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

[JDawg]

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..

LOL...you know I actually like you these days man.

Ever since Shaq outed himself as the egotistical, maniacal, farce of a teammate he truly is by now breaking his ties with his THIRD TEAM, you have called him out and said it the way you think it really is and that is that Shaq may INDEED have been more the cause of the friction by INITIALLY creating the problem with Kobe by talking bad about him.

And the fact PJ wanted DESPERATELY to come back and make ammends with Kobe and coach him, because he knew in his heart of heart, the wrongs he did the first time around in their relationship, which you can now see was Shaq's doing as they are running 3 years strong.

I have come to respect your hate of Kobe and enjoy reading your posts. There's some haters I cant stand. You though, got a pass from me from the most part. You seem like the real deal.

As for Kobe and steriods and being gay. Id say highly unlikely dude.

LBJ maybe steriods...but Kobe is WAY too skinny.

[eatyourchildren]

I think we should go HUGE in the lineup. Gasol/Turiaf/Odom. Gasol and Odom really cook it up the court.

TURIAF SLOWED
Bothered by an upper respiratory illness, Ronny Turiaf only played 3:20, which meant Gasol had to play more minutes than expected, nearly 45 minutes.

[JordansBulls]

How is a frontcourt of Rodman and Longley considered dominant defensively?

[JellosJigglin]

How is a frontcourt of Rodman and Longley considered dominant defensively?

Pippen - one of the greatest versatile defenders of all time
Rodman - one of the greatest post defenders of all time
Longley - just a big body who took up space and made his open shots

[JDawg]

How is a frontcourt of Rodman and Longley considered dominant defensively?

Because Rodman is perhaps the greatest post defender of PF and Centers such as Karl Malone and Shaq and the greatest rebounder in NBA history and LOngley is 7'2" guarding and boxing out the other big man.and Pippen is 6'7" with a 7'2" wingspan who averages 7.5-8 boards a game also and is basically the greatest defensive SF ever.

And along with Jordan and Harper you can see what im talking about.

Add in John Bach as a defensive guru ala Tom Thibodeau, and I don't think it's difficult to see how that team is one of the greatest defenisve teams EVER.

[CB4MiamiHeat]

Odom-Gasol is officially the best frontcourt in the league..agree, disagree?

[G35]

-= original quote snipped =-



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.

Yeah I do believe the Lakers can play better or more efficiently especially from KB. I just want the Lakers to go up 2-0 and protect home court....

[JellosJigglin]

Kobe had one of the worst games I've seen him play in a couple months but it was just enough.

I don't people are giving enough credit for the amount of attention he draws. The reason he's the MVP this season even though his numbers are down is because he's allowing his teammates to play 4 on 3. How many players consistently get doubled behind the 3 point line? He's allowing himself to be a decoy.

Plus I thought he missed quite a few shots he normally makes. Some inside the paint and a few from the elbow. He just makes 3 of those and we all say he had a pretty good game. Not "Kobe" good, but pretty good. Too much focus is being put on the shot percentage and not how he impacted the entire game and opened the floor up for his teammates.

Individually, I don't know why but he just didn't have that normal pep in his step today. With Kobe you never really know if he's playing through pain or what. He never uses injuries as an excuse.

Denver didn't do anything that surprised me. The Lakers had that ace up the sleeve with Pau, since Denver had never played the Lakers after the trade. They'll make their adjustments and place more focus on him next game. That's going to open things up for Kobe and Odom.

I thought Kenyon Martin was okay. He's a good defender but I think some people are giving him too much credit. I thought he made Kobe take 3 bad shots in the entire game. But like I said, I thought Kobe missed a lot of looks that he normally finishes. It was just one of those days where his shot was off, but he was still able to have an impact on the game.

[AILebronMelo]

-= original quote snipped =-



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.

I agree with what you said about Jr.Smith. The thing about the coaches is he was young out of high school and needed time to mature. The thing with him and Karl is the fact that Karl always want someone to blame when the problems start with the coaching. If someone can teach Jr. Smith how to be a better defender he can be very dangerous. He is already a good shot and has shown the ablity to get to the rack now he needs to become a better defender.

[JellosJigglin]

I don't think it's just about defense with JR. He just seems to have a low IQ. I don't think he bothers to read what the defense is giving him. He just makes up his mind too soon. That's why I think he's best suited as a bench player. He can just go in there and launch shot after shot and then take a seat. He's a good spark plug player, but I wouldn't want him starting for my team.

[eatyourchildren]

Odom-Gasol is officially the best frontcourt in the league..agree, disagree?

No way. Most mobile front court, yes. But they haven't shown that they can pound it against big bodies. Bynum-Gasol might come to be that.

[JellosJigglin]

-= original quote snipped =-



No way. Most mobile front court, yes. But they haven't shown that they can pound it against big bodies. Bynum-Gasol might come to be that.

Yeah I agree. The Lakers are not going to win a championship without that shotblocking threat in the middle. Gasol is a decent shotblocker, but not enough that he'll intimidate players from penetrating the paint. That is what Bynum did for the Lakers. I wouldn't hesitate in calling Odom-Gasol the most versatile front court though.

[CB4MiamiHeat]

whats the best then?

Garnett and Duncan are the best, but they have Perkins and Oberto next to em who are decent. Boozer/Okur dont block shots or impact much defensively. West/Chandler, Chandler is not a threat offensively as a guy creating his own shot...Amare/Shaq i can accept, though they look lost defensively, Amare blacks out and Shaq cant defend pick and roll.

[LakerFanMan]

Who's better? Just curious.

[shobe_81]

I think Odom and Kobe are the Key to Lakers success in this series!

Karl figured if he'd put K-Mart on Kobe, he'd neutralize Kobe and Camby would do a good job on Gasol by himself, well that puts Camby and Melo inside the paint giving Lakers a big advantage in size. With Odom's cutting ability he can feed off of Gasol's passes and vice versa for easy baskets while Kobe can play the Decoy role outside.

If you put Carter on Kobe, the Nuggets are gonna get beat up badly by Kobe or anyone else who guards Kobe and Karl doesn't want that.

They lose big time in interior defense with the line-up they used today but they lose perimeter defense if they put Martin on Odom and Carter/Kleza/JR on Kobe.

And if Nuggets go zone with the line-up they had today which gave Lakers some fits, Lakers just have to move the ball and make the open 3's.

When Odom was out, the defense for the Nuggets was really working but with Odom, Kobe, Luke, and Gasol, the Nuggets really get beat up on size or perimeter defense.

The only real way I can see Nuggets line-up playing well:

PG: Iverson
SG: Kleza/JR
SF: Melo
PF: Martin
C: Camby

I'm not sure how well Kleza can defend but I don't think they really have a choice. The only downturn of that is, they lose their bench if they use that line-up! And Phil is clearly out coaching Karl, that is a big reason why I don't think Nuggets can get it done.

[shobe_81]

I wouldn't call Odom and Gasol the best Front-Court but you can surely say they are the most finesse.

What's scary is these guys are playing out of their traditional position, just look at how Amare changed by moving to PF.

When Bynum comes back into good form, Lakers will have inside Finesse from Odom and Pau, Rebounding from Odom and Bynum, and Shot Blocking/intimidation from Bynum who also has the ability to just jump over you and dunk it!

[LakerFanMan]

whats the best then?

Garnett and Duncan are the best, but they have Perkins and Oberto next to em who are decent. Boozer/Okur dont block shots or impact much defensively. West/Chandler, Chandler is not a threat offensively as a guy creating his own shot...Amare/Shaq i can accept, though they look lost defensively, Amare blacks out and Shaq cant defend pick and roll.

Yea I was thinking Amare/Shaq as the best front court. Im kinda biased toward Gasol/Odom though, for some reason. It'll be interesting to see how Gasol/Bynum/Odom combo pans out though.

[BigAkers]

I hate to see grown men cry. Just too much in this thread.

[eatyourchildren]

BTW, much props to Lamar Odom, who has embraced being the third option beyond our expectations.

He's grabbing boards, hustling on defense, powering the break (his most important task), and really throwing some amazing pinpoint passes into the interior (those touch passes from as far as the sideline 3pt line are SICK).

Essentially, he's excelling at the role that Marion could, but refused, to do.

[JellosJigglin]

whats the best then?

Garnett and Duncan are the best, but they have Perkins and Oberto next to em who are decent. Boozer/Okur dont block shots or impact much defensively. West/Chandler, Chandler is not a threat offensively as a guy creating his own shot...Amare/Shaq i can accept, though they look lost defensively, Amare blacks out and Shaq cant defend pick and roll.

In terms of giving you a balance between offense and defense, I think West-Chandler might be the best. Each player just lives up to their roles. Chandler does what a center is supposed to do (rebound, block shots). West does what a forward is supposed to do (midrange game, tough on both ends)

KG and Perkins would have to be in the discussion too.

Until Bynum comes back, the Lakers don't have any anchor in the paint. Odom is an underrated man defender, but not a shotblocker. Same with Pau.