*'11-'12 LAKERS Thread; 41-25* 1st Rd: DEN (go to 1st Rd. Thread)

[freeze]

i wonder if after games like that mamba apologizes to the guys? i mean anybody with eyes can watch game tape and see that the team was wholly better with him on the bench last night...he'd grab alot of respect from me if when they got back in the lockerroom the homie just was like, 'yo, my bad yall, i knew i was having a bad game, but i just figured eventually it would quick. yall did great, this ones on me' if he did that, maaaad props.


with that said, on to the next one. cant dwell on it, only learn from it. Lakers>>>

 

[thachosen123]

Kobe Apologize??? I highly doubt that

 

[night marcher01]

Originally Posted by HANNSUM

Originally Posted by Night Marcher01

Originally Posted by Noelair24

Whoa! Talk about being ethered! HANNSUM/Sexy needs to come back! Actually I'm going to PM him this.

you haven't read mine. but not tryin to repeat though

Actually, that's because you're incapable of pulling something like 'repeating' off. Only the Lakers can achieve a task like that. 

 

[mrdieselfuel09]

Only thing I got out of the last few pages was that Nash is a better shooter than Ray.

 

[xsalvioutlawx]

Why would Kobe apologize for having a bad regular season game?

He stuck up for Pau more than Phil or any other Laker fan throughout the whole playoffs. Same with Fisher. Kobe sticks up for these guys more than any of us do and that's why Bynum and Pau stuck up for him after the game yesterday.

Pau said those are usually shots he makes and he has no problem with him taking those shots or something like that.

 

[essential1]

Originally Posted by mrdieselfuel09

Only thing I got out of the last few pages was that Nash is a better shooter than Ray.

I disagree severely with that... 

But to each their own

And that's not knocking Nash.. I disliked him in 05 & 06 but I can't take it away from him... the man is a beast.. But to me Ray is a better shooter...

 

[tupac003]

Doesn't look like this will end anytime soon...

Monday, January 2, 2012
Kobe Bryant vows to keep shooting

---

By Dave McMenamin
ESPNLosAngeles.com


EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Hours after a disappointing 99-90 road loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday in a game in which Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant shot just 6-for-28 from the field, new Lakers coach Mike Brown and Bryant huddled together on the team plane and reviewed the game tape during the flight back to Los Angeles.

[h4]More on the Lakers[/h4]
For more news, notes and analysis of the Lakers, check out the Land O' Lakers blog from the Kamenetzky Brothers. Blog

"I normally (watch tape on the plane), but watching it with the head coach is different," Bryant said. "I really enjoyed it because you get a chance to digest things, process things, go over things, talk about adjustments in terms or personnel and who to put on what spot on the floor and all that kind of stuff."

What they saw on the screen left Bryant defiant as ever about his decision making and the coach defending his star's shot selection following Monday's practice.

"I do what I do. If guys are open, I kick it to them, if they're not, I shoot it," Bryant said. "I play my game."

Bryant, playing with a torn lunotriquetral ligament in his right (shooting) wrist that he suffered during the preseason, started off the season averaging 27.8 points on 48.1 percent shooting through the Lakers' first four games but had difficulty with his accuracy over the weekend. He averaged just 16.5 points on 12-for-26 shooting (26.1 percent) in a back-to-back against the Nuggets that the Lakers split 1-1.

Through the first four games of the season, when Andrew Bynum was sidelined with a suspension, Bryant averaged 20.3 shot attempts per game. In the two games since Bynum came back, Bryant's shot attempts actually increased to an average of 23.0 per contest. Meanwhile, Bynum has averaged 23.5 points per game on only 15 attempts per game and is shooting 66.7 percent from the field.

"We always start inside-out," Bryant said, when asked about Bynum and Pau Gasol's effectiveness on offense. "If you mean (to ask me) if I'm going to shoot less, the answer is no. It starts with me. I do what I do and we play off of that. That's not going to change."

Brown backed up Bryant's stance after their impromptu film session. Brown said he had watched cut-ups of a game tape with LeBron James when he coached the Cleveland Cavaliers, but never watched a full game tape all the way through with his prized pupil.

"When you look at (6-for-28 in the box score), you think 'Oh my gosh, there's got to be a ton of bad shots,'" Brown said. "But if you go back and watch the game you see some of the shots he took, there were a lot of shots he took -- (I know) because I coached against him -- he normally makes."

Brown said that Bryant's wrist, which still causes Bryant's right hand to swell up significantly two weeks after he sustained the injury, could be hurting Bryant more than he is letting on.

"He's got to continue to figure out how to stay in rhythm or how to get in rhythm with that wrist. He might not say it, but try to hold a microphone with a torn ligament, let alone shoot it and make sure you get a follow through," Brown told a group of microphone-toting reporters. "That's a bear. That's a bear."

When asked if he will tell Bryant to shoot less while he makes the adjustment to his wrist injury, Brown vehemently opposed the consideration.

"No, no, no, no, no. Kobe can make shots. That's what he's done his whole career," Brown said. "He's got a (right index) finger that he kind of went through the same thing with and he made shots against us (when Brown was coaching Cleveland) with that finger and he's going to make shots for us. The one thing I don't want to do is to tell him to stop shooting because he's going to work his way through it, just like he did with his finger."

Bryant initially deflected questions about his wrist by saying, "I don't make excuses," but eventually conceded, "It's a pain in the %%@. It is."

Still, the man who became just the sixth player in NBA history to reach 28,000 points for his career during the loss in Denver, made it clear that his confidence was not shaken after a couple of poor performances.

"I had shots. If I have shots, I take them," Bryant said. "If I shoot the ball 40 times with good looks, that's what it is. (If I shoot it) 15 or 20 times, that's what it is."

Bryant added that he didn't realize that he had passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to set the record as the youngest player ever to amass 28,000 points because his thoughts were focused elsewhere.

"What I realized is I got to make some adjustments with this jumper," Bryant said.

Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

I guess we will just have to see what happens...

 

[darthska]

tupac:

---

"I do what I do. If guys are open, I kick it to them, if they're not, I shoot it," Bryant said. "I play my game."

"We always start inside-out," Bryant said, when asked about Bynum and Pau Gasol's effectiveness on offense. "If you mean (to ask me) if I'm going to shoot less, the answer is no. It starts with me. I do what I do and we play off of that. That's not going to change."

BOTH



TEAMS



PLAYED



HARD

 

[CP1708]

16 YEARS in the NBA and you all still dissecting regular season losses one by one.

Good God people. Both teams played hard......

 

[licensed to ball]

Instead of continuously posting "both teams played hard" to keep showing us how much you can "keep your mouth shut" about your negative thoughts of Kobe...why not just not post anything at all related to the matter? 
It's almost like someone promising that they aren't going to whine or complain about something, but continuously make sly remarks like "not to complain, but i wish...", "i dont wanna sound negative, but...", "not that its a big deal or anything but why does...?"... not realizing that they are still complaining. You're still pointing it out...

No hate Ska, you know you're my dude... but most of us know you well enough to see that phrase as what it really is, so you might as well say what you really wanna say and stop caring about dudes who give you a hard time about your opinion.

Just sayin...

I don't have a problem with any of it, i've never asked you to stop criticizing Kobe or to like him more as a person...I respect everyones opinion. I respect you, i respect all Laker fans... and I have never liked Kobe the person either...you would have to be blind to not see how much of an arrogant person he is, im not scared to voice that so Im on your side with it. But i dont get the purpose of what you are doing over and over on each of these pages...just thought you would not address it rather than do it the way you are.

No hard feelings of course, feel free to correct me if anything i've said is flawed. 

P.S. Whether your logic makes sense or not (and it does for the most part)...Hannsum's intentions are to troll...and he's obviously doing it cleverly because it doesn't come off that way to some eyes. He has no intention to peacefully debate basketball in here...his choice of wordage is continuously pushing peoples buttons, it can only be ignored to a certain extent realistically...in a way he is hiding his trollage with paragraphs of arguments, but just because its hidden doesnt mean it doesnt exist.

 

[darthska]

CP:

---

16 YEARS in the NBA and you all still dissecting regular season losses one by one.

Good God people. Both teams played hard......

Alright, I don't mind chopping it up with you.

You know DAMN well the criticisms that you're reading about Kobe regarding last night's game are definitely not exclusive to a single game like last night.

GTFOHWTBS These same exact criticisms you're reading; same words, new screen names. I've been saying the same exact things that these new critics are saying, except I've been saying them on here since EZboard days, and long before that off of here, before I joined NT.

"He shoots too much."

"Kobe knows you can't spell 'team' without an m and an e."

"He's a volume shooter; no more, no less."

"His shooting percentage is entirely too low to be regarded as high as he is."

YEARS, dog; not just one game.

Hell yeah he's got all his rings because of Shaq and Gasol; no effing doubt about it.

NO QUESTION.

 

[darthska]

L2B- to me, "Both teams played hard" = "You already know damn well what I want to say, so there's no point in me saying it." It's not "I really care what you think about my opinion, so I'm going to keep my opinion to myself since I know you won't like it." Never that.

Some people who are argumentative will argue and argue and argue anything. Others who are argumentative realize that some arguments aren't worth participating in; that's me. And the topic of Kobe is one of those things that I realize has no point.

That's the first thing. Second thing on that is my intentions, which were to show you guys that I'm reading all of this, and consciously choosing not to retort (up until now, obviously). Sure, I could read all this and simply keep it moving, but I wanted to throw out a few replies that acting he showed you guys have 'planned ignoring'.



On the topic of trolling: no superstar is immune to critics. You know this. Well for me, if you ARE bringing facts, and you are NOT being disrespectful/insulting, and you are NOT just annoyingly repeating the same thing (like "Both teams played hard"), then you're not trolling.

 

[mrdieselfuel09]

Everybody go make yourselves feel better. Go watch this and reminisce the good ol times about Bryant

He's obviously going to keep shooting his way out of a slump. Broken wrist or not. This will never change. Even when he becomes a 20 year veteran, he will always keep pulling this off. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws2yhBzJjis&feature=player_embedded

 

[darthska]

Suffice it to say… and I'm sure some of you could guess this anyways… I've never gotten over that.

What would it take for me to get over it, to move on? It would take the same thing I need to get over any flaw I see in somebody: I need to see that they're taking steps to improve it. But to have the same problem/flaw/whatever for a decade and a half? Nah, if you're doing the same thing now that I criticized you for 16 years ago, you're going to get the same criticism that you did 16 years ago; that's just logical.

"Well at least he has the guts to shoot those shots."

Hell, so do I! If the Lakers would call ME and tell ME "Hey, we've got a limo outside your house right now. Need you to be at Staples tonight to take the game-winning shot if we need it," I'd do it! Not that hard.

How is somebody supposed to be getting credit for simply wanting to shoot?

And it's not like you get points for having the desire to shoot.

I just never understood that defense. "Well at least he wants to shoot it. Got to respect that." No I don't.

Tons of people want to shoot it. I'm sure Eddie Jones would have loved one of those 4 air balls. Hell, he was wide open in the corner totally waiting for the pass from Kobe. Little did he know.

 

[CP1708]

Ska, I was tryin to drop that in and your post just beat me. I was tryin to play on your both teams played etc etc, wasn't tryin to call you out specifically. I know your stance, and it certainly has merit, no question. I'm merely lamenting that every night 6-10 NBA teams lose a game, nobody talks much about those. We lose, people go ape @#$%. Clowns all race to the internets, head straight for the Laker thread.

Is what it is I guess, but we seen basically 1,400 games with Kobe Bryant in a Laker uni, we REALLY need to go hard after one poor game? Really? I just want to be sure, cuz then when he bangs out a 35 point night with some dimes and maybe some clutch plays, I got plenty of threads I can run thru with some "knowledge" like these other tool bags. I can have a good time with that, but I don't, no point. Whatever he does, he does at this point. His legacy is cement, can't tarnish anymore can only add. He's old, its almost over, just addin some final notes now. Few stats here, wins there, maybe a few more series, if he can add a title or even just another finals, swell. We REALLY need to spend 5 pages freakin on a regular season game # 1,109 or whatever he at now?

I look at it like this, Manu just messed his hand and will sit a few weeks, meanwhile our guy plays with bad fingers, ankles, knees, shoulder, wrist, gets radical surgeries in the OFFSEASON to play for the LA Lakers. He has titles because of Shaq and Pau, no doubt, but they also have titles because of Kobe, no doubt. So I would think, if Shaq can have 30 games off to rest his toe, or Pau can play girlie during a three peat and get passes, maybe the guy killin hisself can get a pass for shootin to much in game six........of the regular season. Seems fair, don't it?

 

[darthska]

CP:

---

if Shaq can have 30 games off to rest his toe, or Pau can play girlie during a three peat and get passes, maybe the guy killin hisself can get a pass for shootin to much in game six........of the regular season. Seems fair, don't it?
I mean, well damn, when you put it like that…

But the way Shaq handled that toe injury just shows that he's nowhere near the competitor Kobe is, far less willing to do 'whatever it takes' to win.

Pau? Who the hell is he getting a pass from as far as being Gasoft?

as far as people making sure to rush in every time we lose: comes with the territory of being a fan of an elite team. I say things like this all the time: I can't even say it bothers me, because I do the same thing with the Yankees. When the Rangers lost their second consecutive World Series, I'm not even sure I commented in the Rangers thread. Had that been the Yankees, yeah, it would've been a different story. I don't give a damn about the Rangers, but Yuck the Fankees.

Same thing with our beloved purple and gold. It's just part of being a Lakers fan, (or Yankees, or Cowboys, or Duke).

 

[kingjaffejo]

CP & Ska you both actually make really good points...

But CP I don't think anyone is going crazy over the lakers losing...I actually think its a pretty wide agreement that the Lake show is playing pretty decent with everything stacked against them.

But what I think is alarming is not that Kobe shots and misses in volumes I mean he does that whatever. But to be at this stage in your career its like he is oblivious to the change around him. He is too arrogant to. Like I get it start to take that step back and start to push the next breed of Lakers. Like seriously Kobe had nothing to prove to anybody...he's top 5/6 to most...there's nothing left to prove

To me he should think more about how he wants to leave the game. He still can be just as deadly if he can be the leader he is suppose to be and feed into the strengtha of the TEAM. GOLAKERS

 

[CP1708]

I just hope he goes 10-18 tomorrow night in a win and all the trolls clear out again.

I'd be so happy. Dude is not going to change. Ever. He is going to play like this til he truly can not play the game the same. He won't turn into quiet Reggie Miller 14 points a night token face of the team in 27 minutes a game til he hits 36-37 years old. People need to realize this.

 

[tupac003]

Originally Posted by 23ska909red02

CP:

---

if Shaq can have 30 games off to rest his toe, or Pau can play girlie during a three peat and get passes, maybe the guy killin hisself can get a pass for shootin to much in game six........of the regular season. Seems fair, don't it?

I mean, well damn, when you put it like that…

But the way Shaq handled that toe injury just shows that he's nowhere near the competitor Kobe is, far less willing to do 'whatever it takes' to win.

Pau? Who the hell is he getting a pass from as far as being Gasoft?

as far as people making sure to rush in every time we lose: comes with the territory of being a fan of an elite team. I say things like this all the time: I can't even say it bothers me, because I do the same thing with the Yankees. When the Rangers lost their second consecutive World Series, I'm not even sure I commented in the Rangers thread. Had that been the Yankees, yeah, it would've been a different story. I don't give a damn about the Rangers, but Yuck the Fankees.

Same thing with our beloved purple and gold. It's just part of being a Lakers fan, (or Yankees, or Cowboys, or Duke).
This....
But it does kill me sometimes that Kobes gets the hate he gets. He wears my teams uniform and sometimes I feel like I have to defend him. 

 

[CP1708]

^ which is where I am. I could care less if he shoots too much, too little, play hurt, don't play hurt, 8, 24, good bad or otherwise. Just win my team some damn games. I freaking hate having to step in and say something, but if this was Fish, I'd be doin the same thing. People go off on both of them when they screw up, and don't give enough credit when they save our bacon. I don't get it. We all know Fish sucks, but he does things like the save the other day that swings games. Kobe costs us games, then he steals one back the next time. After 16 years for both of em, you'd think LA fans would already know the routine. Wait til we lose in Portland on Thursday and everybody is cool with cuz they know the pattern, but Kobe has a bad game, panic and outrage ensue.

 

[xsalvioutlawx]

One good game and that's all it takes for the haters to disappear.

When Kobe dominates and destroys a team like he did against the Knicks, no one seems surprised. Not even Knick fans.

But if he struggles, people make a huge deal out of it.

LeBron stans always came in our old threads and talked about his game 7 and how he shot horribly. Then Lebron goes and chokes in the NBA finals and breaks the record for the biggest drop off in production from a player in between series and they disappear for a few months.

Lebrons fourth quarter woes in the biggest series of his life were worse than Kobe's shooting in game 7. That's why Lebron stans chose to stay away for a while.

Now that they think we forgot about it, dudes like Hansumm show up again trying to troll

It's just funny how it all works out in the end. 5 to none.

 

[essential1]

Originally Posted by xsalvioutlawx

LeBron stans always came in our old threads and talked about his game 7 and how he shot horribly. Then Lebron goes and chokes in the NBA finals and breaks the record for the biggest drop off in production from a player in between series and they disappear for a few months.

Lebrons fourth quarter woes in the biggest series of his life were worse than Kobe's shooting in game 7. That's why Lebron stans chose to stay away for a while.

The one thing that makes me angry about the Game 7 thing was it was one of the sloppiest games I've seen played by both sides...

Not to mention Kobe had the game high in points... Scored the most points in the 4th Quarter.. Had the assist to Artest that was the biggest shot of the game... Ray Allen hits a 3 in response.. Kobe comes back ices the game with making to free throws... And still pulled down 15 boards (which is about triple his normal output)..

 

[kingjaffejo]

Haters will be haters...true Laker fans critique out of love and pride for the team.

 

[xsalvioutlawx]

Originally Posted by Essential1

Originally Posted by xsalvioutlawx

LeBron stans always came in our old threads and talked about his game 7 and how he shot horribly. Then Lebron goes and chokes in the NBA finals and breaks the record for the biggest drop off in production from a player in between series and they disappear for a few months.

Lebrons fourth quarter woes in the biggest series of his life were worse than Kobe's shooting in game 7. That's why Lebron stans chose to stay away for a while.

The one thing that makes me angry about the Game 7 thing was it was one of the sloppiest games I've seen played by both sides...

Not to mention Kobe had the game high in points... Scored the most points in the 4th Quarter.. Had the assist to Artest that was the biggest shot of the game... Ray Allen hits a 3 in response.. Kobe comes back ices the game with making to free throws... And still pulled down 15 boards (which is about triple his normal output)..

Yep, and rebounding is one of the main things that won us that game which people completely ignore. Game 7 was one of the ugliest games I have seen and they won it as a team. From rebounding, then Kobe hitting that jumper, Fisher, Artest hitting that 3, and Sasha icing those free throws.

 

[darthska]

Yes, Kobe has won us some games, with his buzzer beaters and his fourth-quarter performances (which doesn't just mean scoring, but also rebounding, passing, being more determined and focused and effective in the 4th than he was in the 1st).

But overall, we have won despite Kobe, not because of Kobe. I don't care; that's my opinion. He has been surrounded by rosters that were able to play in spite of him, so he has quite the resume under his belt, and people give him all the credit for it (present company obviously excluded from those people).

Kobe's style of play, his attitude, his entire brand is absolutely cancerous, and all the people who are labeled 'haters' are absolutely right when they point that out. Want to know someone else whose career is over now and is also ackknowledged as a cancer? Mr. Allen Iverson. But The Answer never had a roster anywhere close to some of the rosters Kobe has had, and the closest he's had to a coach like Phil was Larry Brown, and that wasn't for near as long as Kobe had Phil. And that's why when you look at the careers of Kobe versus Allen, Kobe's on top by an infinite mile.

Both fit the following description: volume shooter who thrives in the spotlight and is very competitive, but you can't tell him nothing.

Kobe has had the benefit of playing alongside extremely talented players that were able to work around that description; Allen hasn't had that benefit. THAT is why now, today, Allen is wondering why he can't get on an NBA roster, while Kobe is simply adding to a career decorated with rings and trophies. But you take away Lamar Odom and Phil Jackson and Glen Rice and Shaq and Andrew Bynum and Robert Horry and Pau Gasol, you take all that away from Kobe, and you give that entire history to Allen Iverson, and they would both be in each others shoes right now. You would all be defending Allen while I'm sitting here saying "We've won despite him, not because of him, but whatever; there's no point in me arguing about Iverson with you guys anymore. Just saying, we could've been just as successful with that cancer Kobe."

And before anyone thinks that I am anywhere close to an Allen Iversen fan: stop it.

Can't stand him, his brand, or his playing style, either.