BigSoxFan said:The Spurs are really tough to beat at home. No chance LA beats them 4 times without some Stern help.
I'm sure Joey Crawford already has his hotel room booked in SA.
BigSoxFan said:The Spurs are really tough to beat at home. No chance LA beats them 4 times without some Stern help.
DreamShake said:Is it weird to think that Steve Blake is the x-factor in this series? With Nash likely out of the picture, for LA to win they need Blake to really contribute as a perimeter scorer. Unless Howard or Pau goes bananas, like 30-15, LA is going to have to make some outside shots to win games, and Blake is their most consistent perimeter player. I think LA needs to get at least one game where Blake or maybe Meeks scores like, 26 points and shoots 6-10 from downtown.
Tony C said:I don't know what Nash's health status is, but as much as he's struggled this year I wonder if he comes back hobbled they shouldn't just use him as a Steve Kerr-style spot up shooter. He can still fill it from 3-point land at close to 44% and presumably with his back and knee woes until fully recovered he may not be able to penetrate well enough to be effective at the point.
That said, they'll still have to live with Nash on the defensive side.
Kobe Bryant
@kobebryant
Gotta keep the spurs offense in front of our d. They r great at penetrating and pitching to their shooters
What I would say if I was there right now? "Pau get ur ass on the block and don't move till u get it" #realtalk
Post. Post. Post.
Gotta milk pau in the post right now and d12. Will get good looks from it
Matador Defense on Parker. His penetration is hurting us
Nothing worse then watching your bothers struggle and u can't do crap about it #realtalk
BigSoxFan said:Nothing better than watching a fraud like Howard get exposed during a miserable season with the hated Lakers. This team is back in the 2005-2007 period of mediocrity. Love it.
DreamShake said:If I was Dwight, I would want to leave LA and go someplace else. Where? I think he would be a really nice fit in Houston. He would be going to a team that could easily contend if they added a big piece and their roster fits Howard nicely. Harden can be there to take a lot of the big game pressure off of Dwight, allowing Dwight to be free of having to take the last shot and to be the main scoring option, something that someone with his skill set really shouldn't be. The rest of the team is filled with rangy three point shooters, similar to his team in Orlando. If they can somehow work out the rotation, they could even have Asik to help him patrol the boards and protect the rim, like Gortat did in Orlando. They also have a coach who knows big men and a savvy GM who most likely won't fuck up royaly like Otis Smith did.
Why would he agree to a sign and trade? Houston has the cap space so they can just sign him outright.Gunfighter 09 said:If you were Dwight, you would take the extra $30M dollars, which is still an extra ~$18M after you account for tax differences between CA and TX. He is sign and trade eligible, but that costs Asik and picks at the least.
To get the extra $30 mil, which I have to imagine is his biggest priority.swingin val said:Why would he agree to a sign and trade? Houston has the cap space so they can just sign him outright.
DreamShake said:If I was Dwight, I would want to leave LA and go someplace else. Where? I think he would be a really nice fit in Houston. He would be going to a team that could easily contend if they added a big piece and their roster fits Howard nicely. Harden can be there to take a lot of the big game pressure off of Dwight, allowing Dwight to be free of having to take the last shot and to be the main scoring option, something that someone with his skill set really shouldn't be. The rest of the team is filled with rangy three point shooters, similar to his team in Orlando. If they can somehow work out the rotation, they could even have Asik to help him patrol the boards and protect the rim, like Gortat did in Orlando. They also have a coach who knows big men and a savvy GM who most likely won't fuck up royaly like Otis Smith did.
Tony C said:I'll defend Howard here a bit.
First, with a very mediocre supporting cast in Orlando he did take them to the finals so I think showed he can be the centerpiece stud.
Second, no one wins alone -- Lebron or Durant or whomever need not just a strong supporting cast but also stars playing with them.
Third, even with a skeletal team over the 2nd half of the season the Lakers had the 4th best record in the NBA, that's largely without Nash, Hill and includes some games without Blake and Gasol and the final few without Kobe. A healthy team next year with just that cast would be an easy playoff team.
Fourth, the playoff embarrassment took place not just without Kobe but, really, without anyone but Howard, Gasol and a bunch of D-League types. Don't get me wrong -- I don't think with a healthy Kobe and Nash and MWP and Jordan Hill and Blake that the Lakers advance or even win more than 2 games. But when losing Jodie Meeks is a major blow because you have to go to a D-Leaguer, well it is fair to mention injuries.
Fifth, Howard was in recovery this year and still played quite strong. No, like other centers (Shaq, notably) you can't rely on him at the end of the game. But even in recovery he was a defensive force and a great rebounder, and an efficient scorer even if not a crunch time creator. Saying he's not consistent is silly. He is very consistent. As for your mention of composure, he does seem to be missing a' determination under pressure' gene, that's for sure.....hence the need for the right complementary players.
Sixth, as an example, does anyone not think that if Howard was swapped in for Bosh as one of the 'big 3' in Miami that Miami would not be improved?
There's no doubt in my mind that the Lakers will try and must re-sign Howard if they want to compete. He's a major piece of the puzzle and putting this year's failure on him is fun, but not really fair.
I don't really have a dog in this fight, but I don't care who you are, family stuff can be complicated. I don't think it is fair to criticize a guy for not wanting to play in a city where his dad lives. We like to imbue in sports figures (or celebrities in general, really) a certain sense of power or dominance over their lives and circumstances, but the unique identities and hurts that can be present with family run deep. I just can't begrudge a guy, any guy, who'd prefer to live/work in a city apart from his family.Tony C said:Yep...and, ergo, all the more reason relatively low key Houston would be good.
Another sign of his Karl Malone-ish nature (which I think is a decent analogy) is that another good situation for him is Atlanta, but apparently he doesn't want to go there because it's his home town and he wants to be away from there and his dad, who supposedly is some sort of domineering figure. Really? Daddy scares you?
I thought sign and trades were no longer allowed in the new CBA.bbc23 said:To get the extra $30 mil, which I have to imagine is his biggest priority.
No chance the Lakers take Asik back though, the last year of his deal would completely upset their 2014 plans.
swingin val said:I thought sign and trades were no longer allowed in the new CBA.
To many, Van Gundy held a special level of importance for this upcoming summer as a way to woo Dwight Howard, who reportedly has realized what a good thing he had with Van Gundy.
I can imagine him picking a team that doesn't have D'Antoni. One of the two of them will not be in LA come October.Nick Kaufman said:Wow. Did anyone catch that tasty little morsel?
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/22278119/stan-van-gundy-says-he-will-not-coach-next-season
Can you imagine Dwight picking up a team just because it had Van Gundy? Unbelievable.
bbc23 said:Lots of speculation coming out that Metta will indeed get amnestied in the July 10-16 period which makes me wonder what Kupchak is hoping to do with Gasol. Some think the Kaman signing means that he is out the door which I find hilarious, though I am totally on the "totally blow it up and bottom out" bandwagon.
My guess is that Kobe wants to play again before the season ends.Gunfighter 09 said:They had three goals for today: 1. get under the tax to avoid future repeater penalties, 2. get more assets in terms of young, cheap players and 3. get worse for this year.
They failed in all three areas and they now have to deal with Gasol's giant cap hold this summer, though they will likely have him as a sign and trade asset this summer. Jordan Hill is too good of a player for them to hold on to when they need to be tanking and Kaman does nothing except cost money and make them slightly more competitive. A real fail all the way around, Jimmy Buss is clearly not letting Kupchak run the show.
Bryant, sources said, has “no interest” in playing for D’Antoni next season, and wants a new coach in place for the 2014-15 season.
DrewDawg said:Also, Kobe wants a new coach next year: http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2014-03-12/kobe-bryant-knee-injury-shut-down-lakers-coach-mike-dantoni-carmelo-anthony-nba-free-agency-2014