Real Deal

If we have enough interested, we can start sign-ups. I'll leave that up to the moderators, as they've been paying more attention to the forums than I have in the last week. Go ahead and create a topic for sign-ups if you want.

This would be perfect if it were in the Blazers forum, on a Greg Oden banner.

It's Beasley time.

Technically, veteran players are those who have spent 10+ years in the league. And I'll take vets over rookies. Let's put it this way... Tyreke Evans Brandon Jennings Stephen Curry OR Kobe Bryant Steve Nash Dirk Nowitzki Which group would more than likely give you a mistake-free game? Which group would more than likely give you clutch shots and game-winners? Which would take over the games? Which would you learn more basketball from? For me, it's a no-brainer.

By the way, Tom...I know you're headed in the direction of a huge slap in the face to Fisher, so you might as well let it out now. I still can't stand his game.

Eh, Kobe deserves criticism, in my opinion. I criticized him the other night. I'm just a big believer in finding ways to win the game, no matter what. I understand it's a bit depressing if you aren't getting the ball in the post, but look at Dwight Howard. He has had games where he takes 5-6 shots per game, but he's still doing his thing defensively. I'll refrain from talking Bynum, because you're right, he's still immature and seems to want to be the primary scorer on the team...but when Gasol doesn't get his touches, he not only doesn't play good defense, he just doesn't even try, and that's a problem for me. But I don't think anyone can ignore Pau's lack of aggression with the ball in his hands, which leads to less shots, which I believe leads to less touches in crunch time. Gasol even admitted himself that he has to be more demanding of the ball. Whether or not that means he wants to score or pass out of the post...that remains to be seen. Simply put, if Gasol had taken advantage of Bryant's injury against the Bobcats, and his considerable amount of facilitating over primary scoring, I think I'd see where Gasol is coming from a little more...but it's hard to swallow a pill that gives me 13 shot attempts by a player begging for more, not to mention pretty bad defense when he was on Nazr.

Haha, wow...where did you get that? Did you save it from a long time ago?

Well, I'm not looking for the 2006 Kobe. I think that's what you're getting from my posts. I would love to get everyone involved, but the consistency has to be there, and Pau Gasol has to stop whining if he's not going to step up and take the shots he's wanting. He took 13 last night, with Bryant deferring...and that's just one over his season average. He hasn't jumped past 14-15 in his career (average FGA per), even when he was in Memphis. That's my problem with Gasol's comment towards the primary scorer and facilitator of this offense. As far as Bynum goes, I don't know if he'll play 30 minutes or 15, so I can't really speak for him. A few games ago, he came out and dropped 14-15 points in the first half, then scored six in the second (and it was Gasol who did the same exact thing, scoring 16 in the first half, six in the second...same game). Hearing about it and not watching it, people will say it's because Bryant was more aggressive in the second half, and he was...but Gasol and Bynum both passed up on many shots they should've taken, and I found myself screaming at the TV for it. You know how frustrated I've been with Bynum this season. Gasol's lack of physicality is hurting us on both ends of the court, and I just don't see where he has the room to start taking shots at anyone on the team, especially when he's asking for more shots in the process. People that have been supporting Gasol all year long would say that he needs more touches, and that will encourage better defense and more physical play. Phil Jackson would chuckle. Less playing time would encourage it, and it almost seemed like Phil tried to send that message to him when he sat Gasol on the bench most of the fourth against the Celtics.

Probably not. It'll take him 40 shot attempts to make his jumper.

Who said he was soft last season? Gasol was a much more physical player last year, which is a big reason why we won the championship. How did he play in 2008? Soft. How is he playing now? Soft. He took 13 shots tonight, despite Bryant taking 12 and having to go back to the locker room, and deferring to everyone the rest of the game. Without Scottie Pippen, there's no guarantee that Michael Jordan has six rings, multiple MVP's, leading the greatest team of all-time, and is the greatest player of all-time, right? If we think that way, sure...but, Pippen wasn't soft.

Pathetic.

The Lakers almost lost to a Bobcats team that is 6-19 on the road, not to mention they were without Gerald Wallace tonight. That's with Bynum and Gasol each shooting more shots than Bryant, and seven players on the Lakers scoring more points than Kobe. And, oh yeah, Nazr Mohammed had 23 points and 17 rebounds tonight, on 9-15 shooting, dominating both Gasol and Bynum with nine of those boards being offensive rebounds. Gasol shot the ball 13 times tonight...just one shot above his season average. Good way to be aggressive? Lakers at home, Cats on the road without their sole all-star...and if it wasn't for Jordan Farmar's steal to end the game, we would've probably went into overtime on a game-tying three. How about we just stick with what has gotten us the best record in the West?

If you were talking about this game in particular, you're way off then. You're just looking at the box score. Gasol played 30 minutes and was in foul trouble most of the game, and his brother was working him all game long, as the better defender he's always been. Consequently, Bynum didn't do a damn thing with the ball when Gasol was on him as well, and he didn't even log 30 minutes because he was also playing with 3-5 fouls most of the time. Here's another statement from Phil, via @LakersReporter: And Fisher, who has been there for all four of our championships, unlike Gasoft and Drew: @latmedina It's not difficult to figure out. Pau Gasol is getting 12 shots per game, compared to 12.9 last season (during our championship run). With Bynum taking 11 shots per game, and Ron taking 10 a game...where does he think he needs to be? Where do you think he needs to be? Explain this: Bryant took 22.2 shots per game in the 2000-01 season. Was that too many, with Shaq and good role players on his team? Because he's taking 22.6 right now, 20 in that third championship season, almost 24 in 2002-03 (with Shaq). Kobe isn't taking too many shots, against Memphis or overall this season. Gasol, Bynum, Odom, Artest...they should realize that there are five 15-20 PPG capable scorers on this team who all want at least 10 shots per game. That's 40 shots for them, at the very least...bump it up to 50 if you want their averages. Kobe takes his 20-23 a game. No bench production? How does Fisher factor into all of this? Gasol just needs to shut his mouth, stop being abused in the post (offensively and defensively) and play basketball.

You obviously haven't seen us play. Since you would rather take Jackson's word for it, listen to him when he says he's not satisfied with Bynum's play this season. Also, listen to all Lakers fans when they say that Gasol has been extra soft. And listen in when Bynum himself says he's more focused with Gasol out of the lineup, and he recognizes (and states) that he needs to be more aggressive on the offensive end when both bigs are in the game. Then check out the fact that Gasol missed 17 games. You can go look at our offensive rating, which IIRC is around 10th-11th in the NBA, unexpected from a team that has two capable 20 PPG scorers to add to the 30 PPG guard, and another two 15+ PPG scorers as well. Anyone questioning Bryant's shot attempts can look up all the times he shot 30+ shots this year. I believe all but one of those games didn't contain Gasol, or Bynum was out...or they both were shooting under 45% from the floor (one of the three). Kobe has hit five game-winners this year, against the Bucks, Heat, Kings, Celtics and Mavericks. If you remember right, Kobe had 25 shot attempts that game (vs Heat)...but Bynum had 14 in 32 minutes, while Gasol had 16 (which is over his average FGA per game for every single season he's ever played in the NBA), and Ron Artest had a ridiculous 17 attempts, yet it STILL came down to a game-winner. Against Dallas, when Kobe hit the shot that put the Lakers up and essentially ended the game, he had only shot the ball 11 times, while Odom had 20 attempts, Bynum with 11. Still came down to a game-winner. Against Boston, Gasol's lack of aggression sent him to the bench in the fourth quarter, to where Bynum was actually playing most of the second half of that fourth, up until the end of the game. On offense, the Lakers are a mess. Bynum is inconsistent through four quarters, Gasol passes out of the post with seconds left on the clock, and Kobe ends up having to bail the Lakers out in the fourth. It's been the story of the season, yet, funny enough, we are still the best team in the Western Conference. As Adrian said, our bigs were getting punked. Kobe was aggressive against Memphis because he had to be. Our production came from Bryant and Artest, and it's Ron who usually shoots poorly for us, or doesn't take as many shots as the others. Marc and Zach were pushing our bigs out of the paint, and they were intimidating them. Since it's been a recurring theme all season long, Bryant takes the shots and, almost always, he's the one that wins the games because of it.

Kobe made it clear he wanted to set the record at home. He wouldn't score 40+ just to set the record in Memphis, away from STAPLES. So, in the end, Phil's comment was idiotic, and Gasol is stupid for thinking the same thing, especially when he's been Gasoft the entire season.

Garnett is "fine" also.

The crazy thing about it is that he's still in his prime (yes, he's not out of it yet). It's very possible he hits 2nd or 3rd on the NBA's all-time scoring list, and he probably would've blown it out had he played 35+ minutes from the start of his career.

If I were a betting man, probably just eight. Absolutely no point guard play tonight for the Bobcats. Bayless had his way with them as well. Charlotte is still bad on the road.

Congratulations to our 2009 OTR Award Winners, and a job well done for everyone nominated, and thanks to all posters who submitted a vote. In layman's terms...great job everyone! Member of the Year bigdog17k (10 votes) Runner-up: Erick Blasco and Built Ford Tough (tie, 9 votes) ---------- Most Improved Poster Legacy (11 votes) Runner-up: CobbFC09 (6 votes) ---------- Most Valuable Fanbase/Team Forum Los Angeles Lakers (22 votes) Runner-up: Toronto Raptors (10 votes) ---------- Most Memorable Moment Logging in and seeing OTR hacked (20 votes) Runner-up: OTR's Resurrection (18 votes) ---------- Most Underrated Poster Universe (10 votes) Runner-up: Sublime (9 votes) ---------- Best Match-up in a Debate Real Deal and Erick Blasco (15 votes) Runner-up: Built Ford Tough and Erick Blasco (14 votes) ---------- Best GFX Designer GuRu (18 votes) Runner-up: The Situation (10 votes) ---------- Twin Towers Award Confidence and Chosen One (23 votes) Runner-up: Phightins and fly3rs18 (15 votes)

I guess me saying "possibly a point guard" throws John Wall into the mix. There's always a chance the Kings win the lottery, right? But yeah, other than Wall, you have Warren (Oklahoma), Johnson (Nevada) and Collins (Kansas). Jacob Pullen would be an NBA point, but I have no idea if he's staying in school or what. He has been very, very impressive this year, and he's the reason why Kansas almost lost that game against K-State.

Bulls went 72-10. And our interior defense sucks. Gasol is playing soft again, and Bynum is only good defensively when he's motivated, which is rare.

Sacramento is very satisfied with Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes right now. Additionally, Jon Brockman is showing he can be a pretty damn good player for them. I wouldn't be shocked to see the Kings deal Martin at the deadline, or maybe even on draft day. With that done, you'd have to wonder if they are going to shoot for a guard in the draft, possibly a point guard (as Evans is a better two-guard, and plays most of his time there).

He's shooting less than 42% from the field and putting up 15/5 on a pathetic Knicks team. Thaddeus Young is playing better than he is, but you don't hear people talking about him. LOL, Wilson Chandler is actually putting up 15/5 on 47% shooting...but who cares about Wilson Chandler? Gallinari is doing nothing out of the ordinary. He's leading in 3PT%, and he's a pathetic shooter from every spot on the floor within 23 feet, and putting up decent numbers on a terrible team. Good for him.

Kevin Martin is a LOSER. He shot 4-16, had to get bailed out by the refs, then he nearly lost the ball and screwed up on the second to last possession. He let Afflalo shoot the game-winning jumper in his eye, and with a few seconds left, he threw up a sideways, no-look shot as he fell to the floor. Trade him.

Danilo is a forward. Josh Smith, Gerald Wallace, Danny Granger, Michael Beasley, Andre Iguodala, Chris Bosh, Caron Butler...those are East forwards that will still be gunning for all-star spots in five years or more. If Atlanta ever gets a true center, Horford will be another forward competing for that spot. Do you truly think that Danilo will be a second option on a winning team? Because that's what he'll have to be, at the very least, to be an all-star. Not going to happen.