Nitro

If he does, the Lakers are screwed because that would mean him/the offense freezing out 2 of Nash/Pau/Dwight. As I said before the season started, the offense needs to start and end with Nash. He is the one who will make everything click and give the team balance.

There is a God :yess: He isn't at fault for everything, and is a decent NBA coach, but he just doesn't know how to maximize the offensive talent on this roster...and that all starts with Deron. If you can't put Deron in the right system, and maximize his effectiveness, this team is going nowhere.

Taking a charge is one of the most difficult plays to master in basketball. It takes even more anticipation and skill than a block, and every time you go for it you are risking getting hurt.

2000-2004 was insane. VC/T-Mac/Francis in the 2000 contest, then the J-Rich/Mason duels after that. I'd LOVE to see James White in it, but the NBA needs stars in the contest to generate attention.

And that last part of your post is so smug and ridiculous. If the player is hitting 50% of his FT's on those hacks, it does a few things...kills the more talented teams offensive momentum and, statistically, makes them less efficient scoring the ball, especially if they are on a roll. It also gives the team of the player being hacked incentive to take him out of the game. And for a team like LA, that means taking away their defensive anchor, best rebounder, best paint finisher, and means putting in a scrub like Antawn Jamison to replace him. If Howard or Shaq hit their FT's at a 70% or higher clip, those Laker teams would be even better. The 3-peat Lakers won DESPITE Shaq's FT shooting. It did not add to their championship runs in any way, shape or form.

Once again, if this wasn't the Lakers, and they weren't losing, this wouldn't peek anybody's radar. The fact that you are a Laker fan makes this even more so since you watch all their games. This crap has been going on for years with Dwight, yet it has never been a major topic of conversation. If this was last season, with Howard on Orlando, I doubt this topic would have ever been created, and you probably would have never even noticed what was going on. It's a legal strategy...it's an off-ball foul, and if you remove the hack-a-whoever thing, it opens up a whole new can of worms. To remove a legal rule that would essentially cater to teams with poor FT shooters, even in the sub-text of retaining the integrity of the game, is ridiculous. For the other 27 or so teams that have no issues with major rotation players shooting 50% from the FT line, it would only hurt their teams and fanbases.

You misinterpreted my comments. What I was saying is this is only such an issue, basically in every form of media outlet (including forums) because A) It's the Lakers, and B) They are losing with Dwight's FT shooting as part of the problem. If he was making his FT's in those situations, no one would say a peep about the strategy, and people would just mark it off as stupid. Which brings me back...it effects so few games, and only 2-3 teams and maybe 10 players have to even be worried about it. It's a legal strategy that often WORKS, so why should teams stop doing it? It's playing the percentages, the same way defenses force some teams to shoot 3 pointers, why other defenses play zone, etc... It wouldn't even be thought up by opposing teams if Dwight would just hit his FT's.

You ain't getting my point...first off, 2 posts in 3-4 years means that it wasn't something that was really on the forefront of your mind. Secondly, the fact that it's the Lakers (and they are way underperforming) has made it a major point for you, the media and everyone else. It has become a huge topic of discussion, which considering that Hack-a whoever effects less than 1% of all games played in an entire season, is kinda crazy.

41 shots Harden dropped 31 on Tony Allen on 13 shots.

Kobe has attempted 4 more shots at the end of regulation than the entire starting lineup combined...I don't care if Nash is fresh off injury, Dwight has been in foul trouble and Pau is Pau...that shit should never, ever happen.

Carter was a HoF, potential top 20 all-time talent. This guy is an all-star level talent, nothing more.

They could easily over-exert themselves while trying to box him out, deny post entry, etc... They could do that today, but they don't because of the rules. And as far as the 2nd point in your post, that's because the previous few minutes basically freeze out Dwight, so then he becomes basically a non-factor to getting the ball in the last 2min. And if you change the rules, trust me they'll try and get around it. That's bullshit. MJ had freakishly sized hands and was an excellent FT shooter. Yao was 7'6'' and was money at the FT line. Karl Malone had big hands and was built like crazy and was able to get good there. You can get around certain physical disadvantages by using, and mastering various different techniques. If Howard had a great form, then you could start saying it's hopeless. But his technique is awful. I agree it slows the game down, but it's within the rules, and shows to be a perfect defense when Howard is missing them. It's only a problem for like 2-3 teams in the entire NBA...it's getting a lot of publicity now because Howard is on LA and they are losing. But were you this angered by it between the Shaq-Dwight years? No. And was it getting this kind of media attention? No. And how many games out of the entire NBA schedule is this even a factor? Like 1%.

M Night Shyamalan...no thanks.

Then you're gonna have plays throughout the game that look like intentional fouls on notoriously bad free throw shooters that are actually legit, and it will cause false technicals. It will also have guys being more creative in getting that guy to the line without looking intentional. And it still won't stop players from wrapping Dwight up every time he gets the ball. Instead of making it that complicated...just learn how to shoot [expletive]ing free throws.

Despite his god-awful shooting percentages he's one of the most talented big men in the league. 20/11 per 36min. If you can work most of the stupid out of Andray Blatch and Javale McGee by putting them in proper situations, you can do the same with Cousins.

Don't do a thing about it. However, the alternative is what I saw in a late '80's video of MJ...give out technicals for intentional fouls. However, this leaves a lot of grey area and basically makes late-game strategies of fouling to extend the game impossible. IMO it ain't worth it to cater to millionaires who refuse to improvise on their current free throw techniques which ain't working.

Looks like his barber got tired 2 cornrows in and just said '[expletive] it.'

If he was at under 50 wins, Durant would win it, even if Durant only won around 55 games. Without Nash, that team falls apart. He averaged 19/11, leading the league in assists, running the best offense in the NBA, and putting up historic efficiency...he led the league with a TS% of .632, and was well over the 50/40/90 categories. He had some shooters, but let's not act like they were stacked. Marion was always a borderline all-star comparable to Lamar Odom basically his entire career, they started a SF at C (Diaw), Bell was a castoff who never made a big impact on any other team in his career, Barbosa completely fed off Nash and did nothing besides score...and who was the rest of the team? Career journey man Eddie House? Tim Thomas? It was a team of role players who had little versatility in what they offered. Their two biggest threats from the previous season, and legit All-Stars in Amare and Johnson, were gone. Nash made it all work, and despite the losses and ridiculous lineups, they still were 2nd in the West and got to the WCF. Kobe had an amazing season, though I'd argue 06-07 Kobe was better. He broke scoring records, but is what he did that season extremely different than what LeBron did that same season? Or T-Mac in 02-03? Or Wade in 2009? No. He led a crap team to a low playoff seed with crazy production. That doesn't get you MVP. Is that really unrealistic? I don't see his numbers swaying much, and OKC having the better record is probably more likely than Miami. LeBron hasn't even turned it on yet. At this point, I'd give Durant MVP, but if LeBron turns it on he'll get it.

No, he wouldn't. If that were the case, he would have won in 2011 as the best player in the league on a team with like 55 wins. Or in 2006 when he averaged like 32/7/7 on a team that I believe won 49 games.

Kobe wasn't robbed of the MVP in 2006. Nash led an Amare-less Suns to the 2nd best record in the West, while Kobe's team was only at 45 wins. 45 wins just don't cut it in the MVP discussion. The biggest robbery in recent memory is Rose over LeBron in 2011, though. And before that, AI over a few players back in 2001. Anyway, I think so far Durant has been MVP. They have like the best record in the league and Durant is putting up ridiculous numbers. LeBron is the better player, but their seasons aren't too far apart.

Well, many times a player will NEVER reach 100% until they get on the court for awhile. Certain things with stamina and strength/agility can only be attained with in-game activity, as opposed to weight lifting/off-court drills. I don't know...if he can play without strong chance of re-injurying himself (barring a freak accident/fall), I think he needs to get back on the court.

Eh...I'm weary of shutting down any player for an entire season. He's already in his 3rd season, and missing an entire season throws your ryhthm off sooooo much. He still has a lot of holes, primarily on-court decisions that he can only improve in live action games, so if he is 100% at any point this season, I feel he needs to play. Even if it's just for 15-20MPG.

Kobe ball won't get their shots to start falling, and it won't stop Walker from smoking ya'll. It needs to start with defense on him, and not getting beat on the boards. If those two things are settled, everything will eventually fall into place and the momentum will switch.

His play was stunted in the sense that he wasn't the number one option, was playing next to a very high volume scorer, and (depending on how you look at it) I'm sure the whole video with Kobe dissing him in regards to the Kidd trade didn't help much. However, I'm sure he would not change a thing...by being on the Lakers, he gained more attention than he would have as the #1 or 2 guy on a scrub team. Also, he wouldn't have had exclusive access to Kareem, who really helped mold Bynum's post play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bvJivGNoUw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1arpRTkmI