1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

finally! a writer who isn't blind to the truth about the Laker$!

Discussion in 'NBA Dish' started by wrath_of_khan, Jun 19, 2000.

Tags:
  1. wrath_of_khan

    wrath_of_khan Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2000
    Messages:
    2,155
    Likes Received:
    7
    I have also forwarded this story to the morons who actually wasted my time trying to convince me that this series would be a sweep after Game 2. I pointed out to them that recent NBA history demonstrates that sweeps don't happen anymore in the NBA Finals -- with a notable exception being 1995, of course. That's how you close out a team, baby! [​IMG]
    http://www.espn.go.com/nba/columns/hughes/591732.html

    Monday, June 19
    Lakers no Bulls on killer instinct

    By Frank Hughes
    Special to ESPN.com

    LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles. Dynasty.

    The only time those two names should come together is when we are talking about the television show, and whether Linda Evans is going to divorce John Forsythe.

    Really, how presumptuous can we be?

    That was the talk this week in Indianapolis, when the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-1 lead on the Pacers in the NBA Finals and everybody had coronated them the champions.

    The next obvious question, of course, was whether the Lakers could repeat and threepeat in the same fashion that the Chicago Bulls did, and the Houston Rockets did, and the Detroit Pistons before that, and the Lakers and Celtics before that.

    Because, after all, while the Lakers have aged veterans like A.C. Green and John Salley and Ron Harper around, the core of their talent base is Shaquille O'Neal, 28, and Kobe Bryant, 21. As long as those two were in place, around which to put complementary pieces, the Lakers could be the dominant force in the league.

    I heartily dispute that notion.

    And you know why?

    Because right now, I don't see either Shaq or Kobe possessing the same killer instinct, the same drive and determination, the same maturity, that Michael had and Isiah had and Magic had and Larry had.

    This is not to say that the Lakers are not talented, and they in all likelihood are going to win the series. But the fact that people are speaking of this team as a possible dynasty already is something of a joke.

    After all, the fact that they set an NBA record by losing six times in games that could have closed out series is enough to tell you how psychologically fragile this team is.

    Perhaps it is a measure of the state of the league that a team that possesses such little pride, such disdain for doing what is expected, will win the next NBA title.

    Ron Harper was asked the other day to compare this Lakers team with the Bulls team with which he won three NBA titles.

    "Not even close," Harper said. "Those Bulls team would easily beat this team. That Bulls team was great defensively."

    This Lakers team is only average defensively, and that's because half the time, when it does not feel like it, when it is not motivated, it does not play defense at all.

    It probably is not fair to compare everything to Jordan, because he was such an extraordinarily gifted, once-in-a-lifetime athlete. But it is not even his heroic play that makes him stand apart. It is his drive, his desire to win.

    He was able to find motivation where there was none, and win games on that alone -- even if he had to lie to himself to do it. Can you say, LaBradford Smith?

    Sure, the Bulls knew in first-round series that they were better than their opponents. But did they let down when they went up 2-0 because of that knowledge, or did Jordan prohibit that mindset and force his teammates to focus on shutting down an opponent?

    I'll tell you this: Were the Bulls leading the Sacramento Kings two games to none in a best-of-five series, they never would have allowed the series to get to a dangerous fifth game. And yet, this Lakers team does that time and again. It seems to me that the individual parts of the Lakers are more concerned about the well-being of their public images than they are about claiming the championship.

    Why else would Robert Horry jack up 3-pointers in the first quarter? Why else would Glen Rice try to take people off the dribble? Why else would Kobe, as good as he is, try to repeat the performance he had in Game 4? Wasn't that enough?

    Why is it that the only people in the entire world who can't see that all the Lakers need to do is throw the ball into Shaq is the Lakers themselves?

    And how many times do they have to flirt with disaster before they learn the valuable lesson that they've been told and forgotten six times already in this postseason: Shaq is the MVP; Give him the ball.

    The problem with this Lakers team is that Shaq needs his teammates to give him the ball. When MJ and Larry and Isiah and Magic wanted the ball, wanted to take over the game, his teammates never would have dreamed of usurping that power.

    With Shaq, his teammates simply can say, "Sorry, I tried to get you the ball, but the entry pass was not open, so I had to take the 3."

    When you see Phil Jackson sitting on the postgame interview dais spouting off his philosophical mumbo jumbo, it is difficult to tell whether he is being smug -- which most people think -- or if he is masking -- or hiding from -- the fact that, for all he has done for the cohesion of this team, they simply will not listen to him when it comes to this fact.

    Because, really, if he is not telling them to throw the ball to Shaq, he is a bad coach. And if he is telling them to throw the ball to Shaq and they are not listening to him, he is a bad coach.

    When this series is over, and the Lakers likely will walk away with the trophy, they will forget about this aspect of the season.

    But when they are looked at in the context of history, this team never will compare to the others that know what it is to exert their will on an opponent.

    Dynasty?

    Where's Joan Collins?

    Frank Hughes covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune. He is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.



    ------------------
     
    #1 wrath_of_khan, Jun 19, 2000
  2. Deji McGever

    Deji McGever יליד טקסני

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 1999
    Messages:
    4,012
    Likes Received:
    950
    Reading that really made my day. Thanks!


    -Deji

    ------------------
     
    #2 Deji McGever, Jun 19, 2000
  3. themugg

    themugg Member

    Joined:
    May 17, 2000
    Messages:
    126
    Likes Received:
    0
    I'm glad someone doesn't think the Laker's are all that!!!!
    Oh, by the way I was very surprised someone remembered LaBradford Smith with the then Washington Bullets, he was my classmate and team-mate in baseball at Bay City High School.

    ------------------
    TheMugg
     
    #3 themugg, Jun 23, 2000
  4. Miggidy Markell

    Miggidy Markell Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2000
    Messages:
    1,264
    Likes Received:
    0
    That reminds me when San Antonio went through the post season beating everyone easily including the sweep of the Lakers but was anyone saying they were going to be a Dynasty? Honestly the Laker fans are so up themselves to think anything like that. San Antoino was far from a Dynasty and if you ask me when the Lakers win another 2 in a row I might think of calling them a dynasty.

    ------------------
    I'm tha hip hop attracta, rapper slash acta, right back at cha!
     
    #4 Miggidy Markell, Jun 23, 2000
  5. COACH SAMPSON

    COACH SAMPSON Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2000
    Messages:
    132
    Likes Received:
    0
    The Lakers do have something in common with the Bulls and that is they both got all the calls for the refs. The NBA cheated for the Bulls and they cheated for the Lakers.

    Lakers champions of nothing

    ------------------
     
    #5 COACH SAMPSON, Jun 23, 2000
  6. temujinphl

    temujinphl Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2000
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Good article, but still no respect for the Rockets.

    Like Magic, Michael, Bird, and Isaiah.

    Where Hakeem?

    ------------------
    "One who conquers others is strong; One who conquers himself is mighty" - Lao Tzu
     
    #6 temujinphl, Jun 26, 2000
  7. MrSpur

    MrSpur Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2000
    Messages:
    729
    Likes Received:
    1
    After the Spurs won, the NBA did its best to change the rules to move the game away from the Spurs' style.

    Now, it appears that the league will be doing
    all it can to help LA (intentional foul rule change).

    It's funny that as soon as Portland starting
    the intentional foul, David Stern decided
    that that rule needed to be changed. It
    goes to show you what a farce this league
    has become and how desperate they are for
    anything to market since MJ left the game.



    ------------------
    It's a cool site, this clutchcity.net
     
    #7 MrSpur, Jun 26, 2000
  8. HOOP-T

    HOOP-T Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2000
    Messages:
    6,053
    Likes Received:
    5
    -------------------------
    "Because, really, if he is not telling them to throw the ball to Shaq, he is a bad coach. And if he is telling them to throw the ball to Shaq and they are not listening to him, he is a bad coach."
    -------------------------

    That was my favorite part!!!! Thank you, drive through!



    ------------------
    HOOP-T
    ------------------
     
    #8 HOOP-T, Jun 26, 2000
  9. temujinphl

    temujinphl Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2000
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    MrSpur,

    I don't think the league is trying to help LA. LA won with or without the "Hack-a-Shaq". And regardless how big Shaq is, nobody should be pummeled the way he is. That'll shorten his career (something I'm sure most people here wouldn't mind). If Hakeem couldn't shoot well from the line, we'd be crying foul as well if they employed a "Hack-Hakeem".

    I've been a die-hard Rocket fan since 1988. But let's give the Lakers their do. Even though they're not as good as our Championship Rocket Squad in 94 and 95. [​IMG]

    ------------------
    "One who conquers others is strong; One who conquers himself is mighty" - Lao Tzu
     
    #9 temujinphl, Jun 26, 2000
  10. TheFreak

    TheFreak Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 1999
    Messages:
    18,252
    Likes Received:
    3,202
    Are they definitely changing the rules on intentional fouls?

    ------------------
    Too-Rye-Aye!
     
    #10 TheFreak, Jun 27, 2000
  11. COACH SAMPSON

    COACH SAMPSON Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2000
    Messages:
    132
    Likes Received:
    0
    temunjinphl, the lakers are not even as good as the Pacers but when you have hired help(refs) on your side it makes things a whole lot easier.

    ------------------
     
    #11 COACH SAMPSON, Jul 3, 2000
  12. temujinphl

    temujinphl Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2000
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    puh-leeeeez.

    ------------------
    "One who conquers others is strong; One who conquers himself is mighty" - Lao Tzu
     
    #12 temujinphl, Jul 4, 2000
  13. AntiSonic

    AntiSonic Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 1999
    Messages:
    8,318
    Likes Received:
    56
    "Because, really, if he is not telling them to throw the ball to Shaq, he is a bad coach. And if he is telling them to throw the ball to Shaq and they are not listening to him, he is a bad coach."

    AMEN!!!

    And on the Hack-A-Shaq thing; the NBA IS trying to unfairly help $haq. As physically dominating as you are, the name of the game is BASKETBALL and to win, you are required to put the ball in the basket. So he can't hit free throws. Boo-hoo. They let him get away with murder on the offensive end of the floor.

    I say that if you're a professional basketball player, much less the MVP OF THE NBA, you should be able to hit your free throws and be man enough not to b**** about going to the line.



    ------------------
    WE WILL WATCH THEM FALL... next year, at least. :(
     
    #13 AntiSonic, Jul 4, 2000
  14. temujinphl

    temujinphl Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2000
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Chamberlain was a horrible free throw shooter and how many times was he MVP?

    ------------------
    "One who conquers others is strong; One who conquers himself is mighty" - Lao Tzu
     
    #14 temujinphl, Jul 5, 2000
  15. AntiSonic

    AntiSonic Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 1999
    Messages:
    8,318
    Likes Received:
    56
    Yeah, but how many times did he b**** and moan about having to go to the line when the game was on the line.

    ------------------
    WE WILL WATCH THEM FALL... next year, at least. :(
     
    #15 AntiSonic, Jul 5, 2000
  16. HOOP-T

    HOOP-T Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2000
    Messages:
    6,053
    Likes Received:
    5
    Chamberlain also had averages of 37.6 ppg and 27 rpg in his ROOKIE year. I would venture to say Wilt was twice the force then that Shaq is now. Who knows what Wilt could do in modern day basketball or vice versa, but it would have been easier to accept bad free throw shooting from him, in my opinion. He was the game biggest dominator. Here is a good article on Wilt for those interested....some funny stories too!!! Check it out if you have the time.
    http://www.nba.com/history/chamberlain_bio.html



    ------------------
    HOOP-T
    ------------------
     
    #16 HOOP-T, Jul 5, 2000
  17. temujinphl

    temujinphl Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2000
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Before I make my comments, I just want my fellow posters to know that I am not trying to be antagonistic.


    AntiSonic,

    How do you know that Chamberlain did not b**** and moan during his time? I remember an interview with a legendary Celtic player (Tom Heinson I think, not sure) that one time when they were fouling Wilt on purpose, Chamberlain warned him "You touch me one more time and I'll kill you!" I'm sure of course that it was said in the heat of battle.

    And let's say that Chamberlain did not b**** and moan. Watch this year's playoffs, and watch O'Neal as opposing teams apply the "Hack-a-Shaq", and see if he complains. He knows it's coming to him. And he accepts if he can't make the free throws or not. How many technicals or warnings did Shaq get in this year's playoffs when it came to complaints on freethrow shooting. Zip. Any b****ing or moaning on?

    I truly think that Shaq has finally matured. I know most of the people here are Laker haters, but give credit where it's due.


    HOOP T,

    Yes Wilt is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than Shaq. Wilt forced rule changes on the league. Shaq forced the league to reinforce backboards. =)

    But ask yourself honestly, would Wilt's freethrow shooting be free of scrutiny in today's game? Pretend nobody ever saw play yet. Pretend we never encountered his confident remarks. People might confuse them as arrogance. Wilt got triple-teamed as Shaq is double-teamed today. Wouldn't he be critized more than Shaq would be (remember his 10,000 female conquests claim?)? I do not criticize Wilt, his abilities are beyond the game of basketball. What I wish to question is the way we criticize O'Neal. It's true the media hypes him up, but is that his fault?

    ------------------
    "One who conquers others is strong; One who conquers himself is mighty" - Lao Tzu
     
    #17 temujinphl, Jul 6, 2000
  18. AntiSonic

    AntiSonic Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 1999
    Messages:
    8,318
    Likes Received:
    56
    temujinphl- good points. But what the NBA is trying to do is change the rules to help Shaq because they don't feel he's dominant enough. They changed the rules for Chamberlain because he was too dominant. If you take away a player having to shoot his own free throws when fouled(and when he is still physically able to shoot them) then you don't have basketball anymore and we'd basically be treated to football with a hoop.

    And Chamberlain was pretty heavily scrutinized back in his day. The knock on him was that he could score all the points in the world but his teams would always come up short(most of the time to the Boston Celtics and one of the greatest defensive players in Bill Russell). And yeah, he'd be a lot more scrutinized than Shaq, because shooting free throws is probably the easiest aspect of professional basketball to improve upon.

    [This message has been edited by AntiSonic (edited July 06, 2000).]
     
    #18 AntiSonic, Jul 6, 2000
  19. temujinphl

    temujinphl Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2000
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    AntiSonic,

    Well, I don't think the NBA is doing it to help Shaq. I just think they're trying to keep the pace of the game going. It is pretty frustrating when you want the game to go on, and somebody keeps on fouling somebody. I know teams should do everything to win. I guess this is an impasse that's got me stumped on how to solve it.

    But you're right when you say it will help Shaq. But whether it will or not, guarding O'Neal is like guarding Olajuwon... you're always at a disadvantage.

    Unless of course, in the case of O'Neal, you foul him. [​IMG]


    MrSpur,

    What rule change are they going to make anyway?

    ------------------
    "One who conquers others is strong; One who conquers himself is mighty" - Lao Tzu
     
    #19 temujinphl, Jul 6, 2000
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)

Share This Page

Toggle Width
Style
ClutchFans Original

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Rockets Content

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now