his head. Not denying that everyone still likes him, but he admitted Phil was sending a message.

ABC doesn't have sports articles... they have "ESPN Basketball on ABC"... often, they show games on Sundays... if you've ever turned on a TV before

[Roxsfan]

dang raptors making a comeback after being down by 22 points to the rockets
:nope :nope :nope

great comeback :rolleyes roxs 114-100. :elephant :spin :smokin :clap :greedy

[Roxsfan]

:lol as soon as I stop watching to go do a paper.


I hope you finished your paper, b/c your team could not finish the game :dizzy

your raptors were all badazz on 2-28th when Yao was still out :clap :nope

[Purple & Gold]

Dumbass, Bynum said it in an interview at the beginning of the year. He got off to a hot start and then said that he'd been getting limited minutes in a few games because he showed up late to practice and was letting his good play get to his head. Not denying that everyone still likes him, but he admitted Phil was sending a message.

ABC doesn't have sports articles... they have "ESPN Basketball on ABC"... often, they show games on Sundays... if you've ever turned on a TV before
Well Ron once again you do nothing but jump to conclusions and act like if you really know what's going on. The real story is that Bynum always goes to practice before anybody else to practice with Kareem. Kareem for whatever reason wasn't going to be able to make it that day, so Bynum figured he didn't have to go to practice early. He did show up when the regular team does. Phil didn't like that. So I guess you can say he was late technically, it was also a bit of a misunderstanding. But to say he's lazy is ridiculous. You would sure know he wasn't lazy if you saw how much he has improved and how much stronger he has become. And by now I would think you know how Phil operates, it's common knowledge that he plays mind games with everybody, especially a young 19 year old center that has the city of L.A. in his hands. So come on Ron don't let your blind hate for the Lakers obstruct your view. And please before you start commenting on teams and players you might want to actually watch them play instead of just reading ABC/ESPN/Disney articles.