NBA Regular Season

[Dedpop]

They played pretty well for once.
But Warriors looked soooo tired.

 

[shutyertrap]

Used to happen to the Lakers too. You become so confident that a losing record team has no hope in beating you, that you simply mentally forget to show up. Meanwhile the other team looks to this game as the closest to a finals game they'll get to, so they are hyper prepared. So it's just a fluke.

This season, I don't want my Lakers to win anymore, but if they must, I love that it is against the world champs! Our youngins should take a lot away from this victory.

 

[shutyertrap]

Wow. Just wow.

Kobe's final game was so perfect. I don't mean the actual basketball, because that wasn't. I mean the sequence of events. This last game was supposed to be nothing more than a celebration to honor the man who has meant so much to Laker Nation. And as it has happened so much this season, the game started getting away from them and it was more about just hoping Kobe could end the night with some dignity in play.

I figured the team would feed Kobe the ball a bunch, and I even halfway expected Utah to just roll over for him and the game to look like what the All-Star game does. I never expected Kobe to be on fire, to show the Kobe we all used to know. It's almost like the love fest Staples Center threw on him the first half made Kobe go, "now it's my turn". He poured every last ounce of effort onto the floor and gave everyone in attendance their moneys worth. People figured at best he'd drop 40 points. They damn near lost their minds at the prospect of him getting 50. To hit 60? That's the stuff of legend. And then on top of that, they won!

Sitting on my couch watching the game, I figured it'd be good for the tributes and such, to see that final time out to pull him off the floor and hear the crowd's applause. I did not expect in the least to be pumping my fists and cheering as if they'd just one the championship. And honestly, that's what it felt like. To come from behind 15 points with only a minute left on the clock, about the only way it could have ended better was for Kobe to hit a buzzer beater. And by that point in the game, I almost expected just that, as if it were a Rocky movie or something. You could see the pain he was fighting through, how gassed he was. Then the ball would get in his hands and the clock would suddenly turn back.

Again, it wasn't pretty basketball. But it was perfect fan service. For a completely forgettable season, this game will go down as one I'll never forget in Kobe's entire career.

Oh, and congrats to Golden State on 73-9. On any other night I would have paid attention...

 

[invitro]

I can't believe the Warriors actually broke the record. And a huge record it is. That's some awesome achievement, especially after their mini losing streak a week ago. Best NBA team ever?

In some other game, it was once again proved that just about anybody can score 60 if they're allowed to take 50 shots and have the refs behind them.

 

[shutyertrap]

In some other game, it was once again proved that just about anybody can score 60 if they're allowed to take 50 shots and have the refs behind them.

I get that you may not like Kobe, but that is such a dismissive and false statement it's laughable. Clearly you didn't watch the game (and why would you if not a fan?), but refs had nothing to do with that game. Utah wasn't backing down on Kobe, and refs didn't control the game and put Kobe on the line a bunch of times. Name another player to go out with 60 points on their final game. Oh that's right, you can't! Nor could you with 50 points, or 45. As for anybody being able to score that? Regardless of age or number of games played? There's only a handful that have, and only one who ever did it more, Wilt.

If you had watched the game, you would have seen what so many of us in Lakerland have seen before, Kobe willing himself and the team to an amazing finish. He played 42 minutes, when this season he's been limping through 32. He started throwing up air balls in the end, legs having left him in fatigue, and that was while he was still in the 40's. Those last 12 points were not handed to him by anyone, they were earned with a determination rarely seen by any sports figure.

And how impressive was it really? Well, all I see are Kobe stories on the internet, with Golden State being nothing but a side note. What they did, truly unbelievable and on any other day would be the lead story. Curry getting to 403 3's in one season? Are you kidding me? That's I believe 100 more than the nearest competitor. Pure insanity. And yet Kobe found a way to completely eclipse it. Like I said, you can hate on the guy all you want. You can't deny something special happened last night though.

 

[Dedpop]

"Love me or hate me. It's one or the other.
Always has been. Hate my game, my swagger.
Hate my fadeaway, my hunger. Hate that I'm a veteran, a champion.
Hate that. Hate it with all your heart.
And hate that I'm loved for the exact same reasons".
Kobe Bryant.

Thank you Kobe.

 

[invitro]

Name another player to go out with 60 points on their final game.

Name another player allowed to take 50 shots in their last game. You can't, because IT HASN'T HAPPENED. Kobe is the first player since Rick Barry in 1967 to take 50 shots in a game. That's 49 years ago. Only two other players have ever taken that many shots in a game. If every NBA player were allowed to take 50 shots in their last game, there would be dozens or even hundreds of players with 60 points in their final game.

I saw a blurb calling Kobe "the greatest Laker". The stupidity and ignorance of NBA history in that idea makes me angry. Kobe was clearly and objectively inferior to these Lakers:
1. George Mikan
2. Elgin Baylor
3. Jerry West
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. Magic Johnson
6. Shaquille O'Neal

So he's at best the 7th-greatest Laker.

I would like Kobe just fine if he wasn't the most overhyped pro athlete in history. I'm thankful that he won't crowd real basketball off the sports pages any more, or at least as much.

You should be happy though -- your team just improved by five to ten games. And you guys can go try to buy your way into the playoffs with Durant, and maybe get Westbrook after that. I don't know if the NBA will break rules in the Lakers' regard as much as they used to though... the Warriors seem to be on their way to being a glamour franchise.

As for you Mister Dedpop... I guess you have to have one flaw!

 

[shutyertrap]

Kobe isn't "allowed" that many shots, he demands 'em. He has demanded that his entire career, and proven time and time again that he deserved to take them. That's just his game. Curry gets to take as many 3s as he does because he tends to hit them. From crazy distances! Other players would be benched for that behavior. But it's been established, and will follow him the rest of his career.

I honestly can't speak about Mikan, Baylor, or West. I wasn't around to see them play, I grew up on Showtime Lakers. Being the "greatest Laker" isn't just about the numbers you put up. It's about bleeding purple and gold, being the face of the franchise. Kareem may have the numbers, but he hated the fandom. I met the guy on a commercial a few years back, and he still is reluctant to talk. Shaq was a fantastic player for us, but he's not the face of the franchise. Especially considering he went and played for Boston, which is heresy in these parts. We give him his due, but whatever purple and gold he bleeds, it's tainted. I place Kobe behind Magic. Magic made the Lakers what they are, what the franchise became storied for. He and Bird created what the modern NBA is today. Magic is beloved throughout our city, played his entire career a Laker, and is more an ambassador for our team than any other guy on that list you made. We'll have to see if Kobe does the same or puts distance between him and the team. But that is what those blurbs you are reading mean. It isn't the stats, it's the whole package.

I have no idea if our team will improve or not. Rumor is we'll be stuck with Scott as coach for one more. We may still lose our draft pick. And there's no way we're getting Durant. No top name free agent is gonna wanna try and rescue this team. That's a tall mountain to climb. NBA is the one who broke the rules by overturning the CP3 trade by the way, which was the slippery slope that put us where we are today.

 

[Slam23]

Hate or love him, he put on a show and wrote a perfect end to a great story.

 

[shutyertrap]

Luke Walton new head coach for Lakers! Hoping this is the corner we needed to turn. Feels like forever since we got the guy everyone else was wanting. Now to see if this translates to getting AAA free agents.

Rooting extra hard for the Warriors now, as maybe some of that juju will follow Luke back home.

Wondering too, how does this affect the Phil rumors regarding the following year?

 

[invitro]

Now to see if this translates to getting AAA free agents.

I hear Dwight Howard wants out of Houston.

 

[shutyertrap]

I hear Dwight Howard wants out of Houston.

Ha! I believe we've been there, been burned by that. There's actually been a lot of chatter today about Boogie Cousins being shopped by Sacramento. Don't know if we'd bite this off season like we would have last.

 

[invitro]

Boogie has tremendous stats, but he may be a cancer on a team. It's hard to tell as the Kings may have even a worse management than the Lakers over the last five years, with their dumping of good players and grabbing of bad players, and firing the only coach who won in that time. Hey, maybe the Kings will give the Lakers Rondo with Boogie. And throw in Rudy Gay for the trifecta... there's the nucleus of a 30-game winner!

 

[shutyertrap]

Boogie has tremendous stats, but he may be a cancer on a team.

Exactly. That's also why we passed on Rondo, but then he seems to have done well with the Kings, so who knows. Getting Boogie would require a trade though, and I do not want us dumping Russel, Clarkson, Randle, or Nance for that. I think that's what has me excited about Walton coming in, that he might be able to unify those guys into something special.

 

[MontanaFrank]

Yes, I'll sleep a little better tonight for sure.

[MENTION=568]Kolchak357[/MENTION], I hope that having the first pick in the 2016 draft will make you and the rest of the 76er fans happy.

 

[shutyertrap]

I know I'm sleeping better knowing the Lakers kept their pick. No pressure to get it right either, as we'll take whoever Philly doesn't, Ingram or Simmons. I doubt any of the big name free agents are going anywhere either. Lotta money is gonna get spent on second tier vets.

 

[invitro]

I doubt any of the big name free agents are going anywhere either. Lotta money is gonna get spent on second tier vets.

Don't give up on Durant! The FA's don't look very exciting after him. Hassan Whiteside is very interesting, I'm surprised he is already unrestricted. And I'm surprised [MENTION=4507]Dedpop[/MENTION]'s countryman Nicolas Batum is only 27, I would've guessed 30. Ryan Anderson will be a super bargain at any price, even if he plays only half the season. Chandler Parsons would be exciting except for his injuries. Here's a decent rundown of twenty free agents: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/t...f-summer-2016-kevin-durant-and-everyone-else/

Well, if what I've heard about next summer's new cap is true, certainly everyone who can will sign only a one-year deal this summer. Maybe Durant will go to the Spurs for a year for a good shot at the Finals, unless he thinks he'll have a better shot in OKC. I can't believe that such a superstar would want to live in OKC but maybe times are changing (I'd personally probably rather live in OKC than any other NBA city, FWIW).

Next season will be the Lakers' first in a very long time without a superstar / Hall of Famer. Forty years? More? But it may not be that big of a deal, as the last couple of years were their first in a very long time without two Hall of Famers.

(OK, I looked... I thought the last season without Kareem would be a good bet, that's 1974-75... but nope, they had Zelmo Beaty, Gail Goodrich, Connie Hawkins, Pat Riley, and Bill Sharman as head coach. That's three HoF'ers as players and two as coaches, LOL. I keep forgetting that the NBA has a lot of HoF'ers, the Lakers have probably always had two on their team, until the last couple of years.)

 

[invitro]

While I'm blabbering... I haven't been too excited about the playoffs so far. Maybe I'm reaching NBA saturation level after watching at least some of almost every playoff game for the past four years. LeBron was awesome to watch in that rout over TOR that just ended... I was surprised and disappointed that the Spurs fell to OKC so easily... I was sad that CHA didn't win... the MIA-TOR series was probably my favorite so far.

Well I wasn't excited until that OKC upset of GSW last night. I assumed GSW would seal the win, changed channel or something and missed the OKC comeback. Wow, GSW isn't looking so hot, maybe Curry is still hurt. The story in that game is that OKC dominated in free throw attempts, a surprise to me for a playoff game on the road. They beat the Warriors on the boards, too. Durant and Westbrook even had bad shooting nights. GSW has probably already lost any claim to best team of all time, that's a big story, and Cleveland is 9-0, that's another. The Finals should be great, especially if Cleveland goes in 12-0, whichever team they play.

 

[Kolchak357]

No pressure to get it right either, as we'll take whoever Philly doesn't, Ingram or Simmons. I doubt any of the big name free agents are going anywhere either. Lotta money is gonna get spent on second tier vets.

That's how I feel about it as well. As long as you got pick one or two. Love both of those guys. Each have all-star potential. One a little more ready now and the other with a bit more upside.
Then fill in a couple of solid veteran free agents (no old guys please) and the season should be much more fun to watch in Philly and LA.

 

[Kolchak357]

[MENTION=568]Kolchak357[/MENTION], I hope that having the first pick in the 2016 draft will make you and the rest of the 76er fans happy.

Yes, slept like a baby last night Frank.