Real Deal

...and that they will take advantage of it. He's the second option, even if Kobe doesn't come out and say it directly. It's pretty evident when you watch them. I really don't feel bad for Pau, either...and I think Pau wants it to be that way.

Yeah, I'm not so sure we can afford to sit him, either, especially after watching that Golden State game.

How bad are you wanting me to say something good about him, for once?

That's a VERY GENEROUS analysis of the Wizards. I thought they played terrible basketball. They act like they all hate each other, and they were picking apart a Knicks team that was one of the worst in the conference (in my opinion), up until Washington thought it would be cool to piss Melo off. Washington needs to pass the ball more, as a team. Getting a pass from Wall doesn't automatically mean the shot has to go up. Oh, and I'm still backing Shumpert, from day one. I think he's the guy in New York, no doubt about it. Start him.

No hesitation here, but it would be tough to send both of our bigs to Orlando. McRoberts is out, and Murphy is not that great. We really wouldn't have a starting PF, or backup PF's or C's. That would be terrible. But if Orlando would take the Howard/Bynum swap, if we sent picks and maybe Ebanks and whoever else...most definitely.

Wasn't a great game for the Lakers, honestly (as a team). With Curry out, and the Warriors needing to go small (we actually had to adjust by putting four guards on the floor at one point, rarely see that), we should have won this game comfortably. I won't talk too much about it...Kobe was awesome, Gasol did okay, Drew was a disappointment on everything other than the glass, and Matt Barnes played like an all-star. Golden State, though...they really did what I expected. Monta was getting what he wanted, and Klay and Wright had pretty good games.

The day Bynum was drafted, I made a post on OTR, talking about how he's going to have to learn how to operate out of the post. I was over at Clublakers at the time, and so many Lakers fans were saying how he would be the next Shaq, and I distinctly remember just avoiding those topics, they pissed me off so much. I know he has had limited time on the court, but in the nearly 400 games he has played (however many, I just posted about it early at TLN), he has had that many practices (and more than that). It doesn't take much for a seven-footer to look over a double and at least make an attempt to get the ball back out.

Haha...I can't believe people still have to post this.

Bynum needs to learn how to pass out of the post. This particular offense is exactly what Popovich ran in San Antonio, with Duncan and Robinson (and even a while after), before and while Mike Brown was there. Duncan was an able-bodied passer. Drew has no idea what he's doing down there, so he puts up a shot. In the first half, he was 7-7 shooting. Fantastic. Second half? The Blazers started to double him, and he went 2-9. He threw one assist...his second of the season. This dude is getting 15 FGA/G. That is more than any of Kobe's teammates since Shaq in the 2002-03 season (Shaq took 14 in 2003-04). If we are going to get him much more involved, he needs to be able to pass the ball back out of the post when facing a double. Kobe draws attention away from our two bigs. Our two bigs draw defensive attention away from the shooters. That's how the "four out, one in" offense is ran. Duncan racked up at least 3-4 assists a game doing it. If the idea is to give Kobe more support on the offensive end, Drew is going to have to do more than just take jump hooks all game long, even if he's putting up 20 points. We were 0-11 on threes last night, and we haven't missed all of our threes since 2003. No team contends playing this way.

...at 44% FG with four turnovers, which is horrible for a player his size. His previous game, against the Nuggets, was the best of the season...and Westphal was coaching, and brought him off the bench.

Do you get the same feeling I do about Young? I know he wasn't brought up in that block I posted (it was Blatche), but I have a gut feeling they were talking about him as well. The dude thought he was worth what...$10 million a year? I liked him last season, but I wonder if he's getting an attitude because he's shooting less, worse, and not scoring the ball as much.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/post/wizards-doomed-in-orlando-by-terrible-start/2012/01/05/gIQAQHw6bP_blog.html?wprss=wizards-insider Uh oh. Who is the first man out of Washington by March? EDIT: And... http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7429438/winless-washington-wizards-hold-players-only-meeting

I would post in here, but I'm too busy explaining to Lakers fans why this team sucks right now. Ugh.

How the hell did the Bucks lose this game? It was a blowout. SMH. They shot 1-8 over the last 6:46 of the game. That's just horrible.

Reggie had me cracking up at the end, when he said Dwight doesn't want to go to Atlanta, and then he looked at the camera like, "Oh, what's up?"

Josh Smith: "Oh, the Heat have the ball?!?!"

A LOB FOR JEFF TEAGUE?

Wow. The Hawks are just dumb. :o

Nevermind. No Show Joe killed it. Miami needs a three to tie.

Ouch...wide open three missed. Looks like the Hawks have this one in the bag.

Josh Smith...still on the bench, lol. Two minutes left.

LOL, Ivan Johnson looks like MJ with a beard. EDIT: Meaning...his pass, after going up with that jumper, haha.

I'm trying to figure out why the Magic would want Curry, though. Awesome kid, but not someone you want to try and build a team around...at least not yet.

Who is going to defend Derek Fisher? Good luck.

D'Antoni is a problem, and so is the lack of role players. What do we know about Mike? He does not coach defense, and he favors an uptempo game. Carmelo and Amare need Nash, not Baron. They need a guard that will let them dominate the ball, and when possible, run pick and rolls and create for them. Baron Davis will need to dominate the ball to be effective. He can't shoot like Nash (who is one of the best shooting PG's in NBA history), doesn't make decisions like Steve,and he can't play off the ball that well, either. Defensively, I'm not sure if the Knicks will ever be good. Melo doesn't play it, Amare sure the hell doesn't defend (never has), and having Chandler and Shumpert won't make up for any of that (and I actually thought it would, even a little). Baron Davis on defense? Don't be excited. My biggest question is: what the hell happened to Landry Fields? He was looking pretty damn good at one point last season, and then he just hit rock bottom.