Lakers

[TripletDaddy]

Lamar Odom is friends with Denzel and other misc news.

Great interview with LO.

http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/09090...ts_breeze.html

[TripletDaddy]

foxsports lists the Top 10 PGs of All-Time.

Kill the suspense: Magic is #1.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/pgStory...&photo=9978820

[Donuthole]

foxsports lists the Top 10 PGs of All-Time.

Kill the suspense: Magic is #1.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/pgStory...&photo=9978820

There is no suspense in #1, of course. And rightfully so. The debate, at least for me, is always whether or not the Big O should be second (where he is almost always placed in these type of rankings) over Stockton. Bill Simmons wrote about Robertson's stats a few years back, and I think he makes a great point:

Little-known fact: NBA stats are completely screwed up from 1959 to '67. Teams were running and gunning at a breathtaking pace. For instance, the 1960 Celtics scored 124.5 points per game and averaged nearly 120 shots a game, but since the shooters weren't as good back then (the Celts only shot 41 percent that year, which also led the league), they also averaged a whopping 80.2 rebounds per game. To put that in perspective, Phoenix [this season] led the league with 111.9 points and 85 shots per game, but they only averaged 44.1 rebounds per game because everyone can make a jumper now and it's not run-and-gun.

Take Oscar's first five years compared with Magic's first five years. From 1961 to 1965, Oscar averaged 30.3 points, 10.4 assists and 10.6 rebounds ... but he was the 17th-best rebounder in the league over that time (in an eight-team league) and the third-best rebounder on his own team (behind Wayne Embry and Jerry Lucas). Magic averaged 18.2 points, 10.3 assists and 8.0 rebounds ... he was the 36th-best rebounder in the league over that stretch (in a 23-team league) and the second-best on his own team (behind that ninny Kareem). Oscar's team averaged 69 rebounds a game 1961-65; Magic's team averaged 45 a game.

Not to infringe on Hollinger's territory here ... but if you prorated Magic's stats to the run-and-gun 1961-65 era, they would look something like this: 21 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds per game. Even if you transported the 1987-90 Fat Lever (18.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 19th-ranked rebounder), he would have matched all of Oscar's numbers except for the scoring. But if you brought Oscar to the modern era? His rebounding per game would have dropped into the 7-8 range and the "Who was the only NBA player to average a triple-double?" trivia question wouldn't exist. It's true.

Any Jazz fan (or any other fan, for that matter) who argues that Stockton is better than Magic is only making an idiot of himself. Likewise, anybody who argues Oscar Robertson is the second best PG of all time, and bases that argument solely upon his statistical production as compared with more recent point guards, is only making an idiot of himself.

[TripletDaddy]

Lakers Top 10 Moments of 2008-2009

#8: Lakers get Bynum back

http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/0809top10_08.html

[TripletDaddy]

ESPN predicts Lakers to finish with best overall record. Face Cleveland in the Finals. Lebron to go back-to-back MVP.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/s...-WestStandings

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

foxsports lists the Top 10 PGs of All-Time.

Kill the suspense: Magic is #1.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/pgStory...&photo=9978820

Was this just Top 10 PGs or Top 10 TRUE PGs? I think we can all agree who the greatest TRUE PG of all time is.

[Surfah]

Nike Zoom Kobe IV. I am starting to dig this shoe. Apparently it is the lightest shoe Nike has ever made. Also one of the best selling.

For those that follow NBA kicks closely, is there a recent trend of low-tops making a comeback in the league? I like it.

The Zoom Kobe IV comes in low and high top. I like them both.

http://www.lakersnation.com/nike-zoo...iv/2009/08/31/



Pics of the higher-top Chaos ltd edition of the IV, including one that is based on Ledger's Joker.

I am definitely feeling those. I got some of Kobe's Zoom II's still in storage waiting until I wear out my black and yellow ones now. I got a pair for Christmas one year and they were the best basketball shoe I ever wore. Picked up some more at the Nike outlet in Park City for $30. But I dig these new ones a ton. However, my ankles are weak. I have tweaked them bad several times. I wear active ankle braces when I play. I wonder if the low tops would work.

[Surfah]

Was this just Top 10 PGs or Top 10 TRUE PGs? I think we can all agree who the greatest TRUE PG of all time is.

Best True PG still would go to Magic. Magic had to distribute the ball to stars all over the court. That is no small task to keep everyone happy with enough touches without disrupting the flow of the game.

[falafel]

I am definitely feeling those. I got some of Kobe's Zoom II's still in storage waiting until I wear out my black and yellow ones now. I got a pair for Christmas one year and they were the best basketball shoe I ever wore. Picked up some more at the Nike outlet in Park City for $30. But I dig these new ones a ton. However, my ankles are weak. I have tweaked them bad several times. I wear active ankle braces when I play. I wonder if the low tops would work.

On top of that, the "high" tops look more like mids. Pretty sweet shoe, though.

[TripletDaddy]

Hoopsworld lists basketball's 55 "Most Influential of 2010"

http://www.hoopsworld.com/2010Top55M...Basketball.asp

A few thoughts:

1. Of course, Lakers are well represented, with Kobe at 15, JaX at 29 and Tim Leiweke at 42.
2. Dr. Buss absent is surprising, esp since he is the force behind putting the league's maquee team together last year. I guess this is a small indication that the younger crowd is seeing Buss more and more as a figurehead, not the hand's-on owner that he is.
3. LBJ at 3 is not a surprise. He is 24 and has already earned an estimated 300M! That is a nice day's work right there.
4. David Stern at 1 is right about where it should be, if not too low. imo, best commissioner in pro sports in my lifetime.
5. MJ at 19. The guy hasn't played professionally in years, the youngest generation of NBA fans have now officially never seen him play in an actual NBA game, and the guy is still one of the most powerful brands in all of sports. Amazing legacy.

[TripletDaddy]

Yahoo! sports blog lists the top 10 defenders of the past decade.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/bal...urn=nba,185792

One of these current Lakers is on the list......but which one?



Also, props to the Spurs. 2 players on the Top 10 list, and both well-deserved.

[Surfah]

Yahoo! sports blog lists the top 10 defenders of the past decade.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/bal...urn=nba,185792

One of these current Lakers is on the list......but which one?



Also, props to the Spurs. 2 players on the Top 10 list, and both well-deserved.

Kirk Heinrich and Eric Snow make that list? Are you kidding me? That list is bullshit.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

2. Dr. Buss absent is surprising, esp since he is the force behind putting the league's maquee team together last year. I guess this is a small indication that the younger crowd is seeing Buss more and more as a figurehead, not the hand's-on owner that he is.

I am sure he made the pokerworld.com list of most influential tournament players.

[FN Phat]

The best defender of the Spurs officially retired.

[TripletDaddy]

The Lakers sell a lot of tickets.

http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakers...n-tickets.html