LA Lakers vs. Denver - Series LAL leads (1-0)

[HarlemHeat37]

JDawg..I heard Kobe drugs his opponents before the game so they can't defend him, and that's why he looks so good on the court..I also heard that he takes steroids, and that he's gay..is any of this true?..I'd appreciate your thoughts on this..

[shortodom]

it's funny how nuggets fans aren't even the fans talking smack but other teams fans are JR is a good offensive player but has to get better on D if he wants to start. although he probably should start over Carter

[G35]

JDawg..I heard Kobe drugs his opponents before the game so they can't defend him, and that's why he looks so good on the court..I also heard that he takes steroids, and that he's gay..is any of this true?..I'd appreciate your thoughts on this..

Instigator, you just like to push buttons......

[Sedale Threatt]

That's true too. Phil, who I believe Kobe will listen too, will have to convince Kobe to be even more of a setup man if KMart defends him. Kmart actually is pretty good at moving his feet and is bigger and stronger than Kobe. But it weakens the Denver defense on the interior. Kobe won't have a lot of pretty stats but he will initiate the offense and get the ball where it can either be shot or passed for an even better shot.

Denver hurt the Lakers with the zone; they have the capability to do it again. I think it is a mistake to think the Nuggets can't start playing good team defense. JR Smith and Kleiza played well, AI and Melo got 60 points. It was only one game and the Nuggets can even this game up and put real pressure on the Lakers.

I think Karl said he doesn't want to let Kobe beat them and he made the first move. If Kobe really is about winning a championship he will adjust and not force shots. I think he will see the tape and recognize where the Nuggets took him out the game.....

Good post.

Kobe has actually shifted to the playmaker role before against the Nuggets; there was a game earlier in the season he had 13 or 14 assists and L.A. won easily. And Kobe has largely been a great team player this year, so I don't think he'll need much convincing. He's seen how Denver wants to defend him, and now he'll have a few days to study film and adjust. I'm fully confident he will.

You hit on the one thing Denver did that kinda scares me -- the zone. We've had trouble with that before against other teams, and I'm surprised Karl didn't use it more.

I disagree with you in one respect -- I don't think there's any reason to think the Nuggets will suddenly start to play good, straight-up team defense. They haven't done it all year, what makes you think they'll start now?

Mark Jackson kept harping on this during the broadcast, and I agree completely -- defense is about habits, either good or bad, and it's virtually impossible to break them so late in the season.

Which is all the more reason why Denver should use the zone more often, maybe even exclusively. You've got almost no answers for Kobe that won't compromise your defense elsewhere and you just gave up 128 points. What can it hurt?

[maxwellcu]

George Karl is an infuriatingly horrible coach. How this man continues to be employed in the NBA is beyond me.

The nuggets with a legitimate head coach win 55 games this year in the west (as opposed to 50) and don't have to play a championship contender in the first round AGAIN.

Look at the flaws with this team. They are coaching related. Utterly asinine rotations, mental breakdowns, no consistency, undisciplined/sloppy/uninspired play.

Karl needs to go, period. He clearly doesn't give a **** about winning or losing -- he has stated this himself in the media.

There is no excuse in the world for starting Anthony Carter (alongside ANOTHER sub 6 foot guard who can't play D) over JR smith when Smith has been CLEARLY more productive and just a straight up better player for the past 3 months by an incredibly wide margin.

This man's decisions are idiotic, it appears that he doesn't even want to win. George Karl is a disgrace to basketball and should be fired tomorrow.

And don't even get me started on Marcus Camby's inability to show up in either end of the court when the game matters.

[JDawg]

EXCEPT MJ DID have a dominatn frontcourt.....DEFENSIVELY!!!!!!

Thats the difference.

MJ shot 40% in the NBA finals and his team STILL WON THE SERIES agasint a 64 win Sonic team.

HOW you think MJ does that without

All NBA D Rodman
All NBA D Pippen
7'2" Luc Longley

Dont kid yourself. You can shoot poorly and win games from the SG spot.

You need two things however.

1) A great frontcourt offensivley

OR

2) A great frontoucrt DEFENSIVELY

MJ had #2 thats why his team coudl win with bad shooting games OR bad series' from him.

DEFENSE and REBOUNDING.

But since you guys don't understand the game of basketball, all you see is point scored and not what a team does on defense.

GTFO of here.

[YiYaoYue]

I give Lakers all the credit with the win. Denver has no chance intil they get a real coach with a clue. What do Laker fans think about Jr. Smith game? I use to clash with fellow Nugget fans who wanted to trade him. However it seems like I was the only one who thought Karl was holding him back becaus he do not like Jr personally that much. The only reason Jr.Smith started getting time in the second half of the season is the fact Karl had no choice. So that is another reason Karl should not return.

I do think jr smith is better than carter... carter is a decent defender, but he would fit better coming off for a true PG who can defend a SG... which is why I thought jason kidd would have fit so well in Denver. Having AI and carter out at the same time is a liability with size and especially against a SG like kobe...

[Kevlo_911]

GK is pathetic

[JordansBulls]

EXCEPT MJ DID have a dominatn frontcourt.....DEFENSIVELY!!!!!!

Thats the difference.

MJ shot 40% in the NBA finals and his team STILL WON THE SERIES agasint a 64 win Sonic team.

HOW you think MJ does that without

All NBA D Rodman
All NBA D Pippen
7'2" Luc Longley

Dont kid yourself. You can shoot poorly and win games from the SG spot.

You need two things however.

1) A great frontcourt offensivley

OR

2) A great frontoucrt DEFENSIVELY

MJ had #2 thats why his team coudl win with bad shooting games OR bad series' from him.

DEFENSE and REBOUNDING.

But since you guys don't understand the game of basketball, all you see is point scored and not what a team does on defense.

GTFO of here.

He shot 42% in that finals and Pippen shot 34%. Both teams were #1 and #2 in the league in defense.

Dominant frontcourt involves offensive production and some defense, otherwise we can say the Rockets with Deke and Scola is a dominant frontcourt.

[andykeikei]

I give Lakers all the credit with the win. Denver has no chance intil they get a real coach with a clue. What do Laker fans think about Jr. Smith game? I use to clash with fellow Nugget fans who wanted to trade him. However it seems like I was the only one who thought Karl was holding him back becaus he do not like Jr personally that much. The only reason Jr.Smith started getting time in the second half of the season is the fact Karl had no choice. So that is another reason Karl should not return.

If I were the coach, I don't want too many inconsistent players or TO prone on the court at the same time. JR Smith is no doubt talent, but he needs to get his head straight. However, I think George Karl should give him more playing time in the regular season. Otherwise he can't learn from mistakes.

[yunggunz]

I still think the Lakers win this series, but the Nuggets played break even or better basketball for 36 minutes tonight. And that was while missing 14 FT's on the road.


I really think that they have a lot to hold their heads up about coming away from tonight. Limit Carter's minutes and hit those FT's, and I think the Nuggets have a way better chance in this series than I did before tonight. If Nene can give even 10 good minutes guarding Gasol it will help out tremendously.

[JDawg]

So, can at least ONE hater clarify something for me here:

Pau Gasol is 0-12 ALL TIME in the NBA playoffs.

Kobe shot poorly in one game and is this what this is all about???

REally. One bad shooting game?

Can someone, ANYONE tell me that we just had 40 pages cause Kobe had ONE bad shooting game in which the entire Nuggest D was geared to help Martin in stopping Kobe and leaving GAsol open for dunks and layups.

Someone, ANYONE tell me we've just had 40 pages on THIS????

[G35]

I disagree with you in one respect -- I don't think there's any reason to think the Nuggets will suddenly start to play good, straight-up team defense. They haven't done it all year, what makes you think they'll start now?

I'm not saying that Denver will hit a switch and be able to lock the Lakers up defensively but you can't take it for granted that any team or player can't raise their level of play.

The Lakers aren't good enough "yet" to look past the Nuggets. Perhaps if they had Bynum back healthy. But that 2nd quarter should wake them up to what they can do better and it gives the Nuggets and their coaching staff something to build on.....

[kooldude]

where are you from, jdawg?

[Sedale Threatt]

I give Lakers all the credit with the win. Denver has no chance intil they get a real coach with a clue. What do Laker fans think about Jr. Smith game? I use to clash with fellow Nugget fans who wanted to trade him. However it seems like I was the only one who thought Karl was holding him back becaus he do not like Jr personally that much. The only reason Jr.Smith started getting time in the second half of the season is the fact Karl had no choice. So that is another reason Karl should not return.

I think he is a very dynamic, very dangerous scorer whose impact is blunted by his defensive shortcomings. I'm not saying this to be cocky or arrogant, but I almost guarantee that Kobe would torch J.R. for 40, and probably foul him out in the process, if he was forced to guard him for any lengthy stretch.

I can also see, just judging from body language and such, how he might be a huge pain in the ass to deal with. Maybe that's what I want to see based on what I've read, so you might be a better judge. But seeing as how he's had problems with two different coaches, at two different franchises, I tend to believe the old maxim about smoke leading to fire.

[eatyourchildren]

I don't think it's a coachING problem so much as a coachABILITY problem.

The nuggets dont have that many coachable guys in their lineup.

Camby and KMart seem intent on maintaining their reputation as shotblockers, and look what happened--they repeatedly bit upfakes by Odom, Walton, and Pau.

AI has the ability to play the point as well as anybody, but he doesn't WANT to play the point for 48 minutes. Which is why Carter is out there.

Karl has the ability to coach Finals quality teams, we've seen it before.

[HarlemHeat37]

So, can at least ONE hater clarify something for me here:

Pau Gasol is 0-12 ALL TIME in the NBA playoffs.

Kobe shot poorly in one game and is this what this is all about???

REally. One bad shooting game?

Can someone, ANYONE tell me that we just had 40 pages cause Kobe had ONE bad shooting game in which the entire Nuggest D was geared to help Martin in stopping Kobe and leaving GAsol open for dunks and layups.

Someone, ANYONE tell me we've just had 40 pages on THIS????

there was like 3 pages about Kobe's shooting LOL it's not a big deal..

but Dawg, can you answer my question in my previous post? I thought I'd ask you, since you seem to be an expert on Kobe-related issues..I hope what I heard isn't true, is it?..

[JDawg]

Jordansbulls.....

My point is....YOU CAN win without a dominant frontcourt offensively as long as your frontcourt is DOMINANT DEFENSIVELY.

People riding Kobe just don't understand that. If his team was all world on Defense, you wouldnt even CARE what he shot from the floor because the other team would probably shoot evne worse.....

which is EXACTLY what used to happen agasint the bulls with that suffocating defense they played....AND they played it under the tutelage of John Bach....

PJ's defensive assistant....who is now dead. THATS WHY PJ sucks at D.

Take the Celtics for example. You think its Doc Rivers GREAT defensive coaching?????

No...its Tom Thibedeau who they just hired this year as his defensive assistant that has transformed that D. Not GArnett, Not Rivers. Garnett helped. Thibodeau helped MORE>

KG played in Minnesota for that last 3 years and missed the playoffs. He didnt just all of a sudden become hte key difference on defense. He's always been good while his teams sucked.

The key is hte defensive coaching. The Bulls had it. They played suffocating defense REGARDLESS of what Jordan did on offense. Thats why they won so much.

NOt to mention that the zone rules hinder guys from he perimeter more these days. A guy like Kobe gets zoned up on his side of the court. I hate it.

I'd rather have the handcheck rule BACK but NO ZONES allowed.....that way Kobe could isolate from 15 feet MORE wihtout the allowance of zones.

[Sedale Threatt]

-= original quote snipped =-
I'm not saying that Denver will hit a switch and be able to lock the Lakers up defensively but you can't take it for granted that any team or player can't raise their level of play.

The Lakers aren't good enough "yet" to look past the Nuggets. Perhaps if they had Bynum back healthy. But that 2nd quarter should wake them up to what they can do better and it gives the Nuggets and their coaching staff something to build on.....

Trust me, I'm not looking past anyone, not with the defensive lapses we still make.

I fully expect Denver to blow us out in one of the games at Denver, and make this a competitive series. Frankly, I thought the Lakers were at about a C today -- great in spurts, but still suffering from the same lapses in concentration and intensity.

That said, let me say that after watching the Lakers score 128 despite a 9-for-26 from their star player, I'm not too worried about Denver's defense.

[eatyourchildren]

I fully expect Denver to get back into this series with a head of steam