The Official NBA Thread 2011-12

[ArtsyGirl]

Kobe Bryant wants a return to 'old-school' rules on defense - ESPN Los Angeles

the league has gone soft to increase the scoring. im with kobe on this one. luckily at the parks people dont call fouls on handchecks and forearm to the back otherwise id be screwed cuz im too small to guard taller players lol.

This is why I laugh at people who compare people like Michael Jordan to todays players. It's a totally different kind of game to compare any player before these rules and todays players is crazy.

 

[Killuminatii 71]

^I don't think the comparison is based on the rules, but the similar playing styles and hunger to win.

Yea, the rules have changed, but they still throw double, triple teams at the good players, and only the great players are able to beat that kind of defense whether it be clean or dirty. Some refs will let go of the ticky tack fouls, but others call everything. I hate that shit.

 

[ArtsyGirl]

But when you are able to put your hand into a player you are putting more pressure on them, to me the intensity of the game has changed. Atleast thats what I see when I watch games these days. College basketball seems to have more intensity to me than the NBA. I think when you change the rules you are changing how hard the game is played and that affects how you compare them. I'm not saying current day players arnt insanely talented, just think its not comparable.

 

[Kobe]

That's one heck of a career game for Miller.

Kobe Bryant wants a return to 'old-school' rules on defense - ESPN Los Angeles

I read that article and all I could think was that, most of the time, these sort of comments come right behind and bite him in the a$$. Phil Jackson said it best, when asked about physical play and, what the Lakers have to do.

"They have to meet the style of play that's going to be played against them, it's as simple as that," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Notice, Jackson says "meet" and not "match" or "replicate."

Count me out of the "Jordan vs." Debate, I'll just read the ideas being put forward.

 

[ArtsyGirl]

I don't mean to just say Jordan Vs everybody else.. But any player that was around before all these rules got changed. Even comparing early NBA to 90's NBA its not fair to do that. Different type of game.

 

[EDouble]

Michael evenscored more in the 80s than the 90s


i wonder if Kobe would be wantin this 3 or 4 years ago

 

[roaches]

i for one would love to see people clotheslining kobe like raja bell.

but the league is better off without the rules. games were pretty brutal and the casual fan did not want to watch. and if they brought it back, they'd have to rescind nash's MVPs.

so the spurs got smacked around by the nuggets today. if pop is trying to spare tim duncan's aging body, why did he play 35 minutes while steal-of-the-draft dejuan blair only gets 10?

 

[yak pac fatal]

^manu is playing well (he may still be injured), parker is injured, rj goes ghost often. all the spurs got left is timmy, blair, and hill.

spurs need to do a trade. i willing to get rid of parker and rj.

trade rj for iggy and parker for hopefully a player that can create for the others or at least command a double team.

 

[Killuminatii 71]

Oh them nuggets got a good win today.
Lakers not lookin so good after the first half.
They look soft.

 

[yak pac fatal]

 

[Killuminatii 71]

I missed that dunk, but KG got posterized. What a win. I was screamming. I haven't shouted that hard or that loud since the Lakers beat the Blazers in the West Finals in 2000.

 

[Kobe]

i for one would love to see people clotheslining kobe.

.......then his rings would fall all over the place just like when playing, "Sonic the Hedgehog".

Just having some fun

 

[Killuminatii 71]

^ROFL!

Yo it's finally february! All star weekend is coming up!
Ahhhh can't wait.

 

[Shadows]

lmao that was an awesome post kobe. CLASSIC.

 

[Kobe]

Beat the Celtics then lose to the Grizzlies?? I guess I'd take that anytime over a loss to the Celtics. In the last seconds, the Grizz players had #24 covered like flies on s!@t. No way he was going to get the last shot. Artest should have sunk that three pointer. However......

Kobe Bryant passes Jerry West as Los Angeles Lakers all-time top scorer - ESPN

He's set his legacy as a Laker now. Records however, are meant to be broken.

 

[Kobe]

Yo it's finally february! All star weekend is coming up!
Ahhhh can't wait.

Man, I'm hyped up as well I like artist's impressions of what an arena will look like before its construction. It's always so glamourized. Take a look at the Cowboys stadium.

​

I'm looking forward to Shannon Brown in the dunk contest and, he best live up to the hype. The shoes players will be wearing are always a good talking point for people in the sneaker game. Some crazy colorways come out for that.

The ideal All Star game for me would Kobe and Lebron going at it, only for AI to scoop the MVP award.

3pt shootout, man could give a hoot about that.

 

[EDouble]

sneaker game? footlocker shootout or some shit?

 

[Kobe]

sneaker game? footlocker shootout or some shit?

Oh, yeah, that was quite ambiguous when I read it again. I meant shoe-heads, the type that hang out at niketalk.com doing nothing but talking about shoes all day.

:idea: like these guys, Sole Collector*|*Shoes Sneakers Kicks their website is dedicated to the latest info on sneakers.

 

[yak pac fatal]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – On a night when Kobe Bryant made history as the new No. 1 Lakers scorer of all time and rightfully used words such as “great honor” and “rich tradition,” the Lakers lost.

Then Pau Gasol talked about why they lost, and his annoyance might’ve even exceeded that of Ron Artest while he hung his head and slumped at the waist after missing the potential winning 3-pointer Monday night.

Bryant actually shot 57.1 percent from the field in scoring 44 points Monday night. Pretty good stuff, and when the Lakers’ offense bogs down, they often need Bryant’s energy to compete.

But Gasol, especially if the Lakers don’t win that way, believes it’s easier to win if he gets more of a chance to shoot his high field-goal percentage and Andrew Bynum gets to do the same. Bryant took 28 of the Lakers' 73 shots from the field and 13 of their 27 from the foul line.

Gasol had just 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting Monday and surely hoped to shine brighter in the city where he not only is already a franchise all-time scoring leader but holds 11 other all-time Grizzlies records.

“Obviously we’re not making a concerted effort at pounding the ball inside,” Gasol said after the loss.

He said he’s not sure why this plagues the Lakers despite their consistent size advantage, but added pointedly: “It happens often.”

Bear in mind that Phil Jackson was a little miffed at Bryant on his historic night, too. Jackson told the team at halftime, when Bryant had 23 of the Lakers’ 50 points, that Bryant was “forcing the action.” Jackson also said in the halftime locker room, alluding to the 29 points Bryant needed in the game to pass Jerry West: “Let’s get him over the hump, so we can play team ball again.”

That’s a lot like what Gasol said after the game, when Gasol also said “I totally agree” with Jackson’s assessment of it being a mediocre 5-3 trip. Gasol ended that comment by saying he hoped the Lakers now “understand what we have to do better.”

It’s the law of the hardwood that the big man needs someone to give him the ball to do his thing. It’s natural for there to be some helplessness felt on Gasol’s part. Even if his physical toughness isn’t explicit, Gasol’s will to win is underrated.

He needs to know he coughed up that Cleveland game – and he does. He should be thankful that he’s Bryant’s teammate – and he is. He harbors no ill will toward Bryant, as seen by my pregame exchange Monday with Gasol.

I mentioned not selling himself short for all the all-time Grizzlies records he holds. Gasol smiled but said about Bryant’s record: “That's a little different. Lakers? What do you think?”
Gasol has on several occasions offered passive-aggressive comments about not getting the ball enough after Lakers losses in the past. This time, the comments leaned a little harder toward aggressive, particularly when it came to Bryant.

Gasol was asked about Bryant’s new record and offered politically correct – and believably authentic – commentary (“I’m proud of him; I congratulate him”) before adding the kicker: “Now we can focus on winning games again.”

Bryant and Gasol have a good relationship, no doubt. There is a fundamental mutual respect, a shared obsession with the intricacies of the game and a necessary understanding that Bryant is the alpha male and Gasol is not.

(Quick flashback to just moments after the Lakers won the NBA championship last June. Bryant referenced past conflict with Shaquille O’Neal and said: “It’s probably the first dynamic duo that had two alpha males on one team. We managed to make it work for three championships.”)

There’s no question about Bryant’s affection and appreciation for Gasol as the perfect second All-Star. Bryant does want to help Gasol become an even greater player.

What remains to be seen as the days and years unfold is whether Gasol can live with days and years of Bryant’s often heavy-handed, sometimes borderline demeaning advice – and his lust for scoring.

Gasol has settled on the way he wants to answer when talking about Bryant’s greatness, describing Bryant as a sensational player who is “very aggressive to score.” It’s a compliment, yet it’s sort of not.

Bryant just won the game Sunday in Boston with a clutch shot. Faced with a triple-team at the end Monday, he passed instead of forcing the shot he clearly wanted to take – even if there wasn’t ideal timing on the play.

I said Gasol’s Grizzlies points record is still “something.” He nodded and agreed, saying: “It’s something.”

Same thing for Gasol’s annoyance. It’s not epic. It’s not dynasty-threatening right now.

It’s something.

Gasol’s no kid. He is 29 and has flecks of white in that beard already. He absolutely reveres Bryant on some level – and enjoys all this enough to have just signed a contract extension – but Gasol knows with unshakable mathematical certainty that his efficiency with the ball inside is gold, too.

Are the Lakers better when they go inside?

“One hundred percent,” Gasol said.

bang bang

 

[Killuminatii 71]

Uh oh. Another fucking soap opera! fuck!

"wahh wahh... now we can focus on winning games..."

stfu! Gasol! you wouldn't have that ring if you weren't donated from the Grizzlies a 2 seasons ago!