Lakers Thread

[dare]

nice post Sit, very nice post

[Andrew]

Articles like that were certainly on the mark in predicting great things for Kobe, but at the same time I think all that gushing turned a lot of fans against him from the get-go.

[Fresh8]

Articles like that were certainly on the mark in predicting great things for Kobe, but at the same time I think all that gushing turned a lot of fans against him from the get-go.

Yeah, I did not realise that he was so 'well-liked' by the media back then when he was still a sixth man. I'm guessing he was incredibly popular back then? Since you're a vet Andrew, when did the 'hating' begin?

[Andrew]

Arguably as early as his rookie year for some, though the hype really went up a notch in his second season so for the most part probably around the time that article was written, 1998.

[Fresh8]

The Los Angeles Lakers are cruising without their gimpy big man, and they might have to limp along longer than expected.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said that Pau Gasol, who is trying to rehabilitate a sore hamstring, might not return until Christmas, the Los Angeles Daily News reported on Wednesday.

"I find that hard to believe, that it's gone backwards. ... Right now, he's capable of doing only so much and nothing else," Jackson said, according to the newspaper. "But it is mysterious, no doubt about it."

The defending champion Lakers are 6-1, and Gasol is expected to miss his eighth straight game when Los Angeles hosts Phoenix on Thursday.

Asked if he knew when Gasol would practice or if he had a target date for his return, Jackson said: "No. We're starting to look toward Christmas, though. Some time out there."

The Spanish forward missed just one regular-season game last year and was the Lakers' second-leading scorer while averaging 18.9 points, a team-leading 9.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

Jackson was asked why Gasol's injury is mysterious.

"Yeah, because with most hamstrings you see bleeding or bruises or holes in the hamstring," the coach said. "His has been one of those things wasn't a big concern to us, but has turned into a month-long injury."

I'm sure we can do without him for now. But we do need him back by the time New Year comes around.

[dare]

That sucks, I will hold Gasol until christmas in my dynasty. damn

[Andrew]

Headed up by Kobe, the Lakers have enough talent to keep winning until then but it remains to be seen whether that will burn Kobe out a little and whether the rest of the team grow accustomed to standing around and watching him take over, as I think there's been at least a shade of that going on with Gasol out of the lineup and Kobe picking up the slack. Then of course there's the enigma that is Ron Artest and the possibility he'll do something incredibly stupid without warning, but I'd say so far so good even if it isn't the ideal situation with Gasol on the sidelines.

[Fresh8]

Headed up by Kobe, the Lakers have enough talent to keep winning until then but it remains to be seen whether that will burn Kobe out a little and whether the rest of the team grow accustomed to standing around and watching him take over, as I think there's been at least a shade of that going on with Gasol out of the lineup and Kobe picking up the slack. Then of course there's the enigma that is Ron Artest and the possibility he'll do something incredibly stupid without warning, but I'd say so far so good even if it isn't the ideal situation with Gasol on the sidelines.

Yeah, my only concern is Kobe doing so much that everyone just stands and watches. As I said before, since like 17 of our first 21 games are at home, Pau should take more time to rest instead of coming back too early which is why he's still out. I have a gut feeling Kobe is going to finish top of the league in scoring... just to prove a point and come away with MVP this season. It might sound stupid but I feel like it's going to happen.

[Andrew]

I wouldn't be surprised if he's looking to assert himself as a more individually dominant player again, having proven that he can win a championship without Shaq. He'd really need to be destructively selfish and the rest of the Lakers would have to completely collapse for him to seriously jeopardise their title hopes though, so unless it reaches the point where his teammates are taken out of the game or he burns out early, they'll be in good shape come playoff time.

[Fresh8]

I wouldn't be surprised if he's looking to assert himself as a more individually dominant player again, having proven that he can win a championship without Shaq. He'd really need to be destructively selfish and the rest of the Lakers would have to completely collapse for him to seriously jeopardise their title hopes though, so unless it reaches the point where his teammates are taken out of the game or he burns out early, they'll be in good shape come playoff time.

Yep. He blamed fatigue for 'only' scoring 27 a game last season. So I feel that he's pretty much out there to prove a point now.

Will be interesting to see him against Phoenix today on One HD.

[dare]

Kobe will score 40+ today and... 2 assist

[Andrew]

Will be interesting to see him against Phoenix today on One HD.

Rub it in. Actually, I expect I'll be picking up a new set top box in the near future so I'll be able to take advantage of it.

[Fresh8]

Will be interesting to see him against Phoenix today on One HD.

Rub it in. Actually, I expect I'll be picking up a new set top box in the near future so I'll be able to take advantage of it.

Get it soon. They show lots of Bulls games.

[dare]

A.Bynum 26 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks
K.Bryant 29 points, 4 assist, 4 rebounds

new dynamic duo..

[Fresh8]

Bynum dominated Amare thanks to his size advantage. He's really impressing me as he's improved a lot on his post moves.

I was really getting annoyed because the commentators still don't rate Pau Gasol. They were talking about how 'two superstars' have played together before. Then started rattling off names 'Magic and Kareem... Cooper... Kobe and Shaq..' ... they forgot that Pau!

[Lamrock]

Pau's not a superstar, he's merely a star. A sidekick. When healthy, Bynum is almost as good as Pau. It would have really sucked for them if they had traded him for Jermaine the Drain.

[Fresh8]

Pau's not a superstar, he's merely a star. A sidekick. When healthy, Bynum is almost as good as Pau. It would have really sucked for them if they had traded him for Jermaine the Drain.

I think Pau doesn't get the credit he is due. In any partnership, one is going to shine more than the other. Even when Magic and Kareem played together, one allowed the other to have more of the limelight. When Magic joined LA, Kareem was still the man I believe. Later on, as Magic got better and better (he did every season) and Kareem got older, slowly there was a changing of the guard. Pau may be a sidekick to Kobe but I am pretty confident that he can lead a team still. After all, he stuck it out in Memphis for all those years.

Just my two cents.

[Bodz]

A lackluster performance by the Lakers, losing to the Nuggets 105-79.

[Andrew]

That was a woeful performance from the Lakers in the second half. No real cause for alarm just yet, no team is immune from having a bad night a few times out of 82+, but as the season wears on a performance like this should be more worrying because Kobe can't be made to do it alone. His 7/17 isn't that bad really but he was forcing up shots like he used to a few years back, resulting in some bad attempts and even getting stripped a couple of times in situations where he'd normally make the defender pay. It's worth noting that it's the second night of a back to back and contending with the altitude in Denver to boot, and Denver played a great game knocking down shots in the second half and reading the passing lanes, but the Lakers just looked lost in the second half. They definitely weren't themselves, eight points in a quarter and Kobe going 0/4 and scoreless for the entire second half is not something you expect to see.

[Fresh8]

What an embarrassing game from the Lakers. With or without Pau, that was just terrible. Not having Pau is no excuse to go down like that. The better team won but boy did we get our asses kicked.

[dare]

8 points in the 3rd ..

I think Kobe give up in that game scoreless in the 2nd half

[Carmo]

8 points in the 3rd ..

I think Kobe give up in that game scoreless in the 2nd half

You think wrong, he tried his ass off in that third quarter. Then when the game was already won by three quarter time, the bench came on and Kobe didn't come back in.

[Fresh8]

8 points in the 3rd ..

I think Kobe give up in that game scoreless in the 2nd half

You think wrong, he tried his ass off in that third quarter. Then when the game was already won by three quarter time, the bench came on and Kobe didn't come back in.

Kobe had 19 in the first half and he was shit in the third quarter and got off like only 4 shots... our team was outplayed by Denver. Kudos to them

[Carmo]

I know. I'm just saying he didn't give up. You can play shit without giving up.

[Fresh8]

I know. I'm just saying he didn't give up. You can play shit without giving up.

Oh, I wasn't talking to you man. I was talking to Dare. lol