Comments on: D’Antoni tells Gasol he won’t bench him at end of games

By: mytthor

mytthor — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 05:24:49 +0000

It doesn’t matter if the Lakers barely edge into the playoffs, because if they can’t win 65% of their games going forward, they won’t do anything in the playoffs anyway. If they squeak in, who cares? No one in Lakerland considers a first round knockout a success.

On a related note, it always cracks me up when teams are worried about their playoff seeding so they “don’t have to face the Thunder (or whomever) until the conference finals.” If you don’t think you can beat them in the 2nd round, what’s the point in facing them in the 3rd?

By: eventhorizon04

eventhorizon04 — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 02:25:41 +0000

Lakers have 12 wins, so by your own math, they have to clear 36-20 (65%).
So far this season, they’ve been wining only 46% of their games (12-14 record).

Their next 10 opponents are the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers, Philadelphia 76ers, LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and OKC Thunder. Those are all playoff or near playoff teams.

If they make it through that 10 game stretch with mostly wins (say 7-3), they just need to finish the season 29-17 (63% win percentage), which is doable. A team that wins 63% of its games finishes an 82-game season with 52 wins and 30 losses – that’s equivalent to a mid-playoff-seed team, and the Lakers, in theory, should be able to play equivalent to a 4th or 5th seed team.

If they do poorly in that 10-game stretch, say 2-8, they have to go 34-12 (74%) to finish the season, or basically win 3 times for each loss. A team that wins 74% of its games finishes an 82-game season with 61 wins and 21 losses – that’s equivalent to an ELITE playoff team (top-2 seed). The Lakers would have to finish the year winning games at a very high rate.

After these 10-games, especially since they’ll have Pau for all of them and Nash for at least 9 of them, it’ll be easier to judge whether the Lakers are in serious trouble.

By: jerdogthompson

jerdogthompson — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:22:35 +0000

Rlink, you caught my “fat finger” mistake. You are correct. 36-20 is correct. Although the winning 65% of remaining games is absolutely correct. Honestly, they can remain healthy and not win 65%, you only have a small percentage of elite teams able to play at or above that win % currently. Even if they were able to get to that win % it would certainly take a while and by virtue of averages by the time they get to winning 65% the actual average will likely be somewhere closer to 45-50%.

Like I said, countdown to the inevitable headline has started which bums me slightly. I believe Los Angeles would benefit from an across the hall playoff between the Lakers & Clippers. I’m not a Laker fan but I’m routing for just that sort of matchup come playoffs, just don’t see how that’s possibly at the juncture. We shall see though.

By: rjlink1

rjlink1 — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:56:38 +0000

36-20, but point made. That’s realistically achievable and exceedable, if the team is as good with Nash as everyone expected. But if Nash goes down again, or Kobe gets hurt, it’s likely the Lakers miss the playoffs. In any event, the Lakers are not getting a top-4 seed, so any march through the playoffs is going to have to happen on the road.

By: hoodheisman

hoodheisman — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:50:02 +0000

I really don’t care for D’Antoni’s style at all. Rotations should not be determined over dinner. This should be dictated by game situations. Everything D’Antoni does has the look and feel of an assistant coach, not a head coach. Rebounding, defense, and turnovers are what’s hurting this team the most. This is addressed by a head coach that instills discipline and accountability. D’Antoni is just not cut out for this.

By: ndirishfan1

ndirishfan1 — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:15:24 +0000

D’Antoni can probably say this with a straight face, because if playing Howard and Gasol together doesn’t work Gasol is a goner.

By: jerdogthompson

jerdogthompson — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 21:38:35 +0000

I was doing some math earlier on what it would take for the Lakers to get to 48 wins and possibly (big giant possibly) capture an 8 seed in the West.

They would need to finish the season winning just about 65% of the remaining games. Possible? Sure. Albeit they have forgone the cushy portion of one of the cushiest schedules of any team in the NBA thus far. Most of their remaining are against teams that are vying for or pretty much locks for a playoff spot. I do also believe that a really good chunk of those games are on the road.

Put simply, they have to finish the remaining portion of the season 46-20 to have a chance at an 8 seed.

The countdown to “Lakers are mathematically eliminated” headline begins today. Best of luck ladies………

By: chargerdillon

chargerdillon — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 21:25:28 +0000

Laker fan here trying to ask the obvious question…..DOES IT MATTER?

Does it matter if Gasol is on the bench or on the court while Kobe is jacking up bad shots and not covering on defense at the end of games?

Gasols role on the court or bench mean absolutely nothing in the wake of how Kobe is playing all to himself.

If Gasol were traded tomorrow, NOTHING would change in the current way the Lakers are playing.

This is from a Laker fan who would love to see this team successful. It all starts and ends with Kobe.

By: fanofevilempire

fanofevilempire — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:05:55 +0000

Gasol is a very good player, either Howard or Gasol has to get touches
down low andwhen they get the touch do something, this line up is loaded.

By: fanofevilempire

fanofevilempire — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:02:28 +0000

what did they eat?

WTF!

By: aboogy123456

aboogy123456 — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:38:19 +0000

“They subbed each other out and D’Antoni went small with a lot of Metta World Peace at the four. It worked, by the way. ”

I don’t disagree that going small could work for the lakers but I watched this game closely and I think the big reason for their up and down performance was simply effort. They were not hustling on defense and losing all the loose balls during the 2nd and 3rd quarter and then they turned it on and made a comeback. In the first quarter, Gasol and Howard played very well together but then the whole team seemed to go flat until the crowd started booing them. Gasol does a great job feeding Howard down low and I think they make each other better, so I’d like to see them play together for the most part.