Question of the day: Olympic hoops
The Olympic basketball tournament is about to start (word is that Kobe guy is playing). I'll admit, in terms of attention paid and depth of emotional investment, I've been pretty lax regarding both the hoops contest and the Games in general. Now that things are rolling (I'm currently watching men's rowing), I'll probably pay closer attention ... but generally prefer watching sports I otherwise wouldn't see (men's rowing, for example). I'd by lying if I said I was wrapped up in whether the U.S. wins a hardwood gold. Not that I'm rooting against them, I've just become accustomed to the notion that it's an international game now, and the rest of the world is pretty good. Add in the different rules (and often questionable whistles) of FIBA ball, and the days of an American team -- no matter who is on it -- being guaranteed victory are over. That said, it should be some entertaining ball, worth watching.
Which brings me to the QOTD: Very simple. On a scale of 1-10, how much do you care about the "Redeem Team" and the Olympic basketball tourney? Are you watching as a Kobe fan? Hoops fan? Should the U.S. not win gold, how will you react?
BK
The Lakers were called "soft" because they couldn't do SQUAT on offense.
Yes true Pau wasn't getting his usual offensive numbers and Lamar was nowhere to be seen. Kwame though would have been PUNKED like a girl had the trade never happened and somehow got to the finals. Kwa mey Brown got manhandled not to mention TORCHED like a marshmellow by Amare Stoudemire who in turn got man handled last Christmas by Bynum.
Amare forced Kwa-mey Brown to have 7 turnovers and be called a "disaster" on TNT!
Simply put: Kwa-mey Brown got embarrased by Stoudemire, he would have been thrown to his cave by KG!
What would have happened had the trade never happened: Kobe again demands trade again.
LOL!
Posted by: thekobebryantblitz | August 10, 2008 at 09:15 PM
Mike T,
Quit your rants.
Did Kwame Brown take us to the finals?
Did Kwame Brown take us out of the first round?
I repeat...
Did Kwame Brown take us to the finals?
Enough said.
Posted by: zen | August 10, 2008 at 09:27 PM
Lakers are soft because of Vlad, Walton, Mihm, Gasol and Odom (ALL BIGS).
Lakers tough players are Kobe, Bynum, Sasha, Farmar and Fisher.
This is the truth Lakers are soft and too many finesse players.
Kwame Brown is soft too. So he is not the answer. I think with BYNUM back Gasol and Odom will be tougher because Bynum will have their back. Bynum has to come back bigger and stronger than last year. Still Mitch will need to fill up the gap of a BRUISER in the frontline.
Glad to see Sun Yue playing agianst Kobe. Sun will bring depth to the back court, also competing for time against Farmar and Sasha is a plus.
Posted by: Staples 24 | August 10, 2008 at 09:27 PM
But with Kwame we never lost by 39 pts.
LOL!
mike t.
39 pts? That is mindboggling! That is seriously SOFT!
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 10, 2008 at 09:29 PM
And never blew a 24 first half lead.
Absolutely amazing!
SOFT!
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 10, 2008 at 09:29 PM
In cases anyone missed the China/USA game, the complete game is available at the following link (download the plug-in for a larger video display):
http://www.nbcolympics.com/
video/share.html?videoid=
bk1h-bj-sd02-081008-221256&forcereload=true
I think Sun Yue did pretty well.
Posted by: RC | August 10, 2008 at 09:41 PM
Anyone up for some marshmellow basketball? Just call the king of marshmellows. Pau 'Marshmellow' Gasol!
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 10, 2008 at 09:42 PM
The Lakers are soft????, well i can't expect someone who has activetly been saying bad things about the Lakers say anything good about them especially someone who believes Kwame Brown is the next Great Center to develop in the NBA and blames other people like Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson & etc for Brown's continued failure to be an effective player. Yeah right the Lakers are soft, but i guess I would call everyone soft next to Kwame, who throws cake at people, who bec of his incredible built-height and athleticism 70% to 80% of the time will miss catching a ball and dunking it, Someone whose foul throw shooting is as foul as the Big Idiot Shaq....yeah the Lakers are soft coming from someone who believes that Kwame Brown is going to be the saviour of the Universe... that is a very intelligent and insightful obsevation, i'll probably believe if i did not know that the basketball is round.
Posted by: Frankie | August 10, 2008 at 09:45 PM
My take on tonight's posts ... Lakers defense needs to improve, period. Stats never tell the whole story. ... Yes, Gasol is soft ... Sun Yue shows promise. A better bet than J-Crit ... Farmar should start (He plays better with Bynum than D-Fish) ... then by the time D-Fish retires, Sun Yue should be ready to challenge Farmar for the starting rotation ... Enough with the Coby Karl stuff, already. What makes me feel good is WINNING ... Either Luke or VladRad has to go. Too much redundancy ... I seem to like Mbenga more than Phil does, so he's probably a gonner. But he seems like a great team mate ... Jeannie Buss should never have fired Paul Sunderland ... BTW, is there a stat for how many times Luke tried to pass the ball when he should have taken the shot? Can you believe this guy is the Lakers representative on the KNBC "I'm 4 LA" promo?
Posted by: Rick Friedman | August 10, 2008 at 09:48 PM
So the Lakers are soft? Apparently 28 teams must be softer than they are. That's pretty good - all they have to do it pick it up a little.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | August 10, 2008 at 09:56 PM
I'm watching and hoping to see good basketball. I still think this team needs another pure shooter, and big man. We'll see how this plays out.
A lot of gambling on defense too, that's going to be dangerous against better opposition.
Posted by: Michael A | August 10, 2008 at 10:02 PM
Good night!
I SAID GOOD NIGHT!
LOL!
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 10, 2008 at 10:26 PM
One last thing for the night:
From Kobe Bryant:
"When someone suggested that Laker loyalists might take offense to his repeated reasoning that a gold medal trumps a title, Bryant bristled.
“So what,” he sniffed. “So what. If they can’t understand that, they don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s that simple. You’re playing for your country."
You see Kobe's attitude about what the L.A. fans think? So what! They don't know what they're talking about.
I think when the L.A. Times blog first came out the Lakers would check it out to see what the fans were thinking. This blog is a place where they gauge what the fans are thinking. So they would watch what they had to say.
But after 3 years it's come to "So What!" They don't know what they're talking about. I really think this is what Kobe thinks.
First the Lakers say: The they didn't care what the fans thought...they would have been happy to sign Kwame Brown. And now Kobe is saying about the fans in L.A.: "So What!"
These little signs are just to let you know that this place has become a joke when it comes to talking about basketball.
When a guy says the Lakers will average 120 pts a game...what other choice do the Lakers have but to say "so what" when talking about what the fans think about this or that. "They don't know what they're taiking about."
If the Lakers don't win it all next season or don't get out of the Western Conference....Kobe is walking and he'll say to the fans of L.A.: So what! They don't know what they're talking about.
And how can blame him? Because it's so true.
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 10, 2008 at 10:45 PM
In other words: When talking about the diffence between an NBA title and a Gold Metal Kobe didn't try to placate.
One little issue...you placate. But when you're fed up placating is out the window even in the smallest of issues.
So what! They don't know what they're talking about.
Read it and weep...Kobe's walking because the Buss family doesn't know anything about basketball and they just play right into the hand of the uneducated basketball mind of the fans.
SO WHAT! I'M GONE!
Bet ya!
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 10, 2008 at 10:49 PM
The day Jerry Buss gave control of the team to Jimmy Buss...Jerry was doing right by his family. When it comes to his family Kobe Bryant is on the bottom looking up.
When it comes to free agency next season...the Lakers are going to be on the bottom looking up. And Kobe Bryant's only thought is going to be his family.
Kobe Bryant doesn't owe the Lakers any committment because Jerry Buss choose a nonbasketball person like Jimmy Buss to have power over the legacy of Kobe Bryant. What did Jimmy Buss do? He chooses to play Hollywood basketball at the expense of Kobe Bryant's prime years.
Kobe walks!
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 10, 2008 at 10:54 PM
Mike T,
And every national paper and commentator calls Kwame Brown the worst player in the NBA. So are you going to agree with them on that as well.
Posted by: Xodus | August 10, 2008 at 11:11 PM
LOL!
Yea we didn't give up 39 points with Kwame, we lost by 36 points with him!
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=
ArMH5BUR9OiDtHq_gcfHZXqkvLYF?gid=2007031113
And that was by Dallas one of the choker teams!
LOL!
And Dallas isn't even a "Defensive team" like Boston is!
LOL!
Posted by: thekobebryantblitz | August 10, 2008 at 11:16 PM
And one last thing:
Kobe would rather have a SOFT talented player who can rebound, score, pass, and be an adequate defender (he made Tim Duncan shoot for 42.66%!) and give us at least 10-14 ppg than a SCRUB who can't score, rebound, pass, defense (his defense is overrated, just ask Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire as they torched his immobile body on pick and rolls), blows layups worst than Odom and has no PASSION to be theh player like he can.
If Kwame actually worked hard, he would have lived up being a number one pick. But he didn't and became as SOFT SCRUB and well we have been torched by 50 points against Boston!
LOL!! GOOD NIGHT LAKER NATION!
Next year is OUR YEAR!
Posey sucks!
Posted by: thekobebryantblitz | August 10, 2008 at 11:36 PM
Incredible 400 free style relay for the Americans. I read about it on the Internet and waited up to catch it on t.v.. And it was worth the wait. I wouldn't have missed that incredible race for anything.
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 10, 2008 at 11:42 PM
Let's go C's!
Still swiping away at our boy KB24. Obsession at its finest. You are the ultimate comedian homey! You are flat out FUNNY! Remember now, 3-1 KB24! Isn't life grand.....
In response to NBC commentator Jim Lampley's comment regarding LBJ: If Jim Lampley truly believes that Lebron is the #1 option in Team USA, that's perfectly fine.
This version of Team USA is awesome from top to bottom regardless of who may be considered #1. On a side note, your boy PP is too busy at this time riding in his infamous 2008 NBA Finals wheelchair that reads "RIP 2002 Team USA that played in Indianapolis. I'm sorry! Couldn't deliver back then. Even 2004 in Athens (might have been to embarassed to show up). I'll just enjoy the summer since the WORLD is too big of a stage for me at this time! But I sure love my ONE Championship and Finals MVP. Darn, it took me a LONG time to get both of them. I'm forever grateful to KG and RayRay and most of all, James Posey (I don't understand why he left ME!). You saved my career brothers." Relax!!! Just being lghthearted.
You have stated many times that basketball is a TEAM sport. Please do stick to your belief in that regard. In other words, don't use your "favorite player" as an excuse for selfishness in Team USA's quest for gold. Too weak of an argument! Come on baby, substance!!!
Based on what I've seen so far, KB24 is playing pretty solid D at the guard position individually and TEAMWISE (to brush up your memory, he's been named many times to the NBA's all defensive team). He plays both sides of the ball baby! Not just ONE area like a lot of players do! If you are asked to lock down on the other team's scorer in the perimeter MOST of the game and score at the same time, of course you are not going to consistently score a lot of points (depending on the flow of the game and opponent) and consequently shoot a low percentage for stretches of time. If you play ball yourself, you should know what I'm talking about. Do you?
With that out of the way, now the pressure will directly be on Lebron as a result of the media hype to capture the gold. Pierce couldn't handle it. Lebron is our olympic star now and in the future without question. Youth rocks! As far as I'm concerned, the ENTIRE Team USA is a "WE" team, not an "I" team. You would be foolish to think otherwise. Hey! You should be ecstatic that your most "favorite player" won't have to deal with the pressure as being #1. Listen, KB24 would like nothing more than to play in those circumstances (without pressure coming from low-life critics who don't understand or have never played the sport at all). What's the matter, disappointed? You should be.
KB24 has already demonstrated through the years that he is one of the best to ever play the game. #1 without a doubt in his own right. No question about it! NONE!!!!
Like I've said all along LGC's, he is a TEAM player that has WON 3 Championship rings, has played in 5 NBA Finals and won league MVP. A definite WINNER! Furthermore, he is also the most dangerous one and one (for you, INDIVIDUAL) player that once scored 81 points a game. What selfishness? Talk about INDIVIDUAL talent.
In the final analysis, KB24 is currently the BEST player in basketball PERIOD when speaking of wins and losses! He is a well-rounded player with a great work ethic and demands excellence from himself and others on the court. Can't lead if you are afraid of "rocking the boat." He is tough as it comes!
Remember, it's all about the BODY of work one has done in their ENTIRE career. Not just about what happened in ONE single season homey! It is what it is.
Laker pride through ADVERSITY! Team USA pride through TEAMWORK! Peace out homey!
P.S.- Butler is quite funny too! Really! Honestly! Sincerely! .........
Posted by: Let's go L's! | August 11, 2008 at 01:36 AM
LTLF, Xodus, et al,
Why must all of you insist on using well-reasoned thought and intellectual rigour when posting comments on a blog?!?!???
Are you not aware that discussions are pursued using time-honored ways as irrational suppositions, distorted facts, trite generalities, and non-sequiturs? You may also sound more informed if you throw about the notion of racist conspiracies.
Enough with your use of best-available metrics as defensive efficiency or defensive ranking or any other such drivel when a mere signpost as points allowed per game will suffice. I truly find it pitiful that you seek refuge in reality.
It is, indeed, a testament to one's basketball knowledge that several conclusions may be raised from one stilted interpretation of a circumstance -- a level that people like me posses and that people like you sorely and miserably lack.
You are truly hurting the quality of discourse on this blog by your untenable adherence to proper reasoning. If you people had your way then the world would still be consigned to the laughable idea that the earth is round and that it revolves around the sun!
Please, I appeal to you in the name of all that is good and decent, desist from imposing your madness upon the very select few of us who are the true basketball intelligentsia.
To use a blog colloquialism, you are nothing but rabble-rousing and attention-starved trolls.
Li Hsiao Loong
Posted by: Li Hsiao Loong | August 11, 2008 at 02:28 AM
If someone can't see the superiority of using points per possession (on offense and defense) as the most obvious, best way to rate teams, someone is a fool.
And the best, most obvious way to rate a team is to look at the points disparity between offense - defense per 100 possessions. Those numbers played out extremely well as a predictor of this post season's success and have in past postseasons as well.
That's all there is to it.
That said, I do believe along with my cuz that the Lakers do possess defensive problems. I think it's always easier and smarter to depend upon improved defense to win more games. Because you can more easily produce a consistent defense is the reason why. You need players committed to doing so which seems to be the biggest barrier. It seems obvious the Lakers can improve their defense and rebounding. The dominant theme this offseason has and will continue to be:
Does standing pat and counting on improvements by having a healthy Bynum and Ariza give us enough improvement to win a championship?
It's quite unclear to me.
Posted by: Benjamin | August 11, 2008 at 02:39 AM
I would be more into this if the games on KNBC were on live and not on three or several hours tape delay, and if the live games on MSNBC an USA weren't on at three in the morning.
Posted by: Walt | August 11, 2008 at 03:20 AM
Mike T.......Unlike your good self(cough cough)...If Koby Bryant leaves i will still support the Lakers...Not go away and cry in a corner until the season ends,and come back as a second grader would and say i told you so....
GROW UP..Go follow the PISTONS......GO BUY KWAME A CAKE
Posted by: Thirty2 | August 11, 2008 at 03:52 AM
As Kobe Bryant would say:
So what! You don't know what you're talking about.
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 11, 2008 at 05:42 AM
Edwin Gueco,
Thanks for the lesson in Macro Economics.....the bottom line is Europe presents I viable threat in free agency moving forward.
Posted by: Groove69 | August 11, 2008 at 06:43 AM
LTLF/Xodus,
Who is this newbe Li Hsiao Loong with the gall to call you two trolls and himself "a true basketball intelligensia"?
I hope you two give him a good lashing.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 11, 2008 at 08:49 AM
Benjamin,
"Does standing pat and counting on improvements by having a healthy Bynum and Ariza give us enough improvement to win a championship?"
Good question.
Answer: Maybe.
I strongly think we need to sign one or two defensive-minded role players. Quinton Ross plays great perimeter defense and he's available for not very much money.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 11, 2008 at 08:53 AM
"Lets go L's:KB24 has already demonstrated through the years that he is one of the best to ever play
the game. #1 without a doubt in his own right. No question about it! NONE!!!! "
OUTFREAKIN STANDING!!
Posted by: MAMBA24 | August 11, 2008 at 08:55 AM
Mike T having fun
Saying the Lakers are soft
When his brain is soft
Posted by: Rocky | August 11, 2008 at 09:01 AM
Mamba24,
What really sucks is the whole Colorado incident has truly besmirched Kobe's legacy. If that hadn't happened, Kobe would have the Jordan media machine behind him and non-LakerNation members would be celebrating Kobe in a very different way.
However, let me ask you (and anyone else who wants to answer) a question.
If Kobe's Colorado incident did not happen, would we have won the Championship in 2004 AND would the Kobe/Shaq meltdown still have happened or would the Dynasty continue?
I'm really not sure.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 11, 2008 at 09:31 AM
what cracks me up about Mike T's latest posts is that he's saying the Lakers read this blog and decided nobody on here knew what they were talking about. Well... who was doing intensive play by play "game analysis" after every game? Mike T!
Ahahahahahaa!
So... whose posts were the Lakers reading when they decided nobody on here knew what they were talking about? When the posting ratio is 20 to 1 for Mike T posts, WHOSE posts do you think the Lakers were reading when they figured out people didn't have a clue around here?
That's... classic...
Posted by: Chris the Catherine Zeta Jones of Backups Mihm | August 11, 2008 at 09:34 AM
Benjmain,
"Does standing pat and counting on improvements by having a healthy Bynum and Ariza give us enough improvement to win a championship?"
Those players address the two biggest defensive weaknesses of the Lakers.
The Lakers could very easily have won the title last season; assuming reasonable health, that absolutely gives the team enough to win.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | August 11, 2008 at 09:35 AM
Butler sez:
"Jon K sez:
"The Chinese are generally a prideful, paranoid people who have developed a major inferiority complex"
The boxer rebellion was precipitated by american churches forcing their ideologies upon the Chinese - so I'd have to disagree with you and say that the Chinese did indeed push back."
and the opium wars was China's reaction to a growing national addiction that europeans introduced and exploited...
As a matter of fact, both incidents are a quaint historical blip on China's history. Both however, heightened and taught to the Westerners to mold our psyche with respect to China. Why? Well, because of, as pfunk calls it, our insular media.
The boxer rebellion was not devastating. But it sure is recognized. Why? Because white people were the hunted.
I sure don't think it was civil or right to occur, but too much of China's reputation is based on so much fear, hearsay and ignorance. Just take a look at all the sports reporting going on about China lately. So much is based on assumption and not wholly focused on the sports, as it should be...
is China ttruly any worse than other countries. i don't think so
much has changed since tiananment. it's not a perfect government but it's their life and the people aren't really complaining. much of the cultural destruction that occurred during the cultural revolution has nothing to do with the current regime.
not every country can or should be a democracy. to believe so is very arrogant
Posted by: S.Tan | August 11, 2008 at 09:47 AM
Jon K:If Kobe's Colorado incident did not happen, would we have won the
Championship in 2004 AND would the Kobe/Shaq meltdown still have happened or would
the Dynasty continue?"
Nah we still would not have won. Don't forget the mailman was injured as was Rick Fox. we had no bigs.
Also I think in todays game, about three titles in a row is as much as the body can take without taking a time out.
That's just to many games for the body. Look at Jordan he left after the first 3 peat of the Bulls. After the
Bulls second 3 Peat, Phil said Jordan was so spent he couldn't have taken another season. Come on Jon K.
You the one that knows more about the body than most of us. Besides after a certain length of time I don't
care how close you are to someone you need some time away. and Shaq and Kobe definitely were not close.
I won't go into who was at fault except to say Shaq was a full grown man when Kobe joined the Lakers
as a teenager. Good to see you and Edwin and the other's are holding down the fort. Keep them honest Jon K.! LOL!
Posted by: Mamba24 | August 11, 2008 at 09:49 AM
Huh. I guess there's some kind of stats-crunching apparatus that now allows us to feed in numbers and varying degrees of "softness" so that we can predetermine who wins what. I was kind of wondering, reading some of these posts, who the "hard" teams are in the western conference... and why they wound up wherever they did in the playoffs? I guess maybe their hardness factor has to be balanced with offensive stats and defensive stats. Of course we should probably also factor in their average height, weight, age and astrological signs. And the stats for the coaches and trainers. And maybe factor in how much the owners are worth and whether or not the team's in a major market center? And what their average TV ratings are? I mean, if a particular star player isn't satisfied with how many times he's playing on national TV, could we then assign him an "unhappy" number... which could obviously affect team chemistry which would no doubt affect how hard or soft the team plays which would have a definite effect on blocks and rebounds. Wow... this is so excellent! Do the players even have to actually play? It seems a little beside the point if we can already predict the outcome. Plus, then they run the risk of injury, like that Andrew Bynum guy and then it messes up all the stats and stuff, right? Whoh., wait... so then that in turn could affect the team signing somebody like Pau Gasol who's not from a major media market and played too long with the unhappy factor so now he's soft and he might be able to help get his team to the finals but they won't be able to win cause he's a marshmallow. OMG. Mike T is right. The dude is a prophet! I'm getting really freaked out right now. I'm getting the heck off this blog, it's scaring me.
Posted by: dave m | August 11, 2008 at 10:06 AM
Jon K.
If you didn't get Li Hsiao Loong's post, I'm sad.
Mike T. is to be ignored, unless frustration is some sort of goal for a reader, in which case, enjoy his ranting racist remarks.
Posted by: "Pig" Miller | August 11, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Getting Better
It looks like we go into the season with the same roster as last year minus Ronny Turiaf, plus Sun Yue.
And it looks like they do want to test using Bynum Gasol and Odom at the same time, or bringing Odom in as the 6th man.
But that doesn't mean we can't make a trade during the season if need be. With Bynum back there's no way we aren't a better team.
Just how good will be the question. Toward the end of last year after the Gasol trade the Lakers were the best in the west, and proved it by winning the conference. Still, we kind of sneaked up on people. Next year everyone will be gunning for us, so no more sneaking up on people.
We'll find out how much difference getting Bynum makes by the end of November I would think.
Everyone else is getting excited about the start of the NFL season, and I'm confident my cowboys will rock again this year. But I'm still more excited about the NBA start in October!
John
Posted by: john_in_houston | August 11, 2008 at 10:27 AM
S. Tan,
If you believe in the natural rights of man, then one would believe that all countries should be democracies.
All cultures may not be alike, but, ethically speaking, all individuals have natural rights that can only be safeguarded within the context of a democracy.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 11, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Mamba24,
I think you're probably right.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 11, 2008 at 10:39 AM
S. Tan
"not every country can or should be a democracy. to believe so is very arrogant"
At the sake of philosophical argument, I'd like to entertain this idea.
It's only seems arrogant to believe other countries should prescribe to democracy if you don't adhere to its values. Should you be the type of person who believes that government oppression, support of genocide, and lack of general human rights provisions are all things that a government should support, then democracy is not the system for you. It's also key for the general welfare and defense of sovereignty if other countries use the same system of government as yours.
At any rate, Americans enjoy more freedom than any other persons in the world. Why would we wish such things on anyone else?
GO USA!
Posted by: "Pig" Miller | August 11, 2008 at 10:39 AM
So... whose posts were the Lakers reading when they decided nobody on here knew what
they were talking about? When the posting ratio is 20 to 1 for Mike T posts, WHOSE posts do
you think the Lakers were reading when they figured out people didn't have a clue around
here? That's... classic...Posted by: Chris the Catherine Zeta Jones of Backups Mihm |
August 11, 2008 at 09:34 AM
YOU SAID IT ALL!!
S.TAN:"not every country can or should be a democracy. to believe so is very arrogant"
HERE HERE!
Posted by: mamba24 | August 11, 2008 at 10:42 AM
-- Points per possession is a decent indicator of team defense, but this stat ignores (amongst MANY other factors) how many offensive rebounds a team gives up. As an extreme example, if Team A gives up 5 consecutive offensive boards, and the opponent scores on their 5th try, Team A's defense will be credited with allowing 20% (1 for 5) shooting, resulting in a 0.2 points given up per possession . At first glance, these stats look very impressive for the defense, but if anyone was WATCHING the action unfold, the viewer would conclude that Team A is actually playing miserably. This is just one example of how stats can be misinterpreted.
--If the Lakers do not win it all next year, it will be a disappointing season. To win it all, we have to get past Boston. I don't care what the stats say, anyone that watched that series knows the Lakers got manhandled and looked soft. (By the way, if anyone responds to this post with stats and starts out his post with "if you ignore game 6, the stats are as follows", as if the most important and significant game of the season should somehow be ignored, I'm gonna puke.) Lakers might not be soft compared to the rest the league, but they sure looked soft against Boston, and that's all that really matters, isn't it? The softness issue MUST be addressed before we face Boston again.
Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | August 11, 2008 at 10:48 AM
JON K:"All cultures may not be alike, but, ethically speaking, all individuals have natural rights that
can only be safeguarded within the context of a democracy."
SWEET!! You got my vote brother!
Posted by: Mamba24 | August 11, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Laker Truth if you ignore game 6, the stats are as follows. Just messing with you brother.
Keep on telling the Truth.
Larry(Mamba24)
Posted by: Mamba124 | August 11, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Pig,
"Americans enjoy more freedom than any other persons in the world"
Are you sure? Have you been anywhere else?
Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | August 11, 2008 at 11:08 AM
jOHN IN HOUSTON:"Everyone else is getting excited about the start of the NFL season, and I'm
confident my cowboys will rock again this year.'
Just make sure that Pac-Man is through making it rain! LOL!
Posted by: Mamba24 | August 11, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Come on folks the presidential debates are over. Time
to make this a semi politics free zone.
Posted by: Mamba24 | August 11, 2008 at 11:24 AM
Thank you groove69 for your generous comments but just want to exchange ideas with you. The trend started by Chidress followed by Navarro et al would be an eye opener of David Stearns and NBA owners, they really have to overhaul the rules they have created by relaxing those luxury taxes and strict re-entry to NBA. When Kobe and Lebron says they will just stay there for 2 or three years by milking their leagues, they should be treated as draft picks when they go back to NBA limited to 3M salary for the next three years. Let's see how many superstars would like to leave for Euro League. The american league is still the most premier hoop league in the world, salary contracts are just one of the privies and if you're a superstar like MJ, Lebron or Kobe endorsements are 10x higher than the salary contracts during their lifetime. You can assess the future markets in Asia, China alone looked upon the NBA as their idols compared to the Euro players. There are other huge markets there besides China.
Time and again, we have discussed here with Bozz on the life in Europe, even if you have the money, Superstars like Kobe and Lebron would want the "attention" in America and its inherent conveniences. We are spoiled here in US of the so many opportunities and being in the limelight that may be limited in other places, there could be cultural boredom somewhere in Russian winters, choices of food everything changes that put you in a different dimension. In the end, it's not only the money that you after in your career but also self satisfaction fulfillment of your family. Perhaps, that was the secret of American immigration, immigrants and their american-born children could no longer adjust with the changes when they go back to the motherland for good. we have been spoiled and endoctrinated by the american way of life. Again just my opinion who have lived in two countries.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | August 11, 2008 at 11:30 AM
LAKER TRUTH
I've lived in Japan and the USA. My world view is not narrow, if that's what you're implying.
I'm proud of this country and what it stands for, and I'm growing increasingly tired of the constant America bashing. America has effectively squandered much of the goodwill we had built around the world, and that's terribly unfortunate.
We are the freest nation in the world, and that's reflected by the consistent immigration numbers. More people immigrate to the USA than any country in world, every year. That's consistent and has been for many years.
Posted by: "Pig" Miller | August 11, 2008 at 11:34 AM