Reply With Quote
at you wasting that much time typing all that. Its friday night, go kick back & have a drink
This year.
And Im going to confess that its not because of a certain figure in Los Angeles that goes by a nickname "Black Mamba" eventhough he obviously has lots a step or two this season. For the sake of being fair, I'll give Kobe the benefit of a doubt and assume he'll be better in the playoffs.
So, lets begin. This one is obvious. "The Lakers are simply not focused" I dont buy this "Cruising mode" excuse. You are not suppose to lose a blowout game against a possible 1st round opponent in late March. What's equally concerning is their record against playoff teams and their inablity to win a good amount of games away from Staples Center. Last year, not only do they possess the best road record they also beat teams they are suppose to beat (Cavs, Celtics, Denver,Dallas) convicingly. The tables has turned this year and teams like Dallas, Denver, Cleveland has given the Lakers a beat down. So who are the players deserving of a blame in this fall?
Ill start out and say that first problem is Pau Gasol's desire to win another championship. Yes, LA's most valuable player IMO just does'nt have that same pop or fire in his game. He's probably tired due to a heavy off season schedule or maybe he's just happy with one NBA le. Too many times this season Gasol has shown himself as the weak spanish pussy he was always known for in Memphis. His stats are better, sure, but the irreplaceable intangibles such as effort and physicality is not there. With Gasol playing like a cadaver against Varejao, Shaq, LA's chances of repeating is done.
Next up, Fisher. Derek has been a key piece for LA last season. He was at least serviceable on most occassions. This year the old guy just got older and his quickness, no matter how little he had has finally betrayed him. And to add salt to injury, his jumpers are less effective. Phil jackson has a lot of confidence in this guy, which is understandable, but I think in the end his loyalty to Fisher will be one of the many reasons that will cost them a championship.
Artest. No brainer, some Laker fans loves to defend this guy, and I dont blame them, he's a funny guy who brings a lot of entertainment value. But unfortunately, anecdotals and hilarious twitter messages are not going to help the Lakers win a championship. Artest was supposedly going to change their DNA, but he has'nt had any noticeable impact that made them tough. The moment I saw Matt Barnes punked Kobe Bryant THRICE and Artest did'nt even offer any assistance to make sure no one is going to mess with the Lakers, I knew the sacrifices they had to take offensively to take the guy is not worth it. Sure, they were marginally better defensively but ask yourself, at what cost? The not so great offensive flow? Lack of a better chemistry? LA won the le last season because they were ONE-OF-THE-BEST offensive team, no team simply had any answer to stop the Lakers. So LA changed what worked for them and took Artest (A career 40% shooter with no lift nor any reliable offensive move). Maybe next season he'll eventually catch up with Phil's system, but he's not going to magically become a great fit offensively in April and May after struggling for the last 5 months.
And by the way, he's overrated defensively. He was brought in to supposedly contain Lebron, Melo and Pierce. Well, Melo and Lebron are destroying Artest everytime they match up with him. (Current season series record 0-5. And I think
Bench. It was good last year, but pieces acquired by other contenders made the Lakers supporting cast aweful by default. Jordan Farmar has issues, he's still an inconsistent point guard only concern about scoring. Shannon Brown's athleticism is not the answer, if he can find a consistent range that would keep the defense honest, great news! But I highly doubt it. And Luke Walton their second most valuable bench player has'nt played an NBA game for the last few months going into postseason. The only bright spot is Odom but the dropoff is pretty steep as you can see. In the playoffs where bench help is crucial, the Lakers are a second class NBA team in comparison.
My estimates is like this. Lakers will handle Denver since Kenyon is gone. Im iffy about them beating Dallas in a 7 game series though, and I have a feeling Portland can pull an upset if they face in the first round. Orlando IMO has a much better mindset than the Lakers and this could be the key if a rematch takes place. And Cleveland? Yeah, they will most definitely beat the Lakers because of three reasons. 1. Lebron. 2. Frontcourt depth and 3. Home Court Advantage.
I dont drink. Im a mormon.
Sasha Vujacic, Brian Shaw have pointed dispute
OKLAHOMA CITY — The good vibe from the Lakers’ impressive last game was long gone by the early fourth quarter Friday night, when the Lakers’ frustration boiled over in a heated exchange on the bench between Sasha Vujacic and assistant coach Brian Shaw.
Shaw was bent over at the waist to lecture a seated Vujacic early in a timeout with the Lakers losing, 80-53, and 9:12 to play against Oklahoma City. Shaw wound up pointing his finger in Vujacic’s face, prompting Vujacic to fire back and point his finger back in Shaw’s face.
Ron Artest quickly moved in an attempt to calm Vujacic down. Jordan Farmar, who had seemed pleased that Shaw was trying to correct Vujacic’s mistakes, wound up stepping in front of Shaw.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson removed Vujacic from the game at that point, even though Vujacic hadn’t played but the first 2:48 of the fourth quarter. Vujacic went and sat alone at the end of the bench most of the rest of the game, although Artest went over soon after in an effort to console him.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Man this team is so ed up. They dont even like each other. What a crucial time to have chemistry issues.
Amazing post
Is this the team that is supposed to repeat?Sasha Vujacic, Brian Shaw have pointed dispute
OKLAHOMA CITY — The good vibe from the Lakers’ impressive last game was long gone by the early fourth quarter Friday night, when the Lakers’ frustration boiled over in a heated exchange on the bench between Sasha Vujacic and assistant coach Brian Shaw.
Shaw was bent over at the waist to lecture a seated Vujacic early in a timeout with the Lakers losing, 80-53, and 9:12 to play against Oklahoma City. Shaw wound up pointing his finger in Vujacic’s face, prompting Vujacic to fire back and point his finger back in Shaw’s face.
Ron Artest quickly moved in an attempt to calm Vujacic down. Jordan Farmar, who had seemed pleased that Shaw was trying to correct Vujacic’s mistakes, wound up stepping in front of Shaw.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson removed Vujacic from the game at that point, even though Vujacic hadn’t played but the first 2:48 of the fourth quarter. Vujacic went and sat alone at the end of the bench most of the rest of the game, although Artest went over soon after in an effort to console him.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Man this team is so ed up. They dont even like each other. What a crucial time to have chemistry issues.
I'm watching the 4th quarter now. Vujacic is the only guy playing hard.
Oh, and Pau is so out of LA next season...
The Jazz'll anybody up... except LA. It has nothing to do with Kobe. Pau and Odom and Bynum will all over Boozer and Memo. And Deron, even though he's the best pg in the league, hands down, no matter what he does, won't be able to overcome such a deficiency. Otherwise, we'd beat LA and win a ring.
LA is lucky Utah doesn't have length AND toughness in our frontcourt.
And Cleveland won't beat LA. Not even come close actually.
LOL lost me at 0-5 I "think" ...chrisrichards but nice try ...
So you dont agree that Gasol does'nt have the same desire as last year? Dont agree that Fisher playing starter minutes is not a problem? Dont agree that your bench is simply not as good? Dont agree that Ariza was a better fit for the Lakers? Dont agree that the Lakers are not a very good road team compared to last season? Dont agree that Lakers will not beat the Cavs?
ing homer.
weird thread
knee jerk thread.
You don't drink, but you swear. Cool story bro.
TL;DR
But, ChrisRichards, even you have to realize now you're way overly obsessed with the Lakers, right?
To the people saying Artest was a ticking time bomb, apparently Vujacic took on that roleSasha Vujacic, Brian Shaw have pointed dispute
OKLAHOMA CITY — The good vibe from the Lakers’ impressive last game was long gone by the early fourth quarter Friday night, when the Lakers’ frustration boiled over in a heated exchange on the bench between Sasha Vujacic and assistant coach Brian Shaw.
Shaw was bent over at the waist to lecture a seated Vujacic early in a timeout with the Lakers losing, 80-53, and 9:12 to play against Oklahoma City. Shaw wound up pointing his finger in Vujacic’s face, prompting Vujacic to fire back and point his finger back in Shaw’s face.
Ron Artest quickly moved in an attempt to calm Vujacic down. Jordan Farmar, who had seemed pleased that Shaw was trying to correct Vujacic’s mistakes, wound up stepping in front of Shaw.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson removed Vujacic from the game at that point, even though Vujacic hadn’t played but the first 2:48 of the fourth quarter. Vujacic went and sat alone at the end of the bench most of the rest of the game, although Artest went over soon after in an effort to console him.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Man this team is so ed up. They dont even like each other. What a crucial time to have chemistry issues.
No, he's obsessed with lebron and the cavs...
which is the same thing as being obsessed with the lakers.
ChrisRichards was itching all over to type this thread lol.
I think this is the first time you have had a very very good post. Most of your arguments are bashing without or with very little support.
I agree on a lot of points. If LA doesn't get their act together for this upcoming month of April, they are in deep trouble.
Waiting to "play" when the postseason comes always spells doom.
But you still haven't overcome your obsession with talking about Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Even when you bring up a good point people can get annoyed because you keep bringing up the same subject over and over again.
IMO, the one excuse for ever coasting through the regular season is if the team is going for a repeat and is plenty familiar with what playoff intensity is like and will have no problem winning road games. This goes under the radar, there's been several situations of teams going for a repeat trying hard in the regular season and it backfiring.
In 2006, the Spurs went all out in the regular season to win 63 games and grab the 1 seed regardless of them winning 7 road playoff games the season prior. To do that, they had Tim Duncan play through plantar fasciitis, Ginobili play through all kinds of bumps and bruises, while Bowen had a new career high in minutes. All of that coming off the short off season finals teams have. In the Dallas series, having home court advantage wound up not mattering at all. Game 7 being in San Antonio didn't change the fact Duncan's body ran out of gas in overtime or that their entire team was exhausted.
In 2009, Boston went all out to start off 26-2 and win 62 games. As an unproven group, they needed to play hard and get the best record in 2008, having HCA saved their asses against Atlanta and Cleveland, but they ultimately got enough playoff experience to win a game in Detroit and LA. While getting 62 wins, KG's knee gave out while Pierce and Allen both played more minutes than 2008 even after a short off season. Everyone knew they were ed once the playoffs started, but it's almost deja vu of the 2006 Spurs. Did having game 7 against Orlando in Boston make up for KG being out and Pierce being done? HCA didn't matter up until that point, they needed to win a game in Orlando to even force a game 7.
The Lakers would absolutely smoke OKC in a 7game series. Talk about a premature ejaculation thread.
Anyways, this game shows why the Lakers need Bynum in there. No way does Drew let Kristic punk his ass like Pau did last night. That and the Lakers haven't cracked 100 points since Andrew has been out. He's easily the Lakers best post-option when Kobe doesn't have a size mismatch.
tl;dr tbh
and lol @ people thinking the lakers had turned on the switch against the spurs, that had more to do with the spurs going ice cold in the 2nd half than the lakers turning on anything...those gots are who we thought they were and we let them off the hook.
Someone had too much time on his hands last night.
This thread could be said for 90% of the nba. Yawn at threads like these. Especially when this thread chose 1 of the 10% of the nba that can win it.
Regarding that 2006 WCSF series between Spurs and Mavs, I cannot and will not attempt to dispute any of what you stated here. I'll merely add that the REAL reason the Spurs lost Game 7 and ultimately the series in OT, is because of that STUPID foul that Manu committed on Dirk in the closing seconds of regulation. That bone-headed play resulted in an "and-1" for Dirk, who tied the game with his FT, thereby forcing it into overtime. It was during that OT session that the Spurs found themselves gassed and the Mavs won going away - easily.
It was such an odd series where, as you stated, homecourt advantage meant nothing. However, recall that the Spurs were down in the series 3-1 and stormed back in both that series and in that final game. The Spurs had all the momentum, as the Mavs were reeling. Nobody could've ever dreamed that they would lose being up by 3 with less than 30 secs remaining.
I will always submit to anyone that that game was lost, more than anything else, on that incredibly stupid foul by Manu. If he simply lets Dirk waltz down the lane untouched and allow him to score, the Spurs get the ball, up by 1 with seconds left and a chance to ice the game with a pair of FTs on, what should've been the final possession. The looks on the faces of the other Spurs players told it all. Even they couldn't believe it. It was almost as devastating a play as the Derek Fisher shot in the 2004 playoffs.
Never in my history of watching pro basketball have I witnessed such an incredibly uncalled for and stupid play. To this day, I STILL can't believe it happened. I'll always believe that one game cost the Spurs their chance at a back-to-back championship.
TL dr
kobe is overrated, lakers suck ass
the end.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
