Any LAKER Fans Here??

[gazmc_06]

I never said he did the correct thing, San Antonio have good players at every position and the Lakers don't so staying with everyone isn't as easy. Kobe had confidence in Bynum to make shots, without him he doesn't have confidence in them - everybody already knew that, the Lakers are going to be all Kobe until Bynum get's back.

When Bynum get's back the triangle will come back the way it has been all season.

 

[Biggems]

I never said he did the correct thing, San Antonio have good players at every position and the Lakers don't so staying with everyone isn't as easy. Kobe had confidence in Bynum to make shots, without him he doesn't have confidence in them - everybody already knew that, the Lakers are going to be all Kobe until Bynum get's back.

When Bynum get's back the triangle will come back the way it has been all season.

they werent all kobe against Denver and won the game. They werent all Kobe in the first half and were killing the Spurs. Face it.....when Kobe plays unselfishly and within the flow of the triangle, the Lakers are a very formidable opponent......When Kobe becomes a black hole, the Lakers are easily beatable.

 

[gazmc_06]

I know they are much better playing within the system, their record would prove that (last year's all Kobe approach compared to this years team approach). That doesn't mean every game is going to go great, there were several bad decisions made in this game in terms of attack and shot selection, nobody is denying that.

You can't just blame one player for a loss though, you lose as a team and the other players numbers weren't good enough to win against San Antonio.

 

[Biggems]

I know they are much better playing within the system, their record would prove that (last year's all Kobe approach compared to this years team approach). That doesn't mean every game is going to go great, there were several bad decisions made in this game in terms of attack and shot selection, nobody is denying that.

You can't just blame one player for a loss though, you lose as a team and the other players numbers weren't good enough to win against San Antonio.

I watched the game........this loss is on Kobe

Just like during 3peat, Kobe was responsible for the Lakers beating the Spurs twice. He was so dominant in the 4th quarter throughout those series. I can't stand him, but he was so clutch and so lethal.

However, tonight, in the second half he was completely selfish. It cost the team, because he was missing so many of the shots he was throwing up. If he were being selfish and making most of the shots, it would have been different. But he was taking bad shot after bad shot and missing them. He wasn't passing to open shooters either. I'm sorry but when 3 Spurs are on Kobe, 2 Lakers have to be open........Kobe still shoots and misses.

BTW, I love how in the 4th Kobe got sent to the FT line for a 3pt play, even though no one fouled him (they called it on Duncan though)....but Duncan didn't touch him. Bryant should have been called for the offensive foul after bowling over Manu on the play. Anyway, Kobe converts the FT.....and then on the Spurs next possession, Kobe Fouls Udoka for a 3pt play. Kobe throws a tantrum, but in doing so, he hit the referee (it was completely accidental)....however, he was whining about a call and made contact with an official. It should have been 2 technicals and he should have been ejected. The contact was incidental and he didn't mean to touch the ref at all.......but a rule is a rule. The ref even turned to look at who hit him and saw that it was Kobe and merely ignored it. Had it been a lesser player, 2 Ts, and an ejection would have ensued....I am almost positive.....and then a suspension.

 

[MC KAos]

Nobody else was making shots, he had to try and keep it close. The game was slipping away as it was so there was nothing to lose. The Lakers can't win games like that without Bynum. Kobe put up 29, 12 and 5 and still lost by double digits. Kobe and TD were right with each other in points, the other Spurs just outscored the other Lakers.

Kobe lost you this game tonight.........his second half "All about Kobe" show was pathetic and totally killed everything the Lakers did as a team in the 1st half.

I watched the game........this loss is on Kobe

Just like during 3peat, Kobe was responsible for the Lakers beating the Spurs twice. He was so dominant in the 4th quarter throughout those series. I can't stand him, but he was so clutch and so lethal.

However, tonight, in the second half he was completely selfish. It cost the team, because he was missing so many of the shots he was throwing up. If he were being selfish and making most of the shots, it would have been different. But he was taking bad shot after bad shot and missing them. He wasn't passing to open shooters either. I'm sorry but when 3 Spurs are on Kobe, 2 Lakers have to be open........Kobe still shoots and misses.

BTW, I love how in the 4th Kobe got sent to the FT line for a 3pt play, even though no one fouled him (they called it on Duncan though)....but Duncan didn't touch him. Bryant should have been called for the offensive foul after bowling over Manu on the play. Anyway, Kobe converts the FT.....and then on the Spurs next possession, Kobe Fouls Udoka for a 3pt play. Kobe throws a tantrum, but in doing so, he hit the referee (it was completely accidental)....however, he was whining about a call and made contact with an official. It should have been 2 technicals and he should have been ejected. The contact was incidental and he didn't mean to touch the ref at all.......but a rule is a rule. The ref even turned to look at who hit him and saw that it was Kobe and merely ignored it. Had it been a lesser player, 2 Ts, and an ejection would have ensued....I am almost positive.....and then a suspension.

i dont think kobe lost them the game, the spurs won the game by powning the entire lakers team in the second half, it didnt matter what kobe did, they were gonna loose that game no matter what the way the spurs came out in the second half. As for kobe having confidence in bynum, come on! odom is a far better player (and freaking dirty too!!) and your saying he would have fed bynum the ball over odom? you and the rest of the media are supremely overrating bynum.

 

[gazmc_06]

During the 3-peat year he had good players around him and a great player in Shaq. Kobe could play inside the system for 3 and a half quarters and then Phil would leave it for him to take the game over. He trusted those other players could make shots and then he could put the game away. He doesn't trust the players on the Lakers squad currently, everybody can see that. Bynum was crucial to his belief in other player and he doesn't have him now.

 

[MC KAos]

During the 3-peat year he had good players around him and a great player in Shaq. Kobe could play inside the system for 3 and a half quarters and then Phil would leave it for him to take the game over. He trusted those other players could make shots and then he could put the game away. He doesn't trust the players on the Lakers squad currently, everybody can see that. Bynum was crucial to his belief in other player and he doesn't have him now.

if he played selfish during the threepeat years horry and shaq would have taken him to the alley behind the great western forum and beat him down. Now he has seniority over everyone else on the team so he can do whatever he wants.

ps i hate derek fisher

 

[gazmc_06]

i dont think kobe lost them the game, the spurs won the game by powning the entire lakers team in the second half, it didnt matter what kobe did, they were gonna loose that game no matter what the way the spurs came out in the second half. As for kobe having confidence in bynum, come on! odom is a far better player (and freaking dirty too!!) and your saying he would have fed bynum the ball over odom? you and the rest of the media are supremely overrating bynum.

I'm not over-rating Bynum, he is a double-double player basically every game and Kobe is confident in passing him the ball. Watch this years Laker team compared to last years and you'll see the difference with Bynum and Kobe. Odom is a decent player, he is just extremely inconsistent (the reason for nobody having trust in him).

The Spurs are better than the Lakers in terms of roster depth, all the Spurs players provide something and Lakers players don't. Kobe with Bynum can overcome that, but he can't beat them on his own.

 

[MC KAos]

I'm not over-rating Bynum, he is a double-double player basically every game and Kobe is confident in passing him the ball. Watch this years Laker team compared to last years and you'll see the difference with Bynum and Kobe. Odom is a decent player, he is just extremely inconsistent (the reason for nobody having trust in him).

The Spurs are better than the Lakers in terms of roster depth, all the Spurs players provide something and Lakers players don't. Kobe with Bynum can overcome that, but he can't beat them on his own.

kobe and Bynum???? Kobe and Shaq had a hard time overcoming this current team, much less kobe and BYNUM!!*

*current spurs team started before the 2002 season, when ginobili first got there and tony took over the team, in addition to bowen

 

[gazmc_06]

Kobe and Bynum have already beat the Spurs, I'm not saying they would win a 7 game series, but they are playing well enough to do so when Bynum is on the floor. At full strength they have both won a game.

 

[MC KAos]

Kobe and Bynum have already beat the Spurs, I'm not saying they would win a 7 game series, but they are playing well enough to do so when Bynum is on the floor. At full strength they have both won a game.

:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:

you DO realize that when the lakers "beat" the spurs the spurs didnt have tim duncan AND tony parker right?

 

[Biggems]

the Lakers beat the Spurs twice during the 3peat.

One year they Spurs got completely owned. The other year, the games were all close, with the Spurs actually controlling the tempo of every game well into the 4th quarter. That is when Kobe took over in all 4 games and dominated. He made so many clutch shots. He made steals. He hardly ever passed either. He was completely unstoppable.

Shaq may have done his damage, but the Spurs were still winning those games..........until Kobe did his damage.



As far as tonight goes.......please stop talking about Kobe not having faith in his teammates. If he didn't have faith, they wouldn't have had the best record in the West recently. They got that record by sharing the ball, playing team oriented basketball.....not having Kobe be a black hole with the basketball. Once I saw Kobe shooting everytime he touched it in the 3rd, I knew the Spurs were going to win. It is so much easier to defeat a team with only one shooter than a team who have 5 players consistently shooting.

 

[gazmc_06]

I said the Lakers at full strength won that game and the Spurs at full strength won this game, if they do meet in the playoff's and both are full strength it should be a good series. San Antonio turn it up when the playoff's start (they turn it up a few levels actually) and I would be confident that they would win, but the Lakers would be good for a couple of games IMO.

 

[gazmc_06]

the Lakers beat the Spurs twice during the 3peat.

One year they Spurs got completely owned. The other year, the games were all close, with the Spurs actually controlling the tempo of every game well into the 4th quarter. That is when Kobe took over in all 4 games and dominated. He made so many clutch shots. He made steals. He hardly ever passed either. He was completely unstoppable.

Shaq may have done his damage, but the Spurs were still winning those games..........until Kobe did his damage.



As far as tonight goes.......please stop talking about Kobe not having faith in his teammates. If he didn't have faith, they wouldn't have had the best record in the West recently. They got that record by sharing the ball, playing team oriented basketball.....not having Kobe be a black hole with the basketball. Once I saw Kobe shooting everytime he touched it in the 3rd, I knew the Spurs were going to win. It is so much easier to defeat a team with only one shooter than a team who have 5 players consistently shooting.

They had Bynum on their best in the West run, that is the point. He is much more confident in playing in the team system when Bynum is on the floor - that is easy to see.

 

[MC KAos]

I said the Lakers at full strength won that game and the Spurs at full strength won this game, if they do meet in the playoff's and both are full strength it should be a good series. San Antonio turn it up when the playoff's start (they turn it up a few levels actually) and I would be confident that they would win, but the Lakers would be good for a couple of games IMO.

why does that matter? the spurs won the only game where BOTH teams were at full strength, the first game of the year. Its the regular season anyway, its just one game!

 

[MC KAos]

ill end my stay on this thread by saying you are giving bynum way to much credit, night yall

 

[gazmc_06]

I know they did, that's why I said they would win a 7 game series. I think the Lakers could beat the Spurs a few times over 7 games if they have Bynum healthy, but the Spurs are the better overall team as I already said. We'll have to see how they both do closer to the playoff's to see how it looks then, San Antonio are a completely different team when the playoff's start and we don't know how the Lakers will play down the stretch - time will tell.

 

[Nors]

LA Lakers 121, Toronto 101

Preview - Box Score - Recap - Highlights

February 1, 2008

AP - Feb 1, 9:52 pm EST
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TORONTO (AP) -- Kobe Bryant gave the Los Angeles Lakers the perfect finish to a promising day.

Bryant scored 46 points to help the Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 121-101 Friday night, hours after acquiring Pau Gasol in a trade with Memphis.

"We understood that this was a game that we had to get and we came out with a lot of energy," Bryant said. "That being said, I think everybody is a little excited about the opportunity that we have in front of us."

The Lakers gave up Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton and two first-round draft picks to get Gasol, who will play center until Andrew Bynum (left knee) is ready to return.

Gasol will undergo a physical Saturday in Los Angeles and could make his Lakers debut Sunday at Washington. The former All-Star could make the Lakers one of the NBA's elite teams.

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"We don't want Pau to have any pressure on him when he comes in," said forward Lamar Odom, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds. "We just want him to play his game any way he can. I'm pretty sure that will be easy for him.

"He's going to help us in every aspect," Odom added. "There's nothing he can't do."

There was little Bryant couldn't do against the Raptors, leaving the crowd gasping with six dunks, including one over Toronto's Carlos Delfino in the second quarter and a one-handed jam in the fourth.

"He's the best one-on-one player in the league, hands down," Toronto forward Chris Bosh said. "It makes it tougher on us to help because he wasn't really selfish with the ball tonight. He played a great game."

Bryant slapped hands with fans seated next to the Lakers' bench when he was subbed out with less than 30 seconds to play.

"We only come here once a year," Bryant said. "For some people, it's the only chance they get to see me. Sometimes it's the first time, so I want to make sure that I go out and put on a good performance."

Bryant shot 19-for-28, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range, and added seven rebounds and five assists.


AP - Feb 1, 9:45 pm EST
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"I was just reading the defense," Bryant said. "The fact that they were honoring our shooters made it easy for me to get to the basket and I just kept attacking. The times that they closed off the lanes, I kicked it out to our shooters and they were able to knock them down."

Sasha Vujacic added 22 points and Jordan Farmar had 13 for the Lakers, who came in having lost four of five, including a 90-89 defeat in Detroit on Thursday night.

"After losing in the fashion that we did (Thursday) night, being disappointed, we wanted to respond to that tonight," said guard Derek Fisher, who had 11.

Andrea Bargnani had a career-high 28 to lead Toronto in scoring for the second straight game.

"He's got that little look back in his eyes and he's starting to get his confidence back," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said. "The thing I like is that he didn't settle every time. He drove to the basket, had four dunks on drives over people and we need him to continue to do that."

Bosh had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Raptors, who lost for the first time in seven games at home.

Jose Calderon finished with 17 points and Anthony Parker 12.

Toronto trailed 77-66 late in the third but fought back with two baskets from Calderon, a 3-pointer by Carlos Delfino and two free throws from Bosh.

Ronny Turiaf ended the run with a pair of free throws and a layup before Bryant ended the quarter with a fadeaway 3-pointer, sending the Lakers into the fourth with an 83-77 edge.

"They played great defense on that sequence," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "It was just a better offensive play."

Jason Kapono began the fourth with a jumper that cut the gap to four, but Bryant converted a three-point play and the Raptors never threatened again.

Notes

Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006. ... After trading Brown and Crittenton, the Lakers dressed Luke Walton (hip) to give them five players on the bench. Trevor Ariza (broken right foot) and Bynum did not dress. ... This was the second game of a nine-game road trip for the Lakers, who will not play at home again until Feb. 19.

 

[MC KAos]

I know they did, that's why I said they would win a 7 game series. I think the Lakers could beat the Spurs a few times over 7 games if they have Bynum healthy, but the Spurs are the better overall team as I already said. We'll have to see how they both do closer to the playoff's to see how it looks then, San Antonio are a completely different team when the playoff's start and we don't know how the Lakers will play down the stretch - time will tell.

the lakers are gonna give ANYONE a run for their money, i just dont think they are capable of winning a tought 7 game series against an expirienced team just yet, and i dont think they are capable of getting anywhere near the finals, but they will make some noise and give any team they play one hell of a scare

 

[Nors]

the lakers are gonna give ANYONE a run for their money, i just dont think they are capable of winning a tought 7 game series against an expirienced team just yet, and i dont think they are capable of getting anywhere near the finals, but they will make some noise and give any team they play one hell of a scare

very prophetic