During the locker room interviews, Payton was very upset about his lack of playing time. He said "three more games to win to get the championship, then I'm outta here." To make things worst, L.A. reporters are saying Malone seemed very upset (almost in tears) about his injury after the game. This could be another serious injury. Lakers might have to play without him for the rest of the series.
I think that i would bve mad also. Starting a injuried guy over me?? What is that? He works hard and he gets that. I don't know. But, Malone is a different story. I think that he is a dirty old man and deserves what he gets.
Hopefully Malone isn't injured, Lakers need him. And, about Payton, I understand it. Phil trusts Derek more because he has been with him for 5 years and only with Payton for 1. Not to mention, Derek is a better shooter than Gary. He hits a lot of clutch shots for the Lakers. For example, he hit a big 3 down the stretch of the 4th tonight to help the Lakers. That's why I understand it. It's a trust thing in my opinion.
I dont understand how Luke Walton gets more minutes than a hall of fame point guard in the NBA Finals.
^ I'm sure that's what he's most mad about, even if he probably will never admit it. But I'm sure the fact that Luke comes in and has a great game and makes the kind of impact like that, while Gary sits on the bench is eating him up inside. I'm not going to call him a selfish guy for that, but I've always thought he liked being the focus and would rather do good himself than to see another play well. After seeing the way the first two games went, even if the Lakers get a new coach I don't see Gary staying.
I'm losing a lot of respect for the way Payton has handled himself in the post-season. He knew damn well coming to the Lakers he would be a role player. He refuses to accept the fact he's no longer a superstar in the league. He's been terrible on defense, lackluster on offense, and his outbursts to the refs only hurt the Lakers. On top of all this he is now pouting in the locker room and venting to the media. Come on Payton, you've been around long enough to know how to be a professional and to keep your opinion behind closed doors. Luke Walton got minutes, because he was producing. The Pistons never adjusted to his presence in the game and he got the Lakers back into the mix with his passing. Luke Walton was huge for the Lakers tonight by being a playmaker and hustling on the court. Gary Payton is just going through the motions out there, but is not making any kind of impact. In Game 1 he found himself in foul trouble, which limited his minutes. In Game 2 he was getting burned time and time again by Billups. If he really said those things, I hope PJax buries him deep on the bench and relegates him into the doghouse. It's uncalled for this late in the season. And guess what Gary, the Lakers won WITHOUT you on the court. As for Malone, losing him would be devastating. We don't have any depth at the 4 and will be forced to play small ball. The Pistons are already killing us on the boards, and having Malone out of the lineup to clog the lane is going to make it worse. It will put pressure on Kobe and George to crash the boards more. Or hopefully Slava gets a feverish lift to become a rebounder like he did a few games in the year. Malone is a warrior though, and if he can walk he will be on the court.
well, I dont have the exact quotes because I saw it on T.V., but he said something to the effect of "I know I can still play, but we won. If we lost, there would be a problem, but I'm not going to complain when we win. Three more wins for a Championship and I'm outta here."
Honestly I don't even want gary back just because of the way he's handled himself this year. Although I too expected him to be getting big minutes and contributing more than he has, he's still in the finals and he is where he claimed he wanted to be. Unless he wants to go to a team like the Clippers, I don't see him ever producing anything near the stats he put up in Seattle. No matter what team he goes to, he will not be the go-to guy, and probably not even the 2nd option. If he wants to go to another title contender he'll have to sit on the bench again, and probably won't even be able to start this time. Every other quality team already has an established PG, and he has to realize his time has passed. Besides, I don't think he's even worth the 6 million on his contract anymore..
I admit I was screaming for GP when Fish keep taking it into the lane and throwing up his wild bank shots ... man, I hope Malone is okay...call me a pessimist but something tells me his season is over.... EDIT: they had this on ESPN about Malone's situation <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Team spokesman John Black said Malone was day-to-day, but the second-leading scorer in NBA's history didn't sound so optimistic. When asked if he had a sense about Game 3 at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Thursday night, Malone replied: "No, not really. Not right now." </div> http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2004...tory?id=1818392
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He looks beaten down. Resigned to his fate. Worse yet, willing to go along for the ride to obtain a title. This is not the Gary Payton the NBA has known and feared for the past 13 years. The confident, dangerous, sneering point guard many believed was the finest in the NBA. This Payton appears to have surrendered to a frustrating situation we all should have seen coming. He spent a career with the ball in his hands, the dominant player on his team, the focus offensively and defensively. His season with the Lakers has been a disappointment, to himself and the team. The fit was always a struggle. Trying to become one of the parts in the triangle, abdicating his traditional role so the ball could be more in the hands of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. And as difficult as it proved during the regular season, it has only been magnified in the postseason. It's the incredible shrinking Gary Payton. Payton, who averaged 21.4 points per game his past nine seasons, averaged 14.6 points this season, third on the team behind Bryant and O'Neal. A dropoff that was to be expected. But in the postseason he has averaged 8.5 points per game. After failing to score in double figures only 11 times in 82 regular-season games, he's finished in single digits 13 times in 18 postseason games. And then in the opener of the Finals, the very reason he sacrificed money and elements of his game to sign with the Lakers, he gets completely outplayed by Chauncey Billups?</div> Source
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">There are precious few options for him if you take him at his word that he will not sign with an East Coast team. That immediately reduces his field by half. Then if you eliminate his past teams the Seattle Sonics and Lakers and those who already have a strong point guard, about the only realistic options are the Clippers, Jazz and Suns.</div> See, that is exactly what I meant by my post. There are no good playoff-contending teams that need a starting PG, especially in the west. Although I'm not even sure if I'd like to see him back anymore, L.A. still is the best situation for him. He gets paid the most money, and he is still the starter here. If he does stay I'm sure he'll have more set plays that run for him, because he'll be used to the triangle and they usually make up those game-plans in the offseason. Eventhough as it said in the link that Shapecity posted that he won't sign for a eastern team, he'd have to go to Indiana be the main PG. I actually see that as the best opportunity for him, keeping in mind that he would probably want to go to one of the better teams. We'll see how it all turns out for him, but I still think staying in L.A. is best for him.
Payton is no class, he should question himself all over again... what did he come to the Lakers for? Star status or championship? He's getting a championship right now with the Lakers but seems upset that he gets a less role in it. He should look to Malone who has not complained about a reduced role at all. I really think Payton can play better than the first two games of the Finals if he shifts his focus onto the right direction: play defense, take good care of the ball, go be a good playmaker, and most importantly be a cool head. Complaining about this and that definitely affects the way someone performs at work.
We need Malone badly, but if hes already cried and stuff ... i doubt hell play the next 3 games ... Payton can play a lot better and walton deserves a place in the team if gp is complaining around and all that, i mean look at lukes performances than you know. gp hasnt been better the last two games, has he?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting notMuchgame:</div><div class="quote_post">During the locker room interviews, Payton was very upset about his lack of playing time. He said "three more games to win to get the championship, then I'm outta here." </div> Where is your source for this quote? I can't find it anywhere in the L.A. sports press.
Payton doesnt deserve the playing time right now, he has played <u>HORRIBLE</u> during these playoffs, he has been outplayed by players such as Kareem Rush and Derek Fisher, and right now I like Luke Walton more than him. If GP wants more playing time than he should show it out on the court. ...As for Malone, I honestly think we still have a chance at winning this title IF we can get players to step up every game, such as Luke Walton did in this last one. I really dont want to see Malone out, as much as I dislike the guy, the way he has kept in top physical shape throughout his career is impressive. I think he will try to play with the injury, but that can be a bad thing too...
Payton is still a great player. You don't lose it overnight. He's just lost all his confidence. He knows when he gets the ball if he shoots, he best make it or that could be the last shot he takes. To be honest I didn't think the Lakers needed a PG anyway? Just a solid back -up to Fisher! The addition of Malone was good enough to carry them over the Spurs. Notice how Kobe and Malone click well. A few years back Malone threatened to never play in an All-Star game again cause Kobe waved off a Malone Screen. If Kobe moves it would be cool to see Malone go there too for one year b4 he goes!!!
i still think payton can help the lakers win the championship. we all know that GP is a threat when it comes to his post up play. this is what the lakers need, more aggresiveness on the court.
