The NBA thread

[Smooth Groove]

you must not play ball or you'd know how annoying it is to play with someone like Kobe

[Cormacaroni]

It's a concern I guess but there are plenty of guys who have carried teams for longer than T-Mac and Vince. Dirk, AI, Pierce...

Harden looks hungry to score, but I don't know how he can spare much energy to defend. He really needs to start applying himself there though, even if only spots. Even becoming an average defender would make more of a diff than averaging an extra 5pts a night

[Stoney Mason]

you must not play ball or you'd know how annoying it is to play with someone like Kobe

For me its not so much his play style its all the other stuff. All the manipulation. The throwing people under the bus. The immaturity at times for a guy who is way too smart to be that way.

I mean I can separate that stuff out from his playing. I don't necessarily need to respect guys to like them as athletes. It's not like there aren't far worse dicks in the NBA or in other sports for that matter. I just hate that he seems to have taken the worse elements from Jordan, and combined them with his own flaws to create a special stew of annoyance.

But enough of the psycho-analysis. 

[Cormacaroni]

That much is obvious. It is also obvious that he is a dick. The former doesn't excuse the latter.

[Mandark]

That much is obvious. It is also obvious that he is a dick. The former doesn't excuse the latter.

.

[Smooth Groove]

you must not play ball or you'd know how annoying it is to play with someone like Kobe

For me its not so much his play style its all the other stuff. All the manipulation. The throwing people under the bus. The immaturity at times for a guy who is way too smart to be that way.

I mean I can separate that stuff out from his playing. I don't necessarily need to respect guys to like them as athletes. It's not like there aren't far worse dicks in the NBA or in other sports for that matter. I just hate that he seems to have taken the worse elements from Jordan, and combined them with his own flaws to create a special stew of annoyance.

But enough of the psycho-analysis.

stuff like that is part of playing basketball

even in pickup games, there's no shortage of guys who yell at everyone after shooting 5 for 15 and throwing the ball away 5 times

I swear the only people that know anything about efficiency and stat analysis are the ones that don't play

That's why I win 99% of the time when I pick teams.  They look fair at first glance but those dummies don't know I've factored in everyone's efficiency and redundancy. 

[Cormacaroni]

Warriors getting blown out twice in a row isn't helping me onto this bandwagon, pilonv1

[Smooth Groove]

I'm already telling everyone that I was born in Oklahoma City 

[Mandark]

Cormac, what if I told you there was a team with a young, promising backcourt that had wins over the Knicks, Clippers, Heat and Thunder this year?

Is that something you would be interested in? [/Entourage]

[Smooth Groove]

Wizards aren't making the playoffs no matter how much they improve in the 2nd half

[Cormacaroni]

Cormac, what if I told you there was a team with a young, promising backcourt that had wins over the Knicks, Clippers, Heat and Thunder this year?

Is that something you would be interested in? [/Entourage]

I watched a few games this year pre-Wall and they were so. horrible.

They are young but so are OKC....

[Smooth Groove]

John Wall is doing alright but why isn't he tearing it up like Irving?  Every time I watch John Wall, he looks like an Olympian going against average NCAA athletes. 

[Phoenix Dark]

Actually I like playing with Kobe types. They tend to be the hardest working guys on the court, and the most stressed. Plus it feels good giving them a face of disappointment after they fuck up.

Kobe wants that sixth ring bad. I may not like Deight but he isn't healthy, dude deserves some slack. Too bad he's a pussy and won't call Kobe out fully

[Smooth Groove]

Hardest working on offense maybe

Usually not on D except to go for blocks or rips

The worst thing about Kobe fans is that they all try to shoot fadeaway js 1 on 3 without half the skill

It was better when everyone just tried to be like Mike because teammates can at least try to tip in misses off layups

[Mandark]

Nah, Kobe's a dick.

[Cormacaroni]

Dwight Howard isn't putting in the work in the gym now, i think i've heard it all

[Cormacaroni]

but they are such good buddies! they totally have towel fights in the locker room, no homo! i've seen the tweets

[Smooth Groove]

Nash should start riding Kobe for not putting in the work at free throw shooting

[Cormacaroni]

Nash should start riding on Kobe for turning him into Steve Blake

[Smooth Groove]

ha ha

Cormac, you should listen to Max and Marcellus sometimes

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/radio/sectional?page=podcasts

Max has ridiculous trade scenarios and horrible analysis but he's a great talker and super entertaining.

For years, he's been merciless in evaluating Blake and calling him a D-league player.

[TakingBackSunday]

Meh, he doesn't seem like that much of a dick to me. Plenty of pro athletes have done way more dickish things than calling out teammates who aren't putting in the work in the gym.

There's a difference between expressing concern over your team's work ethic, and trying to do everything yourself and passing the blame to others, even though its partly your fault.

[Mandark]

According to Kobe's own statement, he deliberately contributes to a demanding, high pressure environment and Dwight's struggles are a result of trouble adjusting to that attitude.  What he doesn't seem to get is that if you take it upon yourself to assume an active role in team leadership/player management and pick a strategy that gets less out of your teammates, then YOU ARE DOING A BAD JOB OF IT.  If Dwight really shrinks from pressure, then the team would be better served by Kobe not putting additional pressure on him.

Of course it's all BS.  Dwight's having a hard time because he's still recovering from a major injury that required surgery and a lot of missed time and rehab, and Kobe's not objectively discussing team dynamics, he's telling anyone who will listen that Dwight would do better if only he were inherently awesome and competitive and a winner like Kobe.

At least he's not encouraging Dwight to clobber Michael Beasley.  As far as we know.

[Stoney Mason]

My issue with his original statement was the whole only Boston and the Lakers have constant pressure to win championships. I get what he's trying to say. That Boston and LA are the two marquee NBA franchises with a unique history. But its just an insulting thing to say to any team or any player that puts in hard work every night. Yes there is pressure to win in LA. There is also more capability of winning because of market factors and payroll. Kobe didn't do it by himself. There was Shaq, and Pau and other marquee players. He gets those role players and teammates in situations where other star players wouldn't necessarily because of the market they are in. So not to take anything away from Kobe and his rings but its like a rich person saying only other rich people understand the burden of being rich. It's too great a simplification of the situation.

[Mandark]

John Wall is doing alright but why isn't he tearing it up like Irving?  Every time I watch John Wall, he looks like an Olympian going against average NCAA athletes.

He's a bad jump shooter.  Like really, really, really bad.  There are other things he could improve on, but given his size, speed, and finishing ability, that's like 90% of it.  If he even had an average jumper he'd be a nightmare to defend because you couldn't back off of him or always go under the pick and roll, and he's tall and athletic enough to get a shot whenever he wants.

[Stoney Mason]

BOSTON -- Dwight Howard is fed up and let it be known that he is tired of other people trying to assess the severity of his shoulder injury.

"I want to play," Howard said after participating in shootaround in advance of the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday. "I mean, why wouldn't I want to play? But at the same time, this is my career, this is my future, this is my life. I can't leave that up to anybody else because nobody else is going to take care of me. So, if people are pissed off that I don't play or if I do play, whatever it may be, so what? This is my career. If I go down, then what? Everybody's life is going to go on. I don't want to have another summer where I'm rehabbing and trying to get healthy again. I want to come back and have another great year. That's what I want to do."

Howard is considered a game-time decision; he has missed the past three games after aggravating a torn labrum in his right shoulder in the Lakers' 92-86 loss to the Phoenix Suns at the start of their current seven-game road trip.

Kobe Bryant publicly challenged Howard to return, telling ESPNBoston.com's Jackie MacMullan on Wednesday, "We don't have time for [Howard's shoulder] to heal. ... We need some urgency."

Howard dismissed Bryant's stance.

"That's his opinion, that's it," Howard said. "He's not a doctor, I'm not a doctor. That's his opinion."

Bryant said that his comments on Wednesday weren't meant to turn up the pressure on Howard in light of the news that Pau Gasol has a torn plantar fascia in his right foot.

"There's an urgency to be out there, but it's not at the cost of making his shoulder worse," Bryant said after shootaround. "I've always said if he was healthy enough to play and there was a situation where he wasn't going to make it any worse then he should be playing. There should be an urgency about that, but I don't think I said anything that was different [than what I said before]."

Bryant wasn't the only one of Howard's teammates to clamor for the All-Star center's return, however.

"I think everyone has got to play through some pain in this league and I'm not sure where Dwight exactly with his [injury], but hopefully he's ready to come back soon," Steve Nash said. "I think it's inevitable he's going to feel some discomfort and pain."

Metta World Peace spoke up in support of Howard, citing how effective he has been while coming off offseason back surgery.

"He's doing great and [he is] a great teammate," World Peace said. "He's out there, he had a couple 20-20 games and is averaging 18 and 11 or something like that playing hurt coming off that back surgery. I would say he's a soldier and I'm not going to question his injury. He's hurt to me. We have to go out there and we have to hold it down for him."

Howard said that Gasol's injury has not sped up his timetable to return and added that he feels he mishandled his back injury last season in Orlando, and that's shaping how he deals with his shoulder this season.

"I don't want that situation to happen again," Howard said. "Last year I wanted to prove and show people that I can play through injuries, but the back is something serious and I don't want that to happen again."

Howard was asked if he could see his shoulder injury becoming worse if he gets back on the court.

"Yes, [with] the way I play," Howard said. "The post is not an easy position. You're pushing guys [who weigh] 260-270 [pounds] and you have to use a lot of force to do that. If I play tonight, we'll see how I feel later on. If I don't, we'll just have to move forward."

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said that the Lakers will likely go with a small starting lineup of Earl Clark at center and World Peace and Antawn Jamison at the forward spots if Howard cannot play against the Celtics.

"If we just go out there and play team basketball, move bodies, help, hedge on screens, box out, sacrifice and at the end of the game it's just going to be a team game and there's five guys on the floor, so, I don't think we have positions," said World Peace, who could be asked to play some backup center along with rookie Robert Sacre. "Kobe could be switched off on the center. It's just five guys playing basketball at this point."

D'Antoni said the decision on whether to play ultimately rests with Howard.

"I think he's cleared [by the medical staff], but he's cleared [fully] when the pain goes away, so he tells us when the pain goes away," D'Antoni said.

D'Antoni said he has not had any discussions with team management about adding another big man in the interim with Gasol flying back to L.A. on Thursday morning to meet with Lakers team doctors as well as a specialist, but he plans to meet with general manager Mitch Kupchak in Miami on Saturday to talk things over.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8926084/dwight-howard-los-angeles-lakers-tired-people-questioning-shoulder-injury

[Flannel Boy]

Kobe: torn labrum? more like torn labia amirite? You better endure the pain because I'm not taking "no" for an answer.
Puddles: You're so dreamy.

[TakingBackSunday]

 

[Cormacaroni]

Kobe: borderline psychopathic, but not much of a dick

[Smooth Groove]

if all Kobe cares about is winning, stfu and play for $1 million

[Cormacaroni]

Wait, Dwight said all that shit and he's playing today

[Phoenix Dark]

Dwight should have learned long ago that telling Kobe no is a bad idea

[Smooth Groove]

Dwight should have learned long ago that telling Kobe no is a bad idea

[Flannel Boy]

I probably admire his borderline-psychopathic obsession with dominating opponents because I'm something of a psychopath when it comes to certain forms of competition as well.

Strunk and White that shit.

[Cormacaroni]

oh lol now Kobe is coming out with his elbow all taped up so everybody all the way up to the back row can see what pain he is playing through

[Cormacaroni]

I mean, I'm a Boston fan, I realize this is known as pulling a Pierce but come on

[Cormacaroni]

Marv and Steve are killing it though...papercuts

[Cormacaroni]

well the Celtics may not have much to hang their hats on this season, but they certainly gave the Lakers a solid reaming tonight. A-plus entertainment

[Smooth Groove]

oh lol now Kobe is coming out with his elbow all taped up so everybody all the way up to the back row can see what pain he is playing through

even though he just told Howard to ignore what fans think

dick move  #30,000

[Stoney Mason]

Do you think the Celtics will end up with a higher win percentage this year without Rondo or with Rondo?

[Cormacaroni]

well, i said above that this was a dead cat bounce. Obviously Lee and Terry and Barbosa are happier with more minutes and are keen to play well before the trade deadline. There is also the pride kicking in. But there is also some genuine Ewing Theory stuff going on because Rondo was just not playing that well most nights, and he affected the whole team. Now there are unlimited backcourt minutes available if you hustle, and they are hustling like crazy (Bradley and Lee are just eating PGs alive with their full-court pressing). I think Rondo would have picked it up hugely in the playoffs though, and nobody else can really do that.

So regular season, Celtics might do better in the 2nd half than the 1st but I bet they tail off again after the trade deadline and all the vets realize that they're not going to get traded to the Clippers or OKC. And they're not going to do well in the playoffs vs having Rondo, no way.

[Smooth Groove]

wish I have the money to spare on this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330869314747

[Stoney Mason]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8890734/chuck-klosterman-royce-white

Meant to post this a week ago but forgot to. Interesting stuff. I've never been sure how I feel about him. Sometimes I think he is an immature naive kid. Sometimes I think he has a point.

[Smooth Groove]

Kobe's mouthpiece, "yo, Superman, you suck more than Pau"

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8928525/dwight-howard-return-los-angeles-lakers-lineup-changes-little

[Flannel Boy]

[Flannel Boy]

This is a forum of dicks.

If only. 

[Mandark]

http://i46.tinypic.com/207411w.png

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jfeHB3HszRw/SwoDXLZaMEI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/xzKW6jzCF4A/s1600/sad_george_michael.jpg

Gets even better when you realize Kobe's about to bust out the Gob chicken dance.

[Flannel Boy]

 

[TakingBackSunday]

got a gimped matchup between the heat and clippers tonight within the hour

should be good regardless

[Beezy]

No Bosh = gimped? Nah

I'll be flipping between that and the usual Friday Night Knicks struggles.

[TakingBackSunday]

Allen and Wade may be out too.

[Beezy]

Wade is in. Allen is out.

[Stoney Mason]

Lebron has been nasty this whole week.

[TakingBackSunday]

Damn, can't say I foresaw such a shellacking by the Heat

[Smooth Groove]

Bobcats LOL

[T-Short]

Drummond noooooooo

[Phoenix Dark]

Bah, sucks. I really think Drummond is gonna be craazy good

[Stoney Mason]

Good piece on Jay Williams.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/sports/basketball/a-leg-rebuilt-a-life-renewed-for-jay-williams.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[Stoney Mason]

Knicks versus clips and heat versus lakers on abc today.

[Stoney Mason]

Shumpert, you need to cut that hair. This ain't the 90's anymore.

[Beezy]

High tops have been making a comeback dude.