More face time for Eva Longoria
We'll go out on a limb and predict you'll see her no fewer than four times and no more than seven on a TV screen between tomorrow and June 2nd (if necessary), as the San Antonio Spurs took down the New Orleans Hornets to become the Lakers' next opponent. What does this have to do with the "Desperate Housewives" starlet? Well, it's one of Hollywood and sports' best kept secrets, but we have it on good authority that she and Spurs PG Tony Parker are romantically involved. Throw in the fact that Longoria occasionally allows herself to be filmed at a high profile event (despite an obvious dislike for the spotlight) and it stands to reason that her mug will grace a contest or two during the series. And that the team she roots on presents a real challenge (even if slightly more ESPN pundits have the Lakers triumphing against the quite literally defending champs).
The decidedly stress-free Lakers learned of their fortune while breaking bread as a crew, yet another example of a roster digging each other's company. It's something of a shock to the system seeing a purple and gold squad with nothing to argue about, but the notion of dudes having each other's back is similar to the success-friendly atmosphere Gregg Popovich has helped to create in Lone Star Country. And now, thanks to the generosity of Kobe Bryant, the team's harmonious nature will be seen in its timeliness.
Will there be a shakeup in Cleveland?
Sir Charles is removing his bookie from his Fave 5.
Tim Donaghey's dropping more bombs, although the NBA ain't buying them.
Wes
i hope he gives all the members a watch so he can tell them
IT"S GAME TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Zin Master | May 20, 2008 at 11:57 AM
Anyone know the status of Ariza? I heard that he is available...but does that mean he is ready to play?
Posted by: J.C. | May 20, 2008 at 11:59 AM
She's gorgeous, but the latex/neoprene catsuit has got to go.
Silver lame basketball uni would've worked (giggle).
Too bad her show's on ABC. We will be lambasted with previews. Ugh.
Posted by: mel | May 20, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Charles,
Thanks for the link. The Spurs are going to be crazy jetlagged. Virtually no preparation time for tomorrow's game.
The Lakers need to ram this game down the Spurs throats.
Our strategy? Forced Befuddlement!
Spurs! Prepared to be befuddled!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | May 20, 2008 at 12:00 PM
magicman
I have a different fate for these particular trolls........rather than decaptation..........we're going to debutticate these, as they're only talking ISH out of their a$$es.
Posted by: toad | May 20, 2008 at 12:06 PM
HAP\PY GILMORE:"Just like Charter Air, the San Antonio Spurs (too) will cease
operating at the end of May."
NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!
Posted by: mamba24 | May 20, 2008 at 12:07 PM
Position player stats. Taken from the Semi Final series.
Top minute performers. (starters)
Shooting/scoring
PG: Fisher .571 [14.2] - Parker .486 [19.4]
SG: Kobe .491 [33.2] -- Mano .435 [21.3]
SF: Vlad .476 [8.2] --- Bowen . 370 [8.1]
PF: Odom .587 [18.2] -- Oberto .556 [3]
C: Gasol .560 [18.5]--- Duncan .421 [15.3]
Top bench players.
Sasha .447 [ 9.3] --- Finley .435 [7.1]
Walton .346 [5] ----- Udoka .543 [7.4]
Ronny .429 [2.2] --- Horry .235 [1.7]
Farmar .130 [1.7] -- Vaughn .286 [.6]
Ariza N/A----------- Barry .462 [3.2]
------------------------Thomas .462 [3.6]
Posted by: Fairweather Fatty | May 20, 2008 at 12:10 PM
Here is a quick and dirty of why this series worries me:
They hold more mismatches than we do:
- The Spurs have very good defenders whose sole responsibility will be to guard our primary guns: Kobe (Bowen), Pau (Thomas). The only one they don't have an answer for is Lamar, who I'm still not sure will show up to every game
- The Lakers have answers for only one of their big guns: Pau on Duncan, and Pau happens to be our primary interior scorer. If he gets into foul trouble we're in deep #$$%.
- Any reasonable person will agree that Fish prob can't guard Parker, and I don't know who will guard Manu
- The Spurs execute even better than Utah, and is prob the best defensive team in the West. This basically means the Lakers will have to be on top of both its def and off game all the time - which I simply haven't seen from them yet
Posted by: Vonislav Waferdenko | May 20, 2008 at 12:11 PM
So we aren't going to get any true discussions about the Spurs from spurs fans are we? Its too bad. We've gotten to know Phoenix and Sac fans pretty well, to know what to expect. At least with some of those guys, there is an understanding that for the time period, the teams they had were pretty dang good and a begrudging acknowledgement from them that the Lakers are in fact, decent.
But to move from a small town with one team to another small town with one team is depressing. They seriously believe their players have no faults!! Even after a young spry team like the Hornets almost took them down? Wow, the last time I had pie-in-the-sky beliefs like that, I was piecing together the 5 lions that made up Voltron.
The bushleague stuff we're going to see on this blog is going to border on stupid Yahoo message "FIRST!" posts. If you guys could all send me a nickel for everytime these fans call the lakers the "Fakers" or "FAKERZ" or something juvenile like that, I could fund my kids college fund.
I might just skip ahead to LakerTom's and Mamba24's posts just to stay above the fray.
#4
Posted by: #4 | May 20, 2008 at 12:13 PM
So here are the key questions for the Lakers:
1. Can Bowen still hound Kobe? If Kobe breaks lose, the Spurs are in big trouble
2. Is Ariza healthy enough to bother Manu? When Manu is struggling, the Spurs struggle mightily
3. Can Pau guard Duncan as well as he did in that game at the end of the season?
4. Can our bench step up? Our bench has the potential to completely obliterate the Spurs' bench. If Pop cannot rely on his bench, he may be forced to put too much strain on his aging starters.
Posted by: Vonislav Waferdenko | May 20, 2008 at 12:14 PM
The Spurs may be somewhat jetlagged for the game on Wednesday.....Hope we jumped out on them early, seize a 30pt lead or something! lol
See the link below or the LaTimes ad...
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=jl-spurstarmac052008&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | May 20, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Let's put it this way...
Ariza couldn't come back at a better time.
Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker need to all be firing to outscore us. Slow/shut down one and we win. Ariza can slow/shut down Ginobili or Parker.
Good.
If Farmar can step up his defense, it's possible that this series might not be very close.
Still, I'm thinking Lakers in six. The Spurs are an intelligent, experienced, well-coached mentally tough team. They won't lie down and die.
However, unfortunately (for them) that seven game series against the Hornets and their age virtually guarantees them defeat against the intelligent, increasingly experienced, better coached, mentally tough, young, rested, hungry, confident Lakers... who just so happen to have home court advantage (which has been huge in this year's playoffs.)
Wednesday will be a good day for Laker Nation!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | May 20, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Jon K.
PJ whistle at you homie!!!
Posted by: Charles | May 20, 2008 at 12:17 PM
I don't agree the Spurs execute better than the Jazz. Perhaps they used to. Though I agree, they do when they have to..When the stakes are higher, maybe..
I feel like with what we got, we can take them. This is more of a mind game than anything in my humble opinion.
But we shall see...
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | May 20, 2008 at 12:17 PM
for those who r confused
only the final is 2-3-2
this one is the same 2-2-1-1-1 format
lakers 4-1
Posted by: Zin Master | May 20, 2008 at 12:19 PM
toad,
I'm thinking a BETTER punishment for Trolls would be the Medevil practice of disembowelment in which a Troll would have an incision made across their perineum (from the base of the testicles to the anus). They would then be attached to a rope and then dropped a distance of a few feet off a platform. When the rope would catch, snapping the body, the momentum of gravity would force all the Troll's inner organs out the cut perineum en masse, tearing them from the body, and arriving to the ground in a bloody mass, instantly killing the Troll in violent spectacle.
I'm sure Troll guts smell like sulfur, long-decayed fish guts, fetid milk, and sea lion excrement. It must be awful. That much said, I still think public disembowelment is only suitable fate for Trolls.
Just my two cents on the matter.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | May 20, 2008 at 12:25 PM
John K.
" Forced Befuddlement!"
LOL! I love it!
Posted by: THE original Ken | May 20, 2008 at 12:26 PM
Posted by: mrbarneydangles | May 20, 2008 at 10:43 AM
I don't know if you remember but Skip Bonehead also predicted that the Nuggets would get hot and beat the Lakers. And this was after we smoked them in game 1. He is just a Laker hater and Spurs lover so his opinion is about as important as any other troll around here.
Posted by: pslakerfan | May 20, 2008 at 12:31 PM
Jordan Is A Bad Mofo And He's Gonna Show
You So BANDWAGON
Mamba-- GUARANTEED!!
Put me on!!!!!
Posted by: keifo | May 20, 2008 at 12:32 PM
#4,
I honestly think that Spurs fans have more class than Kings or Suns fans. Why? They've won championships. They don't have the same nervous, confidence-undermined inferiority complex that Kings and Suns (or Jazz) fans have.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | May 20, 2008 at 12:32 PM
Charles,
How's your shoulder?
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | May 20, 2008 at 12:33 PM
Good Afternoon Everyone!
Charles - What's happening man? I hope your week is going well.
MAMBA24 - Please, kind sir, put me on the Jordan Farmar is a mad mo' fo' bandwagon - I greatly support him and would love to see him work his way out of his slump.
To the Family - I hope your day is fantastic, and that you get something tasty for your lunch break!
Posted by: Caliphilosopher | May 20, 2008 at 12:34 PM
WATCHES:
You can go google those watches..II was curious and did so. They have several different models/types in that price range..
But yeah, pretty snazzy!!
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | May 20, 2008 at 12:36 PM
Toad,
Since their heads are firmly lodged up their a$$es, I think we'll both get our way buddy!
Yeahhhhhh mannnnnnn
I took a few minutes to lay out some Troll Motels. They can blog in but they can't blog out. Seems to have worked. (For now)
Posted by: magicman | May 20, 2008 at 12:37 PM
So here are the key questions for the Lakers:
1. Can Bowen still hound Kobe? If Kobe breaks lose, the Spurs are in big trouble
2. Is Ariza healthy enough to bother Manu? When Manu is struggling, the Spurs struggle mightily
3. Can Pau guard Duncan as well as he did in that game at the end of the season?
4. Can our bench step up? Our bench has the potential to completely obliterate the Spurs' bench. If Pop cannot rely on his bench, he may be forced to put too much strain on his aging starters.
Posted by: Vonislav Waferdenko
here's my take:
1. bowen was never able to really bother kobe. i see kobe continuing his playoff dominance and yes, the spurs are in trouble. then again they've been in trouble for some time now..
2. i see you're not even mentioning Luke, who would figure to have first dibbs..
3. not consistently. duncan will get his, but the question is whether pau will be able to be more effective than he was during the utah series. if he is, this series will be short
4. i see a repeat of the last series, with our bench stepping up at home, but struggling on the road. although both teams were able to win on their opponent's floor in the previous series.
Posted by: machiavelly | May 20, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Everybody's concerned about Bruce Bowen, but I think that Bruce has lost a step. He couldn't BEGIN to slow down CP3, which no one really can, and only became a factor in that series when he was switched onto Peja. By the way, nice game 7 Peja! Some things never change! Kobe ain't no Peja!!! Bruce won't see that much time on Kobe, the Mamba will wear him out. It's going to be a commitee on Kobe, with Manu, Bruce, Udoka and Finley all taking turns.
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | May 20, 2008 at 12:42 PM
I think you guys are hyping up Ariza's D way too much. Ariza is good on D, but he's not great and ginobli, parker are two of the top players in the league, who are pretty difficult to guard when they're on. Over confidence is not good. Seven games or sweeps, it doesn't matter the spurs made it to WCF, that fact alone makes it scary.
That being said I think if the Lakers keep playing like they've been playing so far, they should advance. Oh yeah, also the refs need to stop reffing like they've been reffing.
LAKER HATERS SUCK!!!
Posted by: Fire32 | May 20, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Pop and TD have always flown under the hate radar (till Joey Crawford went postal). Big Shot gets a pass in my book.
The rest are open season but this shapes up to be a pretty civil ceremony. Lakers in 5
Posted by: Vman | May 20, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Wow - the blog is in rare form today! So much excitement, so much reasoning on match ups, so much violence - LOL - Jon K you are seriously disturbed man! Public disembowelment - wow - you really do hate trolls don't you?!!! LOL!
Mamba24 - put me down for any and every bandwagon rolling please! I am psyched and ready for game time - only what? 30 hours to go? Yikes! I may need some valium by then - lol!
I'm glad we got the Spurs - the championship goes through the defenders, so I say bring it on! Lakers will take these old, tired, cry-babies - I'm thinking 4-2 but I guess we'll see. I'm also glad we have home-court - that should give the young-uns some time to really feel good about where they are & also give them some confidence before they're out on the road again. This is the big-time now, so any advantage we have is great! Of course the biggest advantage is one Kobe Bean Bryant - 'nuf said!!
8 to O'Brien.......
Posted by: justanothermambafan | May 20, 2008 at 12:55 PM
Fire32,
I'm confused. I thought you were a Laker Hater. What gives?
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | May 20, 2008 at 12:57 PM
some short Kobe clips:
http://www.yahoo.com/s/884611
One is about the Spurs
and the other is about his pinky finger.
Posted by: Lakers Legacy | May 20, 2008 at 01:01 PM
Fire32 - I'll say it again - welcome brother! LOL!
Posted by: justanothermambafan | May 20, 2008 at 01:03 PM
The logo from Pounding the Rock:
http://assets.sbnation.com/community_logos/1385/pounding_the_rock.jpeg
With closer inspection (and the right color shades), the dude doing the pounding just needs a 24 on his chest while the one receiving the stake in his heart looks suspiciously like Coach Pop........or is that a basketball.......no, definately Pop's bulbous head.
On another note, I'll bring the entertainment to the troll BBQ lawn party:
http://www.friendlyrentalcenter.com/troll_toss.htm
TROLL TOSS !!!
Posted by: MiloRambaldi | May 20, 2008 at 01:10 PM
Jon K.,
I used to think that a couple of years ago, but I think the ones we've gotten so far haven't really lived up to that.
However, I do agree in giving them more credit. They have championships, so they know what it takes and what a team is supposed to be made of to win a championship, let alone multiple championships.
#4
Posted by: #4 | May 20, 2008 at 01:13 PM
bronxlakerfan,
Bowen's good, but, DUDE, this team has GOT to be tired.
Did you watch the Spurs/Hornets series? The Spurs deserved to win, but the Hornets play an uptempo, frenetic game that wears out opponents. The Spurs survived a seven-game series, got no sleep last night, have no opportunity to prepare for the Lakers, and then play early tomorrow night.
While the Lakers are rested, YOUNG, and were watching Game Seven of the Spurs/Hornets series together, strategizing.
Jackson will take advantage of this disparity. These first two games provide the Lakers with a major opportunity. If they play approaching their potential, with the inclusion of Trevor Ariza's athleticism and defense, they can potentially produce two demoralizing victories over the oldest-team-in-the-league Spurs. This is a very real possibility for us and a goal the team should shoot for.
Games Three and Four will be a different story. Homecooking and their own beds will probably rejuvenate the Spurs who will have been gone from home for about a week. Even if we win Games One and Two, we should not take the Spurs for granted.
Still, if we play with rested competitive glee and a bitter thirst for victory, Games One and Two should go very well for us.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | May 20, 2008 at 01:14 PM
it's not that i think she's physically unattractive. i just feel that she's in the media so much (especially during games) to the point that it's abso-effingly annoying that she HAS become physically unattractive to me.
Posted by: d | May 20, 2008 at 01:14 PM
I'm sure Eva Longoria is a wonderful person and all, but she is someone who has hatched her career based on little more than her looks.
I no longer live in LA (but miss it!), but I have to ask.... is she any better looking than the average female at a Lakers game? I say she's around the 50th percentile of women who choose to worry about looking a certain way in public. (Plenty prioritize other things) I have not detected any talent on Eva either. What I am asking is, why is she famous again?
Posted by: The D | May 20, 2008 at 01:16 PM
Vonislav Waferdenko,
I think that the Spurs matchup well against Pau Gasol, but they don't match up well against Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom.
Rad Vlad will probably be open a lot. If his shot is falling, we'll quickly make it tough for the Spurs.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | May 20, 2008 at 01:18 PM
Mark it 8 wins to go, and the Spurs are entering a world of pain.
And Donny is out of his element.
Posted by: Walter Sobchack | May 20, 2008 at 01:19 PM
Fire32, I think you're on to something. Some of us are putting a lot of pressure and expectations on a guy that hasn't played in a longggggggg time. Dude can D up. But we're asking him to step into the fray in the WCF. No easy task. I can agree that he IS an X factor. Cause we really don't know what we're gonna get.
Oh and pretty hard to disagree when you say LAKER HATERS SUCK!!!
And you KNOW THIS mannnnnnnn
Posted by: magicman | May 20, 2008 at 01:20 PM
Jon K..............disembowelment........perfect..........makes getting them ready for the Weber even easier!
Magicman...........how do you like your troll?...........burned to a crisp is best.
Posted by: toad | May 20, 2008 at 01:25 PM
Prediction:
Lakers dominate game 1 simply due to the rest vs. having just played factor. The Lakers fluid passing will prove dominant in game 2. I can easily see the Lakers winning one of the two games in San Antonio simply because they always look very focused on the road. Remember that the 2 losses to the Jazz were both close games eventhough the Lakers didnt shoot particularly well (free throws were horrible) and the Jazz played very well.
Result:
Lakers in 5!!!
dpk
Posted by: dpk | May 20, 2008 at 01:34 PM
Bunch of cry baby Laker fans -- no way you're getting past us -- we WILL win in 6 -- no Bynum, Gasol is soft, Kobe will be neutralized. Did you see what we did to the runner up MVP -- Pargo had to take all the shots hahahaha.
Posted by: Spurs4Life | May 20, 2008 at 01:37 PM
As Flava Flav would say, WOWWWWWWWWWWWW.....
Jim Rome just said, "Who's gonna guard Manu Ginobili?
Last I checked Manu wasn't the MVP, or the Best Player in the Game, that title belongs to Kobe Bean Bryant Black Mamba KB24 himself! They need to be worried about Kobe, he's on a serious mission. You can see it in his eyes during interviews, he is so zeroed in, so focused, he doesnt even want to be bothered with the interviews, but he is being cordial, you can tell!
They buggin, who is gonna guard Ginobili?? Please. He's gonna get his..Just keep the Spurs bench in check and they shouldnt score any more than 55-60 points a game!
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | May 20, 2008 at 01:38 PM
Everybody should have a Kobe gift watch.
https://www.kb24.com/news/article/641.html
Posted by: Fairweather Fatty | May 20, 2008 at 01:57 PM
Caliphilosopher,
Thanks for the shout out! I'm cool brother!
Posted by: Charles | May 20, 2008 at 01:59 PM
GOOD LUCK DREW!!!
Posted by: greek dude | May 20, 2008 at 01:59 PM
By now, you've all heard of the Spurs getting stuck in their plane overnight b/c the plane couldn't fly and the team could not get hotel rooms in NO.
Here is the crucial difference between SA and the Lakers:
"San Antonio uses the charter company Champion Air, which has announced it is ceasing all operations at the end of May." - ESPN.com.
Would anyone who works for Jerry Buss make that kind of mistake? As we learned again this year, when it comes to sports greatness, you have to remember the role of consistently competent management.
C'mon.. who puts a bunch of playoff bound millionaire athletes on a broke-a$$ airline? How do you justify trying to cut that corner?
Posted by: The D | May 20, 2008 at 02:01 PM
Jon K.,
My shoulder is improving on a snails pace. But it is improving. Diabetics are slow healers. *sigh*
Sometimes even though I see a great poster on the blog, I forget to say hi.
Regards,
Posted by: Charles | May 20, 2008 at 02:03 PM
Tsphere
Thanks for the reply!!! Go France!
Posted by: Charles | May 20, 2008 at 02:05 PM