2012-13 NBA Season Thread

[The Six]

The Lakers are probably one of the five-most successful franchises in all of professional sports, and certainly in the NBA. Any thought that the league is somehow trying to hold them down is beneath all of us.

Not all of us.

[dbadefense1990]

I see three trap games for the Lakers: Portland, the Clippers and the Spurs.

Well, you're seeing wrong. Games against the Clippers and Spurs cannot by definition be "trap games" for the Lakers because the Lakers are the inferior team in both matchups.

"Trap games" = games where the Lakers will have the hardest time winning, games where the opponents are the superior teams, so yes, I am correct.

And yes, I put the Blazers as one of those trap games because of the freakish hard times the Lakers have at the Rose Garden.

[OnWis97]

The Lakers are probably one of the five-most successful franchises in all of professional sports, and certainly in the NBA. Any thought that the league is somehow trying to hold them down is beneath all of us.

Oh come on. The Lakers are "Bucks West" and you know it.

[Still MIGHTY]

I see three trap games for the Lakers: Portland, the Clippers and the Spurs.

Well, you're seeing wrong. Games against the Clippers and Spurs cannot by definition be "trap games" for the Lakers because the Lakers are the inferior team in both matchups.

"Trap games" = games where the Lakers will have the hardest time winning, games where the opponents are the superior teams, so yes, I am correct.

And yes, I put the Blazers as one of those trap games because of the freakish hard times the Lakers have at the Rose Garden.

That's not what a "trap game" is...

[dbadefense1990]

I see three trap games for the Lakers: Portland, the Clippers and the Spurs.

Well, you're seeing wrong. Games against the Clippers and Spurs cannot by definition be "trap games" for the Lakers because the Lakers are the inferior team in both matchups.

"Trap games" = games where the Lakers will have the hardest time winning, games where the opponents are the superior teams, so yes, I am correct.

And yes, I put the Blazers as one of those trap games because of the freakish hard times the Lakers have at the Rose Garden.

That's not what a "trap game" is...

OK, sorry. Sheesh. I'll change my terminology of those three games to "likely losses."

[Sport]

A "trap game" is a game that is played before or after a tough opponent or at a point where the superior team may be inclined to look past and/or not get all the way up for an opponent. It happens either after an emotional victory or before the team is going to play in a big game.

IE, really only the Portland game might be considered a trap game.

[The Six]

I love these conspiracy videos. The NBA is so horrible.

[FiddySicks]

The league once rigged a playoff series to benefit the Lakers. The league doesn't hate them at all.

The league once rigged a playoff series to benefit the Heat. And it didn't obliterate a trade to them because of "basketball reasons."

And it wasn't a series which was rigged, it was one game. Kings had more free throws overall in the series and only Bibby didn't implode in Game 7.

And the NBA did it to pocket more cash from a Game 7 between the ratings-jackpot Lakers and Kings. Give me an example of the NBA doing something because it adores the Lakers.

Also, David Stern once said that his ideal Finals series would be "The Lakers vs. The Lakers". Does that sound like a guy that has an anti-Laker agenda.

Nah, that sounds like someone who's with the times. Anything to make him revenue for the league, any juicy plotline that'll have people talking and watching the NBA. It turned from Magic/Larry, then Jordan, then Kobe/Shaq, followed by "dark times" (Spurs in the mid 2000s), then Lakers/Celtics III, and now the "Miami Death Star."

I wouldn't be surprised if Stern mumbled in his sleep today, "my dream Finals is the Heat vs. the Heat."

You just contradicted yourself.

If the Lakers are such a large revenue machine, that David Stern would say that he wants a Lakers vs Lakers finals, then he clearly does not hate them.

No. What I meant was that Stern hates things that don't make extra revenue for the league. That infamous comment spewed by Stern was at the peak of the Kobe/Shaq conglomerate. Of course the commissioner would play kindly to these Lakers because it would have people taking about basketball, people wanting to splurge on the team merchandise, and have peoples' butts from other cities just to see the Lakeshow once a year.

If the NBA did have a love fest with the Lakers, surely it would not have allowed all those losses in the 1960s. If the NBA did adore the Lakers, then it wasn't Milwaukee's or New Orleans' dumb GM decisions to get Kareem or Magic. If the NBA loves the Lakers, where's the 12-peat of titles during the Showtime era? What do you call the mediocre times of the 1990s then? Where was the title the first year after Jordan ended his play with the Bulls? Why didn't the refs rig the 2003 West Semifinals so that the mediocre Lakers would overcome the powerful Spurs? Where is the championship the league, supposedly, gave the Lakers, despite getting destroyed by the 2004 Pistons (last team-first concept to win NBA title by the way)?

Once Stern realized that neither Kobe nor Shaq could be profitable in the NBA marketing department, the Lakers were eventually treated as the rest of the league: pieces of human scum, only to serve the best interests of the new basketball fads, i.e. today's Miami Heat. Look at the treatment the Heat get in the media, in the ratings, in the road attendance; that used to be the Lakers a decade ago, but not anymore.

But I will say that today's Lakers have played so stupidly, they deserve to be in the toilet. Just end the year and let us regroup for next year. The Howard/Nash/D'Antoni experiment has been a titanic bust; if this team is lucky to play into early May, expect a sweep or 5-game KO by either the Spurs or Thunder.

The Lakers are no longer profitable? Are you serious?

This is exactly why I hate the Lakers as much as I do. They have, hands down, some of the dumbest fans in any sport. Basketball in general usually has the most fans with ridiculous ideas, conspiracy theories, and the entitled mindset, but Lakers fans make it an art. It's to the point where it's so bad that it cometely ruins the experience of watching basketball for me. Thanks to the Lakers and their fans, I'll never waste my time trying to be a serious fan of the NBA.

[Still MIGHTY]

Please don't judge the rest of us by him... Please don't.

[Nyk33]

Utah 39-36 .520

--------------------

L.A. Lakers 39-36 .520

Dallas 36-38 .486

Utah: Den (L), NO (W), GS (L), OKC (L), Min (W), Min (W*), Mem (L)

*I do not see what Minnesota has to play for at that point while Utah has motivation to make the playoffs which might push them over in Minnesota.

LAL: Mem (L), LAC (L), NO (W), Por (W*), GS (W*), SA (L), Hou (W)

*Extremely unsure about these games as Golden State from looking at their recent can beat them but also have some weird losses. Also they almost lost to the Lakers on Oakland. Portland usually gives the Lakers a hard time but they also do not have much to play for either.

I am not considering Dallas at this point so I will not bother.

[dbadefense1990]

Also as an aside, to say that the Los Angeles Lakers (let alone Kobe) are not profitable to the league is idiotic.

I never said they are not profitable. I said that they are not as profitable as other teams and players to the league. How much longer can the NBA sell Kobe Bryant to the casual fan and viewer who doesn't even follow basketball? At what point does the NBA say that the current Laker team is no longer viable for the top national TV dates in the regular season (opening night, Christmas, MLK, weekend before the Super Bowl)? How will the NBA sell the Lakers when Kobe retires, providing we don't even know the fates of Gasol and Howard?

The Lakers are a draw, but no longer the ripe pig for the NBA's marketing department. They want fresh fish to supplant the old timers, to be the new sellers in the NBA's product placement for casuals. Yes LeBron took a paycut to join the Heat (albeit he made up for it because of no income taxes in Florida), but got $40 million in ad pitches for Nike, McDonald's and other companies, all for the good of the NBA's bottom line.

The NBA will simply latch on to the person, or group, or team, who will keep the cash flowing for the owners and the rest of the boardroom suits. What would the NBA rather have: a slow, washed up Lakers team too defensively pathetic for its record right now, or a Finals rematch of Durant and LeBron, two young bloods drawing their own rivalry, two athletes who have yet reached the peak of their careers, two superstars who plan on seeing each other in their crusades for NBA supremacy, a rivalry which will will stand the test of time in 50 years and be compared to Magic and Larry.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the second most valuable team in the NBA according to Forbes.

And the Knicks are #1, but what have they done over the past couple of years? Anyway, it's all about local TV deals now, and this is one of the only departments where I can say the NBA needs to do a better job at controlling. The Lakers current deal with Time Warner Cable runs at nearly $3 billion for 20 years, yet the NBA's lax revenue sharing policies lets the team keep more of the money. And it's also about prime location; of course players only want to play in LA, or New York, or Miami, or Chicago. It's the high paced, celeb famed, glitz and glamor world of splurgence today's NBA players want to be apart in, and some do get to be apart of. Of course, some of those same players also bolt to a specific city if it means saving money off taxes, or having a legitimate chance of getting a ring (Ray Allen).

[Lights Out]

How much longer can the NBA sell Kobe Bryant to the casual fan and viewer who doesn't even follow basketball?

Until he finally retires.

At what point does the NBA say that the current Laker team is no longer viable for the top national TV dates in the regular season (opening night, Christmas, MLK, weekend before the Super Bowl)?

Never.

How will the NBA sell the Lakers when Kobe retires, providing we don't even know the fates of Gasol and Howard?

Easily, considering the Lakers will still have the biggest bandwagon in sports in a top 2 television market.

[Nyk33]

Also as an aside, to say that the Los Angeles Lakers (let alone Kobe) are not profitable to the league is idiotic.

I never said they are not profitable. I said that they are not as profitable as other teams and players to the league. How much longer can the NBA sell Kobe Bryant to the casual fan and viewer who doesn't even follow basketball? At what point does the NBA say that the current Laker team is no longer viable for the top national TV dates in the regular season (opening night, Christmas, MLK, weekend before the Super Bowl)? How will the NBA sell the Lakers when Kobe retires, providing we don't even know the fates of Gasol and Howard?

The Lakers are a draw, but no longer the ripe pig for the NBA's marketing department. They want fresh fish to supplant the old timers, to be the new sellers in the NBA's product placement for casuals. Yes LeBron took a paycut to join the Heat (albeit he made up for it because of no income taxes in Florida), but got $40 million in ad pitches for Nike, McDonald's and other companies, all for the good of the NBA's bottom line.

The NBA will simply latch on to the person, or group, or team, who will keep the cash flowing for the owners and the rest of the boardroom suits. What would the NBA rather have: a slow, washed up Lakers team too defensively pathetic for its record right now, or a Finals rematch of Durant and LeBron, two young bloods drawing their own rivalry, two athletes who have yet reached the peak of their careers, two superstars who plan on seeing each other in their crusades for NBA supremacy, a rivalry which will will stand the test of time in 50 years and be compared to Magic and Larry.

I just proved you wrong on the Lakers not being as profitable as other teams when I stared that they were the second most valuable team in Forbes. Also people still want to see the Lakers considering their media market and their championship pedigree.

If by some miracle Kobe, Dwight, & Nash were to make it to the NBA Finals everyone would be salivating at the cinderella Lakers beating the odds to make it to the Finals. They will start to talk about how much of a leader Kobe is and how getting this ring would put him in a class with Jordan and all that crap.

Also I like how one NBA Finals matchup is a beginning of a rivalry. Let the next few years play out before deciding that one.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the second most valuable team in the NBA according to Forbes.

And the Knicks are #1, but what have they done over the past couple of years? Anyway, it's all about local TV deals now, and this is one of the only departments where I can say the NBA needs to do a better job at controlling. The Lakers current deal with Time Warner Cable runs at nearly $3 billion for 20 years, yet the NBA's lax revenue sharing policies lets the team keep more of the money. And it's also about prime location; of course players only want to play in LA, or New York, or Miami, or Chicago. It's the high paced, celeb famed, glitz and glamor world of splurgence today's NBA players want to be apart in, and some do get to be apart of. Of course, some of those same players also bolt to a specific city if it means saving money off taxes, or having a legitimate chance of getting a ring (Ray Allen).

What do the Knicks have to do with the conversation? More red herrings.

We are talking about the profitability of the Lakers. Being the second most valuable team means that they are making a profit.

Keep on topic now. We are talking about The Lakers and their profitability.

[rams80]

Also as an aside, to say that the Los Angeles Lakers (let alone Kobe) are not profitable to the league is idiotic.

I never said they are not profitable. I said that they are not as profitable as other teams and players to the league. How much longer can the NBA sell Kobe Bryant to the casual fan and viewer who doesn't even follow basketball? At what point does the NBA say that the current Laker team is no longer viable for the top national TV dates in the regular season (opening night, Christmas, MLK, weekend before the Super Bowl)? How will the NBA sell the Lakers when Kobe retires, providing we don't even know the fates of Gasol and Howard?

The Lakers are a draw, but no longer the ripe pig for the NBA's marketing department. They want fresh fish to supplant the old timers, to be the new sellers in the NBA's product placement for casuals. Yes LeBron took a paycut to join the Heat (albeit he made up for it because of no income taxes in Florida), but got $40 million in ad pitches for Nike, McDonald's and other companies, all for the good of the NBA's bottom line.

The NBA will simply latch on to the person, or group, or team, who will keep the cash flowing for the owners and the rest of the boardroom suits. What would the NBA rather have: a slow, washed up Lakers team too defensively pathetic for its record right now, or a Finals rematch of Durant and LeBron, two young bloods drawing their own rivalry, two athletes who have yet reached the peak of their careers, two superstars who plan on seeing each other in their crusades for NBA supremacy, a rivalry which will will stand the test of time in 50 years and be compared to Magic and Larry.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the second most valuable team in the NBA according to Forbes.

And the Knicks are #1, but what have they done over the past couple of years? Anyway, it's all about local TV deals now, and this is one of the only departments where I can say the NBA needs to do a better job at controlling. The Lakers current deal with Time Warner Cable runs at nearly $3 billion for 20 years, yet the NBA's lax revenue sharing policies lets the team keep more of the money. And it's also about prime location; of course players only want to play in LA, or New York, or Miami, or Chicago. It's the high paced, celeb famed, glitz and glamor world of splurgence today's NBA players want to be apart in, and some do get to be apart of. Of course, some of those same players also bolt to a specific city if it means saving money off taxes, or having a legitimate chance of getting a ring (Ray Allen).

[The Six]

I love the TJ Simers takedown on the Clippers in today's Times, especially the points on DeAndre Jordan. What a waste of money. Every time he's somehow able to score in the first quarter, I have to listen to the announcers prattle on about how good it is that he scored, so he can stay involved and keep his head in the game. So he'll just mentally check out if he doesn't get a basket? What a joke. Matching that offer sheet against Golden State is the worst thing the Clippers could have done.

[Lights Out]

I love the TJ Simers takedown on the Clippers in today's Times

Meh. In typical Simers fashion, he turned what could have been a pertinent article into his usual trollfest. Yeah, Simers, we all totally believe that the friendship between DJ and Blake has split up, that everyone is sick of CP3's voice, and that (most laughable of all) Vinny's done a fantastic coaching job.

especially the points on DeAndre Jordan. What a waste of money. Every time he's somehow able to score in the first quarter, I have to listen to the announcers prattle on about how good it is that he scored, so he can stay involved and keep his head in the game. So he'll just mentally check out if he doesn't get a basket? What a joke. Matching that offer sheet against Golden State is the worst thing the Clippers could have done.

I do agree on this, though. DJ might be the most overpaid player in the league considering how raw and undeveloped his game still is and how horrible his attitude is. I blame a lot of his stunted development on Vinny holding some weird grudge against him and not rewarding the times he does play well (the exact same crap he pulled in Chicago with Tyrus Thomas), but I also don't get the feeling that DJ is serious about working on his game and improving.

Case in point: the free throw shooting. He literally cannot play in fourth quarters, even in the regular season, because he's such a liability at the line. He's never been a good free throw shooter yet his percentages are still plummeting. But even though he's hurting the team by not getting better at such a simple aspect of the game, he wastes every summer working on "post moves" that he never seems to use past the first month of the season instead of getting in the gym and shooting free throws over and over again. He's lucky he's best friends with Blake, because otherwise, he'd be warming a bench in Oakland right now.

[Lights Out]

Danilo Gallinari went down with a really bad looking knee injury tonight, could miss some serious time. Tough break for the Nuggets.

[ninersdd]

Danilo Gallinari went down with a really bad looking knee injury tonight, could miss some serious time. Tough break for the Nuggets.

And he is done for the year, torn ACL.

[Nyk33]

Danilo Gallinari went down with a really bad looking knee injury tonight, could miss some serious time. Tough break for the Nuggets.

And he is done for the year, torn ACL.

Hope he can come back sometime next year.

[Nyk33]

What a game by the Knickerbockers against the Thunder in OKC!

Oh and for Bill Simmons who said on Countdown on Christmas that the Knicks wouldn't win 50..... EAT IT!!!!