steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
you'll have to ask young Buss cuz the Buss family has the sole say on hiring and firing
New Album & The Beginning of Basketball Season
- Thread starter Ron Party
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you'll have to ask young Buss cuz the Buss family has the sole say on hiring and firing
As for playing D on the Lakers' end, I'd say the problem is also evident with Boston and SA last season. Not that they don't know how to play defense but more of like I see the factor of 'father time' setting in. Having a core group of 'older' players will tire you faster on the defensive end as the practice of swinging the ball QUICKLY by teams like Miami makes physical conditioning more taxing to the 'older' players. Pierce, Garnett, Kobe, Nash, Duncan, Manu et al may need to discover some new elixir of youth to keep up. 
Hi
I don't subscribe to the "slow"-players-can't-play-defense school of thought: Back in the late 80's it was clear the Celtics were slower than the Lakers actually NO team was a as fast and quick as the Lakers .. They ran . ran and ran some more ... The Celtics with all these "slow"players : Bird, Mac Hale, Parish, Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, etc were among the best in the league when it come to defense and stopped all these fast teams including another fast one the Detroit Pistons with Thomas , Dumas et all ... IT is a matter of positioning and of footwork not of running all over the field after fast players .. IMO ... Right now the Lakers defense is off they are wrong in their coverage and positioning... from the little I have seen ...
I don't subscribe to the "slow"-players-can't-play-defense school of thought: Back in the late 80's it was clear the Celtics were slower than the Lakers actually NO team was a as fast and quick as the Lakers .. They ran . ran and ran some more ... The Celtics with all these "slow"players : Bird, Mac Hale, Parish, Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, etc were among the best in the league when it come to defense and stopped all these fast teams including another fast one the Detroit Pistons with Thomas , Dumas et all ... IT is a matter of positioning and of footwork not of running all over the field after fast players .. IMO ... Right now the Lakers defense is off they are wrong in their coverage and positioning... from the little I have seen ...
Hi Frantz,
Well, in those days, the C's 'stopped' the Lakers' speed with a very physically defense which culminated in the clothesline' of Kevin McHale on Rambis. That continued with Detroit's bad boy defense, pushing guys like Pippen and Jordon out of court after a whistle. The buck stopped when the league simply whistled its way into such physical defense and Pat Riley's NYK tasted that when they could not even hand-check the Bulls to the frustration of Pat Riley. Right now, you gotta chase and chase without making much contact. It was very evident to me that Garnett and Pierce just couldn't keep up with the younger and faster players now. And they couldn't do a McHale anymore.
Well, in those days, the C's 'stopped' the Lakers' speed with a very physically defense which culminated in the clothesline' of Kevin McHale on Rambis. That continued with Detroit's bad boy defense, pushing guys like Pippen and Jordon out of court after a whistle. The buck stopped when the league simply whistled its way into such physical defense and Pat Riley's NYK tasted that when they could not even hand-check the Bulls to the frustration of Pat Riley. Right now, you gotta chase and chase without making much contact. It was very evident to me that Garnett and Pierce just couldn't keep up with the younger and faster players now. And they couldn't do a McHale anymore.
The problem is the offense IMO. You will lose when you commit 20 turnovers a game and miss free throws in the double digits as well.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I wonder what the brass in OKC are wondering with their team at 1-2 and James Harden is leading the lead in scoring at Houston
pretty much like ainge felt when he traded perk away to okc and okc went to the finals in a flash. although, both ainge and presti had the same dilemma in that both perk and harden refused to sign an extension with their respective teams thereby warranting a trade-away or lose them in a free agent scenario. it's not a win-win situation really.
and la fans can breathe a sigh of relief now after blowing away the pistons to prevent a 0-4 start.
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Hi Frantz,
Well, in those days, the C's 'stopped' the Lakers' speed with a very physically defense which culminated in the clothesline' of Kevin McHale on Rambis. That continued with Detroit's bad boy defense, pushing guys like Pippen and Jordon out of court after a whistle. The buck stopped when the league simply whistled its way into such physical defense and Pat Riley's NYK tasted that when they could not even hand-check the Bulls to the frustration of Pat Riley. Right now, you gotta chase and chase without making much contact. It was very evident to me that Garnett and Pierce just couldn't keep up with the younger and faster players now. And they couldn't do a McHale anymore.
Defense has more to do than just being as fast as your opponents .. Correct positioning is key.. The 8o's Celtics did not always cloth-line people.. They played tough but made sure that everyone was at their correct position and that people rotated timely.. Bird was stellar at such. Guarding people who were infinitely more athletic than he was, e.g Worthy and out-rebounding him regularly, he knew that if he were beaten off the dribble Parish was correctly positioned and of course there were some goons on the Celtics to raise fear .. Cedric Maxwell comes to mind but their defense was much more than goons and clothlining ... The Lakers lack that at this juncture and So far Dwight has not rotated the way he used to when playing for the Magic .. Not yet .. Will likely feel more comfortable as time passes. He is getting very involved with the offense but needs to bring back his footwork IMO .. Pau is very weak on this side but involving Metta could be one interesting thing to do.. he still can defend and has the stamina and the body to defend almost anyone on the opposing team. Another Weak point on defense is Nash .. legs are tired and he will need help to go after today's rabbits.. As for the Bench ... the least said ..
Have no fear OKC will be fine and threatening .. KD is an incredible scorer capable of providing 30 points and up every night and if Westbrook calm himself down ... becomes more consistent and feeds the ball more .. They are back to the top > True Harden was a sparkplug and provided instant offense from the bench but he did disappear during the finals, let's not forget that .. Houston is good but we'll see how good as the season progresses and people are figuring them out .. The monster remains Miami, LBJ is the best player on the planet at this point in time ... but Wade is still brittle and a team with a physical power forward can push Bosh around .. There is no answer at this point for LBJ .. if he continues to play at this level and take his 5 steps to the basket and get away with his constant offensive fouls .. they're back on the throne.. A little clamping upon the rules should level the playing field ... they still looks like the favorite .. I hate this team and I live in Miami and I have from time to time game Tickets
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steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Frantz
we should make you our roving reporter for NBA because IMO you asre always dead on and have a great feel for the game as does Phil (jadis)
I must say that so far my Lakers are boring to watch. It has been all Kobe and if they depend totally on him with no back up he will be spent before the season is half over
we should make you our roving reporter for NBA because IMO you asre always dead on and have a great feel for the game as does Phil (jadis)
I must say that so far my Lakers are boring to watch. It has been all Kobe and if they depend totally on him with no back up he will be spent before the season is half over
Defense has more to do than just being as fast as your opponents .. Correct positioning is key.. The 8o's Celtics did not always cloth-line people.. They played tough but made sure that everyone was at their correct position and that people rotated timely.. Bird was stellar at such. Guarding people who were infinitely more athletic than he was, e.g Worthy and out-rebounding him regularly, he knew that if he were beaten off the dribble Parish was correctly positioned and of course there were some goons on the Celtics to raise fear .. Cedric Maxwell comes to mind but their defense was much more than goons and clothlining ...
To quote coach Pat Riley after they lost Game 7 in 1984 to the Celtics, "We lost a gang war out there". If that is not a graphic description of the Boston defense then, I would not know what else to call it. And I'm a Boston fan.
And I agree that Boston players had good positioning but I really doubt if they could have stopped LAL without the more than tough defense, after all, without that, they were down 1-2 heading to Game 4 in 1984.
Can the Knicks open the season 3-0 tonight?
It's always amazing to watch Jason Kidd play. No one sees the floor and understands the game like Kidd.
It's always amazing to watch Jason Kidd play. No one sees the floor and understands the game like Kidd.
Rajon Rondo .. One of the game most intelligent player .. As good as any Point Guard in the league and maybe the best. I am a Lakers fan by the way.. I am not sure the Knicks will last .. Fundamental are crooked ... Seems like they should have retained Lin ... They need a solid point guard Felton doesn't seem to be the answer
Steve
Thanks for the compliment I'll defer to Jadis as the WBF-NBA-Guru in residence ...
I am a big sports fan used to love baseball but when I moved to Hait in the early 90's didn't watch any MLB at all only Football and basket. I did however acquire a taste for F1, Car Rallyes and Moto GP races .. which I miss when I am in the USA ... Now with the Internet, I can keep informed .... maybe will order a Satellite package ...
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Thanks too, Franz for the compliment but I'm just a very ardent fan of the game. I'm sure there are much more passionate and knowledgeable fans than me.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
To quote coach Pat Riley after they lost Game 7 in 1984 to the Celtics, "We lost a gang war out there". If that is not a graphic description of the Boston defense then, I would not know what else to call it. And I'm a Boston fan.
I remember the series well and it was a gang war
I hated Danny Ainge so much. I was mesmerized by the reach of Kevin McHale. Robert Parrish was the only one I didn't mind because he was so old.IMO those were some of the best NBA finals, and then along came some one with the initials MJ and the game was re-invented yet once again
I have a high school friend who migrated to Michigan and is a Pistons fan, he told me of all the Celtics who ever lived, he hated Danny Ainge the most. Well, the guy was a spunky kid, almost prepared to be punched after a hard foul he committed, and I cannot forget an Eastern finals when Isiah Thomas had his fist clenched ready to sock Ainge but was held back by some Pistons. The game was out of reach for Detroit and Ainge had to make a break-away foul on Thomas who had a free lane.
Knicks just went 3-0. So far so good. And when you have a 38 year fellow who hasn't played in 2 years bang in 2 tres with 8 points total, you gotta be winning that game.
So next question is who will be the premiere team in NY, Knicks or Nets? Maybe a subway or taxi series in the playoffs? And what do you call a Lakers-Clippers playoff series?
Lakers - Clippers is called the Hallway Series.
The Clippers have now dropped two straight games to lesser teams.
I went to their game with Golden State on Saturday and the Clippers did not play well against a depleted Warriors team.
Tonight they lost to Cleveland.
The Clippers have now dropped two straight games to lesser teams.
I went to their game with Golden State on Saturday and the Clippers did not play well against a depleted Warriors team.
Tonight they lost to Cleveland.
Lakers - Clippers is called the Hallway Series.
The Clippers have now dropped two straight games to lesser teams.
I went to their game with Golden State on Saturday and the Clippers did not play well against a depleted Warriors team.
Tonight they lost to Cleveland.
Hallway Series, that's good name.
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