uPtoWnNY said:

I'm so disgusted with the Knicks right now. Losing to Phoenix was bad enough, but losing to a team that hasn't won a road game? Disgraceful. Let's be honest - this is a D-league roster outside of the big three. No floor leader, no bench - the Knicks suck.

And now they lost to Denver at home in double overtime, in part because of the player they traded away to get Melo.

But my Bulls keep on winning, even though Derrick Rose has been sitting out the past few games with a bad toe. I suspect he'll be sitting out the game against the Nets but will be back for the game against the Pacers.

Phillee! Phillee! Phillee!

They still have a ways to go before they can play with the powerhouse

clubs like the Heat, Thunder, etc. but i like what they've done so far.

728huey said:

And now they lost to Denver at home in double overtime, in part because of the player they traded away to get Melo.

Amar'e only takes ONE shot in the 4th quarter and both OTs - what....the.....fuck????? And D'Amdummy lets Carmelo go iso, iso, iso, and take way too many shots with his teamates wide open. No ball movement at all. The coach has to tell Carmelo to stop being so selfish, and get Amar'e the ball .

I want Pringles the fuck OUTTA here!

uPtoWnNY said:

728huey said:

And now they lost to Denver at home in double overtime, in part because of the player they traded away to get Melo.

Amar'e only takes ONE shot in the 4th quarter and both OTs - what....the.....fuck????? And D'Amdummy lets Carmelo go iso, iso, iso, and take way too many shots with his teamates wide open. No ball movement at all. The coach has to tell Carmelo to stop being so selfish, and get Amar'e the ball .

I want Pringles the fuck OUTTA here!

Amar'e has been playing weird since it was rumored he'd be traded so the Knicks could get Dwight Howard. I think his feelings are hurt. I'm very serious. He came to NY as the lone wolf when, imo, LeBron was afraid to come. Now 'Melo is here and all of sudden they don't need him!!!!

He's playing like his heart isn't in it, because his heart is broken.

The Nets won tonight!!!

edit: to mention my Nets win!!

[Edited 1/22/12 21:11pm]

The Knicks' lack of a true PG is killing Amar'e game. I don't know why Pringles isn't using more pick & roll.

Knicks hopes are resting on Baron Davis, and who knows what they'll get out of him?

Nash's name is being thrown around as a possible pg for them. I'm not sure if they're talking about a trade or if Nash will be a free agent at the end of this season. If it's a trade what do they have to offer - Amar'e. Deron Williams announced he wouldn't mind signing with the Knicks so they can just wait for him.

I'm all wound up after that damn Giants game!! I won't be sleepy until it's time for me to get up and go to work later this morning:sigh:

-

uPtoWnNY said:

I'm so disgusted with the Knicks right now. Losing to Phoenix was bad enough, but losing to a team that hasn't won a road game? Disgraceful. Let's be honest - this is a D-league roster outside of the big three. No floor leader, no bench - the Knicks suck.

You're disgusted??? Try being a Raptors fan! It's just painful to watch, so I've given up on b-ball for a while.

The Lakers are treading water and ripe for a runoff in early May. The CP3 fiasco still hangs over the team. The lack of quality depth, the loss of LO, and no viable PG are nails in the coffin. Even a major move won't address the depth problem, and they've played a lot of ball for an aged team on the front end of the season.

It appears Youth, and the Heat, will be served in 2012's Association.

namepeace said:

The Lakers are treading water and ripe for a runoff in early May. The CP3 fiasco still hangs over the team. The lack of quality depth, the loss of LO, and no viable PG are nails in the coffin. Even a major move won't address the depth problem, and they've played a lot of ball for an aged team on the front end of the season.

It appears Youth, and the Heat, will be served in 2012's Association.

Time 2 totally retool..........including trading Kobe.

[Edited 1/24/12 10:18am]

Graycap23 said:

namepeace said:

The Lakers are treading water and ripe for a runoff in early May. The CP3 fiasco still hangs over the team. The lack of quality depth, the loss of LO, and no viable PG are nails in the coffin. Even a major move won't address the depth problem, and they've played a lot of ball for an aged team on the front end of the season.

It appears Youth, and the Heat, will be served in 2012's Association.

Time 2 totally retool..........including trading Kobe.

[Edited 1/24/12 10:18am]

I'm no Kobe fan, personally; I eased up on him after Shaq made some comments in 2007 actually supporting him in that "trade me" fiasco. But unlike a lot of Lakers fans, I believe he left rings on the table to try to be the man, and he's not Magic Johnson in terms of leadership or even clutch play.

That being said, LA's not trading Kobe. He's their best player, he's got 2 good years left, and even if they wanted to, they couldn't move his HUGE salary. Plus he's got a no-trade clause (if memory serves).

namepeace said:

Graycap23 said:

Time 2 totally retool..........including trading Kobe.

[Edited 1/24/12 10:18am]

I'm no Kobe fan, personally; I eased up on him after Shaq made some comments in 2007 actually supporting him in that "trade me" fiasco. But unlike a lot of Lakers fans, I believe he left rings on the table to try to be the man, and he's not Magic Johnson in terms of leadership or even clutch play.

That being said, LA's not trading Kobe. He's their best player, he's got 2 good years left, and even if they wanted to, they couldn't move his HUGE salary. Plus he's got a no-trade clause (if memory serves).

Jordan was making $36mil when he walked away from the Bulls.....he was not traded but I'm just saying. It's time 2 move on.

Rumor has it Baron Davis might play tonight against the Cavs.

Graycap23 said:

namepeace said:

I'm no Kobe fan, personally; I eased up on him after Shaq made some comments in 2007 actually supporting him in that "trade me" fiasco. But unlike a lot of Lakers fans, I believe he left rings on the table to try to be the man, and he's not Magic Johnson in terms of leadership or even clutch play.

That being said, LA's not trading Kobe. He's their best player, he's got 2 good years left, and even if they wanted to, they couldn't move his HUGE salary. Plus he's got a no-trade clause (if memory serves).

Jordan was making $36mil when he walked away from the Bulls.....he was not traded but I'm just saying. It's time 2 move on.

Kobe's got an ex who gets half, he can't walk away from his payout.

But Kobe may force the issue again. When Stern killed the CP3 deal he may have ended the Lakers' season before it started. But LA's trade of Odom destroyed the versatility of this team. Pau appears to be absolutely shot. Bynum's an injury waiting to happen. And Mike Brown inspires little confidence. Kobe wants Six. Or more. I don't fault LA for a lot of this; they tried to build a transition around CP3 and D12. But it didn't work out, so you're right, Kobe may get moved or even amnestied.

namepeace said:

Graycap23 said:

Jordan was making $36mil when he walked away from the Bulls.....he was not traded but I'm just saying. It's time 2 move on.

Kobe's got an ex who gets half, he can't walk away from his payout.

But Kobe may force the issue again. When Stern killed the CP3 deal he may have ended the Lakers' season before it started. But LA's trade of Odom destroyed the versatility of this team. Pau appears to be absolutely shot. Bynum's an injury waiting to happen. And Mike Brown inspires little confidence. Kobe wants Six. Or more. I don't fault LA for a lot of this; they tried to build a transition around CP3 and D12. But it didn't work out, so you're right, Kobe may get moved or even amnestied.

I'm amazed how these teams hold on 2 older players way 2 long.

Kobe ain't goin' anywhere.

MJ retired... twice!

MJ may forever be considered the better natural talent, but Kobe has more drive. Just look at how many minutes he's played between the regular season, playoffs and Olympics if you have any doubts.

Kobe never demanded a trade for the sake of being traded. He used it as leverage. He demanded they make changes and bring in enough talent for him to win titles. They did, and he did.

Kobe has said more than once that he wants to be a Laker for his entire career. I don't ever recall hearing MJ say that about the Bulls.

Kobe is not stupid. Selfish maybe, but not stupid. He knew this year was going to be hard BEFORE they dumped Lamar Odom for nothing in return. He knew they had a weak bench and a new coaching staff. This was never going to be an easy season.

I watch a lot of Laker basketball and I actually think Kobe has pulled back a bit since that string of 40 point games. Their trade value players weren't getting enough touches.

It's very likely this team will be completely different by the trade deadline.

But Kobe ain't goin' anywhere.

By the way, for whatever it's worth, Kobe likes Mike Brown. Evidently they talk fairly often. Mike Brown isn't the problem.

Also, the Lakers are going to make the playoffs this season. As a Warrior fan I can't tell you how awesome it would be to know that your team was going to be in the playoffs year and year.

Cerebus said:

But Kobe ain't goin' anywhere.

U are probably 99% correct but that does NOT mean that mgmt should be thinking about it.

That loyalty stuff is played out.

Graycap23 said:

Cerebus said:

But Kobe ain't goin' anywhere.

U are probably 99% correct but that does NOT mean that mgmt should be thinking about it.

That loyalty stuff is played out.

I would probably agree with you in most cases, but not this one. Some players deserve the chance to stay as long as they remain productive. I hate the Yankees, but Derek Jeter should never play for another team. Same thing with Kobe.

With as many hall of fame players as the Lakers have had on their team, Kobe may very well end up being the single player most associated with that Team. Kareem wasn't a Laker for his entire life, nor were many of their other best known players. Magic had to cut his career short. At this point Kobe is pretty close to Mr. Laker.

Have you even heard any talk of him wanting to leave this time, or that he's being traded? I haven't. I'd feel safe going 99.5% that Kobe ain't goin' anywhere until he retires.

I agree the team looks rough this year, but that's only because we're accustomed to them never looking this way. They'll get it sorted out a lot sooner than most teams would.

So far my Bulls have been running away with the Eastern Conference, but tomorrw is probably the most anticipated game of the season since opening day.

at

The Heat are finally at full strength with Dwayne Wade back with LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Derrick Rose sat out for about aweek with a bad toe but has been back for the last couple of games. However, Luol Deng has been hurt and has sat out the last couple of games, and it is doubtful he'll be ready tomorrow. Nevertheless, many people are calling this game a preview of the Eastern Conference finals.

728huey said:

So far my Bulls have been running away with the Eastern Conference, but tomorrw is probably the most anticipated game of the season since opening day.

at

The Heat are finally at full strength with Dwayne Wade back with LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Derrick Rose sat out for about aweek with a bad toe but has been back for the last couple of games. However, Luol Deng has been hurt and has sat out the last couple of games, and it is doubtful he'll be ready tomorrow. Nevertheless, many people are calling this game a preview of the Eastern Conference finals.

The Bulls are built 4 the regular season. They still have no money players other than Rose with the game on the line. This will haunt them in the playoffs.

Knicks are hot garbage - no point guard, no chemistry between our stars, top-heavy roster, shitty coach.

I was in favor of the Carmelo trade, so I can't go back now. You need at least two stars to have a chance in this league, but maybe Donnie Walsh was right. Maybe Dolan should have waited and not given up so much. Who knows?

I'm just sick of watching ex-Knicks have good games against this team. Even friggin' Jordan Hill played well last night. The bench is woeful and Landry Fields is totally lost.

Six games under .500 with the Pistons and Bulls coming up. And we're waiting on a dude with a bad back to save the season...(sigh)....

[Edited 1/28/12 22:36pm]

uPtoWnNY said:

Knicks are hot garbage - no point guard, no chemistry between our stars, top-heavy roster, shitty coach.

I was in favor of the Carmelo trade, so I can't go back now. You need at least two stars to have a chance in this league, but maybe Donnie Walsh was right. Maybe Dolan should have waited and not given up so much. Who knows?

I'm just sick of watching ex-Knicks have good games against this team. Even friggin' Jordan Hill played well last night. The bench is woeful and Landry Fields is totally lost.

Six games under .500 with the Pistons and Bulls coming up. And we're waiting on a dude with a bad back to save the season...(sigh)....

[Edited 1/28/12 22:36pm]

I feel for you uptown...I really do. Knicks fans actually have it worse than Nets fans. The Nets were expected to "not be very good" and they are following the script (although they have won their last two games:w00t: )

The Knicks on the other hand were expected to be ok this year. Not in the Heats world, but a'ight! I'm not sure if Baron can right the ship, but he can't make it any worse.

This has been a weird season. That lockout really has hurt play around the entire NBA - lots of injuries that I believe would not have happened if their had been a proper pre-season and "lack of chemistry" caused by teams not being able to practice because of how the schedule is built.

-

uPtoWnNY said:

Knicks are hot garbage - no point guard, no chemistry between our stars, top-heavy roster, shitty coach.

I was in favor of the Carmelo trade, so I can't go back now. You need at least two stars to have a chance in this league, but maybe Donnie Walsh was right. Maybe Dolan should have waited and not given up so much. Who knows?

Six games under .500 with the Pistons and Bulls coming up. And we're waiting on a dude with a bad back to save the season...(sigh)....

Yes. They are. Sorry.

Yes, he gave up too much. Melo has always been a suspect player. He thinks he's MJ or Kobe, jackin' up 30 shots a game, but with a way shittier attitude. People seem to have forgotten all that because George Karl made it work for a few years. Good luck finding anybody who can do the same in NY.

And I already told ya, don't expect anything good from BD. Dude will probably spout off about how the team is crap and they shouldn't have been expecting him to fix it before too long.

I was actually sad to see how far Mike Bibby has fallen. He used to be a legit star in this league. Now he looks old, lost and tired.

Graycap23 said:

That loyalty stuff is played out.

The above thought came to mind while watching the last couple Laker's games. You know where that applies? Derek Fisher. No team in their right mind would have kept him, paid him as much as he's making and let him remain the starting PG if Kobe wasn't demanding it. That is too much loyalty.

Cerebus said:

Graycap23 said:

That loyalty stuff is played out.

The above thought came to mind while watching the last couple Laker's games. You know where that applies? Derek Fisher. No team in their right mind would have kept him, paid him as much as he's making and let him remain the starting PG if Kobe wasn't demanding it. That is too much loyalty.

The plan was to have Blake move into the starting spot and bring Fisher off the bench eventually. Plus, no one wants Fisher, my favorite Laker since Eddie Jones. LA may as well play him rather than cut him and pay him to do nothing.

Cerebus said:

Kobe ain't goin' anywhere.

MJ retired... twice!

MJ may forever be considered the better natural talent, but Kobe has more drive. Just look at how many minutes he's played between the regular season, playoffs and Olympics if you have any doubts.

Kobe is the better talent. MJ was, and is, the better player. MJ never disappeared in games to prove little points, or otherwise just quit. Kobe has great competitive drive but there is a lot of evidence that he has, and his drive has to be looked at against that backdrop.

Kobe never demanded a trade for the sake of being traded. He used it as leverage. He demanded they make changes and bring in enough talent for him to win titles. They did, and he did.

Well, there was no guarantee that Gasol would be acquired at the time he returned. I think had he had his way that summer he would have been gone.

Kobe has said more than once that he wants to be a Laker for his entire career. I don't ever recall hearing MJ say that about the Bulls.

He didn't have to. The Bulls would have been foolish to trade him. If he didn't want to leave and the Bulls wouldn't have traded him, it was unnecessary to say anything.

Kobe is not stupid. Selfish maybe, but not stupid. He knew this year was going to be hard BEFORE they dumped Lamar Odom for nothing in return. He knew they had a weak bench and a new coaching staff. This was never going to be an easy season.

I think the stink of the Paul fiasco hangs over the team. Their age and lack of depth was one thing; but the killing of the deal wrecked the chemistry of the team, and made the problem worse when Odom, their most versatile player, was traded.

I watch a lot of Laker basketball and I actually think Kobe has pulled back a bit since that string of 40 point games. Their trade value players weren't getting enough touches.

Kobe knows this compressed schedule really hurts them as an aging team, and he has to save himself. And Gasol and Bynum need to max their trade value, you're right.

It's very likely this team will be completely different by the trade deadline.

I think this season is a wash for them. There was a shot for them had they been able to pull off the Paul and Howard deals. But this season looks more and more like it won't go past May, trade or no trade. When they acquired Gasol midseason they were younger and deeper and in cnntention for HCA in the West. This season they'll be thin and in the middle of the pack at the deadline.

But Kobe ain't goin' anywhere.

Probably not.

uPtoWnNY said:

Knicks are hot garbage - no point guard, no chemistry between our stars, top-heavy roster, shitty coach.

I was in favor of the Carmelo trade, so I can't go back now. You need at least two stars to have a chance in this league, but maybe Donnie Walsh was right. Maybe Dolan should have waited and not given up so much. Who knows?

I'm just sick of watching ex-Knicks have good games against this team. Even friggin' Jordan Hill played well last night. The bench is woeful and Landry Fields is totally lost.

Six games under .500 with the Pistons and Bulls coming up. And we're waiting on a dude with a bad back to save the season...(sigh)....

[Edited 1/28/12 22:36pm]

If the Knicks keep floundering they way they have been, Mike D'Antoni won't last through the season. I don't think anyone expected them to compete with the Bulls, Heat, and Thunder for the best record in the NBA, but they certainly expected them to play at least as well as they did during the second half of last season. They've been the biggest disappointment in the league so far this year.

My Bulls played Miami pretty well, but they still gave up too many turnovers, and I was shocked when Derrick Rose missed both free throws near the end of the game which would have given the Bulls the lead with just seconds left. Well, they have three more games left during the regular season.

namepeace said:

Cerebus said:

The above thought came to mind while watching the last couple Laker's games. You know where that applies? Derek Fisher. No team in their right mind would have kept him, paid him as much as he's making and let him remain the starting PG if Kobe wasn't demanding it. That is too much loyalty.

The plan was to have Blake move into the starting spot and bring Fisher off the bench eventually. Plus, no one wants Fisher, my favorite Laker since Eddie Jones. LA may as well play him rather than cut him and pay him to do nothing.

Utah wanted Fish. The Lakers weren't required to bring him back when Utah let him out of his contract.

namepeace said:

Cerebus said:

Kobe ain't goin' anywhere.

MJ retired... twice!

MJ may forever be considered the better natural talent, but Kobe has more drive. Just look at how many minutes he's played between the regular season, playoffs and Olympics if you have any doubts.

Kobe is the better talent. MJ was, and is, the better player. MJ never disappeared in games to prove little points, or otherwise just quit. Kobe has great competitive drive but there is a lot of evidence that he has, and his drive has to be looked at against that backdrop.

Kobe never demanded a trade for the sake of being traded. He used it as leverage. He demanded they make changes and bring in enough talent for him to win titles. They did, and he did.

Well, there was no guarantee that Gasol would be acquired at the time he returned. I think had he had his way that summer he would have been gone.

Kobe has said more than once that he wants to be a Laker for his entire career. I don't ever recall hearing MJ say that about the Bulls.

He didn't have to. The Bulls would have been foolish to trade him. If he didn't want to leave and the Bulls wouldn't have traded him, it was unnecessary to say anything.

Kobe is not stupid. Selfish maybe, but not stupid. He knew this year was going to be hard BEFORE they dumped Lamar Odom for nothing in return. He knew they had a weak bench and a new coaching staff. This was never going to be an easy season.

I think the stink of the Paul fiasco hangs over the team. Their age and lack of depth was one thing; but the killing of the deal wrecked the chemistry of the team, and made the problem worse when Odom, their most versatile player, was traded.

I watch a lot of Laker basketball and I actually think Kobe has pulled back a bit since that string of 40 point games. Their trade value players weren't getting enough touches.

Kobe knows this compressed schedule really hurts them as an aging team, and he has to save himself. And Gasol and Bynum need to max their trade value, you're right.

It's very likely this team will be completely different by the trade deadline.

I think this season is a wash for them. There was a shot for them had they been able to pull off the Paul and Howard deals. But this season looks more and more like it won't go past May, trade or no trade. When they acquired Gasol midseason they were younger and deeper and in cnntention for HCA in the West. This season they'll be thin and in the middle of the pack at the deadline.

But Kobe ain't goin' anywhere.

Probably not.

The past is long gone, so it's hard to know what he would have done. But even then I never believed he was actually going to leave the Lakers. He just used all the leverage he had to get them to make some good (expensive) moves.

From all the reports and "inside talk" I've heard so far this season Kobe is not unhappy. He likes Mike Brown and he knows they're in at least a minor re-building phase. The only thing that got his panties in a bunch was Kupchak letting Odom go without getting PLAYERS in return.

I'm still fairly certain that this Lakers team will be quite different in the next couple weeks. It would be hard to make it any worse, although they do FINALLY seem to be gelling the last couple games.

Kobe is leading the league in scoring, averaging 30. He's not saving himself all that much. He just stopped taking so many quick, bad shots. Unfortunately, those extra shots might have won them a couple more games.

Talk of the Lakers signing Gilbert Arenas. Interesting in theory. They'd have to waive a player to sign him, but he's already getting MAD dollars this year from Orlando, so they could probably get him cheap and drop him if it didn't work out.