sorry if it's been posted... there's not much to the article, but there's not much of anything this offseason. here... van gundy comments van gundy comments in bold... Lakers' All-Stars may be miscast Behold the Los Angeles Lakers and their Mount Rushmore of American icons, a chiseled foursome in sneakers and shorts. Cancel the season. Chill the champagne. Consider how Grantland Rice would have described their majesty and might. Less than three weeks after the 2003 draft, 28 franchises have been mathematically, physically and emotionally eliminated from the 2004 race. "The Lakers are in position to be the most dominant team in NBA history," Jeff Van Gundy said. On the assumption Kobe Bryant is eligible to play, the Houston Rockets coach figures 75-7 sounds about right. Van Gundy believes the Lakers of Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone and Gary Payton could break the league record of 33 consecutive victories set by the Lakers of Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West. In fact, Van Gundy sees the impossible 82-0 dream as something short of impossible. "It's not as absurd as it sounds," he said. "The Lakers will be favored in all 82 games. If they stay relatively healthy, there isn't a single game you'd say they couldn't win." All of which means the Lakers are destined to win 58 games, lose to the Kings in the second round and inspire another cloud-of-victory smoke from Red Auerbach, who wants Phil Jackson to break their tie and win one for the second thumb as much as he wants his cigars to come wrapped in purple and gold. When the Lakers announce tomorrow they've gobbled up every championship-free Hall of Famer not named Barry Bonds, they'll only guarantee that the inevitable playoff tragedy will feel more Shakespearean or Greek. Malone and Payton have spent their adult lives as leading men, throwing male-diva fits on the rare occasion owners, coaches and teammates treated them as part of the cast. Just because they took a combined cut of $25 million from last year's wages doesn't mean Malone and Payton will gladly assume the Dennis Rodman and Toni Kukoc roles from Jackson's two-man dynasty in another life. Bryant and O'Neal represent a more domineering force than Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen; Pippen was the pass-first star neither Bryant nor O'Neal care to be. In Los Angeles, Malone and Payton will surely expect some tangible reward for taking a Martha Stewart-sized hit in the pocketbook. Malone once accused Byron Scott of riding Magic Johnson's "coattails," so this Mailman wants to deliver from his own truck. You can almost hear a frustrated fourth option in the Lakers locker room hissing like the steamy showers, angry that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career scoring record looks a million miles away. Malone will be 40 in nine days, Payton will be 35 in eight. You can't teach old dogs new tricks any more than you can teach lead dogs new temperance. "But Malone and Payton understand their legacies will pretty much be determined over the next couple of years," Van Gundy said. "Now you have in Payton one of the league's top three point guards. Malone is still one of the top five or six power forwards. At two-guard you have Kobe at the top with (Tracy) McGrady, at center you have the most dominant player in the NBA, and the coach is the perfect guy to work with stars. For the Lakers, this is a grand slam." As a fresh Western Conference face and a longtime Jackson antagonist, Van Gundy has cause to pump up the Lakers and pump down Yao Ming. We've all seen these grand slams hook foul in a flash. The Yankees had won four championships and appeared in five World Series in six years when they added the cartoonishly muscled Jason Giambi, then lost a first-round series to the mice that roared in Anaheim. The trick is developing the strongest team, not lighting the brightest marquee. If the Spurs sign a serviceable big man to replace David Robinson, they'll still have the best chemistry, the best blend of experience and athleticism and the best player. As long as Chris Webber is free to play after pleading guilty to criminal contempt in the Michigan booster case, the Kings will have the best depth. "And the Nets will have an absolutely huge front line by adding Alonzo Mourning," Van Gundy said, "a front line that can hold its ground against Shaq. But if the Lakers are healthy and as hungry as I expect them to be ... I see them setting a record for wins and sweeping through the playoffs." I see them fighting for shots, cursing their agents and flashing each other the kind of second-round faces a certain front-row fan made in The Shining. whatever. at least van gundy could have added some fuel to the fire by saying, "The Lakers will be favored in all 78 games... excluding the games that they play us." there's nothing like having shaq being pissed at you when the season starts. wouldn't that have been awesome? i mean, c'mon... we split the season series last year and the two that we lost were close games. who wouldn't want to see a rox/snowflake show matchup? francis/payton mobley (if he isn't traded)/bryant posey (if we sign him)/fox brand (most of you think we'll do a sign & trade)/malone ming/shaq (yay!!!) van gundy/jackson good matchup or what... even if there are a lot of "ifs"?
OmegaSupreme: "there's not much to the article, but there's not much of anything this offseason. [...] at least van gundy could have added some fuel to the fire by saying, 'The Lakers will be favored in all 78 games... excluding the games that they play us.' " Thanks, Omega, good read. The Lakers should be an incredible team this year, but who knows? Personally, I'll be rooting for the Mailboy to "accidentally" send Shaq or Kobe to the hospital and then blow his knee out, leaving Payton to lead Fox, Cook, Walton, and Madsen to the playoffs..... BTW this is interesting: Super Lakers have defensive questions: NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry tells Bob Berger and Bob Stelton how he'd coach against a new Lakers lineup that includes Shaq, Kobe, Gary Payton and Karl Malone. [requires RealPlayer] (Not sure why Rick Barry would be considered an authority on defense.)
thx, interesting read, although i doubt they'd go 75-7. how to gel those super stars with super ego is more important. afterall bball is TEAM ball. on a related issue: just wondering what will become utah jazz after malone, stockton gone? does it mean the rockets will automatically advance at leat one level in terms of the western ranking?
yes, that's what it means. who else will contend for the last spot? golden state w/o arenas? i don't think so. seattle? with ollie gone they don't have a point guard. with ollie i'd still say no. utah? funny. denver? they're a little worrisome.
Thanks.... Vangundy is pretty straightforward. Says what is on his mind. I like. Lakers will win at least 60 games. They are just too good. Payton vs. Francis. Francis outplayed Payton last season. He shut Payton down and scored...or Payton was just off. Mobley vs. Kobe. Mobley can stop Kobe occasionally. But now...Kobe will get less touches! So this is good. Mobley can score on Kobe. Mobley does not fear Kobe. Posey vs. Fox? If Posey doesn't run around on defense and stays on Fox...then Fox can't do anything. Hopefully on fast breaks...Posey can get a lot of easy baskets. And of course..hopefully Posey returns to the Rockets next season. Karl Malone abuses abuses totally owns Eddie Griffin. It's just sad. Malone has fun using all his tricks on Eddie. Eddie can't stop him. But the good thing is Malone won't have the ball each possession. Yao vs. Shaq. Nobody including Yao can stop the MD Big Diesel...but Yao can score on him. Just don't be afraid of him. I think we can beat them at least once. So the Lakers will be 81-1 next season.
Your are sooo wrong.It realy doesn't matter if Mobley isn't afraid Kobe.Kobe is just a better player.He will hit shots whether Mobley guards him or not.Kobe will still be getting more touches than Mobley does.They will still give Kobe and Shaq most touches.Malone and Payton will get alot of touches, too.And that could pressure the deffense.
I think we have to beat one of Seattle and Phoenix. As good a player as Payton is, it seems to me the Sonics are better with Ray Allen. I actually think Seattle will end up the 7th seed, leaving Houston and Phoenix fighting over #8 again. As for Van Gundy's estimation of the Lakers, it's silly. And, I doubt he believes it anyway; he's just feeding the hype machine. I don't think those 4 can be nearly as effective together as they were apart. Their defense should be great, but on offense Kobe and Payton will be approximately as good as one or the other by himself. Malone will probably be nothing but a jump-shooter on kickouts and a rebounder. If he can be happy with that, he'll be good to have; but I can't see him being happy with that. They'll be good; they might even win a ring; but I doubt they'll come close to being the best team ever. At least now they'll be able to survive an injury.
Wow. If Kobe was that good....he'd be shooting 100%. Kobe isn't that much better. He's just taller and bigger. We will wait and see. Mobley has stopped him a couple of times... ARE YOU A LAKERS FAN?!?
I have alot of work to do here.It doesn't matter about getting along or getting more shots.It's about winning a championship.That's why Malone and Payton went there.Those two will not even shoot if that's what it takes to get a ring.Remember,the ring's the thing.
HOw wrong can you be?Kobe is a better shooter.He also has better defsnse.You are comparing Kobe andd Mobley.Half the people on this forum doesn't even like Mobley.They are calling Kobe"the next MJ".Get your facts straight son. And Yes I am a lakers fan!
Strong woman you are! Okay....I said Mobley can stop Kobe OCCASIONALLY. Do you know what that word means? Kobe is a better shooter.....and......yes Kobe is a better defender. OBVIOUSLY everyone knows Kobe is better than Mobley. But Mobley still can contain him a couple of times. AND I AM NOT YOUR SON. We will wait and see. Watch your Lakers go 81-1.
That explains a lot... JVG is just trying a little reverse psychology on Phil. Really, I'm not too concerned about the lakers. They were better than us before Payton and malone so what's the difference now. I'd be more concerned if I were a spurs or Kings fan. Perhaps dallas as well.
75-7, eh? Fascinating. From the Sunday New York Times, 7/13/03... "Odds are, the Lakers are going to be 75-7," one N.B.A. coach said. "The only games they lose will be because they didn't care. I would doubt they'd lose a playoff game. <b>I didn't lose any championship aspirations from my team because, looking at the top, I didn't have any.</b> I think we busted JVG not having any championship aspirations from his team. Not like I did either, but pretty weird to put it in print. It's funny how it's not a credited quote, because it is soooo obvious that he is saying that. I mean, that is his diction to a T, and its in a New York Paper...of course its Van Gundy. The lack of a name makes it seem a little more sinister, like "Don't tell the yokies is Houston, but their...I mean our...team sucks..." I love Van Gundy. He'll learn to respect us soon the easy way or hard way. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/13/sports/basketball/13BASK.html
ESPN is reporting that Nesterovic will sign with the Spurs, so that bumps the T'Wolves down. The Rockets will be fighting for the 5th or 6th seed.
Rox definitely have a better shot this year... considering they were so close last year... No Utah, maybe no T-Wolves (depending on how KG and ET gel)....
Except that I doubt winning the ring any which way is really the only thing Malone and Payton care about. They don't want to ride someone's coat-tails -- or at least don't want to make it too obvious -- they want to be contributors to the team. I think Malone especially will feel underused in LA; that even if they win, his victory would be hollow because he did very little of the heavy lifting. I doubt they want to be Jack Haley champions. Complaining or not, you know Malone will work. He'll play D, he'll hit his jumpers, he'll grab boards, he'll flop. But I don't think he'll play smart. I don't think the team will be any more than the sum of its parts. As for Payton, does anyone think it possible that he and Kobe could possibly co-exist in the backcourt? That seems like a very combustible situation. I think Payton will perform well, but he'll have to encroach on Kobe's game somewhat to do it. I can't see Kobe or Payton backing down (and I don't see Kobe winning a fistfight with Payton either ), not even for a championship.
Whatever JVG talked about is calculated. He is now trying to put more pressure on Lakers, while th Rox can become an undercurrent force.
Kobe and Payton would make a god backcourt team,just like Cat and Franchise.THey said it their selves.They want a championship.They need a championship.Give them time.Remember Kobe and Shaq.They didn't get along,either.But they had put away their differences and for that got 3 rings for it.And that's what this team will do.Give them time.It will take them awhile to adjust.But believe me they will
