Lakers Thread

[dare]

Ok Kobe didn't give up but sometimes when the team really sucks his giving up too the only exception I think is the game against Toronto (where 81 points happens) the best Kobe I've ever seen because of his hustle in the ball.

[Fresh8]

Ok Kobe didn't give up but sometimes when the team really sucks his giving up too the only exception I think is the game against Toronto (where 81 points happens) the best Kobe I've ever seen because of his hustle in the ball.

He didn't really hustle in that game, he just shot the ball... a lot. And his shots were dropping.

[dare]

Well there's that one play that he hustle for the steal and goes for the dunk

[Fresh8]

I think Kobe should rest and wait for his groin injury to heal. Playing through injuries is a foolish option.

Does anyone here agree?

[Andrew]

Hard to keep a competitor like Bryant out of the lineup. I think at this stage you trust him if he says he can play, if he's labouring out on the floor maybe you pull him for the rest of the quarter/game but I don't think they should shut him down just yet.

[dare]

Kobe has an injury??? since when???

[air gordon]

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.

you're being a homer. Gasol led his Memphis Grizz to 0.. let's count again.. 0 wins in the postseason. you can't do any leading when you can't score late in games in the playoffs

[Lamrock]

Despite our sub-argument in another thread, I gotta agree with Air Gordon here. Pau had a pretty good supporting cast with the Grizzlies, especially in 2006. He can't will his team to victory like a Dwyane Wade, or even a Brandon Roy.

[Oznogrd]

I think Kobe should rest and wait for his groin injury to heal. Playing through injuries is a foolish option.

Does anyone here agree?

Just cant man. Hits hard to sit out and watch, especially if you can watch your team collapse without you. Done it many times with injuries. I eventually just stopped even going to watch if I couldnt play because it makes me want to put on a jersey and help too much. I'm sure pro guys like kobe/kg feel the same. Difference is they'll make millions of dollars.

[Andrew]

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.

you're being a homer. Gasol led his Memphis Grizz to 0.. let's count again.. 0 wins in the postseason. you can't do any leading when you can't score late in games in the playoffs

Does that mean Pax was right when he was hesitant to trade two core players for Gasol a couple of years back? Because I remember being shouted down when I made the "Gasol hasn't won anything" argument; I don't think it was you, but I'm sure someone downplayed the relevance of him being winless in the postseason during his Grizzlies tenure.

[Fresh8]

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.

you're being a homer. Gasol led his Memphis Grizz to 0.. let's count again.. 0 wins in the postseason. you can't do any leading when you can't score late in games in the playoffs

Yeah, you got me there.

I think Kobe should rest and wait for his groin injury to heal. Playing through injuries is a foolish option.

Does anyone here agree?

Just cant man. Hits hard to sit out and watch, especially if you can watch your team collapse without you. Done it many times with injuries. I eventually just stopped even going to watch if I couldnt play because it makes me want to put on a jersey and help too much. I'm sure pro guys like kobe/kg feel the same. Difference is they'll make millions of dollars.

I can associate but you and I don't have 'NBA championships' to worry about. I can understand he wants to be on the floor and would only stop if he was absolutely forced to by injury. But I'd rather have him healthy than have him playing hurt later on in the season.

[air gordon]

Despite our sub-argument in another thread, I gotta agree with Air .

i hate when people agree with me. we had a sub argment? awesome. but when?

Andrew: can't remember, sorry. i wouldn't want Gasol if he were to be the "best" player on the bulls

[shadowgrin]

Hard to keep a competitor like Bryant out of the lineup.

That or him not trusting his teammates to get the W without him (or Gasol).

[Andrew]

Possibly. Not an entirely unfounded fear, though.

[Fresh8]

Like so many Lakers fans, Magic Johnson cringed when he heard the phrase "72 and 10."

It's not that Johnson doesn't have faith in this Lakers team, or in its ability to defend its NBA championship.

It's just that Johnson doesn't see it as a reality for the Lakers to try to match or surpass the all-time NBA regular-season record of 72-10 held by the Chicago Bulls.

In fact, after the Lakers beat the New York Knicks on Tuesday at Staples Center, Johnson was emphatic. "They can't do 72-10," said Johnson, who owns 5% of the Lakers. "They shouldn't even try 72. First, they can't accomplish it, anyway. The main thing is playing the best you can play, getting the best record [this season] so you can have home-court advantage."

The Lakers improved to 11-3 by defeating the Knicks. They took Wednesday off before going back to work today and Friday as the Lakers prepare to play the Golden State Warriors on Saturday in Oakland.

When he played, Johnson said, the team's goal was to get the best record in the West and then the best overall record. "And that's what these Lakers should stay with," Johnson said. "And, it should be, 'How can we get better? Every month we've got to get better.' "

To repeat, Johnson said, it will require a strong resolve by the Lakers. He likes their chances if they stay grounded.

"Complacency can't set in," Johnson said. "You can't worry about being in commercials and stuff that can really hurt you. They have to stay focused and then pay attention to the little details of making sure you stay together as a tight unit, making sure the media don't come in and divide nobody.

"Make sure no craziness is going on. Then everybody has to stay happy with their role. Because what kills teams trying to repeat is somebody now saying: 'Damn, I want to go from 10 points to 20.' Or, 'I want 15 shots now. I was only getting seven. How can I get 15 shots?' Those types of things, that's what kills a team."

Some of that has already surfaced with the Lakers' second unit.

It was a source of irritation for Lakers Coach Phil Jackson during Tuesday's game when his second unit of Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic, Shannon Brown and Adam Morrison began turning the ball over. The bench let a 25-point lead slip to 14 points, forcing Jackson to call a timeout to put starters Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest back into the game.

"Andrew [Bynum] and Lamar stayed out with that group, and it just didn't seem to be that kind of leadership that we needed," Jackson said.

Johnson added that all teams need someone who acts as the clubhouse enforcer. "I was the police on our team. If I heard you were at the club too much and I saw that in your play, I'm going to let you know. So who is the police on this team?

"Is that Derek [Fisher]? Who's that guy that when somebody is getting out of line or going over that line, you've got to pull them back in," Johnson said.

"If you want to repeat, that's what you have to do. It's not going to be easy, but we have the team to do it."

Agreeing with Magic on this one actually.

Well, maybe not on the 'They can't do it anyway' argument but the 'don't chase the record, focus on being better' argument. And also like what he says about complacency.

Article

[Andrew]

Considering how many consecutive victories they'd have to amass to still be on pace by the All-Star break, it seems unlikely though I'm guessing they'll win at least around 65 again. If the 70 win mark was easy to break, we'd have had a few more teams do so by now. Every hot start leads to whispers of 70 wins or specifically beating 72 wins, no point talking about it until March (or at least February) when it can become a stronger possibility.

[dare]

I think when their record becomes 58-4 then the 70+ win is not possible

[Andrew]

I think you mean possible, if they rattle off enough consecutive wins to be 58-4 then they only need to go 12-8 in their final 20 games to hit the 70 win mark.

[Lamrock]

^ What? I thought people only initiated the 70 win discussion with a team that is actually on pace to win that many. At 11-3, the Lakers are on pace for a 64 win season, which could very well be their final record. I really don't see them winning 70 though. Hopefully AMMO somehow gets a shitload of minutes because I don't want LA to repeat.

[Andrew]

dare019 said that if the Lakers get to a record of 58-4 then 70+ is not possible. I'd say if they rattled off a consecutive win streak that got them to a 58-4 record, they'd certainly have a shot at winning 70 or more. However, given they're 11-3 I would suggest it's highly unlikely they'll be 58-4 at some point during this season.

[dare]

Dont mean anything to what I said to me its just a personal opinion peace man

[Fresh8]

I would love for Shannon Brown to participate in this season's dunk contest. That dude can fly.

[air gordon]

was this guy some secret? he's always been an awesome dunker. google the high school all american dunk contest. pretty crazy. also in his days at MSU

it's pretty funny/pathetic that on some of Brown's dunks that half the LA crowd isn't even paying attention

[Fresh8]

it's pretty funny/pathetic that on some of Brown's dunks that half the LA crowd isn't even paying attention

Fans are too busy watching the kiss cam on the jumbotron

[dare]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4715782

just your plain old kobe