The 2007-08 Los Angeles Lakers thread

[Renz]

The Lakers don't automatically get the 4th seed from winning the Pacific. The 4 division winners get the top 4 seeds. I think that they will have the 2nd or 3rd seed, based on their record when all is said and done. I think that the Pacific Winner will have a better record than Utah at least.

There are only three divisions in each conference.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

There are only three divisions in each conference.

Ha!

brain freeze.

My bad, you're right Donald. My point still stands though. If Nooch gets the #1 seed, I don't want the #4/5 seed. Nooch is a nightmare matchup for Phoenix. The Lakers match up much better. I want the #4/5 seed if SA is #1.

 

[D-Dogg]

I can understand the Amare one. His expression after he threw his arms down was priceless, because he knew he would get T'd. The Giricek one was the worst T I have seen in a long time. I commented as such in the Suns forum.

I think the amare one was terrible as well (not as bad as the Giricek one because I still can't even fathom how he got a T there, even stretching the layers of imagination). But Amare really didn't do much at all...if that's a T, the entire league should be on suspension. Hell, Shaq and Nash did FAR worse after Raja got booted than Amare did, when they stormed the ref yelling and such. None T worthy, but Amare's T was a joke.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I think the amare one was terrible as well (not as bad as the Giricek one because I still can't even fathom how he got a T there, even stretching the layers of imagination). But Amare really didn't do much at all...if that's a T, the entire league should be on suspension. Hell, Shaq and Nash did FAR worse after Raja got booted than Amare did, when they stormed the ref yelling and such. None T worthy, but Amare's T was a joke.

It was unfairly called all game. Keynon Martin slapping the backboard after dunking twice, no T. Camby complaining, no T. Same goes with AI and Carmelo.

I don't mind them cracking down on T's. If they wanted to call that on Amare, ok. But Camby does the same thing, nothing happens. This type of crap is what gets Suns fans so irate.

 

[abomb]

I don't mind them cracking down on T's. If they wanted to call that on Amare, ok. But Camby does the same thing, nothing happens. This type of crap is what gets Suns fans so irate.

Would you say the techs against Amare are often bullcrap? I seem to recall a couple others.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Would you say the techs against Amare are often bullcrap? I seem to recall a couple others.

Yes. Amare is emotional. He likes to clap after all sorts of plays to motivate his team, or instead of talking to the ref about a call, he'll clap. Beep goes the whistle.

Even more troublesome for me, is the amount of T's that Nash has been getting.

 

[D-Dogg]

I'd say refs tend to call amare tightly on techs...he doesn't get a lot of leeway.

 

[Darth Llama]

Good one tonight. Pau's stat line won't blow anyone away, but he had an obvious effect on the game, and the Lakers looked like a much better team tonight. Having Pau on the floor occupies a defender, pulls a shot blocker out of the paint, and totally changes the spacing for the Lakers. They looked much more comfortable, and put up a nice win against a good team.

Hopefully the swelling in the ankle is minimal and Pau can keep getting stronger from game to game. He looked really rusty in the first half, but the second half, the 3rd quarter in particular, he looked really solid. Glad to have him back.

 

[D-Dogg]

Man, I've missed Pau. What great passes he makes in the triangle. He's going to flourish in this system over the coming years.

Kobe was amazing tonight...simply put that team away, sat down and watched the lead thin out, then came back in and put them away for good. Ridiculous.

 

[Linderbee]

Man, I've missed Pau. What great passes he makes in the triangle. He's going to flourish in this system over the coming years.

Kobe was amazing tonight...simply put that team away, sat down and watched the lead thin out, then came back in and put them away for good. Ridiculous.

Kobe scares the crap out of me.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Kobe scares the crap out of me.

Kobe should scare the crap out of anyone who knows basketball.

 

[abomb]

Kobe should scare the crap out of anyone who knows basketball.

That would explain why most Suns fans arent scared of him.

 

[Darth Llama]

That would explain why most Suns fans arent scared of him.

qft

 

[dreamcastrocks]

That would explain why most Suns fans arent scared of him.

qft

I consider myself a logical thinking, rational Suns fan. Those might be few and far between too.

I was a big supporter of Kobe coming to Phoenix when they talked about it initially. Obviously we have done quite well with Steve Nash instead, and I wouldn't trade it now if I could, but still....

 

[Darth Llama]

I consider myself a logical thinking, rational Suns fan.

I would have to say I agree with that.

 

[D-Dogg]

Kobe scares the crap out of me.

Yeah, hate on him all you need (not you, people in general) but you can't help but see why he energizes the fans who like him. He's vicious and heartless out there, and that's a good thing. Stu said in the broadcast last night that Kobe isn't like other people who when they get you on life support they start giving you CPR and bring you back to life; when he gets you on life support he starts stabbing the knife into you to make sure you die. I heart that.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Yeah, hate on him all you need (not you, people in general) but you can't help but see why he energizes the fans who like him. He's vicious and heartless out there, and that's a good thing. Stu said in the broadcast last night that Kobe isn't like other people who when they get you on life support they start giving you CPR and bring you back to life; when he gets you on life support he starts stabbing the knife into you to make sure you die. I heart that.

There aren't many players that can handle the crap that he gets from opposing fans like he does. He does it in a taunting way, but in a way that I can respect. His inner drive is amazing.

 

[D-Dogg]

There aren't many players that can handle the crap that he gets from opposing fans like he does. He does it in a taunting way, but in a way that I can respect. His inner drive is amazing.

Oh man, I absolutely LOVE it when he talks crap to opposing fans. If I ever got to meet the dude, the one question I would ask is how the hell he converts that anger and frustration into complete domination. Most people crumble in environments like that...he gets better. The one guy you don't want to piss off, because he plays lights out when mad. I never could do that. Whenever angry Kobe is playing, I sit up a bit more and pay closer attention, because likely some ridiculous stuff is about to happen.

We have another trip to Arco...it's going to be fun.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Oh man, I absolutely LOVE it when he talks crap to opposing fans. If I ever got to meet the dude, the one question I would ask is how the hell he converts that anger and frustration into complete domination. Most people crumble in environments like that...he gets better. The one guy you don't want to piss off, because he plays lights out when mad. I never could do that. Whenever angry Kobe is playing, I sit up a bit more and pay closer attention, because likely some ridiculous stuff is about to happen.

We have another trip to Arco...it's going to be fun.

This year?

 

[abomb]

From Truehoop.com;

Pat Riley on Coaching
April 3, 2008 10:02 AM

Patrick Dorsey of The Miami Herald writes about Pat Riley, who has been asked about the likelihood that he will soon make the Hall of Fame.

Riley's response is brilliant. He uses some self-deprecation to, all at once, elevate the profession and dull his critics who claim that success was handed to him with a stacked Lakers roster.

More than anything, it shows that Riley understands what it's like to be a regular, as opposed to a superstar, basketball coach.

Here's what Riley says about the Hall of Fame:

I look at it this way: I don't belong there.

I really believe in the coaching profession and what the word coach means, and the gentlemen that are in -- all the gentlemen that are in that Hall of Fame as coaches -- [I know] why they are deserving, and why I don't belong, but why I'm there. ... I never coached a [Catholic Youth Organization] team. I never hauled a group of wannabes in the back of a truck to Central Park and worked them out from dawn to dusk. I never took a kid home in my car and treated his athlete's [foot] in my house when I was in high school. I never did the 8 million hours of work that a student-manager/assistant coach did.

I never did any of that stuff.

I was pushed through a door and a silver spoon was shoved in my mouth, that had Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and Magic [Johnson] and [James] Worthy and [Bob] McAdoo and [Byron] Scott and [Michael] Cooper and [Norm] Nixon. I mean, that's how I got my start. And most of the guys that are in [the Hall] did it the other way. So that's how I look at it.

 

[abomb]

Key factoids you might not know: Here's one that might shock you. The Lakers employ one of the game's more renowned floppers in Derek Fisher, whose thespian skills most recently came into play on a controversial game-ending offensive foul against Golden State's Monta Ellis that could end up costing the Warriors a playoff spot.

But when it comes to forcing dead-ball turnovers (everything except steals), did you know the Lakers are last in the league? Isn't that amazing? You'd think Fisher's presence alone would make that impossible, but apparently not. Only 6.35 percent of L.A. opponents' possessions end in a turnover that isn't a steal; the league average is 7.21 percent.

Is Fisher REALLY known as a flopper?!?

 

[Linderbee]

From Truehoop.com;

Pat Riley on Coaching
April 3, 2008 10:02 AM

Patrick Dorsey of The Miami Herald writes about Pat Riley, who has been asked about the likelihood that he will soon make the Hall of Fame.

Riley's response is brilliant. He uses some self-deprecation to, all at once, elevate the profession and dull his critics who claim that success was handed to him with a stacked Lakers roster.

More than anything, it shows that Riley understands what it's like to be a regular, as opposed to a superstar, basketball coach.

Here's what Riley says about the Hall of Fame:

I never used to care for Pat Riley...no real reason why...possibly because he coached the Lakers & nothing more. But I've read a few different things from him lately that have made me realize he really is a class act. It's weird having to do a 180 on your opinion of someone. It helps that I know I had no real reason for my dislike, but it's still weird.

 

[Linderbee]

Is Fisher REALLY known as a flopper?!?

The saying isn't "flop like a Fish(er)" for no reason...geez.

 

[abomb]

It's weird having to do a 180 on your opinion of someone.

See: Donald's feelings for Malone, Karl

 

[dreamcastrocks]

At least Riley acknowledge that he has been blessed. Some coaches *Phil* I have yet to do so.

In the parenting class that I had to go to for my divorce, Karl Malone was in the video talking about his childhood, going through a divorce. The video had to be 15 years old. It was funny seeing him like that.