The Lakers' Season after Starting 1-4

tjmakz wrote:

bobheckler wrote:The New Orleans Hornets, or, er, The Pelicans are the dumbest team in the NBA and, quite frankly, the dumbest team I have ever seen at any level. Ever.

Here is video, from last night, of Kobe Bryant fooling the entire Hornets squad AND THEIR COACHES, into defending the wrong basket.

Unbelievable.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=H8gdrILm47o

I could see that play happening against a dad coaching his kids 6th and 7th grade team, but for it to happen to a pro team was remarkable.

TJ,

I could see that happening if 5 dads played their 6th and 7th grade sons and told them "go stand down there under that basket".


bob



.

steve3344 wrote:

tardust wrote:I kind of think the Lakers may even move up the the 7th seed. Wouldn't surprise me at all. Utah or Houston will falter, more than like it will be Utah.
It also wouldn't surprise me if the Lakers go on a pretty good run the next 8 or 9 games as their schedule isn't that difficult looking.

Looks like the Eastern Conference teams are already decided, just a matter of jostling for position.

Lakers won't catch Houston. Gortat just went down for maybe the rest of the year and Houston plays Phoenix - who won't be able to beat anybody anymore - three more times. Lakers play them once more. Plus Houston has played four fewer home games than road games to this point; Lakers have played 31 home and 31 road. And Houston leads them by two games to boot. Big advantage in the remaining schedule to the Rockets.

Lakers only chance to make the playoffs is if Utah continues to slide and with Al Jefferson spraining his ankle a week ago - he's missed their last three games and who knows how many more it will be - they are now ripe for the picking. If Big Al was healthy, Lakers would have virtually no chance overtaking the Jazz as they wouldn't have lost their last two against Cleveland and Milwaukee by a combined four points.

Well they are tied with Utah in the loss column, 1 game back of Houston in the loss column, and even Golden State is only 2 ahead in the loss column. The rest of the month the Lakers schedule looks very doable for them. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the month they catch at least two of the 3 teams I mentioned. I am sure Lakers fans could care less about a injury to Al Jefferson with all the injuries they have had. Just trying to be realistic here. You won't find anyone around here or anywhere else that dislikes the Lakers or Kobe more than myself either.

tardust wrote:

steve3344 wrote:

tardust wrote:I kind of think the Lakers may even move up the the 7th seed. Wouldn't surprise me at all. Utah or Houston will falter, more than like it will be Utah.
It also wouldn't surprise me if the Lakers go on a pretty good run the next 8 or 9 games as their schedule isn't that difficult looking.

Looks like the Eastern Conference teams are already decided, just a matter of jostling for position.

Lakers won't catch Houston. Gortat just went down for maybe the rest of the year and Houston plays Phoenix - who won't be able to beat anybody anymore - three more times. Lakers play them once more. Plus Houston has played four fewer home games than road games to this point; Lakers have played 31 home and 31 road. And Houston leads them by two games to boot. Big advantage in the remaining schedule to the Rockets.

Lakers only chance to make the playoffs is if Utah continues to slide and with Al Jefferson spraining his ankle a week ago - he's missed their last three games and who knows how many more it will be - they are now ripe for the picking. If Big Al was healthy, Lakers would have virtually no chance overtaking the Jazz as they wouldn't have lost their last two against Cleveland and Milwaukee by a combined four points.

Well they are tied with Utah in the loss column, 1 game back of Houston in the loss column, and even Golden State is only 2 ahead in the loss column. The rest of the month the Lakers schedule looks very doable for them. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the month they catch at least two of the 3 teams I mentioned. I am sure Lakers fans could care less about a injury to Al Jefferson with all the injuries they have had. Just trying to be realistic here. You won't find anyone around here or anywhere else that dislikes the Lakers or Kobe more than myself either.

Utah has a lot more problems then Big Al missing 3 games.
There is no excuse when you lose by 29 points against the Knicks without Carmelo and Amare.

It looks like the Lakers could pass a couple of teams.
Hopefully they will match up against Memphis if they make the playoffs.

tj

Kobe was fockin unbelievable last game, 3 3's in the last 2 minutes with guys in his face and then those dunks to finish them.....don't know if I ever saw a performance like that, even from Michael or Larry.

cow

tjmakz wrote:

tardust wrote:

steve3344 wrote:

tardust wrote:I kind of think the Lakers may even move up the the 7th seed. Wouldn't surprise me at all. Utah or Houston will falter, more than like it will be Utah.
It also wouldn't surprise me if the Lakers go on a pretty good run the next 8 or 9 games as their schedule isn't that difficult looking.

Looks like the Eastern Conference teams are already decided, just a matter of jostling for position.

Lakers won't catch Houston. Gortat just went down for maybe the rest of the year and Houston plays Phoenix - who won't be able to beat anybody anymore - three more times. Lakers play them once more. Plus Houston has played four fewer home games than road games to this point; Lakers have played 31 home and 31 road. And Houston leads them by two games to boot. Big advantage in the remaining schedule to the Rockets.

Lakers only chance to make the playoffs is if Utah continues to slide and with Al Jefferson spraining his ankle a week ago - he's missed their last three games and who knows how many more it will be - they are now ripe for the picking. If Big Al was healthy, Lakers would have virtually no chance overtaking the Jazz as they wouldn't have lost their last two against Cleveland and Milwaukee by a combined four points.

Well they are tied with Utah in the loss column, 1 game back of Houston in the loss column, and even Golden State is only 2 ahead in the loss column. The rest of the month the Lakers schedule looks very doable for them. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the month they catch at least two of the 3 teams I mentioned. I am sure Lakers fans could care less about a injury to Al Jefferson with all the injuries they have had. Just trying to be realistic here. You won't find anyone around here or anywhere else that dislikes the Lakers or Kobe more than myself either.

Utah has a lot more problems then Big Al missing 3 games.
There is no excuse when you lose by 29 points against the Knicks without Carmelo and Amare.

It looks like the Lakers could pass a couple of teams.
Hopefully they will match up against Memphis if they make the playoffs.

Maybe you didn't see the success that NY had without both of those guys last year? Or the success without Amare this year compared to win he played? They can still run and get up shots easily. Also have a anchor in the middle and someone I think a lot of teams are going to wish they had picked up.

cowens/oldschool wrote:tj

Kobe was fockin unbelievable last game, 3 3's in the last 2 minutes with guys in his face and then those dunks to finish them.....don't know if I ever saw a performance like that, even from Michael or Larry.

cow

Aye, your must be losing memory Cow, Larry did the unbelievable on a regular basis.

tardust wrote:

tjmakz wrote:

tardust wrote:

steve3344 wrote:

tardust wrote:I kind of think the Lakers may even move up the the 7th seed. Wouldn't surprise me at all. Utah or Houston will falter, more than like it will be Utah.
It also wouldn't surprise me if the Lakers go on a pretty good run the next 8 or 9 games as their schedule isn't that difficult looking.

Looks like the Eastern Conference teams are already decided, just a matter of jostling for position.

Lakers won't catch Houston. Gortat just went down for maybe the rest of the year and Houston plays Phoenix - who won't be able to beat anybody anymore - three more times. Lakers play them once more. Plus Houston has played four fewer home games than road games to this point; Lakers have played 31 home and 31 road. And Houston leads them by two games to boot. Big advantage in the remaining schedule to the Rockets.

Lakers only chance to make the playoffs is if Utah continues to slide and with Al Jefferson spraining his ankle a week ago - he's missed their last three games and who knows how many more it will be - they are now ripe for the picking. If Big Al was healthy, Lakers would have virtually no chance overtaking the Jazz as they wouldn't have lost their last two against Cleveland and Milwaukee by a combined four points.

Well they are tied with Utah in the loss column, 1 game back of Houston in the loss column, and even Golden State is only 2 ahead in the loss column. The rest of the month the Lakers schedule looks very doable for them. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the month they catch at least two of the 3 teams I mentioned. I am sure Lakers fans could care less about a injury to Al Jefferson with all the injuries they have had. Just trying to be realistic here. You won't find anyone around here or anywhere else that dislikes the Lakers or Kobe more than myself either.

Utah has a lot more problems then Big Al missing 3 games.
There is no excuse when you lose by 29 points against the Knicks without Carmelo and Amare.

It looks like the Lakers could pass a couple of teams.
Hopefully they will match up against Memphis if they make the playoffs.

Maybe you didn't see the success that NY had without both of those guys last year? Or the success without Amare this year compared to win he played? They can still run and get up shots easily. Also have a anchor in the middle and someone I think a lot of teams are going to wish they had picked up.

When Carmelo was out last year it was during the weakest part of their schedule.
They had only 1 win against a .500 team and that was against Dallas who wound up behing 6 games over .500.
I think Utah is going to have a real struggle making the playoffs.
Outside of losing Mo Williams and 3 games from Big Al, Utah has been very healthy this season.

cowens/oldschool wrote:tj

Kobe was fockin unbelievable last game, 3 3's in the last 2 minutes with guys in his face and then those dunks to finish them.....don't know if I ever saw a performance like that, even from Michael or Larry.

cow

Cow,

Kobe is playing at a very high level and is playing much smarter then he did last year.

Those shots against Toronto were unbelievable.

The best part for a Lakers fan is that Dwight is responding positively to what they are doing and everybody (Kobe, Dwight, Pau, D'Antoni) are keeping their mouths shut and not complaining to the media after every game.

tjmakz wrote:

tardust wrote:

tjmakz wrote:

tardust wrote:

steve3344 wrote:

tardust wrote:I kind of think the Lakers may even move up the the 7th seed. Wouldn't surprise me at all. Utah or Houston will falter, more than like it will be Utah.
It also wouldn't surprise me if the Lakers go on a pretty good run the next 8 or 9 games as their schedule isn't that difficult looking.

Looks like the Eastern Conference teams are already decided, just a matter of jostling for position.

Lakers won't catch Houston. Gortat just went down for maybe the rest of the year and Houston plays Phoenix - who won't be able to beat anybody anymore - three more times. Lakers play them once more. Plus Houston has played four fewer home games than road games to this point; Lakers have played 31 home and 31 road. And Houston leads them by two games to boot. Big advantage in the remaining schedule to the Rockets.

Lakers only chance to make the playoffs is if Utah continues to slide and with Al Jefferson spraining his ankle a week ago - he's missed their last three games and who knows how many more it will be - they are now ripe for the picking. If Big Al was healthy, Lakers would have virtually no chance overtaking the Jazz as they wouldn't have lost their last two against Cleveland and Milwaukee by a combined four points.

Well they are tied with Utah in the loss column, 1 game back of Houston in the loss column, and even Golden State is only 2 ahead in the loss column. The rest of the month the Lakers schedule looks very doable for them. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the month they catch at least two of the 3 teams I mentioned. I am sure Lakers fans could care less about a injury to Al Jefferson with all the injuries they have had. Just trying to be realistic here. You won't find anyone around here or anywhere else that dislikes the Lakers or Kobe more than myself either.

Utah has a lot more problems then Big Al missing 3 games.
There is no excuse when you lose by 29 points against the Knicks without Carmelo and Amare.

It looks like the Lakers could pass a couple of teams.
Hopefully they will match up against Memphis if they make the playoffs.

Maybe you didn't see the success that NY had without both of those guys last year? Or the success without Amare this year compared to win he played? They can still run and get up shots easily. Also have a anchor in the middle and someone I think a lot of teams are going to wish they had picked up.

When Carmelo was out last year it was during the weakest part of their schedule.
They had only 1 win against a .500 team and that was against Dallas who wound up behing 6 games over .500.
I think Utah is going to have a real struggle making the playoffs.
Outside of losing Mo Williams and 3 games from Big Al, Utah has been very healthy this season.

They had 3 wins against teams with a better than 500 record if you want to get technical about it. They beat Dallas (36-30), the Lakers (41-25), and Utah (36-30) where he only played 6 minutes on his first game back, so I would say he pretty much didn't play that game as well. The point being they played well without him. The schedule is the schedule.

My point about Al was everyone has injuries so teams don't feel sorry about some other team having one, and don't want to hear that as a excuse for why they are struggling. Mo may be just as important as Al since he is a very good shooter and spreads the floor. Yes I would take Al over Mo. Utah still has some decent bigs even without Al.

Its scaring me that Howard is buying in and Lakers are starting to gel, was hoping despair would continue leading to Howards departure.

I stand corrected that they did have 2 wins against teams over .500 without Carmelo. I forgot to add the Lakers win.

The game against Utah was not his first game back, that was the game he was injured.

Anyway, I believe my point is still valid that Utah should not lose by 29 points against NY without Carmelo and Amare.

Your right I was looking at it just backwards. But six minutes is pretty much not playing.

No NBA team should lose to any NBA team by 29 pts. It happens.

I'm taking my kids to the Lakers/Magic game tonight.
It should be an interesting reception for Dwight.
Should I wear my Kobe or Dwight shirt? Hmmmm.......

Can't resist this TJ,, why don't you wear the officials stripes since they are usually part of the team.

Just kidding!! Hope you have a great time until the clock reaches 000

tardust wrote:Can't resist this TJ,, why don't you wear the officials stripes since they are usually part of the team.

Just kidding!! Hope you have a great time until the clock reaches 000

Thanks Tardust.

I hope the Lakers win and they don't need any help from the officials.

Last night's game was quite an entertaining experience to be at.
There was a lot of Dwight Howard hating going on.
Many people wore old Dwight jerseys and changed the H in his last name to a C or changed the last name to Harris since Tobias Harris now wears #12. During the pauses in the National Anthem a couple of guys were yelling not so nice things about Dwight. (That was poor timing to do so).
Dwight received thunderous boos during warm ups when he shot the ball, during the announcement of the starting line ups and during the game. One large sign that I thought summed up the night was: Welcome Back Chris Duhon.

As for the game, Dwight was focused and LA wanted to get him involved early. As you probably know, Dwight tied his own record for FT attempts in a game. He went 25-39. Hack a Howard did not work for Orlando. Dwight really seems to be in a different place mentally post all-star break. His body language is very different now. Maybe Phil has helped him get into a better place mentally...???

It was a very easy game for the Lakers. They didn't have to exert a whole lot of energy, so I think they will be fresh when facing Atlanta tonight. The Lakers seemed to be toying with Orlando but pulled away mid way into the 3rd quarter.

The Lakers have a pretty good 8 man rotation right now and when Pau gets back, they will be ready for the final push.

It might sound crazy, but I think Orlando could be building something special. They have a lot of young talent in Vucevic, Nicholson, Moe Harkless, DeQuan Jones, Kyle O'Quinn and add to that group Tobias Harris, who last night easily played like the best player on the Magic. Add in a probable top 3 draft pick this year to go along with solid veterans in Afflalo, BBD and Jameer Nelson and you could see good things happening in their future.

Kobe has a severely sprained ankle, what he calls "the worst in his career". He claims it is because Dahntay Jones deliberately put his foot under Kobe's so Kobe would land on it. Jones claims that Kobe started it by legkicking him and that is an offensive foul, they changed the rule 2 years ago.

Ok, first of all, the idiot refs never got the memo that the leg kick, as well as "the rip", which is where you bring the ball up across your body specifically to create the contact with the defender's outstretched arms, are now offensive fouls. So, practically speaking, he wasn't going to get that call.

Secondly, claiming that Kobe started it isn't exactly a water-tight denial of Kobe's charge, now is it?

Lastly Kobe, who is one arrogant Mofo who thinks he is invulnerable, has been EXTREMELY lucky over the course of his career he hasn't had more ankle sprains. Ankle sprains for high-flying athletes like him are the norm. Also, he is 34 years old, and stuff like this happens more often.

Here's the video of the play. Jones turned his head away before Kobe landed on his foot, but so what? Remember Reggie Jackson in the World Series, how he stuck his hip out and turned away and that "accidental" deflection scored a run?

Love Kobe's response. He says he can't get his mind around that he has to wait a whole year before he gets his revenge. Hate Kobe's whining about "refs should protect players". Players land on other players' feet all the time. Rondo's elbow got blown out because DWade dragged him down. Did Wade get tossed? No. Kobe should just be happy Bruce Bowen's not playing anymore, otherwise he'd not only be nursing a sprained ankle but a kick to the face too.

All purely accidental, of course.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=M2kRFYW3k-M




http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/video/video.turnersports.com/nba_2013_03_14_0021200960-lal-atl-kobe-bryant-postgame.nba_130314002132-0021200960-lal-atl-kobe-bryant-postgame-00022803.main-video-player.jpg



bob



.

If you want something really funny, Bruce Bowen was breaking down the play for ESPN. He was taking Kobe's side. Really unbelievable considering Bowen was best known for this same tactic. I guess he would know though.

tardust wrote:If you want something really funny, Bruce Bowen was breaking down the play for ESPN. He was taking Kobe's side. Really unbelievable considering Bowen was best known for this same tactic. I guess he would know though.

I suspect that you will disagree but Dahntey Jones came into Kobe's body and came under him.
I don't know if he did it intentionally but it should have been called a foul.
Down by 2 with Kobe at the line for 2 very well could have changed the outcome.
Dahntay's twitter response was absurd, claiming that Kobe didn't step on his foot.
As you can see by the video link, Jones jumped right under Kobe after he elevated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd8tqaSuPWo

bobheckler wrote:Kobe has a severely sprained ankle, what he calls "the worst in his career". He claims it is because Dahntay Jones deliberately put his foot under Kobe's so Kobe would land on it. Jones claims that Kobe started it by legkicking him and that is an offensive foul, they changed the rule 2 years ago.

Ok, first of all, the idiot refs never got the memo that the leg kick, as well as "the rip", which is where you bring the ball up across your body specifically to create the contact with the defender's outstretched arms, are now offensive fouls. So, practically speaking, he wasn't going to get that call.

Secondly, claiming that Kobe started it isn't exactly a water-tight denial of Kobe's charge, now is it?

Lastly Kobe, who is one arrogant Mofo who thinks he is invulnerable, has been EXTREMELY lucky over the course of his career he hasn't had more ankle sprains. Ankle sprains for high-flying athletes like him are the norm. Also, he is 34 years old, and stuff like this happens more often.

Here's the video of the play. Jones turned his head away before Kobe landed on his foot, but so what? Remember Reggie Jackson in the World Series, how he stuck his hip out and turned away and that "accidental" deflection scored a run?

Love Kobe's response. He says he can't get his mind around that he has to wait a whole year before he gets his revenge. Hate Kobe's whining about "refs should protect players". Players land on other players' feet all the time. Rondo's elbow got blown out because DWade dragged him down. Did Wade get tossed? No. Kobe should just be happy Bruce Bowen's not playing anymore, otherwise he'd not only be nursing a sprained ankle but a kick to the face too.

All purely accidental, of course.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=M2kRFYW3k-M




http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/video/video.turnersports.com/nba_2013_03_14_0021200960-lal-atl-kobe-bryant-postgame.nba_130314002132-0021200960-lal-atl-kobe-bryant-postgame-00022803.main-video-player.jpg



bob



.

bob,

Are you serious that you think Jones didn't jump under Kobe?

I got my knee blown out by a guy using a dirty little trick -- stepping on my foot to slow me down, unfortunately while I was turning to deliver an outlet pass -- so I've never had much tolerance for crap like a defender sticking his foot in the shooter's landing zone, which Bruce Bowen did blatantly during his career, and which Jalen Rose confessed to doing to Kobe in the 2000 NBA finals.

I'm having a hard time figuring out the deal with this play yesterday in Atlanta. Kobe shot a fall-away jumper, and Jones jumped toward Kobe to contest the shot. I don't put much stock in what Jones says -- I've never much liked him since his days as part of the Nuggets Knucklehead crew -- but I initially had a hard time seeing this as intentional on Jones' part.

What complicates it for me is the Jalen Rose play in 2000. Here's a page that has both the Rose play in 2000 and the Jones play yesterday.

http://nba.si.com/2013/03/14/kobe-bryant-ankle-injury-dahntay-jones-lakers-playoffs-hawks/?sct=uk_t11_a5

If you look at the two plays where Kobe got hurt, the actions of the defender are almost identical -- the defender turns away and seems to innocently extend his foot just a little toward the shooter. And in Jones case, I'd believe it was unintentional except for the fact that it's virtually identical to the Rose play, and Rose has admitted he did it on purpose.

Kobe's a tough, resilient guy, so he'll probably be back relatively soon. Maybe it will be a blessing in disguise for the Lakers, forcing Dwight, Nash, and the supporting cast to step up like the Celtics did when Rondo went down. In any event, the drama in Lakerland continues.

tjmakz wrote:

tardust wrote:If you want something really funny, Bruce Bowen was breaking down the play for ESPN. He was taking Kobe's side. Really unbelievable considering Bowen was best known for this same tactic. I guess he would know though.

I suspect that you will disagree but Dahntey Jones came into Kobe's body and came under him.
I don't know if he did it intentionally but it should have been called a foul.
Down by 2 with Kobe at the line for 2 very well could have changed the outcome.
Dahntay's twitter response was absurd, claiming that Kobe didn't step on his foot.
As you can see by the video link, Jones jumped right under Kobe after he elevated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd8tqaSuPWo

Please don't get me started on fouls not called, especially a team that hardly ever gets there. I remember a game not long ago where the Bulls coach instructed the Bulls to foul Pierce, they did repeatedly, and the call- jump ball. This was a call that 100% cost the Celtics a game that we should have won. There are plenty others but they don't get much more wrong than that one.

Did Kobe stick his leg out to create contact? I also don't know of but a couple of players that get the benefit of foul calls more than he does either. I don't think it was intentional. I will say I have seen many time Celtics fouled just as bad and didn't get a whistle either. Just my opinion.

This is not about the Celtics. This is about Jones coming under Kobe while he was in the air. Kobe did not make contact with Jones. Please be honest enough to put away your hatred for Kobe and see the facts as they happened.

The NBA announced today that Dahntay Jones should have been called for a foul against Kobe.

On Thursday afternoon, the NBA chimed in with its own opinion of the play. According to an official statement from the league, Bryant should have earned two free throws:


With 4.9 seconds remaining in the Atlanta Hawks' 96-92 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on March 13, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant attempted a jump shot over the Hawks' Dahntay Jones. After review at the league office, video replay confirmed that referees missed a foul call on Jones as he challenged Bryant's shot and did not give him the opportunity to land cleanly back on the floor. Bryant should have been granted two free throws.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/nba-says-kobe-bryant-fouled-play-injured-ankle-232558182--nba.html