GT: T-Wolves @ Lakers October 28, 2015 7:30PM

[The Prodigy]

Yeah, this isn't fair at all. Other players jumping in almost always only exacerbates a moment that turned out to be fleeting, mainly because all three refs were right there. Let the refs do their job. Plus, Randle looks like he can take care of himself just fine.

We can be mad at Kobe for thinking it's still 2007 and gunning without conscience, but this is silly. Kobe can and currently may very well be an effective leader and mentor without that kind of stuff.

I never suggested that Kobe get in KG's face, I would have just expected him to step in, talk to Randle and de-escalate the situation. Yes, Randle is a bull and could probably break KG's skinny ass in half but then what? Ejection, free throws, suspension.

I don't think we've seen anything from Randle to suggest that that kind of volatile behavior is something to worry about. I'm sure he can get there with enough provocation, as anyone could, but even when confronted with KG right in his face he was still cool. He just wasn't about to back down. Now, if Julius had exhibited some Demarcus Cousins type behavior in the past, I might be more inclined to agree with your overall sentiment, but he hasn't at all. We can definitely add poise to his list of positive attributes.

If we can't beat the Wolves at home .... whew.

It's the very first game of the season.

It's a valid point but he's still a rookie and KG is a master wind-up artist. Julius handled it well but I would've appreciated Kobe taking the initiative to eliminate any chance for an escalation.

[Jedi32]

One instance that to me was very telling of Kobe's lack of mentorship was his complete avoidance of the Randle/KG back-and-forth, where a veteran needs to step in and make sure the rookie doesn't do anything stupid that will cost the team and himself. Luckily, Randle handled it well, but h absence was very conspicuous.

Yeah, this isn't fair at all. Other players jumping in almost always only exacerbates a moment that turned out to be fleeting, mainly because all three refs were right there. Let the refs do their job. Plus, Randle looks like he can take care of himself just fine.

We can be mad at Kobe for thinking it's still 2007 and gunning without conscience, but this is silly. Kobe can and currently may very well be an effective leader and mentor without that kind of stuff.

Exactly! Sometimes it just feels like guys are grasping for straws.

[Kilroy]

Being a big Luke Walton defender throughout his playing career, it does my heart good to hear Laker fans and others calling for him to immediately replace Scott after essentially coaching no NBA games... The ironing is fresh, warm, and feels gooood...

[Jedi32]

This team is so damn talented. All this team needs is game reps and it's gonna grow into something beautiful. Finally get to sit back and enjoy Lakers basketball again.

I can see why Jim Buss thinks they're one big FA signing away from being highly competitive.

My feelings exactly! Plus it's not like Minnesota doesn't have some talent also. We lost a winnable game, but he'll we did that during the Shaq and kobe era sometimes also. It happens! This Te is pretty nice though and with some time I believe they're gonna give us some very good moments this year. Of course there are also going to be more nights like this but that's just the nature of the game.

[ArC_man]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659763853702512640[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659764326438297601[/tweet]
It still amazes me how much Kobe can shoot

[Slava]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659763853702512640[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659764326438297601[/tweet]
It still amazes me how much Kobe can shoot

Honestly wish Phil or Cuban panic enough to make us an offer for Kobe. I can't stand to see him hoisting up 25-30 shots at the expense of Russell.

[Goudelock]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659763853702512640[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659764326438297601[/tweet]
It still amazes me how much Kobe can shoot

Honestly wish Phil or Cuban panic enough to make us an offer for Kobe. I can't stand to see him hoisting up 25-30 shots at the expense of Russell.

I wish that Russell was in Mudiay's situation. If he was allowed to have the ball all the time, control the offense, and make mistakes, he would probably do better.

PS: Byron Scott's offense would make Scott Brooks proud.

[SashaTheMachine]

wish I could get the app to work on my iphone...lol

what's the secret

haha it is not very user friendly, but it comes in handy!

[Slava]

To paraphrase one of Garnett’s ex-teammates, this is why you pay him — to dictate the mood on the court and fiddle with the fragile minds of opposing players. This is a team that needs a guy like KG. The “education of the next generation,” as Sports Illustrated put it, will be dictated by the veterans on the Lakers and Timberwolves. Whether it’s an inherent personality trait or a learned behavior, Towns looks at home, or at least more so than Russell. He was a part of the offense rather than a weird third nipple doing everything he could in an attempt to be noticed. Towns’s mentor was highly visible. Russell’s only seemed to want to talk to Roy Hibbert, Metta World Peace, and the adoring throng of Angelenos that paid to see him indulge himself.

From Grantland. This is going to be the theme of the year unless Kobe changes his ways.

[Jedi32]

Like I said anything to blame kobe. Sad that after all he's done for the franchise people still want to blame every Ill on him.

[ArC_man]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659763853702512640[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659764326438297601[/tweet]
It still amazes me how much Kobe can shoot

Honestly wish Phil or Cuban panic enough to make us an offer for Kobe. I can't stand to see him hoisting up 25-30 shots at the expense of Russell.

It's his last year, let him shoot however much he wants. I blame more BScott for acting like he can control Kobe but enabling Kobe to do whatever he wants.

[Jedi32]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659763853702512640[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659764326438297601[/tweet]
It still amazes me how much Kobe can shoot

Honestly wish Phil or Cuban panic enough to make us an offer for Kobe. I can't stand to see him hoisting up 25-30 shots at the expense of Russell.

Just curious as to how Kobe's shooting is at the expense of Russell?

[Rosque]

I LOVE that Randle didn't back off from KG's trash talk. I love cockiness I'm seeing from him. He's gonna be a big contributor for us.

[Slava]

Spoiler:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659763853702512640[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/659764326438297601[/tweet]
It still amazes me how much Kobe can shoot

Honestly wish Phil or Cuban panic enough to make us an offer for Kobe. I can't stand to see him hoisting up 25-30 shots at the expense of Russell.

Just curious as to how Kobe's shooting is at the expense of Russell?

It is very hard for a perimeter player, especially a rookie like Russell to sustain a normal game when someone else is posting such gaudy usage. Like has been pointed out before in this thread, Russell was completely ignored for much of the game yesterday when he was spotting up on the weak side.

[ak7]

Byron Scott may have been able to get the most out of Chris Paul, but the way he used Russell last night, and the way he allowed Kobe to practically negate Russell's abilities should be a huge red flag for the front office. His rotations enabled Kobe to shoot the way he did, which by the way were complete crap.

Nothing worse than setting the stage for your prized rook's confidence to be ruined before he can even have a chance to make a difference.

[FrozenIceCubes]

I'm not in panic mode yet because it looks like the Pelicans are not gonna be a playoff team and the Jazz still look like the same team that didn't win enough to make the playoffs... We have a real chance to make the playoffs we just need the the team to gel real fast before other WC teams go on a winning run.

[moonpie]

Yo RealGM fix yo servers! Had the next GT all ready and it crashed on me I'll get it up later today

[The Prodigy]

Yo RealGM fix yo servers! Had the next GT all ready and it crashed on me I'll get it up later today

Seriously. What's the deal with RealGM? It seems like it's been crashing during high traffic periods for years. Also, the forums are practically inaccessible via mobile. At least for me.

Does anyone else have the same issues?

[Dilly]

Can't believe I'm seeing so called Laker fans on the GB praying to keep a so called top 3 pick. First off you have to realize this team is just decent enough that they won't come close to being low enough to keep that pick. Secondly college basketball will be almost unwatchable this season and there isn't one kid that will be a lottery pick that will put a team over the hump.

If you believe that they'll keep that pick and find a stud in a real weak draft....then you are mentally F'd up and have no ball IQ.

Have to disagree, weak draft or not. Getting a prospect is better than getting none at all

Keep on disagreeing, because I'm here to tell you there isn't one guy in college that will put a team over the hump, there isn't even one that will come in and average 20. The Lakers are done seeking prospects, like Mitch said they don't have time for a 10 rebuild and they certainly can't rely on building through a weak draft. In fact the next 2 drafts will be about as weak as I've ever seen them.

I get what you're saying in not wanting the looonnnggg rebuild. But how do you know what draft classes will be weak and you haven't even seen the prospects play at the collegiate level? Somebody can surprise you

[Kilroy]

To paraphrase one of Garnett’s ex-teammates, this is why you pay him — to dictate the mood on the court and fiddle with the fragile minds of opposing players. This is a team that needs a guy like KG. The “education of the next generation,” as Sports Illustrated put it, will be dictated by the veterans on the Lakers and Timberwolves. Whether it’s an inherent personality trait or a learned behavior, Towns looks at home, or at least more so than Russell. He was a part of the offense rather than a weird third nipple doing everything he could in an attempt to be noticed. Towns’s mentor was highly visible. Russell’s only seemed to want to talk to Roy Hibbert, Metta World Peace, and the adoring throng of Angelenos that paid to see him indulge himself.

From Grantland. This is going to be the theme of the year unless Kobe changes his ways.

I'd say this says a lot about Russell too... Look at Randle for example... He's basically a rookie too... He's had just about as much interaction with Kobe too, because Kobe's been out and Randle's been out...
So I ask you... How comfortable did Randle look with Kobe last night?

Sometimes you have to reach out to the voice that doesn't say nice things to become more than you are.

Obviously, Kobe's a dick... Always has been. Yes that's on him. But it isn't just his responsibility to change to make Russell better.

IMO Russell has been acting entitled since he was drafted... If Kobe reduced himself to help Russell it would do more to impede Russell's development than improve it...
Russell is either going to find a way to earn Kobe's respect, or he's not... If he doesn't, I'd be willing to bet he ends up being a huge disappointment in the NBA.