The 2007-08 Los Angeles Lakers thread
- Thread starter abomb
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I remember Kobe doing this in Game 7 of some Suns/Lakers playoff series.
Just sayin.
D'Antoni went away from Amare in the 3rd quarter. Inexcusable.
Oh snap.
My post was just more in shock of how sloppy he played on the defensive end as well.
I still say Amare for Camby would have been a killer deal for you guys, especially if the team was in "go for broke" mode.
Ouch.
Bynum's agent says out for 2 months....subluxation of his left kneecap.
Hello low seed.
Mihm, VladRad and Bynum all out.
Good call, self!See. You cant be accused of being bandwagon.
But, but, but Boris!!
I was shocked, man...over and over again, Pringles had Diaw down there. Look, I'm bigger than Mugsy Bogues, but that doesn't mean I can post him up and score on him.
Dumbantoni...horrid.
BTW, when Kobe had that second half, he wasn't shooting and was passing it around to everyone (who also missed). Amare went COLD. I was shocked, because I've never seen two halves so opposite. He was what, 9-11 in the first half? He absolutely could not miss...then he was equally as bad in the second. That was just weird. I've seen players heat up in a second half, but never have two completely jeckyll and hyde halves.
I swear that the rim is lower/smaller or something on that end of the court. They had the same problem 1st game...
ooooohh...
it's almost game time!!
it's almost game time!!
Darth Llama
Rise Up Red Sea!
Pretty good first half.. 10 point lead and Kobe is on fire.
My only problem is, not enough Pau for my taste, he has only 4pts so far. I hope he has a bigger 2nd half.
My only problem is, not enough Pau for my taste, he has only 4pts so far. I hope he has a bigger 2nd half.
Up by 8 with 1:02 left in the 3rd.
Good to see Walton playing so well.
Hey, J.R.Smith - pick up your jock and try to play some defense. What a tool.
LOL - here comes Karl - you know the game is out of reach when you put the kid of the opposing coach in the game.
LOL - here comes Karl - you know the game is out of reach when you put the kid of the opposing coach in the game.
I am a witness.
Kobe is one of the greatest players I have ever, ever seen. He not only will steal your soul, he will meld it into his own and feed off of its screaming torment for years to come.
The absolute WORST thing J.R. Tatshop could have done was to challenge Kobe...I thought he was about to become the main course to some fava beans and a nice chianti.
Last game was all Pau and Lamar...they took that away so this game was all Kobe. Imagine if we can get all of it rolling at once? Yikes.
Oh, and flipping Marv Albert is STILL trying to hang the Machine nickname on Sasha as a "self-proclaimed" name when it has been DOCUMENTED now that Joel Myers and Stu gave him the name. Back in December. I don't know why, but that really pisses me off.
Kobe is one of the greatest players I have ever, ever seen. He not only will steal your soul, he will meld it into his own and feed off of its screaming torment for years to come.
The absolute WORST thing J.R. Tatshop could have done was to challenge Kobe...I thought he was about to become the main course to some fava beans and a nice chianti.
Last game was all Pau and Lamar...they took that away so this game was all Kobe. Imagine if we can get all of it rolling at once? Yikes.
Oh, and flipping Marv Albert is STILL trying to hang the Machine nickname on Sasha as a "self-proclaimed" name when it has been DOCUMENTED now that Joel Myers and Stu gave him the name. Back in December. I don't know why, but that really pisses me off.
Darth Llama
Rise Up Red Sea!
Kobe was incredible tonight.. amazing game.
The trash talk is really heating up between these two teams, look for some chippy play in Denver. This one has the potential to get ugly. You can tell Iverson knows he's not going past this round, he's racked up 3 techs so far in just 2 games. Seven is a suspension, you can tell he knows he's done.
The trash talk is really heating up between these two teams, look for some chippy play in Denver. This one has the potential to get ugly. You can tell Iverson knows he's not going past this round, he's racked up 3 techs so far in just 2 games. Seven is a suspension, you can tell he knows he's done.
You know it's a great game when you get a jersey popping moment combined with a "these guns are hot, better holster them" moment as well. Adding the "airplane" trifecta would have made me go *kablewey*
abomb, are you recording ESPN News after the games to get the post game interviews?
If not, commence doing so.
If not, commence doing so.
Wow...this thought just crossed my mind and it is what I'm going to bed thinking about.
Kobe Bryant is just now in his prime. We have a good 3-5 years..at LEAST...of him at this level. He's 29. 35 he might tail off, but for the next few years we have 27 year old Pau, Diapers Bynum, Old Man 29-30 Kobe and Odom as long as we can afford him (one more year?).
Man...this Kobe is going to be playing for us for a while now...
I really, deeply hope that the dude retires a Laker. This is becoming important. I told my wife tonight during the game that she should absorb this and feel lucky, because people don't often see the best player in the game on their team. I've felt it twice watching Magic and Kobe. Both of these guys are just "different" from anyone else in the leage and both are deep down...LAKERS...they love it. Kobe doesn't point to himself when he pops...he pops the words LAKERS across his chest.
Yeah, Ryan...I heart Kobe. Dude has helped my team win 3 titles and COUNTING. Keep with the funny...
Kobe Bryant is just now in his prime. We have a good 3-5 years..at LEAST...of him at this level. He's 29. 35 he might tail off, but for the next few years we have 27 year old Pau, Diapers Bynum, Old Man 29-30 Kobe and Odom as long as we can afford him (one more year?).
Man...this Kobe is going to be playing for us for a while now...
I really, deeply hope that the dude retires a Laker. This is becoming important. I told my wife tonight during the game that she should absorb this and feel lucky, because people don't often see the best player in the game on their team. I've felt it twice watching Magic and Kobe. Both of these guys are just "different" from anyone else in the leage and both are deep down...LAKERS...they love it. Kobe doesn't point to himself when he pops...he pops the words LAKERS across his chest.
Yeah, Ryan...I heart Kobe. Dude has helped my team win 3 titles and COUNTING. Keep with the funny...
Darth Llama
Rise Up Red Sea!
I'm with ya, I hope he retires a Laker, I just can't see Kobe on any other team. Luckily, the Lakers are totally committed to him, and now that he has talent around him, the feeling seems mutual. I think a lot of it will have to do with how long Phil Jackson keeps coaching as well, I think Kobe really likes playing for him.
As for Lamar, I don't think he's going anywhere. The way Lamar talks about the Lakers and his team mates, I wouldn't be surprised to see him take slightly less money in order to allow the Lakers to afford him. I read an article a few months ago on him and how he and several members of the Lakers players and staff became like family to him after he lost his son. Apparently, many in the organization stepped up to make sure they were there for him. I really think that Lamar is going to be a Laker for the rest of his career. He's always in trade rumors, but none of those rumors were anything more then teams inquiring for him, the Lakers didn't seem to want to let him go. I hope that's the case, because Odom is one of my favorite players of all time.
When Kobe was poppin the jersey, I was cheering like a maniac. It was so cool to see him so pumped up and so proud of the Lakers logo on his chest. That was a great great moment in Laker history.
Darth Llama
Rise Up Red Sea!
Oh also..
Big props to Luke Walton. Lamar was in foul trouble so much he practically didn't play in this game. They brought Luke out to fill the void and he went for 18 points, 7 boards, and 5 assists. That really helped take up the slack, it was great to see Walton contributing so much. I can't remember ever seeing so many players on one team improve so much in one season. The Laker bench is just sick.
Big props to Luke Walton. Lamar was in foul trouble so much he practically didn't play in this game. They brought Luke out to fill the void and he went for 18 points, 7 boards, and 5 assists. That really helped take up the slack, it was great to see Walton contributing so much. I can't remember ever seeing so many players on one team improve so much in one season. The Laker bench is just sick.
Like that would ever happen! Not."Better learn not to talk to me," Bryant said of Smith's jabbering. "You shake the tree, a leopard's gonna fall out."
Damn fine article on the Nuggets' Anthony Carter;
Denver's Carter relies on strength and second chance
MARCIA C. SMITH
Register columnist
[email protected]
LOS ANGELES — The guy had no chance making the NBA nine seasons ago and staying.
Anthony Carter was the son of a drug-addled mother, a high school dropout and a puny 6-foot-2 streetballer who made meal money hustling pickup teams on the Atlanta asphalt from morning to midnight.
Before Wednesday's Game 2 of the first-round playoffs at Staples Center, the Denver Nuggets point guard leaned back in his locker room folding chair, rested on the heels of his fresh-out-of-the-box Nikes and furtively looked around as if he were about to let someone in on a secret.
"I'm lucky," said Carter, 32, talking softly from his stall neighboring those of his franchise's royalty, Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. "I'm here. Still."
He doesn't need to tell the story of his hard-scrabble past. His journey's chapters, its heroes and heroines, and its symbols are needled deep into the skin of his arms.
These are strong and fearless arms. In Game 2, they shuttled passes to Nuggets shooters. They went up to try to block the jumpshot of Laker Luke Walton — yes, 6-8 Walton — during his nine minutes of action. They held his head up when he sat on the bench, scoreless and shotless, his starting lineup spot and minutes taken by burly, three-point shooter and Lithuanian guard Linas Kleiza.
In Sunday's Game 1 loss to the Lakers, the arms wrapped around the rising waist of fast-breaking, shooting Kobe Bryant. Then they shoved Bryant in the back, sending the MVP candidate tumbling into a baseline of photographers.
Messing with arguably the best player in the game? What nerve from the dropout who needed a GED, Saddleback College, two seasons at the University of Hawaii and a chance free-agent signing to get a toe-hold in the NBA.
If you knew where Carter came from and what he's stomached, you'd know why nobody intimidates him, nothing scares him, no chance seems too slim, no comeback impossible.
Think of the odds against Carter: Growing up in poverty. Sharing a tiny Atlanta home with 13 others. Having a mother on drugs. Watching the men in his life — no father, just uncles — go into prison and stay there.
Carter came from nothing. He was even too poor to have dreams.
Tugged by the streets, he dropped out of Alonzo A. Crim High School and made money using his only skill, basketball, to stuff his pockets with singles when his pickup team won. He thought about selling drugs because, at the bottom, that's the only job that seems to pay and is looking to hire.
"But then I got one really great second chance," said Carter, about the opportune meetings that put him on the path toward college and the NBA.
A former player tipped off longtime Saddleback College coach Bill Brummel about Carter, who was playing in a city basketball league. Brummel saw poor-quality video taken from the sideline of Carter's midnight games and was intrigued enough to contact Carter.
Carter didn't believe the interest. He trashed the college application the school sent. But good sense intervened, Carter earned his GED and was on his way west to Mission Viejo.
"Those were some of the best days of my life, because that's where I got my life back," said Carter, smiling and remembering. "I was playing ball, sleeping on my coach's floor and taking advantage of the opportunity."
He played two seasons at Saddleback and led all California junior college players in scoring in the 1995-1996 season. "One game I was 19 of 25 and in a zone," he said. "I've never had a game like that since."
Carter transferred to Hawaii and averaged 18.7 points, 7.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game his senior season, earning a 1998 All-America honorable mention. He injured his shoulder in front of scouts at the NBA predraft camp and was never drafted.
But the Miami Heat (1999-03), the San Antonio Spurs (2003-04), the Minnesota Timberwolves (2004-05) and Denver (2006-07) went after the free agent. The Nuggets signed him after waiving him. Twice.
"I'm always thinking about a comeback," said Carter, about life and basketball.
He averaged career-highs in nearly every statistical category in this, his ninth, season: 28 minutes, 7.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He also had a career-best 28 blocks and 109 steals for the Nuggets, who led the league in blocks (6.7) and steals (9.2).
Carter started Game 1 and had four points and five assists in 17 minutes. His scene-stealing moment came when he earned a technical foul with 9 minutes and 50 seconds left in the third quarter.
Bryant had just stolen the ball and was racing solo down the court. Carter, the only Nugget to give chase, ran down Bryant, threw his arms around him, took a flailing elbow to the eye and, in a huff, shoved Bryant in retaliation.
Carter hasn't backed down to anyone or anything. He won't. He has come so far.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Denver's Carter relies on strength and second chance
MARCIA C. SMITH
Register columnist
[email protected]
LOS ANGELES — The guy had no chance making the NBA nine seasons ago and staying.
Anthony Carter was the son of a drug-addled mother, a high school dropout and a puny 6-foot-2 streetballer who made meal money hustling pickup teams on the Atlanta asphalt from morning to midnight.
Before Wednesday's Game 2 of the first-round playoffs at Staples Center, the Denver Nuggets point guard leaned back in his locker room folding chair, rested on the heels of his fresh-out-of-the-box Nikes and furtively looked around as if he were about to let someone in on a secret.
"I'm lucky," said Carter, 32, talking softly from his stall neighboring those of his franchise's royalty, Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. "I'm here. Still."
He doesn't need to tell the story of his hard-scrabble past. His journey's chapters, its heroes and heroines, and its symbols are needled deep into the skin of his arms.
These are strong and fearless arms. In Game 2, they shuttled passes to Nuggets shooters. They went up to try to block the jumpshot of Laker Luke Walton — yes, 6-8 Walton — during his nine minutes of action. They held his head up when he sat on the bench, scoreless and shotless, his starting lineup spot and minutes taken by burly, three-point shooter and Lithuanian guard Linas Kleiza.
In Sunday's Game 1 loss to the Lakers, the arms wrapped around the rising waist of fast-breaking, shooting Kobe Bryant. Then they shoved Bryant in the back, sending the MVP candidate tumbling into a baseline of photographers.
Messing with arguably the best player in the game? What nerve from the dropout who needed a GED, Saddleback College, two seasons at the University of Hawaii and a chance free-agent signing to get a toe-hold in the NBA.
If you knew where Carter came from and what he's stomached, you'd know why nobody intimidates him, nothing scares him, no chance seems too slim, no comeback impossible.
Think of the odds against Carter: Growing up in poverty. Sharing a tiny Atlanta home with 13 others. Having a mother on drugs. Watching the men in his life — no father, just uncles — go into prison and stay there.
Carter came from nothing. He was even too poor to have dreams.
Tugged by the streets, he dropped out of Alonzo A. Crim High School and made money using his only skill, basketball, to stuff his pockets with singles when his pickup team won. He thought about selling drugs because, at the bottom, that's the only job that seems to pay and is looking to hire.
"But then I got one really great second chance," said Carter, about the opportune meetings that put him on the path toward college and the NBA.
A former player tipped off longtime Saddleback College coach Bill Brummel about Carter, who was playing in a city basketball league. Brummel saw poor-quality video taken from the sideline of Carter's midnight games and was intrigued enough to contact Carter.
Carter didn't believe the interest. He trashed the college application the school sent. But good sense intervened, Carter earned his GED and was on his way west to Mission Viejo.
"Those were some of the best days of my life, because that's where I got my life back," said Carter, smiling and remembering. "I was playing ball, sleeping on my coach's floor and taking advantage of the opportunity."
He played two seasons at Saddleback and led all California junior college players in scoring in the 1995-1996 season. "One game I was 19 of 25 and in a zone," he said. "I've never had a game like that since."
Carter transferred to Hawaii and averaged 18.7 points, 7.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game his senior season, earning a 1998 All-America honorable mention. He injured his shoulder in front of scouts at the NBA predraft camp and was never drafted.
But the Miami Heat (1999-03), the San Antonio Spurs (2003-04), the Minnesota Timberwolves (2004-05) and Denver (2006-07) went after the free agent. The Nuggets signed him after waiving him. Twice.
"I'm always thinking about a comeback," said Carter, about life and basketball.
He averaged career-highs in nearly every statistical category in this, his ninth, season: 28 minutes, 7.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He also had a career-best 28 blocks and 109 steals for the Nuggets, who led the league in blocks (6.7) and steals (9.2).
Carter started Game 1 and had four points and five assists in 17 minutes. His scene-stealing moment came when he earned a technical foul with 9 minutes and 50 seconds left in the third quarter.
Bryant had just stolen the ball and was racing solo down the court. Carter, the only Nugget to give chase, ran down Bryant, threw his arms around him, took a flailing elbow to the eye and, in a huff, shoved Bryant in retaliation.
Carter hasn't backed down to anyone or anything. He won't. He has come so far.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Renz
An Army of One
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"I saw him last night. I think he wore every piece of Lakers gear he owns."
-- Nuggets coach George Karl, who had dinner with Lakers guard Coby Karl the night before the duo made NBA playoff history by having a son play against his father.
"I saw him last night. I think he wore every piece of Lakers gear he owns."
-- Nuggets coach George Karl, who had dinner with Lakers guard Coby Karl the night before the duo made NBA playoff history by having a son play against his father.
