12/31 - Philadelphia Sixers vs. LA Lakers. 7:30pm

[b shaw20]

I understand where ankle is coming from sometimes we need to attack mismaches instead of giving the ball to Kobe and watch, no one can matchup to our front court so let them do damage and let Kobe pick his spots now granted we won but ankle brings up a good point, is the team really that bad that Kobe has to take 20+ shots a game..

If I can chime in, I too get Ankle's viewpoint and he is 100% on point. Kobe is needlessly workin too hard. If we have bigs who have mismatches, let's go to them and punish other teams front lines. Gasol and Bynum shoot a higher percentage than Kobe so why not let them do the heavy lifting? This crap about Kobe had the biggest mismatch is not a big advantage if Kobe settles for perimeter shots which he has done most of the time (key games vs Heat, Spurs). Although, IMO last night he mixed it up better than he has in a long time and that's why he had a good % (multiple dunks and layups). Does anyone really we could survive another game 7 performance again?

Additionally, I don't buy the "as long as we win" its ok mentality. It's fools gold and we are setting ourselves up for a rude wake up call in the playoffs. If we win games on talent and offensive abilities only and we lose track of playing great team D, can we expect to win a title again?

Like it was said here, let's not wait until we lose a series to consider the ill effects of not playing smart basketball. Phil and Kobe should be too smart for that, and here's hoping that the stubbornness or headstrong mentality from past success doesn't cloud their minds.

Helluva post b shaw20, we all need to clearly assess what's for the good of the team. In basketball mismatches need to be attacked, if there is a plethora of them in one game so be it.....play smart ball and attack them all. One person dominating a mismatch isn't 100% fail proof, who gives a damn if Kobe was checked by a rookie ?

Thx Deep, all I'm saying is exploit mismatches until teams adjust then we counter with other weapons cuz the way I see it- we got the Arsenal counter and punish people. In simple terms, we have to impose our will in the paint (24 included) and IF we do that -- no one in this f'n league can deal with that, no one.

I don't care if Kobe shoots 30 times, as long as they are good shots (meaning wide open or shots at the rim). But when he get going and the double n triple teams start coming, he has to spoon feed whoever is left open. And make them pay...

Doc Rivers and Pop are probably the 2 guys that want to lure Kobe into taking a lot of shots. Despite his ability, he is much easier to defend when you know what he's going to do (shoot). And more often than not, he will not sniff 50%.

Do you remember in 2001-02 season when we swept the Spurs? Kobe not only got his, but he got others theirs too ( even Fish was killing them). He was unguardable and that's when Shaq called him "greatest in planet". He has the squad to take him to another level and he has to know that. It's the reason Wade needed to join forces with LJ, ...I believe they believe, it was necessary to knock off Kobe from the mountain top. Alone they weren't even guaranteed a seat at the dance so they had to team up. The Lakers are much more than Kobe and cast, but as long as Kobe is able to do what it takes to win (eg Jordan to Kerr in a defining moment) he will continue to be the man. And to his credit, he has done that before (to Horry, to Artest, Fish)... Just smart, simple basketball is what I want to see.

[b shaw20]

I like how in the reg season people keep b****ing about kobe but when the playoffs end we are celebrating.

Here's the proof to all my posts! As long as we win so what. What did we celebrate in '08? I'm telling you guys, with this mentality this will be a huge blow up in our faces if we get put out playing this style.

Do you think they are going to win it every year and never lose? 08 was a good year..we weren't even projected to make a good run once Bynum went down, but we got Pau that year thankfully, and we made a good run. Phil even said he thought we got to the finals earlier than expected. That was a good year going from KWAME Brown to Pau Gasol. We won in 09/010. Hopefully we win again this year. Lakers aren't going to win every year.

Not the right mentality RHP, especially when we have the deepest team we have had since I can remember. I expect nothing less than a chip from this group and anything else would be underachieving. A big healthy talented front court, solid bench, perimeter shooting improved, athletic squad, greatest coach and the best closer in the game. And we should think " can't win em all"?

Like LL Cool J once said... " I don't think so"

[Anklebreaker702]

@ B Shaw & DEEP. I'm glad someone finally sees what I was saying instead of reading what they want into it. Waiting until we lose to address obvious deficiencies is an appetite for destruction.

[Anklebreaker702]

I like how in the reg season people keep b****ing about kobe but when the playoffs end we are celebrating.

Here's the proof to all my posts! As long as we win so what. What did we celebrate in '08? I'm telling you guys, with this mentality this will be a huge blow up in our faces if we get put out playing this style.

Do you think they are going to win it every year and never lose? 08 was a good year..we weren't even projected to make a good run once Bynum went down, but we got Pau that year thankfully, and we made a good run. Phil even said he thought we got to the finals earlier than expected. That was a good year going from KWAME Brown to Pau Gasol. We won in 09/010. Hopefully we win again this year. Lakers aren't going to win every year.

RHP, that's the whole point. No team is going to win every year but what hurts worse is when its in your grasp & you let it get away. Don't know if you're old enough to remember the '84 series but that one still hurts more than '08. Why? Because we should have won that series & easily at that.

Once this run is over who knows how long it will be before we are perennial favorites to get back to the Finals. It would be a shame to see it all come to an end because we got complacent & started getting off of the game plan & watch it all dissolve.

[Edrees]

I'm with anklebreaker in that while a win is a win, a lot of the reasons we lose the games we lose is because of habits formed when we win games against weaker teams. To correct the losses against better teams we need to correct the wins against weaker teams. Good habits and consistent effort are the key to this and this is what the lakers fail to show sometimes even in their wins.

[Anklebreaker702]

Thx Deep, all I'm saying is exploit mismatches until teams adjust then we counter with other weapons cuz the way I see it- we got the Arsenal counter and punish people. In simple terms, we have to impose our will in the paint (24 included) and IF we do that -- no one in this f'n league can deal with that, no one.

I don't care if Kobe shoots 30 times, as long as they are good shots (meaning wide open or shots at the rim). But when he get going and the double n triple teams start coming, he has to spoon feed whoever is left open. And make them pay...

Doc Rivers and Pop are probably the 2 guys that want to lure Kobe into taking a lot of shots. Despite his ability, he is much easier to defend when you know what he's going to do (shoot). And more often than not, he will not sniff 50%.

Do you remember in 2001-02 season when we swept the Spurs? Kobe not only got his, but he got others theirs too ( even Fish was killing them). He was unguardable and that's when Shaq called him "greatest in planet". He has the squad to take him to another level and he has to know that. It's the reason Wade needed to join forces with LJ, ...I believe they believe, it was necessary to knock off Kobe from the mountain top. Alone they weren't even guaranteed a seat at the dance so they had to team up. The Lakers are much more than Kobe and cast, but as long as Kobe is able to do what it takes to win (eg Jordan to Kerr in a defining moment) he will continue to be the man. And to his credit, he has done that before (to Horry, to Artest, Fish)... Just smart, simple basketball is what I want to see.

Another thing B Shaw, its funny you mentioned Jordan & Kerr as a defining moment because in the series again the Suns they could not force a Game 7 for that very reason. Dan Marley was their 3 point threat all year. Danny Ainge came off the bench & was lighting the Bulls up. In fact he was the reason they took the lead & he was pulled out of the game for Marley just because it was Marley's "job" to be the shooter. Marley was bricking not only that game but the whole series & was inserted back in because they would rather lose with what they figured was the best option even though it was clear Ainge was getting the job done.

Point being I'd rather lose with what's working rather than what's "supposed" to work.

[Pablo Escobar]

@ B Shaw & DEEP. I'm glad someone finally sees what I was saying instead of reading what they want into it. Waiting until we lose to address obvious deficiencies is an appetite for destruction.

No shout out to your boy ILLMATIC lol just playin man haha, but people need to understand you're not saying Kobe is done you're just saying that we can't win if he's the only one playing at an elite level the team needs to be involved especially with the West getting competitive again

[Anklebreaker702]

@ B Shaw & DEEP. I'm glad someone finally sees what I was saying instead of reading what they want into it. Waiting until we lose to address obvious deficiencies is an appetite for destruction.

No shout out to your boy ILLMATIC lol just playin man haha, but people need to understand you're not saying Kobe is done you're just saying that we can't win if he's the only one playing at an elite level the team needs to be involved especially with the West getting competitive again

Dang my bad. A special shout out to my boy KB24CLIMATIC!

[Anklebreaker702]

I'm with anklebreaker in that while a win is a win, a lot of the reasons we lose the games we lose is because of habits formed when we win games against weaker teams. To correct the losses against better teams we need to correct the wins against weaker teams. Good habits and consistent effort are the key to this and this is what the lakers fail to show sometimes even in their wins.

This, EXACTLY This.