He has said before that he might retire once his contract is up. I've never heard him say he would retire after this year.
So wait...Artest was in that Knicks/Nuggets brawl? News to me.
You make it seem he has been in 10 brawls or something. He has been in one. It's like saying there'll be no more rape charges or adultery for NBA players if Kobe were to retire.
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“As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods, they kill us for their sport.”
good win for the kings. lord knows they need every single one to have a chance at the playoffs.
i really want to see garnett leave minnesota this season. they've failed to make the playoffs AGAIN and he cant be enjoying playing for a team that doesnt seem to win much. where will he go though?
havent been surprised with utah this year, whether they'll make much noise in the playoffs i dont know, but they've got some great players. deron williams, boozer, okur, ak47 and the underrated derek fisher, who has stepped up several times for them.
igoudala has impressed me greatly, hes taken over the 76's and could be a great player in the future.
indiana need to make some serious changes. they were supposed to be contenders a couple of seasons ago and have done nothing. except trade with a team in a similar position to themselves in golden state.
my raptors make me proud.... bosh is playing fantastically, and theres good chemistry there. tj ford for most improved this season
I never said the loss was Nash's fault. He obviously did more good than harm. But still, Nash was guarding Bibby and Bibby repeatedly had threes without a hand in his face (although sometimes it wasn't Nash's fault because of switches off screens). But anyway, I just saw an opportunity for a jab at Nash's defense. That is all.
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Greg Oden: The future of the Blazers. The future of the NBA.
Nash's defense really isn't that bad when you think about it. He isn't very good at one on one defending but he makes up for it by being a very good team defender. He takes one or two charges a game which are just as valuable as a block or steal.
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“As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods, they kill us for their sport.”
Yeah, but even then, block and steal stats don't people good defenders. Some blockers just look for blocks and bypass the rest of what makes one a good defender. One of the things Nash doesn't seem to do enough is get into people on the perimeter. Its almost like he prefers just to wait for somebody to run in so he can take a charge. Now, I'm not actually saying that Nash is a terrible defender, but just lacking.
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Greg Oden: The future of the Blazers. The future of the NBA.
Lakers have five wins in a row. Lamar is finally playing great on a continual basis again. Expect Kobe to go back to team ball since that record of a 50 point streak he was following is no longer a priority of his. Of course I could be wrong and Kobe continues his scoring spree. It all depends on how consistant the team plays.
Another Laker fan on board .
Welcome teampac i hope you and the other Laker brethren are enjoying the buzz that Kobe is creating around the league. Hoops fans in general should be enjoying it but Kobe's polarising personality means that many will find a negative spin on it somehow. The thing that amazes me about scoring blitz has been how effortless he has made it seem, and the variety of ways he manages to get his shot off. With the exception of last nights game against the Warriors he has been attacking from every spot on the court, i thought he settled for too many jumpers last night but as i said a few pages back they are still very makable shots for him.
The other remarkable thing is the effect it has had on the team as a whole, we were on a 7 game losing streak before Kobe went off and were seemingly dead in the water. Now you have Luke and Lamar back and complimenting Kobe perfectly by facilitating the offense and guys like Turiaf, Williams and Bynum providing sparks off the bench (which has been missing since early on in the season). One great thing about having Kwame back is that Bynum is now fresher when he does get in the game and doesnt have to worry about foul trouble any more which means he can go after more shots in the lane. One bad thing about having Kwame back is that we now have the worst 7ft finisher in the history of the league back on the floor but i guess its a fair trade off. Honestly if they kept a stat for blown lay ups and dunks Kwame would be a hall of famer.
Lamar is one of my favorite players and by all accounts a great human being but the one thing that has always bugged me about him is his lack of consistency but this year he has stepped it up big time. He is playing with the same injury as Wade got (minus the dislocation) and he is bringing it all, 24pts 19 boards 4 dimes and 4 steals that is huge production from anyone let alone someone with torn ligaments in his shooting shoulder. Way to man up and play through it Lamar, i love that old school attitude.
Finally, i dont believe we can go far in the playoffs with Kobe trying to scorch every defender in sight. The good thing is that both Phil and Kobe know this to so i cant see it happening except for the odd game. Kobe needed and was asked to get the team back on the winning track, its not the first time he has done it so it shouldnt surprise anyone. He did it for most of last season and he did it in the 2002/3 season when Shaq was injured going for 40+ nine straight times. The difference in the Lakers before and after Kobe's recent scoring outburst is dramatic, they seem alot more energised and are playing with alot more spirit punctuated by a big 4th quarter comeback last night. I would expect Kobe to ease off the gas a bit now and let the team continue to ride the momentum he has created into the playoffs. My main concern isnt our offense though its our terrible defense, but thats another post for another time.
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"The Capitol of this rugged slang is WU-TANG, Witty Unpridictable Talent And Natural Game". GZA
Nothing against Kobe, but I was relieved when I heard he didn't make 50 again. If it happened, NBA.com would wallpaper Kobe's face on every square inch of the site. Every news and media link would be about Kobe this...Kobe that, and the next time someone would score over 30 points, there would be a news article on the front page titled, "How dare he insult our great and beloved King Byrant."
Maybe you could link me to these pro Kobe media outlets Rec, most of the ones i have been reading cant resist a backhanded compliment even in the midst of a historic scoring spree. The fact is if LeBron or Wade had just had the type of week Kobe had they would have had a holiday named after them and had lunch with the President. Kobe while he has many die hard fans has just as many who hate him and its usually perpetuated by the media.
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"The Capitol of this rugged slang is WU-TANG, Witty Unpridictable Talent And Natural Game". GZA
I do agree, there is a double standard for Kobe at times. No matter what he does, someone will find a way to criticize it. He goes on a scoring spree and there will be people saying it's not good for the game, people saying he's nowhere near Jordan's level, and people saying that he's doing it on sub par teams. Point is, it's still an NBA team he's wrecking havoc on. I guess that people will not see how great Kobe is until he leaves the game, which is a shame.
Anyway, yeah it's good to be a Laker fan bro. This team is good, it just lacks consistancy and defense. It's also been plagued by injuries all year. It's good to see that they will make the playoffs, but unless they reach the fifth seed which is highly doubtful, they most likely wont even get past the first round. In fact, secretly the Lakers probably prefer seventh seed over sixth. They would rather play the Suns since they have a lot of confidence against them instead of the Spurs.
The Spurs are rolling at the moment and with our terrible defense i would hate to see us try and contain Parker, but the playoffs are full of surprises so i am optimistic whoever we play. Remember we got housed by the Suns all through the regular season last year and nearly pulled an upset in the playoffs. The Spurs are a much better defensive team that Phoenix though and they are battle tested so it will be a much tougher challenge than last season. If we can take anything from the regular season though its that we have beaten the Spurs at Staples and in their arena to.
Our defense really worries me, there is just no urgency in the rotations and we just have no idea of how to stop penetration. Last night for example Monta Ellis went off on us and got to the rack at will against Smush and Williams, now im no NBA scout but i know Ellis is not known as an outside threat so can anyone tell me why our PG's are playing up on him like he is Redd or Allen? Its those kind of errors that just leave you speechless, do they even study their opponents and their tendencies? I think we have the personnel to be solid defensively, Kobe can be incredible when he tries, Lamar is quick enough and versatile enough to guard LeBron and Melo to KG and Brand, Kwame is a solid post defender but he doesnt intimidate anyone on help defense when they drive the lane, Bynum has the tools to be a great shot blocker and Turiaf shows that energy and knack for blocking shots that will make him a solid contributor in the future. Unfortunately most of our guys dont seem to take pride in their defense or really want to play it, thats what makes a good defensive team. We need to find a defensive PG in the off season because Smush just cannot keep his man in front of him and that leads to fouls on our frontline and eventually easy scores. I hope they can do something to fix that problem before next season, thats all i ask.
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"The Capitol of this rugged slang is WU-TANG, Witty Unpridictable Talent And Natural Game". GZA
KMC Community Forums
Mar 25th, 2007 08:34 AM
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