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It was near the end of last night’s game, when I was pitching in at the ESPN Daily Dime live chat, when Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysms asked me a question: How do you stay interested during all these blowouts?
Good question in a sense, but the fact this was even a blowout — now twice against the Suns — shows how much we can take this Lakers team and its accomplishments for granted. The Lakers just easily dispatched a 15-5 team that is third in their conference. A team with a couple of legitimate All Stars and some quality players. Players and a system other teams struggle to beat.
The Lakers have distinct matchup advantages against the Suns, to be sure. But while this may have felt like a routine blowout, we need to remind ourselves it wasn’t. That was a quality win. We need to appreciate just how good this team is and how well they are playing
A few other thoughts.
• Going into this season, we all looked at the schedule and said: The Lakers should get off to a fast start, they need to with all the home games and a softer schedule. Well, mission accomplished. Despite not having Gasol for a while. Things are going to get tougher, there will be some road tests and some nights when Kobe’s off-the-wrong-leg-and-yes-I-called-bank shots don’t bail them out, But they have built up a good start to the season and started to really integrate Artest and find a rotation. The Lakers have focused on and been a good defensive team. The Lakers have done exactly what they needed to do so far.
• As golve32 pointed out in the comments: The Lakers have three of the top five players in the NBA in scoring their points in the paint. Bynum leads, with Kobe fourth and Gasol fifth. If you want to know why the Lakers are shooting a good percentage this year, getting shots closer to the rim helps.
• For the first time in a year and a half, I won my office football pool. The key: being too busy to make the picks myself so the computer chose randomly for me. Again, I am out performed by a random number generator.
• Why do I have a hard time taking anything Tim Donaghy says seriously?
• I love the rain, except for that I’m supposed to finish hanging the Christmas lights tonight.
sparky says
Point of personal privilege here:
I grew up in Phoenix as a die-hard Laker fan (my family had uprooted from SoCal in my early childhood). Like many (former) one sport towns, Phoenix fans were quite passionate and could get downright cruel to little kids (i.e., me) who wore Lakers-emblazened clothing 365 days a year. Didn’t matter if it was 87-88 or 94-95, no team has been or will be more hated by Suns fans than the Lakers. This isn’t unique to PHX of course, but for me it served as the crucible for my development as a lifetime Laker fan.
Needless to say, beating the Suns NEVER gets old for me, especially when Suns fans are getting cocky and the win involves a 20 point elbow-smash beatdown. Loved it.
Vic De Zen says
Easy to take this team for granted, just like Kobe. This is a historically good team. We’ve gotta remind ourselves of that every once in awhile – just lucky to watch guys run the triangle this well.
j.d. Hastings says
Re: Donaghy: Sometimes it takes a federal felony conviction for conspiring to commit fraud during your job before you’re finally willing to expose (for money) the wrong doing of others performing that same job. He should run for congress.
The way I keep myself interested in these games is: Paying attention to the first three quarters. Or in the case of the Nets, the first 5 minutes. Otherwise, as you said in the chat last night- its just whether the Taco Unit can do their job in the 4th.
Simon says
I’m still in awe of last night’s game. It was perhaps the most impressive display of basketball at both ends that I have seen in some time. I had lost some interest in the other blowouts but this one was something special. The Lakers were just perfect. In their offensive execution, defensive execution, everything. Everybody knew where they were supposed to go and where they wanted the Suns to go. The Suns came in with a clear gameplan and I thought executed it rather well but the Lakers completely picked it apart anyways. Just utter domination over a team that I don’t think was even playing that badly. There was just nothing they could’ve done against the Lakers the way the Lakers were playing.
In particular Bynum’s passing out of the post and Farmar’s newly inspired play was encouraging and there’s just really nothing critical you can say about any player. Brown was maybe a bit out of control in the second quarter but he put the game away in the 4th. All that makes it pretty easy (for me, at least) to stay interested. (Arnowitz has a nice piece on ESPN about how beautiful the Lakers look as well)
Scott says
Where can I find the list of points in the paint for all players?
Travis says
Man, the only thing I can really complain about is the number of minutes Kobe is playing. Even in blowouts, he’s still playing 35+ minutes. One would think that this early in the season, Phil would want to avoid that if possible. But then again, maybe having Ron out there as a stopper is saving Kobe’s legs anyway. At least Fish is getting plenty of rest.
Archon says
I think the Suns have the right idea to beat the Lakers; double hard in the post and hope the lakers miss a whole bunch of threes. The problem is the lakers are such a good passing team and Gasol is so active on the offensive boards it nullifies the strategy.
Still that’s really the only strategy a team has to beat the lakers 4 out of 7. Hope LA goes cold from the outside and they start playing selfish.
lil' pau says
I think this team is even better than golve32’s statistic suggests. Look at it this way, we’ve got:
Fish at PG.
Kobe at SG (best in the league)
Ron at SF (i’d put him 4th, after Lebron, Melo, Pierce, maybe a little lower, but top 8 for sure and #1 on D)
Pau at PF (#1 or #2, after Dirk. I think he’s playing better than KG and TD right now)
Bynum at C (#2 after Howard, with Yao out).
Lamar at 6th Man (#2 after Manu; arguably #3 after Terry, but I’d rather have LO).
That’s 4 out of 6 positions where we have (imo) top 2 players at their position, plus another where we have a top 10, plus Fish.
Essentially, we’re fielding an all-star team every night.
Bill Bridges says
I’ll take the win. But if we discount the Nuggs blow out of the Lakers in the Laker’s second of a home/away back to back. We must also disregard this one too.
While Artest’s overall game was outstanding (5 steals!) his FG% at the rim now is 47% for the year and declining fast. Why is he posting up so much and why isn’t Lamar posting up at all?
Looking forward to the road trip.
Kurt says
Bill Bridges mentions something I forgot to put in the post: Two wins over Phoenix but both times they were tired from a lot of games running up. I think they are better than we have seen (especially with a healthy Barbosa). But I don’t think it changes the overall outcome.
lakergirl says
Black mamba Vs Lion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30fLeNzdy-s&feature=player_embedded
phineas says
From a Western conference scout (via Daily Dime over at ESPN):
“They’re so physical across the board, all the way down to Derek Fisher and Shannon Brown. They’re enormous. They’re just big, strong, physical guys that can really get up into you and defend you. They’re just big and strong and versatile and they can really do damage with their defense. The days of questioning [L.A.’s] toughness are over.”
themonkey says
I don’t even think the two wins against Phoenix count as anything, considering that both are from their back to back game and both are on the road. So it is like a huge negative for Phoenix, and considering how old and fast pace they play, it is an even bigger negative. Then again we did blow them out so i guess that something.
Bill Bridges says
The best thing of about last night’s game was the absence of the “Taco Chant”
When the entire city of LA is so full of cheap tacos that no fan is begging for them, you know you have it too good.
Travis says
when it comes to making evaluations about this team and their abilities, I’m pretty much just going to sleep until Christmas. Lets be honest, there are really only 4 teams in the league that can conceivably beat the Lakers in 7 games, and 3 are in the East. Until they play one of those teams at full strength I’m just going to enjoy the highlights.
Burgundy says
I love Bill Bridges’ point about Artest posting up. Artest has been a terrific defender, a smart passer, and has turned into a reliable three point threat.
What he ISN’T, is a viable post-up player, unless he’s passing. He’s so awkward and bulky when he makes his move, it’s usually a disaster.
He and Fish both should stay away from the rim, quite frankly.
Snoopy2006 says
I hope this comment doesn’t get deleted, because it’s not intended to be trade speculation (not like Portland would ever trade with us anyway). Just…NBA reading.
http://www.dwightjaynes.com/does-jerryd-bayless-want-out-of-here
Love this line from KD about our Lakers:
“And the team leader in assists is a new forward who doesn’t fully know the offense, and was criticized incessantly last season (and for a few before that) for acting like a ballhog on two other teams.”
More great stuff from Dwyer:
“Also, LeBron James was dancing the entire game. Just making an ass of himself.
We’re out of excuses for this guy. If he’s so desperate for attention on a random Sunday afternoon game in Milwaukee, then what hope is there for him to just be a stud on the court and secure with himself one the whistle blows?
Damon Jones danced. Antoine Walker danced, and Mark Jackson danced. Nick Van Exel danced. These are the players you’re acting like, LeBron.
Magic Johnson didn’t dance. Michael Jordan didn’t dance. Kobe Bryant didn’t dance, Larry Bird didn’t dance, and Dr. J didn’t dance. These are the players whose games yours most resembles, LeBron.
Listen, the game is supposed to be fun. It’s OK to exult…But you have to find a balance. Otherwise, you’re in danger of turning off a couple of different generations of fans, all at once.”
Burgundy says
RE: 15
Travis, I would take it a step further – there are only 3 teams that could conceivably beat the Lakers in a 7 games series. To beat the Lakers you need a scoring Point Guard (to take advantage of D-Fish), a superior wing defender to take on Kobe, and at three quality bigs to throw at the Lakers dominating front line. The three teams are (in order of difficulty, with their components in parenthesis):
Boston – They have speedy Rondo at the point, Pierce has shown a terrific ability to check Kobe, and Sheed, KG, & Perkins are three quality bigs they can throw at the Lakers front line. I believe the Lakers trio is better, overall, but the Celtics 3 bigs are all excellent defenders, which would give the Lakers problems. That being said, Posey was the one who did the best job on Kobe during the 2008 Finals, and he’s no longer on the team. Still, a Celtics/Lakers series would be brutal.
Orlando – Jameer Nelson absolutely brutalizes Fish when he’s healthy (and that’s a big IF), Pietrus is a decent defender who showed he couldn’t stay with Kobe last year and there’s no way Vince can guard Kobe, Dwight Howard, obviously, is an excellent defensive center, though Rashard Lewis can be abused – the thing with Shard, though, is he can offset a Laker big if he has a big scoring night. Either way, like last year, I don’t think Orlando has the horses to beat the Lakers. I think the Lakers still win the series.
Denver – Billups roasts Fish, Afflalo & Carmelo are both good defenders, and KMart, Birdman, and Nene are all talented front line players. At the end of the day, though, the team is too dumb and disorganized to win in a 7 game series (as they showed last year)…and Afflalo isn’t as good a defender as Dahntey Jones.
I know you were originally including Cleveland in your list, but Bynum and Pau would absolutely beat Cleveland to death in the inside (Varajao is a good defender…but who’s going to stop the other 7 footer? Z? Shaq?) Now that the Lakers have Artest, LeBron can’t go off, either. Lakers would beat Cleveland in, AT MOST, 6 games.
Though, if I were the Lakers, I wouldn’t want to play Houston in a 7 game series…
Oh…and I almost forgot the Bobcats!
Sean P. says
17.
What makes you think that Jordan didn’t dance?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW2mXKXp0Dw
Samy says
@16 Artest does have a crummy post-up number, however he is ALWAYS making the put backs from his initial misses. And his bulk allows him to draw fouls on opposing centers…. he’s starting to convert on the freethrows…. so whats the problem? remember: multi-dimensional game
wiseolgoat says
if you look at the game highlights on nba.com, KAJ was tutoring Bynum on the floor prior to the game. I thought the Lakers let him go as a special assistant coach at the beginning of the year?
chibi says
Turiaf used to dance and clown around on our sidelines, too. I don’t have a problem with Lebron doing so, even when he lacks Ronnie’s natural charisma.
Top Chef says
Kurt –
Any fastbreak thoughts on Top Chef?
Seemed to me like the judges blew it last week, the tatted brother should have gone home for sure. Thoughts?
My money is still on Kevin.
Sedale says
21
It’s just my guess, but I’d say that KAJ wasn’t “let go” so much as he left to address his chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). I would imagine that was welcomed back with open arms by the team ….and I’m glad to see him on the sidelines again, it hopefully means good news for the Cap and the management of his disease. Just my guess, though.
cjm says
Ronaconda just strangled AZ under the basket. he has supercharged the Lakers defense to an incredible degree. I can’t wait to see this team dismantle those boston s***birds.
harold says
Shaq fools around too, but it seems to me that LeBron has to be in the media 24/7, since he gives so many unsolicited (okay, maybe they were solicited) opinions on just about everything.
Still, if he was on our team, I’d be willing to accept his antics and attention seeking in a heartbeat 😉
As for our beloved, potential-filling Lakers, it’s been a joyride ever since the Rockets game right after the trade-me summer. Finals appearance, Championship, and now just dominance.
Maybe we’re witnessing another Golden era of our Majestic Purple and Gold.
Sean P. says
Not sure if it’s been posted here already (maybe more than once), but here’s one sweet youtube compilation of the greatest point guard of all-time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxBM3dTPc_k
Kurt says
Re: Top Chef: I don’t know that the judges messed up that much by letting Jennifer go. The show is always a little odd just because we don’t get to taste the food, but it seemed with this Final Four they really had to split hairs and Jen’s dish was a little salty. And she has been the least consistent of the four this year. But my wife looked at me when it was over and hit the nail on the head: Jen probably would have won any other season, but this time around the level of competition is soooo high she came in fourth. I, too, am rooting for Kevin (it is possible this summer I will be in Atlanta for a wedding and if I am we are eating at his restaurant), but any one of the three could win and I wouldn’t be pissed. They are all good.
NBA LAKERS BLOG says
I think we are knowing the unstoppable Lakers we were dreamming… coz we have a focused Ron Arest, a healthy Andrew Bynum, etc… Is this the team we were waiting for?
Great work guys! Keep this way!
–NM–
Travis says
18)
Point taken. I’m less scared by Cleveland than the Nuggets. But I still put them in that group that COULD beat the lakers in 7 simply because Lebron is capable of going off on Artest for at least 4 out of 7 games, and I think you underestimate Clevelands bigs. Z can cause matchup problems on offense, Varejao can defend either Pau or Bynum, Shaq can matchup with Bynum on both ends in small spurts, Hickson is improving, and they have Leon Powe who will be rounding into shape by the playoffs, and we saw what he can do in 2008. Clearly we have the advantage, but Cleveland is a deep team with a great player.
Taylor says
Wanted to make a post about the injury report on Kenyon Martin (Phi/Nug game). He was on the ground, they called timeout, he went back to the locker room, now is sitting on the bench. Report is a dislocated pinky finger. It’s wrapped up, he “may” be back in the second half.
How is this all relevant?…Remember earlier this year, Luke got wrapped on the hand, called timeout, went to Gary Vitti, got it popped back in, was back in after the timeout. Same pinky finger; different toughness…Hah!
Chris J says
Re: how do we watch this team without losing interest due to the blowouts?
Simple — wins. It’s no coincidence that in my mind the most enjoyable title run of the past decade was in 2001, when the Lakers stormed through the end of the regular season and only lost one playoff game. I’d much rather see a scorched earth result than have the drama that comes with close games/series. Give me blowouts every time.
Artest has been great, but his game near the rim is as bad as anyone I’ve seen for someone his size. It’s like he has no lift at all when he extends. Still, his play leaves little room for criticism.
As to chibi’s comment on Ronny/LeBron — the dancing was the one area in which I absolutely hated Turiaf’s presence. The Laker Girls are paid to dance; I never want to see players carrying on like that.
If LeBron’s in the same class as Ronny in that regard, it belongs in the minus column, a la those other dancers Snoopy cited earlier.
Franky says
Completely off topic. The Knicks are playing Portland in New York tonight after a home game against the Nets yesterday. I thought the rule was no back-to-back home games? Could it be because they played an afternoon game yesterday and a night game tonight, that it’s ok?
Kurt says
Great bit of research by Henry Abbott looking into Tim Donaghy’s claims.
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/11340/tim-donaghys-claims-on-trial
Robert Fiore says
Sasha’s Nightmare: He asks why he can’t wear his hair long and stringy like Steve Nash, and they tell him.
ostondude says
Pains to say it as a celts fan, but when the lakers function at even 90% it’s tough to say they can be beat, particularly four of seven times.
I think the celtics could still beat them physically, ie. it could happen, but no way the lakers aren’t the heavys over everybody right now, including boston. So big, so smooth.
hopefully those will be intense games in december and march…
harold says
I’m glad we have stat guys who can check Donaghy’s claims and that we have records of most of the games to check specific instances.
But I would not be surprised to learn that refs have personal preferences and that such will have an impact on iffy calls.
However, from my casual observance, the refs valued ‘makeup calls’ more than their personal preferences, and even if they made an iffy call based on their preference, they’d probably do something about it, evening things out.
T. Rogers says
Regarding Cleveland,
Andy is a crafty defender. But I can’t see him keeping up with Pau Gasol. Andy is not THAT good of a defender. Also, how is Z a mismatch for LA? He is a threat on the pick and pop. That’s about it. He will never roll to the hoop. Let Gasol guard him and Bynum or Odom match up with Hickson or Andy.
LA’s front line is a match up problem for Cleveland, not the other way around.
Regarding the Suns,
I fully expect the games to look different in Phoenix. LA’s bigs will get into foul trouble. And the Suns will shoot (and hit) more three pointers. But the outcome will be the same. Size kills speed in basketball. And when the size has speed its no contest.
Sedale says
31,
Awesome observation. Maybe he should put his finger up to his neck so the boo-boo can get a kiss.
Zephid says
So get this: the Blazers go +14 in the 4th quarter against the Knicks in New York, but still lose the game by 9? And the Knicks have won three straight? The Apocalypse is nigh I say.
jeremyLA24 says
sean p 19- hilarious video! That’s a great find. Thanks for the highlight of my night. I think I just watched it over a dozen times.
Sean P. says
41.
Here’s the full version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYMItqIw0wQ
Kaveh says
Travis wrote on December 7, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Man, the only thing I can really complain about is the number of minutes Kobe is playing. Even in blowouts, he’s still playing 35+ minutes. One would think that this early in the season, Phil would want to avoid that if possible. But then again, maybe having Ron out there as a stopper is saving Kobe’s legs anyway. At least Fish is getting plenty of rest.
————————–
I completely agree. What is PJ thinking? Popavich for San Antonio won’t play his stars for more than 25 minutes a game, and Kobe is averaging 37 minutes? This is WAAAAY TOO MUCH!
Did anyone notice last year’s playoffs? For the first time i noticed that Kobe was getting old. His bounce just wasn’t there anymore. A lot of this was pure fatigue. We need to avoid this during this year’s playoffs.
Kobe should be limited to 25 or 30 minutes AVERAGE per game. He should be sitting out entire quarters if there is a blowout.
So far we have basically an 8 man rotation with LO, Shannon/Farmar coming off the bench. Why not integrate the other players more? I know they royally suck especially since Luke is gone, but I think he needs to find a 10 man rotation. Play the 8 man rotation in the playoffs.
This is probably the only spot that i think Phil is missing the boat. Somewhere inside of me it thinks that “maybe” he has some sort of diabolical plan and that this is actually helping our team. Unfortunately that would require me to throw away my reason in order to believe.
The Dude Abides says
re Kenyon Martin: I think it’s hilarious that Luke is tougher than Neck Lips (31 & 39, LOL).
Kobe’s minutes have been a lot more of the low-stress variety this season. That, combined with Luke’s injury and Sasha’s slump, is why Phil is playing him for more minutes than we would like. Also, this early season weighting towards more home games is also making things easier for #24.
lakersfansincemagic says
This is a quality blog with engaging articles.. other blogs don’t even come close! you’ve got a new reader.. keep up the great work!
Zephid says
43, you’re forgetting, you have to cut all of Kobe’s playing time in half because he doesn’t play defense. So 37 / 2 = 18.5, so we’re golden! Maybe tack on 3-4 minutes per game when he actually does play D, and we’re still only at 22.5 mpg.
But in all seriousness, I wouldn’t get too worked up over Kobe’s minutes. He had the whole summer off to rest and relax; he’ll be fine come this spring.
the other Stephen says
31/39/44: thanks for drawing that comparison. it made me laugh. i’ve always felt that k-mart is a giant amongst fake thugs and haters. in that unenviable class, there is no one who ranks above him.
PhilAus says
#45 – You’ve got that right. FB&G is a must-read on a daily basis. The comments alone are superior to many other sites!
Kurt says
Lakersfansincemagidc, thanks. And welcome.
cahuitero says
RE: KMart Count me with the people who have always seen him a pure bravado and show but no real toughness/substance. I remember him choking (flicking and bricking wide open shots in the lane) in the Finals vs the Lakers and Spurs then whining about his teammates not stepping up and throwing guys like Keith Van Horn under the bus. And to think during last year’s playoffs some ‘analysts’ from the four letter network mentioned him as a reason for the Nuggets ‘being tougher’ than the Lakers . Believe me, KMart would piss his pants if they locked him and Mbenga in room together to see who comes out.
cahuitero says
And I’m not even mentioning the choke job vs the Clippers. His coach had to suspend him during the playoffs! Denver was giving him away for peanuts but no one would take him and his bloated contract.
sT says
You want to know what I think about Tim Donaghy. Also, Henry Abbott’s article about the book is a good read for everybody. I do not think that the NBA has any need to make things go “their” way, that old conspiracy theory does not fly with me at all. The league will make money with honest and fair games, and I believe the refs are basically all fair. They are at least predicable, in that the home team will get the benefit of the calls almost every game, even in the Playoffs and Finals (this is why we need HCA, folks). Certain refs do make calls their way, but fine, they are not throwing games one way or another, and I do not believe they have anything to really gain by it anyway. Tim Donaghy may have made bets with what he knew about the players and refs at a certain games, but I do not believe that he changed the outcome of any games to any serious extent. Henry Abbott lays out the facts as he researched them and has a good conclusion in my mind about the whole mess. I also have a hard time believing what Tim Donaghy says at all anymore about anything, he is a criminal after all, right?
harold says
Donaghy’s claims are:
1. He didn’t try to change the games he was in (it wasn’t proven).
2. He gambled using his inside knowledge. (he was guilty for the gambling part)
3. There are refs who place personal vendettas, preferences and beliefs over fairness.
That’s basically all he said, and none of it says that there’s a league-level conspiracy.
Of the points he made, number 1 was found inconclusive, and doesn’t matter much either way unless we believe that it isn’t just Donaghy.
Number 2 is also irrelevant, as that is what everyone does, or thinks they are doing.
Number 3 is the part where Donaghy tries to sell his book, which will be just as inconclusive as number 1 even if he’s right, considering all the evidence brought forth by statisticians.
So, if you think about it, it’s not really a matter of believing what he says, since the only thing he said that is important was proven to be negligible even if it happens to be true.
Now, the big, big assumption in this is that the ‘spread’ does not account for any such biases to begin with. If the spreads and such have factored in all the ref-biases to begin with, we should probably draw a different conclusion.
Reza says
@ 33
I’ve been looking for an explanation of that schedule quirk everywhere but I haven’t been successful. Anybody know why they don’t usually do back-to-back home games, and why the Knicks were able to get away with it this time (I know the Bobcats have had a few in recent years as well)?
You can’t say it’s because NBA favors (rested) home teams because an away-then-home back-to-back is perfectly allowed.
Snoopy2006 says
I’ll add this to Kurt’s post, Arnovitz adding onto HA’s work. Really great stuff from the guys at TH, and kudos to the researchers that actually sifted through the information:
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/11341/tim-donaghys-tale-of-dick-bavetta
Snoopy2006 says
Michael Heisley doesn’t know that Greg Oden’s last name is not Odom. This is the owner who’s played a huge role in basketball operations in Memphis. It explains so much.
http://3sob.com/interviews/52-owner/793-chatting-with-the-big-cheese-part-three
witness says
The only one who stops Kobe is himself.38 minutes average is perfect for him until mid-March.He is some elite defender as well,if he wants to 🙂
I do not concur with Zephid & others on this issue.
Zephid says
57, but, but…
but you just said “if he wants to :)”
He is a great defender, no question. He just doesn’t want to be one most of the time.
PJ says
Zephid,
I read witness’ comment as disagreeing with you on Kobe playing too many minutes and conceding that Kobe does not put full effort into D
Travis says
re: Kobe’s minutes. Does anybody have stat’s on the kind of minutes MJ averaged at this point in his career? During the 2nd 3peat? If Kobe is in that ballpark, I’m not concerned. But if he’s way above that, I am. He is human, after all. And if we have the opportunity to rest him we should take it.
@ 38 re: Cleveland. I’m not saying their frontline causes matchup problems for us. I totally agree that we have a far superior front line. I’m saying they would be as good a matchup for our front line as any. Z is a matchup threat, especially coming off the bench. His outside shooting draws Drew or Gasol out of the paint and only LO to meet Lebron at the rim if he starts to penetrate. They might not be as versatile as our bigs, but they’re big and they’re deep. More than the rest of the league can say.
firewalker says
OFF TOPIC
Just read TrueHoop’s first cup. The piece by Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune kills me. Does any fan base overvalue their own players more than the Blazers’?
Snoopy2006 says
Iguodala is a defensive beast. Also, it was oddly poetic to see Iverson get his ankles broken by Billups. After all those times, especially stepping over Lue after crossing him up, it was kind of nice to see Iverson on the receiving end (even if Billups might have nudged him).
Kurt says
Way off topic (and a new post is coming in a couple hours), but for you Big Bang Theory fans out there, great post at Dodger Thoughts:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgerthoughts/2009/12/big-bang-theory.html
Jeff Haut says
Kurt-
I LOVE big bang theory, as Sheldon is totally has Asperger’s, and is therefore my people. Loved reading that post, and I completely agree with the post. It’s one of the best sitcoms in a long time.
MannyP13 says
Here’s a great post I think we should all read:
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/sports/The-Machine-Is-Broken-78786242.html
Mike says
56.
Part 4 is out.. with some interesting comments about Pau..
MH: Everybody was telling me “I don’t care what you get for him. Just get rid of him.” I kept saying I think he’s one of the best big men in the NBA, getting double and triple teamed every night. If he played somewhere else he’d be a star. He’s one of the best big men in the league.
Nobody wanted to hear that. They just wanted me to get rid of him. It was everywhere in the media and people were booing him. It was just tearing his heart out. He liked Memphis. His family was working for St. Jude’s. His brother was going to school here. That family likes Memphis. We had everything going for them but the pressure on him was huge. At that point I made a decision.
Now look at him. In L.A. he’s spectacular. Why is he so good in L.A.? I’ll tell you why. It’s a simple reason. He plays on one side of the court with Kobe. Now you’ve got a choice. You’ve got two or three guys on that side of the court so who are you going to double team: Pau or Kobe?
Did you see what he did in the championship game last year? He was one on one and no one can handle Pau one on one.
He also sounds pretty sour about missing the #1 pick for lebron in 03.. even though he traded the #2 pick instead of drafting wade melo or bosh.. Matt moore @ HP also had more analysis of his comments and the other gasol as a franchise player.
Jim says
@60,
MJ averaged 37.7, 37.9, and 38.8 minutes per game in his final 3 seasons with the Bulls. He averaged 34.9 and 37 minutes per game in his last two seasons with the Wizards. Kobe is right in line with that.
exhelodrvr says
61)”Does any fan base overvalue their own players more than the Blazers’?”
Ask Kurt to open up the trade discussions for a day, and you’ll see that the Lakers will end up with LeBron James for Jordan Farmar.
Snoopy2006 says
Kurt – that was perfect timing, I just finished up last night’s episode. Sheldon in top form. The part with the shoes was priceless.
On a basketball note, while I’m thinking other teams, I think Lawson is really in the perfect situation. Not that he’s not good – he’s an excellent player. But I think we’d see his flaws a lot more if he was playing 40 minutes a night in Memphis or something. Coming off the bench behind Billups, only being required to use his natural talent (speed) to change the pace of the game and provide a spark (Farmar of a couple years ago) really is the best role for him now. I think over time his game will expand.
Laker4Life says
@60: MJ averaged 37.7, 37.9 and 38.8 minutes per game during the 2nd 3-peat.
Kobe is averaging 36.9 minutes per game so far this year.
I think Kobe’s minutes are fine.
Mimsy says
Long and busy day at work, so I’ll just add this one little comment:
Ronny Turiaf got up from the bench and danced when his team scored big points late in games, at the same time as the rest of the bench leaped to their feet and jumped up and down cheering.
Lebron dances during a time-out and on the free throw line, and brings a camera so he and his team mates can clown around and pose for group photos during the conference play-offs.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks there’s a difference…?
TracerBullet says
I think it’s telling that the only Lakers info on the first page of the TrueHoop blog is this blurb from Mike Breshanan-
“Kobe Bryant is always looking for something to improve, something to fix, some way to gain an edge, part of what drives him to be, well, Kobe Bryant. But he seemed satisfied when asked whether there was anything the Lakers could be doing better these days. ‘Not really,’ he said. ‘We are doing well.’ “
sT says
Yeah MannyP13, that is a good article about “The Machine”, and what has happened to him this year. The “Taco Unit” was brought up, to bad for Sasha, what he has become this season.