The Perpetual NBA Thread

[corbon44]

Is Larry Brown still head coach of the Pistons? Haven't seen him for some time. Anyone know the story?

[ILuvDetailing]

Is Larry Brown still head coach of the Pistons? Haven't seen him for some time. Anyone know the story?

Yup he still is. He just had surgery, don't know if its another hip surgery. He's still recovering.

[corbon44]

good to hear...fave coach ko pa naman siya!

share ko lang observation nung friend ko...medyo matagal na e, pero ngayon ko lang din na-realize: last year Ron Artest wore the number 23 (ehem) jersey; ended up with one of the best seasons in his career. this year, before being suspended, he wore the number 91 jersey (buti naman at hindi niya binago hair color niya)...may psychological effect kaya yon?

[theveed]

For me, the MVP should be the player that contributed MOST to a team's success, for that, I'd pick Nash...

[artpogi]

Yep, Nash turned the Suns into contenders, same as what Kidd did to the Nets a few seasons back.

[wulf]

bye lakers...

mag yao ming muna ako! go rockets, chance of making the finals are lukin good, ala si duncan, la din mavs, suns na lang ang puzzle!

really?mavs have been doing well despite not having dampier & stackhouse on board...w/ kvh pa,& a healthy line-up,i think d mavs are going to make some heads turn come playoff time,esp if duncan really is hurt

[ILuvDetailing]

Kieth Van Horn's gonna choke in the Playoffs, he's more of a regular season player, in the playoffs kabado yan, unless he proves otherwise The Mavs are a perimeter team they live and die with their jump shots, not good in the playoffs.

[theveed]

Mavs are even tougher now since they're playing great D with Avery coaching...

Oh another LA Drama hehe

Atkins, Bryant shrug off latest Lakers controversy
By JOHN NADEL, AP Sports Writer
March 28, 2005

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- Drama seems to follow the Los Angeles Lakers, win or lose.

During the past five years, when the Lakers were winning, there was always something between Shaq and Kobe, Shaq and Phil or Kobe and Phil.

Now that Shaquille O'Neal is playing in Miami and Phil Jackson is out of coaching -- at least for the moment -- the Lakers are Kobe Bryant's team.

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And they're losing. Los Angeles has dropped eight straight, the second-longest losing streak since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960.

Bryant was at the center of another controversy Monday, albeit not of his own doing.

First-year Lakers guard Chucky Atkins was asked before Sunday night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers what offseason moves he'd make to improve the team.

``I ain't no GM. Ask Kobe. He's the GM. It's his team,'' Atkins said.

The 30-year-old Atkins seemed to backtrack almost immediately. Following the Lakers' 96-89 loss to the 76ers, he acknowledged that while confidence and morale were down, team members were ``too professional to point fingers.''

Following Monday's practice, Atkins acknowledged it was ``very possible'' that what he meant to say wasn't what came out, although he insisted the reporter questioning him had been trying to get him to say something negative about Bryant for weeks.

``I don't think you should try to divide my team,'' Atkins said. ``We're not going to splinter. Kobe's my man. Me and Kobe have developed a relationship where anything I have to say to him, I can say to his face. I'm in a no-win situation.''

Only Atkins knows his true feelings.

``We're in a bad situation right now,'' he said. ``We know that.''

The Lakers (32-37), who will try to end their current skid on Tuesday night against the New York Knicks, lost their last 10 games of the 1993-94 season to finish with a 33-49 record. That was the last time they failed to qualify for the playoffs, something that will happen this year barring a complete turnaround in the last 13 games and prolonged slumps by two of the three teams immediately above them.

Bryant, the NBA's second-leading scorer, supported Atkins.

``We really didn't have much of a conversation (Monday),'' Bryant said. ``He was pretty adamant about how it happened, that it was taken out of context. Everybody here sticks together. We're not going to let anybody divide us.

``If you guys are here to stir something up, you're not going to get it out of me. All we want to do is come here, work hard, play basketball. We had a great day of work. There's nothing going on.''

Lakers coach Frank Hamblen smiled when asked about the latest controversy, mentioning the problems the team had while it was winning.

``You always expect harmony to some degree,'' he said. ``Guys aren't going to be best friends. You've got to work together. Anything that's said in the paper is probably out of frustration.''

Notes

Lamar Odom, the Lakers' second-leading scorer, said he won't play Tuesday night, missing his fifth game because of a slight tear and bruised rotator cuff in his left shoulder. ``At this point of the season, it's frustrating,'' he said, adding he wasn't sure when he would be cleared to play. ... Jackson, the former and perhaps future coach of the Lakers, was at the team's practice facility Monday, but not to talk about a job. Jeanie Buss, his girlfriend and daughter of owner Jerry Buss, said she and Jackson had lunch.

[kimpOy]

yeah, mas nagkaroon ng direction ang MAVS dahil sa little general, remember avery is the outspoken leader of the spurs kahit si david robinson tumutupi kapag siya na ang nagsalita.

on keith van horn, iba ang scenario ngayon hindi na siya 1st or 2nd option tulad dati nung nasa nets siya. he's playing a supporting role to dirk/finley

[ILuvDetailing]

True, but still am not sold on KVH. We'll have to wait till the playoffs if he still chokes.

Speaking of another choker, Peja Stojokavich comes to mind. Only Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson had the guts to take big shots for the Kings.