I've heard from people that Kobe is the most unlikable etc etc etc....but I don't think I've heard Kobe say anything as brazenly boastful as this. Kobe always let his game do the talking....
I've heard from people that Kobe is the most unlikable etc etc etc....but I don't think I've heard Kobe say anything as brazenly boastful as this. Kobe always let his game do the talking....
I've heard from people that Kobe is the most unlikable etc etc etc....but I don't think I've heard Kobe say anything as brazenly boastful as this. Kobe always let his game do the talking....
the difference is if kobe had said it for about a decade it would have been true. kobe actually WAS the best player on the planet for many many years. harden saying it is like north korean propaganda.
That's not really something you would discourage a player from believing. It's not like he isn't close to the top. In fact if Paul George had that mentality and kissed LBJs behind a little less, he may have won a ring before his career and Indianas window with their current team shut this summer.
I'll say this about Harden - he is limited in what he can do, but he has overachieved as a player. He was not expected to be a top 10 player in the league or a superstar. He has become both. Part of it is that he has that belief in himself.
I don't like the way he plays the game in terms of watching him, but again, I much rather have a guy with Harden mindset as my top player than Paul George. Harden has the mindset to be a killer. He just lacks the same elite skill, the athletic brilliance of the level of prime Kobe or Jordan. But the guy goes for it and keeps shooting as you would want your top guy to do. I bet anything Kobe would respect Harden more than a lot of people because of that mentality.
OKC traded the wrong guy IMO. They'd have won a ring by now if they kept this guy.
That's not really something you would discourage a player from believing. It's not like he isn't close to the top. In fact if Paul George had that mentality and kissed LBJs behind a little less, he may have won a ring before his career and Indianas window with their current team shut this summer.
I'll say this about Harden - he is limited in what he can do, but he has overachieved as a player. He was not expected to be a top 10 player in the league or a superstar. He has become both. Part of it is that he has that belief in himself.
I don't like the way he plays the game in terms of watching him, but again, I much rather have a guy with Harden mindset as my top player than Paul George. Harden has the mindset to be a killer. He just lacks the same elite skill, the athletic brilliance of the level of prime Kobe or Jordan. But the guy goes for it and keeps shooting as you would want your top guy to do. I bet anything Kobe would respect Harden more than a lot of people because of that mentality.
OKC traded the wrong guy IMO. They'd have won a ring by now if they kept this guy.
I'm happy they traded him!! I woulda been fine with Westbrook too though. He is also a killer and competes defensively.
Coach K says Harden has been one of the leaders of the Olympic squad so far, and he has been playing better defense. Good things to hear. I hope he can carry it into the season. Sometimes folks forget how young this guy still is (only 24).
When I meant wrong guy, I meant Ibaka. From the moment it became a topic 2 years ago that Harden may be traded from OKC, I thought it was nuts to break that trio up. OKC had something special going on. They really messed up IMO. Guys like Ibaka are great, but much easier to replace than Harden. Having a trio like Durant, Westbrook and harden - I wouldn't support a team that decided to prematurely trade a player like that to save a few bucks.
I've heard from people that Kobe is the most unlikable etc etc etc....but I don't think I've heard Kobe say anything as brazenly boastful as this. Kobe always let his game do the talking....
I love Kobe, but come on; part of our adulation for him is because he says brazenly boastful comments like this AND proceeds to back them up.
I'll say this about Harden - he is limited in what he can do, but he has overachieved as a player. He was not expected to be a top 10 player in the league or a superstar. He has become both. Part of it is that he has that belief in himself.
I don't like the way he plays the game in terms of watching him, but again, I much rather have a guy with Harden mindset as my top player than Paul George. Harden has the mindset to be a killer. He just lacks the same elite skill, the athletic brilliance of the level of prime Kobe or Jordan. But the guy goes for it and keeps shooting as you would want your top guy to do. I bet anything Kobe would respect Harden more than a lot of people because of that mentality.
Harden was valuable off the bench and is a decent regular season player.
However, his lack of defense and foul baiting does not work in the playoffs and he becomes a liability. He lacks the lateral quickness to defend well. Harden is a huge reason why the Rockets were eliminated in the first round by Portland. He's a decent regular season player but that's about it. Harden is mainly a stat padder, he holds the ball and passes it off at the last 3-5 seconds to pad his assists.
Rockets won't make it past the second round with Harden as the main shot taker. With the present team, they won't even make it past the first if they get there at all.
I love how it is that the Lakers, who by all accounts could have signed guys like Ariza, Isaiah Thomas, and Stevenson, but chose not to at their asking price, are portrayed as not being able to recruit any of them. Ariza and Thomas in particular wanted to come to la.
Let's not mince words then. Results matter most, no ?
I sure can't say the Lakers have reduced ticket prices. Can you ?
Four years of gradual product decline is on us.
The Lakers have not obtained anything close to a "first step rebuild" quality free agent this Summer. Boozer ? That's a bench player.
No, the Laker made their choices as you noted and they must suffer legitimate fan disgust. There's been no effective movement made in three Summers now towards accumulation of a talent level that most of us reasonable Laker fans expect of them.
The front office has failed miserably this Summer to take meaningful steps to bridge the credibility gap that they have created: between their giving media lip service to us that a rebuilding effort is afoot and actually delivering something close to a measurably, meaningful change. There's been no accumulation of improved talent over four seasons, and in fact, the roster looks worse than last year.
So you would prefer that the Lakers overpay for guys who don't deserve it? Imagine where reckless FA signings like that would get them. Maybe make them the West Coast Knicks? You think you would prefer that?
"Deserve" has nothing to do with it, and you know that, especially in light of Kobe's current overpayment. We're going nowhere with him this way.
Yes, I think I prefer ANY move which may produce better accumulation of talent that the steps taken to date could be worth the consideration, but of course that's moot. The club could barely be worse off than they are today, in terms of delivering palatable basketball during this fourth year of rebuild. I feel certain that a season's end very small amount of vindication is coming this June; I predicted the team would be worse than last year's squad, and it is rolling out that way. Feel free to make the case that fans and club (alike) are better off with a horrible team like this one, rather than a perhaps only the league's 20th best one. The Lakers never had to be THIS BAD before to effect a compete roster overhaul.
The expectation, of course, was that the Rockets were likely to slip from their No. 4 West playoff seed after coming back this season with a deflated roster. The “downgrade” to Ariza was cited as one of the biggest setbacks. And yet so far, that hasn’t happened, and instead the Rockets have significantly better records than all three teams who finished above them in the conference standings last year.
This is a crazy, way-outside-the-box theory, but I reckon the move to Ariza may actually be one of the Rockets’ biggest improvements this season, and it’s not because Chandler Parsons is a “bad” player, or even an inferior one to Ariza per se. It’s a question of team dynamics, and Ariza has had all the right answers so far this season.
Well for one, Ariza plays D. For two, Ariza doesn't try to go 1 on 1 and think he's a star like Parsons. Interesting that Dallas is just 4-3 and looks about the same as last year despite their signing of Parsons.
To me Chandler and James were too much alike. Both were erratic. Cleraly Harden was the star and the guy who could actually do something at an elite level, but they both played similar in that offense when I saw their games (on ball). In contrast Ariza plays like a really, really good role player, always has. He may miss his 3's on some nights and shoot poorly, but he'll do it playing off James/Dwight.
Mind u I didn't catch more than a game or two of HOU. My opinion or Trevor is based on the years of watching him as a Laker and elsewhere. I've always been a big fan. Hated seeing him go in 2009. He's a really good role player to have when you have 2 stars already in place.
Splash Brothers vs. Soft Brothers
https://twitter.com/NBAMemeTeam/status/533138973816668160/photo/1 _________________ "We have a lot of guys that have been kinda discarded ... Myself with the injury and the age. Jeremy ... a bunch of players who other teams really felt they had no use for. So we have that kind of attitude built into ourselves" -- Kobe Bryant
I'll say this about Harden - he is limited in what he can do, but he has overachieved as a player. He was not expected to be a top 10 player in the league or a superstar. He has become both. Part of it is that he has that belief in himself.
I don't like the way he plays the game in terms of watching him, but again, I much rather have a guy with Harden mindset as my top player than Paul George. Harden has the mindset to be a killer. He just lacks the same elite skill, the athletic brilliance of the level of prime Kobe or Jordan. But the guy goes for it and keeps shooting as you would want your top guy to do. I bet anything Kobe would respect Harden more than a lot of people because of that mentality.
Harden was valuable off the bench and is a decent regular season player.
However, his lack of defense and foul baiting does not work in the playoffs and he becomes a liability. He lacks the lateral quickness to defend well. Harden is a huge reason why the Rockets were eliminated in the first round by Portland. He's a decent regular season player but that's about it. Harden is mainly a stat padder, he holds the ball and passes it off at the last 3-5 seconds to pad his assists.
Rockets won't make it past the second round with Harden as the main shot taker. With the present team, they won't even make it past the first if they get there at all.
Though I did like the Ariza signing. Much better fit and value. Dallas grossly overpaid. Beverly + Ariza are good defenders. Bench is suspect. Will the Choke Brothers finally win a playoff round? That's the big question. So if they are the new Kobe & Shaq (top SG and C) they should be starting their 3peat, no? _________________ Alltime lineup: Magic | Kobe | MJ | Hakeem | KAJ
Well for one, Ariza plays D. For two, Ariza doesn't try to go 1 on 1 and think he's a star like Parsons. Interesting that Dallas is just 4-3 and looks about the same as last year despite their signing of Parsons.
To me Chandler and James were too much alike. Both were erratic. Cleraly Harden was the star and the guy who could actually do something at an elite level, but they both played similar in that offense when I saw their games (on ball). In contrast Ariza plays like a really, really good role player, always has. He may miss his 3's on some nights and shoot poorly, but he'll do it playing off James/Dwight.
Mind u I didn't catch more than a game or two of HOU. My opinion or Trevor is based on the years of watching him as a Laker and elsewhere. I've always been a big fan. Hated seeing him go in 2009. He's a really good role player to have when you have 2 stars already in place.
Agree about OKCs massive (bleep) up. Presti and the over number crunching frat got ahead of themselves. I don't think Chandler and Harden were stifling each other Hou just went with a better defender at much better value. _________________ Alltime lineup: Magic | Kobe | MJ | Hakeem | KAJ
Houston got a lot better last season. Dwight was still new to the team and the team looked much better in the second half of the season. I think people are overlooking that.
However, I agree with the comments about Ariza here. Some people seem to dislike his game because he isn't a big time scorer. But so what? The guy is a team player. The Lakers started looking a lot older immediately after he left (after the 2009 season).
Yeah, Houston's doing well right now, playing better than many had forecast-ed for them. If one were impartial to the fate of the Lakers and Rockets clubs, one would have to say the Rockets are far closer to fulfilling their corporate goals than the Lakers.
Rockets have looked good, but their schedule so far has been absurdly easy (next up: Philadelphia!). I'm also willing to bet Ariza will not continue to shoot 48% on 3s.
Rockets have looked good, but their schedule so far has been absurdly easy (next up: Philadelphia!). I'm also willing to bet Ariza will not continue to shoot 48% on 3s.
The schedule has been easy but the team has done what you expect a good team to do against an easy schedule, win the games. That doesn't happen more often than you think. One of our issues last season was actually losing games that we had no business losing. On top of that, our starting PF and PG have been injured and we have still been winning.
Schedule or not, we haven't suffered any setback because of Ariza (due to Parsons) or Lin (due to Terry and Cannan). I'm also willing to bet Harden won't continue to shoot 38%.
"The report goes on to say the injuries were "consistent with Braylon being struck with the buckle end of the belt ... with excessive force, resulting in soft tissue injuries such as bruising and abrasions."
And the report indicates Dr. Kesler found the injuries lasted longer than 24 hours and were "consistent with a medical diagnosis of physical abuse."
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Posts: 22839 Location: La Jolla, San Diego
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 4:23 pm Post subject:
What is wrong with a good spanking? I can never understand parents who feel the need to use weapons, yes, a belt is a weapon. "My parents used to whip me.. " is not an excuse. And where did old timers get the idea to whip children? I surmise it had something to do with the cultural effects of slavery. The mentality of old timers are flat out wrong, no need to perpetuate it.
Gary Payton on Dwight Howard: "I think he's disliked by a lot of players"
Kevin Durant trash talks all the time, and I'm not sure how he goes from he smiles and clowns around to fake tough guy, does people clowning around come across as acting tough to anyone? _________________ I believe everything the media tells me except for anything for which I have direct personal knowledge, which they always get wrong
Gary Payton on Dwight Howard: "I think he's disliked by a lot of players"
Kevin Durant trash talks all the time, and I'm not sure how he goes from he smiles and clowns around to fake tough guy, does people clowning around come across as acting tough to anyone?
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