New Album & The Beginning of Basketball Season
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steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
steve williams
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From the LA Times
Now is the time to trade Pau Gasol
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-bolch-nba-20121216,0,7506796.story
Now is the time to trade Pau Gasol
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-bolch-nba-20121216,0,7506796.story
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
watching last week's game between lakers at Cavs I saw Luke Walton (now a Cav) greeting Kobe at the end of the game. Luke once again remains at the end of the bench. In his 9 years in the league I don't think I ever saw Luke play 9 minutes total. Luke needs to find a new career
If Luke is getting paid minimum salary and being a veteran Luke is making at least $1,229,255/year.. Luke wouldn't mind riding the bench for a few more years ...
If Luke is getting paid minimum salary and being a veteran Luke is making at least $1,229,255/year.. Luke wouldn't mind riding the bench for a few more years ...
Luke Walton is making $6m a year. He's got a very good agent, it seems. I don't think a change of career will satisfy his life soon. First class hotels, charter planes, etc. I'd love to be a bench warmer.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/cle/roster
Jason Terry makes even less than Luke. $5m.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Wow
OKC have won 11 straight for best in the NBA but with the Clipps right behind and winner of 10 in a row
OKC have won 11 straight for best in the NBA but with the Clipps right behind and winner of 10 in a row
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
good question as I have only seen 2 of their games this year but don't forget Durant and Westbrook to get things going
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
This one with your morning coffee will give some pause......
Kobe's ego is Lakers' big problem
Jason Whitlock, FOX Sports
The return of Pau Gasol and Steve Nash to the lineup is likely to mask most, if not all, the symptoms afflicting the underachieving Los Angeles Lakers. But the perennial all-stars will do nothing to address the disease lurking deep inside the foundation of the Lakers, the malady that will prevent the high-priced collection of veterans from getting past the Thunder, Spurs or even the Grizzlies come playoff time.
The disease isn’t bungling, overmatched executive vice president Jim Buss. It’s not bungling, overmatched coach Mike D’Antoni.
The root cause of the Lakers’ dysfunction has been consistent for 15 years. It is Kobe Bryant’s ego, his desperate pursuit of Michael Jordan’s legacy. L.A.’s Dwight Howard experiment is going to explode and implode in spectacular fashion unless someone in the Lakers organization is bold enough to kill Kobe’s Michael Jordan avatar so that Howard’s Bill Russell avatar can emerge and lead the Lakers.
You follow?
The wrong player is driving the Lakers. Dwight Howard is the second-most talented player in the league. He’s the single-most gifted defensive player the NBA has seen since Bill Russell. On a properly functioning, championship-chasing team, Howard cannot be a sidekick, a No. 2, Scottie Pippen. Can’t happen. The Heat tried it with LeBron James in Year 1 of the Big Three, and we know how that ended. Dwyane Wade is an awesome basketball player and a terrific leader, but he had to surrender the soul of the Heat to LeBron in order for the Heat to win a title.
Kobe has to let go and let D12. Has to.
Kobe has to accept that he is not the 34-year-old Michael Jordan. You see, at 34 Jordan was taking his final victory lap in Chicago, completing his second three-peat, securing his sixth title, winning his fifth MVP award and 10th scoring title. Kobe wants to duplicate that feat. He’s putting up MVP-like numbers. He leads the league in scoring. He’s shooting a career-high .478 percent from the field. He’s averaging five rebounds and five assists. He’s knocking down 38 percent of his three-pointers. Oh, the numbers look great. The results? The Lakers stink.
You can blame that on the injuries to Gasol and Nash. You can blame it on the incompetence of D’Antoni.
I blame Kobe. He’s the guy stopping Howard from eating. Kobe is the guy giving Howard room to lose himself in his immaturity and hide. Here’s what Kobe has never understood about the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s an organization built to house and nurture giants. From George Mikan to Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers function best when the once-in-a-generation big man the organization acquires is allowed to be the man of the house.
Kobe emasculates his big men. Andrew Bynum politely admitted this week that Kobe stunted his growth.
“I think Dwight is a great player, but he’s going to have to get accustomed to playing with Kobe and not touching the ball every single play,” Bynum said.
The problem is deeper than touches. It’s a mentality that a big man must have in order to lead his team. Dwight Howard must enter every NBA arena with this mindset: “If I don’t hunt and kill, no one eats tonight.”
That’s Kobe’s mindset. But at 34, having played 1,186 regular-season games and 220 playoff games, Kobe doesn’t hunt and kill as effectively as Howard. Kobe isn’t the same as a 34-year-old Jordan. At this stage in his career, Jordan had played 873 regular-season games and 158 playoff games. Jordan was still a force of nature. Don’t get fooled by Kobe’s numbers. He’s not Kevin Durant or Carmelo Anthony, and Kobe damn sure isn’t LeBron James.
James, Durant and Melo can impose their will on the opposition. Over the course of a seven-game playoff series, they can mentally bludgeon an opponent into submission. We saw James do it to the Pacers and the Celtics in last year’s playoffs. Kobe is smart. He can be efficient. But he’s trying too hard right now. That’s why he leads the league in turnovers with 97. Kobe’s days of imposing his will in a playoff series are over. Howard’s days should just be beginning.
But Kobe’s ego is in the way. Howard can’t be the man of the house with Kobe sitting at the head of the table eating the biggest plate of food. As long as everything revolves around Kobe, as long as Kobe is on TV sitting across from Stephen A. Smith speaking in hushed, dark tones about the state of the Lakers, Howard gets to hide, gets to feel like the Lakers family can eat regardless if he chooses to hunt.
Kobe needs to fall back. He’s Dr. J right now and he needs to let Dwight Howard be Moses Malone. That does not mean turn the offense over to Howard. It means building a strategy and philosophy that revolves around Howard’s many gifts, which are mostly at the defensive end (and make the hiring of D’Antoni even more ridiculous). It means forcing Howard to mentally and verbally take full responsibility for the success of the team.
Howard is immature. We know that. We watched him in Orlando. Put some pressure on his ass. Make Howard explain why this team is underachieving.
I know this column will appear to many as hatred of Kobe. I don’t hate Kobe. He’s a wonderful player and terrific competitor. He simply has to make the mental adjustment that Dwyane Wade made last season. Come May and June, the Lakers are going as far as Dwight Howard can take them. Nash and Gasol might help the Lakers recover and get into the playoffs. And Kobe is certainly capable of continuing to put up big numbers.
But the Lakers are not winning a title if their second-best player continues to stunt the growth of their best player.
Kobe's ego is Lakers' big problem
Jason Whitlock, FOX Sports
The return of Pau Gasol and Steve Nash to the lineup is likely to mask most, if not all, the symptoms afflicting the underachieving Los Angeles Lakers. But the perennial all-stars will do nothing to address the disease lurking deep inside the foundation of the Lakers, the malady that will prevent the high-priced collection of veterans from getting past the Thunder, Spurs or even the Grizzlies come playoff time.
The disease isn’t bungling, overmatched executive vice president Jim Buss. It’s not bungling, overmatched coach Mike D’Antoni.
The root cause of the Lakers’ dysfunction has been consistent for 15 years. It is Kobe Bryant’s ego, his desperate pursuit of Michael Jordan’s legacy. L.A.’s Dwight Howard experiment is going to explode and implode in spectacular fashion unless someone in the Lakers organization is bold enough to kill Kobe’s Michael Jordan avatar so that Howard’s Bill Russell avatar can emerge and lead the Lakers.
You follow?
The wrong player is driving the Lakers. Dwight Howard is the second-most talented player in the league. He’s the single-most gifted defensive player the NBA has seen since Bill Russell. On a properly functioning, championship-chasing team, Howard cannot be a sidekick, a No. 2, Scottie Pippen. Can’t happen. The Heat tried it with LeBron James in Year 1 of the Big Three, and we know how that ended. Dwyane Wade is an awesome basketball player and a terrific leader, but he had to surrender the soul of the Heat to LeBron in order for the Heat to win a title.
Kobe has to let go and let D12. Has to.
Kobe has to accept that he is not the 34-year-old Michael Jordan. You see, at 34 Jordan was taking his final victory lap in Chicago, completing his second three-peat, securing his sixth title, winning his fifth MVP award and 10th scoring title. Kobe wants to duplicate that feat. He’s putting up MVP-like numbers. He leads the league in scoring. He’s shooting a career-high .478 percent from the field. He’s averaging five rebounds and five assists. He’s knocking down 38 percent of his three-pointers. Oh, the numbers look great. The results? The Lakers stink.
You can blame that on the injuries to Gasol and Nash. You can blame it on the incompetence of D’Antoni.
I blame Kobe. He’s the guy stopping Howard from eating. Kobe is the guy giving Howard room to lose himself in his immaturity and hide. Here’s what Kobe has never understood about the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s an organization built to house and nurture giants. From George Mikan to Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers function best when the once-in-a-generation big man the organization acquires is allowed to be the man of the house.
Kobe emasculates his big men. Andrew Bynum politely admitted this week that Kobe stunted his growth.
“I think Dwight is a great player, but he’s going to have to get accustomed to playing with Kobe and not touching the ball every single play,” Bynum said.
The problem is deeper than touches. It’s a mentality that a big man must have in order to lead his team. Dwight Howard must enter every NBA arena with this mindset: “If I don’t hunt and kill, no one eats tonight.”
That’s Kobe’s mindset. But at 34, having played 1,186 regular-season games and 220 playoff games, Kobe doesn’t hunt and kill as effectively as Howard. Kobe isn’t the same as a 34-year-old Jordan. At this stage in his career, Jordan had played 873 regular-season games and 158 playoff games. Jordan was still a force of nature. Don’t get fooled by Kobe’s numbers. He’s not Kevin Durant or Carmelo Anthony, and Kobe damn sure isn’t LeBron James.
James, Durant and Melo can impose their will on the opposition. Over the course of a seven-game playoff series, they can mentally bludgeon an opponent into submission. We saw James do it to the Pacers and the Celtics in last year’s playoffs. Kobe is smart. He can be efficient. But he’s trying too hard right now. That’s why he leads the league in turnovers with 97. Kobe’s days of imposing his will in a playoff series are over. Howard’s days should just be beginning.
But Kobe’s ego is in the way. Howard can’t be the man of the house with Kobe sitting at the head of the table eating the biggest plate of food. As long as everything revolves around Kobe, as long as Kobe is on TV sitting across from Stephen A. Smith speaking in hushed, dark tones about the state of the Lakers, Howard gets to hide, gets to feel like the Lakers family can eat regardless if he chooses to hunt.
Kobe needs to fall back. He’s Dr. J right now and he needs to let Dwight Howard be Moses Malone. That does not mean turn the offense over to Howard. It means building a strategy and philosophy that revolves around Howard’s many gifts, which are mostly at the defensive end (and make the hiring of D’Antoni even more ridiculous). It means forcing Howard to mentally and verbally take full responsibility for the success of the team.
Howard is immature. We know that. We watched him in Orlando. Put some pressure on his ass. Make Howard explain why this team is underachieving.
I know this column will appear to many as hatred of Kobe. I don’t hate Kobe. He’s a wonderful player and terrific competitor. He simply has to make the mental adjustment that Dwyane Wade made last season. Come May and June, the Lakers are going as far as Dwight Howard can take them. Nash and Gasol might help the Lakers recover and get into the playoffs. And Kobe is certainly capable of continuing to put up big numbers.
But the Lakers are not winning a title if their second-best player continues to stunt the growth of their best player.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
The team that has impressed me the most this year has been the GSW who are in 2nd place behind the Clipps and are rated high in the power rankings. I'd like to see them make the playoffs this year and do some harm as spoilers
Well, I had never thought of that nor seen it that way, re Kobe's ego. That he is intent on being another Michael Jordan, I don't see that, maybe because I never was a Michael Jordan fan. What I see is that he plays his heart out and he feels really bad when his teammates aren't producing. And Dwight Howard as another Bill Russell and being the No.1 man in LA, well, he had in chance as the No. 1 man in Orlando and was within 4 games of winning a title but his team lost all four games in the Finals to the team he is with now. He got his old coach fired too before jumping ship himself. So far, I have not been impressed with Howard. Imo, his name is bigger than his play. And this season, he just has a semblance of Shaq, as far as hack-a-Howard is concerned.
Same here. Warriors are young and energetic. Fun to watch.
Meanwhile, the C's are quietly sliding back again, on a 3 game losing streak. And the 'depth' that they added seems to be non-existent these past few games. They are last, or the worst in team rebounding so far. I don't think you can win many games without much rebounds. The void left by Perkins is telling, big time. I can see a trade for a rebounder before the Feb deadline. The good news for Ainge and Doc is that at least the Brooklyn Nets have been losing games too, just like them.
now that is some streak. haven't seen much of the clippers lately. looks like crawford is helping them off the bench a lot.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I noticed too coach Vinnie is really really giving Odom all the time he needs to be back as a 'pertinent' NBA player. Such patience. It might pay off if the Clips go deep into the playoff rounds. Odom was a member and big helper of the Lakers on those 2 titles only a few years ago. Vinnie must still have faith in him.
I was not an Odom advocate - he was drafted by the Clippers and had a lot of issues first time around.
He then came into camp out of shape so my doubts grew after the horrible season he had last year in Dallas.
He is an incredibly talented and versatile player.
Took a while but it looks like he is coming around. He's lost weight and is looking more comfortable on the court.
Give del Negro credit for being patient with him.
I am still not totally convinced about Odom but would be very happy if his production improves.
A motivated Odom with his head on right brings a lot to the table - 7 footer with great ball handling skills, superior passer, strong rebounder, solid outside shot.
My wife is a Clipper fan, too, and she got tired of me dogging Lamar. Now she's making me eat a little crow as he is doing better.
He then came into camp out of shape so my doubts grew after the horrible season he had last year in Dallas.
He is an incredibly talented and versatile player.
Took a while but it looks like he is coming around. He's lost weight and is looking more comfortable on the court.
Give del Negro credit for being patient with him.
I am still not totally convinced about Odom but would be very happy if his production improves.
A motivated Odom with his head on right brings a lot to the table - 7 footer with great ball handling skills, superior passer, strong rebounder, solid outside shot.
My wife is a Clipper fan, too, and she got tired of me dogging Lamar. Now she's making me eat a little crow as he is doing better.
Odom was on top of my most hated Laker in the 2010 Finals. Man, I can't stand the guy and he was doing damage to the C's. Somehow I couldn't understand how he went to bust in after being traded to Dallas. And now Vinnie giving him 'basketball psychiatric therapy' to be back to his old self.
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