The Official Los Angeles Lakers Thread

[nate]

Sorry HRA but you are wrong.  Ultimately the coach makes the substitution decisions.  D'Antoni is a dreadful hire.  Really this is Jimmy Buss' fault.  He has made a series of terrible decisions over the last couple years that really devalued this franchise.

 

I am devastated for Kobe.  He is the ultimate warrior, he gives everything.  Hope he can be back by the All Star break next season.  The Lakers could very well amnesty him now though.  They would save about 80 million dollars if they do.

[tennischmp]

You cannot put this on D'Antoni.  Kobe is the greatest competitor of all-time.  No one is going to tell Kobe that the Lakers should play him less and potentially miss the playoffs, because....ahem....we wouldn't beat anyone anyway.  He would NEVER accept that.  Kobe is playing a ton of minutes because he knows that the team needs him, in order to make the playoffs and because the Lakers are severely short-handed due to this seasons f'ed up injury list.  I am completely blown away this morning at this huge loss, for the Lakers and Kobe.  Mark my words, though.  Kobe will pull an Adrian Peterson and return in record time (Probably not by Game 1 of opening playoff round though).

 

It's all D Antoni's fault. He wasn't playing him a ton of minutes, he was playing him ALL 48 minutes. Who cares if they made the playoffs like that? They would be an underdog anyways and with a banged up and overplayed Kobe they would have gotten run out of the building. Also, take last night Kobe was hurt 2 times, moderately, where he was hobbling and was never taken out, not for a minute or 2.

 

First Amare and now Kobe.

[Ray McKigney]

Yeah, he should have taken him out last night before that last injury happened. Kobe would have thrown a shit fit though. Kind of a catch 22 for D'Antoni. 

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

I don't post in this section of this site a lot because I do a lot of posting on another Lakers' website, but basketball has always been my first love and the Lakers are my #1 sports team across the board.

 

Last night was absolutely heart wrenching as a die hard fan of this team and what made it worse is you could see his body just physically giving out the past 6 or so games. Last night there were two occasions when D'Antoni should have taken him out. I don't put the full blame on MDA because Kobe did say that he wants to play all 48 because when he sits his ankle stiffens up and it slows him down, but as a coach you have to exercise your authority in certain situations. When Kobe jammed his knee, that was more of a freak accident than anything, just coming down awkwardly. The second instance when his calf/achilles just gave out and cramped up on him is when he should have been pulled from the game. Word is going around on another website that Gary Vitti was in D'Antoni's face telling him that Kobe needs to come out now, he needs rest and we need to check his lower leg but D'Antoni and Kobe did not comply. This is where D'Antoni should have exercised his authority as coach and simply subbed in Meeks for Bryant.

 

The issue is in the long run and D'Antoni's substitution patterns. Having a 7 man rotation and expecting a 34 year old, 17 year veteran to be able to sustain an elite level of play for 45 MPG is just absurd. D'Antoni ran Kobe into the ground and has yet to my knowledge taken responsibility or acknowledged the fact that he may have been overworking Bryant. Nobody can say for sure if rest would have stopped this from popping, but it sure as shit couldn't have hurt it.

 

As for Kobe, the man is a warrior straight up. Say what you want to about him off the court and in his personal life, but on the court the guy is the most competitive force in the league and that can never be questioned. The condition he kept his body in and the work he did over the offseasons is what has gotten him this far and if there is anyone who can come back at this age, its him. I don't expect we will see superstar level Kobe Bryant anymore, but I've doubted him before just like many have and we've all been proven wrong. This guy is gonna rehab like a monster and put in the necessary work to give himself a chance at coming back and being a superstar. I'll take those chances. 

[m0nkey]

Still hate the lakers, but it definitely sucks to see an all time great go down near the end of his career. Kobe's been the big reason why the lakers are where they are this year after the train wreck of a beginning.

[m0nkey]

That said, is there any way the lakers amnesty him and get under whatever the cap is?

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

That said, is there any way the lakers amnesty him and get under whatever the cap is?

 

If Jim Buss wants to safely walk around LA, he will never do this. I'm sorry, I know the Lakers are in a crappy position cap wise and with the tax and all, Kobe is going to account for over $60 million next season, but you do not do that to an all-time great. They have a TWC deal worth billions of dollars and are still making a ton of money using his name. If you amnesty Kobe, you lose his bird rights. This is a personal opinion, but I feel Kobe is owed the chance to rehab and prove he can come back from this. 

[Punk]

What a crazy year.

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Nate, I value your opinion and will not say that yours in wrong.  It's how you feel.  That's cool.  However, just last season, Chauncey Billups tore his achilles tendon approx. 5-6 weeks into the season.  He was a similar age as Kobe is now, but was playing fewer minutes than Kobe due to the depth of the Clippers roster.  How is it possible that his injury occurred while playing reduced minutes (at least when compared to Kobe's)?  Why was that injury not the Clippers coaches fault? 

 

My point is no one can predict when an injury will occur.  This injury could've been sustained earlier in the season, or at practice.  I am not producing an argument that Kobe wasn't being overworked.  To me, that is a separate argument altogether.  He certainly was playing more minutes than would be considered ideal.  However, my belief goes back to my original statement.  Kobe will play as many minutes as he feels necessary to help the team a) be competitive, and win games, and no head coach will change that.

[Ray McKigney]

If Jim Buss wants to safely walk around LA, he will never do this. I'm sorry, I know the Lakers are in a crappy position cap wise and with the tax and all, Kobe is going to account for over $60 million next season, but you do not do that to an all-time great. They have a TWC deal worth billions of dollars and are still making a ton of money using his name. If you amnesty Kobe, you lose his bird rights. This is a personal opinion, but I feel Kobe is owed the chance to rehab and prove he can come back from this. 

 

I don't think Jim Buss cares about what anybody in LA (or anywhere else for that matter) thinks. He has proven time and time again that he is going to do what he wants no matter what the consequences. He is not qualified to run the team.

[Ray McKigney]

Last night was absolutely heart wrenching as a die hard fan of this team and what made it worse is you could see his body just physically giving out the past 6 or so games. Last night there were two occasions when D'Antoni should have taken him out. I don't put the full blame on MDA because Kobe did say that he wants to play all 48 because when he sits his ankle stiffens up and it slows him down, but as a coach you have to exercise your authority in certain situations. When Kobe jammed his knee, that was more of a freak accident than anything, just coming down awkwardly. The second instance when his calf/achilles just gave out and cramped up on him is when he should have been pulled from the game. Word is going around on another website that Gary Vitti was in D'Antoni's face telling him that Kobe needs to come out now, he needs rest and we need to check his lower leg but D'Antoni and Kobe did not comply. This is where D'Antoni should have exercised his authority as coach and simply subbed in Meeks for Bryant.

 

The issue is in the long run and D'Antoni's substitution patterns. Having a 7 man rotation and expecting a 34 year old, 17 year veteran to be able to sustain an elite level of play for 45 MPG is just absurd. D'Antoni ran Kobe into the ground and has yet to my knowledge taken responsibility or acknowledged the fact that he may have been overworking Bryant. Nobody can say for sure if rest would have stopped this from popping, but it sure as shit couldn't have hurt it.

 

 

Nate, I value your opinion and will not say that yours in wrong.  It's how you feel.  That's cool.  However, just last season, Chauncey Billups tore his achilles tendon approx. 5-6 weeks into the season.  He was a similar age as Kobe is now, but was playing fewer minutes than Kobe due to the depth of the Clippers roster.  How is it possible that his injury occurred while playing reduced minutes (at least when compared to Kobe's)?  Why was that injury not the Clippers coaches fault? 

 

My point is no one can predict when an injury will occur.  This injury could've been sustained earlier in the season, or at practice.  I am not producing an argument that Kobe wasn't being overworked.  To me, that is a separate argument altogether.  He certainly was playing more minutes than would be considered ideal.  However, my belief goes back to my original statement.  Kobe will play as many minutes as he feels necessary to help the team a) be competitive, and win games, and no head coach will change that.

 

What AMMD said.

[Punk]

Great win tonight. Bring on the Rockets!

[Angel Oracle]

No comment on the injury and surgery at this point, I'm just focusing on the effort against a Spurs team almost at full strength for the game (only Ginobili being out). That was great unity and composure against the possible Western Conference champ in the post-season.

Steve Blake this season has finally been the guy we expected, and was so huge last night.

Now all they need is a win or 1 Utah road loss out i

of 2 games.

[nate]

Pau had an awful game last night but Blake and Howard were great.

[Punk]

I feel pretty confident that Dwight will re-sign now that Kobe is injured. 

[Jay]

That was quite a win.  I was expecting SA to be fighting for the #1 seed and the Lakers to be deflated.  I was surprised at the outcome.

[Angel Oracle]

Lost in the hub bub was Darius Morris contributing 25 minutes against the Spurs with 4 A's and ZERO TO's.

That was huge too, although his shooting still needs work (1-6).

 

Dwight is about to win the NBA rebounding title.

[tennischmp]

Win tomorrow, take the 7th seed and play the Spurs.

[Punk]

You mean Wednesday. 

 

I hope we get the 7th seed. I'd rather play the Spurs than OKC.

[tennischmp]

Yea Wednesday.

 

I actually believe it's 7th spot or bust for the Lakers as I think that Utah will win their last game at home to Minny.

[Punk]

The Jazz beat the Wolves tonight. Their last game is on Wednesdays @ Memphis.

[tennischmp]

What? I could have sworn they played Minny twice. I take that back, Memphis will beat them.

[Agalloch]

Playoffs here we come!

[Ray McKigney]

Harden's going to put up, at least, 40 points. I still think we'll win though. 

[Angel Oracle]

Memphis and the Clippers are in a battle for the 4th spot and HCA in the first round, although the Clippers clinch it with wins at home tonight (decimated Portland) and on the road (Sacramento).

Memphis will likely play their normal lineup, which helps the Lakers in case Harden and Lin go crazy tomorrow night.

 

APB put out on Steve Nash.   Was first supposed to play middle of last week, then this weekend, and still hasn't returned yet?