OT: Does D'Antoni have to fear losing his job already?

[seren]

I'm fine with that. I'd put him next to Howard or Gasol in a small ball line up in a heartbeat though. Also I would try and play Howard and Gasol next to each other and reduce that small ball BS...

Well they have been playing together for half of the season. Results are self-evident.

[Knicker23]

Hate to say it, but Lakers doing poorly only serves to make Dwight for Lopez more appealing for LA... And as much as people want to root for Dwight to go to Brooklyn to 'screw it all up,' Deron Howard Joe in Brooklyn would be a headache for the next couple of seasons...

Even if Dwight doesn't get completely healthy for the remainder of this entire year. He's still a franchise talent that will regain form sooner or later.

Don't see Dantoni going anywhere.. Maybe Lakers look to turn both Gasol and Howard into other players and revamp.. who knows.

[seren]

Kobe: "This isn't working."

"We need to go back to basics," Bryant said. "We need to put guys in positions to do what they do best. We need to strip it down. Steve is best in pick-and-roll. Pau is best in the post. I'm best from the free-throw line extended down. Let's go back to basics.

"We've got to evaluate what's going on. Management is looking at it. The players are looking at it. I'm looking at myself.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--kobe- ... 30224.html

Can't believe it's taken this long for everyone to see what we went through...he doesn't maximize his talent.

Problem with the Lakers team is threefold: 1) They don't have enough talent. 2) Their talent is not complementary. 3) They have way too many agendas.

Kobe is going for the all-time scoring record. At the very least he wants to get into top three.

They want to make Howard happy so that he signs.

They want to keep 2014 Cap open.

[seren]

Hate to say it, but Lakers doing poorly only serves to make Dwight for Lopez more appealing for LA... And as much as people want to root for Dwight to go to Brooklyn to 'screw it all up,' Deron Howard Joe in Brooklyn would be a headache for the next couple of seasons...

Even if Dwight doesn't get completely healthy for the remainder of this entire year. He's still a franchise talent that will regain form sooner or later.

Don't see Dantoni going anywhere.. Maybe Lakers look to turn both Gasol and Howard into other players and revamp.. who knows.

Good thing Lakers would never trade for Lopez.

[kane2021]

Its all the same story. Best team he has ever had and he has his guy. Not only is his philosophy wack but its him as a person that makes him a bad coach. The lakers made a huge mistake hiring him. Dealing for love is a great idea. But making any trades to try and make it work for Dantoni will set them back for a very long time. This has got to be the only coach I have ever seen that constantly needs a trade. If you look at his history as a head coach there is no justification for it. He has not been good enough for long enough.

This is all the same crap we went through. Not that I have any say in it. But if the lakers were smart they would ignore the bad press they would get and fire this guy before making any trades. Good players decline under this guy and regular role players shine. First move they should make is dump the coach already. The only trade that had any hope of saving this guy was already made with the suns.

[basketboule]

Hate to say it, but Lakers doing poorly only serves to make Dwight for Lopez more appealing for LA... And as much as people want to root for Dwight to go to Brooklyn to 'screw it all up,' Deron Howard Joe in Brooklyn would be a headache for the next couple of seasons...

Even if Dwight doesn't get completely healthy for the remainder of this entire year. He's still a franchise talent that will regain form sooner or later.

Don't see Dantoni going anywhere.. Maybe Lakers look to turn both Gasol and Howard into other players and revamp.. who knows.

Good thing Lakers would never trade for Lopez.

If you want to win championships the next decade you need Howard / Bynum / Durant / LeBron / Melo / possibly Drummond and a somewhat athletic and/or smart Point Guard. Forget Blopez and the rest. Also, Kobe needs major help by now even though he is still crazy good.

While I see how it makes sense dealing Gasol with Howard there it
a) certainly does not help your championship chances dealing Howard away
b) should be able to work it out on offense to feed Gasol in the low post like the Knicks do with Melo and have Dwight in Chandler's role. Add Bryant at SG who would be deadly from mid range á la RIP Hamilton or on the low block as well if need be. This is a very tall, slow paced and savvy half court team with some really good spacing actually and could be the best in the league at that. --> the real problem is the coach and some athleticism and slashing at the SF position (well now they have Clark)

[basketboule]

And even more on the wiretap now:

Dwight Howard attempted just five shots in the Los Angeles Lakers' 95-83 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Howard expressed his frustration with his lack of touches.

"Look at the stat sheet," Howard said. "Look at the stat sheet."

Howard also proposed a solution for the Lakers' offense.

"It's simple. Play inside-out."

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/225721/Howard_Expresses_Frustration_With_Lack_Of_Touches_Wants_Lakers_To_Play_Inside_Out

The Los Angeles Lakers are seven games under .500 and four games out of the playoffs, forcing Kobe Bryant to see the reality of the situation.

"Obviously, this isn't working," Bryant said.

Pau Gasol is currently coming off a bench, a move that Bryant seemingly doesn't believe helps the Lakers.

Dwight Howard is expressing frustration with his lack of touches on offense.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/225724/Kobe_Ive_Constantly_Tried_To_Help_Dwight

[Pharmcat]

mike d is the worst coach ever

[Knicker23]

Why would the Lakers never trade Howard for Lopez? If Howard gives no indication he'll reup with LA, they have to trade him within the month or lose him for zip. At this point, I think Dwight is willing to go through free agency even if it means less $.

That means you send him where he wants for pieces or ship him wherever and get what you can.

Lopez isn't a franchise talent, but his play has definitely upped his value thus far. The Nets are definitely in more of a position of power right now. They don't need LA or Dwight like they did prior to season... however the Lakers are plummeting and the clock is ticking... You have one big man who may bounce, one big man who is coming off the bench, an old PG and a frustrated Kobe...

It's time they make a swift move.

[seren]

Its all the same story. Best team he has ever had and he has his guy. Not only is his philosophy wack but its him as a person that makes him a bad coach. The lakers made a huge mistake hiring him. Dealing for love is a great idea. But making any trades to try and make it work for Dantoni will set them back for a very long time. This has got to be the only coach I have ever seen that constantly needs a trade. If you look at his history as a head coach there is no justification for it. He has not been good enough for long enough.

This is all the same crap we went through. Not that I have any say in it. But if the lakers were smart they would ignore the bad press they would get and fire this guy before making any trades. Good players decline under this guy and regular role players shine. First move they should make is dump the coach already. The only trade that had any hope of saving this guy was already made with the suns.

Lakers made many mistakes this season. I think firing Mike Brown was the worst of all. Fact is Brown did try to make this unworkable match (Gasol/Howard) work with Princeton offense. And it was to an extent working despite the bad start. With a bit more time, I believe he could have made this work meaning he could get them in the playoffs. Fact is that team is at most a 45-48 win team if everything goes well.

With DAntoni, things are totally out of whack.

It starts from Nash. He is averaging more than 34 mpg under Dantoni. Big mistake. He is a total liability on the defensive end. He is trying to preserve energy for offense. The way he should be used is the way Stockton was used at the end of his career.

[basketboule]

Dallas won with two seven footers (Dirk, Chandler) and an old team
Lakers won with two seven footers (Gasol, Bynum) and an old team
Boston won with two near seven footers (Perkins, Garnett) and n old team
Spurs won with two seven footers (Robinson 2x, Duncan and later Horry who was a 6'10 defensive beast) and old teams
Lakers won with Shaq and Horry and relatively old, well at least fairly unathletic teams
Pistons won with Sheed and Ben Wallace and fairly unathletic personnel

Where is that small ball? Miami is the lone exception in one and a half decades of championship teams.

The Lakers as constructed have one version of Ben Wallace and one version of Rasheed. You could go on. They have one incredible defensive center in Howard and one immensely efficient low post scorer in Gasol, plus hes long which helps on D too.

They have Kobe Bryant who also clearly excells in the half court set. Nash can spread the floor as well as anyone.

What is there not to understand, Pringles? He just needs to play according to the personnel, it should be easy.

[Starks1994]

Until its proven that the small ball three point barrage offense wins a chip, I think D'antoni's legacy has taken a turn for the worse. An emphasis in three point shooting has been rampant ever since his Suns days but what does any team really have to show for it?

[seren]

Dallas won with two seven footers (Dirk, Chandler) and an old team
Lakers won with two seven footers (Gasol, Bynum) and an old team
Boston won with two near seven footers (Perkins, Garnett) and n old team
Spurs won with two seven footers (Robinson 2x, Duncan and later Horry who was a 6'10 defensive beast) and old teams
Lakers won with Shaq and Horry and relatively old, well at least fairly unathletic teams
Pistons won with Sheed and Ben Wallace and fairly unathletic personnel

Where is that small ball? Miami is the lone exception in one and a half decades of championship teams.

The Lakers as constructed have one version of Ben Wallace and one version of Rasheed. You could go on. They have one incredible defensive center in Howard and one immensely efficient low post scorer in Gasol, plus hes long which helps on D too.

They have Kobe Bryant who also clearly excells in the half court set. Nash can spread the floor as well as anyone.

What is there not to understand, Pringles? He just needs to play according to the personnel, it should be easy.

Don't want to nitpick, but Bynum averaged 24 mpg and 17 mpg respectively during two championship post-seasons. Those are backup minutes.

The bigger Bynum's role was expanded to the worse the Lakers got.

[seren]

Until its proven that the small ball three point barrage offense wins a chip, I think D'antoni's legacy has taken a turn for the worse. An emphasis in three point shooting has been rampant ever since his Suns days but what does any team really have to show for it?

We are currently starting Melo at the four. That is what we did whole season. We are also shooting a pretty large number of threes. So as OKC and every other contender.

[nykballa2k4]

Dallas won with two seven footers (Dirk, Chandler) and an old team
Lakers won with two seven footers (Gasol, Bynum) and an old team
Boston won with two near seven footers (Perkins, Garnett) and n old team
Spurs won with two seven footers (Robinson 2x, Duncan and later Horry who was a 6'10 defensive beast) and old teams
Lakers won with Shaq and Horry and relatively old, well at least fairly unathletic teams
Pistons won with Sheed and Ben Wallace and fairly unathletic personnel

Where is that small ball? Miami is the lone exception in one and a half decades of championship teams.

The Lakers as constructed have one version of Ben Wallace and one version of Rasheed. You could go on. They have one incredible defensive center in Howard and one immensely efficient low post scorer in Gasol, plus hes long which helps on D too.

They have Kobe Bryant who also clearly excells in the half court set. Nash can spread the floor as well as anyone.

What is there not to understand, Pringles? He just needs to play according to the personnel, it should be easy.

Dirk is athletic, Chandler is very athletic


Gasol was 2 years younger, and more athletic

Duncan was athletic until about 5 seasons ago, and now is paired with more athletic players who can chase around perimeter players