2014-15 Lakers Season Thread (21-61) KAT

[cruzair13]

we need magic kobe to come back if we WANT to win games.

remember that one stretch during 2012-2013 when kobe had back to back 14 assist games or something.

j-lin can't run an offense with no spacing.

 

[jumpman cbt2]

I feel like Kobe had a choice between money or a good roster. He chose money which I don't blame him for, but you can't have both.

yeah.
It's just somehow a contradiction when he said he wants to win his 6th NBA championship within the next 2 years but signs a 2 year contract
where he earns more than 24 mio. USD per year.
Some players like Dwayne Wade accepted a lower contract in order to have more budget for the team's roster.

 

[mister friendly]

The Lakers weren't going to be able to bring in NBA Championship level talent unless he took only like 5 million dollars

 

[doublemesh96]

there is nothing more stressful than watching lin dibble a basketball, its like watching a russian car crash video

I swear dude is a walking turn over

 

[darthska]

Bittah Demon checking in.

39 pts on 37 shots?



I don't even... let me just...

I've already detailed, explained, and argued the consequences of volume shooting.

Hope he's keeping that elbow iced; we've still got 77 more games.

"Who else is supposed to shoot, Ska?"
I know, I know.

"We're 0-5 because of MANAGEMENT, Bittah."
Yeah, yeah.

"5 championships is tough to argue."
Got it.

"Climbing the all-time assist ladder, though."
I hear ya.

 

[had pants]

2nd ones are nice where'd you cop?

Link for the bottom pair

Just browsing and didn't cop. Here's the link

http://www.mitchellandness.com/test...aign=paid_search_google_pla&scid=scplp7101754

 

[e3lal]

i dont think anyone here will disagree what playing 44 minutes is doing too much 


there is nothing more stressful than watching lin dibble a basketball, its like watching a russian car crash video

I hope someway/somehow we can get a Sessions-level pg. It will be brutal watching Lin all season.

SMH, I really thought Wes could be a player like Shawn Marion. I'll give X some more time due to injuries, but he's letting me down too.

 

[la kb24]

 

[Lovetohate3000]

Just finished watching the game.... Kobe looked so bad on so many layups
... I hate seeing Lin play. Dude is so much garbage.....this team is horrendous to watch. Not even entertaining..

 

[CP1708]

Bittah Demon checking in.

39 pts on 37 shots?



I don't even... let me just...

I've already detailed, explained, and argued the consequences of volume shooting.

Hope he's keeping that elbow iced; we've still got 77 more games.

"Who else is supposed to shoot, Ska?"
I know, I know.

"We're 0-5 because of MANAGEMENT, Bittah."
Yeah, yeah.

"5 championships is tough to argue."
Got it.

"Climbing the all-time assist ladder, though."
I hear ya.

Saw a tweet last night that said Kobe was gonna need Tommy John surgery.

 

[orsrt8]

Just finished watching the game.... Kobe looked so bad on so many layups
... I hate seeing Lin play. Dude is so much garbage.....this team is horrendous to watch. Not even entertaining..

The funny thing is he could've easily had 50 last night. So many missed layups and free throws. A few no calls as well. Refs don't give him any calls any more. Maybe it's the years of yelling at them but whatever the case is you can definitely see the difference between on calls other star players and Kobe.

 

[Lovetohate3000]

Dude had alot of open looks where he just bricked. Just one of of those days...
..... Lin looked horrible. All our pg Suck ..... Trash.
Hill couldn't hit that shot hes been hitting yesterday .played a good game in other areas tho.
.


we getting that number one pick....

 

[kal-el-8]

Dude had alot of open looks where he just bricked. Just one of of those days...
..... Lin looked horrible. All our pg Suck ..... Trash.
Hill couldn't hit that shot hes been hitting yesterday .played a good game in other areas tho.
.


we getting that number one pick....

Question is




Who do we take with that pick

 

[tupac003]

Kobe shooting entirely too much.

They look lost on offense. Defense...lol don't get me started.

I swear down the stretch I saw a play where Johnson looked at Kobe and I said I don't know where to go. Lin stays dribbling the ball....in one spot.

Lin is lost. The team is lost.

And in a way....we might win.

 

[tupac003]

Lakers will be chasing wrong kind of history this season

Bill Plaschke

November 4, 2014, 11:13 p.m.

There may be banners signifying 16 titles hanging from the Staples Center wall, but, right now, the traditional question of whether the Lakers will win a championship has been replaced with something a bit less majestic.

Will they ever win a game?

The season-opening bagel grew to historic proportions Tuesday with a 112-106 loss to Phoenix that left both players and fans wandering off into the darkness shaking their heads.

Have you looked at the schedule? Seriously, look at the schedule. If this team doesn't win Sunday at home against Charlotte, they might be hanging that bagel on their Christmas tree.

This was their fifth defeat in five games, the worst Lakers start in 57 years, since the team played in Minneapolis, where that winter will surely not be as cold as the one here.

Before the game, Coach Byron Scott urged the team to play as if this were a Game 7. They played with that sort of passion for long moments, but this is a team not built to survive Game 7 of the regular season.

"We played hard for the most part," Scott said afterward. "But there's no moral victories. We have to get better as a basketball team on the defensive end."

Indeed, the end was so typical of this Lakers team, with the defense completely falling apart after Kobe Bryant's three-pointer pulled them within two points with 1:07 remaining. The Suns' Eric Bledsoe promptly beat half the Lakers team to the basket, where he was fouled and then converted two free throws. After Bryant missed a layup, a wide-open three-pointer by P.J. Tucker clinched it.

"We made mistakes on the defensive end in the last few minutes that we can't make," said Scott.

The biggest mistake, of course, was in Lakers management even constructing this type of doomed team in the first place. The Buss family obviously thought Bryant would be enough to keep fans happy. Those fans stuck around for most of the game Tuesday, and indeed cheered every great play like it was a Game 7 but, make no mistake, nobody is happy.

This 0-5 start is the worst since they went 0-7 in Minneapolis in 1957, en route to a 19-53 record and worst winning percentage (.264) in franchise history.

This team wins 19 games, they're throwing a party.

That Minneapolis franchise was, ironically, coached by a former Lakers star making his homecoming return to the bench, a guy named George Mikan. Don't look now, Byron Scott, but Mikan went 9-30 before he was replaced.

Seriously, the new coach is not in trouble, he's one of the only things hanging around that remind the fans of the good old days. The players are not in trouble; how much can you blame a starting lineup of an aging Bryant and four other guys who look like Lakers impostors?

The league record for most losses belongs to the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who were 9-73. Once again, look at the Lakers schedule. Good luck finding even nine wins in there.

Even when the Lakers do something right, everything is turning out wrong.

Bryant traveled through time Tuesday night, playing 44 minutes while once even leaping the courtside fans in a single bound and sticking the landing. Then, later, he dribbled Goran Dragic out of his sneakers on a drive that brought the crowd to its weary feet. Yet he was eventually called for traveling after smoking Dragic, and also missed 23 of his 37 shots to put a damper on his 39 points.

"He plays every game like its his last game, and that's what you want," said Scott.

If he keeps trying to carry this kind of load, his last game will come sooner than he planned.

There is some thought that, unlike last year when their tradition and pride dictated that they had to at least pretend they were trying to win, the Lakers should drop all pretense and tank it. That's a good thought. They have a top-five lottery pick that they will lose to Phoenix if they fall out of the top five. They need to stay real bad before they have a chance of getting read good.

As the losing continues — and it will continue — there will be increased chatter around the league that the Lakers should trade Bryant to begin their rebuilding now, or that Bryant will make such a stink that they will have to trade him.

Even amid this smoking wreckage, don't believe either scenario.

The Lakers didn't ruin this roster and give him one of the most foolish contracts in NBA history — they handed him $48.5 million when he wasn't even healthy — just to see him end his career elsewhere.

The Buss family has been insistent that he will be a Laker for life, and it's hard to imagine them reneging on the sort of loyalty deal that they say was inspired of their late father's spirit.

As for Bryant, despite his desire for a Michael Jordan-tying sixth ring, it is hard to think he would turn his back on this Lakers loyalty by demanding a trade and leaving before the end of the contract. Bryant has done some ego-tastic things in his career, but he's more mature and protective of his legacy now. He knows the Lakers have paid him like nobody else would pay him. He knows they have spent nearly two decades nurturing him, protecting him, and picking him over Shaquille O'Neal. One could easily see Bryant, if he stays healthy, leaving the Lakers after next season and spending a year or so chasing that sixth ring with a relatively small contract for a contender. But it's hard to see him walking away from the Lakers while they still want him.

And, yes, they should still want him. What other choice do they have? What other reason is there for fans to come to the games? Does anybody really care about anybody else on the roster? And because Bryant would only agree to go to a contender, what sort of young players and picks could they really get for him right now that would satisfy the fans who have clearly bought into this two-year farewell tour. Having painted themselves into a corner with the Bryant money, they now have to live with him there, or it will become one seriously dark and cold corner.

So Bryant stays, and should stay. Of course, it's only 0-5. Check back with everybody at 8-40.

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/3/article/p2p-81882175/

 

[pmatic]

Hornets offense might be bad enough to let the Lakers hang around on Sunday.

They'll lock up on defense though.

 

[grandtheftbike]

If they lose against the Bobcats, they might not get a win until Minnesota at the end of the month

 

[shoeking2101]

I feel like Kobe had a choice between money or a good roster. He chose money which I don't blame him for, but you can't have both.

The Lakers not having a good roster has very little to do with Kobe's contract. Srs.

 

[Maximus Meridius]

The road to 0-82 continues.

 

[CP1708]

We've all known this stretch was coming. We pointed out the opening schedule months ago. None of this should be a surprise to anybody.

 

[grandtheftbike]

Misunderstood Pupil is right

 

[CP1708]

I don't mean any of us in here, I'm more annoyed with Platsche or however the **** you spell his name, and these other bloggers just now glancing at the schedule and writing about it.

We in here have known for months November was brutal. These hacks gettin their articles off now is just piling on.

 

[darthska]

Just finished watching the game.... Kobe looked so bad on so many layups
... I hate seeing Lin play. Dude is so much garbage.....this team is horrendous to watch. Not even entertaining..

The funny thing is he could've easily had 50 last night. So many missed layups and free throws. A few no calls as well. Refs don't give him any calls any more. Maybe it's the years of yelling at them but whatever the case is you can definitely see the difference between on calls other star players and Kobe.

Um, on 37 shots, what should come after 'Based on FGs, he could have had' would be the number 74.

He could have had 74.

Just off FGs.

Then factor in FTs, and yes, he could have had much more than 50.

 

[darthska]

Misunderstood Pupil is right

Need a legend of who's who now.

That's CP, no?

 

[CP1708]

Why am I Misunderstood Pupil? What does that even mean?