2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

[pacer4ever]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

I disagree, Pau's been inconsistent like this for years, even in the championship teams. He's just consistently useless now. D'Antoni likes to spread the floor, but he's not JOB. He does adjust for players. And if Pau would play well, he'd be worth adjusting for.

Nash and Kobe play really well together. I wouldn't separate them. In fact, when the Lakers take either one of them out of the game, everything goes to crap. Dwight at least does something on defense. But he makes some very stupid mistakes. And his touch around the basket is worse than Hibbert's.

Give Pau credit and more shots? When Kobe shoots 15 for 30 and Pau shoots 2 for 11, I'd give more shots to Kobe. (Pau is 3 for 18 for his last two games. That's beyond pathetic.) He's only shooting one percent better than Roy, but he doesn't bring the defense or the effort that Roy does. He deserves the criticism from his teammates.

You may be right. He may not care about the Lakers. And he certainly has a right to be annoyed at the management. But he's hurting his teammates because he "doesn't care."

The Lakers problems have nothing to do with coaching, and nothing to do with Kobe (as cool as it always is to play that card.) It has to do with their on again off again defense and their big guys letting them down. But as I said, Dwight at least tries..

That simply isn't true he doesn't adjust he is a my way or you don't play type coach. Did you miss his tenure in NY and how he is using this Lakers team? Dude is a system coach and system coaches are gonna struggle unless they can get the exact personal for their system. Even with the right personal he will never win he doesn't care about defense. Kenny Smith said it best if he wins 120-119 he is happy he scored 120 when a good coach like Doc or Pop would be POed his team gave up 119 points.

He is a decent basketball coach good offensive coordinator but a terrible head coach IMO need to have a 2 way mind to be a great head coach. How he used that Knicks roster was criminal terrible use of personal much like Obie.

Having Gasol chuck 3s and long 2s all game is a terrible way to use a great post player just another example of his refusal to change.

[Basketball Fan]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/brother_tribute_GzSiiXhBYVCTOjTimjz0OL

Amar’e Stoudemire will honor his late brother Hazell tonight by inviting 30 children from their hometown of Lake Wales, Fla., to see the Knicks take on the Orlando Magic. Marking his brother’s birthday, Jan. 4, Amar’e is paying for the flights and tickets for the kids, whom he’ll meet post-game. Hazell died in a car accident last February. The NBA star said, “I think of my brother and the knowledge he gave me . . . I hope . . . I will pay forward some of the positive impact Hazell made.”

[Sookie]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

That simply isn't true he doesn't adjust he is a my way or you don't play type coach. Did you miss his tenure in NY and how he is using this Lakers team? Dude is a system coach and system coaches are gonna struggle unless they can get the exact personal for their system. Even with the right personal he will never win he doesn't care about defense. Kenny Smith said it best if he wins 120-119 he is happy he scored 120 when a good coach like Doc or Pop would be POed his team gave up 119 points.

He is a decent basketball coach good offensive coordinator but a terrible head coach IMO need to have a 2 way mind to be a great head coach. How he used that Knicks roster was criminal terrible use of personal much like Obie.

Having Gasol chuck 3s and long 2s all game is a terrible way to use a great post player just another example of his refusal to change.

He made plenty of adjustments in NYC. In fact, he managed to have Chandler and Amare on the floor at the same time. He just happened to have two stars who don't play defense.

Obviously, he still runs a form of his offense. And sometimes his offense isn't the best to run with the players he has. So, he doesn't change his offense to match his players. (Which, IMO, the best coaches usually do. A reason I personally rank Pop over Phil. Who is also a system coach. And a reason why I'm not sure Phil would have really been much better for the Lakers. Taking the ball out of Nash's hands is just as dumb as moving Pau to the three point line. Granted, the Lakers offense should honestly be grade school stuff. )

But unlike JOB, D'Antoni adjusts within his system. Would he like Pau to be able to stretch the floor and hit the three. Sure. But he's perfectly willing to incorporate Pau's style of play into his system. (Like for instance, the high low with Dwight and Pau, which is run often in games) But quite frankly, I think Pau likes the idea of staying out of the paint.

It's also a bit of a myth that D'Antoni's teams suck at defense. In his years in Phoenix, they were always average. He doesn't put an emphasis on it, he clearly cares more about offense. But they aren't usually as terrible as made like. D'Antoni's fine with 119 points scoring, because that means the game was played at his pace, aka his team controlled it. More possessions equals more scoring, it doesn't necessarily mean the other team shot a better percentage than a team that scored 90 points.

[Trophy]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

Did anyone else see that clutch 3 point play shot by EJ?



EDIT: Found it on YouTube.

[Nuntius]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

I disagree, Pau's been inconsistent like this for years, even in the championship teams. He's just consistently useless now. D'Antoni likes to spread the floor, but he's not JOB. He does adjust for players. And if Pau would play well, he'd be worth adjusting for.

He really doesn't adjust to his players.

Nash and Kobe play really well together. I wouldn't separate them. In fact, when the Lakers take either one of them out of the game, everything goes to crap. Dwight at least does something on defense. But he makes some very stupid mistakes. And his touch around the basket is worse than Hibbert's.

When they play together and Nash handles the ball everything goes smooth. When Kobe handles it, disaster strikes. Nash has to have the ball in his hands. It's good for everyone on the team. Putting Nash in a different unit than the ball-dominant Kobe, gets him to handle the ball.

Nash handling the ball is going to mean that the role players will step up and start playing better. Nahs makes everyone around him better. When the role players are starting to put up some points, they will be more effective. We have seen what Nash can do with role players in some of the recent Suns teams.

Meanwhile, Kobe can get to handle the ball and be happy. He can shoot the 20+ shots that he likes without being a detriment to the rest of the team because Nash has already put everyone else on a roll.

That would be a win-win situation, imo.

But D' Antoni will probably never try it.

Give Pau credit and more shots? When Kobe shoots 15 for 30 and Pau shoots 2 for 11, I'd give more shots to Kobe. (Pau is 3 for 18 for his last two games. That's beyond pathetic.) He's only shooting one percent better than Roy, but he doesn't bring the defense or the effort that Roy does. He deserves the criticism from his teammates.

Pau Gasol was 13 for 20 in the two games before than those two games.

2 games stretches aren't something important and you know it, Sookie.

Pau is having his worst shooting season so far because he has had 2 injuries already. He played through tendinitis early in the season then sat and now he's playing with plantar fasciitis.

You may be right. He may not care about the Lakers. And he certainly has a right to be annoyed at the management. But he's hurting his teammates because he "doesn't care."

Completely agreed.

The Lakers problems have nothing to do with coaching, and nothing to do with Kobe (as cool as it always is to play that card.) It has to do with their on again off again defense and their big guys letting them down. But as I said, Dwight at least tries..

The problems of the Lakers are related to all of these issues. Yes, coaching is an issue. Kobe is an issue but only defensively. Offensively, he's having a great season. The defense is a huge problem as well. But it also has to do with their bench. And that's a problem that the FO created.

[Nuntius]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

He made plenty of adjustments in NYC. In fact, he managed to have Chandler and Amare on the floor at the same time. He just happened to have two stars who don't play defense.

Melo started playing defense the moment he left. In fact, the whole Knicks team started playing vastly better D the moment he was fired.

[rexnom]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

Did anyone else see that clutch 3 point play shot by EJ?



EDIT: Found it on YouTube.

That's a great fake. Though DC bit a little too hard.

[spreedom]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

Also of note, EJ's foot made contact with the ball during an OJ Mayo shot with about 5 seconds left... I think that's supposed to be a foul. It was ruled a kicked ball. Unreal.

[Sookie]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

He really doesn't adjust to his players.

We're going to have to agree to disagree. I'm not saying he doesn't run his offense. But I'm saying he's not like Jim O'brien, and he will incorporate his players skills into the offense.

I'm not sure D'Antoni's the best fit. But I also don't think he's been given a fair shot. He joined the team mid-season and just got his point guard (the entire reason he was hired in the first place) back. Give him a little time.

When they play together and Nash handles the ball everything goes smooth. When Kobe handles it, disaster strikes. Nash has to have the ball in his hands. It's good for everyone on the team. Putting Nash in a different unit than the ball-dominant Kobe, gets him to handle the ball.

Nash handling the ball is going to mean that the role players will step up and start playing better. Nahs makes everyone around him better. When the role players are starting to put up some points, they will be more effective. We have seen what Nash can do with role players in some of the recent Suns teams.

Meanwhile, Kobe can get to handle the ball and be happy. He can shoot the 20+ shots that he likes without being a detriment to the rest of the team because Nash has already put everyone else on a roll.

That would be a win-win situation, imo.

But D' Antoni will probably never try it.

Because it would be really silly to try it. Nash does handle the ball a lot. They play well together. Sure, Kobe get's ISO's, but Kobe has been remarkably efficient on those ISOs so that's nothing to complain about. When Kobe gets ball dominant it's because he's suddenly in the game with Duhon or Morris.

Kobe has actually said he enjoys playing with Nash, because he actually learned to play off ball growing up. He looks fine off the ball, and Nash helps to give him breaks on offense. And as I said, if you take either one of them out of the game it all goes to crap. So you can't separate them for large portions of the game. (In fact, you can't take either of them out for large portions of the game.) That shouldn't happen on the Lakers. Pau and Dwight should be able to support the team enough to give those two a break.

Pau Gasol was 13 for 20 in the two games before than those two games.

2 games stretches aren't something important and you know it, Sookie.

That was part of my larger point, and you know that. which was..he's playing like crap. 41% out of Pau Gasol is inexcusable. The board believes (and rightly so) that Hibbert is under performing offensively. There's a one percent difference between them.

I know he's battled injuries, but if you've watched him...his injuries are clearly not his problem. He's also always been inconsistent. Prone to have a 1 - 11 game just as easily as a great game. He's skilled, but he's softer mentally than Roy. He's so soft that Kobe babies him. Kobe lets Pau rant to the press when he's annoyed and doesn't say a thing. And Kobe told Lakers management to either trade Pau or don't but quit messing with his head (also telling the media to stop asking Pau questions about it.) This recent "Pau needs to put his big boy pants on" comment is rare from Kobe about Pau. Pau Gasol is so mentally soft Kobe Bryant treats him with kindness publically.

He actually kind of infuriates me as a player, because if he was mentally and physically tougher, he could have been significantly better.

The problems of the Lakers are related to all of these issues. Yes, coaching is an issue. Kobe is an issue but only defensively. Offensively, he's having a great season. The defense is a huge problem as well. But it also has to do with their bench. And that's a problem that the FO created.

Of course they are. But their biggest issues are obvious. Dwight and Pau. And if those two players get their acts together, they other issues may not even need to be fixed.

edit: Melo didn't play defense until he had something to prove. The laziness didn't start with D'Antoni.

[Nuntius]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

I'm not sure D'Antoni's the best fit. But I also don't think he's been given a fair shot. He joined the team mid-season and just got his point guard (the entire reason he was hired in the first place) back. Give him a little time.

I agree that he's not been given a fair shot. But that's LA. He will never be given a fair shot. He's not the best fit and that shows. The Lakers should have hired a defensive minded coach that simply gives the ball to Nash on offense.

That was part of my larger point, and you know that. which was..he's playing like crap. 41% out of Pau Gasol is inexcusable. The board believes (and rightly so) that Hibbert is under performing offensively. There's a one percent difference between them.

I know he's battled injuries, but if you've watched him...his injuries are clearly not his problem.

His injuries are pretty clearly his problem. He has no lift. That's why he's missing so many shots.

He's also always been inconsistent. Prone to have a 1 - 11 game just as easily as a great game.

He has consistently shot over 50% in the 12 of his 13 seasons.

He's skilled, but he's softer mentally than Roy. He's so soft that Kobe babies him. Kobe lets Pau rant to the press when he's annoyed and doesn't say a thing. And Kobe told Lakers management to either trade Pau or don't but quit messing with his head (also telling the media to stop asking Pau questions about it.) This recent "Pau needs to put his big boy pants on" comment is rare from Kobe about Pau. Pau Gasol is so mentally soft Kobe Bryant treats him with kindness publically.

I'm sorry, Sookie, but I just don't believe in "mental toughness". In fact, if there's anything that I'd consider "mentally soft" that's the inability of certain people to trust their teammates.

The laziness didn't start with D'Antoni.

Agreed.

In general, we certainly agree to disagree. It happens

[CableKC]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/1746/lazar-hayward

Hayward signed on December 31 with the team and played a total of 12 minutes and scored just two points. He's a candidate to be signed on a 10-day contract by another team and obviously is nowhere to be found on the fantasy map.

[Nuntius]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

D' Antoni used Pau in the post in this one and Pau is having a great game. Imagine that

[Sookie]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

D' Antoni used Pau in the post in this one and Pau is having a great game. Imagine that

So D'Antoni adjusted to one of his players.

[Nuntius]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

So D'Antoni adjusted to one of his players.

Yes, he did. That was part of my point as well

Honestly, that's the first time I see him doing this in the last 2 years.

[CableKC]

Re: 2012-13 NBA Random Thoughts Thread IX: Ode to Joy

D' Antoni used Pau in the post in this one and Pau is having a great game. Imagine that

I know that Gasol has been doing terribly in D'Antoni's system....but assuming that DJ could be replaced....would anyone consider trading Gasol+Earl Clark for West+DJ+Hansbrough?

Given our half-court offense and defense.....could Pau do better and fit better next to Hibbert?

Gasol has a mid-range game....not as good as West's mid-range game...but solid enough.

His contract expires in 2013-2014 and won't impact our ability to re-sign PG in 2014-2015