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lakers_fan_from_ny
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Post subject: Espn article-
 Posted: Jun 09, 2008 - 06:23 PM PST
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Big-Time Laker Fan
Joined: Jun 26, 2007
Posts: 964
  
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Stein from Espn.com talking about the first 2 games. Interesting quote from Phil at the end-
The Los Angeles Lakers should know by now not to expect any pity. The Lakers surely understand that they traded away their rights to sympathy, maybe permanently, when they shipped so little to Memphis and stole Pau Gasol.
The infamous foul that wasn't called on Derek Fisher in the San Antonio series won't soon be forgotten, either.
So …
As unfair as a fuming Phil Jackson found the Game 2 free-throw count -- and as frustrating as it had to be for L.A. to fall just short after Sunday night's epic fourth-quarter scramble -- this is the Lakers' reality:
No one with a neutral interest in these NBA Finals is bound to feel sorry for the Zen Men, because the Lakers wouldn't be here without the midseason gift of Gasol from the Grizzlies. Or because they clinched a series-turning road win over the savvy Spurs on a non-call that the league later publicly acknowledged as erroneous.
Or because the Boston Celtics happen to be outplaying them in so many categories.
Jackson justifiably questioned some of the officiating in the Celtics' 108-102 triumph Sunday night, which resulted in 38 trips to the free-throw line for the hosts compared to the Lakers' 10, but he also admitted repeatedly telling his team that "we just can't play any worse than this." Suddenly sporting a five-game Finals losing streak to go with those nine rings, Jackson knows the reason for that, too: Boston has clearly been the better team so far.
The Celtics aren't just faring better with the referees. They're causing a lot of L.A.'s problems.
Said Fisher, Jackson's on-court sage: "By no means do we feel like we're in a hole that we can't recover from, that this series is over."
However …
"We have to clean up some of the things we're doing," Fisher conceded.
It's a rather long list, actually -- a list far longer than pre-Finals forecasts (most of which heavily favored L.A.) would ever have suggested.
Apart from a nightmarish final eight minutes in which the hosts got suckered into trying to run out the clock rather than cement their 24-point lead, Boston has shamed the Lakers with its crisper ball movement, more active bench and overall energy, all areas where the Celtics were thought to be deficient.
The Celtics are repeatedly finding the open man (31 assists on 36 field goals on Sunday) and hitting their 3-pointers (clutch 9-for-14 accuracy from long range). They're also winning the physicality game on the front line as well as lots of individual battles, whether it's young Rajon Rondo (16 assists) playing beyond his years against the cagey Fisher or Sunday's Cinderella, Leon Powe, who dominated more experienced energy guys like Ronny Turiaf and Luke Walton to score 21 points in 15 minutes.
It likewise didn't hurt Boston that Paul Pierce -- although not quite at full speed after his Game 1 sprained knee scare -- was moving well enough to score a highly efficient 28 points and win his own duel with a certain reigning MVP named Kobe Bryant. Pierce's performance included 4-for-4 shooting from long distance, eight bonus assists and a game-saving block in crunch time. Kobe had to work a lot harder for his 30 points and eight dimes, then failed to even touch the ball on L.A.'s last-ditch possession with 15 seconds to go after Pierce's two free throws put Boston up by four.
Free throws were undeniably an all-night factor, but so was the Lakers' defense, largely because they haven't played much yet in this series. The Lakers are likewise guilty -- as in Game 1 -- of going long stretches without getting the ball inside to Gasol, which was particularly costly in Game 2 because Pau was so hot early. The Spaniard highlighted his 6-for-6 start from the floor with a gorgeous baseline spin and dunk on Kevin Garnett that the Lakers simply had to build on.
They didn't.
Don't forget, furthermore, that the Celtics' lane-packing, kitchen-sink defensive scheme -- which so successfully fenced off LeBron James with help defenders -- wasn't supposed to have worked against the Lakers because there are so many more weapons in Kobe's supporting cast than LeBron's.
But it has.
As Jackson notes: "They're putting two people between [Bryant] and the basket all the time." And Kobe isn't getting enough help; Jackson described Lamar Odom as "confused," just to mention one cast member who's not delivering.
The Celtics, as a result, are suddenly playing with a bounce that has been largely absent for much of this postseason, presumably beaten out of them by the Atlanta Hawks and Cavaliers, who dragged Boston to seven games in the first two rounds. Jackson can only hope that the Lakers' 41 points in the fourth quarter -- which will be recorded as the first 40-point fourth quarter that Boston has ever surrendered on the Finals stage -- erased some of the swagger that was hammered home by Powe's uncontested, end-to-end sprint for a dunk.
"I'm not worried about which Celtics team shows up [in Tuesday night's Game 3]," Jackson countered. "I'm worried about what Lakers team shows up."
Maybe that's because Jackson, even as he branded Boston's 19-2 edge in first-half free throws "ridiculous," realizes that the Celtics are getting to the line more because they're seemingly always in the basket area.
The less aggressive Lakers are not.
They might be 8-0 at home in the playoffs, but the Lakers have yet to see these Celtics in L.A., where the home team must now try to sweep three games to give itself a chance to become just the fourth team in Finals history to recover from a 2-0 deficit, with only one of those comebacks (Miami over Dallas in 2006) coming in the 20-plus years of the 2-3-2 format.
"I thought we were the team driving in the paint and that's why we shot 38 free throws," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "If you attack off the dribble, if you play through the post, if you're the more aggressive team, you can get to the foul line. I thought we did that. But we can't go on the road and [stop doing] that."
Nor can the Lakers bank on the momentum of their furious comeback from 95-71 down to 104-102 in the final minute making it all the way back to Hollywood. Not when there have been so many other holes in their game.
Sorry, Lakerland.
"It's 2,500 miles away," Jackson said, referring to the momentum. "It's too far to carry it." |
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cuckooroller
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Post subject: RE: Espn article-
Posted: Jun 09, 2008 - 07:31 PM PST
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Die-Hard Laker Fan
Joined: Mar 27, 2008 Age: 58
Posts: 1541
Location: Italy
votes: 14
Status: Online!
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Excuse my profanity - I do not usually use it - but Stein can kiss my butt! Professional basketball is a business. The idea in this business, as in any other business, is to make good business decisions and maximize profits. The Gasol deal was this. I defy the front office management of any of the other franchises to get up on their duplicitous feet and deny that they would have made the same type of deal if offered. These people seem to develop a moral compass only when they see fit and to denigrate someone else for being in the envious position to pull off such a deal.
The League can also kiss my butt for the pusillanimous manner in which they threw the Lakers on the train tracks over this Barry affair. I saw no where any mention by them of the many precedent incorrect calls against the Lakers, nor any mention that the whole Barry comedy was set up by the League having for so many years given employment to incompetent referees, the same referees that so blithely dismissed the fact that the only reason that Barry had the ball in his hands was because they had already screwed up, by incompetence, or by design, the clock possession time after the Fisher miss.
For all these things, Los Angeles is now given the fault. Apparently the people making the calls on the court were employed by the Lakers! Personally, I did not see the Laker coaching staff out there making the arbitration decisions.
I repeat, you want to hate the Lakers, then hate them, but do not motivate this hate by pinning the responsability on the Lakers. I repeat, Stein kiss my butt!!!, and any other pinhead that buys into this bull pucky! |
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Steve
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SamAdams
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Post subject: RE: Espn article-
Posted: Jun 09, 2008 - 10:45 PM PST
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Topbuzz Newbie
Joined: Jun 09, 2008
Posts: 20
Status: Offline
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| I thought it was a good article. |
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Fletch
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Post subject: RE: Espn article-
Posted: Jun 10, 2008 - 12:31 AM PST
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Serious Laker Fan
Joined: Apr 22, 2008 Age: 33
Posts: 262
Location: Santa Barbara California
votes: 3
Status: Offline
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I'm right there with ya cuckooroller  |
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"The good lord and four disciples couldn't beat the Lakers tonight"
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cuckooroller
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Post subject: Re: RE: Espn article-
Posted: Jun 10, 2008 - 05:35 AM PST
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Die-Hard Laker Fan
Joined: Mar 27, 2008 Age: 58
Posts: 1541
Location: Italy
votes: 14
Status: Online!
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SamAdams wrote:
I thought it was a good article.
Yes, I am sure you would. I have no problem with the fans of Boston, or of any other fanbase, posting on this site. I myself post on CelticsBlog. I would prefer, however, that anyone doing so had the gumption to declare their team affiliation, and this is exactly what I do when I post there so that people know where I am coming from. It is not enough to just try and make little non-committal postings and try to fly low under the radar. I would much rather talk to an avowed fan of another fanbase as long as any posting respects the intelligence of the true Laker posters.
I have no problem with much of this article and in large part agree with it, however, I find it difficult to believe someone purportedly a Laker fan, would agree with the obvious bias of the following:
"BOSTON -- The Los Angeles Lakers should know by now not to expect any pity. The Lakers surely understand that they traded away their rights to sympathy, maybe permanently, when they shipped so little to Memphis and stole Pau Gasol.
The infamous foul that wasn't called on Derek Fisher in the San Antonio series won't soon be forgotten, either.
No one with a neutral interest in these NBA Finals is bound to feel sorry for the Zen Men, because the Lakers wouldn't be here without the midseason gift of Gasol from the Grizzlies. Or because they clinched a series-turning road win over the savvy Spurs on a non-call that the league later publicly acknowledged as erroneous."
Interesting his disingenuous use of the word "neutral". There is nothing neutral in these passages.
It should also have been noted that the original article was submitted in Boston - I wonder why this was overlooked in the original posting in this thread.
The point is, fine to be against the Lakers, just have the moxey to declare yourself...and not only limit yourself to snide little jabs designed to inflame the more gullible of our members. |
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Steve
Last edited by cuckooroller on Jun 10, 2008 - 07:16 AM PST; edited 2 times in total
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BaadMaster
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Espn article-
Posted: Jun 10, 2008 - 05:59 AM PST
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Die-Hard Laker Fan
Joined: May 05, 2007
Posts: 1067
votes: 21
Status: Offline
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I agree withcuckoo. Kiss my butt, NBA. I mean what garbage did the Celts give up for KG and Ray-Ray? No one says anything when McHale gives them KG for crap. But the Lakers get Gasol and all of a sudden we are robber barons.
The NBA says it blew the call on DFish but ignores the bukksh-t call on Fish's previous shot. They should aplolgize for those ticky tacks on Kobe that took him out of the game. Would they do that to MJ? Uh uh uh.
Kobe is the league's biggest star and still they try to f*ck him up anyway they can.
Simply put: if the refs aren't on the take, then they simply are Kobe haters. As Tupac says, f*** all ya'all. |
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mpapic
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Espn article-
Posted: Jun 10, 2008 - 06:47 AM PST
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Casual Laker Fan
Joined: Jun 01, 2008
Posts: 186
Location: Austin
votes: 2
Status: Offline
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Obviously someone called "Sam Adams" is a Boston fan... why do they need to declare that officially prior to posting a two-liner meant to get all y'all's blood pressure rising?
I think the article was sensationalist to say the least... Obviously the Gasol trade and the Game 4 against the Spurs don't in any way excuse the ref bias in Boston... However, Boston home court DOES. That is just how the NBA works... the home team gets the calls. I am not really as riled up as the rest of the Laker Nation, primarily because when all is said and done we lost two games that were not complete blow outs. We were essentially in both games right up until the end, despite the (what should have been expected) ref bias for the Celtics.
That said, the refs better return the favor in LA... |
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cuckooroller
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Espn article-
Posted: Jun 10, 2008 - 06:58 AM PST
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Die-Hard Laker Fan
Joined: Mar 27, 2008 Age: 58
Posts: 1541
Location: Italy
votes: 14
Status: Online!
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| Well, perhaps not obvious to all. Actually, since I do have no problem with legitimate visitors of other fanbases, and actually when objectively posting it adds salt to the meal, I think that LTB could take a page out of the way that CelticsBlog deals with it. They have an introduction thread for declared Laker fans on the blog. Of course, they do not, as we do not, welcome trolls and flamers, but, this is only logical. |
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Steve
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mpapic
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Espn article-
Posted: Jun 10, 2008 - 07:00 AM PST
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Casual Laker Fan
Joined: Jun 01, 2008
Posts: 186
Location: Austin
votes: 2
Status: Offline
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| Yes, I also post on CelticsBlog... I think we should encourage this sort of a thing... especially when it engenders a vibrant discussion. |
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