2008-2009 NBA Season

[LuNaR]

It was a gamble at best: Artest has the one thing that Odom doesn't have and desperately needs - AGGRESSION. But Ron Ron has a little bit *too* much aggression, sometimes misdirected. It'd be overcompensation.




Provided the Rockets don't self-destruct first.

Every season, if it's not McGrady's back, it's Yao's knee or now, Artest's mind.

artist also brings physical deffense, something we need, especially on someone like pierce. cant always keep kobe on him

[Ken Cheng]

artist also brings physical deffense, something we need, especially on someone like pierce. cant always keep kobe on him

Ever heard of this guy named Andrew Bynum?

Check him out:

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[Huumanshadow]

Ever heard of this guy named Andrew Bynum?

Check him out:

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I heard of him, but i remember him as the guy that Shaq did a spin move, faked him out, dunked on him like he was a white guy. Then he copy the exact same move Shaq did and act like he was all good and started shoving Shaq on the way back to D. Then Shaq one handed swatted him like a fly away.

There is no denying that Bynum has talent, but i dislike his immaturity even at this stage of his career. Lakers players suddenly all cocky and arrogant now a days like they are so much better then everyone else (ok, Kobe is a little better now then he was a few years ago). I still cant believe Odom said that PJ was out of his ******** mind when Phil just 'considered' having him as the 6th man because the front was fulled. Its PJ, if he is out of his mind as a coach then every teams should be as lucky.

Its impossible for the Rockets to be 100% healthy, Yao body was not meant for indurance like 82+ games and T-Mac getting old too.

Again and Again everyone keep saying no way Spurs win, seriously ppl need to find another reason beside 'they are getting old.' One day that might be true but when that happens and everyone is like 'i told you so' would be pointless. Its like getting your *** kick 5 times and finally winning the 6th time and you act all tough....

The West look alot more dangerous now, and the gap between good and bad teams just expanding....

[LuNaR]

Ever heard of this guy named Andrew Bynum?

Check him out:

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://lakerforums.com/images/thumbs/players/andrew-bynum/lakers_media_day_basketball_ksd102.jpg')

not against pierce but he can play KG, pau gasol is a bit soft to play kg, one post bump and gasol jumps like 2 feet, and kg just shoot a short jumper, cant let that happen any more.

I heard of him, but i remember him as the guy that Shaq did a spin move, faked him out, dunked on him like he was a white guy. Then he copy the exact same move Shaq did and act like he was all good and started shoving Shaq on the way back to D. Then Shaq one handed swatted him like a fly away.

There is no denying that Bynum has talent, but i dislike his immaturity even at this stage of his career. Lakers players suddenly all cocky and arrogant now a days like they are so much better then everyone else (ok, Kobe is a little better now then he was a few years ago). I still cant believe Odom said that PJ was out of his ******** mind when Phil just 'considered' having him as the 6th man because the front was fulled. Its PJ, if he is out of his mind as a coach then every teams should be as lucky.

Its impossible for the Rockets to be 100% healthy, Yao body was not meant for indurance like 82+ games and T-Mac getting old too.

Again and Again everyone keep saying no way Spurs win, seriously ppl need to find another reason beside 'they are getting old.' One day that might be true but when that happens and everyone is like 'i told you so' would be pointless. Its like getting your *** kick 5 times and finally winning the 6th time and you act all tough....

The West look alot more dangerous now, and the gap between good and bad teams just expanding....

yao can do 82+ games, just reduce some minutes u'll see, im willing to bet the spurs wont be seeded in the top 4 right now

[Huumanshadow]

yao can do 82+ games, just reduce some minutes u'll see, im willing to bet the spurs wont be seeded in the top 4 right now

Haha cool, hmmm anyone wanna Yahoo Fantasy League this? Anyone can be GM but the mods would make the best GM.

I might be uneducated about this, but i seriously dont think that an extra 5 mins a night would affect you that much unless you're already injured. And the larger the body, the longer it takes to heal. Its always a gamble with big men, you play them too much and they get weak but if you play them too little you cant benefits from their time on the court.

[Jeren of all Trades]

I would love to join a SPCNET fantasy basketball league. I remember we did one maybe two years ago.

[wang23]

I would love to join a SPCNET fantasy basketball league. I remember we did one maybe two years ago.

If there's enough interest, I'll put one together this year.

[Ken Cheng]

Game 1 is in the bag for the Lakers, against a team that often gave them trouble last season and is supposed to be big trouble for the Western Conference contenders this year.

Sound, solid start, but I was disappointed that Andrew Bynum didn't put up a more impressive stat line. For all that's riding on him for the Lakers this year, tonight's performance was underwhelming.

[LuNaR]

lakers baby! lakers 2nd unit looks great. cant believe lamar actually played the point for a few plays 1-0

only problem i continue to see is that gasol always have a strong first half but disappear completely in the 2nd half and bynum taking those jumpers

[jay_z]

I caught the 1st half of the Lakers/Blazers game last night, and found the game to be unwatchable. Anyway, I saw Lakers defended well. They closed down the driving lane quickly. But, the Blazers were just horrendous; they couldn't make any shots even the wide open ones and layoffs. At one point, they missed 10-12 consecutive shots. Thus, I was surprised they didn't lose by 30 points.

Oldman Oden is terribly out of shape and out of sync. He has to lose 15-20 pounds and gets his timing back. Some people have already written him off and suggest he's plagued with injuries.

[LuNaR]

I caught the 1st half of the Lakers/Blazers game last night, and found the game to be unwatchable. Anyway, I saw Lakers defended well. They closed down the driving lane quickly. But, the Blazers were just horrendous; they couldn't make any shots even the wide open ones and layoffs. At one point, they missed 10-12 consecutive shots. Thus, I was surprised they didn't lose by 30 points.

Oldman Oden is terribly out of shape and out of sync. He has to lose 15-20 pounds and gets his timing back. Some people have already written him off and suggest he's plagued with injuries.

are u a blazer's fan?? lol


also like to add trevor ariza rocks! hope he becomes a lockdown defender. radman deserves some props too last night

[Ken Cheng]

I caught the 1st half of the Lakers/Blazers game last night, and found the game to be unwatchable. Anyway, I saw Lakers defended well. They closed down the driving lane quickly. But, the Blazers were just horrendous; they couldn't make any shots even the wide open ones and layoffs. At one point, they missed 10-12 consecutive shots. Thus, I was surprised they didn't lose by 30 points.

The Blazers are young. They aren't ready. Moreover, they have nagging health issues (like the Rockets do).

Oldman Oden is terribly out of shape and out of sync. He has to lose 15-20 pounds and gets his timing back. Some people have already written him off and suggest he's plagued with injuries.

The Blazers have never had much luck with their big men: Bill Walton, Sam Bowie, Arvydas Sabonis, and now Oden.

[jay_z]

The Blazers have never had much luck with their big men: Bill Walton, Sam Bowie, Arvydas Sabonis, and now Oden.

Walton led the Blazers to their only NBA title. While Sabonis was old and slow when he came over, he was very effective and was above average. Therefore, that's more luck than many teams, such as the Warriors, Timberwolves, Celtics, and others.

[Ken Cheng]

Walton led the Blazers to their only NBA title. While Sabonis was old and slow when he came over, he was very effective and was above average. Therefore, that's more luck than many teams, such as the Warriors, Timberwolves, Celtics, and others.

The sad thing about the Blazer big men is that none of them turned out to be as great as they should have been. Walton had that one great season, but he should and could have had so many more if not for those pesky, nagging injuries that wouldn't leave him (and his son Luke is having similar, if lesser problems with the Lakers now). Sabonis' best days were clearly behind him before he first took to the court for the Blazers (imagine if the Blazers had Sabonis along with their Clyde Drexler/Clifford Robinson/Jerome Kersey/Terry Porter unit; Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan might have won fewer championships). Sam Bowie had been projected as a superstar, but had a disappointing, mediocre pro career.

The Warriors have not been interested in big men for their roster since Don Nelson has been in charge (i.e. forever). The Timberwolves had Kevin Garnett forever, but couldn't surround him with enough talent to go very far. Now the Celtics, I grant you, had some really bad luck until last season: Hank Gathers dying on them in 1986 and then Reggie Lewis a few years later in 1993. That is some bad mojo.

[jay_z]

The Warriors have not been interested in big men for their roster since Don Nelson has been in charge (i.e. forever).

Not true. It's not that Nelson isn't interested in big men. He just doesn't want to get unskilled big men, wait 3-4 years and hope they would become good players.

Nelson did trade for CWebb, who was awesome in his rookie year. Unfortunately at the time, he was young and immature and wouldn't listen to his coach.

The Timberwolves had Kevin Garnett forever, but couldn't surround him with enough talent to go very far. Now the Celtics, I grant you, had some really bad luck until last season: Hank Gathers dying on them in 1986 and then Reggie Lewis a few years later in 1993. That as some bad mojo.

The Timberwolves couldn't get any talented players because Garnett's salary took up about 40-45% of the team salary.

Len Bias was the one who died 2 days after the Celtics drafted him, not Hank Gathers, who died while he was still in college.

[LuNaR]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns

oden out 2-4 weeks feel bad for blazer fans

[Ken Cheng]

Not true. It's not that Nelson isn't interested in big men. He just doesn't want to get unskilled big men, wait 3-4 years and hope they would become good players.

Nelson did trade for CWebb, who was awesome in his rookie year. Unfortunately at the time, he was young and immature and wouldn't listen to his coach.

Webber was the exception. Besides, he was a big whose game was more like a smaller player's. He didn't play the usual power game of a four or a five.

Nellieball is all about smaller players...run and gun. It's exciting during the regular season, but rarely wins playoff series.

The Timberwolves couldn't get any talented players because Garnett's salary took up about 40-45% of the team salary.

That's Kevin McHale's fault.

Len Bias was the one who died 2 days after the Celtics drafted him, not Hank Gathers, who died while he was still in college.

Right. I always get Bias and Gathers mixed up because their tragedies were so similar, and happened fairly close to each other in time.

[LuNaR]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S_so...0D4dyRVCa.LIT8

hilarious man, popavich called a hack-a-shaq move 5 seconds into the game on the season open for san antonio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9b0yG-s2ag

this even more funny, lamar odom drives to the hoop and dishes it out to sasha except sasha was just standing up from the bench

[Huumanshadow]

Haha, Pop has the biggest sense of humor that is a secret in the NBA. Alot of people dont like the Hack-a-Shaq but it works and it is not cheating. You can't make a rule just because someone a bad FT shooter, he's lucky he get the 2 mins at the end exception.

[Ken Cheng]

Various aspects of my personal life have sucked lately, but at least the Lakers are one bright spot. I really hope they have a great season capped with a championship victory.