11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

And so it begins...

Marc Spears:

More bodies mean fewer minutes, and some Clippers have showed some displeasure about their current allotment. After sitting for an extended time after a fast start against the Miami Heat, Jamal Crawford received a pep talk from assistant coach Robert Pack about his reserve role in the middle of last Wednesday's game. Against Portland earlier this month, Blake Griffin had some choice words for Del Negro about sitting on the bench in the fourth quarter, according to a source. Even Chris Paul is lukewarm about playing 32 minutes a game, which would be a career low for him.

[jeebs9]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

That would suck if the Clippers had a falling out. Got to be a top 4 teams right now. Playing so well with so many vets. Should be happy just because they are winning. Shouldn't be complaining about **** when the W's are racking up.

[da ThRONe]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

And so it begins...

Marc Spears:

Which just goes to show you winning isn't everything with these players. Not sure if I have a problem with it either.

[Caveman24]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

Nets vs Lakers tonight

[Boltman]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

And so it begins...

Marc Spears:

Some more from that article that points to the contrary.

"I want to play," Paul said. "But it is fun sitting over there and watching those guys play. I like being a cheerleader at times. It is a long season."

Del Negro acknowledges he can't keep everyone happy. That ultimately will fall on the shoulders of the Clippers' best players, namely Paul, who believes this group has what it takes to be title contenders.

"As long as everyone buys in … " Paul said. "It's not about me. It's about we. I think starting with me and Blake, if we are willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team, then everybody else will fall in."

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It's gonna be tough no doubt, but it's not like the wheels are coming off anytime soon. This team is the real deal, I'm sure we all saw the writing on the wall with all their off season acquisitions.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

For now I think Spears just didn't have anything to write about, but obviously we saw a potential for unhappiness with their depth.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

Some more from that article that points to the contrary.

.
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It's gonna be tough no doubt, but it's not like the wheels are coming off anytime soon. This team is the real deal, I'm sure we all saw the writing on the wall with all their off season acquisitions.

Agreed.

And I think when the post-season rolls around, you might see the big dogs getting more playing time. This depth in the regular season will keep them fresh for a post-season run.

They're still my pick to come out of the West this year.

[CMH]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

And so it begins...

Marc Spears:

Some more from that article that points to the contrary.

.
.
It's gonna be tough no doubt, but it's not like the wheels are coming off anytime soon. This team is the real deal, I'm sure we all saw the writing on the wall with all their off season acquisitions.

The truth is always in the middle.

Stein just made it seem more dramatic and Paul probably realized his error.

If you're Chris Paul, of course you want to play. If you're Blake Griffin, of course you want to be in the game in the 4th. I rather be a coach that has my star player yelling at me for not playing him. I'm sure Del Negro had a reason; and that reason was likely rest and having him at his highest peak for crunch time.

Anyway, I doubt this is an issue. When you win, these things go away.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

I'm glad Boltman posted the rest of that because I was honestly trying to figure out what VDN was doing wrong.

[23]

They looked happy last night

Sent from my LG-LS840 using Tapatalk 2

[Jukeman]

All you have to do is turn morale and team chemistry off and you dont have to worry about lack of minutes anymore..

..Oh wait

..wrong thread


-Juke

[jeebs9]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

LMFAO!!

Kind of excited to see Nets-Lakers tonight.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

Pop on his team's performance last night:

“Of all of our games, this is in the soft category,” he said calmly. “We never had five guys that competed hard enough to win the basketball game, the Clippers took it with their aggressiveness and toughness, both mentally and physically. And I thought for a portion of that game we were an embarrassment. So we’ve got to look at that and look at the film and make sure everybody understands that this is a game that has to be played with competitiveness for 48 minutes. And that’s the bottom line

Interesting read on the similarities between what the Lakers are dealing with this year and what the Heat dealt with in their 1st year together:

Dwyane Wade chuckles now at the memories of the house supposedly being on fire when the Miami Big Three didn’t fit immediately together like a set of Russian nesting dolls from opening night.

“There’s excitement, of course,” he said. “And there’s a lot of anticipation about what can be possible. But really, a lot of things tend to get ahead of themselves. I guess, when you think about it, those things are only natural. Now looking back, you see how unrealistic a lot of things are in the early days. But I guess it doesn’t stop everybody from doing it all over again and making the same mistake with expectations.”

The Heat watch now from their champion’s perch a continent away and nod their heads in recognition at the echo chamber of discontent that reverberates around the Lakers. Dwight Howard tries to fit in. Nash gets hurt. Bryant seethes. Brown gets fired. Phil Jackson gets teased. D’Antoni moves in.

The difference in Miami is that there were no significant injuries among the Big Three and Heat management resisted the urge from some fans and media to push coach Erik Spoelstra over the edge.

“That was one of the hardest parts, listening to the criticism of him,” Chris Bosh said. “Really, there’s only so much you can do as a player. You take care of your business. You do your job.
“You hear all of the talk that’s going on on the outside and you try to ignore it, but that’s not always easy. There are decisions that aren’t yours and that you have no control over. All we focused on was playing basketball and just the day to day struggles that we had on the court, each game, each possession. That was enough.

“People in management are gonna make their decisions and you have to live with them and make them work.”

In the case of the Lakers, they were trying to put in a new and radically different offense under Brown and now they’re doing it all over again with D’Antoni.

“You know it’s gonna take time, no matter how great you are,” Wade said. “Even if you start off the season on fire, there’s going to be a period of time during the year when you’re going to have to finally figure each other out.

“That’s every team, even this team. We’re a different team. We’ve got a lot of the same personnel, but we still got to figure out our game as we add new pieces to our team. So all this talk about the Lakers. The Lakers will be fine. I’m not concerned about that at all.

“Obviously, when (D’Antoni) he was in Phoenix he gave Nash the ball. They put the right personnel around him, a lot of shooters, and Nash is one of the best pick-and-roll players of all time and he let him be that.

“It will be a little bit different dynamic now. He will probably have to use a little bit more brain power to see how he can get Nash to be Nash and still (fit) with the other elements that they have. He has a tough job ahead of him, but I’m sure he’s excited with the opportunity he gets to be with America’s Team.”

The eye roll and the sarcasm that dripped off the last remark was unmistakable. The Heat took their lumps, survived and thrived in spite of them and, while recognizing many of the same early problems for the Lakers, are hardly sympathetic.

“You know, when we (were) going through what we (were) going through, no one really cared about us,” James said. “So I don’t really worry about other teams.”

Maybe it’s as jarring as firing a coach after five games.

Maybe it’s the magnification of all things Lakers.

Maybe it’s the attention-deficit times we live in the simply make us forget.

“It’s not just as easy as putting the players together and saying, ‘Go win,’ ” said Bosh. “There’s a period when it doesn’t look right. I’m think over the summer everybody knew it was going to be like that from the get-go. Didn’t they?”

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/1...ll-over-again/

[Stalkerxx]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

Lakers vs. Brooklyn tonight.

Have my money on the Lakeshow. Nets fans...

[Caveman24]

Re: 11/18 - 11/25 Game Discussion Thread

Tonight should be a very exciting game.I think it will be close.Hopefully tonight Artest won't have more attempts than Dwight Howard