Twisting in the wind? Show he be looking for yet another new address. I think he should start over Horace. I think if they let him go . . it will be a BIG MISTAKE Rocket River Still down with 'bama Slama Jama The Houston Horror Nevada Bob Sideshow Bob ------------------
I think LA just becomes bigger and faster with this deal. Here is how I would fill out the starting roster: Shaq Grant Horry Bryant Fisher's replacement ------------------ In the end there will be no judges...only witnesses to my greatness.
I don´t think Horry will start. I think the starting lineup will be: Shaq Grant Fox Kobe PG-???Harper?? ------ Horry will come of the bench and play both small forward and power forward. If Harper retires then Kobe might start the season at pg (while Fisher is injured) and Rider start at sg. ------------------
I don't think they got J.R. to ride the bench (and he would be useless, as well as an even bigger distraction, in that role). I see the lineup as: O'Neal Grant Rider Bryant Harper Rider could play the 3. He's a strong, stocky 2 (like Elie) and should be able to hang with all but the biggest SFs. ------------------
The deal left him in the same place he was before....the backup PF. He is just backing up Grant instead of Green. He may get less minutes this year though, due to Grant being a more capable player than Green. ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
The LA Lakers 1. Jackson wants Kobe to play the three spot 40-45% of the time this year. 2. Except for the aging Harper they have no PG. The tie that binds everything, including the triangle offensive option is the ball carrier. On all other teams, that is the PG. 3. Horry does not mind coming off the bench, and frankly Jackson feels he is far more effective doing just that. He will play the four and the three this year, same as last. He'll be mediocre through most of the seasomn, then be another standout in the Playoffs. 4. Rider will get his minutes. My Prediction(s): 1. LA will repeat as champions if no one finds even a partime solution to Shaq's inside game. Drawing him out with a shooting five spot may work for a while, but who consistently can do that? They may try the "reverse rope a dope" scheme and keep him faked and busy the whole game, fouling when necessary, but making him work every minute he is on the floor. (I can't wait to see Ewing and Vinnie tag teaming the Boss Hog eight or more games this season.) It could get tiresome in there, 'Quille. 2. LA will not be the number one seed at the end of the season, simply because I do not think they are positionally deep enough, emotionally stable enough nor able to handle the onslaught of everyone in the league gunning for them. (That is not to say they won't repeat. See Number One above.)
They still have Shaw, do they not? I am sure he will be a capable back up PG as he always has been. ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Lol. Are you serious? Brian Shaw is 34 and averaged 4 points per last season on 38% shooting! He should beg for the $1 mil exception - he's certainly not worth 2.5. I guess he figures that with Fisher out for awhile he can squeeze the Lakers for whatever he wants. Either that, or they pick up Maloney to fill the spot. ------------------
Email might be just as good as Shaw. Unfortunately I think LA will win the #1 spot even easier than last year. They should be better defensively, much better. Instead of Rice at the 3, they're either going to have Bryant or Fox. Grant at the 4 is a HUGE upgrade. Does anyone realize they just traded Glen Rice, a guy they really didn't need or want, for Horace Grant and JR Rider? They now have huge flexibility at the perimeter spots, with several tall, athletic guards and swing players. They can play Bryant/Rider/Fox at the 1-2-3, or they can play Harper/Rider/Bryant, or even Horry at the 3. They got a gift with Fisher's injury. Email is taller than Fisher, which is what Jackson likes. Yep, it could be a sad, sad year. I can only pray that Portland can step it up.
I respectfully disagree that they got a huge upgrade at PF. I think when people here think of Grant, they think of him at his prime during Chicago's championship runs. What they forget is that he is 35 yrs old and is coming off one of the most mediocre seasons of his career (.444 fg%, 8.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 0.79 bpg, in 35.4 mpg). His defenders will claim that it was because he was playing out of position, but I don't buy it. He has had plenty of time to learn that position and has nevertheless, been on the decline for years. He is a temporary patch for the Lakers, but he is most definitely not the answer and compared to their chief competition (i.e. the Blazers and Spurs), they still have a gaping hole at PF. If Duncan stays healthy and Portland can fit their new players in their gameplan, there's a distinct possibilty that not only won't the Lakers win it all, but that they won't even have the best regular season record. ------------------
IS IT ME . . . or did Horry OUTPLAY Grant in the Magic Vs. Rockets Series At least defensively. Rocket River ------------------
In SLAM magazine they had a little article on Horry and in it Jerry West said that he was the third most valuble player on the Laker's Championship team. Personally, I don't like seeing him in a Laker uni. ------------------ The best is yet to come. Go Rockets!
Remember The Trade That Wasn't before we won in '94? IMHO, we wouldn't have won without Horry. What was the blessing in disguise was Sean Elliot not passing his physical because of his kidney problem. ------------------ The best is yet to come. Go Rockets!
LA indeed looks scary, once again. 35 or not, Horace is a perfect fit with the Lakers. He knows the triangle offense, has always been liked by P.Jackson, and has played with Shaq before with much success. He's exactly the type of player they need. He's a 6"9" banger who can consistently drain the mid-range jumper, and thus not only open up the floor for Kobe and Rider, but also avoid the opposing PF double-teaming Shaq. The one weakness the Lakers have that we cannot ignore is the inevitable clashes Rider is going to have with Kobe and Shaq, and any chemistry problems that might come with it. Azim da Dream ------------------ We don't live for the destination. We live for the journey. http://www.clutchtown.com [This message has been edited by Azim da Dream (edited September 23, 2000).]
Launch Pad -- Grant may be 35, but what was AC, 40? Grant was counted on to be one of Seattle's best players, and naturally he didn't live up to that billing. For LA, his expectations are much smaller. He's a huge improvement over Green, that's just basic. The tandem of Grant/Horry is far from a "gaping hole".
First, AC was 36 yrs old, and will turn 37 this year. The difference between 35 and 37 probably isn't that huge, especially considering that AC has the nickname "Iron Man" for the longest stretch of games played over the last several years. Second, if you're going to quote me, then at least do so in the context of what I said (i.e. "compared to their chief competition (i.e. the Blazers and Spurs), they still have a gaping hole at PF." So yes, compared to Duncan/Walker or Wallace/Davis/Kemp, Robert "I'm lazy and playing out of position" Horry and Horace "I'm way past my prime" Grant should be considered a "gaping hole". Just for kicks, here is how much of an supposed improvement Grant is over Green: Grant: GP: 76 MPG: 35.4 FG%: 44.4 FT%: 72.1 BPG: 0.8 SPG: 0.7 TO: 0.8 PF RPG: 7.8 APG: 2.5 PPG 8.1 Green: GP: 82 MPG: 23.5 FG%: 44.7 FT%: 69.5 BPG: 0.2 SPG: 0.6 TO: 0.6 PF RPG: 5.9 APG: 1.0 PPG: 5.0 It looks to me like all their stats are pretty comparable with Grant edging Green with an impressive 0.6 more BPG, 1.9 more RPG, 1.5 more APG, and 3.1 more PPG. This doesn't exactly sound like a huge upgrade to me, especially considering these stats were skewed by the extra 11.9 mpg that Grant played. Sorry. Color me unimpressed. LA still is weak at the PF position. ------------------
Launch Pad, you must consider though that Grant's stats came whilst he was playing out of position, and thus would not be as good as if he was playing PF. Obviously he won't be as good as he was in the mid-90's, but he's still a tough, smart power forward with a jumper. LA is many things, weak at the PF is not one of them. ------------------ Who would've thought Don Nelson would pass up Olumide Oyedeji not once, not twice, but thrice?
Gah! The playing out of position excuse! I already said that was a lame excuse (read previous posts). Look, if he had switched from PF to PG, then yes, I would expect his game to suffer. Switching to C is not that remarkable of a change for a PF. But if you really think it is, here are his stats from 1998-99, when he was in Orlando playing PF: GP: 50 MPG: 33.2 FG%: 43.4 FT%: 67.1 BPG: 1.2 SPG: 0.9 TO: 0.9 RPG: 7.0 APG: 1.8 PPG 8.9 Hmmm, I'm not seeing any improvement at his natural position Well said . . . at least the part before the word "but" . People are acting like LA just made a major pick-up, when in fact, I believe that most people are visualizing Grant from the mid-90's (instead they're getting him in the mid-30's ). Oh, and let's see how often he gets to use that barely over 40% fg% jump-shot with Shaq and Kobe demanding the ball. Yeah, except when they're facing their chief rivals for another championship: the Blazers and the Spurs; then, they are very weak. ------------------
