If Kobe is honest, he'll get crucified again.

Mamba24....Sorry dude but...

"SAVE THE BIG 3 NOW!!! (GM, FORD, CHRYSLER)"

Not until the the $75 hr. union featherbed is eliminated!

Charles, Yes We Can

Wow, thats huge that the Lakers are moving from AM 570 to KSPN 710. I'm gonna listen the the cannons today to see how pissed they are. Haha. Or to see if Don Martin will even let them talk about it.

Guys,

Since I got 4 Amens and thanks You Mamba-Justa-Magic-Dodger.

Question: Why can't we play Boston in the Jungle?

I dunno Charles. Why can't we play them in the jungle?

13 DAYS AND COUNTING, UNTIL -- THE SHOWDOWN AT STAPLES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

_______________________________
Repost:

The words of Kobe Bean Bryant in the Daily News 12/11/08:

"Our goal is to win a championship. That's why everyone is still ... edgy, because that's our goal."

Asked if it's a championship or bust, Bryant said, "I'm cool with that. That's better than, 'Damn, I hope we make the playoffs.' It's exciting because you have an opportunity to win a championship. Having seen the other side of that, I'd much rather have this situation than the other one."

"We'll beat the good teams," Bryant said. "It's Boston that's our barometer. That's the team that beat us. They're the standard. They're the benchmark. That's the team that beat us, so that's how it's going to be."

"The message we want to send is that we want to see how much we've improved since the last time we've faced them," Bryant said. "That's what we want to see. That's what I want to see."

It's not too early to set the stage folks:

14 DAYS AND COUNTING, UNTIL -- THE SHOWDOWN AT STAPLES !!!!!!!!!!!

Counting tonight's game, the Celtics will be playing their 30th game of the season when they come to Staples Center on December 25th. The Lakers will be playing their 29th game. The Lakers at 18-3 are one game behind the Green Weenies (who are 20-2) in the loss column.

Each team has 7 games between today and Christmas Day:

Boston Celtics:

@WA, NO, UT, @ATL, CHI, NY, PHI

Los Angeles Lakers:

SAC, MIN, NYK, @MIA, @ORL, @MEM, @NOH

Can you feel it? Can you feel the excitement and anticipation building?

IF ever there was a "Must-See" sporting event, this game will be it. IF ever there was a "Statement" Game, this one will be it.

Since the two teams will not meet (in the regular season) again until early February, there will be plenty of time to discuss, debate, and dissect this game ad infinitum.

Above and beyond what this game will mean for fans of the Lakers and Celtics, what an incredible Christmas gift from NBA management to basketball fans all over the world!

P & G R

Jon K,

That sucks about Cuttino's heart condition. I was wondering if you knew how the Clippers-New York trade will be affected? Will the Clips have to give up another player, pick or cash??

Fri.. Dec.12 2008 – Lakers vs. KINGS(Can you say Revenge) 18-3
The Force is Pissed, Laker Nation is Prissy & 9Rings is in a Tizzy
Good Morning: Sir Charles, Sheriff Taliq, JustAnotherMambaFan,
Good Morning: Morning Crue(LakerTom, Edwin, Faith, WesJoe, SBPimp, ThaShow, Tim-4-Show….)
Good Morning Laker Blog!, Laker Nation (Rulers of the NBA!)
Welcome: Broid, WoulduLakers, Christopher Blake, Wcam, PinkALink
, Sgt_Ross, Jim_Joyce, ICE, Snake, CHE
WELCOME BACK: Dacsila, Sonny Belfast( We gave that game to you Sonny)
KUDOS to :The 2 Time Blog Trophy Winning – KamBrothers
*
* SAVE THE BIG 3 NOW!!! (GM, FORD, CHRYSLER)
*
T minus 14 days & counting till ARMAGEDON CHRISTMAS!!!
What do we play for? RINGS!! @ Jon K.
We need to Find a Laker Enforcer somewhere, anywhere,
ASAP. BOSTON MUST NOT REPEAT @ You Ever Notice |
*
ROLL CALL
*
FAITH, LakerTom, Keifo, Charles, Edwin_ Gueco, Fatty, TP, Jon K., BD, #4, Taliq, Pig Miller
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*
ALL TOGETHER NOW
WE ARE THE FREAKIN LA LAKERS THE WINNERS OF 14 NBA TITLES.
BEGINNING THEIR 4TH DYNASTY 2 MORE THAN ANY OTHER TEAM
THE TEAM WITH THE BEST WINNING PERCENTAGE IN NBA HISTORY.
THE ONLY TEAM WITH 2 HOF COACHES. THE TEAM WITH THE MOST
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BY The WINNINGEST & BEST OWNER IN SPORTS DR. JERRY BUSS
& THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN EVER DEFEAT OR DIVIDE US IS US
LAKERS TODAY LAKERS TOMORROW LAKERS FOREVER
WE ARE THE FREAKIN LA LAKERS, WHO ARE YOU

Mamba24,

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, Waaaaaaaaaaaaa
Bad, Bad Eric"

I've got one thing to say..."Candidate #5"
LMAOROTF

Taliq,

Bynum has been more "The bust" than "The beast" this season.

dan_tha_man,

>>>That sucks about Cuttino's heart condition. I was
>>>wondering if you knew how the Clippers-New York trade
>>> will be affected? Will the Clips have to give up another
>>>player, pick or cash??

The deal's already done, so the Clips won't have to give up nuthin.

In fact, it probably works out better for the Knicks that Mobley is
having an injury induced retirement. If I'm not mistaken, that will
take most or all of his 19 million in remaining salary off of their
books. Most of the money will be paid by insurance, and since
they're over the luxury tax and will likely stay there next season,
the total savings for them is somewhere between 27 million and
38 million.

It also gets them 9 million in cap space back next year. That
doesn't get them under the salary cap, but it might mean that
they can re-sign David Lee and stay under the luxury tax.

Cat Mobley having an injury retirement is about the best thing
that could have happened to the Knicks out of this trade.

RE-POST

Lot of chatter flying round the ol' blog.

I think if we start Lamar, we can't also start Luke, they mirror each other and you can't have two guys who shoot second (or third) on the floor to start the game.

Here are some of my more radical ideas:
Starting 5:
Fisher
Vujacic
Bryant
Odom
Gasol

Second Unit:
Farmar
Ariza
Radmonavic
Powell
Bynum

This balances both teams on the floor. Bynum would be the focal point (if Farmar ever dumps it into the post). Ariza is still on the floor, but his shooting liability is off-set by Vladi. Powell gets some time to show that he really is the best Offensive rebounder on the team. Luke, however, does get the short end...again. He would have to be the last line of defence, metaphorically speaking.

I think Bynum is our center of the future. He has the tools, the right attitude and all the pieces around himnow to help him grow into that role. However, we also have to take Kobe into account. He wants to win it NOW. The starting 5 that went to the Finals last year si a well balanced group, I think adding Vujacic to that mix and moving Vlad to the bench gives us size and shooting off the bench and allows us to rotate with guards and both forwards on the perimeter.

To Con my own post, I also don't really see the need to push the bright, red, PANIC button, yet. We're frickin 18 and 3 for Pete's sake. If we had gone a five game bender...that would be another story. But this team and they way the rotations are set looks good, they have a couple of adjustments to make, Lamar to get shooting a bit more and few shots to drop for Kobe and we're back to double-digit blow-outs.

Let's keep the passion flowing though, folks, it's a thing of beauty.

Taliq,

>>>>>Personally my starting lineup would be Drew, Gasol, Kobe, Fish, Sasha/Ariza
>>>>>( if sasha then kobe is the sf ) ... But dude the beast is supposed to be anchoring
>>>>>our defense, I don't think he's got much to be proud of lately and thus he and
>>>>>his fans need to pipe down....

I have been very outspoken that Drew is not playing up to the level he set before getting injured last year. Much of the problem has been other teams pulling him out of the paint by positioning their center out at the 3-point line. As a result, he has been caught away from the basket and not in position to block shots at the rim.

Kevin Ding’s article “The Lakers have been exposed” has an excellent discussion of how teams have adjusted to get Bynum out of the paint. It is now up to Phil and the Lakers coaching staff to figure out how to counter this strategy. Here is the link to the article:

http://tinyurl.com/5aey7a

>>>>>Aint trying to single out your boy the same applies to the entire laker squad ...
>>>>>we get it they've got talent ... but laker fans r demanding excellence and we
>>>>>want it by june cuz that's what it'll take to defeat a great boston team ... and
>>>>>we'd rather see it consistently now cuz it'll make us that much confident come
>>>>>june that it's in our dna to make kg n co feel the pain we felt last season ...

Don’t disagree at all with your above comments. But the reality is that you cannot successfully implement a completely new defensive philosophy, scheme, and attitude in just 21 games. That is a challenge that will take all season to accomplish.

Ding’s article makes a good point that the Lakers need to adjust to what other teams are doing to pull our bigs out of the paint. That is what Phil should be doing rather than benching Drew because his defense is not what he wants it to be.

Drew has a great attitude. He just needs to be told exactly what he is to do when his man sets up at the 3-point line or he is defending a high pick and roll. Does he double and show strong to prevent the pass? Or does he stay with his man and leave the guard on his own with the ball handler?

>>>>>And stop calling you boy drew the future franchise player ... this ain't the
>>>>>charlotte bobcats, ya gotta be widely acknowledged by the rest of the
>>>>>league to be the best at what you do in order to become a franchise player
>>>>>for this team ... Drew might be that guy but he aint shown us enough yet ...
>>>>>Again no knock on Drew, me loves d dude ...
>>>>>but remember who we are and why we play ....

Sorry, but Andrew Bynum IS our future franchise player, as evidenced by the contract extension we just gave him. Despite being only 75% of the player he was last year, Drew still leads the team in blocked shots and rebounds per minute and was the major factor in our defensive success earlier in the year. The Lakers just need to adjust to everybody running plays down the middle to avoid sideline traps and parking their big men out by the 3-point line. Of course, other team will adjust again and we will have to respond. That is just how basketball X’s and O’s work.

The one thing I am confident of is that we have the raw material to be a much better and tougher defensive team. Drew will provide the muscle and Trevor the hustle. But it takes time and teaching and repetition to get everybody working on the same page. Phil’s great strength in the past has been building great teams. I have a lot of faith in him and our players to solve this problem by season’s end. Then we will kill the Celtics.

Tom

PJ has always been the best at managing a team through the long grind so that they peak with perfect timing in the Finals. That's why this mini-slump in early December has not been a concern but.....

I thought that was going to happen last year and it looked like the Lakers peaked in the WC Finals though Boston certainly had something to do with it.

Last year, Boston looked like they do now, at this same point in the season. Uber dominant. Then in the EC playoffs it looked like they had peaked too soon as they were taken to 7 twice. But then they played with more intensity than the Lakers in the Finals, as if they were a marathon runner that hit the wall then broke through with their second wind at the perfect moment.

This year Boston has more competition in the EC with Cleveland seeming to be at or almost at the same level. That could make Boston an even better team, or could tire both teams out.

So who's going to be better in June? I think both Cleveland and Lakers will be better than Boston in June because Lakers and Cavs have more upside. Boston will also have played at a championship level for 2 long regular seasons. Rondo is better this year than last year but I don't see anything else much different in this year's Celtic team compared to last year. And they won't have Posey and other vets in the playoffs. Can KG's manic psychotic intensity carry them through 2 regular seasons and playoffs?

Lakers have Bynum and Ariza back, Gasol even more comfortable, plus more focus on defense, and the bitter lesson of defeat. On the worry side, Farmar and Sasha don't seem to have improved from last year. And the biggest worry, what if Kobe had already peaked and his career has already started on the decline side of the slope. Just when Lebron seems to have raised his game yet another level. Looking ahead to June, Cleveland worries me more than Boston.

It took only two weeks for teams to figure out how the Lakers were playing D , but till this day noone can figure out how boston is playing theirs. Noone can break thru bostons D, it only took boston last seasons preseason to get all on the same page on how to play D. Hmm, maybe doc is a better coach than PJ.

GAME DAY PRAYER RE-POST...

GAME ON! LET US PRAY!

Dear Lord, we thank You for your Grace, Mercy, Protection and Love for us. We, the people of Laker Nation come before You asking for HELP.

We thought that all the preseason hype, talk of how deep our bench is, and predictions of us winning the title before Opening Night Tipoff was enough for our Lakers to step out on the court and crush our opponents. Our guys stepped onto the court like defensive madmen, snatching every rebound, trapping every offended and racking up double digit victories that had everybody thinking we were THE REAL TRUTH...

...and then we got comfortable.

We praise You for every loss and near loss that we have suffered over the past 2 weeks. For they serve as a warning against COMPLACENCY and COMFORT. As we look at our enemies to the East and see their focus and urgency, we hae become afraid. But You are our Rock and Our Salvation. Whom shall we fear? Certainly not those green demons from Boston!

We ask You to REVIVE and RESTORE our Lakers. May they return to the GREATNESS that they walked in before Detroit's loss. Remove the spirit of failure from any player who has allowed their confidence to be shaken at the hands of the Detroit/Indiana/Sacramento losses. Let them, once again, step out of their own way and fully embrace the GREATNESS that is before them.

Restore Kobe shot...and his energy.

May D-Fish play HIS GAME and not try to prove anything to any opposing PG or sports writer who claims he was never "good enough" for the starting spot. Remind him that we need his LEADERSHIP and STABILITY more than 15-20 shots a night.

Restore the Bench Mob to their rightful place as THE FORCE THAT STRIKES FEAR INTO THE HEARTS OF THE LEAGUE!

Allow LO to embrace his new leadership role...and to LEAD BY EXAMPLE by playing the way he should.

Continue to humble Andrew Bynum. Thank You for revealing the truth to him that CHARACTER + TALENT is what it takes to be a leader on this team. He has the TALENT...continue to firm and cememt his CHARACTER that he can regain the trust of his coaches.

Continue to use Pau. You have answered my prayer from last year's Finals. He has truly TAKEN HIS GAME! May Pau continue his great work.

May tonight's game be a turning point, a step in the right direction. May the pieces fall in place. May You restore us on the path towards DESTINY! And remind the Sacramento Kings...this time, it IS PERSONAL! We have something to prove to OURSELVES!

Our time!
Our team!
Our destiny!

Thank You Lord for answered prayer...AMEN!

Good Morning Charles....Good Morning Everyone...

I (along with every other Laker fan in the known world)would really like to see this team come out tonite and play with some crotch burning fire in their colective pants....

Desire, defense, focus, intensity, merciless...blah blah blah...and would I be out of line for some efficient free throwing to boot?

my Laker soul needs to feed on a kick ass victory....

need to clamp down on Sam The Sham Salmons tonight. (him and his Vox Continental)....

P ANG,

on a previous thread you made mention of James Worthy, implying that he coasted during the regular season and then came up big in the play-offs--

James Worthy NEVER coasted---he played at an extremely high level during the season, he just had an extrodinarily higher gear he could switch into for the play-offs and big games (hence the well deserved moniker "Big Game James")...I don't think there was ever another player in the history of the NBA that had that ability and the talent to do that (and yes I know I am opening myself up to a lot of comments--but that's my opinion based on watching Worthy play in about 1100 games or so)

a better example of what you were saying would be Robert Horry--he would definately coast during the regular season and then play harder during the play-offs

" the Duke was having problems with a message from the local bird and bee"

" Let's not be childish Jenkins"

AS ALWAYS, AS EVER, YET ANOTHER GREAT DAY (AND SEASON) TO BE A LAKER FAN !!!

GO LAKERS !!!

FLoyd,
Ah, so Worthy wasn't playing all-out during the regular season, it's just that his lower gear is higher than most players higher gear.

"There; I've run circles around you logically!"

BK,

Kobe looked a little pissed at you when you asked your question. He must have read your blog thread about Kobe not looking like the Black Mamba we all know and love.

What do we play for? RINGS!!!

Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.

GO LAKERS!

God bless our Team, our Chaplain and our Lord of the Roll Call!

Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.

GO LAKERS!

The way the Lakers are playing and the way the Celtics are dismantling their opponents right now, the game on Christmas Day should be postponed at a later date (at least after Kupchak made a trade to bolster their pathetic defense) I can see a X'mas Massacre by hated greens over the purple & gold. We the Laker fans will have a sad Christmas day for sure.