Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant is a realist. Sometimes. And this is one of those times. Although the Black Mamba can be stubborn, if delusional, about his ebbing abilities, the last few years of his career have seen him evolve into a more pensive realist. He’s not about to declare himself a top-10 player, even if he carries [...]

It seems that someone forgot to tell the Houston Rockets that the NBA’s 2015-16 regular season is underway. The early part of 2015-16 has no doubt been weird. Some of the usual juggernauts are juggernauting, but this year’s landscape is rife with early-season underachievers, the fast-plummeting Rockets being among them. Can Houston regain its 2014-15 [...]

NBA Power Rankings are back! After a short delay, the return of The Hoop Doctors’ weekly look at where the league stands is once again ready for liftoff. There are no rules here, so check your need for order at the door. These rankings, like always, are going to change from week to week. That’s [...]

Even before the 2015-16 NBA season began, Kobe Bryant’s future was already a very hot topic of discussion. He will become an unrestricted free agent in July and has yet to make a decision on whether or not he’ll retire or continue playing for the purple and gold, or maybe even some other team. But [...]

Byron Scott is the head coach of a rebuilding Los Angeles Lakers team that desperately needs its young guns to develop and learn and thrive and form something resembling a foundation for the future. And yet, Scott doesn’t seem to acknowledge that’s the team he’s coaching. A lot of criticism has been thrown Los Angeles’ [...]

After four games, the Los Angeles Lakers are still winless and are right on track for another forgettable campaign. Their defense has been killing them simply put as their offseason training have not (yet) translated into their games. Last night, many were hoping that the purple and gold could finally find the answer to their [...]

Kobe Bryant knows that Kobe Bryant is old. At 37, the Black Mamba is playing through his 20th season, still a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, and now the only player in league history to spend two decades wearing one uniform. That kind of longevity provides perspective. You begin to appreciate the game more. [...]

Mike D’Antoni has so often been cited as an overrated coach, he’s become an underrated coach. The word “coach” is used loosely here, because D’Antoni isn’t one at the moment, not since 2013-14, when he guided a makeshift version of the Los Angeles Lakers to a 27-55 record. Even then, when he could still be [...]

The view from the outside of the Los Angeles Lakers is becoming increasingly divergent. That’s what happens when a team loses 116 games in two seasons. It doesn’t matter how many banners they still have hanging, or how much they believe better days are just around the corner. Protracted losing breeds contempt. It doesn’t just [...]

Kobe Bryant is not universally loved. We’ve known this, of course, for a while. His personality can be tough to like, even difficult to overlook. He’s made a name for himself over the last 20 years as a psychopathic competitor who doesn’t have time to be bothered with normal shit, such as deep-seated relationships with [...]