- 24,717
- 436
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2006
Offical 2009-10 NBA Season Thread
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by mateen cleaves,
- Start date
- 2,776
- 116
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2008
Jennings been showboating and acting wild since he was in highschool...since when has bron started dancing and all this bull @%** since this year??.jennings has ALWAYS felt himself too much (nh)...and that EYE thing...Jennings been doing that against other teams, not JUST the cavs...get bron's jock off your mouth...downright disgusting
- 25,233
- 13,300
- Joined
- May 30, 2006
Dude.. Seriously... What the hell are you rambling about?
- 17,649
- 24,001
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2007
billy hoyle
Banned
- 3,144
- 11
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2010
- 25,494
- 653
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2004
Front 2 rows of the lakers vs hawks game got the bet hip hop awards lo
- 25,494
- 653
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2004
Front 2 rows of the lakers vs hawks game got the bet hip hop awards look going?
- 11,234
- 185
- Joined
- May 19, 2004
I know I've heard the PA announcer shout out Dream, TIP, and Usher already...
- 4,405
- 484
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2010
When JC stops on a dime and pulls up, curtains.
- 3,005
- 11
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2008
Originally Posted by JPZx
Originally Posted by Lakersfan1
So let get this straight. If lebron did all this it would be considered okay but when a ROOKIE does it, its considered disrespectful and "feeling himself a lil too much". Like posted above what if he was having fun and loves doing what he does for a living and is having fun with it. Like Lebron and the cavs dancing on the sidelines. People are not hating lebron for him being downrighton the court, they are hating him for being a drama queen and getting butt hurt after he gets a taste of his own medicine. Seriously he needs to grow up and until then im going to enjoy every time i see him storm off the court when they lose in the playoffs
Kobe's not passing the torch to Lebron...Lebron's snatching it away while Kobe still has the talent to enjoy it. And that bothers you. That's all that needs to be said.
- 12,885
- 2,739
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2001
Originally Posted by Billy Hoyle
co-sign to the fullest
- 17,319
- 3,586
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2005
Dikembe Mutombo
The retired 7-footer and former Defensive Player of theYear is in town today in part to meet with Griz rookie center Hasheem Thabeet. Itis believed, too, that the Griz will talk to Mutombo about working as a paid consultantin the offseason.
Mutombo will spend a lot of time coaching Thabeet in thesummer ff the Griz have their way. Memphisstruck out in its bid to hire Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who revealedlate last year that a bout with cancer would prevent him from working.
There's still hope.
I'm glad management smartened up and is trying to bring in a guy to help Thabeet.
D
Deleted member 38182
Guest
^How has Thabeet's D been this season? I only got to catch him and the Grizz a handful of times and the only game where the guy got any playing time was at the Kings game. He swatted the $$%% out of Beno's weak as floater
it was on some D-Howard status
Anyways, during that game the guy could really play solid help D and man to man D. Honestly it doesnt look like his defense needs much help; but any help (especially from Mutumbo) will be
for the kid. His offensive game is weak a crap though, but that was already a given.
- 11,234
- 185
- Joined
- May 19, 2004
I got $5 on OOC making a "Trouble in the City of Angels?" topic by tomorrow...
- 7,084
- 45
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2007
Mount Mutombo working with Thabeet would be
- 17,649
- 24,001
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2007
There's even an article so he can make it look legitimate.
What's wrong with the Lakers?
By John Hollinger
Reading the tea leaves in Phil Jackson's potential return to the Los Angeles Lakers after this season has been a popular pastime in recent weeks, but in focusing on that storyline, it seems we might have buried the lead.
Before a game in Oklahoma City last week, Jackson talked about his future and threw in an interesting take on his team's chances this season.
"If we win, it's almost imperative to give it another shot," Jackson said. "But there are a lot of ifs in there. Winning is a really big if. There are four playoffs you have to get through before you can say that we won. … That's a long shot."
Come again? The Lakers, the defending champions? A long shot?
That's certainly not the national mood -- virtually every prognosticator expects the Lakers to emerge as the Western Conference champs once again and face off with either Cleveland or Orlando in the Finals.
Alas, Jackson has one advantage over all the commentators -- he's been watching the Lakers play every day. And of late, it would be hard for even the most wild-eyed optimist to conclude his team is in championship form.
Since the All-Star break, the Lakers are a modest 13-7. This sounds awesome if you're a Clippers or Warriors fan, but in Hollywood the bar is set a bit higher. Additionally, there have been precious few impressive wins along the way. The Lakers did manage to beat Phoenix and San Antonio on the road but have struggled to outlast much weaker opposition. Despite two games against Golden State and one each against Minnesota, Indiana, Washington, Sacramento, Philadelphia and Toronto, the Lakers have just one double-figure win since the All-Star break. One.
Last season, for comparison, they went 16-4 in the 20 games after the All-Star break and won seven by double figures, even though they were in a similar situation regarding Andrew Bynum's health.
In other words, although the names and faces are mostly the same, these Lakers aren't playing like last season's Lakers. They aren't going to get anywhere near the 2008-09 total of 65 wins, and they no longer own the top scoring margin in the West -- that would be Utah's property, because the Lakers have a piddling plus-2.65 margin since the All-Star break.
L.A.'s slide is happening while its competition is ramping up. Over the past quarter of the schedule, L.A. has the worst margin of the West's top eight. Ready for the really depressing news? Seven teams in the East are ahead of the Lakers, too.
http:///sports.espn.go.com/espn/gallery/enlargePhoto?id=5043689&story=5043199">http://sports.espn.go.com...043689&...idth=440,height=750,scrollbars=no,noresize'); return false;" href="http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERDiem-100331#">
Long shots to repeat? That's what Phil Jackson calls his team.
In other words, they look every bit like a team that's a long shot to win a championship. Wednesday's Playoff Odds give them only a 1-in-6 chance of coming out of the West. While one can argue the Playoff Odds might be a bit too democratic in spreading the probabilities around, it's notable that Utah grades out as much more likely to advance and that Phoenix and San Antonio are projected to have chances roughly equal to the Lakers'.
So what's gone wrong? Why can't L.A. play like the Lakers of a year ago or even the Lakers of the first half of this season?
Several factors intersect. Offensively, they just aren't good, and it's putting a ton of pressure on the defense to save the day. The Lakers are only 11th in offensive efficiency, and the attack has taken another small step back in the 20 games since the All-Star break.
With three highly productive starters, it's pretty obvious what the problem is -- they're basically playing with an open sore at point guard. Derek Fisher is a great guy and has earned all the rope he's been given, but we're 70 games into the season and he's shooting 37.9 percent with a 9.27 player efficiency rating, output that screams, "Replace me," from the hilltops. Unfortunately, backup Jordan Farmar hasn't been any better. The Lakers had a golden opportunity to trade Adam Morrison's expiring contract for backcourt help at the trade deadline and failed to pull the trigger. They might regret that move deeply come May.
Another issue, however, is that Kobe Bryant isn't producing at the level of the previous two seasons. This has been partly masked by his increased minutes -- he's playing 38.8 minutes per game compared to last season's 36.1 -- and his penchant for spectacular last-second shots. So his per-game numbers look fine, and he's making memorable plays. But on a per-minute basis, he hasn't been the same player. He's headed for his worst PER in a decade, with his turnover ratio in particular spiking noticeably from last season.
As for the team defense, that has slipped, too. In fact, lately L.A. has taken a bigger step back there than on offense. The Lakers were second in the league in defensive efficiency at the All-Star break, but have been just 10th-best since, dropping into a tie for fourth with Oklahoma City for the season overall.
Again, identifying the shortcoming doesn't take an advanced degree -- quick point guards have their way with this defense. In the past month, Jameer Nelson, Jonny Flynn, Stephen Curry, Aaron Brooks, Darren Collison, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook all have put up numbers at the Lakers' expense, with L.A. either losing or barely hanging on for a win in each of those contests. The Lakers currently are projected to face either Westbrook or Tony Parker in Round 1.
Much of this isn't news, as the problems I've just enumerated have been known for some time. What's troubling, however, is that they seem to be getting worse rather than better as the Lakers approach the postseason.
Seeing the glass as half full, I can offer a couple of hopeful notes. First, perhaps no team is better at looking awful while still piling up wins. Last season's playoff run was an example -- through two and a half playoff rounds, all anyone could talk about was how uninspired the Lakers looked, right until the part where they won six out of seven in convincing fashion to shove aside the Nuggets and Magic.
Second, Lakers fans can exhale and note they won't face Paul or Brooks -- two players who have befuddled them for years -- in the playoffs. Most of the other point guards in the West playoffs are, in fact, nearly as old as Fisher, namely Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups, Andre Miller and Jason Kidd.
That said, I think some of Bryant's early-season heroics might have lulled management into a false sense of security. L.A.'s commanding lead in the Western Conference standings allowed it to think everything was fine, but under the surface the problems were clearly evident. The Lakers are first in the West because they've won a ton of close games at the end, but I don't think they're anywhere near as good as their record. To put it another way, it's great to rejoice over a last-second game winner over Sacramento or Toronto in front of the home fans -- but if teams like that are playing you to a draw for 47 minutes on your floor, that's a problem.
L.A.'s recent diet of Sacramentos and Washingtons is about to change dramatically, as it faces five stern tests in the next six games, beginning Wednesday in Atlanta. After that, the Lakers have home games against Utah and San Antonio, a trip to Denver, a scrimmage with Minnesota and finally a game against Portland back in L.A.
If those tests can't produce any better results, it's safe to say the Lakers' hopes of repeating are a long shot. Don't take it from me, though … take it from their coach.
- 17,319
- 3,586
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2005
Sometimes he has trouble boxing out specifically off of FT's. Grabbing rebounds also hurts him at times. He can't never completely get both of his hands on the ball.Originally Posted by rck2sactown
^How has Thabeet's D been this season? I only got to catch him and the Grizz a handful of times and the only game where the guy got any playing time was at the Kings game. He swatted the $$%% out of Beno's weak as floaterit was on some D-Howard statusAnyways, during that game the guy could really play solid help D and man to man D. Honestly it doesnt look like his defense needs much help; but any help (especially from Mutumbo) will befor the kid. His offensive game is weak a crap though, but that was already a given.
In terms of altering other teams shots and shot blocking, he definitely does that pretty well.
Of course it will take more discipline of timing his blocks better, that's all apart of the growing process. Alot of times he's jumping all over the place and falling over.
But, there are games where you're
- 9,157
- 2,346
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2008
Bucks giving Cavs a hard time at home tonight.
- 191
- 10
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2008
Do the Lakers have the worst starting Point Guard in the league?
- 4,405
- 484
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2010
Cavs free throws - 45
Bucks free throws - 9
EDIT
Bucks free throws - 9
EDIT
- 2,776
- 116
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2008
43 (cavs) to 9 (bucks)
- 2,776
- 116
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2008
- 11,234
- 185
- Joined
- May 19, 2004
Man, the Lakers really should have made that trade for Hinrich...
- 12,102
- 1,410
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2008
Jeff Green...daggers.
