HOWARD TRADED TO LAKERS

[Pachuco]

Serious question

Serious question

For diehard fans of the Showtime era, did any of you abandon the team when Kobe and Shaq came into the picture? I'm a man in limbo. As a kid, I grew up just outside of the city. I was a huge fan of LA, a big fan of Magic, Worthy, Green, AJab, BScott, Coop, and freakin' Rambis.

I cannot for the life of me support Kobe Bryant. I tried, but the dude is a punk. I suppose that makes me a traitor, but I have no shame in saying I hope the Lakers bust as long as the Black Mamba is pulling jumpers.

Winning should be all that matters when you're a fan, right? In my mind, the Lakers became a more successful / prima donna version of the Pistons. It's awful. Are there any (former) LA fans that feel this way?

 

[NDPhilly]

Sixers > Knicks now.

 

[Ironman8]

Sixers > Knicks now.

Woah there. Let's not lose our minds here.

 

[notredomer23]

Sixers > Knicks now.

Not sure if serious. especially without Iguodala, you guys will be lucky to make the playoffs this year.

 

[ACamp1900]

The Knicks are good, what did I miss?

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Not sure if serious. especially without Iguodala, you guys will be lucky to make the playoffs this year.

But they picked up Bynum and now will have the opportunity to let Turner and Holiday play w some more freedom.

 

[NDPhilly]

Also added Nick "swagga" Young who will probably start.

 

[NDinL.A.]

The Knicks are good, what did I miss?

I think you missed the part where the Knicks aren't very good. and they let their other star attraction leave and put a fat underachiever in his place (too replace the other fat underachiever, Baron Davis) as well as an incredibly aging Jason Kidd. Couple that with the fact that their 2nd best player (Stoudamire) was completely run into the ground by D'antoni during his run at the MVP two years ago, and the Knicks have some serious issues.

Now, the Knicks will a decent team, but what got everyone involved is the person that put the Knicks in the same breath as the Heat and OKC. That's laughable (and I'm being kind)...

 

[ACamp1900]

I think you missed the part where the Knicks aren't very good. and they let their other star attraction leave and put a fat underachiever in his place (too replace the other fat underachiever, Baron Davis) as well as an incredibly aging Jason Kidd. Couple that with the fact that their 2nd best player (Stoudamire) was completely run into the ground by D'antoni during his run at the MVP two years ago, and the Knicks have some serious issues.

Now, the Knicks will a decent team, but what got everyone involved is the person that put the Knicks in the same breath as the Heat and OKC. That's laughable (and I'm being kind)...

I should have put

"the Knicks are good??? What did I miss?... Because I don't see it."

That's what I meant

 

[notredomer23]

I think you missed the part where the Knicks aren't very good. and they let their other star attraction leave and put a fat underachiever in his place (too replace the other fat underachiever, Baron Davis) as well as an incredibly aging Jason Kidd. Couple that with the fact that their 2nd best player (Stoudamire) was completely run into the ground by D'antoni during his run at the MVP two years ago, and the Knicks have some serious issues.

Now, the Knicks will a decent team, but what got everyone involved is the person that put the Knicks in the same breath as the Heat and OKC. That's laughable (and I'm being kind)...

I do agree with this, but now that Woodson is their fulltime coach, they are at worst 4th best in the East. Carmello, Amare, Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert(if healthy) Landry Fields, Raymond Felton, and JR Smith is a pretty solid 7 players not to mention Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby( I know, both these guys are ancient, but they will play), and Steve Novak, you have a pretty deep Knick team. LA, OKC, the Heat, Bulls(with D Rose), and San Antonio are in a completely different tier of teams than the Knicks. But the Knicks will be competitors this year.

I really hope Iman Shumpert receovers fully from his ACL because he has the athleticism to be one of the better young guards in the league.

What you guys have missed is the Knicks sucked with D'antoni. With Woodson they are a very good team.

 

[NDinL.A.]

I do agree with this, but now that Woodson is their fulltime coach, they are at worst 4th best in the East. Carmello, Amare, Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert(if healthy) Landry Fields, Raymond Felton, and JR Smith is a pretty solid 7 players not to mention Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby( I know, both these guys are ancient, but they will play), and Steve Novak, you have a pretty deep Knick team. LA, OKC, the Heat, Bulls(with D Rose), and San Antonio are in a completely different tier of teams than the Knicks. But the Knicks will be competitors this year.

I really hope Iman Shumpert receovers fully from his ACL because he has the athleticism to be one of the better young guards in the league.

What you guys have missed is the Knicks sucked with D'antoni. With Woodson they are a very good team.

Totally forgot about Shumpert. Yeah, if he comes back healthy he could be really helpful. And the Knicks are deep, but their depth is olllllld. The problem I see with them is...do the pieces fit? Or did they just put together a bunch of decent-to-good players and hope for the best? We'll see - could go either way.

As for the bolded part, I'd go easy there. Yes, they did really well with Woodson - for 24 games. The way they were playing under D'Antoni (Melo not giving a crap), a new coach was bound to light a fire under them. This scenario has played out a ton of times in sports. I wouldn't anoint Woodson based on those games, and I wouldn't say the Knicks are a very good team under him. The Heat had the easiest time in the playoffs against them, and the roster still has holes. Now, they could be a very good team, but I wouldn't say they are right now for certain. Time will tell...

 

[Grahambo]

The Knicks will be a 3-4 seed this year. Amare has been working with The Dream on his post-up game, he also has gotten back to his usual playing weight while Melo has also gotten in much better shape.

The roster is good enough for 3-4 seed but the question remains about who will they matchup against in the playoffs. That's why having a 3-4 seed is vital. You avoid Miami in the 1st round.

I believe the Olympics have really helped Melo in the sense of him playing with other star players. He can adapt.

With Felton running point, turnovers will be trimmed and defense at the point will be better then with Lin there.

Tyson is a top 3 defender, Amare with a post up and his jumper (mind you.he dealt with the unexpected death of his brother last season), Melo with the right attitude and shades of defense, depth...3-4 seed should be very attainable. That plus at the very least a 1st round series win should be the absolute minimum this year.

Anything else, realistically speaking, is a failure.

 

[NDinFL]

Lots of ifs and buts in there Grahambo

I think it's funny that the Pacers are being left out of any kind of playoff contender discussion.

They brought back all of the key pieces and added Augustin to their already deep bench.

 

[Grahambo]

Lots of ifs and buts in there Grahambo

I think it's funny that the Pacers are being left out of any kind of playoff contender discussion.

They brought back all of the key pieces and added Augustin to their already deep bench.

Well, a lot of teams play the if and but game. Everything has to break right for a team to succeed. Injuries are unpredictable.

I think Indy can make a 4-5 seed.

 

[NDinFL]

Well, a lot of teams play the if and but game. Everything has to break right for a team to succeed. Injuries are unpredictable.

I think Indy can make a 4-5 seed.

Just givin ya a hard time.

It should make for a great season, I'd love to see Indy get another crack at Miami in the playoffs

 

[gkIrish]

Sixers > Knicks now.

Barring major injuries Knicks are guaranteed at least 4 seed. Magic and hawks will be way down. I can't see the pacers celtics and bulls (minus d rose) all having better records. I think the sixers are clearly a less capable team. They were a lower seed last year. Bynum is one of the frailest players in the nba and they lose Iguodala who is a great defender and talented scorer. The Knicks will have a very deep bench which sets them apart from the majority of the top 10 nba teams. Ronnie brewer is the 12th man and he started a bunch of games for the bulls last year!!!

 

[gkIrish]

I do agree with this, but now that Woodson is their fulltime coach, they are at worst 4th best in the East. Carmello, Amare, Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert(if healthy) Landry Fields, Raymond Felton, and JR Smith is a pretty solid 7 players not to mention Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby( I know, both these guys are ancient, but they will play), and Steve Novak, you have a pretty deep Knick team. LA, OKC, the Heat, Bulls(with D Rose), and San Antonio are in a completely different tier of teams than the Knicks. But the Knicks will be competitors this year.

I really hope Iman Shumpert receovers fully from his ACL because he has the athleticism to be one of the better young guards in the league.

What you guys have missed is the Knicks sucked with D'antoni. With Woodson they are a very good team.

Landry's on the Raptors now

 

[notredomer23]

Landry's on the Raptors now

Idk how I missed that. Haha. Thanks though. Either way, my point stands

 

[Ironman8]

Rather have Ronnie Brewer than Landry Fields anyway.

 

[NDinL.A.]

I believe the Olympics have really helped Melo in the sense of him playing with other star players. He can adapt.

With Felton running point, turnovers will be trimmed and defense at the point will be better then with Lin there.

Amare with a post up and his jumper (mind you.he dealt with the unexpected death of his brother last season), Melo with the right attitude and shades of defense, depth.

All this is plausible.

However, I don't think those things will happen. Did you see Felton with Portland last year? He was AWFUL. Just ask their fans. How do you think you got him so easily? He was out of shape and blamed the lockout (LOL). He was a MAJOR cancer in the locker room and was a huge reason they fired their (successful) coach, blaming the coach for his poor play. He shot 40% from the field, 30% from 3, and seemed to blame everyone but himself for his poor play. And he is not as good in a slow it down system.

Having said that...he is still pretty young, and thrived in his short time in New York (under a different system though), and played really well with A'mare. It could have been just a bad year. So there is hope (let's see if he shows up in shape).

I'm not feeling it with A'mare. Lots of guys have worked with Dream and still suck in the post. Howard and (I think) LeBron come to mind. (Incidentally, Kobe's work with the Dream did wonders for his post game). The thing with him is his knees. He came back strong with the Knicks from that major surgery, but like I said, D'antoni used him up and burnt him out to the point where he hasn't been the same since the middle of 2 seasons ago when he was playing like 43 high pressure minutes a game and ruining his knees.

Same with Melo. He was with these guys in '08 and he still came back the same Melo. Dude is a superstar, just an unbelievable scorer, but I want to see him commit to playing great basketball consistently before I call him 'back'. He needs to grow up. Last year's "Now I've committed to playing defense" line (paraphrased) after Woodson was hired was ridiculous. Should've always committed to playing defense. That's why you keep losing in the 1st round of the playoffs.

But again, it's plausible what you're saying. IF those things come through (aging depth is also an issue), they could very well get the #3 seed. They have the talent. But I'm dubious, personally. (I'm dubious with my Lakers as well, FWIW).

 

[Ironman8]

I think the Knicks will have a high seed more for the fact that every team in the East besides the Heat have a major flaw or serious issues, more so than the fact that I believe all the talent will come together. I hope that Chandler and Camby can protect the rim, and Brewer adds the perimeter defense we have been sorely lacking. Should be interesting to see.

Might as well fast forward to the Eastern and Western Conference finals though. I will be beyond shocked if its not Heat v. Celtics, and Thunder v. Lakers.

 

[TheChosen1]

He'll be playing for a new coach after today. Mike Brown Fired

 

[irishff1014]

Yup they were taling about his tight leash when they then said he gone.

 

[NDdomer2]

Please oh Please bring back Phil, extremely doubtful but would make my day!

 

[Ironman8]

I will die laughing if they hire D'Antoni

 

[NDdomer2]

I will die laughing if they hire D'Antoni

NOT ALLOWED!!!

 

[STLDomer]

Houston bound

That experiment didn't work too well, funny to read this thread back

 

[gkIrish]

Houston bound

That experiment didn't work too well, funny to read this thread back

Supposedly Dwight still hasn't made a final decision, despite the USA today report. He will definitely end up with the Rockets in any event

 

[NDdomer2]

hoping lakers get Lin and asik in sign and trade

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Surprise surprise, he's 50/50 on leaving LA. Nothing final yet.