While I don't agree that they're similar situations (Kobe has a lot more miles on his tires), I do agree that Harden needs to rest more. But McHale's job is to win games and Harden on the court gives him the best chance to do tht. Anderson is under-utilized, but he's actually a 3 that's being asked to play the 2. The best option for resting Harden is probably more of Beverey-Lin in the backcourt.
i agree even though this is the 1st full year for 3 of the players i think they'll be ok because they don't have as much nba mileage especially with the playoff you get a night off, based on what i see i'll be surprised if the rox get past 1st round so they'll have plenty of time to rest over the summer. overall i'm pleased because i still remember seeing posts of people wanting the team to tank in order to get the 1st pick. they did an excellent job this year last year so close to playoffs this year was no question.
Get out. No fan base has been more fortunate than the Lakers in this millennium. Struggling with Del Harris and Vlade Divac? No problem, we'll sign Shaq away from Orlando. We've drafted Kobe and the 2 make a tandem to win 3 straight championships. Then you sign the glove and the mailman to make a superteam (only to get destroyed in the Finals), and Kobe and Shaq quarrel until Shaq and Phil leave the team. Then, after living through the Smush Parker-era for a while, Kobe pouts, gets Phil Jackson to come back to a team he despised. After that, you replace Kwame Brown with Pau Gasol and win 2 titles. Feeling sorry for Lakers fans is like feeling sorry for San Diego when it rains. Especially if you're a Rockets fan.
I said this before, almost all NBA teams play their players way too many minutes. Sports science has already proven that NBA teams are crazy with how they handle minute distribution. But for whatever reason, the NBA teams keep doing it. The severe injury rate in the NBA is much higher than it is in the Euroleague (where most teams are also playing 60-80 games a year), and where a lot of players also play 10-12 games a year with national teams........ yet the rate of severe injuries is much lower. Because the teams understand that you should not be using small rotations and running players into the ground. For a Rockets reference....Jeff Van Gundy was one of the worst coaches ever at destroying player's careers by playing them too much, much like D'Antoni. Everything Van Gundy did basically is a direct result for example of why Yao's career was destroyed by forcing him to play too many minutes, play when he was tired, forcing him to bang in the low post, etc. Some of these NBA coaches are just very stupid or very ignorant, or both. Kobe should have been playing really about 20-25 minutes a game at his age in a lot of games, and no more than about 30-33 minutes in important games. Playing him 40+ minutes in game after game at age 34 is just unbelievably stupid and crazy. And yes, playing a young guy like Harden a ton of minutes can also easily lead to horrible injuries. There really is no reason at all to be honest to be playing ANY player in the NBA 40 minutes on average.
McHale treats Harden like a boss as D'Antoni did to Melo before Linsanity and more recently to Kobe. This is not good for a team sport and is cancerous for the players.
This is what Kobe want to. If there is a chance that Lakers can win the championship is this year, not the next. Kobe understand that and that is why he is pushing it. He wants another ring. Will have to see if he will suck it up and fight to the last minute. My gut feeling tell me that he will suck it up and fight for playoff.
Coincidence? Harden says his foot has been bothering him since early march. His shooting percentage has dipped to below 40% the past two months (only two months this year). Possibility that teams are emphasizing tougher D on him forcing him to take tougher shots, but *something* is off.
Yao may have hid it initially. But JVG found out about it and didn't care. He continued to make him chard out on screens and do things that no 7'6" 300 pounder should be physically forced to do. He contributed to Yao's injuries. He even tried to blame it on Yao's shoes rather than stop running him to the ground.
When Kobe hurt his knee he should've been forced to the bench. The prob is.. (similar to Harden when he got his knee banged up).. if a star says or acts like he's ok, regardless of what coaches think is best for him, they're gonna do what it takes to win, and leave him in. After he injured his knee, he probably started putting excessive weight/stress on the side that wasn't hurting or overcompensated with the other muscles and tendons, one being that achilles. Hate to see a champ go down like that.
Fans? Lol, how long exactly have you been watching the NBA? Fk them, they get to see playoffs and root for future HOF'ers every damn year. And a lot of em act spoiled and entitled because of it, just read Lakersground. If you wanna feel bad for someone, why not Cleveland, Orlando Charlotte, New Orleans, Detroit? etc. etc. etc.. I just feel bad for Kobe.
if KMac keeps using Harden like this whole season, I can see same thing from kobe could happen to Harden sooner than later.
Fatigue and a foot injury probably not 100% healed has a chance for overcompensation by relying on the healthier parts of the body
Yao Ming worked too hard. All those stories how he would practice more than most of the other players. And billion freethrows/jump shots he would practice everyday didn't help either. Lets not forget that he never really had an offseason because he had to play international ball. Tracy and Yao... what could have been Back on topic, I believe Morey said in an interview that they are going to look for a backup 2 because they don't like the wear and tear on the knees for players who play a lot minutes.
Blaming D'antonio seems a little harsh considering Kobe has been playing in the NBA for 17 years - I think his achilles just gave out due to all the cuts and use over time. DD
