Good story on Lakers' Euro players
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/columns
/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=Eurolakers-080525

The Laker crew will either come out of this with their most impressive win to date or they will get an up close and personal lesson in desperate, championship level
basketball from the ex ring wearers.

GO Lakers.

I think most pundits would expect the Spurs to shoot better and the Lakers to shoot worse. That's just what happens on the road. The Spurs will have more energy and certain Lakers players will feel less comfortable...

Not to give Sasha a back-handed compliment, but does anyone else think that he's not aware enough to be fazed by playing in a hostile environment? As if it doesn't occur to him that's what's supposed to happen?

I think it was Kenny Smith who said during the game 2 post-game and picked up by one of the LA Times reporters that there really isn't an obvious thing the Spurs need to adjust to against the Lakers offense. It's moving so fluidly that it's become unpredictable and therefore harder to defend. I think that's the point. Given that, I expect the Spurs will just focus on executing what they're doing better. If I were them, I'd put emphasis on disrupting the passing lanes more. They need to create more turnovers like they did in the first half of game 1.

I hope that all the talk coming from the Lakers is genuine, in that they really respect the experience of the Spurs and know that this is a team that won't beat itself. Pop may have thrown in the towel around the 8 minute mark of the fourth quarter last game but no towel is going to be thrown in this series on the whole. I expect a war - the first real grind-it-out game of the series.

The Lakers victories in the off season was not only the result of transition offense but it was great defense by our front line men like Fisher, Sasha, Farmar and Kobe in helping double teaming and swarming at attacking point guards from JR Smith, AI, Deron Williams and now Manu & tony Parker. We are being complimented by the mainstream media on this great D

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8172066

Then, once they pass the front lines, they get into traps from the tall and long hands like Odom, Pau, Luke and Vlad. Individually, they are called soft and finnesse players but as a team they do a great job in blocking shots and helping in rebounds. Wait for the next bunch of Lakers to develop like Trevor, Bynum, Turiaf, and Mbenga then you get to the hard core of defense that the league has been waiting for.

Oh yea, that Kobe video was pretty sweet. Too bad there were only 48 pairs of the hyperdunks released ( 24 home, 24 away) and they are going for close to a grand on ebay. Luckily I got some cool Lamar Odom Huaraches PE's on ebay for a reasonable price. They have the LO sign all over em and gotta love the strong Laker colors in the shoe.

Lamar = Finals MVP

GO LAKERS

Lakers Legacy,

With regards to the article of Adande, if you read the past posts on this blog about the Laker Euro players, he is saying the same thing. I have a theory that these journalists get their ideas from posts of fans like us who provide them veritable information about our team and they picked it up and claim as their own. (Putting it in another way, this is similar to Columbus sailing westward claiming that he discovered the West Indies when in fact, there were already inhabitants living there, but since they didn't have the credentials in the European sphere, the visitors claimed that they are the real discoverers of the New World.)

Speaking of Euro players, I wonder what Theo Papaloukas and Juan Navarro felt when they almost became Lakers last summer. Today, Theo is with CSKA Moscow, the Euroleague Champs while Juan Navarro is with Memphis. They have no trust of the Lakers, all they heard was Kobe rants and headlines so they perceived us as a weak team. For a budding Euro, there is no alternative from coveting the dream of NBA Champs, the most prestigious basketball league in the world. Because of its history of stiff competitions, it is higher than acquiring gold medal in the Olympic Basketball Competitions or the FIBA League.

Lakers Legacy,

Tiny URL is easier for that link:

http://tinyurl.com/5owcfw

Aloha

I want the Lakers to force the Spurs to spend every once of energy they have in reserve today. If we do that, win or lose this will be a short series.

MH

The three headed monster of Duncan,manu, and Parker will carve the Laker team up this evening. My prediction.

Spurs 88 Lakers 73

Sorry but the Spurs coaching staff will manipulate Phil Jackson for the one dimensional coach he is.And Kobe will self destruct into a ball-hog.And Vegas made us the game day favorite.Cant go wrong with that huh partner.Us good ole boy Texans gonna goat rope some holly wierd California soft boys.

Posted by: Spur hero | May 25, 2008 at 10:00 AM

Good morning all.........Move the ball......We win

Quote of the week: "I won't wear a headband with long hair." KB24 on being European.
Ha ha ha ha!

Its time again Lakers boys and girls, for Mr. Fatty's Neighborhood.

Mrs. Fatty is getting tired of Mr. Fatty spending countless hours on the Lakers Blog. So Mr. Fatty is typing while Mrs. Fatty is going to the market.

Let's keep this our little secret. Okay? wink wink

Wow, Our Lakers beat the Spurs by 30 points on Friday. Now I know most of you Lakers boys and girls can't count that high, but trust Mr. Fatty, that's a whole lot of points. More than you have fingers, toes, and even private parts! Oh my, that is a lot!

Now for Mr. Fatty's word of the day.

"No more weenie shots!"

Grand Pa PJ says our big brother Pau is way too soft, and he shoots too many "weenie shots". Hopefully your girlfriends don't use that word to describe you. That would be sad!

Can you say, "No more weenie shots"?!
Good for you Lakers boys and girls!
Now everybody, say it real loud in Spanish, so Mr. Pau can comprende.

"Weenie shots, no mas!"

Very good! I think he heard that!

"Its a beautiful day in Mr. Fatty's and the Lakers Neighborhood, will you be, won't you be my neighbor!"

Mr. Fatty

Spur hero. It's not about your stars but you're only "on the court" proclamation is about your "three-headed monster" of Duncan, Parker and Ginobli. It's not about the celebrities in the stands but we're inundated with Eva Longoria every San Antonio broadcast.

"it's about the game. it's about teamwork. and it's about believing.

believing in our system. believing in our players. believing in each other."

You act as if this only applies to your team. The scary thing for you is that this holds true for the Lakers as well.

Like I said in an earlier post, the fact that the Lakers lost the series to PHX after being up 3-1 is actually a positive for the current team. The fact that the Spurs came back against New Orleans works just as much to the Lakers advantage as it does for San Antonio. Because of those two things, as well as a healthy respect for the Spurs in general, there is no way this Laker team let's up one iota. They expect San Antonio's best. They won't be caught off guard. They will push and pressure and execute like never before. Either San Antonio will have the answer or they won't.

FROM PALM BEACH, FL

HI GUYS,

READINGS ALL KIND OF COMMENTS MAKE ME THINK OF A SWEEP OF SAN ANTONIO. THE SPURS NEED A LONG REST AND VACATION FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND OUR TEAM MUST ALLOW THEM TO TAKE IT. THAT WILL BE A GREAT GIFT FROM US.

NOW, WE KNOW THAT EVERY PLAYER OF OUR TEAM HAS THE KILLER INSTINCT OF KOBE, WE ARE 100% GUARANTEE OF OUR NBA CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR.

HOPEFULLY THEY WILL SHOW ONCE AGAIN THAT KILLER INSTINCT TONIGHT=WIN#3

KOBE= THE GURU
PAUL= THE LUCK
SACHA=THE RAT
ARIZA=THE DIFFERENCE MAKER

THANKS GOD FOR WIN#3

LOVE TO OUR TEAM AND TO ALL

SHEKOBE FOREVER

Spur Hero

I see your parroting everything you hear on the good ole television. So basically you team work and team orientated basketball Spurs seems to play is the reason why your winners right? Uhmm..ok what about the Lakers and there Motley Crew of players and Personalities during the 3-peat years? Don't get caught up in what you hear..eventually the Spurs will deminish..and all the team work cohesion whatever the f@ck they play will be exploited bhy athleticism and pure title hunger..which your team doesn't display. The Spurs are trying to live off the reputation of being a team 1st team. Mr Stoic face Duncan..and Mr "Im French and I married a Hollywood Superstar" are not the quite people the media portrays them to be. As is the media and BSPN folks haven't made enough excuses for that aging team you call the Spurs. I can hear it now.."The spurs Manu Ginobili has a hurt ankle and pinky and he just can't seem to get his lift and movement right"..lol..yea..but I suppose those injuries wasn't stoppn him from drainin 3 after 3 on NO..but now since your playing a real team..and since he can't throw a pea in the ocean..it gotta be the injuries huh. Ok and by the by..tell your Spur idiot fans to stop crying about the Gasol trade..then turn around and boast about how soft he is!! Kinda suspect don't cha think there partner? If Lakers win tonigh..its a done deal..you know and I know it! Why would Mr Stoic face wana make a Champion (haha) trip all the way to LA just to get skull drug when he can just take the sweep and allow the media to create excuses for you. think about it.

Spur hero,
Keep in mind that your team is named after something that cowboys walk over, which frequently gets jabbed into horses butts.

Odom on the U.S. Olympics Team?

http://tinyurl.com/6qhmrm

"Bubble players include guards Wade, Paul, Williams, and Atlanta's Joe Johnson, forwards Bosh, Durant, Utah's Carlos Boozer, the Lakers' Lamar Odom, and Chandler. Celtics forward Kevin Garnett would be a lock if he wanted to play, but he's not interested.

The guess here is that the final two spots will come down to Odom, Boozer, Paul, and Williams, depending on need."

KOBE AND THE CLONES…

“Sasha Vujacic was a healthy scratch for the first Spurs-Lakers game on Nov. 13 and averaged 18 minutes when he did play in the regular season. He logged 31 minutes in the past two games but still was the last Laker to leave the practice court Saturday.”

How many times have we read similar statements about Kobe Bryant’s teammates emulating the MVP by putting in the extra work and effort to become champions. Or Lamar practicing his free throws because he is planning on attacking the rim. Or Farmar staying late to shoot himself out of a shooting slump. Or Ariza practicing jump shot over jump shot to take advantage of his time out due to his injured foot.

This is why we love this Lakers team so much. They’re turning into Kobe Clones.

Tom

Oops, Jeff beat me to it :)

But yes. VOTE FOR RONNY!!

Kobe is in deed our modern version Of Allen Quartermain!

``His basketball aim is impeccable, his will indomitable... and his arrogance insufferable.''

-Allen Quartermain-

We Will Win,

I am certain we will take at least one in SA. More than learning from the SA NO game, they remember what happened when Utah powered back. If we win tonight, SA is toast. This is for the Western Championship.

I am confident because, other than first halves, these games were both blowouts. Furthermore, they were not just flukes. The Lakers did not shoot the lights out on 3s. SA did not have "off shooting nights." Our D destroyed them. We can do that consistently whenever we chose to expend the effort. SA has shown no ability to return the favor.

Ignore the Trolls until after the game. They will not slink around at that point.

GOOOooooOOOOO LAAAKERS!!!

Mamba, please come back and put me on the

THREE-PEAT BANDWAGON!!!!

GOOOOooOOOOO LAKERS!!!

If Manu doesn't have a monster game, the Lakers roll.

GO LAKERS!!!

GAME ON!

Just got home from church and I am locked, loaded and READY TO PRAY!

But before I go, I want to encourage all of you to incorporate the power of Prayer in your own lives. We stand together united for our Purple & Gold and we have believed through our prayers that God (the real One - not the impostor who mocks our prayers daily on The Blog) will bless our Lakers. And He has done so.

The lesson that we take in watching Him answer our prayers is that whatever we seek Him for and believe Him for in our personal lives - as long as we have a united and committed crew to stand with us for whatever we're praying for - He will bless us. He will answer our prayers. If He can hear us about a basketball team, how much more can He hear us regarding our daily lives?

Nuff said...LET US PRAY!

DEAR LORD, we thank You once again. Time and time again You astound us. We simply asked for a win on Friday. You gave us much more than we could ask for or imagine. We asked for a victory. You gave us a DEFINING STATEMENT. We asked You for validation of our abilities. You gave us CONFIRMATION OF OUR GREATNESS. We stand amazed in awe of You, Lord!

With a win tonight, You will prove and confirm once and for all what brother Laker Tom, Edwin Gueco, Rick Friedman & Mamba (Larry) 24 have all declared - THIS IS OUR TIME, OUR MOMENT, OUR SEASON! Our simple prayer: MAKE IT SO. Don't just let tonight's win be just another simple win. We don't ask for 30 point margins or 20 point comebacks. We simply ask that the GREATNESS that has surrounded the Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Club throughout the decades envelops and swallows up the San Antonio Spurs and their fans. When the Spurs leave the court at the end of the 4th Quarter, may they KNOW once and for all that this is OUR DESTINY - that there is nothing they can do to stop this time and this season in our lives.

You have given Kobe the freedom to trust in his teammates. Tonight, we pray that this game be about him. Let him show just why he is the 2007-08 NBA MVP. Confuse the defense. May Pop stand in bewilderment as he searches for a way to stop #24. Use this game to show the world why Kobe Bryant is the best player in the NBA.

We continue to pray for that flame to take hold in the belly of Pau Gasol. We've said it before and we'll say it again: the violent take it by force. Let Pau TAKE HIS GAME. Neither the Spurs nor the refs are going to give him anything. Arguing is pointless and complaining is useless. Let him head out to war and BATTLE. May he TAKE EVERY REBOUND and WAR FOR EVERY POINT HE SCORES.

Continue to allow the greatness within LO to overtake his game. As good as he is as our 3rd option, we know that You are able to bring out more in his game. Do so tonight, Lord. Let his greatness flow up and down the court.

Use D-Fish as our anchor and stability, Lord. We know that he knows You because he cries out to You on behalf of his daughter. You have continued to heal little Tatum, Lord. We thank You and bless You. Bless D-Fish with the steadfastness and steady hand we need on the court. May his jumpers, slashes to the basket, and, most of all, those 3 pointers fall like rain from the Heavens, Lord.

Continue to bless The Bench Mob. May they sustain and build on the momentum they have. Bring forth Trevor Ariza tonight to be the defensive powerhouse that he is. May he confuse and distract the offense from their game plan. May he lunge for every steal and slash for every dunk & 3 point play. Continue to bless Sasha, Jordan, Ronny, Luke, Mbenga and Vlad Rad. Let them play with discipline and character tonight.

Continue to give Phil & the coaching staff insight and wisdom on how to steer us to tonight's victory.

Continue to heal and recover Andrew Bynum.

Lord, please allow Chris Mihm some playing time. May his game surprise the Spurs crowd. Let him play on a higher level tonight.

We pray for the entire Spurs organization. May they honor the game with true sportsmanship and dignity. No cheap shots, flagrant fouls or stuff of that nature. They are the Champions. Let them play like it.

We know Your will shall be done and we thank You in advance for answered prayer. Bring forth our greatness. Let us shine even in the enemy's camp. Give us the strength to reclaim our rightful place, Lord. Make tonight's win another statement. Our time. Our season. Our destiny!

We praise You for Who You are and for all You do to bless Us and our Los Angeles Lakers - AMEN!

After game 1, Sasha said." I used to guard Ginobli when i was 17, 18 years old in Europe, at that time i was unknown player and Ginobli was a star player already,i knew his moves". That's good experience for Sasha. Bruce Bowen gave Sasha an elbow, Bowen made a big mistake, Sasha played better after he got hit. Mitch said few weeks ago on radio, he knew Utah bench player were more productive than Lakers. I am glad to see Ariza back, on the road, it's hard to make a shot, Luke, Famar, Sasha don't have ability to leap high, dunk a ball, if they won't shoot the ball well, Lakers in trouble, Ariza is quicker, can dunk a ball. Phil only allows Vlad to play 20 min, so i only hope Vlad can score 10 points . Next round, Lakers won't have home field avantage, but after Utah and San Antonio, i believe Lakers have enough experience on the road to win in Boston or Detroit. Go Lakers !