Around The Horn 2021-2022 Season

Looks like Thibs is going to wind up with egg on his face. Kemba for 44 last night...unfortunately in a losing effort for Kemba. Thibs will never admit he made the wrong decision though.

db

dbrown4 wrote:Looks like Thibs is going to wind up with egg on his face.  Kemba for 44 last night...unfortunately in a losing effort for Kemba.  Thibs will never admit he made the wrong decision though.  

db

dbrown,

44 points on 14-27, 7-14 from 3, 9-9 from the line. So not only did he score a ton, he did it efficiently.

Thibs got that, plus 23 and 9 from Randle on 10-22 and 20 from Alec Burks. His problem was that he only got 8 points and 3 rebounds from Mitchell Robinson and 8 points on 2-13, 2-11 from 3, from Fournier. Fournier took 2 fgas that weren't 3, and missed them both.

Thank God for James Dolan, huh? Danny and Brad wanted to resign Evan Fournier but got outbid by Dolan. He's averaging 13.2ppg on 41% shooting this year. 36% from 3. And he's getting paid $18M this year and has another 2 years after this one with increases each year. The 4th year of his contract is a team option, so there might be an opportunity there for them but otherwise? He's not worth the money. Josh Richardson is averaging almost 11ppg, is shooting 40.5% from 3 and is getting $11.6M. Josh is doing this in fewer minutes too.

We all thought that Danny made a mistake when he traded for a player that we weren't able to resign. Now it's looking like plain dumb fool's luck that we couldn't, but dumb fool's luck is still luck.


Bob


.

https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-lebron-james-starting-center-recap-020036674.html



How is the Lakers' season going? 37-year-old LeBron James is their new starting center


Jack Baer

Tue, December 28, 2021, 6:00 PM·2 min read



If the Los Angeles Lakers' 16-18 record, their five straight losses, Anthony Davis' significant injury and issues with COVID-19 weren't enough to convince you this season is not going according to plan, let the team's new lineup Tuesday provide a little more evidence.

It centers around four interesting words: "starting center LeBron James."


That would be 37-year-old, "won a championship two years ago playing at point guard" LeBron James, who took the floor against the Houston Rockets with three guards and wing Stanley Johnson, signed on a 10-day contract.


You might expect such a development to have been preceded by a glut of injuries among Lakers big men, but ... that hasn't really happened. Davis remains out with an MCL sprain, but Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan were both eligible to play Tuesday. And the Lakers decided to instead play their former MVP in the middle.

Obviously, the Lakers played differently with James at the 5 instead of Jordan and Howard. The offense still flowed through James, though his defensive responsibilities shifted more paint heavy.

As the Lakers' Mike Trudell noted, this was the 19th different starting lineup the Lakers had used in 35 games this season. Only two players — Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony — have missed fewer than five games this season. That's left the team with still plenty to figure out midway through the season, hence experiments like Tuesday's.


James starting in the middle worked out for at least one game, as the Lakers beat the Rockets 132-123 to halt their losing streak.

The tallest player to see the floor for the Lakers, James posted a triple-double with 32 points (11-of-19 shooting), 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Howard and Jordan did not see a minute on the floor, but the Lakers still finished even in points in the paint with the Rockets, 56-56.

Of course, beating the 10-25 Rockets is hardly a proof of concept. But at least it isn't another loss.


Bob


.

They still suck!!

db

I don’t watch the NBA at all. I only care about the Celtics and this site gives me all the news and views to satisfy me. That being said, I’m not impressed. Isn’t the modern NBA all about “position less” basketball? So he “played” Center. What does that mean, he jumped for the opening tip? He guarded Christian Wood, a skinny “stretch 5” out on the perimeter? Big deal. I don’t like LB, I despise the Lakers. Again, big deal, no one cares. But let’s not herald this as a seismic event, especially in light of how the modern game is played. If he “played Center” against Russ, Wilt, Kareem, Shaquille, Olajuwon, hell even 6’7” Wes Unseld or even today against Embiid or Jokic  I may be impressed. But today, again, big deal. We can make the case that Marcus Smart has actually “played” more Center, more effectively than the king (lowercase spelling intentional).

I have to agree with you Will. I know I go way way back, but I will tell you, have seen some of the most exciting basketball from teams that play hard, fun, exciting basketball. Let’s go back a bit to players wanting to beat opposing teams, and beat them bad. I would like to see this team really enjoy playing together, the minute things start falling apart, they go to me ball. Years ago they would get smacked in the head by their fellow players!!!
As far as LA is concerned, I could not tell you what their record is, I just don’t care because they thought they were going to buy their way in and it has backfired.

willjr wrote:I don’t watch the NBA at all. I only care about the Celtics and this site gives me all the news and views to satisfy me. That being said, I’m not impressed. Isn’t the modern NBA all about “position less” basketball? So he “played” Center. What does that mean, he jumped for the opening tip? He guarded Christian Wood, a skinny “stretch 5” out on the perimeter? Big deal. I don’t like LB, I despise the Lakers. Again, big deal, no one cares. But let’s not herald this as a seismic event, especially in light of how the modern game is played. If he “played Center” against Russ, Wilt, Kareem, Shaquille, Olajuwon, hell even 6’7” Wes Unseld or even today against Embiid or Jokic  I may be impressed. But today, again, big deal. We can make the case that Marcus Smart has actually “played” more Center, more effectively than the king (lowercase spelling intentional).

Thank u! Well said and so true

Joe Ingles of Utah just tore his ACL and is done for the season. He's 34, so this may be it for him, but he never relied on athleticism before so why should that change now?

I like watching him. A very high BBIQ player.


Bob


.

As for the LeBron fawning, it seems like an effort to make LeBron look like/get in the same arena with Magic. Magic won championships, Magic played for the Lakers, Magic played center one game and won...

The hand is moving ever so slowly to pushing the button for the nuclear option in LA. After this season is done and LA goes out in the first round if they hold on, they will probably be swept, the bomb will finally go off on the player stacking experiment gone awry and the fire sale will begin. Everybody in the pool. You, too, LeBron.

You heard it here first!! Wife's Paycheck.

db

Josh Richardson @J_Rich1
about 1 hour ago
I just saw somebody knocking snow off they car with a tennis racket… Boston is different lol

reply retweet like


Bob


.

hey, if it worked, why not??? Probably not from this area, did not have proper snow removal removal equipment. Seems pretty ingenious to me

Ktron wrote:So now everybody In the league gets to put themselves at risk to get sick and die because this punk doesn’t want to get vax and the league doesn’t want to lose anymore money.

Willful endangerment should be worth something…to every other vaxxed player. A class action suit against Kyrie, the Nets, and the League would be about right.

I wonder where the Celtics would be now if they had a reasonable GM in place and not traded for Kyrie (or signed Hayward or Kemba. They’d at least have Rozier at point! Ainge was incompetent and now he has another chance to blow apart the Jazz.

The Jazz minus Ingles looks like a much easier out.

I expect the Mavs to make a move. Hardaway just had surgery to repair a broken foot.

https://cassiuslife.com/566506/jerry-west-season-tickets/



NBA GREAT JERRY WEST SAYS LAKERS ARE “PETTY” TO CANCEL HIS LIFETIME SEASON TICKETS


By Alex Zephyr
RECENT02.02.22



Jerry “The Logo” West is one of the greatest NBA basketball players ever, having spent his entire professional playing and coaching career with the Los Angeles Lakers. But apparently, “The-Purple-and-Gold” have no more care for West. In fact, according to his recent interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Lakers didn’t even bother to let him know they’d cancelled his lifetime ticket arrangement from their late owner Dr. Jerry Buss.


“It was a cold phone text to my wife,” West said. “No one had the nerve to call me, but that’s how petty they are, OK? And I love the Lakers, OK? I love to see them do well. It’s great for basketball. I’m proud of everything that happened when I was there. I’m proud of everything that happened when I wasn’t there—the positives.”

It’s worth noting that “The Logo” hinted at “everything that happened when I wasn’t there,” too.  West a.k.a “Mr. Clutch” became the team’s general manager during the 1982-1983 season and is considered one of the chief architects of the Showtime Lakers. And although he’d leave the team in 2000, it was the moves that West made for Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant which set up the Lakers for their dominant three-peat title run right after the turn of the century.

West was then the GM for the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002 through 2007 before returning to California four years later, this time in the Bay Area. “Mr. Clutch” joined the Golden State Warriors as an executive board member in 2011, and his stewardship helped the team nab its first championship in four decades come the 2014-2015 season. The Warriors would win another chip two years later, and this would be West’s eight championship as a board member.

However, “The Logo” had always wanted to return to the Lakers to finish his career, preferably on their board, too. In 2017, West even tried to rejoin the team as a consultant, but they were having none of it. So West went across the hall to their Staples Center rivals and became an exec member of the Los Angeles Clippers.


Later, audio surfaced of West calling the Lakers organization a “sh*t show” during the 2019 Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes.

Fast forward some, and Jeanie Buss (who’d become the new president and owner of the Lakers, succeeding her father) would proceed to name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Phil Jackson among the most influential Lakers players ever but snub “Mr. Clutch,” an omission that West considered “one of the most offensive things I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“But sometimes you feel like you’re discarded, like a piece of trash,” West explained to Amick. “And there’s a couple of people over there—not Jeanie—but there’s a couple of people over there that, uh… I don’t get it. I don’t… I always had a great relationship with Jeanie—at least I thought I did. I don’t know where it is now.”

So is there any hope of reconciliation? Can there be any amends made, especially when West is one of select few Lakers alum to have his own statue outside Crypto.com Arena? Probably not.

“I’m not seeking any apologies from no one—no one—ever,” West said. “I just said to myself, ‘How petty can this be?’”


Bob
MY NOTE:  Former Celtic players not only are eligible for seats at any Celtic game, anywhere, they also have lifetime access to the Celtics' locker room, anyway.  Eric Fernsten, certainly not a Celtic of mythic proportions, lives in the SF bay area and stopped in the visitor's locker room occasionally when they were playing GSW in Oakland (I don't know if he's still doing it now that they've moved to SF.  He was, btw, an electrician in Alameda County.  At 68 he's probably retired now).  It would take something extremely serious, like a player pulling a weapon on a coach or owner, for them to be banned for life.

Let's remember, though, the Lakers are the same team that brought 4 Championships with them from Minneapolis.  They gave the stars of that team, the first dynasty in NBA history, a little plaque somewhere compared to big banners retiring the numbers of LA Laker greats.  Gail Goodrich, but not George Mikan and Slater Martin?!  Even then, Jerry West was a LOS ANGELES Laker!  Kee-rist!  He's the only player in NBA history to be the MVP of a Championship series from a losing team!  That means the Lakers lost despite  absolute "Horatius at the Bridge" performances by West, games that popped more eyes open than anybody on the winning team and that team included the guy the Finals MVP trophy is named after, Bill Russell.

Jeannie, whaddya doin'?!


.

There's always two sides to every story.  Jerry really got knocked off his own egotistical pedestal when the Celtics denied him and the Lakers year after year in the 60's.  There were some psychological issues he internalized for most of his life.  The 1969 balloon game was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Now the Lakers did come back and win in the early 70's as the Celtics rebuilt/pivoted.

No doubt Jerry is one of the greatest of all time, Logo or not.  He does deserve an explanation, though...not a text. That's low!!  

Jeannie, we're waiting...

db

the strange thing about Jerry West, he cannot come to Boston, he is so traumatized by losing so much. Refuses to talk about those games he lost. Kind of a weird guy in certain ways.

funny story, in all the years that I have followed the Celtics many of you remember that I talked about how much my Mom loved them I gave her eulogy at her funeral, spoke of her love of the green, but told those attending that it killed me, but her favorite player of all time was Jerry West. I choked on those words,, and my family in attendance laughed like hell

The Lakers are losing it. West earned his seat.

I find it very interesting that LA has made some bad decisions since Magic was kicked to the curb and Rob Pelinka became the decision maker.

Magic drafted well and landed the biggest star in Lebron James.

That team would be better with Ingram, Ball, Hart and Kuzma minus AD and Westbrook.

Teams that lack patience are doomed to failure.

Future Lakers 1st round picks

2022 - 1-10 to NOP; 11-30 to MEM (via NOP)

2023 - Own or NOP (via NOP swap for LAL)

2024 - To NOP unless NOP defers and instead receives LAL's 2025 1st round pick

2025 - To NOP if NOP defers LAL's 2024 1st round pick

dboss wrote:The Lakers are losing it.  West earned his seat.

I find it very interesting that LA has made some bad decisions since Magic was kicked to the curb and Rob Pelinka became the decision maker.  

Magic drafted well and landed the biggest star in Lebron James.  

That team would be better with Ingram, Ball, Hart and Kuzma minus AD and Westbrook.  

Teams that lack patience are doomed to failure.

Future Lakers 1st round picks

2022 - 1-10 to NOP; 11-30 to MEM (via NOP)

2023 - Own or NOP (via NOP swap for LAL)

2024 - To NOP unless NOP defers and instead receives LAL's 2025 1st round pick

2025 - To NOP if NOP defers LAL's 2024 1st round pick

. Magic brought LeBron is way overstated. Lebron was going there Magic or no Magic. After landing LeBron, Magic disappeared (pardon the pun) and hardly showed up for work. He did very little, quit and then went on TV telling everyone that Pelinka was a back stabber waa waa waa blah blah blah. They went on to win the Disney version of the NBA Finals without him.  Spare me the subtly stated Magic accolades.

RosalieTCeltics wrote:the strange thing about Jerry West, he cannot come to Boston, he is so traumatized by losing so much. Refuses to talk about those games he lost.  Kind of a weird guy in certain ways.

funny story, in all the years that I have followed the Celtics many of you remember that I talked about how much my Mom loved them  I gave her eulogy at her funeral, spoke of her love of the green, but told those attending that it killed me, but her favorite player of all time was    Jerry West.  I choked on those words,, and my family in attendance laughed like hell

Couldn’t stand West back in the 60’s when he used to give us the blues but..I had the chance to meet and interview he and Chick Hearn in Dallas back in the late 80’s and I was amazed at how genuine they both were and yes, West said he still hadn’t gotten over losing all those finals to the Celtics. Really smart and very cordial guy. Your mom had great taste.

Ktron wrote:

dboss wrote:The Lakers are losing it.  West earned his seat.

I find it very interesting that LA has made some bad decisions since Magic was kicked to the curb and Rob Pelinka became the decision maker.  

Magic drafted well and landed the biggest star in Lebron James.  

That team would be better with Ingram, Ball, Hart and Kuzma minus AD and Westbrook.  

Teams that lack patience are doomed to failure.

Future Lakers 1st round picks

2022 - 1-10 to NOP; 11-30 to MEM (via NOP)

2023 - Own or NOP (via NOP swap for LAL)

2024 - To NOP unless NOP defers and instead receives LAL's 2025 1st round pick

2025 - To NOP if NOP defers LAL's 2024 1st round pick

. Magic brought LeBron is way overstated. Lebron was going there Magic or no Magic. After landing LeBron, Magic disappeared (pardon the pun) and hardly showed up for work. He did very little, quit and then went on TV telling everyone that Pelinka was a back stabber waa waa waa blah blah blah. They went on to win the Disney version of the NBA Finals without him.  Spare me the subtly stated Magic accolades.

Ok that is your opinion.

Magic was still heavily involved even if James wanted to play in LA.  He could have gone with the Clippers.  Magic still had to make moves to get James there.

The he did not show up from work came from Pelinka.

They are heavily leveraged.  Put an asterick beside their bubble win.  They are getting smoked out West and have no where to go but down.  This team looks broke down.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/potential-celtics-trade-target-bradley-224139038.html



Potential Celtics trade target Bradley Beal to have season-ending wrist surgery


Nick Goss
Tue, February 8, 2022, 2:41 PM



Washington Wizards star shooting guard Bradley Beal's 2021-22 season is over.


ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday afternoon that Beal plans to undergo season-ending surgery on his left wrist. His agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the news to Woj.

This injury has impacted Beal for a few weeks. He's played in 40 of the Wizards' 53 games played entering Tuesday. His production has slipped this season, too. Beal averaged a career-high 31.3 points per game last season, but that output has dropped to just 23.2 points per game during the 2021-22 campaign. He's also shooting a lackluster 30.3 percent from 3-point range.


This injury could change the Wizards' plans before Thursday's NBA trade deadline. Instead of adding to their roster and trying to secure a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, it's probably wiser for the Wizards to become sellers and stockpile assets for the future. Washington has lost eight of its last nine games.

Beal's future also is a popular topic. He's able to become an unrestricted free agent this summer by declining the player option in his contract. He's also able to sign a five-year, $240 million max contract to remain with the Wizards long term.


Beal could take his talents to another team, too. The Boston Celtics often are a rumored/speculated destination for Beal given his longtime friendship with C's star Jayson Tatum. They've been friends since childhood. A trio of Tatum, Beal and Jaylen Brown would make the Celtics legit contenders in the East.

This offseason could be a pretty exciting one for the NBA with James Harden and Beal able to test free agency, as well as the ongoing Ben Simmons drama. There could be plenty of stars changing teams over the next four or five months.


Bob


.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/los-angeles-clippers-marcus-morris-ejected-hit-ja-morant-in-face-dunk-memphis-grizzlies-032420850.html



Clippers' Marcus Morris ejected after drilling Ja Morant in face in loss to Grizzlies


Ryan Young·Writer
Tue, February 8, 2022, 7:24 PM


Clippers forward Marcus Morris was ejected from Los Angeles' game against the Memphis Grizzlies after he hit Ja Morant in the face while Morant was on his way up for a dunk.

Morris, in the third quarter of L.A.'s 135-109 loss at FedExForum, went to contest a Morant dunk attempt up at the rim. Instead of hitting the ball, Morris’ right hand connected directly with Morant’s face, which sent Morant sprawling to the court.

Bally Sports: Grizzlies
@GrizzOnBally
Marcus Morris has been ejected after this Flagrant 2 on Ja Morant.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1491242360667320321


Morris was assessed a flagrant 2 foul, and immediately ejected. He finished the night with three points and four rebounds while shooting 1-of-6 from the field.

"That's a dangerous play," Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said, via SBNation's Parker Fleming. "The refs reviewed it and made the correct call."

The Clippers trailed for nearly all of the contest Tuesday night outside of a brief lead in the opening minutes before the Grizzlies cruised to the 26-point win. Morant led Memphis with 30 points and seven rebounds while shooting 12-of-19 from the field, and Jaren Jackson dropped 26 points with 11 rebounds.


The Grizzlies shot better than 51% from the field as a team, and held the Clippers to 19 points in the third period. Memphis has won six of its past seven.

Norman Powell put up 16 points for the Clippers, and Reggie Jackson added 12 in the loss. They were the only two starters to score in double figures. Isaiah Hartenstein led the team with 19 points and seven rebounds while shooting 7-of-11 from the field off the bench. The Clippers have lost three of their last four.


Bob
MY NOTE: Definitely a dirty foul. Ejection was warranted, and a fine should be forthcoming too.

.

I saw the play. I don't think MM loaded up. The fall was unfortunate but no one can control how that comes out once both people are off the ground. Hard foul? Yes. Flagrant 1 for sure. If the league has problems with this, wait for the playoffs and the unwritten No Lay Up rule, the modern day version of the McHale Clothesline Rule. Always a fan fave!!

db

Morris may have put a lil more ommmph into it but ya know what?
As great as Morant is and I do think he is great and a superstar in the making, he’s also a bit of a show off. He possesses a flair for theatrics that in my opinion do not belong in this game (See: Trae Young, Steph and backstabbing Embiid).
Call me old school but that crap should warrant a very hard hard foul Burger with a Parquet Parfait in the face for dessert.

Well, while last night's game for the Lakers vs. Portland will be the game that will be pointed to as the bottom for the recent Big 3 experiment, the Lakers have about 10 more games coming against top competition and further derailment/humiliation. Man, times are GREAT!!

Frank Vogel can pack his bags. Probably won't come back as a coach anywhere, anytime. The house of cards imploding will come along after that. Heck, throw Pelinka in there as well for listening to LeBron. Jeannie won't like that at all. LeBron plays basketball. He's not in management. He will be in a couple of years, but he may have sealed his 4-championship fate.

Time for LeBron to hang up the sneaks and pass the torch but like all great superstars with monstrous egos, he's going to try to push it one more year. But alas, the stress and injuries are just going to be too much. Plus, no telling what Lalaland will look like by the summer. I'm thinking Hiroshima ala 1945/6.

Anyway, Celtics have to keep winning just to keep pace as it appears TOR only plays last place teams in each conference from here to the end of the season. HOU up next of them while we sit idle. Come on, Rockets!! Be the spoiler!!

db