Real Deal

Saw most of this game...looks like Perkins is still trying to figure out the defensive scheme in OKC, which is understandable. He's doing well. I'm just not sure if a half a season is enough to really get everything down, because Boston was a different story. Ibaka is a good help defender, but he's no Garnett just yet, and a lot of this is resting on Perk's shoulders. Durant chucked up a few bad shots in this game. I thought he could've gotten to the rim much, much more against the Wolves. They are the worst defensive team in the league.

Good win against Washington, although they are a bad team. Denver looks like they will hang on to that playoff spot. No Melo, no problem? They are playing much better defense now, and they seem to work better as a five-man unit out there, instead of one man leading the pack.

I'm not sure if David West will be missed much in New Orleans. He was a horrible defender. Offensively, I figured his injury would hurt...but I noticed that Landry was his backup, and it had just slipped my mind...too much went down on the deadline. He gave them 19 tonight, in a victory. They are currently 7th in the West, though. I wonder where they'll end up.

May not be a big deal after all. I completely forgot that Carl Landry is his backup. I was expecting someone much, much worse.

I believe him. He's pretty emotional, and there's too much uncertainty with the CBA right now. Of course, when they do work out the kinks (if they do by the time the draft turns its last corner), I'll question him. Word is the Morris twins are going to come back for their final year if they don't win it all this season. I wonder how Kyrie Irving feels right about now as well.

You say there aren't any dominant teams, but just three years ago, all four #1 seeds made the Final Four, the first time in tourney history, dominating the regular season and the tourney. This year, three #1 seeds are out by the Elite 8, and the tourney has more talent than just the top four on each corner of the bracket. More variety. Guys like Jimmer Fredette carried a very good BYU team basically without much help, while Nolan Smith (another top player) led a nearly-complete Duke team that won it all last season. All the while, Kansas is rolling with 2-3 excellent post players and a few perimeter shooters, and Kemba Walker is doing his thing with less help at UConn. Sullinger's Buckeyes are arguably more complete than Duke. The variety makes it interesting.

He's no House or Korver. Jimmer isn't afraid to attack the basket, and he would rather create his own shot. Both House and Korver are spot-up shooters who look for others to create for them.

I wasn't relating it to championship teams. However, I'll take a swing at your pitch and say that every Lakers team on that list won it all that season...and so did every Phil Jackson team.

He was given instructions to... 1) not use the PM system anymore 2) not use the profile comment feature 3) not post a link before asking when using AIM If he asks you, and you don't want it, just say so. If he leaves you alone, it's over and done with. If not, block him and let me know. He has followed the rules dropped in front of him the day he was suspended for spamming. He served the suspension for it, and was allowed back on the site. I'm going to be the first to throw down the ban hammer on a guy that spams OTR, but he's not doing it anymore. Plus, I'm a bit disappointed in the way this community is treating some of the members. I think it needs to stop. When I dropped the filter, it wasn't me giving the green light to start trashing guys all over the place. It has gotten worse, so I'm looking forward to seeing some improvements there. Swish, when you read this, just go about your business posting and don't create a topic about being sorry, don't do it in status messages, anything of the sort. I suggest not promoting the site to anyone on OTR as well. You're targeting a community that really doesn't want to leave, so you would be better off spending that time looking elsewhere. Thread closed.

Memphis is pretty damn eager to get that last playoff spot. I have a feeling they feel they can knock out the Spurs in the first round.

This team is dead. Get the ball to Landry Fields a little more, and keep Toney Douglas on the bench. Also, Amare is getting raped back on defense, and I'm not even sure if Melo wants to defend. Billups' knees seem to have gotten five times worse since the trade. I honestly didn't expect this.

OSU loses...called that one. Absolutely awesome to see it happen, though. And I'm extremely happy to see Florida State lose. If anyone was going to beat Kansas on their way to the Final Four, it was them.

I wondered what happened with him. I heard a little about it, and I've known of him for a while because of the time he spent with Cleveland (guess he's a huge face there), but all I knew is that he had a health problem. Good to hear he's back.

The Hornets aren't a lock to make the playoffs, either...so this is a big deal. More scoring from CP3, and someone else is going to have to step their game up (thinking of a certain player that should be playing better).

Whatever team he goes to will need to have a defensive anchor. He would fit in perfectly with the Magic, to be honest. Redick is actually a decent comparison, but Jimmer attacks the basket more, and wants the ball all the time. He's a better passer, that's for sure, but he doesn't trust his teammates enough, either. But, the good thing about being a college player is that there's always room for improvements, and the NBA is usually a wake-up call for everyone. Jimmer will learn to play less selfish basketball, and he'll realize that he'll need to put forth the effort on defense if he wants to avoid becoming Adam Morrison.

Ripping this post from Base over at TLN. http://thelakersnation.com/forums/topic/48447-top-25-historic-nba-records-after-the-all-star-break/ Rank Year Team W L PCT 1 2011 Los Angeles Lakers 13 1 0.929 2 1997 Utah Jazz 31 4 0.886 3 2000 Los Angeles Lakers 30 4 0.882 4 1985 Los Angeles Lakers 27 4 0.871 5 1995 San Antonio Spurs 32 5 0.865 6 2005 Denver Nuggets 25 4 0.862 7 1998 Utah Jazz 31 5 0.861 8 1951 Philadelphia Warriors 6 1 0.857 9 1987 Los Angeles Lakers 30 5 0.857 10 1996 Chicago Bulls 30 5 0.857 11 1998 Chicago Bulls 28 5 0.848 12 1989 Detroit Pistions 32 6 0.842 13 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers 26 5 0.839 14 1996 Seattle Supersonics 30 6 0.833 15 1992 Chicago Bulls 28 6 0.824 16 2010 Orlando Magic 23 5 0.821 17 1968 Philadelphia 76ers 27 6 0.818 18 2003 San Antonio Spurs 27 6 0.818 19 1980 Los Angeles Lakers 22 5 0.815 20 1993 New York Knicks 26 6 0.813 21 2011 Chicago Bulls 13 3 0.813 22 1975 Boston Celtics 34 8 0.810 23 1985 Milwaukee Bucks 25 6 0.806 24 1993 Houston Rockets 25 6 0.806 25 2003 Sacramento Kings 25 6 0.806

It also didn't make things easier when he wasn't playing a lick of defense. Maybe for Jimmer, it was about preserving his energy to provide offense (even though he's not a good defender to begin with), but he let guys stroll past him way too many times, more than usual. I still believe BYU wins that game if they have Davies. They were an entirely different team with him. They beat up SDSU twice before losing him, then fell to the same team the third time they played them...just more struggles on both ends of the court.

Florida did exactly what I said, and it paid off. Jimmer was terrible from behind the arc, shot 3-15 and just wanted to get that big lead. He shot an awful 11-29 for 32 points, was getting into the lane late in the first half, but I have no idea what he was doing throughout the rest of the game. It was obvious that BYU wasn't going to win this game with Jimmer shooting like that, or with Florida forcing the rest of the team to do something. No Davies, and a bad night from Jimmer, no win.

Ohio State could have a hell of a time beating Kentucky, as long as the Wildcats work on Sullinger and force him to play defense. Terrence Jones is going to be overlooked tonight...Brandon Knight is the star, but Jones is going to be the key. He'll need to attack and work OSU over with his versatility. He's basically what Odom was to Rhode Island in regards to his game. Kentucky is, by far, the better rebounding team...so they have a chance at neutralizing the damage Sullinger can do on the glass. It feels like a game where the Cats can pick up the close win, or just get blown out of the water. I hope they distribute the ball well enough. I've seen them play quite a bit this season, and they've been pretty inconsistent swinging the ball, not sure if it's the uncertainty surrounding who needs to take over against the weaker opposition (Knight or Jones, and Lamb is efficient), or what the deal is. I just pray that Knight doesn't force the issue, and the Wildcats work as a team tonight. I have confidence that KU can take out Ohio State, because the Morris twins will be Sullinger's biggest test of his college career, but like every team would, I'd rather play someone not assumed the best team in the country.

Wow...

Another thing...over the last 3-4 years, Kobe is shooting 50% on his game-winning attempts (as of two weeks ago, actually), but when they look at Kobe over the course of his career (including the 1996-97 season), Bryant's game-winning FG% has been worse, and so it makes him look like he's less clutch NOW.

YES. Thank you, Derrick Williams. Decent Florida-BYU game, but I think BYU actually takes it if they have Davies. Florida just doesn't seem like a Final Four caliber team yet. UConn's bigs need to step it up, also.

That doesn't mean they need to take another 2-3 of them a game. I'd rather keep playing championship basketball, and not turn into the Orlando Magic. Bryant putting pressure on the defense allows those two to get off those shots, no matter if Kobe is making or missing jumpers against elite defensive players (I've considered Hill an elite defender for a while now, as long as he has two ankles). Kobe being "very predictable" to some teams means he's going to come down and draw a lot of defensive attention late in the game. Boston figured Kobe was going to take a big shot in Game 7 of the Finals, but it went to Ron Artest, who had a clean look at the basket...and that shot was huge. At the end of the day, Kobe doesn't care about his numbers. He was one assist away from a triple-double in the Phoenix game, and 15-16 game-minutes later, he still didn't have it because he was so dead-set on fouling Grant Hill out of the game. Plus, Kobe has been getting fouled over and over again on his jumpers, and the refs aren't calling it because he's not attacking the rim like LeBron does. He went ballistic in the Portland game, probably the angriest I've seen Kobe in a long time, after getting hit 2-3 consecutive times in the arm and getting bumped on a jumper before that. He was completely screwed over in the last LA/Miami game, three different instances of it late in the fourth. Phil has jumped the guys for not moving around when Kobe has the ball in his hands. They are all afraid to take the big shot. How many LA game-winners can you name that have come from anyone other than Kobe and Fish? Odom just attempted one against Phoenix, and I would've put $50 that the shot wasn't going to go in. Gasol had a tip-in against the Thunder, but he's not going to create for himself and take that shot. Fisher needs Bryant to draw the double and kick it out to him. Ron should never, EVER, create for himself. Drew doesn't play late in the game. I'm not sure what you guys expect. Two guys in the starting five are spot-up shooters, Drew is a black hole that never passes out of the post, and Gasol is afraid to play in the post unless it's against Bargnani, Jamison or Channing Frye. When you're the primary option on the team, AND you're expected to create for everyone (Kobe has been this since the 2000-01 season, co-primary option at that time), you're going to have to take shots that people won't approve of, whether it's you trying to draw in the defense and get no movement from teammates, or you're getting the ball with three on the shot clock. Kobe does take ignorant shots at times, going for the jugular when he really doesn't need to, but so do a lot of players that, really, should never go that route because they don't have the resume to.

Zone him up and give him the long three, and force the rest of the team into beating you. If Jimmer drops 10 threes with a high efficiency, he deserves the win...but over the last few weeks, Jimmer's shooting hasn't been that great, and you're more than likely going to grab some long boards and get out on the break.

Unfortunately, basketball isn't that simple. Ask Nick how well Ron and Fish are shooting their open jumpers this season. Throw Blake into the mix as well, and go look at Brown's decline since he started with a month or so of 50% - 40% - 90%. I hope Nick watches every single Lakers game. Want to know what all of the Lakers shot in the fourth quarter, sans Kobe? They were 4-12 (and they were 2-6 before Kobe came back in with seven to go). Why don't we talk about that? Gasol missed two layups in that 4th, one blocked by Dudley. Third quarter, the Lakers (sans Kobe) shot 7-14 from the floor and built a 21-point lead, until Nash hit three consecutive threes and decided to bring Phoenix back into the game. By the time Kobe came back in, it was 101-99. If we're going to drown everything in numbers, we can talk about how poorly some of these guys shoot every single quarter, not just 6-8 minutes. Might as well dig into why Kobe has to turn the triangle into the Bryangle as well...it's pretty evident it's not his fault just by watching the way his teammates play. Jackson demands it out of Bryant when the team is struggling. He did the same with MJ...shoot for the rest of the night, and try to drag the team through the muddy regular season game. When the Lakers make their shots, like they were doing in the third, they are champs. When they don't, it's Kobe time...and there's no other option because Gasol is not a demanding post, Odom is not Scottie Pippen, and Fisher is not a true point guard. Kobe will shoulder the blame, win the game and take the 13-1 post-ASW record into the locker room, knowing he's leading the best team in the league right now and STILL hearing nitpicking from all angles.