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Welcome to the Kandi-Men, This week we go three-man weave
with Kobe's standing as a Laker, Celtics getting old, OKC vs Memphis, Hawks
being Legit and All-Star Snubs!
Kobe is now the Lakers all-time leading scorer- where do you place him as all-time Lakers ?
Mariner Eccles: Kobe is number 3, behind Kareem and Magic. I think when someone mentions Lakers, the first 3 guys you think of are Magic, Kareem, and Kobe, in that order. And so therefore, thats the order they are.
John Mitchell: At this moment, I would put Kobe #2 on my list of best Lakers of all time. Right now, I would still have to put Magic Johnson #1 on the list above Kobe. Now, if Kobe ends his career as a Laker, I have no doubt that he will surpass Magic on my all time list. Magic is ahead of Kobe for the main reason of how he led the Lakers in his 13 year career. He led them to 9! NBA Finals
appearances and won five of them. Magic led the Lakers to complete dominance in his time there. Kobe on the other hand had three down years in Los Angeles where the Lakers missed the postseason once and grabbed the seventh seed twice losing in the first round both times. If Kobe can get one more ring that may be enough to push him to #1 on the all time list.
David Snipes: Sorry, but I've got Kobe 4 right now- everyone that knows me knows I got Mikan at 1, then Magic, then Kareem then Kobe- to me Kobe has a MAJOR strike against him.
He only has 1 title as the greatest player on his team.
You can bring up the MVPs, the records and all that- but when you look at the Lakers (and
Celtics) it starts with a ring- you can lead the league in points,assists and rebounds for a decade- but no rings means no love on my list of all-timers- now put Kobe in Philly or Houston? He's way up there- but in LakerLand or Celticville you start with rings. NOTE: The only reason Shaq is behind Kobe is I can't stand
Shaq - I'm almost willing to go Wilt before Kobe
Dan Vachalek: I would place him as number 3. I
think that West and Kareem beat him out. Kobe is a prolific player. I just
don't see him as an all-around GREAT player. I see him as an awesome scorer
and ball-handler. Assists and rebounds aren't his area of expertise. Kareem
had a lot of rebounds, and West could do it all, plus, he helped assist a
lot of NBA Championships. I see Kobe still behind Kareem and West.
Are the Celtics too old to compete?
Mariner: I have said the Celtics are overrated since getting Garnett. Now granted, they proved me wrong by appearing in the NBA Finals two years ago, and by losing the Conference Championship last year. However, I think people were acting like they were going to be a dynasty automatically and that hasnt materialized. Do I think they are too old to compete? Not yet. But they are getting there.
John: I wouldn't say so. They have been struggling, but I think they are still going to contend for the Eastern Conference Championship this season. From what I've heard they could actually be shopping Ray Allen right now because of his recent struggles in hopes of garnering another piece to surpass Cleveland. In my opinion, this could be Boston's last chance with this team. I think they should keep Ray Allen and make one last run at the title and then look at trading him this offseason or trying to bring in a marquee free agent. They have a young player that they will eventually build the team around in Rajon Rondo, but I do believe they can compete this season.
David: I would say no- only because of Rondo- But they need a good draw in the playoffs- they run into the Hawks/Magic/Cavs back to back and they have issues. The Wallace deal was a joke, and thats coming from a UNC fan. the Celtics need a move- or they need KG to be at 100% to have a chance. Dan:
I don't think so. They haven't been showing siigns that they are unable to
compete, but since they are still in the top 3 of the Eastern Conference,
they are still doing fine right now. Yeah, it's the Eastern Conference and
they wouldn't be doing as well if they were in the Western Conference, but
they are still competing.
How serious do you take the Hawks?
Mariner: I like the Hawks. They nearly ousted the Celtics in the first round of last year's playoffs and they have an excellent nucleus with Horford and Joe Johnson. I think they can make a deep playoff run, but I dont think they can get to the FInals and win it all. They still need a few extra pieces, but they are very youthful and have alot to build on. I expect this team to contend for years, only as long as they can keep this core team intact.
John: I take them seriously, but I don't expect them to break through into the NBA Finals this season. They are currently 30-16 (2/2/10) and third place in the Eastern Conference. Joe Johnson is one of the most underrated superstars in the NBA as he quietly has led the Hawks to be one of the elite teams in the East. They are fun team to watch, but to be honest, I don't like how they match up against Cleveland or Orlando in a seven game series. I do however like the way they match up with Boston, they've beaten the Celtics all three times they've matched up this season.
David: I think are like the Chargers in the NFL - great as a video game team- could be a dark horse- could win by 30 or lose by 50. This team had 3 legit candidates for the All-Star team. Problem is, they need someone to grab Joe Johnson by the throat and get everyone's attention- you put Joe Dumars in uniform or even Sam Cassell and this team is freaky, put a Chuck Daly/Pat Riley/ type coach on here and this team is a 60 game winner, easy. Problem is- some team is going to slow them in half court, beat on big Al and make JJ drop 40 on them to do something. If I was the ATL I give up a couple of picks to get Ty Lawson from Denver. Dan:
I take them as a contender, who can get the 6th seed or better in the
Eastern Conference. I take them as a good team with Al Horford, Josh Smith,
JOe Johnson, Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford all on the team. I think that is
a pretty good lineup and able to scare any team away.
Are there any major snubs for the All-Star reserves (and if you put someone in, you have to take someone out)
Mariner: Al Horford should be gone and Brook Lopez should be in there. Yes, the Nets are 4-42, but Lopez is clearly All-Star worthy if Horford is.
The numbers:
|
G |
GS |
MPG |
FG% |
3p% |
FT% |
OFF |
DEF |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
BPG |
TO |
PF |
PPG |
| Horford |
46 |
46 |
34.3 |
0.567 |
1.000 |
0.758 |
2.7 |
6.9 |
9.6 |
2.2 |
0.7 |
1.2 |
1.4 |
2.9 |
13.3 |
| Lopez |
46 |
46 |
36.4 |
0.498 |
0.000 |
0.830 |
3.3 |
6.0 |
9.3 |
2.2 |
0.8 |
2.1 |
2.5 |
3.3 |
18.9 |
They are almost identical in alot of categories, despite playing the same number of games, but Lopez averages 5.6 ppg more than Horford, and the last time I checked, scoring points is the way you win games. Now granted, the Nets are awful, but through no fault of Brook Lopez. He needs to be there. he deserves it. Especially since something good needs to come out of this crappy season.
John: In the East, the biggest snub had to be David Lee of the Knicks. And I would have put him in over Al Hoford. Look at the stats.
Lee: 47 Games 19.6 PPG 11.5 RPG 3.5 APG
Horford: 46 Games 13.3 PPG 9.6 RPG 2.2 APG
In my mind, there is no reason that Horford should be on the All Star team in place of David Lee.
On the Western conference team, there is a player in Los Angeles that made it over the other team in Los Angeles' best player. That is Pau Gasol over Chris Kaman, and I don't see how Kaman is not an All Star. Look at the stats:
Kaman: 41 Games 20.2 PPG 9.1 RPG 1.8 APG
Gasol: 32 Games 17.2 PPG 10.9 RPG 3.3 APG
The stats are close, but the main reason I don't think Pau deserves to be an All Star is that he has been battling injuries all season long. Kaman other than the recent injury, has played most of the season, and deserves to be rewarded for his performance. I'm a Lakers fan and think Pau shouldn't be an All Star.
David: For once I'm happy - I really can't complain about the reserves. Sorry.
Dan: David Lee is a snub. I would take out Allen
Iverson. He isn't playing like an All-Star. Only 14.4 points per game for
someone who plays 31.4 minutes per game and has a main position of SHOOTING
guard, is not an all-star. Plus, he's only played 25 games, and hasn't been
playing up to his normal self what-so-ever (about 30 points per game). I
don't want this player on my All-Star roster this year. Instead, I want a
top player in the league this year. playing like a true All-Star. 19.6
points per game, 11.5 rebounds per game and is doing this while on the
Knicks. He should definitely be an All-Star over Iverson.
Do you see Memphis and OKC actually fighting for a playoff spot all year?
Mariner: I dont see it in Memphis. They will tail off at the end of the year, but OKC is alot like the Hawks in the talent they have, and the good young nucleus they are building around. They may not make the playoffs this year, but they will contend. And in a few years, when Kobe is gone from the NBA, the NBA will become the Kevin Durant show, and OKC will be the cream of the crop.
John: I expected the Thunder to be in this situation, they have a ton of young talent and have one of the rising superstars on their team in Kevin Durant who has already ascended into one of the top 10 players in the NBA. As for the Grizzlies, they caught me off guard, I didn't see them being this good. Who would have thought it would have been Zach Randolph that came into an organization and lit a fire under them to lead them to being the current #8 seed in the Western Conference and is an All Star. I think these teams can compete all season long, but I'm not sure either team will end up in the playoffs. I like Houston's chances of getting in over both of those teams, but if I had to pick one, I would say the Thunder have the better chance of getting into the postseason.
David: I can see both blowing by PHX and making the playoffs now that CP3 is hurt. The big question is how excited is TNT going to be if its Durant vs Kobe round 1- think they are not happy if they get Zach Randolph vs Artest in round 1 and Jefferson vs Jeff Green?
Dan: I don't see them fighting for a playoff spot
this year. Next year, I could see that. They have young squads that have
talent, but I don't think that they have matured enough (yeah, Durant has...
but the rest of the team has not). I would give them one more year before I
say that they will/can start competing for a playoff spot.
Submitted 2/3/2010
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