Lakeshow

[oneinchpunch]

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

might make him a strong candidate for Sixth Man of the Year

Ha.

Hahahahahahaha.

Ha ha ha....Hahahahahaha.

More likely to win 9th Man of the Year Award. And OIP ridicules McCoy....

[oneinchpunch]

ESPN:

Lakers are Funpredictable

Coming off a season-high 27 points, more than he scored in his previous four games combined, Wesley Johnson shared Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni's goal for the small forward's contributions every night.

"His word he always uses is be 'dynamic,' " said Johnson after L.A's 106-102 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday.

How about a word to describe the Lakers as a team? Unpredictable. Fun. Funpredictable? It applies.

Johnson's offensive outburst might have seemed to come out of nowhere, but really, it fits the type of season the predictably unpredictable Lakers are having. Friday marked the sixth time in the past seven games the Lakers had a different leading scorer.

What does that say?

"It says a lot," Johnson said. "You never know what's going to happen each night. Nick [Young] was last [game], the previous night it was, I think, Jordan [Farmar]. It's like you never know. It's just us playing off one another. Whoever is hot, we keep feeding him."

And when it's not your night to be fed the ball, D'Antoni is trying to get the group to buy into feasting on the defensive end.

While Johnson, who still managed three blocks, shined more on offense than through his normal defensive-stalwart role Friday, for Young it was the complete opposite.

Coming off a season-high 26 points against Brooklyn, Young shot just 3-for-12 against Detroit but still came up with the biggest play of the game, drawing a charge on Josh Smith with 2.7 seconds left and L.A. holding a precarious two-point lead.

The Lakers are so unpredictable this season, they even surprise themselves. It was like "Freaky Friday" out there, with the role reversal featuring Johnson as the scorer and Young as the stopper.

"I know that everybody is all chimed in as a team," Johnson said. "I know that he sacrificed his body ready to take that charge, get that win. That let us know that everybody as a team is all one now."

Said Young: "That felt good to win like that. That's the stuff you only see on TV."

If you tuned in for just the fourth quarter, you might not have recognized Young, who not only came up with the charge, but had as many assists in the final quarter (two) as he had field goals.

"They were keying in on me," Young said. "I had to pass the ball a little bit. I try to do everything. I'm doing everything now."

That's a little like his team, which has now won five out of its past six games to find itself at 9-8, back above .500 for the first time since an opening-night win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

"We come up with different things to make sure we give ourselves a chance," Pau Gasol said.

That involves playing with different personnel combinations and adapting in the moment. Steve Blake had 10 assists through three quarters against Detroit and hit that winning 3-pointer in Houston earlier in the season, but he wasn't on the court in the fourth quarter because Farmar was cooking. The last time the Lakers played Detroit, Jordan Hill was the star with 24 points and 17 rebounds, but once Hill suffered a mild sprain of his left ankle in Friday's first half, it was Shawne Williams (a season-high 20 points to go with nine rebounds) who was the one giving L.A. an unexpected lift.

"I think we're having fun playing together and we're really jelling at this point," Gasol said. "Things are coming together. We're working really well."

Added Young: "We're starting to find ourselves."

And they're doing it by playing outside of their normal comfort zones. After Detroit scored 68 points in the paint through the first three quarters, who thought it would have been the spindly Williams to play nearly the entire fourth quarter in the front court and help limit the Pistons to only eight points down there, while on the other end tipping in an offensive rebound between those big bodies to help ignite the Lakers' rally?

If Johnson is suddenly scoring and Young suddenly defending and Williams suddenly protecting the paint, what does that mean?

"Then we can be really good," D'Antoni said. "I think that's with a lot of players. If they would understand that they can be important any way. ... If you take good shots and you play good basketball and you play great on the defensive end, you run the floor, you run what we try to put a system in, if you make and miss shots it doesn't matter. Now, it takes all the pressure off. I can still be productive."

The unpredictable Lakers have been fun so far, indeed. But there are a couple of other things that can be foreseen that aren't so fun to think about: When will Kobe Bryant come back and how will he fit in? What happens if he takes some time to round into form? Will the team keep its momentum? And what about Steve Nash? How are the minutes divvied up when, or if, he suits up again?

[Mister Hoarse]

What's even funnier are Clipper fans, I mean fan, hanging out in the Lakeshow thread waiting for rebounds.
Must be lonely in that Clippers thread.


Oh yeah, what Clippers thread?
If you ever meet another Clip fan you might actually start one.

[Mister Hoarse]

FUNPREDICTABLE

Does ESPN own the rights to FUNPREDICTABLE yet?

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

What's even funnier are Clipper fans, I mean fan, hanging out in the Lakeshow thread waiting for rebounds.
Must be lonely in that Clippers thread.

Oh yeah, what Clippers thread?
If you ever meet another Clip fan you might actually start one.

Perhaps you ought to go to page one and acqaint yourself with the origins of this thread and how I came to participate. You guys sound like Raiders fans.

As for ridiculing me for being a Clippers fan, that's kind of odd. I've been a fan of the team since 1978 and supported it through some of the most horrific seasons and bad breaks a sports franchise can endure. Not even Bolts fans have been through those kinds of horrors. It hasn't been a particularly rewarding relationship, but I have remained loyal even when it seemed a questionable undertaking. So it's kind of garbage that Clippers fans get dumped on when the scenario finally becomes much more positive for the team. You'd think people might actually be happy for us or at least not bother. And it's worth noting that long-time Clippers fans are some of the most knowledgable about basketball and the NBA that I have encountered. They're not honks. They're respectful, because they know it's just a Danny Manning knee away from crashing and burning. Similarly its surprising that the team gets so much national abuse now that it's competitive. Jay Leno jokes in 15 win seasons. Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley disrespect when they're good. Whatever. Our lot in life. When and if a championship banner is raised, it'll be awesome.

But seriously, watching Lakers fans ignoring the scoreboard now when it was all about scoreboard before...regaling in past glories....arrogance in the middle of a dumpster fire....yeah, it's like a whole bunch of purple and gold AssCannons. As I've said several times in this thread, I have great respect for the Lakers and have always enjoyed watching them when they are good. But the fans aren't much different from Raiders fans or even Boston fans. Way to go.

[oneinchpunch]

What's even funnier are Clipper fans, I mean fan, hanging out in the Lakeshow thread waiting for rebounds.
Must be lonely in that Clippers thread.


Oh yeah, what Clippers thread?
If you ever meet another Clip fan you might actually start one.

Donald Sterling isn't even a Clippers fan

[Gwynning_Spirit]

Here's Johnny > Billy Crystal and Laverne

[Coachmarkos]

The "Terrible" Lakers team is 10-10, despite playing without their best player.

The "Finals Favorite" Clippers team is 13-8, and people are wondering how Doc Rivers forgot how to coach Defense?

I have never even considered the Clippers, until David Stern vetoed the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers, then approved it to the Clippers. I mean, seriously, WTF?

So now, I cheer against the Clippers on principal. Has nothing to do with the players. Always loved Chris Paul as a player, was very excited he was coming to the Lakers.

I do find the Clippers "greatest season" in recent memory, last year, ended in a first round loss.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Kobe out for six weeks. Fractured left knee.

$$$

[Bolt-O]

smh...

[Mister Hoarse]

Tommy Boy logo:

TIME TO BEAT THIS OAKLANDS