Real Deal

Ron isn't a spot-up shooter. He hesitates to take the shot. Shooting off the dribble is the best bet for Artest.

Dude, Nova started to act like punks near the end of the game. I'm glad they lost.

Haha, we get that about 3-4 times a year in Kansas...plus the storms that are about three times as bad. You would truly freak out seeing the snow we got last week. I may have a picture somewhere.

Repped. Seems like all Shannon has been good for lately are the fast break dunks and the wide-open jumpers. Other than that, he's been terrible on defense and even worse making decisions with the ball in his hands. Farmar is too inconsistent to matter, and he doesn't have the lateral quickness to defend ANYONE. And I've already said enough about Fisher. He doesn't deserve another sentence after this one.

DEREK FISHER SUCKS.

Teams added.

I can't say Bosh is a better player than Nash. Steve does twice the work Bosh does on the floor. Howard's defense is far superior to Bosh's, while Bosh seems to be the better scorer (more moves, range). Howard takes it because he forces more doubles. You put him under the rim, and teams have no choice but to double. It's a sure dunk if he's too close. Kevin Durant is the better offensive player, by far. Neither play defense, and technically, Durant has less help in a tougher conference. In my mind, I have no reason to argue this because it shouldn't be up for debate. If you don't think Bosh is better than CP3, you can't say he's better than Williams. Deron is a better point than Paul. The Dirk/Bosh debate is complicated. Bosh is the better power forward, but Dirk is the better player. While I'd take Bosh if I was needing someone who does more work in the post, I would take Dirk as someone who can do more work at all spots on the floor. So...I don't know. That can be debated, definitely.

Wow. Three things: 1) Don't underestimate what LeBron has for a team. The same people did this with Allen Iverson and his "terrible supporting cast" in 2001. Cleveland is a defensive-minded team that can shoot the rock extremely well, and they are coached by a defensive-minded coach. 2001 Sixers? Iverson, the scorer, with a defensive-minded team that can knock down shots, coached by Larry Brown? Don't kid yourself. The NBA is a team game. The Cavaliers would NOT win 65+ games in any season if LeBron didn't have a good supporting cast. Stop looking at big-name players and check out what his team can do as a whole. 2) See the last sentence in #1. The Lakers would not be a 50-win team without Bryant, and I would bet any amount of money on it. They are in the middle of the pack offensively, and would be a worse defensive team without Bryant's defense on the perimeter. Just imagine if they lost Bryant's 30 PLUS his facilitating (running the offense). What player in Los Angeles would be able to make post entry passes? What player would draw doubles and kick out to the open shooter? Would Derek Fisher succeed in defending Rajon Rondo in the playoffs? The Lakers would be a 45-win team, at best. 3) If you want an MVP, your team needs 50 wins. Kevin Durant should definitely be in the discussion, but the fact remains that the team record does influence the voters quite a bit. The Thunder are on pace to win 47 games, based on their current win percentage. Maybe that will be enough, but Cleveland will hit 60, and LeBron is the better overall player at this point. Voters will stick with LBJ over Durant.

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After this game, I'm starting to change my mind about him. It's either him or Wade. If Miami wants a second option to consistently take the load off Wade, they need to make up their mind on who it's going to be. Quentin Richardson needs to stop touching the ball, and Wade is either running the plays for himself based on what Spoelstra draws up, or he's just ditching the coaching aspect of the game and doing it all without Spo.

Nah, can't say he is after looking at that list. And as far as Duncan goes, I'm sure it can be argued. Tim isn't the same dominant big as he was a few years ago, but he's still arguably top ten. I could say Bosh is the better player TODAY, though.

Good game, Beas.

Yeah. I would love Hinrich, but I've been repeating that so many times over the last 2-3 years, it's probably getting annoying by now. The typical response from Fisher apologists is that the triangle offense doesn't need a traditional point...and it doesn't...but damn, it would be fantastic to have a pass-first point that could play defense and knock down shots throughout the game (and not just for 30 seconds of the game). Found this quote from Phil concerning the last game versus Charlotte: And that's what bugs me to no end. While I do want Kobe taking the last shot of every single close game (because he has earned that right to), I don't want him to have to chuck 25-footers with three on the shot clock just because someone else on the Lakers is too shy to work for their own bucket. By the way, did you ever get the feeling that Phil and the FO have kept Luke Walton on this team because they believe he's the best post entry passer on the Lakers? Or best passer, period?

If we have enough interested, we can start sign-ups. I'll leave that up to the moderators, as they've been paying more attention to the forums than I have in the last week. Go ahead and create a topic for sign-ups if you want.

This would be perfect if it were in the Blazers forum, on a Greg Oden banner.

It's Beasley time.

Technically, veteran players are those who have spent 10+ years in the league. And I'll take vets over rookies. Let's put it this way... Tyreke Evans Brandon Jennings Stephen Curry OR Kobe Bryant Steve Nash Dirk Nowitzki Which group would more than likely give you a mistake-free game? Which group would more than likely give you clutch shots and game-winners? Which would take over the games? Which would you learn more basketball from? For me, it's a no-brainer.

By the way, Tom...I know you're headed in the direction of a huge slap in the face to Fisher, so you might as well let it out now. I still can't stand his game.

Eh, Kobe deserves criticism, in my opinion. I criticized him the other night. I'm just a big believer in finding ways to win the game, no matter what. I understand it's a bit depressing if you aren't getting the ball in the post, but look at Dwight Howard. He has had games where he takes 5-6 shots per game, but he's still doing his thing defensively. I'll refrain from talking Bynum, because you're right, he's still immature and seems to want to be the primary scorer on the team...but when Gasol doesn't get his touches, he not only doesn't play good defense, he just doesn't even try, and that's a problem for me. But I don't think anyone can ignore Pau's lack of aggression with the ball in his hands, which leads to less shots, which I believe leads to less touches in crunch time. Gasol even admitted himself that he has to be more demanding of the ball. Whether or not that means he wants to score or pass out of the post...that remains to be seen. Simply put, if Gasol had taken advantage of Bryant's injury against the Bobcats, and his considerable amount of facilitating over primary scoring, I think I'd see where Gasol is coming from a little more...but it's hard to swallow a pill that gives me 13 shot attempts by a player begging for more, not to mention pretty bad defense when he was on Nazr.

Haha, wow...where did you get that? Did you save it from a long time ago?

Well, I'm not looking for the 2006 Kobe. I think that's what you're getting from my posts. I would love to get everyone involved, but the consistency has to be there, and Pau Gasol has to stop whining if he's not going to step up and take the shots he's wanting. He took 13 last night, with Bryant deferring...and that's just one over his season average. He hasn't jumped past 14-15 in his career (average FGA per), even when he was in Memphis. That's my problem with Gasol's comment towards the primary scorer and facilitator of this offense. As far as Bynum goes, I don't know if he'll play 30 minutes or 15, so I can't really speak for him. A few games ago, he came out and dropped 14-15 points in the first half, then scored six in the second (and it was Gasol who did the same exact thing, scoring 16 in the first half, six in the second...same game). Hearing about it and not watching it, people will say it's because Bryant was more aggressive in the second half, and he was...but Gasol and Bynum both passed up on many shots they should've taken, and I found myself screaming at the TV for it. You know how frustrated I've been with Bynum this season. Gasol's lack of physicality is hurting us on both ends of the court, and I just don't see where he has the room to start taking shots at anyone on the team, especially when he's asking for more shots in the process. People that have been supporting Gasol all year long would say that he needs more touches, and that will encourage better defense and more physical play. Phil Jackson would chuckle. Less playing time would encourage it, and it almost seemed like Phil tried to send that message to him when he sat Gasol on the bench most of the fourth against the Celtics.

Probably not. It'll take him 40 shot attempts to make his jumper.

Who said he was soft last season? Gasol was a much more physical player last year, which is a big reason why we won the championship. How did he play in 2008? Soft. How is he playing now? Soft. He took 13 shots tonight, despite Bryant taking 12 and having to go back to the locker room, and deferring to everyone the rest of the game. Without Scottie Pippen, there's no guarantee that Michael Jordan has six rings, multiple MVP's, leading the greatest team of all-time, and is the greatest player of all-time, right? If we think that way, sure...but, Pippen wasn't soft.

Pathetic.

The Lakers almost lost to a Bobcats team that is 6-19 on the road, not to mention they were without Gerald Wallace tonight. That's with Bynum and Gasol each shooting more shots than Bryant, and seven players on the Lakers scoring more points than Kobe. And, oh yeah, Nazr Mohammed had 23 points and 17 rebounds tonight, on 9-15 shooting, dominating both Gasol and Bynum with nine of those boards being offensive rebounds. Gasol shot the ball 13 times tonight...just one shot above his season average. Good way to be aggressive? Lakers at home, Cats on the road without their sole all-star...and if it wasn't for Jordan Farmar's steal to end the game, we would've probably went into overtime on a game-tying three. How about we just stick with what has gotten us the best record in the West?