My Eyes! My Eyes!
January 11, 2006 | 7:37
pm
Did anybody else's feed of the game suddenly get so bright, it's like they're watching the game through a 1950 "nuclear fallout" special effect? Or is it just my TV... Except I have two, and they're both like that.
Of course, maybe the screen just had a violent reaction to Joel Przybilla's free throw form.
Enjoy the game.
AK
The loss last night was tough, and Kobe shot poorly to end the game, but his 13/29 is .448, which is right about where I'd like to see him for the season (.450).
I didn't watch the game but it seems as if the defense was more of a problem than Kobe's shot selection.
Ron Artest would help in a game like this.
And if Kwame was playing better, I think that Lakers management would be more willing to trade Bynum. But since Kwame hasn't developed as much as they expected, they will probably try to hold on to Bynum. Well, at least that's what I think...
Posted by: Jova | January 12, 2006 at 08:17 AM
Kobe hater you need to get your stats str8. Jordan was just under 50% shooting for his career (kobe is just over 45%). Assists per game: Jordan averaged only 1/2 assists per game more than Kobe does. (Possibly because Jordan had teammates who kid hit the open jumper).
Posted by: bmac | January 12, 2006 at 08:20 AM
Rememebr I am the Kobe stopper. You call hime 8th wonder. I call him stupid.
Posted by: Ruben The K8 stopper | January 12, 2006 at 08:24 AM
Have some faith in you laker fans...
Again, you are crying too early, saying that kobe takes too many shot. Kobe takes them because he has to, it is as simple as that.
If kobe took 15-20 shots, the lakers would be having the worst record in nba history.
Imagine Kobe's situation a second... He has been heroic a few times this season and the lakers won some with difficulties and lost some too. This many shots is what it takes for a victory. but sometimes it is not enough to save the team. All in all, I believe Kobe's role is more positive than negative, so try to be honest, we saw the game against UTAH.
Bring who you want, Garnet, Artest, any true second option scorer and you will see kobe's shots decrease and his FG percentage rise! YOU DO NOT LOVE THE PLAYOFFS AND THE VICTORIES MORE THAN HE DOES! so give him a break!
Kobe is the best player in the league and better than all the players you will have a chance to see in the years to come.
DONT TRADE BYNUM, ODOM!!!SIGN RONNY TURIAF§§§
Posted by: mamadou | January 12, 2006 at 08:28 AM
Phil thinks it's about defense, Kobe thinks it's about defense, the team thinks it's about defense, I think it's about defense, some blawg dawgs think it's about Kobe? 3's? How about defensive rebounds? It's just effort. How many times have we heard that offense comes and goes but defensive effort should be constant. We didn't match their effort, period. They get confident, game over. No matter how bad Portland is, they're in the NBA, they can shoot if you leave them alone or let them rebound misses for uncontested layups. 103 is enough points against the worst offensive team in the league. D the f___ UP!!!
Posted by: Vman | January 12, 2006 at 08:46 AM
I feel sick today.
I think some of it is because of last night's game.
Why? Why? Why?
I try to look for greater meaning in moments like this.
Perhaps this is some trial of faith. Perhaps that's what it is. If I only have more faith, things will go better and the Lakers won't lose to crappy teams because they forgot to play defense.
Then I think to myself, "How can you forget to play defense? HOW?" As an ex-athlete few things are more satisfying than humiliating an opponent through their own offensive impotence. A block is better than a dunk. A quarterback sack is better than a four yard gain.
You can win by outscoring an opponent, but you beat an opponent through your defense. It's always been that way and always will be that way.
Why isn't the rest of the Lakers as bloodthirsty as the 8th Wonder? Is it because they're young, good guys? One doesn't have to give up their sense of honor and general 'good-guyness' to be a killer on the court. One just needs to allow oneself to transform when they step onto the court/field. There's nothing scary about it. It's a liberating feeling. All of us have a competitive component to us which is beaten down by the saccarine constaints of society. Sports allows us to free that sacred viscious beast and compete with all the fire, anger and discipline that the 9-5 world hates.
Phil, Kobe, you guys need to talk to these players (Sasha, Lamar, Mihm, Kwame, Cook, Von Wafer, Walton) and unleash their inner beast. I'd rather see these guys get thrown out of games than passively allow themselves to be beat.
Discipline and passion--when a player lacks either one, they are beaten. We were beaten last night because of a lack of passion. There's no excuse for that.
The Lakers against the world. Play every game as if it were your last, or the world will crush you.
Hate it or love it. That's the way it is.
Posted by: Jon Kavulic | January 12, 2006 at 08:47 AM
My motto:
LIVE BY THE KOBE, DIE BY THE KOBE.
Posted by: KB8 Fan | January 12, 2006 at 08:52 AM
What you guys don't realize is the Blazers were coming off an embarrassing loss to Shaq and the Heat (or should I say Dwayne Wade and the Heat) at home, and they weren't going to let anyone come in and just take it to the rim against us. So you can complain all you want about too many shots from the perimeter, but that was a concerted effort from the Blazers defense to make that happen.
Now are the Lakers a better team than the Blazers? Absolutely. But admit a defeat when it happens. The Lakers didn't give that game away. The Blazers took it.
Deal with it and move on. At least you aren't 13 games under .500.
Posted by: Blazer fan in Portland | January 12, 2006 at 09:16 AM
Jonathan thanx for replying to my post but respond on the post so I can see whom I'm responding too. As far as what you wrote to me, I agree that Kobe wanted to be that man but that was because Fat Bastard(Shaq) was lazy, greed and had the work ethic of a three legged cow. Look at what he has done in Miami NADA!! With the talent level of the players he has in Miami, he should have more than a three game lead on a team as young as the Lakers. A team thats still trying to learn a new offense. Also next time try to keep pace with the blog go and read Roland's interview and maybe you will finally learn what us true Laker fans have know for some time now, it wasn't Kobe that got rid of FB!!!!
Kobe gets the heat because he wanted the team to be built around him. When things don't go well he will bear the brunt of the criticism. If he hadn't run the big weasel out of town then people would back off a little bit.
Posted by: Laker Junkie | January 12, 2006 at 09:32 AM
my thoughts exactly, mamadou!
Posted by: bmac | January 12, 2006 at 09:35 AM
Offense was NOT the problem last night. They score plenty of points. Kobe seems to slack off on defense if he does not perceive a challenge. That definitely needs to be addressed. He can shoot all he wants, it's fine with me.
Posted by: KB8 Fan | January 12, 2006 at 09:48 AM
I live in the Bay Area and watch all the games via satellite so that the games are usually announced by the home team.
The Portland announcers are the absolute WORST in the league. They whined more about the refs than I've ever heard. They took every opportunity they had to bash Kobe. It was ridiculous. I've heard a lot of announcers accross the country but these people sucked. Chick never let his partiality for the Lakers supercede his sense of reality. He never openly denigrated an opponent. I used think the Warrior crew was terrible, but they look like HOFers next to these punks. Unbelievable.
Posted by: mannie | January 12, 2006 at 09:50 AM
ZEN, you must be joking about everyone else but kobe messed up the game right? odom was 6 for 8, and took 2 3pters. kobe was 13 for 29 and took 13 3s... making 3. I'm sure to you, a kobe lover, never see any fault no matter what kobe does. lakers were down by like 10 with more than 5mins left and portland out of fouls. all kobe needed to do was draw a few fouls and they're back in the game. We all want kobe to do good, but late last game he was being very selfish.
Posted by: the Lamar Show | January 12, 2006 at 09:54 AM
The haters seem to be out in full force today.
Bad game last night. Horrible defense. 113 points is way too much. The Lakers must have took this Blazer team too lightly. C'mon Smush and Sasha, we can't let guys like Juan Dixon get hot. Kobe shot way too many 3's.
Hopefully tonight we'll play a little defense. There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to beat the Cavs tonight. It'd be nice if Phil can mix Bynum into the rotation for about 5-10 minutes.
Sad loss. It's gonna happen though and you've got to accept that from a young team. But the defense must stay stout, which it wasn't last night. I think they'll rebound from this tonight against Lebron on a national stage. Kobe must be licking his chops to go at Lebron on TNT. It's gonna be a fun one to watch.
Posted by: Rocky | January 12, 2006 at 10:11 AM
mannie,
I couldn't agree with you more. I was watching the game via comcast cable (I live in New England and has been a lakers fan since late 80s). The Portland announcers were absolutely terrible!!! They kept bashing Kobe and making fun of Phil's chair. PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH before you make any stupid comments on air.
Posted by: curious | January 12, 2006 at 10:47 AM
The problem I see developing is that this team isn't getting any better. They are entierly dependant on how Kobe plays to win or lose. If Kobe has an off night, they lose. That doesn't help the Lakers in the long run. You can say "no one else is making any shots" but how can they get any rhythm if they don't get to keep shooting. I'd take some losses right now if it paid off down the road, but nothing is building. During that road trip the team was playing well as a team, rotating on defense, passing it well, getting everyone involved. Also, the amount of three point shots taken lately is alarming, it looks a lot like last year. Why Phil is allowing this is beyond me. The talent is thin, obviously, and Kupchek should have been fired by now, but the guys they have can develop into a decent team. You can see the resentment on the faces of Odom and Mihm at the end of games. I'd be mad too if it was always just Kobe jacknig it up, Kobe taking every important shot, etc. Even the wins are no fun because they require Kobe to shoot 40 times and score 40 points. That isn't a recipe for success at all. You can call fans who don't like what they see "haters" but I think there are some deep flaws in this team and they largely have to do with Kobe being selfish. He so badly wants to hear the fans chant his name that he does nothing to make anyone better.
Posted by: MvM | January 12, 2006 at 11:31 AM
a great offensive game plan by Portland won the game last night...not Kobe's 3 point shots, not the "kobe-stopper", not kwame or sasha. we watched the game. in the first 3 quarters, was there any shot Portland threw up that you did not think was hitting the bottom of the net? Dixon and Blake had games that they won't have for the rest of the year. that happens in 82 game seasons.
also, why on one side do people agree that kobe was gassed and then persist on asking why he was firing up 3s late. you've answered your question. much easier to shoot from distance than exert that extra energy trying to drive. and if he hits and gains the extra point, such the better. and the guy is not throwing up circus shots...it's the same shots he hits regularly and we applaud him for it. so when the law of averages catches up with him, we shouldn't be so quick to bury him.
quite simply, the Lakers played last night like it was an ABA all-star game. kobe jacking up 3s made no difference as Portland was scoring like the only male in a women's prison! if you wanted to point out one play you would have liked to have had over, it would have been that chris mihm one handed (does he shoot them any other way) shot with about 2.5 minutes to play that would have cut the lead to 5. it wasn't mihm's fault, but at that point in the game, either make sure your close enough to layup or dunk, or pass it to a shooter.
Posted by: iluvbrokli | January 12, 2006 at 11:59 AM
the Lamar Show,
Kobe can take his shots because he has proven he can make them. Odom hasn't. I had no problem with Kobe yesterday. I believe he did what he HAD to do. So in a sense, yes I do blame the other Lakers. They didn't step up to the plate last night. Odom shouldn't "practice" his 3's in the 4th quarter when he hasn't proved he can make a decent percentage. Kobe is Kobe. He has the green light to shoot whenever he wants because he is a proven scorer from everywhere on the floor. I would rather see Odom in the post and leave his outside shot for practice.
Posted by: Zen | January 12, 2006 at 12:21 PM
mannie,
I live in the Bay Area too and root for the Lakers and Warriors. I've heard other team's announcers and I must say that the Warriors crew are one of the best in the league.
Posted by: Butch | January 12, 2006 at 12:22 PM
Hey MVM what is your problem, Kobe is the only thing not wrong with this team. Kobe only wants to win thats it. sometimes the kid tries to hard but you can never question his effort and his enthusiasm. If you are a true laker fan you wouldnt make such negative remarks about the one brite spot on the team..
Posted by: The big chill | January 12, 2006 at 12:30 PM
Noticed the comments above about the announcers last night. You echoed my thoughts exactly. Lets just say that next time they decide to hold a contest to allow any random person broadcast an entire game, I'm throwing my name in the hat. Couldn't be much worse than 'ol "Mike and Ike" as I will now refer to them as. I simply don't think its their place to hurl insults towards Kobe, Phil, Kwame, the refs, and the rest of Lakers as they continuously did last night.
Hey AK, how about a poll for the "worst announcers in the association"? My vote is obviously for those 2 guys last night in Portland (sorry, I can no longer refer to them as announcers).
Posted by: Sam B (Salt Lake) | January 12, 2006 at 12:31 PM
Zen know what you're talking before you type it for everyone dont have to see how wrong you are. Kobe's hitting 34% 3s right now... and that's after he made a good amount the past few games. Odom's hitting 34.4%. which is higher? maybe you need to get your head out of kobe's ass and smell some fresh air.
I have nothing against kobe, but last nights game, they were down to about 8 with plenty of time to catch up if they played BASKETBALL and stayed within the system. Kobe tossed up 3s that he might have made the past few games.. but after he missed like 4 or 5 in a roll and they're running out of time. "maybe" he should have said ok... guess they're not falling tonight. i got to draw some fouls so we can close the gap. a few foul shots and a few stops, they could have won.
and dont expect people to be dead on shooters if kobe's taking 35-40shots and everyone's taking 5. most players get "hot" after they get in a groove, but that cant happen when they have 5 shots in 40 mins. dont get me wrong, they need kobe to win but kobe needs to settle down and stop being so predictable.
Posted by: the Lamar Show | January 12, 2006 at 03:17 PM