Stuck inside of Staples with the Memphis Blues again
For those unfamiliar with the reference, time to shore up your Bob Dylan collection. And for those unfamiliar with the reference but nonetheless feel them same blues, then you must have watched last night's 114-111 to the Memphis Grizzlies. It was one of those nights where, save Kobe Bryant's explosive showing to grace the box score with 53 points, not a ton went right. A flu/bad ass cold-like bug had stricken Lamar Odom (who managed to rack the rare 11/11 assist/rebound double-double, but struggled to put the ball in the hoop). Derek Fisher entered the fray just having discovered news of a partially torn tendon in his foot, an ailment that would normally take about 6-8 weeks to heal up, but Fish will be a gamer and play through it as much as possible. The team struggled to hit often wide open shots. There was also a matter of defensive lapses that allowed 60 Griz points in the paint and far, far, too many triples launched (45 in all, a franchise record). Throw in the failure to get a play off with .9 seconds left for a game-tying, overtime inducing three-pointer, and it wouldn't be shocking if "The Artist formerly know as Robert Zimmerman" dropped by today's practice to gain a little insight for his next misery-centric ditty.
aDirk and the Weekend dime compare "MVP" notes. Both reached the same conclusion for a current #1: Congrats are in order for Dan Gadzuric. Kidding. Either party went with Kobe. The scouts (or at least a few of them) would agree.
When it comes to John Hollinger's list of the best NBA players that are ineligible to be elected President of the United States, Pau Gasol is 6th best and Ronny Turiaf 25th.
Greg Oden says he's viewed differently (and by "differently," he means "more importantly") by the Blazer franchise than Von Wafer. That's a little presumptuous if you ask the folks at Lakersblog.
Fire 32.....I know i shouldnt get into a tit for tat with you but ..Are you asking any questions to the Suns or its coach as to why you still havent won anything with a good team for 4 years?...Your team has won nothing...Same stlye of play for 4 years and only a division title...Are you upset with the front office for having the same coach only get you so far after this many years?..Its really nice that your so worried about THE LAKERS that you have to post about why we arent doing this or arent doing that ...Really nice but what about your team...Any answers as to why you fail every year at the same point.....Maybe your coach is the problem...I feel really bad for Steve Nash having a coach that cant get him a ring....Dont you feel bad to?...Nash seems like such a nice guy...Dont you think......I really hope that you have let the Suns know with all your great Knowledge why they have NOT WON A RING FOR A VERY LONG TIME IF AT ALL.....ENOUGH HOT AIR FROM YOU TO GET AN AIR BALLOON AROUND THE WORLD ..DON YOU THINK
Posted by: Thirty2 | March 29, 2008 at 05:59 PM
Man you got to love these phoenix suns fans trying to talk junk now. I didn't hear this talk from them 3 weeks ago when they was losing. But the Lakers got to stop losing these home games to bad teams. I know we lost key players like gasol and bynum but we are still good enough to beat the kings, bobcats and grizzlies. We need gasol back the next game because ever since his injury, our defense been absolutely terrible. Giving up 50 percent shooting to some of the worst shooting teams in the league is awful. You got to remember when we had how 3 peat team in the early decade, we had lost to some bad teams during that stretch but they got it together in the playoffs to win championships. Maybe I hope we can get our defensive intensity back when bynum and gasol comes back healthy.
Posted by: ca999 | March 29, 2008 at 06:07 PM
Who Said iam from Canada
First,it's GRAMMAR, not grammer. Second, the name comes from a TV character. Third JUST HOW BAD IS THAT CANADIAN EDUCATION STEVE?
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 12:48 Pm
English is my second language and my homeland is Moscow,Russia...United States is a great country..Sports is entertainment.
Posted by: Steve nash | March 29, 2008 at 02:25 PM
How do you say troll in Russian??? Trollsky??? Just curious.....
And I said Steve Nash was canadian not you comrade.......
If you want to call yourself Steve Nash, then you get the Steve Nash treatment, period....
Don't show up to a battle of wit's empty handed.....
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 06:13 PM
Wow Gunner, Fire32, Steve Nash, all here now. I guess the dookie has really floated to the surface today.....
Yeah that's right I am taking shots at the whole Troll village today..... Bring it on.....
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 06:15 PM
TELL ME, WOULD YOU HAVE THIS GUY LEADING YOUR TEAM?
http://www.nba.com/media/lakers/av_080328postgame.jpg
THE FACE OF A BALL HOG!
JUST TOTALLY DUMBFOUNDED. DON'T HAVE THE MINDSET OF A LEADER AND QUITE FRANKLY HE DON'T SEEM TO EVEN CARE.
WE BRING OVER HELP AND IT DOES NOTHING. HE STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW TO BE A LEADER.
STATEMENT FROM KOBE
"I WAS OPEN SO, I'M GOING TO SHOOT IT" ALL ABOUT "I". IT'S ALL ABOUT ME. HEY IDIOT YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. CAN'T YOU FIGURE THAT OUT!
ANOTHER COMMENT FROM OUR SO-CALLED LEADER
"STAYING IN FRONT OF THE BALL HAS BEEN A BIG PROBLEM FOR US" I'M ASSUMING YOU ARE INCLUDING YOURSELF KOBE. AM I RIGHT? ARE YOU ADMITTING THE THE SUICIDE REACHING POOR DEFENSIVE ATTEMPTS YOU HAVE BEEN DOING LATELY?
KOBE SUCKS!
Posted by: Gunner | March 29, 2008 at 06:24 PM
It's too easy to blame Kobe. Get something else.
And really, they were out of rhythm from the get go...even with Kobe in the bench, and especially defensively. That's on all of them.
Posted by: Faith | March 29, 2008 at 08:09 PM
Jeff Aho - I APPLAUD YOU BECAUSE YOU CLEARLY KNOW ALOT ABOUT THE GAME OF BASKETBALL. AND I FEEL YOUR STATEMENTS NEED TO BE RUNG VERY LOUDLY IN THIS BLOG. LET ME DISECT YOUR COMMENTS.
"Lose to a 6-28 road team. Lose to a 5-30 road team (1-20 Western Conference).
Where is the MVP when you need him? 2 points in the 4th quarter. Took his own teammates out of rhythm by taking so many shots in the beginning. If Kobe's going to do that, then he has to make sure that he follows through since it was apparent his teammates were deferring to him because of his propensity to shoot during the early stages of the game."
MY MOTHER ALWAYS TOLD ME "PRESSURE BUST PIPES" THAT'S WHAT HAPPEN TO KOBE'S GAME IN THE 4TH. ALL TALK AND NO GAS AT THE END. A TEAM LEADER WHO DESTROYS THE WHOLE CHEMISTRY OF THE TEAM.
"I noted after the loss to the Bobcats. What exactly can Kobe do these days to affect the outcome of the game other than scoring? He doesn't play defense particularly well anymore and the Lakers were actually fortunate that Bryant's shots were falling; considering most of them were jump shots."
JUMP SHOTS. HE'S EITHER ON OR HE'S OFF. (ALA 2004 NBA FINALS AGAINST THE PISTONS) - A PERFORMANCE THAT SHOWED ME KOBE WAS NEVER GOING TO WIN A RING ON HIS OWN AS THE #1 LEADER. WHY LEBRON JAMES IS BETTER? BECAUSE LEBRON WILL ATTACK THE GOAL MORE INSTEAD OF SETTLED FOR THOSE JUMPSHOTS. A SIGN THAT BALL HOG KOBE IS BECOMING OLD MAN KOBE.
"The leader sets the tone for the team. Kobe started to shoot a lot of 3's. Guess what the rest of the team does. Follow suit."
CORRECT. WHICH SHOWS THAT KOBE AINT NO LEADER. IF YOUR LEADER IS NOT PLAYING DEFENSE, HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT THE REST OF THE TEAM TO PLAY DEFENSE. IF YOUR LEADER IS JACKING UP 3'S. WHAT WILL THE REST OF THE TEAM DO?
"Bryant's game is beginning to resemble Jordan's stint on the Wizards. Nothing but jumpshots. Can't blow by anybody. Rarely creates open looks for teammates. Either his legs are really hurting but I do hope the Lakers don't give Kobe the maximum.
He's clearly on the decline. The decline of a player is usually evident in his shot selection. Kobe's game is relegated to being a volume jump shooter. Remember, he couldn't even get enough lift and had his jumpshot blocked twice."
ONCE AGAIN BALL HOG KOBE IS BECOMING OLD MAN KOBE. AND I HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH YOU ON THE MJ COMPARISON. KOBE AINT NO JORDAN AND NEVER WILL BE. HE IS NOTHING BUT A VERSION OF DOMINIQUE WILKINS. ONLY DIFFERENCE IS DOMINIQUE DID CARRY HIS TEAM OUT OF THE FIRST ROUND.
"If the Lakers really do have the "best player in the league", why are the Lakers losing to two of the worst of the worst road teams in the league? If Kobe is truly #1 out of 300+ players, why isn't this fact showing up more in the W-L column? Instead, the Lakers are only a .500 team with Gasol out of the lineup."
A SIGN THAT KOBE IS NOT THE LEADER OF THIS TEAM. BYNUM AND GASOL WILL DO BETTER AS THE #1. KOBE NEEDS A BATMAN SO, HE CAN PLAY THE ROBIN ROLE. WHY WE WON TITLES WHEN SHAQ WAS HERE BECAUSE SHAQ WAS BATMAN.
AND ASK YOURSELF THIS...WOULD JORDAN AND THE BULLS WHEN HE WAS THERE EVER LOSE TO TEAMS LIKE CAROLINA AND MEMPHIS?
It's excuses after excuses for Bryant pundits. W-L is the bottom line. Where is the "MVP" when the team needs him? Isn't it during these tough times that the MVP should rise up and carry the team? Yeah, you might argue that he scored 53 points.
BECAUSE KOBE REALLY DON'T DESERVE THIS AWARD. IF HE WAS SO GREAT WHY IT HAS TAKEN HIM 12 YEARS TO EVEN BE MENTIONED FOR THIS AWARD. KOBE WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS A PLAYER WHO SCORED A BUNCH OF POINTS. AND PLAYED 2ND BEST TO SHAQ. PERIOD!
"Obviously that's not the formula for winning with this roster. From what I remember, Bryant's scored 40+ this season around 5-6 (possibly even 4) times. The Lakers have obviously done well without needing him to score in bunches. What this roster needs is somebody to lead by example by PLAYING THE RIGHT WAY. Team ball offense predicated on solid defense.
If the team sees it's leader, having made up his mind before the game to jack up shots, then the teammates are not going to commit themselves on the defensive end since their leader isn't leading by example. He talks the talk (barks a lot) but rarely walks the walk (doesn't bite)."
SIMPLE ANSWER TO THIS STATEMENT. KOBE SUCKS AND HE NEEDS TO BE LET LOOSE TO GO AND DESTROY ANOTHER TEAM'S CHEMISTRY. HELL, SEND HIM OVER TO NY KNICKS. AT LEAST THEY CAN INCREASE THEIR TICKET SALES.
"As alluded to in previous entry, Bryant's decision making process is obviously skewed. Since Bryant was still fuming about the technicals, what does he decide to do?
Bingo. You guessed correctly if you said that Bryant was going to come out and be very very aggressive on the offensive end. It's like he's trying to "show" up nonexistent entities. Is that how he psyches himself up before a game? It was downhill once Bryant jacks up 3 consecutive shots on the Lakers first 3 possessions."
THAT WHY HE HAS THE NICKNAME THE BIG "MALCONTENT". ALWAYS TRYING TO PROVE A POINT. "REFEREES DIDN'T GIVE ME THE CALLS AGAINST THE BOBCATS SO, I'M GOING TO PROVE TO THEM BY GOING OUT AND SHOWING WHO'S THE MVP OF THIS LEAGUE. I DON'T GIVE A DAMN IF MY TEAM LOSE OR NOT." This is a typical mentality of a Ball Hog.
"MVP? Seriously? The best of the best losing to 6-28 and 5-30 road teams? Honestly? Bryant's teammates are at fault? So when the Lakers win, Bryant's the MVP. But when the Lakers lose, the onus is on the team?"
THE BLOGGERS WHO BLAME THE TEAM ARE KOBE APOLOGISTS. INSTEAD OF BEING ON KBBALLHOG24.COM WEBSITE, THEY WOULD WANT TO COME HERE AND BLAME THE OTHER TEAMMATES. BUT SO, SORRY. THIS IS ALL ABOUT KOBE AND HE SUCKS!
NO LEADER, NO RHYTHM, NO MORE RINGS WITHOUT SHAQ!
Posted by: Gunner | March 29, 2008 at 09:28 PM
Robyn,
I' ve been thinking about the game all day at work and I came up with the same "conspiracy". I may also add that
1. Phil claimed that we are the "front runner" smoke screen as the Lakers should claim #1 seed.
2. We do not match up well with GS or Denver especially AB is not at full strenght.
Phil would like to draw Suns/Mavs/Hous 1st round. We would be able to handle these teams while AB rounding out to BB shape. with AB back at full strength we will come out of the West (while Ariza working to BB conditions) with Ariza health we will defeat the Celts in the Finals.
Pho
Posted by: Pho | March 29, 2008 at 09:37 PM
Never take a Troll at his word
TROLL MAN RETURNS
I was nearly dead after the Utah game, but with so many pathetic showings by the Lakers since, I have been restored to even greater powers.
It use to be the faithful Laker bloggers that needed to feed me but that is no longer the case. It's the once high and mighty Lakers themselves that now feed me. No longer do I need you.
Just a few reasons on my resurrection
Phil Jackson, where to start? How about when your team doesn't play any defense to put in a player who is actually known for his defense. Why sign a player to a 10 day contract and not play him, especially after losing games left and right. LMFAO.
Let's see, you have injuries, and are not using your bench, instead you prefer to play Kobe and LO to exhaustion.
Mr. Nine Rings gets outcoached night-in and night-out and everyone turns a blind eye and excuses him because he has won championships (with great talent only).
To top it off was Jim Cleamons telling us (yesterday at halftime) that we needed to share the ball. It seems to me if Kobe is the only one making 50% of his shots let him keep shooting, I'll take that all night. Isn't Cleamons the defensive coach, why yes he is. Here's a thought, hey Jimmy, how about coaching some defense some year, some month, some day, some instant. you worthless piece of dog manure.
The Bench Mob exposed, just keep shootin 3's. I love the excuses that when Pau and Bynum get back they'll be better. News Flash, make yourselves better.
Luke and Farmar have a secret pact to keep the ball away from Kobe (PJ is in on it too) but Kobe is to smart for that.
There's more to come later
Thank you Laker player and coaches for feeding the Trolls
LONG LIVE THE TROLLS
Posted by: Troll Man | March 29, 2008 at 12:39 PM
A troll speaks volumes. The truest words were never truer. NEVER TAKE A TROLL AT HIS WORD.
Just remember that. No matter what diatribe comes from this troll you can't take him for his word. so anything coming from him has no credibility.
Troll wounded.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | March 29, 2008 at 10:09 PM
Pho & Troy,
I am glad you guys are also seeing what seemed to be so obvious. I agree with both of you.
The Lakers will prevail in the end!!
Posted by: Robyn | March 29, 2008 at 10:51 PM
Pslakerfan...The hot air squard....Thats what they should be called
Posted by: Thirty2 | March 30, 2008 at 01:30 AM
Sorry steve nash, I can't understand what you're saying, you're speaking in Canada.
No disrespect to you, but shu up.
Posted by: Benjamin | March 30, 2008 at 05:54 AM