Kobe alluded to the http://ESPN.com/NBA rankings after his 48 pts: "Not bad for the 7th best player in the league." ESPN ranked Kobe #7 best player during off-season. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7113521/nba-player-rankings-7 This guy is a machine. "Everybody's not built the same way. That [expletive] hurts. After the injections, you don't feel anything. It goes numb. It's like it's not even there."
oh so we are talking about Kobe, not the team known as the Lakers, and how they are a better team than last year? why did you bring up the Clippers? I never predicted them into the equation.
We are talking about the Lakers being better than last year and I am picking them to come out of the West. They have the best perimeter player in the West (Kobe) and the best big man in the West (Bynum) and one of the top 3 power forwards in the West (Gasol). Kobe is a part of the team. Cha-ching. Another win on the road on back to backs. Yeah A3PO, it is impressive against PHX and now UTH. Why don't you pick the best team in the West? I'm predicting the Lakers come out of the West. Predict your own WC Finalist. It's easy to criticize the prognosticator. It's difficult to prognosticate. It's most difficult to eat crow when you are wrong. I picked Portland and Lakers as two best teams in the West. Somebody responded that the Clippers were just as good. They're not. I said the Lakers are the best team in the West if they remain injury free. I can't predict injuries. Kobe's already got one. A lot of you guys think he is going to break down even worse. I think he is going to heal and get better from here. And come playoff team, he's going to be in killer mode. The chemistry wasn't right last year. It's better this season. And Bynum is healthy and is due for an injury free season since he's had so few of them. In terms of pure basketball play, they are playing at a very high level with the opportunity to get significantly better as they further adjust to Mike Brown's suffocating defensive style. They are going to be hell to deal with come playoff time. Barring injury, they are the best team.
winning a back to back is never easy and winning in Utah is even tougher. Lakers look GOOD and Kobe is a monster.
Didn't watch the game did ya? Admitted Kobe help alot with the W, but he missed and forced alot of shots down the stretch. I like how his legs look though, and plus Raja bell plays D on the verge of fouling. Not bad, but not monster
Yeah, he did force and miss. He took too many shots. But......they won...and those shots may have fell to Matt Barnes....which would be a lot worse than Kobe taking them. They won anyway, dude. So, they're winning, they're not playing to their maximum capability, and they're most likely to get a whole lot better by the end of the season. And yes, I did watch the game. I watched 4 games last night. This was one of them.
The reason Kobe is exploding is because of Mike Brown. The guy doesn't know how to coach and basically tells whoever his superstar is to do whatever the hell he wants. I suppose since its worked in the past, why not now?
Already said OKC is most likely to come out of the West, followed by Portland, Denver and the Clippers. I've never found eating crow difficult at all. It's just basketball discussion. Not worth an ego trip.
Not disagreeing with you, but on some possessions he should have dished down to the post to at least initiate something instead of holding on to the ball for 20 seconds and forcing up a Kobe shot (totally make-able for him but not wise esp if he's not shooting well) I agree that the Lakers have potential. But times are different now..most notably in that the game is more perimeter based, and the Lakers are oh so weak at the PG. As well, playoff basketball ISN'T slow anymore, and the Lakers may not have the speed or stamina to run with teams like MIA and OKC. But we'll see, I def want to see Kob get his sixth
Pretty much this. Mike Brown is a good defensive coach, but on offensive he just lets players do whatever they want. Kobe with Brown as coach: glee.jpg
OKC is probably the most talented team in the West. However, I don't believe they are as good as the Lakers and Portland mainly due to two reasons: 1. No post-up presence. They are perimeter oriented with bangers/garbage men in the paint offensively. 2. Russell Westbrook has shown to break down under intense pressure. Until he shows that he is not going to be that type of player, I am going to assume he is the same mentally fragile player. All-world talented, but terrible attitude and bad ego turns him into a turnover and two bad shots in crunch time.
sooo....is thread going to be bumped after each Laker win this season? all I said was that they aren't better than last year. how is this measured?, so I don't have to keep coming back to read Laker fans gloat about it. last year they were a 2 seed with a .695 winning percentage and got swept in the Conference Finals. so to be better than last year, they need to be a 1 seed with at least a 46-20 record (.697) and make the Finals. that's pretty much the only benchmark that would make them better. I watch every single laker and clippers game of the season so I'll check back in at the end of the season if this thread is still around. and the clippers dismantle the Heat. boom.
Make you a deal. I won't bump after every win. You don't bump after every loss. And we'll check back when the season is over. However, I will come back and defend my position if someone else wants to discuss it. By the way, record is not the measurement of whether a team is better. What they actually win is the determining factor. I am picking the Lakers to come out of the West and I think they can win a championship this season if they remain healthy. I don't think they will have a better winning percentage than last season. There's too many games too close together for that to happen. I really believe the winning percentages across the whole league will be watered down to mediocrity this season because of the back to back to backs. And, once again, I'm not a Kobe or Laker fan. I really don't like Kobe or the Lakers. I used to hate them back in the Magic/Kareem era and the Shaq/Kobe era. I have no vested interest in their success or failure. My comments are strictly from watching teams play, on what I see on the floor. That's it. I doubt if the Clippers get to the Lakers but if they do, the Lakers will dismantle them before they can go to the Finals. However, Portland may dismantle the Clippers before they make it to the Lakers. Or worse, even OKC will dismantle them. Clippers are, at the very best, the 4th best team in the West and they may not be as good as the Spurs even.
no respect from me when the league continues to give them a BS schedule every year. By the time they play teams that matter they are already locked into the top seeding. Its another casual example of the farce that is david stern and the NBA. First 11 of 15 games AT HOME. and their FIRST ROAD WIN OF THE SEASON wasnt until LAST NIGHT?!?! FINALLY! and against Utah no less.. if stern could schedule them against the madison marlins he would. This is the equivalent of UT playing powerhouses like Lousiana monroe and North Texas..
You dont know what you're talking about. Look at their FEB schedule, 4 home games thats it. Every February they go out on a 7-9 game long roadtrips to make up for this "early favorable home schedule"...you know its home loaded in the beginning? THeres something called The Grammys held at the staples center and they take up 7-12 days in the arena Know what you're talking about before uttering garbage
