Stealing the ball so easily was just not well done. Luke was good otherwise.

But, remember how he turned around game 2 of the 2004 NBA finals as a rookie?

I hope this is the last of Luke's Hollywood career and works on his game instead.

Martin:

I remember that but then he disappeared. I am always very suspicious of "breakout" games like that. I kept waiting for Luke to do it again but it was almost a full year and one collapse of confidence later that he started playing good again. Reminding me of Stuart Gray of the Bruins.

Tom

Laker Tom,

As long as some folks (including myself) are amused, I'm good. Random, fun stuff will always find its way into the mix.

AK

hey, they're getting 200-400 comments per article
and basketballs not even in season. akbk got it together. hope smush been working on that mid range jumper. luke too. and the thunder dunk also.

Et tu, Luke?

Et tu?

GO LAKERS!

GOD AWFUL!

And, that's good news. Luke won't be gettin' distracted by dreams of becoming a movie star and he will stay focused on his game.

Perfect!

--Fearless

LUKE DONT QUIT YOUR DAY JOB. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH

Ha ha. What bad acting by Luke. Phil should use that clip in the game preparation when the playoffs come. ha ha ha

I just heard on espn that lakers are interested in bringing starbury for odom. But isiah wants smush instead. isiah doesn't thinks that odom will mesh with the team but he is very high on smush. kupcake doesn't wants to lose smush either. according kupcake smush will be an all star this year and the leading scorer for the lakers.

Remember the Waltons?

Good night Aaron, good night Grandma, good night John Boy, Good night Luke.

Don't be surprised to see him and Bynum involved in a last minute trade.

They'll both look good in Purple, Silver and Black. We'll give you the Russian.

Wow, team USA lost to Greece! It was Kobe Bryant's fault.

mike

As for Luke Walton...gee...that was BAD! LOL! What possessed him to do that? LOL! He must have been bored or one of those actresses must have his attention. I think Sharon Newman must have his eye. LOL!

mike

I am excluding Anthony from the inconsistent, uninspired play of our national team. He showed heart where LeBon and Wade just came up as run of the mill players! I am talking about all the games, not just this last one

Carmello showed a Lot of Heart, and led our team almost in every game!

On-Subject: the rumor is that our Luke will be cast in the next Star Wars as 'Luke'

greek dude,

You should be proud. Greece 101 - USA 95!

But honestly, I'm not that suprised. Greece is a strong team and by far USA biggest challenge yet.

But with no Kobe Bean or (soon to be) "Allstar Lamar", that team is still short handed.

>_<

Hate to kill the topic, but USA lost the chance at gold....AGAIN! Which leads me to ask two questions?

1. Would Kobe have made the difference?

I say hec yeah, Kobe alone is a defensive nightmare and the attention he demands would have cleared the lane at every position.

2. Would you change the triangle, get rid of, or just switch it up a little to play like Greek team did or like these world game teams?

Although I love the triangle a lot, I just don't think its a secret anymore and teams have adapted to it over the years. I always been an advocate of setting plays for every position and use those plays according to the teams we play on any given night. The way these countries play basketball proves time in and time out that you don't need superstars to win, just fundamental solid basketball will win games.
I truly think if we change up on the triangle, and go back to setting set plays, and play the rookies a little more, we would be one of the elite teams in the west.

My two cents for free.

Thoughts?

USA Team was upset by Greece. Congratulations Greek Dude, your home country is on the way for Gold Medal. Well, this is a mixed feelings with the Lakers fans and attribute the loss to the absence of Kobe & Lamar. I find it the same result, even if our great Kobe was there cuz' USA couldn't play as a team for intense 40 minutes not only on first half and declare vacation time on the second half. Come Olympic time, they need the likes of Kobe, Duncan and Bowen (if he can still guard young fast PG's). I said it before, the world has caught up with USA brand of basketball & surpassed it. While our college players were enamored by fancy dunking which is only two points, they neglected other fundamentals like free throw shooting, mid-range jump shots nor perfected 3 pts. perimeter shooting. That era in American basketball ended up in Dream Team I with Jordan, Magic, Bird, Barkley showing to the world the best of basketball. While in the case of the Europeans and South Americans, they studied the game of NBA greats concentrated on shooting ala Jerry West, Magic, Jordan, Bird etc., their play was entirely run run and pick & roll or shoot at long range and continuous motions. They seldom go for fancy dunking, alley hoop or power rebound but more on speed and hustle, catch-me-if-you-can type of play.

What's the prescription of victory in the next Olympics? Well, there should be an early formation of the team like going on practice as early as next year to solidify those teamwork and have a continuation of progress of this team under Coach K. Change at least four players on Team USA lineup by injecting Duncan and Kobe, and two college players (w/ Bowen type aggressive defense) who are tall, fast and also hungry to win gold medal for Olf Glory. Lastly, develop a 10-man depth rotation that can be a threat and attract double teams but avoid one-on-one exhibition but more on continuous motion both on offense and defense.

I like Luke, but he is not Bill and will never be. He is still very "green", yuo can take that any way you can and not consistant. He will have to learn how not to balance his great play with silly turnovers. If I get a good deal , I would trade him in a minute. Just look at his overall stats. The growth has not been there http://www.nba.com/lakers/stats/2005/index.html . Almost two turnovers a game with limited playing time.

I would like to party with Luke and get real "green", but if the right deal came up, its puff, puff the magic dragon. He is not a PT'er BABY !!!!!!!!

Confusious say: Whenever you get there, there you are.

to 'KO'BE or not to 'KO'BE thats WAS the question:

Last NIGHT I stayed up watchin the USAiers loose to a GREECE team that supposedly CAN'T shoot. that team had LBJ, whom everybody keeps calling the KING, DWADE, whom everybody compares with KOBE, and a team USA that other than a SELF CENTERED MELO making shots, does not have CRAP to offer. they need a guy that can take over. a guy that can PULL UP and make it from ANYWHERE who if needed can DRIVE and make it inside can DEFEND the premeter. a guy who can MAKE OTHERS better and can CAPITAN USA. it is now OBVIOUS to even the people that don't UNDERSTAND and just KNOW that team USA to be successful NEEEEEEEDDDDDDSSSSS CAPITAN KOBE. "KOBE making others better?" RAYRAY, I can't believe you're asking that question. like I said you KNOW it but to DUMB to UNDERSTAND it.

this is a WARNING

during the upcoming SEASON if anybody start talking about how LBJ is better than KOBE or DWADE kicks KOBE's ass and SO ON, I'll make sure I tell them to SHUT DA .... UP. EXCEPT Sonny who's BASKETBALLY CHALLENGED and is EXCUSED.

SONNY

Dude I've been trying to tell you this but I needed a good time to say it. BROTHER, in behalf of myself, ROBERT HORRY and the LAKER nation I appologize to you and all the QUEENS in the world for that BUZZER BEATER 3. that's kinda become the SACTO QUEENS signature moment. like JERRY WEST 40 footer or KOBE to SHAQ ALY-OOOPS that have become LAKERS signature moments.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SEASON TO START.

I was no fan of D.Wade and now, with this c'ships, he's almost sealed the deal. He was doing the same thing ppl accuse AI and Kobe of, shooting at will. The problem is atleast you've got to have the range. Wade doesnt.
Melo was good, as was Battier. LeBron atleast dint try to showcase himself, though he dint help greatly either.

We needed Redd. The guy can shoot. Kobe would've been useful too, as he can shoot decent and can defend really well at times.

I dont know if this idea of sending the best talent, after allowing them to mesh for just a coupla months works. Its a process. It would've been interesting if we had sent a really good NBA team, which has great chemistry, with a few additions.

To see USA basketball suffer through team play hurts. In a way, it reflects the culture we are turning into. Individualistic. We develop the best basketball athletes who can do it all on the court individually. But when it comes time for team play, our guys suffer from either overconfidence or low team basketball IQ.

Yes, international rules are a little different, the fundamentals stay the same though. I'm tired of making excuses for why we lose. There needs to be a basketball revolution within the ranks of our youngest prospects focusing on basketball fundamentals, sportsmanship and team play. Our guys today need to combine their supreme athleticsm with humbleness and good fundamental play.

For a team with such great players as are on this team to lose a game is just sad. Would Kobe have made a difference? That's all I was thinking about when the USA was down by 6 with 3:30 to go. Knowing Kobe, he probably would've busted like 3 clutch 3's down the stretch to win it. But it never shoud've came to that.

We were letting that big wannabe Shaq get mismatch position down low against smaller players. Where was Dwight Howard or Brad Miller? That was ridiculous. Coach K needs to match the mismatches.

And for our guys to not be able to handle a zone defense is embarrassing for USA basketball. Ball movement fellas! It made me sick to see how many times our guys rushed through that zone only to take a contested shot. It's pure fundamental basketball. An aspect where college comes in handy.

We need a basketball revolution in this country. One that re-focuses on team play and fundamentals. Or we can do this the good ole American way, change the international basketball rules. Or maybe we can introduce the world to American football. Then we can be dominant again, for a few years at least.

Actually international game is four 10 minute quaters. This team gave up 101 points in 40 minutes ... WoW. As for all this talk about Kobe winning it for team USA, nah we got bigger fish to fry. First we win the nba championship, then we can share him with the country. Oh but the olympics ain't until 2008, we should have 2 'ships by then, so yea guess it's ok to yell Kobe to the rescue then.

In Kobe we Trust,
Go Lakers.

Greek Duuuude!!! congrats!!

I don't think it would ave made a difference if Kobe was is there. And its obviously not because he is not the best team in the world, because he is and watching Lebron, Melo, and Dwade choke pretty much proves that. Our guys just don't have the international game, which is basically outside oriented like the Suns. We just can't resist sending our stars who can run and jump through the roof. However, we the game is on the line, it has been the same thing. All these guys want to take over and be "the guy" instead of continuing to play within their offense. Kobe is that guy, but he also will continue to play within the offense. The USA guys totally lost their composure because they are just not that good yet. Putting up stats are great, but when the game is on the line, if you are clanking free-throws, that's it, you're dead. I don't care how good someone thinks particular players are, if you miss free-throws during crunch time, you are not the best. Anyway, I can't wait for the season to start. Go Lakers!

The only thing to blame for the USA lose is there is no blame. These other countries have caught up! It's that simple. We need to send our best everytime. Without Kobe Bryant and Shaq...that was not our best. Those players are young and the sponsers have made them great in the media. But they are not the best. Come on...if not Shaq, why not Ben Wallace?

mike