Laker nation
 

Another good win. Kobe 40 points and didn't shoot in the 2 quarter. Problem is Dwight. He and Kobe don't like each other. You can tell in there body language.

Damn! 38/7/12 Kobe is still really really good, at least last night :) Dwight appears to be rounding into playing shape. Howard is a great defensive player but he is never going to be a great offensive weapon. As long as howard plays hard, I dont think it matters if they like each other or not. Kobe will respect anyone who plays hard every night. Shaq and Kobe fueding was just a side note during those 4 finals appearances and 3 championships. Interesting to see where Howard signs his extension.

I dont think people realize how injured Howard is. coming back off of back surgery has to be hard enough. then trying to intergrate into a new system, and then having a torn labrum in your shoulder to go along with all the nonsense is crazy. it amazes me how hard the LA media here are on him. their biggest complaint about him is he smiles too much! are you kidding me?! the dude gets paid millions of dollars to play a game. shouldnt he be smiling? so many people expect him to be a cold blooded killer like Kobe, or MJ, or starting to be one like Lebron. some people just dont have that DNA. Once he is completely healthy, he is going to be a monster who averages like 15 pts and 15 boards a game. the lakers are sooo lucky to have that group, they just dont know it, or just cant understand that Dwight aint close to 100% yet.

"Once he is completely healthy, he is going to be a monster who averages like 15 pts and 15 boards a game. the lakers are sooo lucky to have that group, they just dont know it, or just cant understand that Dwight aint close to 100% yet"
Agree, we may not get the chance if howard takes to heart this seasons distractions, injurys, loses, disasters, media coverage...and does not resign. LA has not seen the healthy D12 yet.

Dwight has become a big time loser....

I think Dwight is getting healthier.
Still a first round elimination in their future though.

lost all respect for him. how he has handled orlando. how he has handled his "injury". simply pathetic.

I have zero respect for him as well. At least as a person. For a guy who had 7+ years in the league, he has shown a huge lack of maturity. I will never question someone dealing with injuries though. I have dealt with torn labrums. Heck, i am dealing with one now as we speak. I cant even begin to imagine how hard it is to compete on a professional level while dealing with an injury like that.

James, just up and left and the fans boo'ed him on his return. Melo said he was leaving a year in advance then shut up and they boo'ed him in Denver. Dwight was wishy washy then traded and they boo'ed him back in O-town. All these guys did was take their previously bad teams to the playoffs and in Lebrons and Howards case to the finals. It doesnt matter, fans are like bitter exgirlfriends they will never be happy after you leave them no matter what you gave them. Howard came back from his surgery too quick and it has slowed him all season, just now starting to look like the D-12 he was in Orlando. Should we really expect to "respect" these athletes who have been coddled since they were teenagers, then paid millions before they hit 21 yrs old. You really think they can grow up and become anyones role model. They have never "lived in the real world" and never will. My normal isnt a garage full of Benz, and Bentleys next to a 20,000 sqft house.

So Laker faithful, thoughts on the Kobe injury? How long do you think it will keep him out?

I thought it was a sketchy play, but one you see often.....more with jump shooters that habitually kick their legs forward in an attempt to make contact(retaliation by the defender)....

ADD....not a great time to be losing him(not that there is a good time to lose that type of talent off your team), fighting to a playoff slot....

I don't see him missing much time at all. He has proven that he'll play with a significant amount of pain.

blah blah blah what a sob story.

Kobe misses a tough shot and rolls his ankle. Happens all the time. That contest was not bad at all. No way you call a foul on that... pathetic post game from Kobe.

Says uncle rico.
Yet, every other former professional player and basketball analysts said it should have been whistled a foul.

:banghead:

Kobes pride was hurt, thats all...

It was a savy defensive move that closed the air space. Its unfortunate that Kobe came down on his foot, but thats how basketball goes.

The NBA has gotten soft enough, lets not take it a step further and give the shooter a bubble.

It closed the landing space, not the air space. That's the problem.

How are you supposed to play defense anymore!?

You cant contest shots. You cant use your hands. You cant do anything.

The NBA has gone soft. Kobe crying about missing shots isnt helping that. Get tough Kobe. You missed.

League said they missed the call.

Regardless of whether Jones made a dirty play, the NBA acknowledged in a statement Thursday that officials should have called a foul on the play.

"After review at the league office, video replay confirmed that referees missed a foul call on Jones as he challenged Bryant's shot and did not give him the opportunity to land cleanly back on the floor," the league statement said. "Bryant should have been granted two free throws."

Kobe just doesnt get the "Jordan calls", I think he rode the refs too hard over the last 17 yrs. Yes, you can contest shots but you cant hand check, They let every point in the league carry-over on almost every play, its just the way it is. Can you point out anywhere Kobe cried about missing shots?
I almost hope Kobe takes at least a game off to get that ankle closer to right.
http://www.everyjoe.com/2013/03/14/s...-on-instagram/

Of course the league said they missed the call... The league is soft.

Did you see Kobes post game? It was pathetic.

And yes, he flat out missed the shot... You simply dont make that call in that situation. The Refs got it right. The league is protecting one of its "stars" with there comments. Weak, tho should be expected from Stern.

I did not catch Kobe's comments immediatly after the game, and he clearly missed the shot. I agree its been the leagues SOP for the no call at end of qtrs, halfs, games. Not much protection tho, Lakers got the loss and the injury. Are you calling bryant out for saying Jones gave him no room to land? Thats not crying, lying, or whining. Its just what happed. Im not going to say it was dirty but he definatly got under him.
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/s...re-kobe-bryant

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DkwP0TlhN3g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Wow Jason Terry got absolutely dominated by Lebron's dunk the other night. :eek:

Dunks like that one, and deandres the other night are blown way out of proportion nowadays. Neither of those guys were defending the player who dunked, or were trying to block the dunk. They just happened to be in the area, and were trying to steal the ball. Wrong place, wrong time.
Good dunks the both of them tough.

Terry looked like the Washington Generals to Lebrons Globetrotters. James got a "T" for the stare down didnt he?

Yes he did. Was the correct call, according to the rules... With that being said. Dumb Rule.

Dunks are well over hyped. Those who run out of the picture should be the ones getting blasted.

^^^yeah, nba is wrong and dumb a lot.
So ...The Streak....Come back from 27 down to freaking Cleveland without K.Irving, A.Varejao and Waiters their top 3 guys.... comeback with boston minus Garnett and Rondo the game before. Are they going to get there? Is it important that they do? Good chance Miami can get past the 33 but seriously the East, where they play most of their games is embarrassing weak. Miami and Indiana and thats about it. Who are they playing in these last 10 or so games? Is it possible that under .500 team in the east will be a playoff team?

The Jazz are TERRIBLE.....

that is all....

Do you miss Sloan? .500 isnt THAT bad. I dont think they are playing under their capabilities. They have San Antonio @ SA, good Luck.

Jerry West on the streak...
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/s...winning-streak

Yes, miss Jerry Sloan....did the day he left. I think they are better than a .500 team. I think they have some talent, though some of that is VERY young. The bigger issue is their lack of "compete" &/or desire some games. Their defense would have given Jerry a heart attack.

No doubt talented AND young. I hope they play well and force the Lakers to play better. Friday nights loss to Wash was embarassing, gave up an 18 point lead and then the game. Wash had only 6 road wins coming in to the game. DAntoni came unglued for the first time in the post game chat. Said what so many have been thinking all season. Kobe let Ariza shoot uncontested 3's most of the night and that was the game.
Streak at 26.

and now LBJ wants to start crying....

Where's EJ? Utah going neck and neck down the home stretch with Lakers. Gonna be a photo finish? Lakers must deal w/ Portland up north on their last back to back of the season. Portland, a place Lakers always have trouble. Still have San Antonio, Warriors and Houston to play. Jazz have home and away with Twolves and close it out at Memphis. Makes me nervous because Memphis position will be set and they may rest guys. Jazz earned the advantage this season so Lakers must have a better record to advance. BTW, Kobe last night with 23 in the 4th qtr to squeak by Pelicans...

I'm just here sweating it out.... HOLY SMOKES Kobe is a MONSTER.... I still think the Jazz will get in, but good God, Kobe is putting the Lakers on his back and carrying them to the playoffs. I still dislike the guy, but I don't think their is a more competitive guy with that type of talent in the NBA. He just refuses to lose/be shut out of the playoffs....

If every player on the Jazz(add 20 NBA teams here) had Kobe's drive/competitiveness(in their role), they'd win 50 games. Note my post on March 23rd....It is just apparent that there are guys throughout the league that could not care less about being average....content just playing, win or lose. Think they really took to heart hearing all that "Just go out and have fun, doesn't matter if you win or lose" they heard as kids....;)

ha, too many ribbons/trophys for just showing up.
He still is a monster, even after 17 seasons...48 minutes? 8 boards, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals to go with 47pts. Who else plays 40+ minutes a night? I know the MVP goes to the best player on the best team...but the nba should be embarrassed the guy has only one. Interesting and sad his drive rarely moves his own teams competitiveness. I know that after he retires an era will also be gone.
EJ, i know you are having trouble trying to decide which cigar will go best with your bourbon when/if the Jazz move on, Choose well.

If Kobe is as good as you would like to claim he is.... then why is he struggling to GET IN the playoffs? Seems odd? The NBA playoffs are a joke to get into. Some very very very bad teams make the playoffs and yet Kobe is a Monster for carrying his team there!? yikes..

Most of Kobe's supporting staff has been hurt this year, while adjusting to a system that doesn't fit any of them. No bad teams in the west get into the playoffs. The east is a whole other story.
Pull your face out of Jordan's crotch for half a second, and learn to respect how good Kobe really is.
And don't forget, I despise Kobe as much as I despise your opinions. So you know I am not biased!

Feel bad for Kobe Bryant.... Didn't you almost feel like with all these minutes, all this effort, the weight of an entire team on your back.....something may crack?

This sucks.... As an NBA fan and a fan of greatness....not being able to see if Kobe could will the Lakers in(maybe he did, winning that game last night surprised me), I lose....basketball fans lose.

Hope the best for him....

The bulls have been more injured than any team in the league... They are doing just fine...


As for Kobes injury, its a shame. Thats a tough injury to take.... He will be back, but im not sure he will be the same. The Lakers organization has to make some big time decisions this off season. What they have put together is pathetic.

What do Lakers fan think about Dwight? You cant possibly like that fool can you??

"The bulls have been more injured than any team in the league... They are doing just fine..."
Bulls are 43/37...after they finish losing to the Heat today. Lakers are 43/37 but in the west (as Train implied) thats the 8 spot.
Dwight...very good on defense. Offense and being the future leader of the Lakers...Im not sold on him. Too many guys get max contracts and that sets a low bar. Even if lakers make the playoffs this has been a bad season, did not play out anywhere near what was expected. What was expected just wasnt right either. Then the coaching change. Then nash went down, then Gasol. Howard should not have come back so early, he didnt start playing near his old self til after allstar break. Kindof a Cluster F of issues one after the other. It is too old of a rooster in todays nba. Judging from Laker history, they will make changes.

The Lakers are in..... The Jazz will not win their next 2, so that is that....

I cannot believe the Lakers beat SA..... How does Parker go 1-10 with 4 TO's....???

Lakers unleashed Steve Blake on Parker :) It was a nice home win for the lakers, Dantoni went out of his comfort zone and played Morris who hasnt played in months and even Chris Duhon. Still have Houston, another tough game.
Think Memphis will play their guys in the last game? At least its exciting down to the wire.
Kobe wasted no time getting his surgery, maybe he is planning on going MettaWorldPeace and come back in 2 weeks LOL.

A fitting finale to this season. If Lakers win V. Houston tonight they are the 7 seed and would face San Antonio, at least a good match up. If they lose and Jazz win they are on vacation. If they lose and Utah falls to Memphis then Lakers are the 8 seed and meet up with the Thunder. Memphis starters were already sitting last night so Utah has a good chance on the road. Im excited about the bottom of the West on the last game of the season, damn.