[::OFFICIAL LAKERS 2010-11' SEASON THREAD Vol. It Was Fun While It Lasted::]

[westcoastsfinest]

i'm anticipating cp3 to run circles around our little guys. expect trevor to play at his best. no cake walk here, this is it fellas.

 

[onlyXXVIII]

Cant wait for the first round! Glad we avoided Portland, but wouldnt be surprised if they beat Dallas 

 

[knightngale]

The lack of home court is mainly due to Gasol. He has not played that well this year and his defense has been terrible even compared to years past.
He also choked in close games that should have been wins.

 

[cedric ceballos 1995 lakers]

ill say this regarding lack of home court.

JUST MAKE IT TO THE DAMN FINALS and i don't see them losing if it's just 4 games between them and the title.

this isn't the dyfunctional lakers from 2004, and this isn't the overacheiving were just happy to be here bynumless bunch from 2008

make it to the finals and it will all play out how it will.

 

[moe fab uafa]

Originally Posted by Cedric Ceballos 1995 Lakers

ill say this regarding lack of home court.

JUST MAKE IT TO THE DAMN FINALS and i don't see them losing if it's just 4 games between them and the title.

this isn't the dyfunctional lakers from 2004, and this isn't the overacheiving were just happy to be here bynumless bunch from 2008

make it to the finals and it will all play out how it will.

well said

 

[withapassion]

win or go home time, im psyched, hopefully cp3 gets 30 10 10 so its not a blowout.

 

[nermindee]

hell yeah, lets do this!

this team should just totally forget about the previous 2 championships and play hungry like they havent wont *##!!!!

 

[b1gdaddyh]

hopefully the lakers get their act together and start playing like they care starting sunday

 

[k2theablam]

Miami having HCA over the Lakers really irks me. That better not come to bite us in the +@+...knowing that we dropped 5 in a row to let that happen.

 

[mr j 858]

[h2][/h2]

[h2]Kobe Bryant meets Rudy Ruettiger[/h2]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Two hours before the Los Angeles Lakers played the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night, a man and his 13-year-old daughter walked up to Kobe Bryant.

Bryant had already been on the court for two hours and normally doesn't take a break from his pregame shooting routine for pictures and autographs, but he had just heard the girl finish a stirring practice rendition of the national anthem and happily obliged as the man thanked him and introduced himself and his daughter.

"I'm Rudy Ruettiger and this is my daughter Jessica Ruettiger," he said. "She's singing the national anthem before the game."

"Rudy?" Bryant said as a smile came over his face. "The movie?"

"Yeah," Ruettiger said.

"That movie changed my life," Bryant said.

Suddenly the roles were reversed and Bryant was the star-struck fan who wanted a picture.

Bryant was a sophomore at Lower Merion High School when he first saw the movie "Rudy" in 1993. He would see it at least a handful of times in theaters and by his estimation, "a hundred" times on tape. Bryant said the film motivated him to work harder than he ever had before and continues to inspire him to be the first one at the practice facility and the last to leave.

"When I saw it I told myself if I can play as hard as Rudy with the talent I have, anything's possible," Bryant said. "I've met a lot of people in my life but that one there, man, that one [messed] me up."

Bryant was already having flashbacks of his days at Lower Merion High School as he sat courtside at Power Balance Pavilion four hours before tipoff. He had just apologized for uttering a gay slur at a referee the night before and was thinking back to old classmates who had been called the same derogatory term at school.

"It's been a tough day," Bryant said. "For me it's about the bigger message. I made a mistake in terms of what I said but it's also the responsibility it carries with it. I don't want kids to think that's it OK or cool to call kids that or tease them because of that. I don't stand for that. I never have. I've been in so many altercations in middle school and in high school protecting kids from that. I certainly won't be a part of enhancing that and the feeling that it's OK. I just won't."

Ruettiger and Bryant spoke about adversity and the importance of giving back and inspiring those who might look up to them as role models.

"We talked about struggles and I said it's not how hard you take a hit, it's how hard you get back up," Ruettiger said. "When you hit a certain status in life you want to help people. It meant so much to hear him say that the movie changed his life. It blew my mind. I couldn't believe it. What do you say to a guy like Kobe who is so excited to meet you?"

As Ruettiger walked away with Jessica and his son Danny, Bryant turned to a Lakers staffer who had just walked onto the court and pointed to Ruettiger.

"You want to meet the person who's had the biggest influence on my life?" Bryant said. "That's Rudy. The real Rudy Ruettiger."

Link:

http://sports.espn.go.com...ba/news/story?id=6354233

Nice story.

 

[CP1708]

It's also PR spin by Kobe to change the subject. 15 years I never heard of Rudy being "the biggest influence in Kobe's life"

 

[westcoastsfinest]

rudy and kobe share the same bday FYI.


kanye shrug

 

[mr j 858]

 

[acbboyz84]

To pump it up . Some vintage Yung Kobee

[h1]
[/h1]

 

[night marcher01]

ACBboyz84 wrote:

---

To pump it up . Some vintage Yung Kobee

[h1]
[/h1]

 Don't post things like that man!

 

[mjrod1985]

So excited for some Laker playoff basketball... It's game-time...

 

[xsalvioutlawx]

edit

 

[onlyXXVIII]

Lakers for the 3-peat 

Oh and the playoffs are stacked with good match-ups in each conference.

 

[licensed to ball]

 @ Young Kobe Memories. Those hops were appreciated 

 

[moreuptempo]

Frobe's arc > Mamba's dagger

 

[darthska]

Kobe >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Frobe

Yes, as dominant as we were back then, we could have been more dominant. There is literally NOTHING the league could have done with THAT Shaq and THIS Kobe on the same team. I mean... NOTHING.

All this 'Batman and Robin' talk would be DEAD. We'd've had Batman and... Batman.

But he was exciting. Got a lot of fans for his flair. Still helped us w/ a 3-peat. But yes, I've thought many times how that 3-peat could have been a lot more; I'm talking like running the table through last decade, BETTER than the Bulls did the previous decade, something like the league hasn't seen since the early Celtics.

 

[CP1708]

^
It's obvious this Kobe is a more refined, calculated, technical technician of a player now, and he was so damn raw at 23.  Funky footwork, just sort of jumpin up/over/and thru everybody. 

 

This one measures his steps, goes to spots, uses superb footwork, and still rises up for off balanced, one legged, fallaways. 

 


I noticed (and was thrilled) how he went straight up and straight down with his 3 in Sac the other night.  No falling back, no falling sideways, catch, rise, shoot.  Splash. 

I wish I could see Kobe take more of those shots and less heaves like game 5 vs the Suns last year.  (thank you Ron) 


Having said all that, you could see then, that the kid was working to get to this point.  He was working to learn his moves, to add to his game, to improve  (improve Shaq, that's where you work on your game (work Shaq, that's where you train and prepare, during your free time) in your free time, and try to get even better at what you do, as your skills diminish) 
It was clear the kid wanted/lusted/thirsted after being elite.  Now, say what you will, but if we somehow could have transfused some of that, into Shaq, and had both of them working like dogs, now THAT duo would have been arrested and banned from winning too many titles in the NBA.  29 other teams would have revolted. 

 

[darthska]

They fed off each other's problems.

Shaq's attitude was fueled by his disgust with Frobe's arrogant flair; Frobe's "Dammit, y'all bammas better start recognizing me" was fueled by knowing he was putting in work while Shaq wasn't, but still got all the glory.

They were both right.

Be that as it may, THAT Shaq won 3 Finals MVPs, and THIS Kobe has 2 (could be 3 this year, or could have been 3 if we beat Boston in '0. I'm saying, THIS calculated, more cerebral Kobe and THAT Shaq, just the way he was, would have been a terror.

You talking about a Shaq that worked harder, but that Shaq has never existed. He's big and smart, and he's going to ride that as long as he can. When he was younger, being big and smart was good enough to be a brute; now it's just good enough to still be in the league. Apparently that's ok with him. But imagining a Shaq that worked relentlessly is imagining something we've never seen.

Imagining a more team-oriented, cerebral, calculated Kobe is something we have have seen... err... are seeing.

So pairing Kobe now with Shaq then = problems

 

[CP1708]

 that is true. 

The fact that I even took the time to explain in parentheses what hard work was to Shaq should have been my own clue. 

Oh well, we got what we got out of them.  But today, we are just as strong, and maybe in some ways more as we are more than a 2 man team with role guys.  Now we have a team on a given night where 4-5 different guys can step up and do work, and still have 2-3 role guys to do their jobs.  Makes for a more balanced group imo. 

 

[halal cart23]

Frobe > Kobe
I don't care about anything but pure entertainment