Lakers

[Surfah]

I didn't know Larry David was a rec league official.

Haha.

It's amazing to me how good guys like Penberthy are when compared to the average Joe. He's lighting this team up and he's not even playing. Makes me chuckle even more at MikeWater's assertion that he could take Jimmer.

[TripletDaddy]

Well, that was a nice run for Kobe. 7 finals, 5 rings.

Time to look towards the next regime and hope the Heat beat Boston.

What an epic way to go out. A likely sweep.

[Surfah]

Well, that was a nice run for Kobe. 7 finals, 5 rings.

Time to look towards the next regime and hope the Heat beat Boston.

What an epic way to go out. A likely sweep.

Absolutely horrible. They go away from Bynum the 4th quarter. This is the stupidest team ever. And not to go Funkster but how did the Mavs jack up 30 3 pointers and still shoot twice as many FTs as the Lakers in this one? The Lakers bench may be the worst in the league. And Pau is absolutely mental.

[TripletDaddy]

Absolutely horrible. They go away from Bynum the 4th quarter. This is the stupidest team ever. And not to go Funkster but how did the Mavs jack up 30 3 pointers and still shoot twice as many FTs as the Lakers in this one? The Lakers bench may be the worst in the league. And Pau is absolutely mental.

Some of that is on Jax. I don't get his rotations lately.

Kobe is not taking over anymore because he has slowed down.

Pow has had a lousy post season.

The bench didn't show up.

Time for the next era. I'm curious how that will unfold. Who will coach it? It
Might take several years because Kobe's contract has become a massive liability in the past couple of weeks. He may not be going anywhere for a few years.

[Drunk Tank]

It will be nice to root for the Lakers again someday. I loved the days of Magic and Kareem. But I cant stand Kobe. He is a great player, but something about him kills it for me. Maybe it is his attitude, who knows.

[TripletDaddy]

It will be nice to root for the Lakers again someday. I loved the days of Magic and Kareem. But I cant stand Kobe. He is a great player, but something about him kills it for me. Maybe it is his attitude, who knows.

If you stop rooting for the Lakers, then you were never a Laker fan in the first place.

[Drunk Tank]

If you stop rooting for the Lakers, then you were never a Laker fan in the first place.

You may be right. I think the NBA has just lost its luster, at least for me anyways. Anymore, about the only time I watch any games is during the playoffs. Not sure what it is. I think it is because the league has become so player focused instead of team focused. Maybe it has always been about the player and I was just too blind to see it. Maybe it is because there are no really good rivalries any more like Lakers/Celtics or Bulls/Pistons etc... Sure those teams still play each other, but it isnt the same.

[Blueintheface]

3 losses and The Show needs a new marquee and 'might have the worst bench in the league.'

Wow. Perspective-pershmective.

Dwight, Kobe, and Bynum or Pau will go to the finals 12 months from now and for Lakers fans it's not soon enough. Must be hard to wait that long for another title.

[TripletDaddy]

3 losses and The Show needs a new marquee and 'might have the worst bench in the league.'

Wow. Perspective-pershmective.

Dwight, Kobe, and Bynum or Pau will go to the finals 12 months from now and for Lakers fans it's not soon enough. Must be hard to wait that long for another title.

It isn't the three losses. They lost to BOS in the finals 3 years ago and laker fans were not clamoring for regime change, they were clamoring for Bynum and ariza to get healthy, for Pow to get tough. This time around, the writing is on the wall. As I pointed out, Kobe has been to 7 Finals and won 5 rings. The guy has a load of miles on those wheels. It is starting to show. Next season he is going to be a year older. This happens to everyone and is not unexpected. Heck, we saw three teams get old before our eyes this playoffs...LAL, SAS, and BOS. None of them can ride it out any longer. Time has caught up to all of them, just as it will with the Heat.

Dwight would bring some amazing defense but I'm not sure how long it would take him to integrate offensively. He would be playing a different role in LA and that often throws a wrench in a players game. Also, the problem this season wasn't Bynum. Bynum had a great year, really. He has been rebounding well.

It is time for Fisher to go, which has been the case for awhile. The problem is that usually playoff time was when Fish would wind up winning one or two key games by hitting some big 3s, thereby prolonging his execution. He has no such luxury now, so he is now on the chopping block.

The challenge with Kobe is that he needs to adjust his game (for real this time) to be more of a facilitator, especially down the stretch. He isn't closing games now like he used to. We need to be running the ball through the post more often instead of basically running isolation stuff now that Kobe isn't elevating or breaking ankles. But I dint think Kobe is willing to do that. Ironically, if Dwight comes, I dont think you can run the offense through him to close out games because he is a lousy free throw shooter.

I don't get Pow. He has been off all playoffs. Is he injured? What is his deal? No clue. Clearly he is still a valuable piece, though. As is Lamar.

I don't know what Mitch will do. When I say it is time for change, I don't mean to say that next season this team will stink. They will still be a really good team. But they are no longer good enough to win it all, and for the Lakers that is the only measuring stick. So in a sense, yes, you were correct...waiting for a title is not in the plan.

This is going to be a big offseason, I think. I'm not too bummed. When we lost to BOS that was a gut punch from the old days. But this time around, I view it nostalgically, as the end of another great era of Laker domination. Kobe has done great things for the team and he pushed the franchise to the brink of tying the Celtics, which is the ultimate goal.

[smokymountainrain]

Well, that was a nice run for Kobe. 7 finals, 5 rings.

Time to look towards the next regime and hope the Heat beat Boston.

What an epic way to go out. A likely sweep.

The last thing an effin' Laker fan needs is a pep talk encouraging him to continue to believe, but you're crazy if you think it's over for this team.

As much as Pau is struggling, he is certainly not done and is still a top 5 post player in the league. Kobe, while he might be slowing down (I'm still not convinced he is), is still a top 5 player in the league. I do feel Odom is slowing down a bit, but he just won 6th man of the year and as Carlisle mentioned last night, is one of the toughest matchups in the league. Bynum, if he can stay healthy - a huge "if" to be sure - has a chance to be the most important player on the team in terms of offense and defense. They are far from finished.

[TripletDaddy]

The last thing an effin' Laker fan needs is a pep talk encouraging him to continue to believe, but you're crazy if you think it's over for this team.

As much as Pau is struggling, he is certainly not done and is still a top 5 post player in the league. Kobe, while he might be slowing down (I'm still not convinced he is), is still a top 5 player in the league. I do feel Odom is slowing down a bit, but he just won 6th man of the year and as Carlisle mentioned last night, is one of the toughest matchups in the league. Bynum, if he can stay healthy - a huge "if" to be sure - has a chance to be the most important player on the team in terms of offense and defense. They are far from finished.

Ha, that is funny actually. Like telling a billionaire that everything will be ok.

I get what you are saying but to me this is the beginning of the end. You are right that it isn't THE E.N.D. (the energy never dies in LA) but this team will only get older.

I think they will be viable but not championship worthy. Let's be honest, they are getting outplayed by a scrubby Dallas team.

What would you suggest? If you were Mitch, what is your move this offseason? And wtf is up with Pow lately?

[CardiacCoug]

This is going to be a big offseason, I think. I'm not too bummed. When we lost to BOS that was a gut punch from the old days. But this time around, I view it nostalgically, as the end of another great era of Laker domination. Kobe has done great things for the team and he pushed the franchise to the brink of tying the Celtics, which is the ultimate goal.

Way too early to blow up this Lakers team, in my opinion.

They had the best point differential in the Western Conference. By this and some other statistical measures, they were still the best team in the conference. They had the second best road record and overall record in the conference (obviously). And Kobe has a lot of miles on him, but he is still only 32.

If they don't crap their pants in the last few minutes of Games 1 and 3, they Lakers are up 2-1 and everybody is still talking about a championship.

The playoffs are a statistically small sample. Just like the first 20 games of the season were for the Heat. You can't make too many rash decisions over small sample sizes.

[CardiacCoug]

I think they will be viable but not championship worthy. Let's be honest, they are getting outplayed by a scrubby Dallas team.

Scrubby Dallas team? They have 90 million in salary on that team -- same as the Lakers.

[Viking]

This is for 1988, Laker fans.

[Flystripper]

Absolutely horrible. They go away from Bynum the 4th quarter. This is the stupidest team ever. And not to go Funkster but how did the Mavs jack up 30 3 pointers and still shoot twice as many FTs as the Lakers in this one? The Lakers bench may be the worst in the league. And Pau is absolutely mental.

when Kobe was on the bench and Bynum was in the game he was screaming at Shannon telling him to feed Bynum in the post. I don't know why this team relegated Bynum to defense and rebounds. His offensive game has been the most consistent option for the Lakers and against Dallas he has been downright unstoppable.

I hope they can pull off what has never been done before but I think they are done as well.