And about being a douchebag, who gives a fuck?
[/quote]
Gotta agree with this.
I bet they’re almost all douche bags with inflated egos.
The only difference with Dwight is he’s a star so he can get away with it more[/quote]
I edited/added to that earlier post.
Initially, this may have mattered and the D12-Bryant friction prob culminated at the All-Star weekend in Houston. But since then – and that crazy Bryant-led comeback vs TOR almost certainly made a difference – D12 has realized that Bryant is just about winning, fuck everything else. And he’s fallen in-line (with Bryant as alpha-dog)
[/quote]
I’ll tell you who cares: GM’s and owners. If you’re a world class douche but can play and put asses in seats, you’re allowed to get away with murder. But, as soon as your douchiness outweighs your game, you’re not worth the headache. Look at Allen Iverson and Gilbert Arenas. Both of those dudes should still be in the league, but age, injuries and the inability to shut the fuck up has 'em MIA.
[/quote]
x2 LeBald might be one of the biggest douches EVER, but he’s a god on the court so we dont hear about it much.
Seems like you guys have beat the Dwight Howard topic to death. I personally don’t like the guy, both as a player and personality. He’s no where near as charismatic as Shaq and although he has flashes of charisma it’s the type that seems forced and excuse me, NOT alpha.
Kobe is the heart and soul of the Lakers. There is no big 2 or 3 in LA, only the big 1. Gasol seems to have forgotten how to play basketball, Steve Nash is a cripple that can’t play D and D12 is Dwight Howard. Howard can only hope to be a role player that doesn’t interfere with Kobe’s plans on the court.
Kobe with a possibly torn achilles late in Laker’s win. Tragic. I don’t say that as a Laker’s fan mourning the probable end of their season, but as a ball fan who was enjoying the spectacle of Kobe playing this final stretch. If there is a dude I won’t doubt returning from the injury(even at his age) it’s Kobe though, that dude definitely won’t allow it to ruin the twilight of his career, he’ll be back and balling like we expect gunning for that scoring record and 1 last ring.
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
Gasol seems to have forgotten how to play basketball, [/quote]
Nah. Triple-double tonight and huge numbers before that (at POR)
Ive said this before but worth repeating just how difficult it is to make consistent contributions without consistent touches. In other words, playing alongside high-volume shooters/scorers like Bryant, Anthony is much, much tougher than with playmaker-types like Lebron, Magic.
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
Gasol seems to have forgotten how to play basketball, [/quote]
Nah. Triple-double tonight and huge numbers before that (at POR)
Ive said this before but worth repeating just how difficult it is to make consistent contributions without consistent touches. In other words, playing alongside high-volume shooters/scorers like Bryant, Anthony is much, much tougher than with playmaker-types like Lebron, Magic.
[/quote]
It has nothing to do with that. He’s done just fine the last few seasons. It’s mostly D’antoni and his system.
It has nothing to do with that. He’s done just fine the last few seasons. It’s mostly D’antoni and his system.[/quote]
Heh. While I agree that D’Antoni’s system is partly responsible, your unconditional support of Bryant goes too far.
Two nights back in POR, must-win situation and close game throughout, and both Gasol and D12 combined to shoot 20-26 FGs. Its basically impossible to top that efficiency.
And yet Bryant somehow still managed to jack up 27 shots on his own. I rest my case.
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
Gasol seems to have forgotten how to play basketball, [/quote]
Nah. Triple-double tonight and huge numbers before that (at POR)
Ive said this before but worth repeating just how difficult it is to make consistent contributions without consistent touches. In other words, playing alongside high-volume shooters/scorers like Bryant, Anthony is much, much tougher than with playmaker-types like Lebron, Magic.
[/quote]
Okay and who’s fault is that? He was a genuine All-Star during the Laker’s recent championships, now he’s a shell of that former self. You can blame D’Antoni but you’ve got to consider the Mike Brown reign too. I guess Gasol’s fading prominence in the Lakers team, which I don’t think can be argued, evidences how important coaches are in running a successful team.
It has nothing to do with that. He’s done just fine the last few seasons. It’s mostly D’antoni and his system.[/quote]
Heh. While I agree that D’Antoni’s system is partly responsible, your unconditional support of Bryant goes too far.
Two nights back in POR, must-win situation and close game throughout, and both Gasol and D12 combined to shoot 20-26 FGs. Its basically impossible to top that efficiency.
And yet Bryant somehow still managed to jack up 27 shots on his own. I rest my case.
[/quote]
And he scored damn near 50, and they won. He’s piggybacked this team the entire year due to Howard not being what most thought he was, Gasol being injured/ostracized, Nash being 80, etc…
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
Okay and who’s fault is that? He was a genuine All-Star during the Laker’s recent championships, now he’s a shell of that former self. You can blame D’Antoni but you’ve got to consider the Mike Brown reign too. I guess Gasol’s fading prominence in the Lakers team, which I don’t think can be argued, evidences how important coaches are in running a successful team.
[/quote]
Again, I don’t exactly disagree with you guys.
What I’m mostly saying is that its the guards’ job to keep bigs involved offensively, which in turn keeps them mentally involved at the defensive end and so on. And yes, offensive/coaching philosophy is responsible too.
All year long, both Gasol and D12 have talked about how LAL needs to play inside-out. (hardly rocket science when you’ve got two 7-ft’ers out there)
Or as Gasol himself put it after the POR game, “I’m a player that likes to see a little more ball movement and better balance.”
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
And he scored damn near 50, and they won. He’s piggybacked this team the entire year due to Howard not being what most thought he was, Gasol being injured/ostracized, Nash being 80, etc…
I rest my case.[/quote]
Fair enough. And 47pts on 27 FGA’s is insane, granted.
But recall that my only claim was how difficult it is to make consistent statistical contributions without getting reliably consistent offensive touches.
Oh man, Kobe Bryant likely out for the rest of the season (including playoffs) with a torn Achilles tendon. It happened with 3 minutes left in the tight win over Golden State yesterday.
Man, he was playing so well lately. He’s said it himself post-game yesterday and I wholeheartedly agree; it does feel like all the effort he’s put in this year has been for nothing. But honestly, he’s only 34 – I don’t care what Kobe himself has said about retiring in 2-3 years. He strikes me as the type of guy that will play until he physically can’t produce anything remotely All-Star worthy. Based on his play this season, there’s little chance, in my mind at least, that he’s capped at 2 or 3 years. The injury yesterday will definitely motivate him to come back strong and ironically hence EXTEND his career.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
And he scored damn near 50, and they won. He’s piggybacked this team the entire year due to Howard not being what most thought he was, Gasol being injured/ostracized, Nash being 80, etc…
I rest my case.[/quote]
Fair enough. And 47pts on 27 FGA’s is insane, granted.
But recall that my only claim was how difficult it is to make consistent statistical contributions without getting reliably consistent offensive touches.
[/quote]
Of course. My point is that Gasol has played 5 ( I think) years with Bryant now and this hasn’t really been an issue until now. Part of it is Gasol is passive, part of it is his age/injuries, but most of it (I believe) is D’antoni and his system. For some reason Gasol has been the odd man out.
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
Okay and who’s fault is that? He was a genuine All-Star during the Laker’s recent championships, now he’s a shell of that former self. You can blame D’Antoni but you’ve got to consider the Mike Brown reign too. I guess Gasol’s fading prominence in the Lakers team, which I don’t think can be argued, evidences how important coaches are in running a successful team.
[/quote]
Again, I don’t exactly disagree with you guys.
What I’m mostly saying is that its the guards’ job to keep bigs involved offensively, which in turn keeps them mentally involved at the defensive end and so on. And yes, offensive/coaching philosophy is responsible too.
All year long, both Gasol and D12 have talked about how LAL needs to play inside-out. (hardly rocket science when you’ve got two 7-ft’ers out there)
Or as Gasol himself put it after the POR game, “I’m a player that likes to see a little more ball movement and better balance.”
[/quote]
They had no problems going inside-out when Bynum was there. I think that’s a testament to how little offensive game Howard has. That’s not the guards, that’s the coach.
Im not a Lakers fan, but i’ll always be a Kobe fan, and this injury was just heartbreaking to see.
If theres one guy you knew would turn it up to 11 for the playoffs, regardless how the regular season went, it would be him, and i really fucking wanted to see that.
Hope so, but Father Time may say otherwise.[/quote]
I hope so, then he can go back to raping white girls in Colorado lol. Yes, I am a biased Kobe/Lakers hater
Hope so, but Father Time may say otherwise.[/quote]
I hope so, then he can go back to raping white girls in Colorado lol. Yes, I am a biased Kobe/Lakers hater ;)[/quote]
I don’t like Kobe either, but he is one of the all time greats.
