Real Deal

Wanted Jackson or Sloan...but I doubt Sloan would have done that well with the egos (D-Will sent him into retirement), and Phil wanted a lot of money + a large role in upper management, and I'm sure the Lakers didn't want to go that far. D'Antoni COULD be okay here. I just hope he doesn't push this team to death out there on the floor, and I hope he doesn't center this offense around Nash. We might be screwed back on defense, though. We need a defensive assistant. http://content.screencast.com/users/sayak2/folders/Snagit/media/9e5fc636-1cfe-4422-8fab-916f6fc8e43f/11.12.2012-19.24.06.png I wonder if Gasol will be dealt now. D'Antoni does not care much for big man post-ups, and that Josh Smith rumor is still out there.

Can't watch this tonight (not yet), but what's the news on Steve Blake? I heard he was injured.

When it rains, it pours.

Shaliq has been suspended for 30 days, for excessive contact with members outside of the board (and while that's typically not a situation I should walk through, contact information has been acquired through the site, over time). The decision to act on this was supported by all staff members. While he's on leave, I'm going to say this once: if you don't have something good to say to him, about a post he makes or a status update, then leave it at the door. Just don't. Use the ignore feature if you can't find a way to scroll a bit faster through particular posts on this website. His suspension was warranted, but over the last few months (and, really, since he registered), he hasn't done much to deserve the shit-talking. His culture, and yours, may differ...and you can say his desire to be a registered member here is over the top...but that's a green light for you to approach him with hate, to ridicule someone that, quite frankly, makes an attempt to post basketball news and opinions more than 75% of the community. I'm not going to type much more than this, because I'm to the point where I'm ready to accept just how bad things are getting. I'm going to update the board soon, whenever I finish skinning LakerNation, and that will give DiscussHoops new features and possibly openings to have new hooks (modifications). I just see no point in doing this, though, if nothing is going to change...and I'd be lying if I said I won't, because it's going to happen anyway...but for me, at this state, it'll be just a routine upgrade, and back to clocking in and watching the repetitive actions that we were able to overcome when we had more members to drown it out. No, this topic doesn't give you a reason to post something ignorant about him (it would happen any other time). It would be nice to see everyone taking things seriously, for once. Some of you come here to read, post, and leave. Others are here having to do much more than that, especially through this unnecessary "conflict" between Shaliq and half of the site...so things need to change.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121110_PHO@UTA

Hurry up and post about Turner, BFT...I gotta move this topic. I see you in here.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121110_MIN@CHI

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121110_DAL@CHA

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121110_WAS@IND

As good as Howard is, today, there is no question who the best player on our roster is...and I'm not going to count LA out on having the best record in the league. Phil will be our coach, and I don't think it will take too long for us to adjust to the triangle. Our games will be won on the defensive end, anyway, until Nash comes back. You said it yourself: after two years, now, LeBron is hands down the best player in Miami. He's also the reigning MVP, so that sort of makes that comment less relevant. And for years, we know that stats aren't THAT big of a deal. Nash and Dirk broke through Kobe twice, and Rose knocked off LeBron in 2011, so I don't see a reason to say Kobe doesn't have a chance.

It's all but official. Welcome back, Phil.

Feels like it's going to come down to LeBron and Kobe. Durant is a bit more passive this year, and if all three stay on the same path, it's going to be between those two. Kobe is going OFF right now, and with Phil coming back (he'll be back), it's only going to get better...maybe scoring a bit less, but his efficiency could be by FAR a career high. I love Durant, dude is my second favorite player, but at times, he tries to play like a point-forward, and he's just not there, at least not yet. I admire his willingness to pass, but ultimately, that could hurt the Thunder more than help, since Westbrook seems to want to take more shots than Durant nearly every game.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121109_SA@SAC

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121109_HOU@MEM

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121109_MIL@WAS

Whoa Meeks. I HOPE Mike Brown is watching Meeks out there. Not shooting THAT well, but he turned it up last minute, like he really wanted to play.

WE WANT PHIL chants, hahaha.

Kobe went off. Lakers up 91-65, Kobe with 27/9/7...lol.

You're going to have to explain that to me, because I don't get how that works against the graph.

Brian Shaw is in Indiana as an assistant, and when they asked him about the job a bit ago, he kind of acted like it was a joke...and it makes sense, when you consider how badly he was snubbed last summer.

Ben Gordon. At least Joe Johnson can give you more than 10 points a night (even though it's only 14 a night at nearly 20 million...lol, yikes). If he keeps playing like that, then most definitely. Sad. -------------- I guess if it's based on just these first few games alone, why not say Andrew Bynum?

Rambis on Sloan to LA:

Magic has said Phil Jackson's name in that ESPN interview probably 30 times, lol. He seems pretty excited...probably didn't like Brown.

Sadly, when Stockton was 39, the Jazz won 44 games. Granted Malone was a year or two younger, but he was still putting up 22 PPG...wasn't shooting as well. Previous season, they won 53 games, Malone playing pretty well. Lakers would be far better than that, though. By the way, I guess I shouldn't have left Sloan off my list in that last post. He's been my #2 choice for a while now. I just don't see why we can't apply a P&R-heavy offense while running the triangle. We didn't run the exact Princeton offense that Adelman decided to drag in for those Sacramento Kings. Just another thing to note, though: Phil Jackson is a better big-man coach, and he's FAR better with egos. Sloan couldn't handle Deron Williams, and was fortunate enough to coach Malone and Stockton the majority of his career.