<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Who says $10 million still can't buy something in this town? It bought a bowl full of Staples Center seats Thursday, filling an arena that had too long been too quiet. It bought Jack and Denzel and Barry Bonds and one of those sisters, Something-or-another Hilton. It bought a buzz that left town last year on a Diesel, buying it back on the shoulders of an old man built like a boxcar. As the Lakers showed Thursday in the official return Phil Jackson, $10 million can buy love. But can it buy time? That is the question, and that is what Jackson and the Lakers clearly need after a home-opening 122-112 loss to the Phoenix Suns. The fans will initially return because they trust the work of the coach who is being paid $10 million a season to recreate his three championships here. But eventually, the only thing they will trust is their eyes. And although people in the building are once again "beautiful," the basketball is not. That was Zen, this is now. "They are obviously a better team than we are" Jackson said of the Suns, who, without injured Amare Stoudemire, were supposed to be at least an even match. Not here, not now. Not against a baffled Laker defense that allowed the Suns to shoot 51 percent while forcing just nine turnovers. Not against a learning offense that made just a half-dozen of 23 three-point attempts during an undisciplined comeback attempt.</div> Source Expect these articles every time the Lakers lose from Bill Plaschke. He didn't dare write an article when the Lakers beat Denver in their opener. The Lakers are not as good as the Suns, but they played competitive and had a chance to win the game. It's an improvement from last year, becaust this team has some fight in them.
Thats all I wanted to see out of the Lakers. FIGHT. PASSION. So far they are showing signs of it. Mihm and Brown need to step it up and get 10/10 which should be possible in the tri. The Suns game was well in reach when they pulled within 3. That Jones 3 pter was the nail in the coffin the Lakers were not able to respond to.
Jack and Denzel came to Staples last year too. Kobe was a ballhog that's why they lost. The Suns without Amare are a good team but a beatable team. I think we're going to know by the end of this month if this is a playoff team or not, and it doesn't look like it so far.
Yeah its bothering me, I thuoght Kobe was gonna be a team player this year but it isn't looking like that. I mean I watched point in the suns game, clock winding down- Kobe pump faked two guys, stepped through leaning to his right and shot a jumper that hit the outside corner of the rim....With two guys on him....two of his teammates were wide open- it's just frustrating because first off- it's a horrible possession. Secondly- It's not giving his teammates confidence and three- this is why his FG% will never be up with LeBrons.... This is sadly true because this is coming from a HUGE kobe fan.
Guys, its no joke that Kobe is the center of this offense, of course hes gonna get all the looks and touches, and why not? He's the highest player on the team..
Being the #1 scoring option is one thing. Putting the blinders on going 1-on-3 taking impossible shots is another. No one has a problem with Kobe being the Man. In fact he has to be AT TIMES. There are other times like ilive4ball mentioned - i saw that play too - and it was not the best for the team. That play was just bad team basketball. His line at the end of the night proved it too - a ton of points at a low percentage and a team Loss.
I agree, Kobe took some lousy shots at the end of the Phoenix game. However, the defense was the main reason the team lost. You cannot allow a team to shot 51% from the field and hope to win any game. Kobe scored 39, Odom 23, and Smush 20, offense and scoring was not the problem. The undersize Suns outscored the Lakers inside the paint, they put on a pick and roll clinic down the stretch and the Lakers couldn't solve it defensively. It was just like the first game, when the Nuggets kept backdooring the defense and getting alley oop dunks. The Lakers are too, soft inside, they need an enforcer in there to knock people on their butts.
Kobe's FG% is still up at above 48%, but then again it is only the second game of the season- but I'm still hoping Kobe takes those 'blinders' off and passes the ball. He seriosly could average 10 assists a night if his teammates knocked down the shots they would get if KOBE WOULD PASS out of the double and triple teams. Either way, the Lakers are 1-1, and they could be 0-2 after playing the caliber of teams they have played so far, so that is something to be happy about...oh and the fact that Kobe's averaging 36 a game and I don't see it going down anytime soon. I really think Kobe could average 33+ this season.
I haven't really been able to see the game's apart from short highlights on NBA.com. Anyway, shooting like LeBron is not a good thing. I saw the game against the Spurs and he has poor shot selection. He took a few three pointers way beyond the arc and even tried a fade away from just inside the 3 point line, where he could have easily passed the ball. He kept on driving into the lane where Tim Duncan and a few other players were waiting and forcing the issue where he could have passed up to a free player.
