Realist Is Busy Saving The World

Waldini:

- I watched the Lakers-Spurs last night and Kobe was forcing the issue. It was interesting b/c when he was in the game, it was everybody watch Kobe, Kobe dribble forever and take a bad shot with little time on the shot clock. When he was out in the early 4th qtr, the Lakers made a run. Keep in mind they had Odom, Bynum, Vujacic, McKie, and Green on the floor. And that squad cut the lead to 4.

- Does anyone think the Clippers are for real? They're off to a franchise best for Ws in November and currently lead the Pacific. They have beaten quality teams on the road. I'm hesistant to pencil them in for the playoffs b/c Sam I Am is older and tends to break down over a season

- Who is the best team in the NBA right now? Spurs, Pistons, Mavs,etc....there's a lot of parity right now

- The Stan Van Gundy conspiracy is in full watch right now. Shaq comes back next week and if that team doesnt go on a roll, then's he toast by Jan

- Chris Paul, Channing Frye, Andrew Bogut are the truth.

- Dwight Howard is going to be a beast in 2 yrs

- Remember when experts said Tim Thomas was going to revolutionize his position. I guess those guys never forsaw him being placed on the inactivelist.

- My oh my how the Wiz have fallen since their fast start

Gangsta D:

Bynum may turn out to be a player, and I mean by the end of the year. He showed me something last night. I'm not gonna shout hallelujah over 6/6/2 but he made some nice moves in the post, had a real nice assist to Smush, and got some strong rebounds. If he can figure out what to do 30% of the time in the triangle, he will be an asset.

Waldini:

Yea, he did look decent last night. Sasha didnt look that bad either. I know folks will say I am crazy but the Lakers should have beat the Spurs last night. The Lakers forced the issue too many times on a number of different possessions. When they played under control, they were running neck and neck with the Spurs. Classic example of forcing...Smush steals the ball has a 2 on 1 break (Odom on the wing) with another Laker trailing. Brent Barry is trying to stop Smush from pushing up the court. Instead of Smush passing the outlet to Lamar early, he decided to dribble behind his back. Yea he got fouled and fortunately hit both free throws but it made more sense to give up the ball early

I'm optimistic though b/c it's early in the season.

Da Realist:

sorry guys...putting out fires this morning...

Gangsta D:

Don't know if you saw on NBA TV sunday, but they showed Game 4 of the 2002 Finals. It's wierd to see that team play with poise, play agressive defense, and precision on offense. The 2005 team pretty much lacks in all categories:) But, they have talent and potential. They just have to find a way to put it all together. Lamar went off and picked up the slack due to Kobe's bad shooting night. Sasha had a couple big threes. They played very good defense at times, and horrible defense at other times. The only personwho knows how to win is Kobe, but he often tries to do too much by himself. They just need a good win against an upper echelon team, to give themselves confidence. I think they can do it, but I hope the season doesn't devolve into a tailspin before they can figure it out.

Waldini:

Naw, but I got it on tape :-)

Well we both can do math. The Lakers lost by 6, Kobe made 9 of 30 shots. He shoots at least 45% the Lakers win. I agree with you. They need a win against a top tier team to give them confidence. I think they are more talented than they show at times but they have to believe it. Amazing how different they look now vs that first week huh :-)