39 replies to this topic

[SBTarheel]

I've watched it 50 times, and I'm fairly sure he didn't see Harden there...Fair point on the elbow waving though.

How long do you see the suspension?

[mweb08]

I've watched it 50 times, and I'm fairly sure he didn't see Harden there...Fair point on the elbow waving though.

How long do you see the suspension?

He felt him though before he threw a crazy elbow into his head that was in no way a part of his celebration imo.

3-5 games.

[SBTarheel]

Yea, watching again and hearing Magic Johnson & Stephen A's take, I guess he didn't see him but did elbow him out of annoyance. 3-5 sounds fair.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I think he absolutely intentionally elbowed him and it makes me sick. First the Bynum stuff last year and now this?

I think he gets 10 games based on his past resume.

[SBTarheel]

I think he absolutely intentionally elbowed him and it makes me sick. First the Bynum stuff last year and now this?

I think he gets 10 games based on his past resume.

He intentionally elbowed, I agree, but I don't think he had any clue who it was, as in there was no intent to injure Harden. That could help him suspension wise.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Well the bottom line is he maliciously elbowed SOMEONE, which to me will earn him (rightfully) 10 games.

Other than that, I was glad to see the Lakers beat OKC. The Thunder are still very young, there is still some Westbrook/Durant drama and they still don't have the inside presence (particularly on offense).

They are beatable. I think the Lakers or Spurs will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

[mweb08]

I think my initial estimate of 3-5 games is too low. I think 5-7 is about right, and I can see 10.

[mweb08]

Well the bottom line is he maliciously elbowed SOMEONE, which to me will earn him (rightfully) 10 games.

Other than that, I was glad to see the Lakers beat OKC. The Thunder are still very young, there is still some Westbrook/Durant drama and they still don't have the inside presence (particularly on offense).

They are beatable. I think the Lakers or Spurs will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

Sure, they're beatable, but they would still be the favorite against the Lakers imo.

I don't really take yesterday as much of a positive. The Lakers needed a big comeback and two OT's to win despite Durant and Westbrook having awful shooting games and Harden getting knocked out of the game late in the 1st half.

On a related note, it will be interesting to see how Bynum deals being left on the bench for so long.

[mweb08]

7 games for Ron.

[PD24]

Am I nuts for thinking Artest didn't elbow Harden on purpose?

I'm right there with you!

Glad I found someone who agrees with me.

He didn't do that on purpose...

[PD24]

And after reading the rest of the thread, you don't agree with me after all. LOL.

He either didn't mean to do it, or is just a very unstable human being...

I guess the former is widely accepted, but still...

[SportsGuy]

I am really interested to see what the Lakers do this offseason.

I think they will try and trade Bynum and Gasol. Bynum for Howard and Gasol dealt for some solid pieces.

What I wonder is if the Lakers would amnesty the 19 million owed to (if thy can't trade him or get a package thy like) and just try and use that money to sign DWill or Nash and other pieces.

[mweb08]

I am really interested to see what the Lakers do this offseason.

I think they will try and trade Bynum and Gasol. Bynum for Howard and Gasol dealt for some solid pieces.

What I wonder is if the Lakers would amnesty the 19 million owed to (if thy can't trade him or get a package thy like) and just try and use that money to sign DWill or Nash and other pieces.

What you wonder won't happen because they're well over the cap, so it's not like they'd have the money for DWill even if they did clear 19M, plus the Buss The Younger has shown that he is concerned about keeping costs down. So they won't amnesty a guy who has trade value in order to spend more money.

Young Buss also loves Bynum and has kept him from being traded before, and I expect that to continue unless Drew doesn't want to sign a new deal.

[SportsGuy]

Then they should deal Kobe.

[mweb08]

Then they should deal Kobe.

No trade clause.

He's very valuable to the franchise economically.

Even if he consented, I wouldn't think his value would be that high given his age and contract.

I'm assuming that they go with Kobe and Bynum plus the role players and whatever they can get for Gasol. Probably a couple minor additional moves as well.

[SportsGuy]

Sign Nash?

[mweb08]

Sign Nash?

Nash is going to have his choice of teams. If you were him, would the Lakers be your first choice?

[SportsGuy]

Nash is going to have his choice of teams. If you were him, would the Lakers be your first choice?

Sure, why not? They can win it all with the right offseason.

[mweb08]

Nash is going to have his choice of teams. If you were him, would the Lakers be your first choice?

Sure, why not? They can win it all with the right offseason.

Your first choice? Really?

Ok, here's some reasons:

- He wants to win a title and the Lakers clearly aren't the best bet for that.
- Kobe is going to be 34.
- Kobe has never co-existed with a true PG that needs the ball a lot, and it is very much in question if that would work well.
- The Lakers are slow and relatively unathletic, Nash likes to play at a faster pace and likes setting up guys for dunks.
- The Lakers don't have great outside shooters, who would be recipients of Nash passes.
- I'm not sure if he really likes Kobe all that much.
- The Lakers can't offer the mid-level exception.

[mweb08]

http://nba-point-for... ... rs-future/

Good article on the Lakers going forward.