General Chat / NBA CHAT

Man, I hate to admit it, but Radu's right. It seems like the Lakers are revolving around one player. Or at least they're playing like it.

Actually, this season, the Lakers' problem has mostly been shooting... or rather, their inability of it. Last night against Dallas, they couldn't score if their lives depended on it, and tonight, they went cold in the fourth. If they could only score (you know, that vital thing in basketball), they'd probably have won half the games they've lost this season. They also have to stop those stupid defensive lapses. Anyone see the way Stackhouse got a layup to win it? That was sad....

Kudos to Dallas, tho. Looks like their defense is improved a bit this year.

nobody is afraid of the Mavs?
Como what?
Dirk Nowitzki hasn't done anything in the league?
Finley hasn't done anything in the league?

Let me ask you something. What has Chris Webber done in the league? What has Mike Bibby done? A hell of a lot less.

I guarentee you that every general manager out there in the western division DON'T WANT TO PLAY THE MAVS. Especially come playoff time. If you don't think that teams are afraid of the Mavs, then you're retarded. It's like saying that teams aren't afraid to play the Nets in the east.

Really, what else do the Mavs have to do to gain you people's respect? And why do the Kings suddenly have everybody's respect in the west as the best team? Because they played a good series with the Lakers? The Mavs have started the season 12-0, or 13-0, whatever. You guys are essentially saying...The Mavs lost in the playoffs last year, so we don't have to worry about them this year.

I mean what the fuck?
I think aero & Corkscrewed are dealing with that little itty bitty bug called jealousy right here. Dirk Nowitzki looks like potentially the best player in the league, with competition from McGrady, Kobe, and Pierce. Really, what's so special about the Lakers? Two players. One of them gets injured, and the other player can't manage to keep the team afloat. Look at the Orlando Magic. Same situation, depending on two players. Hill gets hurt all of last year, TMac still carries the team to the playoffs. And what's so "unstoppable" about the Kings this year? Last year, they were CARRIED by Mike Bibby. Peja, Doug Christie, and Chris Webber were nowhere to be found.

Funny thing is, with the way it's going right now, the Mavs are going to run away the western crown from the get-go. The Lakers will be fighting to even get into the playoffs this year, and then will probably get matched up with somebody like the Spurs or Sonics, teams very capable of beating them. The Lakers are coming in and expecting Shaq (who will be getting limited minutes even after returning because of the toe) to just turn them into the great team they used to be, but that may not be the case. Shaq coming back will not make the Lakers the best team by itself. You need players like Horry, Fisher, Fox, and George, who have all been playing like absolute shit.

Its ok, we'll see when it comes crunch time.

True, it will come down to crunch time, and thats why the Mavs will fall. They are learning to play defense, but don't think for one minute that that will mean anything in the playoffs. Dirk is improving, he has that confidence that an all-star needs to have. I mean look at Webber, the other night he stepped up and hit a clutch shot to beat Orlando. The play was designed for Jackson, but he stepped up. What do the Kings have over the Mavs, more playoff experiance. It may not be an NBA title (at least not yet) but it's more than Dirk and company have. Until the Mavs beat the Kings in the playoffs, then it's ours to lose. The same goes for the Kings, until we beat the Lakers they have brag rights.

I will not take away from what the Mavs are doing right now, but there is always one team that starts the season on a tear, but eventually it all evens out.


PEACE

I'll give the Mavs credit for going 13-0 so far, but what happens when they hit a slump? What happens when they feel that extra pressure? I doubt they'll be playing as well as they are right now. Come playoff time, we'll be looking at another 99-00 Portland Trailblazers. In the playoffs, you have to step up your game and take it to a whole new level. Here, experience factors immensely. The way the Mavs are playing is great now, but when the playoffs come, they won't be able to up their game. They'll be like the Jazz: play great now play great later, instead of most other teams: play very well now, play excellent later.

You said it yourself, Matt. Mavs = give the ball to a superstar and have him do some crazy shit with it. What happens when something goes wrong? It crumbles. Teams like the Mavs go on streaks. Right now, they're on a heck of a winning streak, but the moment something goes wrong, it'll crumble. It's like a perfect game. The moment a perfect game gets broken, there's often a flurry of mistakes that follow before the pitcher can catch himself, if he does.

Sure, the Mavs are flying high this year, but lets see if they can still beat "the two man show," as you imply it, next time.

You're right, though. W/O the supporting cast, the Lakers aren't that good. Which brings up a good point: Doesn't that mean that the Lakers have been winning championships as a TEAM these past three years, not just as two players? After all, what about their defense? Defense has won the Lakers championships, not foul calls, the Shaq Show, the Kobe Show, or David Stern, as you conspiracy theorists like to say.

Bring it on. Until there's a new champion, the LAKERS are still the best team.

Cork, to me, the Lakers won the championships because they had the best 2-man show in the world. And the supporting cast did their damn job. Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox were all depended on to get their 8-12 points per game, which they needed. Last year, the role players stepped up. Unfortunately, when they lost Shaq, instead of stepping up into a more prominent role in the offense, they tried to remain role players, which tells me that the team does not know how to function without Shaq. Even Kobe doesn't know what to do, he hoisted up an average of what, 40 shots a game?
The big two is only as strong as the role players behind them, which is why I think the Mavs are easily the best team this year.

Yes, I said "give the ball to one guy and let him do crazy shit". And you countered by saying, "what if that guy is off?" The beautiful thing about the Mavs is, they have like 4 other guys who they can give the ball to. And it's very unlikely that all 5 guys would be off at that same time. When Nowitzki or Nash struggles, Finley comes through. When Finley or Nash struggles, Nowitzki comes through. When Nowitzki or Finley struggle, Nash comes thru. When they're ALL struggling NVE comes through. It's a beautiful system.
And unlike the Lakers' role players who have seemingly forgot how to step up this year, the Mavs role players have been doing more then what they have to. The reason the Mavs are winning is because Shawn Bradley, Adrian Griffin, Avery Johnson, and Eduardo Najera are playing their asses off. Like I said, the superstars are only as strong as their role players, and I think the Mavs have the strongest, most all-around role players this year.

Do you really think the Lakers will just turn it all around now that the big guy is back? I mean, Shaq can put up 30 a game, but if you're role players don't start producing, you're fucked, whether or not you've got the best 2 man combo ever.

The Kings will be dangerous this year, especially when they get Bibby back. But I think it looks like they're getting a little bit too cocky for themselves. It seems to me, that they're starting fights with the Lakers, just to start a feud with the champions. It's like a wrestling thing, where any wrestler verbally attacks the main wrestler, that new wrestler gains credibility and name. The Kings should be tough, but I'm not sure how tough. Webber is very unreliable (check disappearing act in Lakers series), Peja and Heda did the same. Bobby Jackson looks like an amazing player, but he's gonna get himself knocked on his ass one of these days. The Kings right now are depending 100% on an injured player who never put up great regular season stats. Bibby is their leader, and if Bibby isn't the same after the injury...then what?

Also, watch the East this year.
Hornets, Nets, Magic, Pacers.
Great teams.

And Sonics are the sleeper team of the league. Just like they were last year.

The Kings will be dangerous this year, especially when they get Bibby back. But I think it looks like they're getting a little bit too cocky for themselves. It seems to me, that they're starting fights with the Lakers, just to start a feud with the champions. It's like a wrestling thing, where any wrestler verbally attacks the main wrestler, that new wrestler gains credibility and name.  The Kings should be tough, but I'm not sure how tough. Webber is very unreliable (check disappearing act in Lakers series), Peja and Heda did the same. Bobby Jackson looks like an amazing player, but he's gonna get himself knocked on his ass one of these days. The Kings right now are depending 100% on an injured player who never put up great regular season stats. Bibby is their leader, and if Bibby isn't the same after the injury...then what?

Maybe it's just bad memory, but I can't think of any feud that was actually started by the Kings. All of the verbal-wars have spurned from comments coming from either Phil Jackson, Shaq, or some other Lakers player.

I don't see why Bibby is seen as the "leader" of the Kings. You said, yourself, that he has never put up very good regualar-season stats, so why would we be dependent on him? We've won the last five games without him and are still the #2 team in the West. (after those freakin' Mavs )
We still have the exact same record right now than we did this time last season, and we are still missing many key players. (Bibby, Peja, and Pollard) If we ever mannage to get everybody in the roster durring the game, heaven help you all.

GO KINGS!!!

I say you guys depend on Bibby because of what I saw in the playoffs last year. Everyone else on the court completely gave in, played soft, and were afraid of the Lakers. Everyone except Bibby, who took the oppurtunity to show himself as the leader of the Kings. Webber is the "best player", but Bibby is their floor general.

Well Matt you're right about the Mavs. They are looking unstoppable right now and they have a great lineup of players who all know how to make plays. As a Kings fan, I'm more worried about seeing Sacramento face Dallas at this point than I am about Los Angeles. However, you have to see that Dallas' hot streak will not last forever. The Kings walked away with the best record in the league last year but they didn't get respect until they almost beat the Lakers. The season means nothing but a rank in the playoffs and Dallas will not get league wide respect until they show ability to win big playoff games. It's a long ways off, but that will be the real test.

It's also apparent though that your perception of the Kings is determined only by what you've seen in the big nationally televised games. Bibby has never been the Kings' leader, he just happens to be the best player on the team in those clutch high pressure playoff situations. You're right though that Webber seems to fade in those same situations which is something I've noticed for several years. Peja had a bad run in last years playoffs but he's usually solid. In any case, the Kings have been playing respectably even when they are short changed so even though they haven't had the amazing start that Dallas has, there's no reason to say they're folding. They'll be there when the playoffs come around, hopefully the important guys will take the lead as need be and there'll be some good basketball to watch. May the best team win. (so long as it's my team )

Well, as of right now, (11/27), The Kings are 12-4 and the Lakers are 5-10. Or, as I like to point out, the Lakers have lost twise as many games as they've won, and the Kings has won three-times as many games as they've lost. It's all good.

Well People.
Im still waiting for the Mavs to lose.
Are you all convinced of Iris's point yet?

Your waited ended two days ago.

Yes, I am heartbroken, seriously.

No matter, Indiana played excellent, and Dallas played horrible. 15-1 still aint bad.

Ahhhh! How good it feels in the Pacific Division right now. The Kings are sittin' on the top (2nd overall) and the Lakers are down at Dead Last!

It appears that the entire Lakers team still depends on how a player's toe is feeling. It's either that, or they're a terrible team to begin with. I'll let you choose. It's all good!

I'm not worried about the Mavs loss. I think Indiana is definitely the 2nd best team in the league right now, easily the best team in the east, and I think that they will be in the Finals this year no doubt. I also think that whoever the Pacers play in the finals, they have a very good chance of beating. Jermaine O' Neal is the best big guy in the eastern conference in my opinion, and they have the best core of role players I've seen in a while, with Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Ron Mercer, Al Harrington, Jonathan Bender, etc.

Anyways, Mavs are winning again. Dirk, Nash, and Finley just won Co-Players of the Month in the western conference (three people winning is an all-time first). And um...Lakers do kinda suck right now.

Before Corkscrewed responds and bashes the Mavericks, I will do it for him.


GODDAMIT you Mavs! I hate you!







God i Love them.
Fuck the Lakers those bastards.

Yea, Lakers played their asses off in the 2nd half.
But they're still not making the playoffs this year.

I hate the NBA. Its so boring compared to college. Not to mention its rigged so a certain crappy cheating scum of a team can win every time *hint hint* I suppose we all know who that would be *hint hint*


BTW iris, the Lakers WILL go to the playoffs, the officials will make SURE of that if you catch my drift.

...Jonathan Bender...

Geez... one team wins a lot and you cry conspiracy. IT TAKES SKILL GUYS! Lakers won because of their defense. Ref calls go either way. You don't win on one call. If you did, you'd be ignoring all the other calls. Just because the Lakers have won three in a row doesn't mean they cheated. The Bulls didn't cheat when they won three in a row twice. The Celtics didn't cheat when they wonEIGHT in a row.

You win championships through team play, defense, and just pure execution. The same goes with all the other sports... except boxing... but that's another story.

Hopefully, the Lakers are turning it around. They beat the Jazz and are playing Golden State 2morrow. Maybe 3 in a row for the first time this season?

Hey Radu!
See my rockets maul your kings? Ming Dynasty baby!