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Bullish on the Lakers

November 19, 2007 |  9:00 am

Kobe_bulls The grass always seems greener on the other side.  That is, of course, until said grass takes a visit to your home turf, shoots 35%, scores 32 points in the second half, and is on the wrong end of a 106-78 loss, as the Bulls were to the Lakers on Sunday.  So if Chicago indeed remains Kobe's desired destination, it probably doesn't look quite as lush and verdant as it might have a couple months back.  Not after the Lakers overcame some first half sloppi/sluggishness to blow the game open in the final 24 minutes.  It was a rally kicked off by the starters (Kobe and D-Fish keyed a nice little run to start the third) and blown open by the reserves, who continued their great play as a unit, accounting for 73 of L.A.'s 106 points.  The box shows five non-starters finished the game in double figures.  Clearly, if the supporting cast was initially bothered by the trade talk, they got over it (unlike their counterparts in Chicago), winning what looked like a few months back like possible homecoming game for a Bullish Kobe with a serious team effort.  Now, at least, things look far better as they are for 24.  Kobe, some say, even looks happy.

Chicago coach Scott Skiles called the Kobe-to-Chicago speculation a dead issue. It isn't, of course, until Kobe says he doesn't want to be moved, but at the very least, recent events might have put the trade talk in a nice deep coma. 

The news wasn't all positive, though, as Kwame Brown went down in the first quarter with knee and ankle injuries after colliding with Chicago's Ben Wallace.  He had to be helped off the court, and said he won't make this week's road trip back east.  Ronny Turiaf, who missed Sunday's game with a bum ankle, hopes to play Tuesday in Indiana.

A Q and A with Lakers draftee Marc Gasol, who is having himself a quality season in Spain.  My Spanish isn't good enough for a direct translation, but here's what the reader who sent the link said.  Obviously, additional input is welcome (thanks to Mark R. for the email!):

 

"...first, the story says that gasol has improved immensely since last year, emerging as the best player in spain's pro-league this year.  (el pais comes out of madrid, while gasol plays in girona, six hours away, so this is not a case of local boosterism.) his
stats so far for 32 minutes a game are 17.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.9
assists.  second, he says he's not sure if he'll want to come to the u.s. to
play in the nba.  he says nothing negative about the lakers, and is too smart
to comment on the kobe situation, but says he doesn't know if he wants to leave spain.  (i don't know enough about the local scene to know if that's just spin--being polite--or if he's genuinely uncertain.  and i don't read Spanish well enough to know if his choice of words offers subtle clues to those who can read between the lines.  i'll i can tell you is that his literal meaning is that he just doesn't know.)  but even though Spanish competition is not at nba level, it does sound as if he's got more potential than people thought even a few months ago, at draft time..."

 

More in: Extra! Extra!

The comments to this entry are closed.

Comments

JIM BUSS is a genius because he kept BYNUM over KIDD. He knew it be easier to GET A POINT GUARD than to FIND a YOUNG HUGE low post threat. LOOK NOW, we have FISHER, FARMAR AND CRITTENTON at PG. If we lost BYNUM all we have are perimeter players. Let's not mention the age and mileage shall we?

History tells us most Championship are won with a combination of great Center and perimeter players, not a bunch of perimeter players only. Jim Buss is not just a talent visionary, he undertsands history as well, not to mention a well balanced team.

Say what you want about JIM BUSS, but this Laker team is a well balanced young team at every position and are already reaping the harvest. Now if we could just find how to replace Kwame with a more proven basketball talent, we will be on our way!

Posted by: Staples 24 | November 19, 2007 at 01:49 PM

Edwin,

I agree with you that Vlad is a very solid outside shooter. He also has height and athletic ability. It's his mindset that I have a problem with. I've heard several interviews and I don't hear any desire to win that I hear in many other players.

You said he is a barometer, and if he has a good game, Lakers are likely to have a good game. Well, personally, I don't want to rely on Rad having a good game for Lakers to win. When chips are down, he aint the guy.

Besides, remember what Chick used to say about outside shooting?

Posted by: HAB | November 19, 2007 at 01:50 PM

Hab,

That's your problem. All your theories and beliefs are directly a result of what you hear from the media and not from the actual sources. If Jerry Buss AND Kobe AND Shaq ALL agree that it was Jerry Buss' decision to let Shaq go, instead of paying him $30 mil a year (not a wise basketball or financial move), than I will trust the parties involved over someone like Mark Heisler, TJ Simers or HAB. But the sheep will believe what they want to believe.

Let me get this straight. Because Kobe didn't do any cartwheels in one of his interviews regarding Kidd, you came to the conclusion that Kobe "didn't want Kidd at the time"? I pray to God that you are not a crminal detective in my district. Kobe's anger in the parking lot video should tell you how badly Kobe wanted to play with Kidd. As evidenced from the many interviews this past summer, Kobe, Lebron and Carmelo would give their left nut to play with Kidd.

And by the way, Jim Buss threw the first punches by forcing Kobe to play with Smush for two years during Kobe's absolute prime and not trading for Kidd. Kobe fought back by asking for Jerry West with full authority. Jimbo than responded with Insidergate, and the rest is history.

peace

Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | November 19, 2007 at 01:55 PM

"I disagreed with you guys back when the trade went down. No way Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, and Theo Ratliff were a better offer for Garnet than the Lakers could make. It all came down to two Celtics who just wanted to screw the Lakers and help out Boston. The trade will cause McHale to finally lose his GM job at Minny."

Tom

Al Jefferson is more established than Bynum last year. Big Al was already putting up numbers like 20 10. Unless you are referring to potential talent, Bynum and Farmar were not BYNUM AND FARMAR last year? It's works out well anyways not loosing all of it for KG. a KG deal would have taken every Laker except Kobe.

Posted by: Staples 24 | November 19, 2007 at 01:56 PM

There are lots of players in the League for whom making it there and finally getting their huge payday after their early contract is the end of the game. They go thru the motions, but the drive that got them there is gone. And then there are those who love to play the game and want to win. Smart scouts and coaches know who is who. Like I said, it's a combination of how they play, but also what they say.

Phil wants to win, and he knows his players better than most of us here. Skills is one factor in who gets to play what minutes, but player mindset and motivation is another.

Posted by: HAB | November 19, 2007 at 02:00 PM

HAB
Why ask BK-AK their middle people im right here..........You played in south central really.....how old are you because gangs are a whole lot thicker than they was back in the 60's-70's..........Kats dont play ball on the courts in L.A any more........let's be for-real.......name me one court in L.A. wear you can play ball at without getting bang on are shot at.........name me a court in LA an I can tell you what hood is over there.......an I promise you there is about 30 KAT'S on that same court shooting dice ......... an unless your an O.G. on that block your not going to walk up tell them to move so you can play ball.
That's why Kat's go to gym's outside of L.A. to get a good run........
If you want my email ask me not AK-BK......WHEN EVER YOU WANT TO PLAY BALL LET ME KNOW.......(I'LL PICK YOU UP IN YOUR GIRL-FRIEND HAVE HER RIDE SHOT-GUN AN PUT YOU IN THE BACK WITH THE CAR SEAT TO WHAT EVER COURT YOU WANT TO GO TO)........LOL........THAT'S HOW WE DO IT IN

COMPTON
PS
Bring your money........... because time is money.......... if i'm going to waste my time playing ball with you I may as well get paid

Posted by: COMPTON'S FINEST | November 19, 2007 at 02:05 PM

exhelodrvr,

I was never questioning pj's method of maturing players. i just like the guy and would like to see him play even garbage minutes. Besides, everyones rates are different. Farmar is on his 2nd year and Bynum is on his 3rd year. How much better/worse would JC be compred to Sasha?

Posted by: Charles | November 19, 2007 at 02:05 PM

Staples 24,

Javaris is a 2 guard. We can try to make him into a PG like what happened with Lindsey Hunter, but the guy is a natural at the 2.

What I do see is that if we can cut minutes of Cookie (slide Vlade & Walton into those minutes) and cut out Sasha (who only plays in garbage time), then Critter might get a minute a game.

Also, the value of Critter isn't fully realized. You KNOW he's working his butt off in practice, and he's going against our guards, making them work! That contribution shows up in D Fish, Farmar, Sasha, Mo, etc. This is the same as how Kwame will help Bynum develop, I just wish we had someone other than Chris to make socks work harder on defense in practice.

Posted by: Tim-4-Show | November 19, 2007 at 02:06 PM

man, some serious Kwame and Crittenton? hate today.

Kwame comes across as fairly intelligent in interviews and he appears to be a tremendously likeable guy. You can't blame this latest injury on Kwame, that was a freakish play to begin with, Kwame had a guy behind him going after the ball and while Kwame is looking up, Ben Wallace is rolling underneath him and trapped Kwame's leg at an awkward angle.

Crittenton also seems like a good guy, earnest and open to instruction. I hope he and Coby get sent to the DLeague to get some playing time and then Phil brings up Crittenton around December/January or so to give him a few minutes of real experience. Then he can take that into the offseason like Farmar did and be a big surprise for us next year.

Posted by: TaosHum | November 19, 2007 at 02:10 PM

Marc Gasol (Barcelona, 1985) is the ACB’s (Spanish Basketball League) sensation.
He captured the World championship trophy with Spain last year and finished 2nd in FIBA Euro.
Gasol has improved his numbers and became the most valuable player not only of his team the Akasvayu but also the league’s.
His stats: 32 min 17.6 points (league’s leading scorer) 6.4 reb and 1.9 assists.
Next year he’ll become a free agent and will make a decision as to whether he’ll make the jump to the NBA or not.

Question: Marc, you are playing better than ever. Any specific reasons?
Answer: Is all about confidence.
Confidence from my coaching staff that is now giving me more than 10 min per game compared to last year’s playing time.
And self confidence as well.
We had a couple of tough losses in Barcelona and Murcia but we are still in good shape.

Question: Much was said last year about your inconsistency problems. There were complaints about you disappearing from games.
Answer: I’ve been trying to work on that aspect of my game.
Much is the result of me being in better shape. I believe I’m in the best shape of my life as of right now.
I’ve been feeling great and have been able to go through the entire game in spite of the heavy minutes.

Question: Do you watch the NBA games?
Answer: Yes, whenever I have a chance I do. Watching NBA games takes a good chunk of sleeping time but is all worth it.

Question: What do you think about the Lakers situation (the team that drafted you 48)?
Answer: When the current season is over I’ll be a free agent. Which is very important the way basketball is nowadays.
It is always good to be in the position of being able to choose. Choosing a place where you know you are going to be happy is good.
I’m not really sure that I will play in the NBA. The most important thing as of right now is to continue to work.
It doesn’t quite work that well when you start thinking too far ahead. Because things might change overnight.

Question: You lived in Memphis for two years. Do you think that You would have problems adapting to the American way?
Answer: I saw the league from close. I’m not sure that I’d be surprised of anything that I’d come across there.
The league is merciless. The players literally bite and grind to earn their money.
Down there, they are treated as idols. Way more than here.
If you are an outsider you have to fight for a small spot. It is tough. But at least I feel confident about my English skills.

Posted by: Outsidergua | November 19, 2007 at 02:13 PM

exhelodrvr,

>>>Look at how Farmar and Bynum are doing so far this year, and assume (for the sake of argument) that
>>>they continue to play well and improve at a reasonable rate.
>>>
>>>It validates PJs technique of bringing players along slowly. No reason not to do the same with Crittenden.

Actually, PJ played Farmar a lot more minutes than he normally plays rookies. When all you've got ahead of
him is Smush at PG, it made sense. With both Fisher and Farmar ahead of Crittendon, he likely won't play
many minutes this season unless one of the two gets injured.

Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | November 19, 2007 at 02:20 PM

I would like to give props to Farmar for coming in this year a MUCH BETTER player.

His emergence has been key for this team.

I also like that Crittentdon is in the background pushing him and ready to step in once DFish retires and/or gets too old.

The PG spot looks quite solid minus one smushy.

I also think a key to this team will be the play and health of Turiaf. If he can stay healthy and play at a current level that gives the Lakers a big man who can catch and finish around the basket plus hit a 20-foot jumper. THAT'S BIG for the triangle.

I'm not ready to get on any 55-win bandwagon yet, but it's encouraging to see the team beat teams without Kobe going for 40.

Given good health this team could be very very good.

Posted by: Korey | November 19, 2007 at 02:23 PM

SBPimp,

>>>LTLF - Farmar

BZZZZT. Close, but no cigar.

With a PER of 19.62, Jordan Farmar currently has the 4th best PER on the Lakers.

Any other guesses as to who has the highest PER on the Lakers?

Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | November 19, 2007 at 02:24 PM

Jan,
"We as fans needs to shut up and just support our beloved team!!! which is the Lakers!!!"

I agree. We won against Chicago by double digits and you're not yet contented.

You want to trade the guys now who are winning. Nooooooo. Who do you want this time? Jesus Christ, even the Good Lord could not help you on your problems.

We are all happy and we don't need basketball wisdom from anybody if we are winning. Come back when we lose a game then we might listen to your preposterous proposition.

Come on Jan, give these loud-mouth fans hell for talking too much!! LMAO!!!

Posted by: Edwin Gueco | November 19, 2007 at 02:35 PM

"Fisher will become the Ron Harper of the 2001-2002 season ... "

Damn, I miss that old guy. Too bad he had to join the Enemy.

E

Posted by: Emma | November 19, 2007 at 02:37 PM

IMPORTANT REMINDER.. ONLY 62 DAYS LEFT TO VOTE
VOTE NOW AND VOTE DAILY!!

VOTING STARTED ON NOVEMBER 15 AND YOU CAN VOTE EVERY DAY!
MAKE SURE TO VOTE FOR LAMAR, LUKE AND KOBE FOR THE ALLSTAR @ LAKERS.COM AND MAKE SURE TO VOTE DAILY!!
EVERY BLOGGER GO VOTE NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY AT NBA.COM OR LAKERS.COM (DAILY!!)
REMIND EVERYBODY TO VOTE DAILY EVERYDAY FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS!
LET THE VOTES STACK TO THE CEILING PEOPLE!!!

Posted by: Violator | November 19, 2007 at 02:41 PM

I agree that the KG trade was a chance for those previous Celtic Players, now GM's to spite the Lakers. This, I can only speculate is Bird's, Mchale's, and Ainge's last ditch effort to compensate for the losses they incurred in 85' and 87 to our Lakers. I can't wait to smash the Celtics this week. As a fan, this road trip really holds a lot of personal vendettas for me, not to mention I can not recall the last time the Lakers had a 5+ game winning streak. I hope we can hit the road, and take it to the Pacers and Celts, if nothing more that to show them that they F-up playing favorites instead of treating basketball as a business. It is obvious the former Celtic players we not quite "professional" in their dealings last summer. I can’t believe the NBA did not look into these tainted transaction further. David Stern loves taking blind eyes for his favorite teams and players (Teams – Heat, Suns, Spurs, and the Celtics. Players – D-wade, Lebron, and Yao Ming. Stuff is disgusting.)

Posted by: Nik Kannan | November 19, 2007 at 02:51 PM

HAB-

Wow. You seem to have woken up on the judgemental side of the bed this morning. How you can decide Crittendon is a dumbass based on the media exposure he's had this year is beyond me.
BK

Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | November 19, 2007 at 12:46 PM

I'm tempted to say: BK to HAB......

Whatever you are HABing lay off it. You are starting to sound just like some of the departed. You may be a good playground player but as a characted judge, you s**k.

Posted by: Lakergurl | November 19, 2007 at 03:01 PM

LTLF,

I hope to God it's not Cook. Assuming it's not one of the usual suspects (Kobe/Odom), I'm inclined to go with either Andrew or Sasha V.

Posted by: hariyahu | November 19, 2007 at 03:07 PM

Oh man, Heat are imploding!!! Check the latest Sam Smith column on the Tribune,

Posted by: hariyahu | November 19, 2007 at 03:08 PM

SBPimp:

"I hope that Satan lets Red watch in between scourgings."

Nice. That comports nicely with my own vision of the Inferno.

Of course, given Boston's recent run of success in all sports, their fans are more visible than ever, making it seem as though the un-dead are walking the earth. This is why I am glad that we Lakers fans are well versed in the art of zombie-attack-thwarting.

Posted by: The D | November 19, 2007 at 03:11 PM

More than the first 9 games, I'm interested in seeing how we cope with the next three. Too bad we don't have Kwame to stick on JO and Garnett. Though JO is apparently not doing that great himself coming back from surgery.

Posted by: hariyahu | November 19, 2007 at 03:11 PM

During the Bulls game, they talked about how the Lakers have had the toughest opponents to start the season (I believe the total winning percentage of all their opponents thus far was .630). Does anybody know where to find this Strength of Schedule info?

Posted by: greenpaz | November 19, 2007 at 03:21 PM

Bynum has best PER

Posted by: Lakalova | November 19, 2007 at 03:22 PM

I'm very excited to see how the Mihm-Bynum duo handle the next three games. Obviously they aren't Western powerhouses that we're going against, but there are some decent big men the Lakers will be facing.

If the Bynum-Mihm duo can show that they can handle the bulk of the minutes at the 5 and be effective it makes Kwame more expendable. I know that Kwame does bring something to this team, but I think other players brought in could bring more.

If the Bynum-Mihm duo does alright maybe we can make a deal with Sacramento at the deadline with something like this:

Kwame, Sasha, Mo Evans, one or two first rounders for Ron Artest and Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

I think that would put us in the contender status right away.

Posted by: Andrew Z | November 19, 2007 at 03:35 PM

Anybody know who Lamar used for his Physical Therapy? I had shoulder surgery this friday and I am looking for a good PT group.

Charles

Posted by: Charles | November 19, 2007 at 03:47 PM

I look forward to the matchup with the Celtics. I think we have to take advantage of a few matchups while the others may be even. Garnett obviously has an advantage over Turiaf(or whoever fills in at PF) but it should be even with Kobe against Allen and Lamar against Pierce. That should leave Bynum or Mihm against Perkins and Fish and Farmar on Rondo. Our bench is deeper and better as well. We have to exploit the mismatches and play intense defense and have our bench play well. We'll do fine as long as we cut down on turnovers. Indiana is another place we haven't done well and the Bucks are undefeated at home so far so we have our work cut out for us. I hope we get all three, but I'll be happy with 2 out of three. Go Lakers!!!

Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | November 19, 2007 at 03:47 PM

damn you ben wallace, now I have an injured kwame on my fantasy team

STOP LAUGHING...Haha I seriously do have him on my team. Mostly as a bench warmer but on my team.

Random Question: Whatever happened to Chucky Brown? He played for the Lakers like in '91. I'm just asking since I was cleaning out the attic at my parents house and I found a stuffed bear I named after him. He wore jersey # 7, which is why I picked the name lol.

Hah and everybody thought I named my bear "chucky" after the horror movie....sheesh

Posted by: mcfly | November 19, 2007 at 03:48 PM

damn you ben wallace, now I have an injured kwame on my fantasy team

STOP LAUGHING...Haha I seriously do have him on my team. Mostly as a bench warmer but on my team.

Random Question: Whatever happened to Chucky Brown? He played for the Lakers like in '91. I'm just asking since I was cleaning out the attic at my parents house and I found a stuffed bear I named after him. He wore jersey # 7, which is why I picked the name lol.

Hah and everybody thought I named my bear "chucky" after the horror movie....sheesh

Posted by: mcfly | November 19, 2007 at 03:48 PM

Hariyahu,

>>>I hope to God it's not Cook. Assuming it's not one of the usual suspects (Kobe/Odom), I'm inclined
>>>to go with either Andrew or Sasha V.

DING DING DING DING DING DING DING!

We have a WINNNNAAAHHHHHHHH!

Andrew Bynum, at 21.65 is the third highest PER on the Lakers

Kobe Bryant, at 25.05 is the second highest PER on the team...

AND SAHSA VUJACIC LEADS THE LAKERS, with a PER of 27.31

Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | November 19, 2007 at 03:50 PM

So we know Gasol is doing well in Europe. That is great news! How about SunYue, is he playing in any league, does anyone knows?

As I recall Sunyue was a long defensive athletic PG. All of a sudden Lakers are full of talent and options at PG position.

Posted by: Staples 24 | November 19, 2007 at 03:50 PM

Korey:

Good to hear praise for Farmar. Wish every guy on our team would follow Kobe's example and work on their game hard during the offseason. Farmar is playing far better right now than even I expected. And I hear, Smush has already been a big disappointment for the HEAT. Fish, Farmar, and Crittendon: What a huge improvement over Smush Parker. I still cannot believe that Smush did not come into camp in great shape. What is this guy thinking?

As last year's founder, you belong on the 55-Win Bandwagon. Mamba24, put Korey where he belongs. He was the original founder of the 55-Win Bandwagon.

Thanks

Tom

Posted by: LakerTom | November 19, 2007 at 03:59 PM

MAMBA PLEASE TAKE ME OFF THE 55 WIN BANDWAGON, YOU MISREAD MY POST, I NEVER ASKED TO BE ON THAT BANDWAGON AND I DON'T THINK THE LAKERS HAVE A CHANCE IN HELL OF WINNING EVEN 50 GAMES.

COMPTON DUDE, KEEP KEEPIN IT REAL DAWG.....I LIKE THAT BROOM OF YOURS....ZOMG....LOLZ.

VIOLATOR, YOU AND ANYONE ELSE THAT VOTES FOR LUKE WALTON FOR THE ALL STAR GAME AFTER THE TERRIBLE BASKTBALL HE HAS BEEN PLAYING (SANS THE CHICAGO GAME) ARE A DISGRACE TO THE VOTING SYSTEM. LETS NOT REWARD CRAPPY PLAY....UM K THANKS.

PLEASE GOD START BYNUM AND FARMAR ALREADY......SIGH......

YOU PEOPLE ARE OVER REACTING TO THE LAKERS SUCCESS THUS FAR. PHOENIX AND UTAH ON FIRST BACK TO BACKS OF SEASON. BILLUPS OUT, DENG OUT, T-MAC OUT, ETC., ETC., ETC. FACT IS, THE ONLY TWO TEAMS WE'VE PLAYED AT FULL STRENGTH AND ON FULL REST (HORNETS AND SPURS) KICKED OUR AZZES.

Posted by: SHAQ FAN | November 19, 2007 at 04:01 PM

mamba24....

i should be on some list....cmon man....

Posted by: wondahbap | November 19, 2007 at 04:02 PM

How about the "I wish I was Kwame Brown's doctor because I'd be friggin' RICH Bandwagon"

Posted by: wondahbap | November 19, 2007 at 04:03 PM

haven't read the entire blog, but no mention of why kareem was M.I.A. last night?

...because he was getting inducted in the College Hall of Fame last night! Congrats to the Cap. big honor

http://www.kansascity.com/472/story/366993.html

Posted by: CBuck | November 19, 2007 at 04:04 PM

exhelo

"I believe what you mean is that you hate it when someone flops like Ben Wallace does, but you love the hard-nosed defense that Derek Fisher plays."

Exactly.

Couldn't have said it better myself, and I didn't.

Posted by: Vman | November 19, 2007 at 04:07 PM

Outsidergua:

Teams own the rights to players selected in the second round for three years, but the teams are not required to sign them. While Gasol may sign a deal in Europe with some pro team, if he wants to play in the NBA, then he belongs to the Lakers for three years, just like Ginobli, who spent 3 years in Europe as properties of the Spurs before opting to come to the USA to play in the NBA.

Tom

Posted by: LakerTom | November 19, 2007 at 04:12 PM

Anyone want to get in on the Jason Kidd deal again? Seems the dude is about to make it pretty well known that New Jersey just isn't cutting it for him anymore. I wouldn't mind a PG who is averaging a triple double over his last five games.

http://blog.nj.com/netsblast/2007/11/unhappy_cappy.html

And no, I wouldn't send Bynum to the Nets in any deal.

Posted by: Andrew Z | November 19, 2007 at 04:19 PM

Mamba,

I think you can add Norm Nixon to your fanclub list. As uncomfortable as it is to watch him, he appears to be supporting the Lakers. What happened to weird lips Haley? Did he make someone more uneasy than Norm? Billy Mac probably got a raise at the expense of his counterpart. I can't wait when we see A.C.Green wearing a green monkey.

Posted by: maleke | November 19, 2007 at 04:19 PM

LTLF,

OMIGAWD!
I'd like to start my acceptance speech by thanking members of the audience, my family and God....

:)

Doesn't PER have a minimum set of minutes played requirement yet?

Posted by: hariyahu | November 19, 2007 at 04:24 PM

Shaqfan,

"YOU PEOPLE ARE OVER REACTING TO THE LAKERS SUCCESS THUS FAR. PHOENIX DETROIT AND UTAH ON FIRST BACK TO BACKS OF SEASON. BILLUPS OUT, DENG OUT, T-MAC OUT, ETC., ETC., ETC. FACT IS, THE ONLY TWO TEAMS WE'VE PLAYED AT FULL STRENGTH AND ON FULL REST (HORNETS AND SPURS) KICKED OUR AZZES."

AMEN

Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | November 19, 2007 at 04:27 PM

It's always amusing "how LA" Laker basketball really is. Here's a gem from TMZ:

http://www.tmz.com/2007/11/19/mad-mel/

Hint: Mel Gibson was at the game Sunday night.

Posted by: Rick Friedman | November 19, 2007 at 04:51 PM

From 9 rings

"Asked about Farmar's spark, Jackson said: "A lot of what I changed in the offense this year is meant for his game."

This is how arrrogant booster boy is, he is giving the credit for Farmars play to changes he made in the offense.

My question is- what took so long for 9 rings to wake up and adapt to the personnel on this team?

Posted by: Laker Lover | November 19, 2007 at 05:04 PM

If Arod can win MVP titles without his team doing nothing than Kobe should have won MVPs too. Its ridiculous that this guy wins MVP and nobody says anything about it. Him and Kobe have put up incredible numbers over their careers, whether is setting records repeatedly, but Kobe has never won a MVP. Writers are a bunch of hypocrites.

Posted by: wow | November 19, 2007 at 05:10 PM

OK I KNOW THAT NOBODY IS VOTING
YOU KNOW HOW I KNOW?
I KNOW BECAUSE LAMAR DIDN'T MAKE THE ALLSTAR THE LAST 3 YEARS, IN LA!!
3,300
THATS THE NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL VOTES WE CAN GET LAMAR ON THIS BLOG ALONE IF ONLY 50 (FITHY) PEOPLE VOTE ONCE DAILY SINCE VOTING STARTED ON THE 15TH.
AND I'M NOT GONNA MENTION HOW MANY PEOPLE IN ALL OF LA. YOU DO THE MATH! THATS AUTOMATIC ALL-STAR FOR LAMAR. BUT NOBODY IS VOTING....
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT I BELIEVE LAMAR'S ONLY SHOT IN HIS CAREER TO MAKE AN ALL-STAR WILL BE AS A LAKER WHERE HE CAN HAVE THE LUXURY OF THE WHOLE CITY OF LOS ANGELES GIVING HIM MASSIVE AMOUNT OF VOTES... BUT NOBODY IS VOTING!
MY QUESTION IS WHY THE HELL WASN'T HE AN ALL-STAR THE LAST FEW?!?!
ALL I HEAR IS PEOPLE WANTING HIM TO BECOME AN ALLSTAR BUT DOING NOTHING ABOUT IT, INSTEAD WAITING FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD TO VOTE HIM ON OR SOMETHING IS THAT RIGHT?!?! HELLO!! GO VOTE YOU LAZY SONS OF BISCUITS
WE'RE ONLY A FEW DAYS INTO VOTING AND STILL HAVE 62 DAYS LEFT, AND IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO MORE THEN ONE COMPUTER YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.. WE COULD POTENTIALLY DOUBLE THAT AMOUNT IF MOST OF US MAKE AN ATTEMPT TO VOTE DAILY!

Posted by: Violator | November 19, 2007 at 05:15 PM

PJ won't play rooks but Critt looks about as NBA ready as Farm did last year.

More than that he's bigger and just as quick. Last night, he might have been a better option than Fish on Gordon.

Obviously we now have a glut at the position but this youth bug is contagious.
Fish can kick back here and there, he's earned it and it's a long season. Suit Critt.

Let the Java flow.

Posted by: Vman | November 19, 2007 at 05:19 PM

To Shaq Fan,

I agree with you that Bynum and Farmar deserve to start. But they are so much better than the other teams' second unit that their reserve status is actually helping our team win. On the other hand, putting them in the first unit, where they would be up against the first stringers, might impede their gradual development. Let's leave it to the coaching staff on what would be best for all. Personally, i am all for a defensive first unit (that includes Kwame and Turiaf) that wears down the opposing team's first unit, then send it Bynum and the Jets (Farmar, Vlad, Evans, Luke) for the kill.

Finally, it's not entirely correct to say that T-Mac's injury was the reason for the Lakers' recent win against Houston. As the record will show, the Lakers were leading in double digits at the time of the injury. It was actually T-Mac's absence that compelled Rick Adelman to send in Bonzi Wells, who went on to play exceptionally to bring his team back into the game.

Raymond

Posted by: raymond42n | November 19, 2007 at 05:20 PM

LakerTom,

You asked what Smush was thinking not coming into camp out of shape. I would refrain from ever asking what Smush Parker is thinking - it's a scary place inside his head; what you would find would resemble a mashup of a Hieronymous Bosch painting, an HP Lovecraft novel and a Bartok piano concerto. The movie version of "Being Smush Parker" would be the greatest horror film of all time and if his thoughts were loosed upon the world, the despair and pain would make the evils of Pandora's Box resemble a Sesame Street episode.

Fear the Smush!!!!

Posted by: Tully Moxness | November 19, 2007 at 05:26 PM

 
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