25 replies to this topic

[Chito]

LAKERS (3-3) | ROCKETS (2-2)

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Time: 7:30 PM | TV: FSW, NBALP | Radio: 710 ESPN/1330 ESPN Deportes

View the Pre-Game report

Probable Starters:

Lakers

Kobe Bryant | Derek Fisher | Pau Gasol | Matt Barnes | Andrew Bynum

Rockets

Kyle Lowry | Kevin Martin | Chase Budinger | Jordan Hill | Luis Scola

View The Post-Game Report

[EvenSteven]

Kobe will have a decent game after that horrendous showing in Denver.  Lakers will win if Fisher plays as little as possible.

[Goodfella]

He damn well better play better. I don't know how much worse he can play than those last few games. I say he should take good care of that injured wrist otherwise the pain and swelling will be there all season, much like his knee and finger injury of years before.  

[Stereoids]

I hope Matt Barnes starts to contribute this time besides pushing players around. If he's not feeling his shots, then he should play better defense, but not get caught with obvious fouls.

[EvenSteven]

The Lakers should be able to take this one relatively easy.  Just pound it into Bynum and Gasol.  Unless Kobe decides to go 8-35 shooting and refuse to pass it into the low post.

[Burn for Hearn]

yep, the offense should go through Gasol and Bynum.  Kobe should wait for the ball to find him in the flow of the offense.  still, we win or lose based on our D and so far its looked good.  like to see eBanks more.  maybe Gasol, Blake, MWP, eBanks and Barnes to start the second and fourth?  not sayin, just sayin.  Go Lakers.

[EvenSteven]

Burn for Hearn, on 03 January 2012 - 04:38 PM, said:

yep, the offense should go through Gasol and Bynum.  Kobe should wait for the ball to find him in the flow of the offense.  still, we win or lose based on our D and so far its looked good.  like to see eBanks more.  maybe Gasol, Blake, MWP, eBanks and Barnes to start the second and fourth?  not sayin, just sayin.  Go Lakers.

Yes the D does look a lot more active and although it's early, I would also say that it's a better defense than years past.

[Archer]

I like the direction their defense is heading. Ive been sort of noticing that it breaks down when they start double teaming and leave the opponents 3 point shooters totally open. They got 3 big men out there, theres no need to double team. I say if they stayed more with their man their defense can improve some.  

[Burn for Hearn]

Archer, on 03 January 2012 - 07:41 PM, said:

I like the direction their defense is heading. Ive been sort of noticing that it breaks down when they start double teaming and leave the opponents 3 point shooters totally open. They got 3 big men out there, theres no need to double team. I say if they stayed more with their man their defense can improve some.  

agree.  martin and lowrey scare me the most.  stay with them and we should continue to lead.  good ball movement on offense tonight.  love blake shooting with confidence.

[Chito]

I liked how they all played well together from the 3rd  quarter and on. Bynum was a beast with his first carreer 20/20 game with 21 points and 22 rebounds and Kobe was drilling them with 37 points. Both deserve players of the game, but two thumbs up for the rest of the team as well.   

[L.A. KINGS]

Damn, I was really impressed with Bynum tonight. It seemed as if though nothing could stop this kid. I like how they fed him the ball throughout the game. If he couldn't get a shot, he passed it back out, but didn't force it. I like that type of teamwork. I noticed towards the end when Kobe started taking over, the rest of the team stands around too much. They need some movement to confuse the opposing team. Still, I enjoyed watching this game.  

[EvenSteven]

That Scola dude is a very good player.  All and all, the Lakers played pretty well.  Kobe was a determined man after that horrific performance in Denver.  And Bynum once again was a big beast for the Lakers.

[Lakester]

They had no answer for Bynum that night

[Nanizm]

Kobe eats first, Kobe eats second, Bynum can get a bite 3rd, Kobe eats 4th, Gasol and the rest can fight over the morsels remaining.

[EvenSteven]

Nanizm, on 05 January 2012 - 09:41 AM, said:

Kobe eats first, Kobe eats second, Bynum can get a bite 3rd, Kobe eats 4th, Gasol and the rest can fight over the morsels remaining.

I find it difficult to understand this logic when Kobe is shooting 41% and Bynum is nominating the interior shooting 62%.  A man has got to know his limitation.  If he doesn't then he's just a stupid fool or a selfish arrogant asshole.

[Ricky]

EvenSteven, on 05 January 2012 - 10:59 AM, said:

I find it difficult to understand this logic when Kobe is shooting 41% and Bynum is nominating the interior shooting 62%.  A man has got to know his limitation.  If he doesn't then he's just a stupid fool or a selfish arrogant asshole.

I do believe Kobe is the 2nd one...haha but I went to the Laker game and I really like how the defense and bench looks...they actually play hard!

[Nanizm]

EvenSteven, on 05 January 2012 - 10:59 AM, said:

I find it difficult to understand this logic when Kobe is shooting 41% and Bynum is nominating the interior shooting 62%.  A man has got to know his limitation.  If he doesn't then he's just a stupid fool or a selfish arrogant asshole.

He is neither.

Bynum gets to shoot 62% because he plays with Kobe (and to a much lesser extent Gasol). He is a product of the team around him. Its always that way for big guys that play close to the basket like Bynum because they need space in the interior. If a big plays with a bunch of stiffs that cant knock down an outside shot or be a threat they’ll just sit on the big guys lap.

Kobe being Kobe makes the defense react and account for him. Defenses can not just crowd the bigs (or bynum) inside with Kobe being aggressive in the perimeter. So even if Kobe is having a bad shooting night, his aggression helps the team overall because it creates space and opportunity.

If Bynum really became the focal point of the offense he would not shoot 62% and appear as dominant as he is right now (also, its only 3 games). Even less so if he didn’t have a guy like Kobe that is a prolific and aggressive scorer.

The criticism of Kobe taking too many shots is foolish. This is his game and it is what has brought the city of LA 5 championships. Without that aggression and mental fortitude the Lakers team will collapse. Guys like Gasol and Bynum don’t look as good either.

[EvenSteven]

I am not criticizing Kobe for taking too many shots.  I am still one of the believers that he is still número UNO on the Lakers.  I am criticizing Kobe for being more selfish than he has ever been.  Taking 28 shots on a miserable shooting night and being a reckless ball hog turning the ball over time and time again are not the traits of a winner.  The Lakers are 4-3 but if Kobe had a tad of sensibility, they would be 6-1.  At 33 and slowing down a little, Kobe does not need to dominate the ball, especially with a strong inside presence such as Bynum and Gasol.  But yet he still does.
Nobody in the NBA is more aware of personal stats like Kobe.  Even on a good night against the Rockets where he had 37, yet he was calling out for the ball every single time down court so he could get his 40, where as the Lakers bench was calling and pleading to get Bynum the ball  to get another bucket so he could achieve his first ever 20-20.  Bynum eventually had to cherry pick to get his bucket because he wasn't getting the ball otherwise.
No one questions Kobe's greatness and his tremendous legacy, but if I had to do a Wikipedia definition on the word selfish, I would be damn sure to have Kobe's picture pasted along side the wording.

[Chito]

EvenSteven, on 05 January 2012 - 04:52 PM, said:

I am not criticizing Kobe for taking too many shots.  I am still one of the believers that he is still número UNO on the Lakers.  I am criticizing Kobe for being more selfish than he has ever been.  Taking 28 shots on a miserable shooting night and being a reckless ball hog turning the ball over time and time again are not the traits of a winner.  The Lakers are 4-3 but if Kobe had a tad of sensibility, they would be 6-1.  At 33 and slowing down a little, Kobe does not need to dominate the ball, especially with a strong inside presence such as Bynum and Gasol.  But yet he still does.
Nobody in the NBA is more aware of personal stats like Kobe.  Even on a good night against the Rockets where he had 37, yet he was calling out for the ball every single time down court so he could get his 40, where as the Lakers bench was calling and pleading to get Bynum the ball  to get another bucket so he could achieve his first ever 20-20.  Bynum eventually had to cherry pick to get his bucket because he wasn't getting the ball otherwise.
No one questions Kobe's greatness and his tremendous legacy, but if I had to do a Wikipedia definition on the word selfish, I would be damn sure to have Kobe's picture pasted along side the wording.

+1 Totally agree

Nanizm, on 05 January 2012 - 03:03 PM, said:

So even if Kobe is having a bad shooting night, his aggression helps the team overall because it creates space and opportunity.

Come on Naz, are you kidding me with that comment? We all know that when Kobe has a bad shooting night, what does he continue to do? He continues to hog the ball and in turn, the rest of the team starts to stand around and watch the Kobe show. How in the name of all that is basketball does that help the team overall? When he plays well, it's a different story because the rest of the team feels the energy and it hypes them up. However, on days when he plays bad and refuses to pass the ball even when his shots won't go in, the players don't feel that energy. What they feel is frustration because they all know he's having a bad night and instead of playing teamwork, he's worried about looking bad and they can't really say much because he's Kobe Bryant, the superstar. Can you imagine what his teammates must be thinking if we could read their minds when Kobe's at full force missing shots and won't pass the ball?
Bottom line, Kobe, as a veteran basketball player that's been in the league for many years, should already, by now, recognize what he's doing wrong when he plays this way and should have already learned to be mature about it and pass the damn ball when he knows he's having a bad day. I mean seriously, how hard is it to pass the ball a little more when you're having a bad shooting night, you're trapped with nowhere to go and several of your teammates are wide open? "Pass The Ball already!"

[Nanizm]

Both you guys ( and the many of those that have the same tired criticism) are wrong.

You are asking for a guy that has a prolific scorer with a relentless go for the throat mentality to all of a sudden become a lamar odom type that just wants to be one of the guys on the court and spread the ball around, not hurt anyones feelings. That’s not Kobe or any great scorer. Kobe is the teams superstar and they’ve built a team around him, not brought him in to fill a role of team guy and distributor. FYI, its been that way for 16 freaking years!!!! You want him being the way he is because that is what is going to take this team to a championship

You got a good example of a guy that doesn’t have the mentality like Kobe in Lebron James last year in the finals. James can dominate the game in most situations, and likes spreading the ball around like a point guard. But he doesn’t have the sack to say screw you, im taking over and I don’t care what anybody thinks. Kobe has that in him and the Lakers have been and are currently better for it.

You do know that we are talking about Bynum and not Wilt Chamberlain or young Shaq, right? You are telling me that you guys TRUST Bynum being the focal point and carrying this team? You want Kobe to take a submissive, passive or secondary role? Are you kidding me? Kobe has a litany of evidence that he has what it takes but Bynum has 3 good games and lets hand the keys to the franchise to him? Freaking nonsense!

Lakers live and die with what Kobe does and his decisions. Im fine with that and you should be to considering the results thus far. Stop trying to get a superstar to play like a role player. That’s not his job.