Yeah, bye-bye Mike Brown. Clearly, Howard and Bryant didn't like him. Kobe you know, 'the death look' and Howard with the shrug and what the heck look. Anyways, I didn't see good leadership in Brown. They're contacting Mike DanToni and Phil Jackson. They both are successful coaches. They'll probably help the Lakers get back on their feet.
I honestly thought they were going to hire Phil Jackson. He has had experience with the Lakers and especially with Kobe. Kobe respects him. Dantoni is not a bad choice. But we'll see what will happen.
I haven't followed this whole coaching fiasco closely, but I would assume that Phil Jackson retired for a reason. That would most likely mean that if he really wanted the job again, he'd demand a lot of benefits. The Lakers probably weren't willing to satisfy his desires, and I'm not too surprised by this, despite the "95% sure" headlines.
I think D'Antoni is a good choice. Nash has played very successfully under his system before, so once he comes back from injury, the Lakers offense should see an improvement. And let's face it: even though it's a small sample size, the two games Nash has played in as a Laker were not exactly impressive, so D'Antoni may very well bring Nash back to the level of play that was expected of him when he was signed. It is true that D'Antoni's system is heavily offense-oriented, but if Dwight Howard can man the middle as the defensive stalwart he's supposed to be, the Lakers will be a tough team to beat.
This is all speculation though. A coaching change, no matter how drastic, isn't going to improve a team's situation if the players are the root of the problem. Pau needs to step his game up, and their bench needs to be improved somehow, especially with Jamison doing little to contribute to the team's welfare.
Harden has, not surprisingly, cooled down since his initial two-game burst. He's showing elements of a superstar, but he's not quite there yet. Lin has been doing alright. Basically the production I expected from him. He could be a more efficient scorer though; I've yet to see him hit >50% field goal percentage in any of his Rockets games so far. Overall, Houston isn't the playoff-ready team the media touted them as yet. Look for them to be a borderline playoff team.
In regards to the question I posed earlier: It seems like Jrue Holiday is going to be a breakout player this season. He's averaging 18.2 ppg and 9.5 apg. He could definitely improve his assist-to-turnover ratio, but the dude's looking good out there. When Bynum makes his debut, they could be a team to watch out for.
Memphis and New York have been unexpected surprises so far. Both blew out the Heat, the only two teams to give the Heat losses so far. The Grizzlies will have a chance to really prove themselves against the Thunder, while the Knicks are expecting the Spurs soon. They will be playing each other on the 16th, a match to look forward to.
And finally...Spurs start off strong. Again. Seems like in recent years, the Spurs have crushed their competition in the regular season but have been unable to convert that dominance to playoff form. Their roster looks pretty solid this year though, and Tim Duncan is playing like it's ten years ago. The only worrying factor is the absence of a reliable superstar. Duncan will inevitably wear out at some point in the season, and I haven't been too keen on Tony Parker since he lost that mid-range jump shot.
It is true that D'Antoni's system is heavily offense-oriented, but if Dwight Howard can man the middle as the defensive stalwart he's supposed to be, the Lakers will be a tough team to beat.
His system doesn't work with a oldish Lakers team. Run and gun offense isn't going to do it. Kobe and Nash aren't in their primes anymore. Gasol and Howard aren't meant for it either. This team is a half court oriented. If they can somehow, get the ball inside to Howard and Gasol, then they can space the floor for their shooters.
This is all speculation though. A coaching change, no matter how drastic, isn't going to improve a team's situation if the players are the root of the problem. Pau needs to step his game up, and their bench needs to be improved somehow, especially with Jamison doing little to contribute to the team's welfare.
I agree with this. Their bench, I think, has been slightly improved compared to last year's bench. There's a lot of improvement to be made but they're working their way towards it.
Memphis and New York have been unexpected surprises so far. Both blew out the Heat, the only two teams to give the Heat losses so far. The Grizzlies will have a chance to really prove themselves against the Thunder, while the Knicks are expecting the Spurs soon. They will be playing each other on the 16th, a match to look forward to.
Grizzlies so far are proving themselves against the Thunder. But still some time left right now. With Westbrook and Durant being athletic clutch players they can break away with a scoring run. Losing James Harden is big though. He made other players better. Kevin Martin is a different scorer then he is.
And finally...Spurs start off strong. Again. Seems like in recent years, the Spurs have crushed their competition in the regular season but have been unable to convert that dominance to playoff form. Their roster looks pretty solid this year though, and Tim Duncan is playing like it's ten years ago. The only worrying factor is the absence of a reliable superstar. Duncan will inevitably wear out at some point in the season, and I haven't been too keen on Tony Parker since he lost that mid-range jump shot.
Spurs should have won the Western conference finals last year. They had a commanding lead early but stumbled and lost it.
Other notable teams this year are the Bucks, Bobcats, Timberwolves, Hornets, Rockets, and Jazz. These are the 'improving teams' category.
Grizzlies so far are proving themselves against the Thunder. But still some time left right now. With Westbrook and Durant being athletic clutch players they can break away with a scoring run. Losing James Harden is big though. He made other players better. Kevin Martin is a different scorer then he is.
Memphis won. I'm sold. It's still early the season, and they're still a young, inexperienced team, but don't rule these guys out as contenders. Beating the two Finals teams by sizeable amounts is nothing to scoff at. These guys could be the 2004 Pistons of this season, beating everyone without a legitimate superstar but a very solid team. Main difference I see right now is that they aren't quite the defensive powerhouses that the Pistons were, but the stats suggest that they're in the top 10 of current teams defensively. I also think they're more offensively gifted.
Memphis has had a history of doing well in the regular season. But they have stumbled in the first round many times.
Several years ago, maybe, but this is a different team now. Two seasons ago, they beat the Spurs in the first round. Last season, they put up a good fight against the Clippers. And while I haven't followed the Grizzlies closely, I'm willing to bet that they didn't a record like this early in the past two seasons. Beating obvious contenders, too.
Knicks are finally defeated against the Grizzlies.
Several years ago, maybe, but this is a different team now. Two seasons ago, they beat the Spurs in the first round. Last season, they put up a good fight against the Clippers. And while I haven't followed the Grizzlies closely, I'm willing to bet that they didn't a record like this early in the past two seasons. Beating obvious contenders, too.
They have been gaining more experience every year. They might be able to contend this year. But remember OKC and Miami aren't playing at playoff level so we shouldn't be predicting the future yet.
Celtics will be contenders always with Rajon Rondo. He's a great ball distributor. If only he can shoot, he'll be Westbrook and CP3 combined. But obviously Rondo doesn't need to shoot. There's a load of jump shooters on the Celtics: Jason Terry, Pierce, Garnett, Courtney Lee, Brandon Bass, Jeff Green, Barbosa, etc. They need an inside game or a pure center so they can rebound. Especially going against the Lakers. Bulls and so on. Although lacking decent rebounding (Celtics are ranked dead last in rebounding) they still win games. That is all that matters.
