The Spanish media are a bunch of suck-ups
It was a pretty mellow day in El Segundo as the Lakers prep for Saturday night's matchup with Barcelona at Staples, but there was (as you'd suspect) an influx of Spanish media in the building. Clever, gift-bearing Spanish media. After peppering Kobe Bryant with questions about the global nature of the game, and, of course, the obligatory soccer queries, they presented him with a personalized, autographed photo of Lionel Messi, who (and you'll forgive my ignorance of the beautiful game) is apparently the best futbol player on the planet. No surprise, Kobe liked it a great deal.
Suck-ups.
Beyond that? It's clear that Phil Jackson is still tinkering with the rotation, and all the combinations available to him. Vladimir Radmanovic has been playing with the starting unit, but isn't guaranteed to stay there. Lamar Odom is still bringing the ball up... but didn't today in practice. Trevor Ariza and Luke Walton? Working their way in. They have experimented with the 6-foot-7-and-above lineup. How about starting the season with the same group of starters that ended last year? "There's a chance of that," Jackson said. "We play five games in the next six or seven days, so we'll have a lot of time on the floor to get us working things out, rotations and stuff." He's thought about playing Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar together but may not have time to get there in the preseason.
So short of DJ Mbenga at the two -- and seriously, he's the unsung king of the heat check, so a little time at off guard could be fun -- everything else is still on the table?
"Yeah."
Not much else to report. Chris Mihm's movement continues to improve. He's running, and Jackson noted that his "hop" is returning. The rest of the game, shooting, rhythm, etc., ought to follow. That's the hope, at least. In today's scrimmage, Mihm looked very comfortable, running the floor for a dunk and making a nice post up move on Mbenga to hit a baby hook.
I also got a laugh from hearing Jim Cleamons bark instructions to Sun Yue, pronouncing it "Soon Yi." The intricacies of inflection aside, it gave me a brief, somewhat uncomfortable Woody Allen flash.
AUDIO:
Download kobe_bryant_10.17.mp3
Download phil_jackson_10.17.mp3
Download pau_gasol_10.17.mp3
BK
Friedman sez:
"Nash is clearly gifted in his abilities, but still delivers more on the floor than one might expect. "
It's true - for a short white guy, Nash is a phenomenon. He regularly accounts for over 40 points a game when factoring in his assists. His moves continue to get better with age (eat your words Mark Cuban) and he really should have 3 straight MVPs right now, which puts him shoulder to shoulder with greats such as MJ and Bird.
If you want to bag on Nash, it's ok - the dude has heard it ever since he played at Santa Clara. All the criticism and doubt only makes him more powerful.
And, he drives a prius.
Posted by: BUTLER | October 18, 2008 at 12:16 PM
I think Nash is the playa that NBA playas most want to play with. Shack now has the best guard on his team he's ever played with.
Posted by: BUTLER | October 18, 2008 at 12:17 PM
Aloha Long Time Laker Fan,
while I am not sure about the Max for Andrew yet, I definetly would not feel uneasy about him recieveing more then Andrew Bogut. In sports it's kind of silly to say that one guy is worth more then the other because one wasnt injured and the other was not. Bogut could come down on a foot this year and miss the season and Andrew could be injury free, thats just sports. As far as their stats are concerned, part of the reason they are similar is that Andrew started the year coming off the bench. Andrew was better per minutes played then Bogut.
You say its all about potential with Andrew, for me its about what he has shown on the court.The real indicator of worth is head to head. Andrew owned Bogut head to head. He also owned Dalanbert, another guy you mentioned. Heck he owned Amare as well and played Howard even. So really ya I think he is worth more the Bogut, maybe not max yet but more then Bogut for sure.
MH
Posted by: michael h | October 18, 2008 at 12:20 PM
The K brothers are spot on in their assessments of Nash. He won MVPs because he has the greatest of all talents - the desire and ability to make his teammates better.
When comparing magic johnson to Nash, it's interesting to suppose that if Nash were Magic's size, he would be that much more dominant. Nash is exceptional because he's found a way to use what many would consider "obstacles", namely , his size and jumping ability, to his advantage.
BTW, Nash is rumored to be able to dunk.
Posted by: BUTLER | October 18, 2008 at 12:29 PM
First lets get one thing straight here...Ronaldo (Christiano)
plays in the UK...Now...With all due respect to the followers of English soccer,the league is dominated by imports.Most teams are full of overseas players...Lets see how good Ronaldo would be in Italy or Spain .Both of those leagues are very strong and put a greater emphasis on defense and are much more physical...If you dont believe me just check the English soccer team..They could not win a chook raffle ..
As for Steve Nash ...Please dont insult Magic by trying to compare Nash with him....Nash is very good....Magic was great....Let me say it again....Magic was great....
Posted by: Thirty2 | October 18, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Ok Butler
I'll give it to you...Nash is the best
SOCCER PLAYER in the league.....and on a good day hes the third best point guard.Yes his two mvps make him worthy of discussion but unfortunately pal his zero championships remove him from any serious contention.Maybe if he'd put up crazy numbers like John Stockton for like 14 seasons and made the finals he might get within shouting distance of that argument...and maybe if he played some D he could be more higly regarded as an individual player and therefore more noteable when considering the best point guards of all time like GP but at this stage he's defintely not even in the top 5 or maybe even ten.
In no particular order heres some point guards off the top of my head who i'd rate more highly than Nash all time.Hes good butler and I wont lie I have found myself bedazzled by the beauty of his game...and his level of play against dallas in the '05 playoffs was off the charts...but no way is he even close to being in the top 5 all time.
John Stockton
Isiah thomas
Jason Kidd
Gary Payton
Magic johnson
Bob cousy
oscar robertson
and after this season Lamar odom...ok just kidding....
Posted by: Kiwi | October 18, 2008 at 01:32 PM
Thirty2 you kind of contradicted yourself....YES the UK premiership is full of imports and YES it is now considered the strongest league in the world becasue of that (by quite long way)
Sure the game is different in Europe but Ronaldo would do fine thats why Real Madrid spent the entire summer literally breaking rules, offering ridiculous sums of money,and creating a media storm that eclipsed even Kobe's performance last summer in order to try and get him there.
Kaka won the the award for the worlds best footballer in 2007 and he and Messi are currently considered the only players who even deserve to be compared to him.Ronaldo is coming off the best season ever had by a Manchester united player.
He scored 41 goals breaking the great George Bests record by 6 (the NBA equivalent would be Jordan averaging 37 points or whatever it was in 1988) and his team won the premiership and the champions league in Europe beating another english team in the final (3 of the 4 champions league semifinalists were english teams)
I'm telling you he's the best right now and in Europe at least, its barely even a debate - go look it up if you dont believe me....otherwise you'll be hearing from me when he wins world player of the year shortly.
And just to clear it up the english soccer team has got some world class players (Gerrard,Ashley Cole,Lampard) but like everything in england its poorly handled and after the top 11 guys the depth falls by the wayside pretty as a result of the strength of the league in general which means the young english guys never get to play.We agree on one thing though bro...and that is that the english team are crap...
Posted by: Kiwi | October 18, 2008 at 01:58 PM
Kiwi....The strongest league in the world is a very big call...
Dollar for dollar maybe ...The EPL is the best marketed league and made to look very glossy...I get the point about my contradiction...But because teams are made up of lets say 7 or 8 imports it doesnt mean the quality is good...You named 3 good players,but out of that 3 i could only see Gerard slotting into a team like AC Milan or Barcelona...Even a player like Henry does it hard in Spain...Ashley Cole?..With all due respect i couldnt see him stealing the spot of Maldini,Nesta,Zambrotta........NO WAY...Imagine a team like Real Madrid putting Canavaro on the bench for Cole...The EPL is a strikers paradise because its made up of Strikers and midfielders and not alot of good defenders...As for England.....They have one of the best coaches in the world in Cappello and still stink....Ronaldo scored 41 goals ...Your right...And yes he is very good but he cant see him scoring 41 goals in Italy or Spain...I may be wrong
Posted by: Thirty2 | October 18, 2008 at 02:44 PM
Wow, I thought you were good BUTLER, but after Chicken Little utterly destroyed you on facts about Steve Nash, about his selfishness, his failures at Dallas and Phoenix, and his inability to get Joe Johnson and Marion to stay, and inability to integrate his friend Dirk Nowitzki, I'm afraid I can't agree with you anymore.
Let's say he gets the 3 MVPs like you said....that makes him worse because he couldn't get to the Finals even if he is the best player in the league, 3 times. Or are you saying that the Suns are indeed a horrible team with 1 good guy. Are you a Suns fan or a Nash fan? My friend, please answer me.
A three time MVP with a horrible team that couldn't make the Finals
-or-
A great team with a guard that monopolized the ball, first holding back MVP Dirk Nowitzki, Amare, Joe Johnson (a dark horse MVP candidate one year), and Marion. In other words, a skilled, selfish player.
If you can't answer me, a person that defended you and is a great friend of yours, I understand that you completely and utterly agree with the point that either Steve Nash is an overrated 3 time MVP in your mind, or the Suns are horrible with a great player in Nash.
Maybe their just soft against the Spurs?
Your staunch supporter,
SNORT OINK
Posted by: SNORT OINK | October 18, 2008 at 03:56 PM
The guys I brought up were just examples of good players in the english national side more than anything else and still dont get how the strength of the national side is relevant to the strength of the league when we both agree that most of the players in the league are from elsewhere.
And its going to take more than a good manager to fix the rot that set into the England team ...however given that its a big part of your argument... nobody doubts that the players 1- 11 ARE world class.Thats why its so frustrating the team has been performing so badly...but consider it like the knicks...its culture and its going to take time to turn it around even with a new coach...but there are some signs that things are improving already...and lets be fair....They missed the euro finals and were rightly criticised but theyve been good for the world cup quaterfinals the last three times and only lost to brazil the year they won on a freak Ronaldinho goal.Losers maybe but they always field a team thats capable of winning which is all that is important when you are arguing talent...
As for the leagues themselves...sure they are different and in europe it is more physical and tactical and you do see guys going over from the premiership and struggling (although alot go when their past their best anyway...Beckham for example was largely responding to being benched in crucial matches while Michael Owen had simply seen better days as has Henry )...and player for player its easy to say this guy would be picked ahead of this guy.But it works both ways...you have to be stronger in the premier league and its more about instinct particularly for strikers...its a different game.
The premiership has got alot better in recent years as evidenced by the the english sides increasing dominance in europe...if all the players are better in spain etc and the defence is so tough and the premiership is dumbed down tripe then how do you explain 3 out of the 4 semi finalists in the champions league being english?? That Ronaldo wouldnt get 41 goals in europe seems likely but at the same time he had success against those teams and if it was really that easy to score in england you'd expect the top overall goal scorer to be from the premiership every year and to my knowledge its only happened a few times.
You can argue that theres a big drop off in the quality of clubs in the premiership after the big teams but Im not even sure how true that really is anymore.
Theres been what Ive considered to be a fairly basic assumption in football that the premiership is now the strongest league in the world and Ronaldo is the best player but then again I am in england so perhaps you are right and it is a big call and innacurate... however the only objective measure available is performance in Europe so alongside the opinions of the experts and from what Ive seen (which admittedly is not enough to judge) I'm going to go stand by what I said.Its clear that the premiership teams are both improving and dominating on the european stage.At the very least ...at this point its hard to argue that the premiership is inferior to those in Europe.
Posted by: Kiwi | October 18, 2008 at 04:23 PM
Luke should retire!
Posted by: chuck23 | October 18, 2008 at 08:22 PM
LakerTom,
I don't think anyone has said Drew WON'T get a big deal this fall, most of us have said that he doesn't deserve it and there is no pressure on the Lakers to do other than the pressure they put on themselves. The Lakers have all the leverage if they want it.
As for Andrew Bogut, just because one team with bad management, limited playoff hopes and no other legitimate big men grossly overpaid him doesn't mean we should. And the other thing is Bogut put up similar numbers to Drew last season, didn't miss most of the season and all of the playoffs and while his team didn't make the playoffs with him they also didn't make it to the Finals without him as the Lakers did.
It's foolish for the Lakers to give Drew a $78 million at this point when you can easily give him that much or more next summer and it makes no financial sense for Drew to accept a QO.
Posted by: Xodus | October 18, 2008 at 11:08 AM
==================================
LakerTom,
For what its worth I applaud your support of AB and agree with you. Don't let the nay sayers cloud your judgement.
JLF
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | October 19, 2008 at 01:18 AM
Kiwi....Thanks for the banter man...I respect a lot of bloggers from this blog but you just went up a knotch in my book man..
My parents are Italian and that is probably why i am so biased towards those leagues in Europe.I like the fact that really have your head around the world game and understand the game as well as its stars...Your 100% correct about the English teams that have had success over the last few seasons and i respect that...
Thanks again ...Now its back to the cricket ...India have us on the ropes...Time to be a little worried
Cheers mate
Posted by: Thirty2 | October 19, 2008 at 03:09 AM
Wow, I thought you were good BUTLER, but after Chicken Little utterly destroyed you on facts about Steve Nash, about his selfishness, his failures at Dallas and Phoenix, and his inability to get Joe Johnson and Marion to stay, and inability to integrate his friend Dirk Nowitzki, I'm afraid I can't agree with you anymore.
Let's say he gets the 3 MVPs like you said....that makes him worse because he couldn't get to the Finals even if he is the best player in the league, 3 times. Or are you saying that the Suns are indeed a horrible team with 1 good guy. Are you a Suns fan or a Nash fan? My friend, please answer me.
A three time MVP with a horrible team that couldn't make the Finals
-or-
A great team with a guard that monopolized the ball, first holding back MVP Dirk Nowitzki, Amare, Joe Johnson (a dark horse MVP candidate one year), and Marion. In other words, a skilled, selfish player.
If you can't answer me, a person that defended you and is a great friend of yours, I understand that you completely and utterly agree with the point that either Steve Nash is an overrated 3 time MVP in your mind, or the Suns are horrible with a great player in Nash.
Maybe their just soft against the Spurs?
Your staunch supporter,
SNORT OINK
Posted by: SNORT OINK | October 19, 2008 at 10:29 AM