[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
Yeah, Hockey is gay.
[/quote]
lol. NBA is boring as shit until the last quarter (if it’s a close game). truth.
[quote]gregron wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Wow that was an irritating game. They shut down Kobe and Gasol and could have easily won with a few free throw makes.[/quote]
“could have easily won with a few free-throw makes”? NO lost by 9 brah[/quote]
You obviously didn’t watch the game. If you did you would have noticed NO missing an annoying number of free throws and not just on fouls but also on flagrant fouls and techs. If NO had shot even like 80% from the free throw line this game would have been really tight in the end.
Raj is right, Kobe and Gasol weren’t even scoring! It was a perfect (stress perfect) opportunity for NO to steal another game in LA. Unfortunately they missed free throws and were not aggressive, especially in the third quarter. I guess in the end it boils down to Monty Williams inexperience as a coach. It goes to show how important the ‘little things’ are, as Reggie Miller says.
The game was ugly, no question about that. You could see why LA is the more polished team; they scored and made plays when they needed to.
If NO can get game 3 this will turn into an interesting series…
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Wow that was an irritating game. They shut down Kobe and Gasol and could have easily won with a few free throw makes.[/quote]
Shut down? Bryant moved the ball the entire game ond only took 10 shots. It looked to me like he was trying to get everyone elese involved and prove a point to NO: that he can be uninvolved and they can still win. Game 1 was a fluke. Look for him to get 30+ next time out, like he normally does. Raj, why do you hate Bryant so much?
[quote]gregron wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Wow that was an irritating game. They shut down Kobe and Gasol and could have easily won with a few free throw makes.[/quote]
“could have easily won with a few free-throw makes”? NO lost by 9 brah[/quote]
And they missed 12 free throws 
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Wow that was an irritating game. They shut down Kobe and Gasol and could have easily won with a few free throw makes.[/quote]
Shut down? Bryant moved the ball the entire game ond only took 10 shots. It looked to me like he was trying to get everyone elese involved and prove a point to NO: that he can be uninvolved and they can still win. Game 1 was a fluke. Look for him to get 30+ next time out, like he normally does. Raj, why do you hate Bryant so much? [/quote]
I don’t. But this thread sometimes feels like the Kobe appreciation thread.
Yeah he only took 10 shots, but he went 3-10 and had 2 assists. I’d think NO would take Kobe putting up those types of numbers any day.
I don’t think he was trying to prove a point but more or less take advantage of the size they have down low with Bynum.
I think you’re really under appreciating the job Trevor Ariza did on Kobe. He played great.
Kobe even said it all comes down to “1 and 2” - Him and Gasol
EDIT: I think NO would be perfectly happy forcing LAL to shift a significant portion of their scoring load to Odom and Artest.
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
[quote]gregron wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Wow that was an irritating game. They shut down Kobe and Gasol and could have easily won with a few free throw makes.[/quote]
“could have easily won with a few free-throw makes”? NO lost by 9 brah[/quote]
You obviously didn’t watch the game. If you did you would have noticed NO missing an annoying number of free throws and not just on fouls but also on flagrant fouls and techs. If NO had shot even like 80% from the free throw line this game would have been really tight in the end.
Raj is right, Kobe and Gasol weren’t even scoring! It was a perfect (stress perfect) opportunity for NO to steal another game in LA. Unfortunately they missed free throws and were not aggressive, especially in the third quarter. I guess in the end it boils down to Monty Williams inexperience as a coach. It goes to show how important the ‘little things’ are, as Reggie Miller says.
The game was ugly, no question about that. You could see why LA is the more polished team; they scored and made plays when they needed to.
If NO can get game 3 this will turn into an interesting series… [/quote]
Literally almost none of what you posted has anything to do with what I said. Of course I watched the game.
Raj said “they could have easily won if the made a few freethrows”
You said “if NO had shot like even 80% from the free throw line this game would have been really tight”
HUGE difference.
NO shot 63% from the line and LA shot 68% from the line… Both teams didn’t shoot freethrows well.
NO would have had to have shot 94% from the line to won the game. 10 more freethrows isn’t “easily won the game if they made a few more freethrows”
[quote]gregron wrote:
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
[quote]gregron wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Wow that was an irritating game. They shut down Kobe and Gasol and could have easily won with a few free throw makes.[/quote]
“could have easily won with a few free-throw makes”? NO lost by 9 brah[/quote]
You obviously didn’t watch the game. If you did you would have noticed NO missing an annoying number of free throws and not just on fouls but also on flagrant fouls and techs. If NO had shot even like 80% from the free throw line this game would have been really tight in the end.
Raj is right, Kobe and Gasol weren’t even scoring! It was a perfect (stress perfect) opportunity for NO to steal another game in LA. Unfortunately they missed free throws and were not aggressive, especially in the third quarter. I guess in the end it boils down to Monty Williams inexperience as a coach. It goes to show how important the ‘little things’ are, as Reggie Miller says.
The game was ugly, no question about that. You could see why LA is the more polished team; they scored and made plays when they needed to.
If NO can get game 3 this will turn into an interesting series… [/quote]
Literally almost none of what you posted has anything to do with what I said. Of course I watched the game.
Raj said “they could have easily won if the made a few freethrows”
You said “if NO had shot like even 80% from the free throw line this game would have been really tight”
HUGE difference.
NO shot 63% from the line and LA shot 68% from the line… Both teams didn’t shoot freethrows well.
NO would have had to have shot 94% from the line to won the game. 10 more freethrows isn’t “easily won the game if they made a few more freethrows”[/quote]
I think you’re misinterpreting what I wrote. If NO had made their free throws this game could’ve gone either way. That’s what I meant by “could’ve easily won that if they made a few free throws.” It really wasn’t a decisive win by the Lakers.
I’m not saying the Hornets would have crushed the Lakers if they had made their free throws.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Wow that was an irritating game. They shut down Kobe and Gasol and could have easily won with a few free throw makes.[/quote]
Shut down? Bryant moved the ball the entire game ond only took 10 shots. It looked to me like he was trying to get everyone elese involved and prove a point to NO: that he can be uninvolved and they can still win. Game 1 was a fluke. Look for him to get 30+ next time out, like he normally does. Raj, why do you hate Bryant so much? [/quote]
I don’t. But this thread sometimes feels like the Kobe appreciation thread.
Yeah he only took 10 shots, but he went 3-10 and had 2 assists. I’d think NO would take Kobe putting up those types of numbers any day.
I don’t think he was trying to prove a point but more or less take advantage of the size they have down low with Bynum.
I think you’re really under appreciating the job Trevor Ariza did on Kobe. He played great.
[/quote]
Of course NO would like Bryant to put up those numbers? You’re giving Ariza way too much credit. Bryant torched him in game 1, and focused on getting the bigs involved in game 2 [that’s part of what I meant by “prove a point”]. Bryant can get LITERALLY any shot he wants, any time he wants. And, I have no problem with this being a “Kobe appreciation thread”. He’s the most slept on superstar in NBA history. All you hear is people talking shit about him, yet NO ONE can do what he does/has done. When he’s gone people are gonna realize what a monstrous talent he was, and wish they spent less time talking shit and more time appreciating his game.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Wow that was an irritating game. They shut down Kobe and Gasol and could have easily won with a few free throw makes.[/quote]
Shut down? Bryant moved the ball the entire game ond only took 10 shots. It looked to me like he was trying to get everyone elese involved and prove a point to NO: that he can be uninvolved and they can still win. Game 1 was a fluke. Look for him to get 30+ next time out, like he normally does. Raj, why do you hate Bryant so much? [/quote]
I don’t. But this thread sometimes feels like the Kobe appreciation thread.
Yeah he only took 10 shots, but he went 3-10 and had 2 assists. I’d think NO would take Kobe putting up those types of numbers any day.
I don’t think he was trying to prove a point but more or less take advantage of the size they have down low with Bynum.
I think you’re really under appreciating the job Trevor Ariza did on Kobe. He played great.
[/quote]
Of course NO would like Bryant to put up those numbers? You’re giving Ariza way too much credit. Bryant torched him in game 1, and focused on getting the bigs involved in game 2 [that’s part of what I meant by “prove a point”]. Bryant can get LITERALLY any shot he wants, any time he wants. And, I have no problem with this being a “Kobe appreciation thread”. He’s the most slept on superstar in NBA history. All you hear is people talking shit about him, yet NO ONE can do what he does/has done. When he’s gone people are gonna realize what a monstrous talent he was, and wish they spent less time talking shit and more time appreciating his game.[/quote]
I figured out why I hated Kobe so much. He is the closest player in talent to my favorite player of all time MJ. Kind of why I dislike Tom Brady, cuz he’s a bigger and stronger version of Joe Cool. You are right about Kobe, when he’s done, people will see how much of a great player he was.
Question for any Laker fans out there. I watch ESPN First Take all the time so I can watch Skip Bayless argue both intelligently and not so intelligently about different sports topics. He has stated numerous times that if LA traded Bynum for Carmelo Anthony, the Lakers would be flying high and be unstoppable. Do any of you agree with that?
Diminishing returns.
I have a hard time believing the Lakers would be better for having Melo instead of Bynum. Stars require touches, and Melo and Kobe are 2 of the three best pure scorers in the NBA. Yes, I know this year the 2nd and 3rd highest scorers were on the same team, and the 4th and 5th highest were on another [crazy], but both of those teams are noticeably unbalanced. It’s be even worse in this case because Melo and Kobe even though they don’t play the same position, NEED to be the lead scoring option to be at their most effective.
Besides, when you have a 2 time championship team most of the time there’s no reason to make a big change like that. Just minor ones like getting Blake and Barnes, etc.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
He’s the most slept on superstar in NBA history. All you hear is people talking shit about him, yet NO ONE can do what he does/has done. [/quote]
This has already changed, though. 2 years ago most people I knew would say LBJ>Kobe, now it’s the other way around. And it’s the same guys.
Everything changed last year in the playoffs, and then it was cemented with the Decision. There are still a lot of people that hate him [black sheep superstar has a nice ring to it, btw], but the respect for his game is at an all time high.
At least from my observations.
I don’t think Kobe has been under appreciated the last 3 years in the NBA. But parts of his career before that? Definitely.
I also think Trevor Ariza had a great performance on Kobe in game 2. Game 1, not so much.
[quote]fnf wrote:
Question for any Laker fans out there. I watch ESPN First Take all the time so I can watch Skip Bayless argue both intelligently and not so intelligently about different sports topics. He has stated numerous times that if LA traded Bynum for Carmelo Anthony, the Lakers would be flying high and be unstoppable. Do any of you agree with that?[/quote]
I bet even Skip doesn’t really think that
At the pro level, it remains a “big-man’s game” because of how a legit 7-fter can impact BOTH ends of the court - and (a healthy) Bynum gives LAL length and frontcourt depth that is tough for other teams to matchup with. this is why DAL has collected bigs over the years, why OKC brought in K Perkins etc
With Anthony (or Bosh) instead of Bynum, LAL is no longer a legit title contender. IMO.
[quote]PB Andy wrote:
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
Yeah, Hockey is gay.
[/quote]
lol. NBA is boring as shit until the last quarter (if it’s a close game). truth.[/quote]
If you’re merely interested in who wins the game, then that makes sense.
But if you enjoy watching the game itself, the ball handling and creativity, passing and athleticism, then there’s plenty to watch throughout.
No different than hockey really, in that respect…
[quote]PB Andy wrote:
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
Yeah, Hockey is gay.
[/quote]
lol. NBA is boring as shit until the last quarter (if it’s a close game). truth.[/quote]
I hate this argument, it’s blatantly untrue. There are certainly SINGLE GAMES where it’s boring until the 4th but that is true of every sport on earth.
[quote]chillain wrote:
[quote]fnf wrote:
Question for any Laker fans out there. I watch ESPN First Take all the time so I can watch Skip Bayless argue both intelligently and not so intelligently about different sports topics. He has stated numerous times that if LA traded Bynum for Carmelo Anthony, the Lakers would be flying high and be unstoppable. Do any of you agree with that?[/quote]
I bet even Skip doesn’t really think that
At the pro level, it remains a “big-man’s game” because of how a legit 7-fter can impact BOTH ends of the court - and (a healthy) Bynum gives LAL length and frontcourt depth that is tough for other teams to matchup with. this is why DAL has collected bigs over the years, why OKC brought in K Perkins etc
With Anthony (or Bosh) instead of Bynum, LAL is no longer a legit title contender. IMO.
[/quote]
I’ll disagree to an extent - certainly a HEALTHY Bynum is a better fit, but would you rather have Bynum healthy for 4 or 5 out of 7 games (which I’m blindly guessing is about how many of their games he’s been totally healthy for on average through his career, reg season/playoff combined), or melo for all 7?
Granted a Melo/Kobe duo would not be the ball-sharingest combo of all time but a crunch time lineup of Fisher/Kobe/Melo/Odom/Gasol or Kobe/Melo/Artest/Odom/Gasol would be pretty effective I’d think. Especially that 2nd one where Kobe and Artest could hide Melo on D.
Edit: Then again, Melo and Kobe may actually get in a fist fight over who takes the last shot.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
I don’t think Kobe has been under appreciated the last 3 years in the NBA. But parts of his career before that? Definitely.
I also think Trevor Ariza had a great performance on Kobe in game 2. Game 1, not so much.[/quote]
Agreed, as somoeone who’s indifferent to Kobe I think a lot of “anti-Kobe” types are giving him mad props for how he’s aging - as I certainly am.
I think the problem with Kobe is that his fan base is SO rabid, all the people who are “anti-kobe” are really just trying to talk a tiny modicum of sense into Kobe fanatics and they see anything OTHER than direct praise as hate. I can say he’s a top-10 player of all time while acknowledging he has occasionally had a flaw or 2. IMO thinking of him as a top-10 (maybe top-5) GOAT is not underrating him because there have been a lot of great players.
Sorry for disappearing for pages at a time then spamming 4 consecutive posts…it’s just the nature of my new job that I can’t post as much (even though I want to just as much).
Anyway, changing the thread from backward-looking to forward-looking, have some questions/comments for yall
-
Laker fans, how are you feeling about the Thunder, specifically their game 2 beatdown of everyone’s favorite 5-seed Denver? Outside of Denver hitting like 10 of their first 11 shots in game 1, OKC has dominated them for 7 straight quarters, has a LEGIT big man rotation headed by Ibaka/Perkins, and has Westbrook who is tailor made to torch Fisher. Lakers only chance in that series (if it happens) is Kobe going off. So Laker fans, how scared are you of OKC and how hard are you rooting for DEN/SAS/MEM?
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The Bulls are going nowhere if Deng and Boozer don’t start scoring. I love Rose be can not score 38ppg for the next month and a half. This scares me that he has to do this just to get by the worst team in the playoffs.
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I have to take the Heat to come out of the bottom half of the East bracket given how much better they’re playing than Boston right now. They are starting to scare me
4)Man was I wrong about Portland and oh by the way, Dirk beats out Kobe for the most under-appreciated player of our era. Guy is phenomenal.
- Not surprised Memphis is giving SAS troubles (I bet on them in game 1 and 2) but I think SAS pulls it out eventually assuming Manu remains healthy, and I think he will.
Unless you are a Chicago fan and not just them being your “playoff team” I don’t know how you cannot cheer for this Pacers team.
Same goes with the NO Hornets.
Both these teams are playing their asses off and no one gave them ANY chance.