Sage11

True, but they only repeatedly showed the t.o. when we gave up a dunk on a missed dunk by throwing the ball away to a phantom in the backcourt. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We better play better tonight without as many t.o's....

I have to agree with everything the two of you stated, if we develop a motion o the guy will torch the east.

I cant say that I am not concerned. We looked discombobulated last night. The injury curse seems to be alive and well and striking early for the Hawks. I am still very optimistic but also concerned. We will see what they do tonight.

I agree with you Stu, we had Kevin in camp and did not sign him up, now we pay for that misjudgement!!!! We could have used his presence in the lane last night.

Sorry Dude! Miller is not the answer, he is simply too fat to be effective in the NBA. I doubt he can even run the court. Unless he drops about 25 to 30 pounds don't tease yourself.

It was nice to see his offensive agressiveness. The team overall looked unfocused to me though. Too many turnovers. I agree we need to run more pick and rolls for JT. Remember I posted several months ago questioning our coaching. Lon has to do a better job with game prep. Defensively we did not get back and we got burned all night.

My point is that both are important. The Lakers are in the top ten for both categories, that should tell you something if you are willing to listen. In the playoffs Defense is essential to winning any series. If the Kings could have stopped Shaq who do you think would have won the series? I recognize that we must score points but no team will be good until they can muster some defensive stops.....

your judgement and analysis. I watched the games and saw how Kobe was very instumental in winning each of those series. Without Kobe the Lakers would have lost. Kobe has learned how to become the very thing you argue he is not, a team player. Undoubtedly he has the talent to take over a game when necessary. Don't hate the man because he is blessed with uncommon skill and talent. Moreover, You need to read my post again, I said he was "instumental" not that he carried the team. Additionally, I have seen him carry the Lakers and win the game for the team (by taking the last and winning shot)so your analysis breaks down there. Your skewed history lesson is a joke, how often has Stack dissapeared, or better yet, where and when has he showed up in crunch or clutch situations......none.

Young, durabale, skilled and talented above his peers. What is there to argue about. Kobe is clearly better, and what is frightening is that his game is getting better. Wisdom demands that management get the best players. If Kobe is available, take him. Stackhouse has lead his teams to nothing... Kobe has been instrumental in leading his team to three straight championships....nuff said.

Defense wins championships. Where did LA rank on offense and Defense???? I am sure you know. I know you are not suggesting that we simple ignore defense. Common sense tells you that both offense and defense are part of the game and both are needed. One should not be ignored at the cost of the other. In playoff ball defense is vital to get key stops to win a game. If you cannot stop the other team you will eventually watch others play in june no matter how good your offense is (i.e. Dallas and Sactown). You must have solid defense and it is silly to argue otherwise.

I agree Traceman.....

This is very bad news. Zo is a wonderful person and you hate to hear this type of news about him. This is a tremendious lost for the NBA. I always admired his warrior type agressiveness on the court. When he was healthy this is the guy you wanted to fight with you and not against you. I am deeply sadden that I will not get to see his talents on display this season. My prayers are with him.

Yes I would pull the trigger on that trade because SAR talent and potential are rare in the NBA. He is young, he is developing into a consistent game dominating player and plays with a lot of heart. Moreover he is a budding super-star, none of these things can be said of the players we gave up for him or the person we may have drafted.

1. Reef 2. JT 3. Theo 4. Big Dog 5. Demar 6. Ira 7. Henderson 8. Nazar 9. Glover 10. Chris Crawford 11. Dan (tough to rank since he has not played NBA ball yet) 12. E-mail

Hendu has the potential to be "essential" to any NBA team but sometimes his attitude takes him out of the game while he is in the game if you know what I mean. I know he had major frustrations with Kruger's rotation, but sometimes he simply did not show up. He pouted when he did not start but played uninspired at times when he was on the floor. Indifference is not the way to land a starters position. I like what he potentially brings to the table and think that if he plays with some heart every night the Hawks become an even more dangerous team. He is an X factor that is not mentioned often. If this man can get his attitude adjusted correctly and give his best despite not being a starter, he can be invaluble to this team.

Vin Baker on the bench, and on top of that he will not have much impact. Sorry I believe otherwise and he swings the advantage to the Celtics first unit.

Questions, Now that we have Ira in the nest, I was wondering about Chris C. and A Henderson. How is CC? Is he still nursing an injury and will he be ready to go for the up coming season. I like the way he hustles and would hate to lose his "don't quit" attitude. Hendu has not been mentioned at all on this forum and I am wondering if he has participated in any camps, summer play etc. where we could gauge if the man worked on his game this summer. His lackluster play has been a frustration for me after landing that fat contract. Has anyone seen or has any information on the fella?

No!!!!!!! I think the press will continue to underrate the team until they are forced to recognize the improvements in personnel. A 23rd ranking by both CBS and the Sporting News. I think they are scared to rank us higher because of our injury problems of the past two seasons. Based upon the addition of Big Dog and a healthy Theo I personally would place this team in the middle of the pact, anywhere from 16th to 18th.

I don't know much about this kid- please give me the 411 on him and why do we feel that he should work for us?

I agree Dolfan, let us wait until the boy shows his skill or lack thereof in actual competition with real NBA talent. This speculation is wack. Trading JT should not even be entertained right now.

I agree with you Money, we overpaid but the guy does hustle, something Hendu does not do.

USA.

I agree. Last year we resembled a hospital unit more than a basketball team at times. We need the insurance he provides the team and the defensive intensity.

In all due respect to "DA" I disagree. Theo will not have to play in 70 games in order for this team to make the playoffs. Although the east will be tougher to win in this upcoming season, there are still pockets of weakness that can and should be exploited. We won 33 games last season without Theo playing the whole season (except for one or two games). If the guy can play 3/4 of the season healthy I hedge my bets that we make it in. Moreover, we tend to overlook any off season improvements made by Nazar. If his game has improved in any way imo we win more games. Throw a healthy Big Dog into the mix and I say DA's analysis is incomplete. I believe this team improves on defense because we have a stable middle and that will help us win more games this year. If Ira signs and stays healthy then this whole discussion about defense becomes somewhat mute. We must also consider teams will have to work much harder on d to stop us and that should work to give us a few more close wins. My concern is coaching. Can Kruger get it done???