Originally posted by MoneyManMikeThe Lakers with Jerry West and Elgin Baylor were better.
lol talk about hype, Greg Anthony and Skip are already saying that if Kobe wins his fourth ring, that he may surpass Jordan, and John Hollinger is saying that this could possibly be one of the greatest Lakers teams, even greater than the Shaq 3-peat Lakers. So I dunno, there is a lot of ridiculous things being said right now and the hype is out of control. I can't wait until Thursday so we will see how this series is really going to be played.
Originally posted by GalaxyShieldIt would have been nice if the Celts kept playing defense the last 7 minutes, but hey - the two teams have now played four times this year and the Lakers haven't won any. The Lakers have to win the next 3 to have any chance at all. I doubt they can do it; for most of this game they looked disorganized and they can't play interior D at all (did you see Leon Powe's coast to coast dunk through two "defenders"?). All the pressure's on LA now and it looked to me that Kobe had that "why can't everybody be as good as me?" attitude. It might not get back to Beantown.
Lakers almost pulled off the crazy comeback. Maybe a little momentum heading back to LA?
Originally posted by no1marauderI think Kobe had the "what the hell is up with these refs" face. I mean for the most part the refs called the game right, though they did miss some pretty obvious calls (KG contesting Pau's alley opp, Farmar's wild layup that was caused by a Sam Cassell hold), but the stuff they did call were fouls in my opinion, well maybe not the Turiaf block or Sam Cassell holding Ariza forcing him to fall off balance into Posey. But I think that despite those few bad calls, the Lakers still had a chance to get back in the game. I just think they let the officiating get to them, I mean they didn't make any adjustments at all. If the refs are going to call the game tight, you got to take the ball to rim with the intent of shattering the backboard, yet they kept settling for jumpshots. Boston built their lead at the end of the third quarter by pushing the ball in transition after bad jumpshots that led to long rebounds. Also, the Lakers collectively didn't help their competency with the refs by whining after every missed layup, especially Odom who cried after every missed shot or rebound. I think all that negative tension manifested itself into Kobe's technical foul. But the Lakers' emotions finally payed off dividends in the end when they almost stole the game; they were literally one stop away from stealing the game, too bad the refs had to blow their whistle, though I think it was a good call and they had been making that particular call consistently throughout the course of the game. I still like the Lakers chances of making this a series, anybody that plays basketball knows that all it takes to get a rhythm going is to see the ball go into the hoop. I think the Lakers gained a little bit of momentum from that 41 point effort in the fourth quarter that they can use back at Staples.
It would have been nice if the Celts kept playing defense the last 7 minutes, but hey - the two teams have now played four times this year and the Lakers haven't won any. The Lakers have to win the next 3 to have any chance at all. I doubt they can do it; for most of this game they looked disorganized and they can't play interior D at all (did you see Le ...[text shortened]... at "why can't everybody be as good as me?" attitude. It might not get back to Beantown.
Who wants to put money on Phil Jackson getting a technical foul in game 3?
I agree with no1, Kobe was definitely wearing that holier than thou attitude last night. The coast to coast dunk by Powe was just embarassing for LA. If they are gonna have any small chance, they need to start grabbing defensive rebounds. Second, shut down Rajon Rondo. D up on KG, they're not gonna touch Peirce so they might as well make sure KG doesn't hit the jump shots. But screw that, I'd rather Boston wins. Radmonavic despite hitting some clutch 3 pointers, really needs to step up his game as well for them to have a shot.
Originally posted by MoneyManMikeWhining about the refs, as so many of the Lakers did after the game, is no way to build momentum. The game was called tight, unnecessarily so IMO, but given that it was going to be called that way (obvious after Perk got called for a low contact screen on the Celts' first possession) you are correct that the Lakers failed to adjust.
I think Kobe had the "what the hell is up with these refs" face. I mean for the most part the refs called the game right, though they did miss some pretty obvious calls (KG contesting Pau's alley opp, Farmar's wild layup that was caused by a Sam Cassell hold), but the stuff they did call were fouls in my opinion, well maybe not the Turiaf block or Sam ...[text shortened]... entum from that 41 point effort in the fourth quarter that they can use back at Staples.
The Lakers and their fans came into the series expecting a coronation and they've gotten instead a fight with a more physical team. The Lakers' big men are soft on defense and now everybody knows it. Expect a lot more Leon Powe in the games remaining; he took the Lakers apart.
Originally posted by zakkwylderWell, your not completely wrong BUT:
Who wants to put money on Phil Jackson getting a technical foul in game 3?
I agree with no1, Kobe was definitely wearing that holier than thou attitude last night. The coast to coast dunk by Powe was just embarassing for LA. If they are gonna have any small chance, they need to start grabbing defensive rebounds. Second, shut down Rajon Rondo. D up on K ...[text shortened]... ing some clutch 3 pointers, really needs to step up his game as well for them to have a shot.
1. 25 Laker Def Boards to 27 Celtic Def Boards in Game 2
2. KG is only shooting .390 from the field
3. I am going to say that almost half of Paul's points have come in transition and all eight of his three point attempts have been uncontested and to his credit he has knocked down seven of them. I think in the half court set the Lakers have done a decent job, his turnovers are up and I would put money on it that his FG% is under 50% in these situations, though I don't have any hard facts to support this.
4. You are 100% right about Vlade, his defense has been horrendous. The least he should do is stay at home with Pierce, that would improve LA's chances tenfold.
5. Kobe picked up three fouls in what, two quarters? And he finished the game with 8 assists. That was definitely a "these refs are ****" face and not a "my teammates are ****" face.
They still need more rebounds. Even though they got 25, compare that to the amount of attempts Boston had. KG may only be shooting .390, but a lot of his points are in situations where nobody else can score. Shutting him down more would result in more turnovers. Kobe is a great player, his problem is that he knows it.
Originally posted by no1marauderI didn't like the way the Lakers, especially Lamar Odom, whined about the calls during the game. I think it was very detrimental to their credibility, I mean you don't look good at all when you scream at the top of your lunges after a wild hook shot from 5 ft away that rims out. Like I said before, the refs gave Kobe a technical foul once they got tired of hearing the whining from the Lakers bench.
Whining about the refs, as so many of the Lakers did after the game, is no way to build momentum. The game was called tight, unnecessarily so IMO, but given that it was going to be called that way (obvious after Perk got called for a low contact screen on the Celts' first possession) you are correct that the Lakers failed to adjust.
The Lakers and thei ...[text shortened]... ybody knows it. Expect a lot more Leon Powe in the games remaining; he took the Lakers apart.
But after the game, I think Phil handled it correctly. His description of what happened during the game was right on the money. There was a hand full of no calls on the Lakers end, some which led to Celtic fast breaks. But Phil did acknowledge that they didn't do things offensively to better position themselves for a call. The only other Laker that I know talked about the refs was Kobe who sarcastically said that he didn't notice the refs during the game.
I also disagree that Pau is soft, I mean he was averaging a solid 3 bpg before the Finals where he only has 1 block in two games. He definitely hasn't gotten the calls, in game 1 he had the cleanest block that you can have in the NBA on KG, which was still called a foul. I don't know man, I know that I sound like a homer but the officiating has been very questionable thus far. You can't play physical defense when you are getting called for touch fouls. I mean how does Ronny get called for a foul when he trips over Powe after a clean block? Isn't that incidental contact or a foul on Powe for impeding Ronny's progress? I dunno that was a no call to me.
There has been a lot of drama thus far in Boston, I can't imagine what is going to go down in Hollywood.
Originally posted by MoneyManMikeKobe got a technical for yelling in the ref's face AFTER he scored. All 3 of the early fouls on Kobe were legit; maybe Van Gundy thinks that superstars should get the game called differently for them but when you grab a guy's jersey or use your elbow to clear space and the refs see it, there's going to be a whistle. Kobe still played 40 minutes. When I spoke about his attitude, I meant how he was acting on the bench when he wasn't in the game; shaking his head in disgust when the Celts scored rather than trying to rally his teammates. That's typical Kobe.
I didn't like the way the Lakers, especially Lamar Odom, whined about the calls during the game. I think it was very detrimental to their credibility, I mean you don't look good at all when you scream at the top of your lunges after a wild hook shot from 5 ft away that rims out. Like I said before, the refs gave Kobe a technical foul once they got tir ...[text shortened]... ot of drama thus far in Boston, I can't imagine what is going to go down in Hollywood.
I heard Odom and Gasol on ESPN also complaining about the refs post-game. Maybe that will help them get calls in LA. There were bad calls on both teams (Garnett got called for an illegal screen when he was standing still and got ran into) as there are in every game. If it makes Laker fans feel better to think that they've lost 4 in a row to the Celtic because the refs are cheating, so be it.
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The Lakers got called for 28 fouls and the Celtics for 21. So the gap is not as great as what the free throw discrepancy leads us to believe. You would think the discrepancy in free throws would be around 14 instead of 28 based on the number of fouls.
But the reality is that, other than Gasol, the Lakers played soft and relied on jump shots instead of taking it to the paint. Gasol is the only player that did any significant work in the paint for the Lakers. You can go to ESPN.com and look at the shot chart to see what I mean. As any NBA fan knows, in order to get the the line you've got to take it to the paint.
That being said did the Celtics benefit more from the refs than the Lakers? Yes, but not as drastic as many Laker fans want to believe. If they're expecting this to reverse itself in LA then they'll be somewhat dissapointed. The Lakers problem is their style of play not the refs.
So far, what I've seen in the first two games, is that the Celtics are the hungrier, more physical, and more defensive team and they have better leadership on the floor with Garnett and Pierce. Kobe may be the most talented player in the league but his body language, facial expressions, and overall behavior on the court lead me to believe that his leadership qualities suck. Who would you rather follow into battle, Kobe or Garnett?