CrushAlot wrote:Wes Johnson with 4 threes in a row gives Phoenix the lead going into the fourth. Nice!

if I start watching and the suns lose I blame you.

CrushAlot wrote:

nixluva wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

MaTT4281 wrote:I still enjoy D'Antoni's post-game bluntness.

Mike D’Antoni delivered a postgame rant after the Los Angeles Lakers blew an 18-point lead and lost to the Washington Wizards on Friday.

"This is a good team that just for whatever reason can't collectively mentally get stimulated to [play hard] every time," D'Antoni said. "I told them today, we put our hands in [the huddle], and you guys have probably seen it, we say, 'Championship,' and go out [on the floor]. That's laughable. Championship? You got to be kidding me. Nobody understands the importance of every possession offensively and defensively. Every time they got to come out with some kind of determination to be a good basketball team, and [until] then, we're just, we're fooling ourselves. Right now, that's what we're doing. We're just making a 'sham-mockery' out of it."

The Lakers went to Kobe Bryant down the stretch, but in the final two minutes, Bryant missed four of the five jumpers he took, including an attempt that would have tied the game as time expired.

"I can't explain it, but every time we get up 16 [points], it's like, 'Well, we're really good and we don't have to play hard,' and we start messing with the game,” D’Antoni said. “You start messing with not moving the ball. You start messing with, 'I'm just going to go one-on-one every time.' You start messing with the basketball gods, and they get you.

"That ball will roll around and go in for [the opponent] and it will roll around and go out for us because we're messing with the game. If we don't change that, obviously we won't make the playoffs, but if we do, we'll get blown out in the playoffs. You can't be a fairly good team or even a good team without passing the basketball, without understanding what we're doing defensively and honing in and doing it. You can't do it. You can't do it. It's impossible."

Via Dave McMenamin/ESPNLosAngeles

I am not a fan of his bluntness. He seperates himself from his team and doesn't take ownership for the losses. He coaches these guys. If they aren't playing right call time out and coach. Maybe you even have a guy sit. He is blunt with the media but he doesn't or can't communicate to his team what needs to be done. I know in ny some said that for most of his tenure he had players that just wouldn't listen and play right. Now he has four future hall of famers on his team and he is saying the same sh@t. Do your job and shut your mouth and you wont have to be the smug guy with the quick quip to compensate for your faults.

WHen you actually watch Laker games you can see that they are well coached and know what they're doing on both ends. That's how they get out to big leads, but they give up those leads when they get full of themselves and get lazy. That's what MDA is talking about. Hey how about the team full of VETS actually play like the Pros they are supposed to be and earn the money they get paid? You really think it's the coach that necessarily is the sole one responsible for players actually doing what the coach is directing them to do. At some point it's up to the players to actually follow thru. Your bias against MDA is sickening. He said what needed to be said cuz it's true. Unless you actually have watched every game like I have, I doubt you really know what's been going on with the Lakers. Everything he said is true.

These players certainly know what they should be doing at this point. Playing selfish ball and not really digging in on D is not acceptable. You think MDA is not on the bench saying just what they need to do? It's on the players too. They have the ability to defend better and they certainly have the talent to run the offense right and not play lazy BB. They got up big and relaxed. MDA called timely time outs but the Lakers simply didn't respect the Wiz.

http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2013/03/24/bernucca-whats-laughable-about-lakers-is-dantoni/

13-7 over the last 20 with 2 bad losses in the last 2 games. You still don't have a real point to make when it comes to MDA. It's all well and good for you to post articles where a writer is basically pointing out the teams flaws, but not really explaining the fact that the team was winning at a very good percentage for a while playing that way and that way got them back into the playoff race. They haven't lost games due to the statistics he points out in his article. They only lost the last game due to a lack of effort on D and getting lazy offensively. It had nothing to do with 3pt % or SSOL or any of that crap, cuz they won most of their games recently playing this way but giving better effort and sticking to the offensive plan of ball and player movement, so that article is pure crap.

You don't really have a point other than to pick at the fact that MDA used the press to chastise his team which is a method TONS of other NBA coaches have used. SO PLEASE spare me the lame as argument. Why don't you actually do some work and find a legit point to make about the job MDA has done in a very tough situation where he had to jump into an absolute mess and try to fix it on the run. MDA is trying to get into the heads of his guys, who should know better than to play lazy at this point.

tkf wrote:

playa2 wrote:Denver better pray they don't end up playing the Rockets in the playoffs in the 1st rd. Houston has a go to guy in James Harden , he's a heart breaker just ask the Spurs.

You are consistently trying to sell this "go to guy" .. for what agenda.. I will leave that alone... but I like both houston and Denver... Denver would beat Houston 4-1...

It's no agenda, you of all people should know Terry that when the playoffs roll around, refs like to mess with the opponents heads when this unstoppable star talent gets on a roll. Harden will make them into " Chicken McNuggets". Gallo will be MIA etc..., ya better hope Chandler has no lingering effects from his shoulder injury.

nixluva wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

nixluva wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

MaTT4281 wrote:I still enjoy D'Antoni's post-game bluntness.

Mike D’Antoni delivered a postgame rant after the Los Angeles Lakers blew an 18-point lead and lost to the Washington Wizards on Friday.

"This is a good team that just for whatever reason can't collectively mentally get stimulated to [play hard] every time," D'Antoni said. "I told them today, we put our hands in [the huddle], and you guys have probably seen it, we say, 'Championship,' and go out [on the floor]. That's laughable. Championship? You got to be kidding me. Nobody understands the importance of every possession offensively and defensively. Every time they got to come out with some kind of determination to be a good basketball team, and [until] then, we're just, we're fooling ourselves. Right now, that's what we're doing. We're just making a 'sham-mockery' out of it."

The Lakers went to Kobe Bryant down the stretch, but in the final two minutes, Bryant missed four of the five jumpers he took, including an attempt that would have tied the game as time expired.

"I can't explain it, but every time we get up 16 [points], it's like, 'Well, we're really good and we don't have to play hard,' and we start messing with the game,” D’Antoni said. “You start messing with not moving the ball. You start messing with, 'I'm just going to go one-on-one every time.' You start messing with the basketball gods, and they get you.

"That ball will roll around and go in for [the opponent] and it will roll around and go out for us because we're messing with the game. If we don't change that, obviously we won't make the playoffs, but if we do, we'll get blown out in the playoffs. You can't be a fairly good team or even a good team without passing the basketball, without understanding what we're doing defensively and honing in and doing it. You can't do it. You can't do it. It's impossible."

Via Dave McMenamin/ESPNLosAngeles

I am not a fan of his bluntness. He seperates himself from his team and doesn't take ownership for the losses. He coaches these guys. If they aren't playing right call time out and coach. Maybe you even have a guy sit. He is blunt with the media but he doesn't or can't communicate to his team what needs to be done. I know in ny some said that for most of his tenure he had players that just wouldn't listen and play right. Now he has four future hall of famers on his team and he is saying the same sh@t. Do your job and shut your mouth and you wont have to be the smug guy with the quick quip to compensate for your faults.

WHen you actually watch Laker games you can see that they are well coached and know what they're doing on both ends. That's how they get out to big leads, but they give up those leads when they get full of themselves and get lazy. That's what MDA is talking about. Hey how about the team full of VETS actually play like the Pros they are supposed to be and earn the money they get paid? You really think it's the coach that necessarily is the sole one responsible for players actually doing what the coach is directing them to do. At some point it's up to the players to actually follow thru. Your bias against MDA is sickening. He said what needed to be said cuz it's true. Unless you actually have watched every game like I have, I doubt you really know what's been going on with the Lakers. Everything he said is true.

These players certainly know what they should be doing at this point. Playing selfish ball and not really digging in on D is not acceptable. You think MDA is not on the bench saying just what they need to do? It's on the players too. They have the ability to defend better and they certainly have the talent to run the offense right and not play lazy BB. They got up big and relaxed. MDA called timely time outs but the Lakers simply didn't respect the Wiz.

http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2013/03/24/bernucca-whats-laughable-about-lakers-is-dantoni/

13-7 over the last 20 with 2 bad losses in the last 2 games. You still don't have a real point to make when it comes to MDA. It's all well and good for you to post articles where a writer is basically pointing out the teams flaws, but not really explaining the fact that the team was winning at a very good percentage for a while playing that way and that way got them back into the playoff race. They haven't lost games due to the statistics he points out in his article. They only lost the last game due to a lack of effort on D and getting lazy offensively. It had nothing to do with 3pt % or SSOL or any of that crap, cuz they won most of their games recently playing this way but giving better effort and sticking to the offensive plan of ball and player movement, so that article is pure crap.

You don't really have a point other than to pick at the fact that MDA used the press to chastise his team which is a method TONS of other NBA coaches have used. SO PLEASE spare me the lame as argument. Why don't you actually do some work and find a legit point to make about the job MDA has done in a very tough situation where he had to jump into an absolute mess and try to fix it on the run. MDA is trying to get into the heads of his guys, who should know better than to play lazy at this point.

CrushAlot wrote:

nixluva wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

nixluva wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

MaTT4281 wrote:I still enjoy D'Antoni's post-game bluntness.

Mike D’Antoni delivered a postgame rant after the Los Angeles Lakers blew an 18-point lead and lost to the Washington Wizards on Friday.

"This is a good team that just for whatever reason can't collectively mentally get stimulated to [play hard] every time," D'Antoni said. "I told them today, we put our hands in [the huddle], and you guys have probably seen it, we say, 'Championship,' and go out [on the floor]. That's laughable. Championship? You got to be kidding me. Nobody understands the importance of every possession offensively and defensively. Every time they got to come out with some kind of determination to be a good basketball team, and [until] then, we're just, we're fooling ourselves. Right now, that's what we're doing. We're just making a 'sham-mockery' out of it."

The Lakers went to Kobe Bryant down the stretch, but in the final two minutes, Bryant missed four of the five jumpers he took, including an attempt that would have tied the game as time expired.

"I can't explain it, but every time we get up 16 [points], it's like, 'Well, we're really good and we don't have to play hard,' and we start messing with the game,” D’Antoni said. “You start messing with not moving the ball. You start messing with, 'I'm just going to go one-on-one every time.' You start messing with the basketball gods, and they get you.

"That ball will roll around and go in for [the opponent] and it will roll around and go out for us because we're messing with the game. If we don't change that, obviously we won't make the playoffs, but if we do, we'll get blown out in the playoffs. You can't be a fairly good team or even a good team without passing the basketball, without understanding what we're doing defensively and honing in and doing it. You can't do it. You can't do it. It's impossible."

Via Dave McMenamin/ESPNLosAngeles

I am not a fan of his bluntness. He seperates himself from his team and doesn't take ownership for the losses. He coaches these guys. If they aren't playing right call time out and coach. Maybe you even have a guy sit. He is blunt with the media but he doesn't or can't communicate to his team what needs to be done. I know in ny some said that for most of his tenure he had players that just wouldn't listen and play right. Now he has four future hall of famers on his team and he is saying the same sh@t. Do your job and shut your mouth and you wont have to be the smug guy with the quick quip to compensate for your faults.

WHen you actually watch Laker games you can see that they are well coached and know what they're doing on both ends. That's how they get out to big leads, but they give up those leads when they get full of themselves and get lazy. That's what MDA is talking about. Hey how about the team full of VETS actually play like the Pros they are supposed to be and earn the money they get paid? You really think it's the coach that necessarily is the sole one responsible for players actually doing what the coach is directing them to do. At some point it's up to the players to actually follow thru. Your bias against MDA is sickening. He said what needed to be said cuz it's true. Unless you actually have watched every game like I have, I doubt you really know what's been going on with the Lakers. Everything he said is true.

These players certainly know what they should be doing at this point. Playing selfish ball and not really digging in on D is not acceptable. You think MDA is not on the bench saying just what they need to do? It's on the players too. They have the ability to defend better and they certainly have the talent to run the offense right and not play lazy BB. They got up big and relaxed. MDA called timely time outs but the Lakers simply didn't respect the Wiz.

http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2013/03/24/bernucca-whats-laughable-about-lakers-is-dantoni/

13-7 over the last 20 with 2 bad losses in the last 2 games. You still don't have a real point to make when it comes to MDA. It's all well and good for you to post articles where a writer is basically pointing out the teams flaws, but not really explaining the fact that the team was winning at a very good percentage for a while playing that way and that way got them back into the playoff race. They haven't lost games due to the statistics he points out in his article. They only lost the last game due to a lack of effort on D and getting lazy offensively. It had nothing to do with 3pt % or SSOL or any of that crap, cuz they won most of their games recently playing this way but giving better effort and sticking to the offensive plan of ball and player movement, so that article is pure crap.

You don't really have a point other than to pick at the fact that MDA used the press to chastise his team which is a method TONS of other NBA coaches have used. SO PLEASE spare me the lame as argument. Why don't you actually do some work and find a legit point to make about the job MDA has done in a very tough situation where he had to jump into an absolute mess and try to fix it on the run. MDA is trying to get into the heads of his guys, who should know better than to play lazy at this point.

Someone said they liked that he would be blunt and trash his team. I said I didn't and I also said he doesn't take ownership for the mistakes the team made at all when he does that. Here is another thing. The guy wasn't the best prepared in NY. He didn't even scout opponents the first two years in NY. When he was in Phoenix he said he didn't scout opponents because they had to adjust to his teams style of play. Maybe he needs to use 'we' and 'I' more when he is critical and when he draws a line with an arrow pointing at Kobe with his words but not naming names and then balks at answering a question that would require him to call out Kobe I think its weak. Don't go there if you aren't going all the way. Hall of famers and champions playing well when they are fighting for the eigth seed is a given. Not sure what is coaching and what is pride. The reality is some were saying the Lakers could push 70 wins at the start of the season. Now Pau has said he might not come back if D'Antoni is there and D12 is texting PJax.

1st of all that scouting issue is just pure BS! If you're winning big and getting to the Conference Finals then clearly your team was prepared most nights. Those who thought the Lakers would push 70 wins were clearly wrong and that isn't MDA's fault. You seem to be laying the Laker issues at MDA's feet when they hired him after they already had issues with chemistry and health before he got there.

I still don't see your point when it comes to MDA not bashing Kobe as if coaches always go after their best player in such a direct way. We've been seeing how even Woody doesn't openly bash his stars or favorite players like that. You're asking MDA to do something that very few coaches ever do. Look how things worked out when SVG bashed D12 in the press!

As for Pau, this guy comes off a long layoff and starts, so what's his real beef gonna be? All Pau has to do is play better. D12 also really has nothing to complain about. MDA is right. The team was winning when the ball was moving and EVERYONE got involved. You can hate on MDA all you want, but he espouses SOLID BB principles that work when his players actually listen to them. It's the same crap Woody is dealing with here. Ball and player movement and max effort on D. MDA isn't doing any thing different in terms of what he's asking his team to do.

yellowboy90 wrote:I will say this, Whoever gets Houston I would worry about the refs and Harden. He already gets supernova treatment from the refs and that may go to another level in the playoffs. However, I do wonder if the refs might hold their whistle. It will be interesting to see how Harden will be treated by the refs in the playoffs. Then again maybe his season norms for FTs will continue.

honestly it won't matter how he is treated if houston is getting blown out.. I like the rockets, but they will have a real challenge trying to get out of first round this year... that will change next year I am sure..

tkf wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:I will say this, Whoever gets Houston I would worry about the refs and Harden. He already gets supernova treatment from the refs and that may go to another level in the playoffs. However, I do wonder if the refs might hold their whistle. It will be interesting to see how Harden will be treated by the refs in the playoffs. Then again maybe his season norms for FTs will continue.

honestly it won't matter how he is treated if houston is getting blown out.. I like the rockets, but they will have a real challenge trying to get out of first round this year... that will change next year I am sure..

Unless they get the Chicken McNuggets in the 1st Rd