Real Deal

Without Fisher, we would've won Game 3. Rafer lit him up. And Ariza had to continue leaving Hedo just to run and cover Rafer during the second and fourth games in the series. How about looking at Hedo's numbers for those two games? LA failed to make it out of the first round for two seasons because they played Phoenix both times, having to start Kwame, Smush, and either Walton or Mihm. Are you serious? His clutch three against Boston? If you want to go that route, had it not been for Fisher's disgusting play in Game 5, we would've won that game by double-digits. He was absolutely pathetic on offense and defense...didn't contribute in any way, shape or form. Kobe has zero rings without Fisher? Wade has zero without an old Gary Payton. Hakeem has zero without Mario Elie and Kenny Smith. You're overrating a role player, and I really don't know why.

The defense was what won the games, and Kobe's offensive/defensive surge against Spain in the fourth actually won the championship. Nobody else stepped up. Even Simmons (who hates Bryant) shares the same story. Wade and LeBron didn't shoot 60+ percent. They were getting to the rim, and it was much easier because Team USA had shooters. One of them shot the ball and drew doubles, which killed most of the teams they played against. Phil Jackson has discussed the same thing before, and even about Jordan, who stopped shooting 55-60% in a lot of his games during the second three-peat (and it was even worse during his last three Finals), yet Jordan still caused the most havoc and had the biggest impact on the offensive end. Basketball isn't always about shooting percentages. Four years ago? So what? Four years ago, Wade was the leader of the NBA champion Miami Heat, and LeBron was less than a year from getting to the NBA Finals. They weren't too young to win...they just needed someone that could take over on both ends of the court, was clutch, and had the brains to play under control, instead of trying to create his own Vince Carter-ish human highlight reel. Bryant respected the international players and teams, and was aware of their skills and abilities...something Bosh and LeBron (and Wade, at that time) didn't do. And it's something LeBron and Bosh don't do to this day...respect opponents. And it will come back to bite them, like it always does. If Miami doesn't reach the Finals, I will actually feel bad for Wade...but can't say I'll care for anyone else on the roster.

LMAO...without Fisher, we don't win? Without Fish, we probably win more comfortably. For the 1000th time, his defense is pathetic. He shoots under 40% from the floor. He has been a liability for most of the game, every game. There's a reason we dominated the Celtics with him playing just 10-15 minutes in Game 6. We don't respect Derek? Haha, he still starts...and he doesn't deserve to. He would probably still start over Blake, who is twice the player. Ridiculous.

Barkley led the Dream Team in scoring, also...didn't mean he was the best player. Jordan was the offense, and he was the defense. We know who led the 2008 Olympic team...no need for the stats. But anything you can do to credit the trio, right? I see it was LeBron and Wade, in your eyes...haha.

He's still in the East, with three other dominant title contenders. We are headed to the Finals. I could care less about Miami...and you can trust me when I say that, just as much as when I said I wasn't afraid of Boston after the third quarter in Game 7. Truth be told, I would've been more afraid of Wade being paired with just LeBron, and the Heat having more room to sign really, really good free agents. Enter Bosh, exit money, exit bigs that can defend. You really have no idea how much I don't care about the Heat. http://thelakersnation.com/forums/index.php?/topic/40616-lakers-are-the-best-team-in-the-world-wade Wade will even tell you.

Three years, $25 million reported by ESPN.

Damn, he would've been nice to have in LA. Good signing. Allen is a bit erratic on offense, but his defense is top-notch. Is it official that OJ Mayo is playing the point? I wonder if the Grizzlies will consider starting Allen or Henry, if they decide to let Brewer go. Denver starts Afflalo, and Oklahoma City starts Thabo, for similar reasons (defensive purposes).

Nah.

Rookie Ladder: http://www.nba.com/rookieladder/?ls=iref:nbahpt1 Is anyone else super-impressed by Ebanks and Caracter? Both are second round picks that are playing like first-rounders. Ebanks is spotting up really well, defending well, looking like Trevor Ariza (almost identical, to be honest), and Caracter is very good in the post, looks like Glen Davis with Andrew Bynum post skills. Keep in mind how important Ebanks was to West Virginia, and that Caracter was the best high school player in the country at one point (top five in a lot of mocks for a while), and his attitude dropped him to the second round. Both look NBA-ready, and both look to be replacing Walton and Powell maybe during their rookie seasons. I'm rarely interested in second-rounders that we pick up, like Sun Yue, but these two guys can ball...and I truly think we picked up two steals in the draft.

Not sure if they do or not (I'm sure they do), but that's not the point. There is no reason to join the Heat. They aren't exactly giving him more of anything else, and when you lay it all out on the table, he's actually receiving less.

Ben is still a rebounding machine. He was pulling down nine boards a game (nearly four offensive) in under 30 minutes of play. And he can still defend.

Contribute to the topic, or just stop posting. I'm sick of seeing everything about your favorite teams. It's about the Nets. Discuss Farmar on the Nets, criticize him or give him props with reason behind it, or get out. Not really sure about that, though. The Lakers were already done with Farmar the day we won it all. We were expecting Vujacic to play the backup point if we didn't find a backup through free agency.

Not a single player from the 2008 Olympic team will be playing in the World Championships. Sucks. This new team could get ran.

Charlotte was one of the best defensive teams in the NBA last season, and they lost in the first round. It doesn't matter what round, what game...the point is, stats are distorted when you alter the environment. Kobe had games where he struggled against Boston. If another player dominates Boston, that doesn't mean he's a better player than Bryant...because maybe that same player struggles against more teams. Maybe Boston is built to handle Bryant, but not some other player that plays differently. What if Monta Ellis averages more points per game than LeBron or Wade this upcoming season? Does that make him a better player, or a better scorer? I don't think so. He could average more than Melo, for all we know. How many points will Amare average, now that he's on the Knicks? What if the Heat were to trade Wade to the Kings, for Evans? Wade would average 30+ on that team. It's not that difficult to understand. Statistics don't prove much. And with that said, it relates to the topic because rings do matter, just as much as stats, just as much as visuals, just as much as overall skills you can see just by watching the players. Players win rings without doing anything (Morrison). Players put up big numbers without winning rings (LeBron). Problem is, someone like Bynum is a very good center in the league, top 2-3 offensively, doesn't do much (15-20 minutes per game) and still wins rings. But he's good because we can tell from his post moves and how he challenges shots...things that don't show up in the statsheet. Rings are important to the player. Rings aren't important when we are judging that player's overall abilities. Rings are extremely important to that player's legacy, or greatness.

Aaron was upset that no Lakers fan could have an opinion on OTR, and that others were turning every topic about LA into a joke...not to mention a few other things I won't dive into. You contributed. You were suspended twice, and actually banned once. Some of you should probably stop and wonder why we have a couple of Lakers fans who screw around from time to time. It's good to be funny, but after a few months (years for some), people start getting sick of the comedy. I get numerous "U MAD" complaints. People were really sick of "my tv out" comments. We lose important members, and it gets to where I question why I do board updates, banners, skins, and rack up 7,000 posts a year. Aaron posted over 1,000 gameday topics, filled our calendar with every NBA game. Then we get 40+ guests every time a topic is posted (due to Twitter) and they look over at our right sidebar and see immature status messages, dive into a topic and see personal attacks and baiting, and there's really no reason for them to waste their time, either...so they don't.

I guess Indiana didn't want him? I read that they were pretty high on his play (for some reason). It's not that bad of a signing for New Jersey, to be honest. Off the bench, Farmar gets up and down the court pretty well. New Jersey doesn't run a complicated offense that demands passing and spacing. Farmar complicates it more. The Nets won't mind having him on the floor in longer stretches. He has no lateral quickness, so his defense won't be anything to pump your fist about, but he does read passing lanes well.

Your own two eyes (and my one eye). Go look at Dwight Howard's scoring averages, and field goal percentages. By the numbers, you can say he's a very good offensive player...but we know he has limited offensive skills because we watch him. Doesn't make sense. Players will put up bigger numbers when their teammates are less gifted on offense. Kevin Martin is a great example. If the Lakers had the Kings in the first round, and Martin dropped 30 a game and Bryant was averaging 25 (because LA kept pounding the ball inside), yet the Lakers won...does that mean Martin is the better player? Not even close.

Pretty compelling. Option A: LA Lakers, starting role, $2.5 million, place where he won five rings, daughter gets her cancer treatments there Option B: Miami Heat, starting role, vet's minimum, four-man roster, will have to play LA to win a ring

That doesn't always apply. Bryant was averaging 24 PPG in 2004, with Shaq racking up 22 PPG. Kobe was the best player in the league, but his stats didn't necessarily show it (24/6/5). Tyreke Evans put up 20/5/6 last season. That doesn't mean he's already on Bryant's level. Statistics are overrated. Terribly.

I doubt the Hawks want to move Josh Smith to the three, though. He seems to be a better four, and he's very hard to contain at that position.

There may be another reason, also. Fisher could be using this as leverage to get more out of Buss, OR he could be visiting Riley and the Miami FO to distract them from other free agents, in a way. Definitely nothing to be shocked about...I've suspected this from free agents all the time in the past, where they will visit with rivals and get into serious discussions, then jump to the team they were previously on and watch as their rivals miss out on a player at a similar position on the court.

Like I said, there's plenty of other topics where you yourself have mentioned the Lakers fans, before any posts are even made. Or the Lakers. I've talked to staff about it at least three times, and we've had four posts reported over the last two months that came from you. I don't feel like digging them up because you already know about them, and there's no point for me to go any further. You having an issue with what Confidence posted in this topic...it's kind of odd, because since I can remember (before he was even a member), you have done similar things that have contributed to Lakers fans leaving the site, including Aaron. Don't know what else to say to you about it.

Definitely not the plan. Carmelo and Paul want to team up in the East, and I wouldn't be surprised if they make it happen in New York.

Not shocking. Bird praised Kobe a while back, also. If I were a former Celtic, I would probably NEVER praise a Laker (or vice-versa). But then again, you already know how much respect is shared between Magic and Larry, so...