Mamba24,

Put me on the leave Jordan alone bandwagon.

Laker Lover,

You reasoning of the chart. I done it before and I'm going to do it one more or any time when people like you needs toanswer for crap they are writing. Here we go

1. Even good coaches not always are getting results from good players. Shaq/Kobe combo did not win anyting before Phil, Stockton/Melon retired being coached by not so bad Jerry Sloan without ever winning anything.

2. Luke was playing like a crap, what was the other option
Phil had yesterday? Sahsa with his idiotic play in 1st half and shooting 0 of 5? With personel at hand you never know wich Sasha will show up for the game, Machine or 11AM shooter.

3. I did not see you're questioning PJ when Lakers were rolling. I guess your way of thinking, like we're winning - it's on players, we're loosing - ask the coach's head.

4. Kobe set tone by defending B Davis, who did not have very good game yesterday. Do you want Kobe to defend 5 positions at the same time, or run with M. Ellis when putting 36 points on the board and keeping Lakers afloat.

Preach brother Pig, preach! Put those damn trolls back in their place, with the rest of the scoundrels and naysayers. It's one thing to offer some useful insight, but it's a completely different matter when you aim to insult. Insight>insult, remember that.

Zin Master and Laker Lover are Trolls. Don't feed them.

GO LAKERS!

I'm sure no one will see this so far down, got to the blog too late, but I have to say that win by the Warriors was a fluke. They are up by one with a lot of time on the clock (10+ seconds). If he misses, and percentage wise he will miss that shot more than he makes it, the Lakers have enough time to go down to get a shot and take the lead (and prob. the win). Steven Jackson got verrrrrry lucky with that second three, I am sure Don Nelson was chocking on his phelm. That type of play is why the Warriors will never win a championship.

Laker Nation .... Rise Up

We need this game tonight .... Mamba24, crank this baby up ... no more sleep walking through the first 24.

The Suns have two tough games ahead, we have easier games ... make it happen. 'nough said.

Every time the Lakers lose a game there seems to be a general panic that something must be wrong and should be fixed immediately. Here is some truth to chew on:

The Lakers can lose three out of every seven games in the playoffs and be Champions.

The team as it is composed RIGHT NOW can compete for a championship. And they have players with serious defensive liabilities. Several players. And with a serious lack of size inside, fatigue is a much greater problem than it will be in the playoffs. There are NEVER any four games in five night in the playoffs. NEVER.

There are four players who will arrive in the next couple of weeks (maybe not Trevor) who will relieve the fatigue factor, the size factor and will vastly improve the interior and team defense.

And, and here is the biggest factor, as long as the MVP is on the team at a reasonable level of health, the Lakers will be able to win anywhere.

What I enjoy most from these last few games is how the team continues to compete even with a vastly thinned out bench and unusual defensive matchups. I like their character to not quit or make excuses. They will be better off for having had to do this.

MarkytheArky

TO LAKERS FANS:

You guys are bunch of wishy washy fans...including mamba24 the hall monitor...

Not a wishy washy fan here but The Ladies Man..

ANYBODY THINK THE LAKERS MIGHT DISH OUT A LITTLE PAYBACK TONIGHT?

As a NorCal Lakers fan, it’s always a bummer when the Warriors beat the Lakers. The local papers and sports talk radio shows are all chortling on about how the Lakers are now afraid of facing the Warriors in the first round and what a great series it will be. There were even a couple of brain-dead Lakers fans who actually called in to pay their newfound respect for the Warriors and their guaranteed-to-lose small ball strategy.

Of course, none of these morons remember that the Warriors victory was over a Lakers team missing all three of their 7-foot centers and their top perimeter defender. They don’t remember how Andrew Bynum shredded their defense and dominated them earlier in the year. Or how Pau Gasol scored over 40 points against them when he played with Memphis earlier in the year. Or that this last gasp win in L.A. was their first after losing 9 games in a row to the Lakers at Staples. What a bunch of blind fools. LMAO.

No, all they remember is that they won the game and finally beat LA. There was even some idiot who wrote a rap song called “God is a Warriors fan.” Get real, if God was a Warriors fan then he must really have been punishing the Warriors by turning their weak franchise into one of the biggest losers in NBA history who’ve not had a whiff of an NBA championship for over 30 years, much less any success in the playoffs. Now, after showing they’re the 8th best team in the league, God is somehow a Warriors fan. LOL

Well, let them have their day of victory. Tonight, the Lakers should put their foot on the throat of these local losers and put the universe back the way it belongs. Kobe and the Lakers are going to come out and really put it to the Warriors on their home court and show everybody in NorCal that the Warriors are the worst playoff team in the West. You can take that to the bank. Lakers by 30 in start-to-end blowout: Lakers 125-95!

Tom

Pig, Nemaia, etal.,

I understand there are a ton of positves on this team, and we should all be happy where this team is at. For the most part, I try to be constructive in my criticism, but with Luke, it's nearly impossible. I've had to endure almost 5 years of watching him on the court. After 5 years, he still makes rookie mistakes, his brain freezes under pressure, and he is a complete liability on both ends of the floor. I pull my hair out watching him play every game, especiallly during critical situations, and after five years, it has taken a heavy toll. I suspect it has taken a toll on many other fans as well.

If guys like Fish are going through a slump, I know he will eventually turn it around, but can anyone here realistically say that Luke will EVER turn it around? You would have to be an extreme optimist or a Budhist monk to keep your frustrations in check after watching Luke receive major minutes for this great franchise.

I would be just as harsh to someone like Smush or Kwame, if they were on this team for 5 years, and still played like, uh...well Smush and Kwame.

Phil stayed overly loyal to Smush and Kwame. They were his "projects", and he wanted to prove everyone wrong by helping them to succeed. Sometimes, it's just time to let go, and invest in other players (i.e. Vlad, Sasha, Newble). I think after five years, it about that time.

I've been saying this for a while, but Luke has only played TWO months of decent basketball (beginning of last year) in FIVE years, yet fans are hoping that he "returns to form". Sorry folks, but this IS his form. In those two months, nobody believed Luke could hit the open shot, so teams basically dared him to shoot (as in years past), and pretty much left him wide open. I'm not hating on Luke as a person, or questioning his work ethic, but five years of frustration can no longer be ignored, and what better place to vent and release some of that frustration than here in the Lakers blog?

peace

The year Rudy T. coached (04-05) was frustrating.
However, I had no problem with losing that year; the Lakers were in transition (Shaq was just traded).
Blowing a 3-1 lead to the Suns (05-06) was heart breaking; still, I said to myself: there's next year.
Last season (06-07) was the straw that broke the camel's back for me (and that is why I took Kobe's side when he went on his rant).
After the above 3 years, my motto-like Kobe-is put up or shut up.
After 3 frustrating seasons, I don't have patience for a team that takes games off.
With the one seed at stake, we can not afford to relax (especially with less than 15 games to play).
Tonite's game scares me; Golden State has all the momentum.
And the Lakers have picked the wrong time to have chemistry issue (Farmar and Ronny).
If the Lakers lose tonight, they could possibly lose the one seed and Kobe could possibly lose MVP.
I want that one seed and I want that MVP.
After 3 heart breaking seasons, I feel we deserve all that we can get.
So if I sound a bit harsh in my post (especially during the live chats) it's because of the past 3 seasons.
If this season becomes a repeat of the last 3 season, I don't know if my heart could take anymore (taking games off, playing poor in the first half, not boxing out on defensive rebounds, giving up offensive rebounds, too many turnovers, missed freethrows, giving up the open 3, etc...).
How many more season must it take for this team to realize you must play focused every game (especially in the tight Western Conference).
WE MUST WIN THIS GAME!!!

markythearky....

Very good points about how the team is playing well and competing hard despite not being at full strength. All the players have stepped up and helped fill the void created by injury. Last night, Kobe and Lamar combined for 36 rebounds, somewhat offsetting Ronny's foul trouble and the missing bigs.

The only glitch in the Matrix was the poor first half. That was inexcusable but at the same time it can be understood. Playing at home on a holiday is always a potential trap. The Lakers have to do a better job of focusing and preparing. Simply put, they got caught.

Tonight has nothing to do with last night. The Show has to find a way to win! GO LAKERS!!!

Mamba24,

It is urgent that you add me to the leave Farmar alone bandwagon.

The blog archive will show numerous posts I have written on Farmar, who gets far less love on this blog than he does from the crowd at Staples Center.

Fortunately, Tim-4-Show was able to login earlier, with a post reflecting my position on this.

At half-time, Farmar was the Lakers' leading scorer by going into the paint, which no one else on the team made an effort to do. None of the Lakers until Fish got it together late in the game could hit their 3's, but Jordan is a shooter and shooters have to keep shooting to get their shot back and the 3's he attempted were just part of the playbook.

As for his defense, the Lakers as a team suck at it, outisde Kobe and Lamar. Instead of trashing Jordan, I look to the coaching staff for failing to instill team discipline when it comes to D. Ronny was probably right that Jordan's being out of position led to his high foul count. But Jordan was hardly the biggest offender Sunday night. At least Farmar is always looking for the rebound.

All this trashing of Jordan since Critter was traded is unfair. He's had some of his best games since, as I've previously noted. He's only in his 2nd year, but he's been no more inconsistent than Vlad, Luke, Sasha, and even Ronny.

Look! Sunday night's game was enough to make any fan angry and I understand the anger. But let's not shoot Bambi. A fan base that eats its team's young isn't a true fan base. Laker fans are better than that.

Tonight the team has a chance to play better, and order can be restored in the Universe.

passionate Lakers fan....

Relax, willya? My goodness, even Kobe could come to terms with last night's loss and realize that despite the Lakers' poor showing in the first half, they had a chance to win and that it took some incredible shooting down the stretch to beat them. When Kobe was interviewed after the game, there was no sense of panic from him. The past can't be changed and the Lakers have a game TONIGHT that they need to focus on.

Laker Lover,

I think we all appreciate the civility in your retorts to claims that you're a "troll." While many people do rip those people that you mentioned, those same posters also are willing to give them credit when credit is due. They realize that everyone has faults, and are not afraid to point them out (sometimes to a sickening level, but nontheless). But where the major difference between them and posters such as yourself lies, is that they dole out the compliments as well, whereas it always seems that you bring out the negative in every situation. You are a regular here, and your posts are a part of the essence that is this blog, but that doesn't change the fact that your posts, for the most part, almost always contain a pessimistic tone. We all know that the team has flaws and things that they can work on, we don't need to be reminded all day, every day I hope you don't see this as an attack or insult, but more of an insight and evaluation of your nature. As with every poster (except maybe GUNNER), have a nice day.

-bozz-

I'm all for criticism if it's constructive.

Posted by: "Pig" Miller | March 24, 2008 at 01:03 PM

So let me get this straight: if any blogger comes on this site and vents after a Lakers loss-and if his or her vent does not meet your specification-then he or she is a troll.
Man, you-along with Jon K.-are 2 of the egotistical bloggers on this blog.
Attention bloggers: type what you feel (win or lose).
It is your right.
Luke sucks (he has zero game).
Vlad sucks (he can only shoot the 3).
Jordan sucks (we should have kept The Critter).
Sasha sucks (he can only shoot the 3).
That is all.

Laker Lover,

I'm not against anyone sharing opinions here that differ from mine. It seems you only saw what you wanted to see in my post and chose not to acknowledge the rest.

Let me reiterate. Trolls come here only to speak negative, offer nothing but criticisms, trash players and coaches, provide thoughtless comments about other bloggers, and generally are rarely seen when the Lakers win. Even when they are here after a win they only offer critical comments about the win.

If you go back and finish reading the post, you'll see that I welcome all thoughts and opinions about this team. If you brought something to the board other than just purely critical remarks, people might respect your alternative opinions more.

We are all Lakers.

What colors do you wear?

Oink Oink

Revenge? I dont think it will happen.
Not on Warriors homecourt.
After this game, it will be 3-1, Warriors taking the series.
Bring on the Lakers on the playoffs and we'll show 'em.
We Believe

BK,
"Did I just get promoted?"

Actually, they were giving you the headline for your next post. They don't like the fact that you are such a "hater."

BK - congrats on the promotion!!!
Like the sound of the new title!

Laker Lover

I'm sure all Phil need to do just to read your rants and follow your advice. Working way through it's his way to teach kids (read PLAYERS) to take personal responsibility. It would be situation when team does not have any timeout left, what are you going to do next? Players are not puppets on the floor, they getting paid to make reasonable intelligent decisions during the course of the game. This does not excuse Luke for playing poorly almost for entire season, I’m pretty sure when we’ll get Ariza back, he will play less minutes. And Luke can not be replaced by Fisher, Fisher was already on the floor. What would you say if PJ put Coby instead of Luke and Jackson still would make that shot? I know exactly “Idiot PJ put seldom used Coby Karl and we got burned” So, as I see with people like you it’s no win situation. About poor coaching – unless you have something else to show, like 9 rings, working through biggest egos clashes in professional sports, you need to be little more specific while presenting your arguments here.

BK - if you have extra time here in SF - maybe you should check out the "Beat" Museum on Broadway. It might give you some good ideas for tomorrow's blog.

Bk,

You deserve it!

We Believe,
Yeah, The warriors will win the season against the Lakers but they will be sweep in the 1st round.

LA vs. GS
lakers 4-0 with a winning average of 18 points

You Believe but WE WIN

Rick F,

Another excellent post.