Real Deal

Westbrook looked to be padding his stats all night long...but then, you look up at the scoreboard and notice that the Pistons were still in this game, up until the end. Not sure why they drove to the rim on one of their last plays (second to last)...clock was already inside of the 24, and they were down five. You gotta take a three, especially when the Thunder were shooting so well from the charity stripe. But to get back to Westbrook...I mean, I understand that Durant shot poorly tonight, didn't hit anything from three, but the way Westbrook gets his shots in, I have a feeling Durant is having trouble getting into rhythm. Maybe it's a combination of that + the fact that Durant is trying to become a facilitator, but either way, it's not a good recipe for contention.

This game was awesome, considering it was between two teams I couldn't care less about. Still pretty shocked that Jefferson hit that three, though...when it went up, I was fully prepared to yell, "WHAT THE HELLLLLL," and well...it just fell in. DeRozan though! Also, I didn't watch all of the game, but in a lot of what I was watching, Calderon was actually playing defense. Not great, but still...I was kind of shocked. Can't do anything about those buckets down low, though. Toronto was helpless down there.

Word is that the Lakers are going to reach out to Nate McMillan as an assistant (which will help our defense), and I believe we're still going to keep Steve Clifford, the same guy that coached under SVG in Orlando. I read somewhere that Clifford didn't get to do much in the preseason, or in those first five games...which makes sense, since Brown was the "defensive specialist" among all of the coaches. I think D'Antoni will be okay, as long as he doesn't run our guys to death, and keeps from relying on Nash 100% of the time he's on the floor.

Shocked.

Just talk. LA is going to come out of this doing what they can to not make Phil out to be the bad guy (Jeanie wouldn't have that). Wasn't just the contract...Phil wanted too much. We can't have him coaching only our home games, and Mitch Kupchak is the only guy that should be making GM-esque decisions with this roster. Phil wanted the Pat Riley role. All of that has been repeated over and over again these last few days, but now that the deal fell through, the Buss family isn't going to cite those particular things as the reason(s). It will be health, or that Phil was undecided, or that the triangle won't work (it would).

Cousins hurts the Kings more than he helps them, on and off the court. I've never, ever had faith in him to tap into all of that potential. He takes so many jumpers, and ignorant shots, doesn't play defense, seems to fight through emotional fits almost every two minutes he's on the floor, and getting in his ear almost always ruins him. Elliott was 100% correct, too. Duncan tore him up all game, probably could have done more if he wasn't so team-aligned. The Kings actually played some of their best basketball when Cousins was sitting his goofy ass on the bench, had a 15-4 run in the third without him (took the lead at that point, too). I won't forget Cousins and Bynum going head-to-head the first time (back in 2011), after Cousins was talking shit to him. Bynum wasn't motivated, and just came off of his injury, and Cousins had a good game against him and Gasol. Last February, it was the second time they met...and Drew ate his lunch. Cousins couldn't do anything on offense, couldn't stop Bynum at the other end, and he looked like he wanted to give up.

I seriously HAD to make this. http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/1812/pringlespotato.jpg

Phil also asked that he stays limited to coaching just home games, which is bad.

Wanted Jackson or Sloan...but I doubt Sloan would have done that well with the egos (D-Will sent him into retirement), and Phil wanted a lot of money + a large role in upper management, and I'm sure the Lakers didn't want to go that far. D'Antoni COULD be okay here. I just hope he doesn't push this team to death out there on the floor, and I hope he doesn't center this offense around Nash. We might be screwed back on defense, though. We need a defensive assistant. http://content.screencast.com/users/sayak2/folders/Snagit/media/9e5fc636-1cfe-4422-8fab-916f6fc8e43f/11.12.2012-19.24.06.png I wonder if Gasol will be dealt now. D'Antoni does not care much for big man post-ups, and that Josh Smith rumor is still out there.

Can't watch this tonight (not yet), but what's the news on Steve Blake? I heard he was injured.

When it rains, it pours.

Shaliq has been suspended for 30 days, for excessive contact with members outside of the board (and while that's typically not a situation I should walk through, contact information has been acquired through the site, over time). The decision to act on this was supported by all staff members. While he's on leave, I'm going to say this once: if you don't have something good to say to him, about a post he makes or a status update, then leave it at the door. Just don't. Use the ignore feature if you can't find a way to scroll a bit faster through particular posts on this website. His suspension was warranted, but over the last few months (and, really, since he registered), he hasn't done much to deserve the shit-talking. His culture, and yours, may differ...and you can say his desire to be a registered member here is over the top...but that's a green light for you to approach him with hate, to ridicule someone that, quite frankly, makes an attempt to post basketball news and opinions more than 75% of the community. I'm not going to type much more than this, because I'm to the point where I'm ready to accept just how bad things are getting. I'm going to update the board soon, whenever I finish skinning LakerNation, and that will give DiscussHoops new features and possibly openings to have new hooks (modifications). I just see no point in doing this, though, if nothing is going to change...and I'd be lying if I said I won't, because it's going to happen anyway...but for me, at this state, it'll be just a routine upgrade, and back to clocking in and watching the repetitive actions that we were able to overcome when we had more members to drown it out. No, this topic doesn't give you a reason to post something ignorant about him (it would happen any other time). It would be nice to see everyone taking things seriously, for once. Some of you come here to read, post, and leave. Others are here having to do much more than that, especially through this unnecessary "conflict" between Shaliq and half of the site...so things need to change.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121110_PHO@UTA

Hurry up and post about Turner, BFT...I gotta move this topic. I see you in here.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121110_MIN@CHI

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121110_DAL@CHA

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121110_WAS@IND

As good as Howard is, today, there is no question who the best player on our roster is...and I'm not going to count LA out on having the best record in the league. Phil will be our coach, and I don't think it will take too long for us to adjust to the triangle. Our games will be won on the defensive end, anyway, until Nash comes back. You said it yourself: after two years, now, LeBron is hands down the best player in Miami. He's also the reigning MVP, so that sort of makes that comment less relevant. And for years, we know that stats aren't THAT big of a deal. Nash and Dirk broke through Kobe twice, and Rose knocked off LeBron in 2011, so I don't see a reason to say Kobe doesn't have a chance.

It's all but official. Welcome back, Phil.

Feels like it's going to come down to LeBron and Kobe. Durant is a bit more passive this year, and if all three stay on the same path, it's going to be between those two. Kobe is going OFF right now, and with Phil coming back (he'll be back), it's only going to get better...maybe scoring a bit less, but his efficiency could be by FAR a career high. I love Durant, dude is my second favorite player, but at times, he tries to play like a point-forward, and he's just not there, at least not yet. I admire his willingness to pass, but ultimately, that could hurt the Thunder more than help, since Westbrook seems to want to take more shots than Durant nearly every game.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121109_SA@SAC

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121109_HOU@MEM

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20121109_MIL@WAS

Whoa Meeks. I HOPE Mike Brown is watching Meeks out there. Not shooting THAT well, but he turned it up last minute, like he really wanted to play.