Official Wmc Thread: Um Those Too Many W's! Fix The Tank!

I hear you, but what else the alternative at present? Actually, I would argue that I would rather suffer the last two seasons, get two rookies with high upside they you could potentially move in a trade if a superstar is available then being stuck in mediocrity for the foreseeable future.

 

I don't disagree. I think the future is better than it looks right now. I think we will land a top pick and Mitch is gonna make some serious moves over the summer.

But as a spoiled Laker fan, this has really sucked.

 

The Knicks are picking it up, they are 5-2 the last 7 including beating us. We can overtake (or is it undertake?) them. T-Wolves have Rubio and Kevin Martin back, hopefully they can win a few now. What we don't need are someone like the Magic, Celts, Jazz or Kings suddenly taking a turn for the worst. I'd like to see us get to #2 which is a 55% or so chance of a top 3 pick, and likely no lower than 4.

 

lol...undertake...appropriate.

and yeah, that's what I meant in my previous post about Orlando, boston, or Utah committing to the tank. those teams can really pile up losses if they choose; it wouldn't even look that bad. Orlando and boston are in the east, and Utah's got some decent talent on the roster, so those things work in the lakers' favor. it's key to lose the head-to-heads against these teams, unlike last year.

I'm also really pulling for the knicks to run off some moral victories. I think it's possible.

 

With Phil running the show, I can definitely see the Knicks running off some moral victories. With him and Fisher already feeling the heat in NYC, I would think Jackson would want to end the season on a potential high note and quiet as much of the criticism of his regime as he can.

 

Well we all know what we need to do but if too many of these "feel good" wins this happens........

 

I would be pretty surprised if we don't end up with someone out of the Love/Rondo/Dragic trio and at least one other solid free agent like a Greg Monroe. I know everyone debates just how much any of those guys will help, but I think adding them along with Randle and another Top 5 pick puts us at least back to respectability.

 

Great breakdown. I'm sticking to my 20 win prediction with Hill gone and Swaggy nursing injuries. I think we are about to see some even more "interesting" line-ups by Byron.

 

I don't see many more of them to be honest. I think we have a shot at a few wins in February, but we play a lot of teams that I think will be fighting for playoff position in March-April. We win 8 to 10 more games at best.

 

If we finish with the worst or SECOND worst record in the league, we basically KEEP our pick is my understanding. If we finish 3rd or 4th worst though, it's not a guarantee, and we can still fall to 6th or 7th. I think we need to get to third at the VERY least, but second is still attainable. I think Philly ends with the worst record, but Minny just got Rubio and Kevin Martin and Pekovic all back, so I am hoping they are going to start winning some games and avoid being the worst team in the west...Knicks are on a mini roll, so I expect them to eventually pass us up (unless they shut Melo down after ASG, then I'm not really sure).

Agreed Abeer, Orlando, Boston and Utah are so dang good at tanking its scary. We have to be very wary of them after ASG, especially the Celtpricks.

 

I think it's right, I have an explanation in my head but I cant put it into words. Something along the lines of: at the 5th spot, all it takes is one of the other lottery teams to jump into the top 5 and we are out.

 

Regarding Will Ferrell clocking the cheerleader for the movie with the basketball, you said this:

You're so damn smart ......

Will Ferrell Tells Us the Story Behind His NBA Game Stunt
Kevin PolowySenior EditorFebruary 3, 2015



When Will Ferrell acted like a drunken fool and drilled a cheerleader in the head (more on that below) with a basketball at an NBA game last month, he didn’t expect it to be that big of a deal. After all, his on-court shenanigans were for a scene in his upcoming comedy Daddy’s Home.

"For some reason, I still have blinders on when we do things like that," Ferrell told Yahoo Movies last week when we asked if the production had anticipated fan footage of the scene going viral. Director Sean Anders said they thought it might “be floating around YouTube, but the fact that it was all over Yahoo and Google and everything the next morning was surprising to us.”

Watch a fan video of the scene shoot:





In the movie, Ferrell plays Brad, a sweet-natured radio exec who treasures being a stepfather to his new wife’s two children. But Brad’s life quickly unravels when the kids’ biological father Dusty (Mark Wahlberg, who first teamed with Ferrell in the 2010 hit The Other Guys) re-emerges. When Brad scores Lakers tickets to impress his Kobe Bryant-worshipping stepson, Dusty responds with courtside seats. This sets up the scene that played out in front of roughly 16,000 fans at Smoothie King Arena, home of the New Orleans Pelicans on Jan. 21. Brad, left by his lonesome in the seats he purchased, drowns his misery in beer. At halftime, it’s announced that one lucky fan will have a chance to win tickets to Disney World by attempting a half-court shot. And that lucky fan is a now-inebriated Brad.

When photos and video of the film shoot hit the Internet, most readers appeared to be entertained by Ferrell’s live stunt. But two other factions emerged: Those who were not amused by the film’s use of perceived violence against women for humor’s sake; and those who were convinced the whole thing was real.

Watch 'The Insider's' coverage of the stunt:





"People were saying I should be sued," Ferrell said. "Or even people who knew it was part of the movie, they were like, ‘Why did he use a real basketball?’" (For the record, it was a Nerf-style soft ball.) Comedian Hannibal Buress, who has a supporting role in the movie, said there was so much anti-Ferrell sentiment in the comments on the link that he posted on his Facebook fan page, that he ended up removing the post.

Anders said it took months of coordinating with the arena, the NBA, and the Lakers and Pelicans to plan the scene. The cast and crew arrived at the arena at 2:00 p.m. that afternoon to rehearse, and the game started at 7:00 p.m. Just as halftime began, a PA announcement was made to the crowd telling them to stay in their seats to see a scene filmed for a new Ferrell–Wahlberg movie. All they knew was that they would be watching Ferrell attempt a half-court shot.




The movie’s “cheerleader,” stuntwoman Taryn Terrell


Though the production only had six minutes, they were able to film the scene twice. “Your adrenaline starts going, and you’re like, ‘It’s gonna be a bummer if I miss her on the first throw, because that will give away the gag,” Ferrell explained. He made direct hits both times on the woman playing the cheerleader, stuntwoman, actress, and former WWE wrestler Taryn Terrell. “She’s tougher than I am,” says Ferrell.




The moment Ferrell grabs the prop ball


If you watch the videos closely, you can see the moment when the actual basketball is replaced with the softer stunt prop. “I dribbled it a couple times, then I hold it. Then [the announcer] takes it away, and then I grab the [prop] ball from the guys behind us,” Ferrell explained before pausing for a moment. “I’m giving away the secret.”

Image credit: Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Spike TV

 

Ok so I would love for us to just gun for the 2nd worst record in the league then to ENSURE we get in the top 5. I don't see how any other outcome is smart for us....why take the chance with 4th or 5th worst record? Obviously none of this matters if we didn't have stupid Phoenix to worry about....but since we absolutely can't have it fall outside the top 5, we need to tank HARDER than we've ever tanked before.