Lakers wont make the playoffs with Mike D'Antoni as a coach.

[DatAsh]

They won't make the playoffs if they're missing 2 of their stars for the entire season as a very top heavy team.

Duhon, Morris, Ebanks, MWP, Hill and Jamison just won't cut it.

Metta and Jamison are better than anyone the Heat had outside of the big 3 their first year together, and they still made the finals; also, remember that they started out 9-8. I still think we need to give this team more time before making final judgement. I'd be very, very surprised if this team didn't make the playoffs.

They're not all healthy right now, but when they are, with Kobe, Howard, Gasol, Nash, Metta, Meeks, Jamison, and Hill, they're arguably the most talented team not only in the league, but in recent history. Unfortunately, winning basketball isn't always about talent. It's more about maximizing that talent, building chemistry, and working as a team. This team still needs more time to gel.

[stephanieg]

The Onion nailed it early.

[ihoopallday]

Metta and Jamison are better than anyone the Heat had outside of the big 3 their first year together, and they still made the finals; also, remember that they started out 9-8. I still think we need to give this team more time before making final judgement. I'd be very, very surprised if this team didn't make the playoffs.

They're not all healthy right now, but when they are, with Kobe, Howard, Gasol, Nash, Metta, Meeks, Jamison, and Hill, they're arguably the most talented team not only in the league, but in recent history. Unfortunately, winning basketball isn't always about talent. It's more about maximizing that talent, building chemistry, and working as a team. This team still needs more time to gel.

The main difference in this situation is Miami's big three were all in their primes. Lakers isn't. Also, Wade was willing to take a back seat to LeBron. Do you think Kobe will do that once their team is 100%?

[Whoah10115]

Artest sucks. He isn't better than any good player. He's genuinely ass. Don't let decent moments and decent games blind it. He's a shitty player, even when he does something good.

[Whoah10115]

The Lakers will make the playoffs with D'Antoni.

[thesage]

personally, i see a shift in the metagame to having more tankier champions. theres been a recent change of rushing spell vamp items for longer sustain. this leads to a better laning phase, especially before the first back. this leads to either a tier 3 item for first buy or even boots+2 dorans (for middle). even the new masteries are changing the game. ap carries are experimenting with 9-0-21 for all of the great bonuses that also contribute to an amazing early laning phase. with points into pickpocketing and starting gold, middle's can start with more than 3 pots, and even wards. even with the new introduction of the crystalline flask as a startable item, middles have been farming the shit out of early game. im not sure, does anyone think that this is a good shift for the game? or will it just make teamfights more epic? let me know guys!

[The-Legend-24]

Kobe played another 45 minutes, wtf is D'Antoni thinking playing him so much? Does he not know that Kobe is 34?

And lol @ J.Hill only playing 3 minutes. C'mon man.

[Doranku]

Kobe played another 45 minutes, wtf is D'Antoni thinking playing him so much? Does he not know that Kobe is 34?

And lol @ J.Hill only playing 3 minutes. C'mon man.

What other options does he have? A tired, worn down Kobe in the playoffs is better than no playoffs at all which is where the Lakers are headed now. Imagine if Kobe was only playing 35 minutes a game. They'd be losing every night by 40.

[The-Legend-24]

What other options does he have? A tired, worn down Kobe in the playoffs is better than no playoffs at all which is where the Lakers are headed now. Imagine if Kobe was only playing 35 minutes a game. They'd be losing every night by 40.

I guess you're right, but still..

[DMV2]

Kobe played another 45 minutes, wtf is D'Antoni thinking playing him so much? Does he not know that Kobe is 34?

And lol @ J.Hill only playing 3 minutes. C'mon man.

That's D'Antoni rotation for ya. He's willing to run every starter down to the ground in the regular season just to score 110 points per game.

What other options does he have? A tired, worn down Kobe in the playoffs is better than no playoffs at all which is where the Lakers are headed now. Imagine if Kobe was only playing 35 minutes a game. They'd be losing every night by 40.

There's an option of playing defense so you wouldn't need Kobe's scoring so much to keep up.

I've seen the shitty Jazz 10th-12th men bench outperform their starters numerous times last year and the years before. They just knew how to play collectively as a unit.

That's what the Lakers need to do. But knowing how D'Antoni works, there's absolutely no chance of anybody beyond the 8th man ever getting more than 10+ mins in a game.

[strifed169]

its pretty hilarious to watch the scape goat shift from person to person

if any fanbase deserved such misery, its this team

[Clutch]

I don't know why some people think Steve Nash will turn things around.
Their main problem is defense and he's not really a defensive juggernaut.

And D'Antoni's system will never work with this team. He wants his 38 years old point guard,34 years old shooting guard,33 years old small forward,32 years old power forward who can't shoot threes and his 6'11 center who can't even shoot free throws to run up and down the court for 40 minutes and launch a huge amount of threes while playing no defense at all.
Sounds like a good plan

[longtime lurker]

What other options does he have? A tired, worn down Kobe in the playoffs is better than no playoffs at all which is where the Lakers are headed now. Imagine if Kobe was only playing 35 minutes a game. They'd be losing every night by 40.

I don't know actually coach defense or rest his starters when the game is out of hand.

[White Mamba]

What other options does he have? A tired, worn down Kobe in the playoffs is better than no playoffs at all which is where the Lakers are headed now. Imagine if Kobe was only playing 35 minutes a game. They'd be losing every night by 40.

no reason to Kobe to be on the court down by 26 points, its stupid let him rest especially on a B2B. now he is risking the Wizards game too.

[IamRAMBO24]

I don't know why you guys are blaming the coach when Kobe DICTATES the offense. Even with Brown, Kobe was the facilitator.

Screw me once (Brown), shame on you.

Screw me twice (D'antonio), shame on me.

Team leader's responsibility: chemistry, mentor, getting teammates inolved in the offense, vision, purpose, drive, etc.

I would say Kobe's role on the Lakers is more important than the coach since he holds so much weight.

If you don't like the direction of the team, don't blame the coach, blame Kobe. He controls the organization.