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What other conclusion could any NBA fan come to if a 12-3 team loses to a 1-12 team? The wizards have been the doormat of the eastern conference for years so to think they won last night because they played well is not something most people will think.
They got upset. It happens, you know. That's why they play the game.
Being the defending champ means you're going to get the opponent's best effort night in and night out. That's why it's awfully hard to repeat.
so kobe became the youngest to 30k points last night. he needs about 4.5 more years at 2k per year to pass all time.
He pretty much can't have any injuries the next 5 years to get there. It's not impossible, but at this point if I had to put my hard earned dollars down....I think he winds up 3rd or so on the list and doesn't catch #1.
He'd have to keep playing at his current level until he is 39 or so and that's tough.
Not that it changes anything IMO. His legacy is already well established whether he plays the extra few years or not. I mean Karl Malone could have ground out another 2-3 years to pass Kareem playing as a 6th man etc. but at some point....why?
The Lakers, in some respects are improving. Jamison (who I like) and Meeks are showing signs of improvement.
Pau is a great person, but seems to have lost a mental edge, and perhaps his bad knees have a large part to play as well. He should be traded.
Morris and Duhon (who I like) and even Kobe aren't the best PGs. A healthy Nash and/or another quick/smart PG will make this system work a little better.
Howard's FTs are a problem, but the blaming Howard for FTs is like blaming the Refs for losing a game. I agree with Dantoni when he decides to keep him in. Howard (for all intents an purposes) will be a franchise player and you work with him on this.
Defense sucks.
Floor needs more spacing.
Need to limit TO.
It's all easy to say but another thing to do.
Despite the star power this team is a brand new team all the way around and although it is extremely frustrating as a fan, I think the team just needs more time. They will not win the championship this year and might make it to the first round, but that's it.
Lastly I think one of the reasons why they went 4-1 with Bernie is because they weren't thinking as much. Even though it sounds like Dantoni's system isn't rocket science, it feels like they're thinking a bit too much again and not having that degree of fun...With this many players that can score, you'd almost want to just let them PLAY.
I agree with much of that and not alot of it is going to change.
The elephant in the room is that Gasol's contract is virtually untradeable at this point for anything of real value. (Unless the Lakers' find a big sucker .....looks at the Knicks and Magic..... )
The big question is what does Dwight think about all this when the lakers are starting to look like they may need to rebuild or languish as a team that is just good enough to make the playoffs when their old guys are healthy?
Does anyone know if the amnesty clause gets you out of the salary tax? If so, look for Gasol to go from active trade to fire-sale trade to perhaps amnesty prior to next season.
Kobe on Gasol: "We should go to him more on the post because he can dominate from there as he has to the tune of two rings. I'm sure we will adjust and figure out a balance when he comes back healthy."
Uh oh, we know Gasol's days are up. Remember the last time Kobe gives his vote of confidence?[COUGH] Mike Brown [/COUGH]
I think Kobe is putting on a PR campaign as he clearly has had players and coaches removed over the years.
I'm not buying it.
honestly i think kobe only wants to pass jordan. i dont think he cares about passing the malone or kareem, he wants jordan and he will be happy with that.
he passes wilt this year, and jordan by mid season next year at his current pace.
now at 1750 points per year (25 ppg for 70 games) it would take him 4.78 seasons. he still has the .78 left to go (a little less then .78 more like .66 but for argument sake) that means he has 4 seasons left to match kareem. puts him at 38 yrs old. now we didnt get to see jordan at 35/36/37 but at 38 he had 1375 points in 60 games, and at 39 he had 1640 in 82.
some semi realistic numbers barring major injury.
lets say kobe holds his current average for this season (28 ppg) thats 1764 MORE points this season.
he loses a ppg next season and only plays 75 games thats 2025 points
the following season he drops to 25 ppg for 75 games, thats another 1875 points
at 37 years olf he has a bit more decline and plays 75 games at 22 ppg thats another 1650 points.
thats 7314 points and would leave him only needing 1058 points to meet kareem. he would only need 15-16 ppg for 70 games to pass him at 38 years old.
these are obvious guesses but not unbelievable knowing kobe. on the other side, he has said he planned on retiring after this contract, is it a surprise that he will almost 100% pass jordan next season at the end of his contract? then he has said he wants to play till he is 40, which would make it fairly esay for him to pass kareem. thats 6 more years and he would need to average 18 ppg every season to pass him in that time. obviously he will average more then that the next couple of seasons.
i think its really up to kobe and his ego/body but the ball is in his court so to speak.
I agree with much of that and not alot of it is going to change.
The elephant in the room is that Gasol's contract is virtually untradeable at this point for anything of real value. (Unless the Lakers' find a big sucker .....looks at the Knicks and Magic..... )
The big question is what does Dwight think about all this when the lakers are starting to look like they may need to rebuild or languish as a team that is just good enough to make the playoffs when their old guys are healthy?
Does anyone know if the amnesty clause gets you out of the salary tax? If so, look for Gasol to go from active trade to fire-sale trade to perhaps amnesty prior to next season.
there is talk of pau to toronto for bargnani and calderon. both of which would help the lakers but toronto isnt getting much in return. the lakers would need to throw in someone else for $ and earl clarks contract fits well.
amnestied players salary does not count toward the cap. you have to pay the salary but it doesnt go toward cap/tax. so the lakers could amnesty pau and that 19+ would come off their cap/tax bill. i dont see it happening though. the bright spot would be another team not over the cap would pick him up in an instant and the lakers would even cut down on his 19+ salary. kinda like scola, and the rockets/suns.
What other conclusion could any NBA fan come to if a 12-3 team loses to a 1-12 team? The wizards have been the doormat of the eastern conference for years so to think they won last night because they played well is not something most people will think.
Well it's the truth. Again, Miami hasn't played that well this year. EVEN THE WIZARDS HAVE A BETTER DEFENSE THAN THEM!!!!! Miami is having a championship hang over and honestly I wouldn't be surprised if they lose more games like this. To be honest the past two games they have played, Miami should have been blown out but because they were playing two teams (Spurs and Wizards) who didn't have their leading scorer(s), they stayed in those games. I would say if the Wizards had Wall and were actually a decent team, they could have blown that game wide open. They were literally beating them almost the entire game similar to what the Spurs did. 8 of their last 9 games they have either lost, gone to over time or won by no more than 5 points.
there is talk of pau to toronto for bargnani and calderon. both of which would help the lakers but toronto isnt getting much in return. the lakers would need to throw in someone else for $ and earl clarks contract fits well.
amnestied players salary does not count toward the cap. you have to pay the salary but it doesnt go toward cap/tax. so the lakers could amnesty pau and that 19+ would come off their cap/tax bill. i dont see it happening though. the bright spot would be another team not over the cap would pick him up in an instant and the lakers would even cut down on his 19+ salary. kinda like scola, and the rockets/suns.
The Lakers would probably never go that route to amnesty him. As bad as he has been playing, Gasol still has value. If you look at the players who have been amnestied, most if not all of them were untradeable.
Just found out another TNT game at Miami tonight maybe missing a star player. damm
Carmelo wanted to dive in the stands last night like a fool to save a ball and injured himself by cutting his finger and may not play tonight
So this will be the second TNT game in a row that a star player from the opposing team may not play against the Heat
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