


Moderator: Metal Sludge
Each summer, NBA.com compiles a “Rookie Ladder” that ranks the website’s top 10 rookies in the Las Vegas Summer League.
The list is generally filled with lottery picks and a few sleepers, but after most teams have played two or three games, Lakers second round picks Devin Ebanks (43 overall) and Derrick Caracter (58) can find themselves atop the ladder, right there with top picks John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.
NBA.com’s ROOKIE LADDER RANKINGS (draft position)
1) Derrick Caracter, Lakers (58)
2) John Wall, Wizards (1)
3) Devin Ebanks, Lakers (43)
4) Gani Lawal, Suns (46)
5) DeMarcus Cousins, Kings (5)
6) Eric Bledsoe, Clippers (18)
7) Magnum Rolle, Pacers (51)
8 ) Ed Davis, Raptors (13)
9) Landry Fields, Knicks (39)
10) Matt Janning, Suns (undrafted)
HeavyMetalZombie666 wrote:Any chicks on this board like Sean Connery or Roger Moore?
WORD BROTHA!!!Subhuman Yeti wrote:Nice comments from you fucking loser supporters.
Lake Show signs MATT BARNES and THEO RATLIFF... and most of their fucking shitty defense playing bench from REPEAT CHAMPIONSHIP season 2010 is decimated and the LAKE SHOW defense has greatly improved!!
OH HOLY FUCK!!!
LET THE FUCKING THREEPEAT START IN OCTOBER -- YOU STUPID LOSER SUPPORTING ASSHOLES!!
Why the 2011 Finals Will Be Kobe Bryant's Greatest Challenge
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/4385 ... lenge-ever
June 2011 is a lifetime away for the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans. What lies ahead is a long and winding road of training camps, near meaningless pre-season games (unless you’re the Clippers) and a dark and dreary regular season that stretches and winds it’s way through six months worth of waiting. Oh they’ll be plenty of wins and losses, injuries, trade rumors, TV timeouts, speculation about the refs and enough ESPN hype to keep us entertained all along the way to the Promised Land of the NBA Playoffs. But for Kobe Bryant and his LA Lakers, the real 2011 season won’t begin until Game One of the first round of the Playoffs and a chance to defend what is rightfully theirs
This title defense won’t be like any of the previous four that have come before it. What awaits Bryant and the Lakers at the end of this yellow brick road is truly their greatest challenge to date. What awaits will demand that Bryant be able to shake the jitters and pressures that grabbed hold of him like a two ton gorilla hanging atop the Empire State building in last year’s Game Seven. What awaits is the chance to move past Magic as the winningest Laker ever. What awaits is the chance to tip the scales in Bryant’s favor rightfully placing him in that conversation in which only His Airness had previously belonged.
The Greatest of All Time.
And this time, it’s not the ring that matters. For if Bryant and the Lakers were to meet and beat, say, the Orlando Magic in a 2009 Finals rematch, the win would not have the same impact. If they were to beat the new and improved Chicago Bulls, it would leave this Lakers team, and indeed Kobe Bryant right where they are now: a good team, a mini dynasty, but not an all-time team and not in the realm of MJ.
It would be a 3-Peat, but it wouldn’t be THE 3-PEAT! You know what I’m getting to.
We all know.
We knew it as soon as a certain Two-Time MVP fled for the sunnier shores of South Beach. We knew it as soon as the ink dried in Boston and the Celtics had landed themselves the Big Benedict Arnold. This Finals would be THE FINALS, the one that truly defined a team and a career.
Make no mistake, as much as last year’s Finals victory was needed to solidify Bryant’s place among the game’s best, this year’s Finals will elevate him higher than any pair of Nike’s ever could.
It is said that with great challenges come greater opportunities.
Last year’s challenge was like the Matterhorn at Disneyland, vital and necessary to learn to climb but laughable by comparison. This year the Lakers will face Everest—be it the Celtics, with Bryant’s long-time arch-nemesis or the Heat with an all star Big Three, and two heirs-apparent to Kobe’s Ring Dynasty.
Much of the story line leading up to last season’s Finals—and most importantly to Game Seven—was where Bryant would find himself and his legacy once the Finals had ended. Well, nearly two months have passed and guess what folks… we still don’t know.
Joining Magic and Kareem as some of the only Lakers ever to take on Boston in the Finals and come away with a ring (and your head still intact) was supposed to cement Bryant as one of the greatest ever… wasn’t it? Winning a fifth ring to join Magic and come within one of MJ should have been enough to say that this was indeed the Kobe Bryant era after all.
Yet, last year's Finals and most of this NBA off season have been hijacked by a decision one player made to join his rivals rather than distinguish himself from them. Lebron James' introduction to South Beach felt too much like a WWE event. It lacked the substance and the grit that has defined the last three NBA champs.
If the Celtics' and Lakers' runs over the last three years have taught us anything it’s that it’s not the ESPN highlights or the superstars who made them that get you through the toughest best-of-seven series you’ll ever face… it’s the dirty work and the role players who get dirty who truly put teams over the top. Sure the Heat may get there, but they’re not there yet.
Then came the shocking announcement (insert sarcasm here) that Shaq was signed by his fourth team in four years cementing his legacy tainting, never-ending tour for another ring. In truth, Shaq’s addition to the Celtics depleted front line adds that much more intrigue to an already saturated story line. If the Celts do manage to wheelchair their way into a third Finals appearance in four years—an awfully big IF—then... oh the possibilities!
As if Lakers vs. Celtics wasn’t enough: imagine Kobe vs. Shaq, with a chance to tie them at five rings a piece or to propel Bryant to ring leader while leaving Shaq as the novelty act in what’s been one of the most amazing circuses the NBA has ever seen.
Put together, all this off season hype has relegated the Lakers' recent accomplishments to a mere afterthought; kind of like going to see a movie and then caring only about what you saw during the previews.
Only, this movie wasn’t a dud. It was gritty, and yes, at times ugly. To borrow from Christopher Nolan’s recent cinematic successes it was the Dark Knight that came before Inception. It was greatness preparing us for brilliance.
And brilliance will be what is needed for this next challenge. But this brilliance will not be coming from Boston, and as much as ESPN hopes, it won’t be coming from South Beach either. Yes, the preview of what’s to come out of Miami is exciting, but so many previews have left us unfulfilled and wanting our money back when the final product is finally released.
What lies ahead for Bryant and the Lakers is a chance at immortality. Seventy-two wins are not needed and 33-game winning streaks aren’t either. But a Finals victory over the Celtics with Shaq or one over the king without a ring and his pals down in Miami would undoubtedly place this Lakers team and the star that leads them into a place all their own.
Kobe will never pass MJ in the hearts and minds of some, so what happens after this year is postscript to what happens in June. It’s ring number six that matters, not number seven. It’s the chance for Bryant to take down the Big Cry-Baby once and for all, and in the process solidify the accomplishments of his early years. It’s the chance to kill the king that has been anointed and heralded as the GOAT before he has won anything. Finally it’s the chance to prove that when it comes to the GOAT, there are only two names that count.
That is what's on the line in 2011. That’s the opportunity before Bryant and the Lakers.
Coaches like to say that five seconds is a lifetime in basketball. A player with speed can go coast to coast in that time, great scorers can get off any look they want, and great rebounders can track down any loose ball. In the time between now and June 2011 anything can and will happen in the world of the NBA.
It’s an eternity away and yet, if you listen carefully you can hear deep down, “Kobe, Kobe, Kobe!”
The lights are getting dimmer, and the movie’s about to start… so enjoy the ride!
I am so ready for the season. Why does the world championship team sport 13 players, with 5 goddamn point guards?grishnak boss wrote:PREPARE FOR IT, FUCKIN IDIOTS!!!
Kobe Climbing the Scoring Ladder
On Monday, August 23, Kobe Bryant turned 32 years old.
In the last 14 of those years, the Lakers’ 6-6 guard has shot, driven and dunked his way to 12th on the NBA's all-time leading scoring list. That’s certainly an impressive enough feat, but when Bryant turns 33 next year, he may very well have vaulted all the way up to sixth on the ledger simply by producing at or even below his usual - if remarkable - rate.
Let's take a look at how Bryant has put himself in a position to get there:
First, rewind the clock by two years, prior to the 2008-09 campaign, when Bryant was 26th on the scoring charts with 21,619 points behind a career average of around 25 points per game, plus an ability to avoid or play through injuries. Kobe was perched (or waiting to strike, rather) just behind Larry Bird (21,791), Gary Payton (21,813) and Clyde Drexler (22,195). During that season he jumped all three, and then splashed nets past Elgin Baylor (23,149), Adrian Dantley (23,177), Robert Parish (23,334) and Charles Barkley (23,757).
Bryant then won his first Finals MVP award when the Lakers beat Orlando 4-1, before making another assault on the all-time list in 2009-10. His list of victims: Allen Iverson (24,368), Patrick Ewing (24,815), Jerry West (25,192), Reggie Miller (25,279) and most recently, 13th-place Alex English (25,613), whom he surpassed with 24 points on March 24, 2010 at San Antonio. In passing the legendary West on a slam dunk at Memphis on Feb. 1, 2010, Bryant also became the all-time leading score in Lakers franchise history before going on to claim his second straight Finals MVP trophy.
Add it all up so far, and the Black Mamba has scored 25,790 points.
Now, over the last three seasons, Bryant has averaged 2,165 points. He played all 82 games in 2007-08 and 2008-09, averaging 28.3 and then 26.8 points per game in respective years. Though he averaged 27.0 points in 2009-10, he missed nine games, so his total output (1,970) was his lowest since 2004-05 (1,819), when he missed 16 games.
Here's the reason for the math: if Bryant hangs around his average of 27 points from the last three seasons and plays in all 82 games, he'll score 2,214 points, pushing his career total up to 28,004, nearly 600 more than current sixth-place holder Moses Malone (27,409). If we're being (much) more conservative, Bryant could miss 10 games and average only 25 points per game, and he'd still total 1,800 points for the season and 27,590 for his career, clearing Moses by 181 points. Before he gets to Mt. Moses, Bryant will have to climb past Hall of Famers* John Havliek (26,395), Dominique Wilkins (26,668), Oscar Robertson (26,710), Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946), Elvin Hayes (27,313) and Malone.
*In fact, every eligible player on the all-time scoring list all the way up to No. 34 (Mitch Richmond) is in the Hall of Fame. Active players like Bryant, Shaq and those recently retired (Reggie Miller, Gary Payton) are not yet eligible.
Despite Bryant's rise, the top five scorers in history are safe at least for another year or two: Shaquille O'Neal (28,255, still active); Wilt Chamberlain (31,419); Michael Jordan (32,292); Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387).
But Kobe's already in the Top 5 for the postseason.
BRYANT 4TH ON PLAYOFF POINTS LIST
Points, of course, are harder to come by yet more important in the postseason, and Bryant has shot his way up this list as well, currently ranking fourth with his 5,052 points.
He surpassed the Mailman (4,761) with a three-pointer in Game 4 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals at Phoenix (one of his six threes in the game and career high 49 in the playoffs http://my.lakers.com/blogs/2010/07/30/k ... -playoffs/), and Jerry West (4,457) in Game 3 of Round 1 at Oklahoma City to become the Lakers all-time leading playoff scorer.
Only Shaq (5,248), Kareem (5,762) and Jordan (5,987)* rank above Bryant in playoff points.
Bryant has averaged right around 30 points per game in 23 games with L.A.'s three straight trips to the Finals, so even if he scores at that rate and the Lakers go back to the Finals, it'll be tough for Bryant to catch Abdul-Jabbar or Jordan. Shaq, on the other hand, is right there in his sights. *Bryant is also second only to MJ in career playoff games with 30+ points, trailing 78 to 109. Kobe passed Jerry West (74) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (75) during the 2009-10 playoff run thanks to hitting the 30+ mark in 11-of-12 games.
The sum total of all these points? Greatness.
http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/100825_k ... adder.html
What a Lakers full-page ad in The Times might look like
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblo ... -like.html
Kurt Rambis had already seen the transformation last season, changing from Lakers' assistant coach to the Minnesota Timberwolves' head coach. The losing culture, the fledgling personnel and the bitter cold served as the most vivid differences compared to the Lakers' 2009 title run, the loaded and steady roster and the year-round perfect weather.
Minnesota also recently did something the Lakers wouldn't need to do in a million years: putting out a full-page ad in the local newspaper in hopes to assuage concerns from its fan base. Among the highlights from the Timberwolves' "long-winded letter" in the back of Monday's Minneapolis Star-Tribune included the team's admission it likely won't win an NBA championship this season and a jab at Ricky Rubio.
The Lakers wouldn't need to resort to these measures in buying a full-page ad for The Times, as they're eyeing a three-peat and have enjoyed being the main sports franchise in Los Angeles. But in case they were to change their mind, it might go a little something like this...
"The time for talk has begun for some, the time to begin winning another championship has begun for us.
"We don't even know why we're wasting our time with this long-winded letter. Everyone loves the Lakers. We don't need to advertise to sell tickets. And beyond just wanting training camp to start already, Lakers fans have nothing to complain about.
"Let me clarify: Lakers fans have things to complain about, just not things involving this organization. They've complained about how LeBron James made his 'Decision,' and how suddenly some believe the Super Team can take down the defending champs. They've complained about how Shaquille O'Neal joined our arch-rival, the Boston Celtics, and see it as the last act of betrayal. And they've complained that Doc Rivers recently suggested the Celtics had never lost against the Lakers with their starting five, only remembering Kendrick Perkins' injury last season but conveniently forgetting Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza sitting out in 2008.
"The time for such talk is over.
"OK, not quite. We need to write this long-winded letter just to remind everyone why we have a lot of good things to talk about.
"After the 2007 playoffs, we laid out a plan: First, we would convince Kobe Bryant he doesn't really want to be traded, and that Bynum really is valuable to our team. Second, we would keep our word to Bryant that we would build talent around him. We brought back Derek Fisher, and we acquired Pau Gasol. Third, after losing in the 2008 Finals, we vowed we would get tougher. And we have. We acquired Ron Artest and Matt Barnes, and we instilled to everyone on the team that they can't let other teams push us around. Fourth, we have an unyielding and uncompromising commitment to winning.
"Even with a lockout looming and luxury taxes on the rise, we've always stressed we'll spend whatever it takes to win. That was our plan when we re-signed Lamar Odom in 2009, gave Bryant and Gasol contract extensions and still stayed busy fine-tuning our championship ride after winning the 2010 title. In the off-season, we secured Hall of Fame coaching (Phil Jackson, kept veteran leadership (Fisher) and attracted reserve spark plugs (Steve Blake, Barnes, Theo Ratliff, Shannon Brown, Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter). We now have an even stronger bench to complement our corps players. And plenty of experts are left scratching their heads if we really have any weakness on our team.
"So will we challenge for the NBA championship this year? ABSOLUTELY. Will we three-peat? YOU BET. Consider this a guarantee similar to the one Pat Riley made during the 1987 championship parade. We all know how that turned out.
"This honesty thing may make us look arrogant. But the reality is, we're the Lakers. We've won 16 championships. We have featured some of the league's greatest players in Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan, and, sure, we'll include Shaq. We brought Showtime to the NBA. And we haven't stopped ever since.
"We are confident that this team this season will be exciting to watch. It's going to be yet another year where we're the ticket in town that's hard to get. We apologize that our tickets to Staples Center are rather expensive. But the way we see it, Lakers fans would much rather see a championship team than just being able to afford to attend a game at Staples Center. Save the latter experience for the Clippers. If you do manage to save up for a Lakers ticket, everyone's said it's well worth it. They see Jack Nicholson courtside. They see Dustin Hoffman on Kiss Cam. And they see a championship team in a festive atmosphere.
"Enough talk. It's time to play. Oh, wait. We forgot to talk about how great it was to get rid of Kwame Brown. Next time."
-- Mark Medina
Did the Staples Center in Los Angeles get a name change?LAglamrocker wrote:nice photo of The King and his wife's ass, nice shot of the amount of people that will be at Quicken Loans Arena next season and decades to come
johnk5150 wrote:Paxson doesn't want to to trade Joakim Noah for Carmello. I need to find out where he lives.
NBA will whistle more techs for 'overt' gestures
Posted Sep 24 2010 6:34PM
http://www.nba.com/2010/news/09/24/offi ... index.html
NEW YORK (AP) -- Tired of player rants, the NBA plans to crack down this season on "overt" gestures, such as swinging a fist in the air in anger.
And players can be called for technical fouls even if those actions weren't directed at a referee.
The league wants more respect for the game and its officials, so it's expanding the list of unsportsmanlike actions that will be punishable.
"Why are we doing this? We just want to have everyone take ownership of how our game looks and the image of our game, and send a message that we want player complaining to be minimized and for everyone to have respect for the game," executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson said Friday during a conference call.
Apparently, the calls to cut out the whining go beyond the league office.
"Our fan research shows that people think NBA players complain too much and they do so much more than players in other leagues," Jackson said. "But that aside, in reviewing our games, what we have observed is an excessive amount of complaining to referees' calls or non-calls."
So for the second time in four years, the NBA is warning players that more technical fouls could be coming if the yelping doesn't stop. The crackdown during the 2006-07 season ignited a feud with the players, who eventually filed an unfair labor practice charge against the league with the National Labor Relations Board.
"Didn't we go through this three years ago?" Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We encourage our players to really contain themselves. It will work itself out as the season goes forward. I've always liked players that can contain that and understand what's going on on the floor."
Stu Jackson doesn't expect this one to be as tense, as he emphasized this is not a "zero-tolerance policy" and players will still be permitted to have discussions with referees.
Players may have a different feeling once they see some of what could earn them a technical foul and the automatic fine that goes with it - which Jackson said may increase this season.
On Thursday night, executives from the referee operations department showed videos of some plays that would warrant technicals this season to officials and media during the referees' training camp in Jersey City, New Jersey.
In one play, Carlos Boozer swings his arm in anger after a missed shot, likely believing he was fouled. However, there was not a referee nearby, leaving open the possibility that Boozer was perhaps angry with himself and not yelling at an official.
In another, LeBron James hurries across the court with his arms raised to question a call that went against him, but not in a particularly menacing manner. That doesn't matter. Jackson said actions like those slow down the game and won't be tolerated.
Besides punching the air, other examples of punishable offenses this season include:
• Waving off an official as a sign of disrespect
• Running up to an official from across the court
• Waving arms in disbelief, or jumping up and down in disbelief
• Clapping sarcastically at an official
Coaches were already told of the new enforcement plans, along with another point of emphasis this season: There will be an "almost zero-tolerance policy" on assistants yelling at referees.
Players will learn the details in a preseason memo, and also during a clinic given to their teams by referee operations officials.
Technical fouls rose early in the 2006-07 season, which angered players in part because of what it costs them. Players are fined $1,000 for each of their first five technicals. The fine increases by $500 for each five after that, capped by a $2,500 penalty for each one starting with the 16th. A one-game suspension also comes at that point and for every other technical thereafter.
Jackson said the league hadn't determined how much those fines would be this season. He believes there has been some "slippage" in enforcing the respect for the game guidelines in the last four years, but wants it curbed.
"That's good and bad," Minnesota forward Michael Beasley said. "Sometimes we should just shut up and play basketball. But I think for the fans' sake and the viewers' sake, it's good to see some emotion. You wouldn't want me out there just playing with the same face and not looking like I'm having fun, right? It's good and bad. But I think emotion is always the best."
"Our fan research shows that people think NBA players complain too much and they do so much more than players in other leagues," Jackson said. "But that aside, in reviewing our games, what we have observed is an excessive amount of complaining to referees' calls or non-calls."
If you aren't working the refs in any sport you aren't trying to win.Subhuman Yeti wrote:"Our fan research shows that people think NBA players complain too much and they do so much more than players in other leagues," Jackson said. "But that aside, in reviewing our games, what we have observed is an excessive amount of complaining to referees' calls or non-calls."
Try pulling your fucking stupid head out of your fucking dumb ass and realize there are far more complaints because there are more bad calls and missed calls.
Don't blame the players and the fans you fucking NBA office idiots --- blame the refs for fucking up so much.
Especially when they have to make sure the Lakers win. How are we gonna fix the series against Sacramento who's fucking LA up?yeahbuddy wrote:I think the refs will be tight with the rule, but as season progresses, will loosen up. But when play-offs roll around, they will tighten the screws.
NBA has got to be the hardest sport to referee. The court has remained the same size, but the players are much bigger and faster. Not easy.