Respectability.

If they lose the series 4-1 in LA it will be a horrible end to the season and too much like 2004. Not respectable.

If they lose the series 4-2 in Boston it will be better than 4-1, but it will still appear they were beaten handily, losing a game at home and failing to win even one time in Boston. Not respectable.

If they lose the series 4-3 in Boston in game 7 they will have achieved respectability. Losing one in LA but winning one in Boston and taking it to a 7th game only to lose to the home team is completely respectable.

If they win the series 4-3 in Boston they will achieve fame as the team that made the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history. And more than respectable.

John

Thank God. I was getting so sick of reading about the dreaded "Second Half."

Past is past.

Time to move forward.

Let's win this tonight.

I had the curse removed from my lucky bar stool.

We're taking this one.

GO LAKERS!

Happy Father's Day, everyone!

May everyone get the gift they are most hoping for...a Purple and Gold victory this evening. See you all then.

Banner Holder ~ Please pray that the trolls are at a minimum tonight. Thanks.

GO LAKERS!!

I feel like, it we win tonight and send it back to Bean-town, then regardless of that outcome, we should have a parade. This is the same team that, when the year began, was widely viewed as a 7th seed at best. And if they win tonight, they will have surpassed the playoff success of our '04 team! We'll be hoisting some serious banners of the next few years - that ain't no joke. We could be pullin' one up there on opening night this fall, during the ring ceremony - anything could happen, especially against an aging M.A.S.H. unit that's ripe with overconfidence.

One way or another, though, this team and these fans deserve a parade!

Best of luck tonight, and Happy Father's Day to all...even Doc.

From my 10 year old twins:

"Who cares if they lost, the Lakers are always our favorite team." It's not eloquent, but it is profound.

GO Lakers

btw: even if you're bored by the game, what Tiger's doing in San Diego is historic. He's a huge Laker fan, gutting out the lead on one leg, and for no concrete reason whatsoever, I think it bodes well for tonight.

AK/BK
I posted a response too Detective Dan on previous Blog could not find post did one of you guys posing as Detective Dan delete my post?

Happy Father's Day Lakers fans!

Take care of business today. Worry about the rest later.

Go Lake Show!

Lets all applaud our YOUNG team. Lakers chew up (and spit out) 30 point leads for breakfast. Listen Boston, you hear that thunder. You know what it is, but not where its coming from. Game 4 really wasn’t that big of a deal if you watched this season (Loose to Memphis and Charlotte, beat New Orleans and San Antonio). Once the team learns, I think you will find, they’ll be running up 30 point leads, but not loose’n them. Just put Boston on a higher perch to push them off of. When we are fighting in the NBA Finals for the next decade (add 10 years to all of our players ages, and were still younger than the Spurs), where will these leprocons be? In the retirement home looking up from the cellar. Lets fight for 144, and try to send these gremlins to the Florida lepo colony AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.

Then bring on Lebron, CP3, Dwayne, and some 15 year old kid we’ve never heard of, these will be the REAL opposition AHEAD. For all Boston’s chirping, this is the sad reality for them. This is it for them. Now we win game 5, doubts start settling in. Get it done in Boston leprocons say. Kobe erupts in Game 6, and they hear the pounding footsteps behind them, now they’re thinking, (and they don’t even have Bynum now), gotta get game 7 if I’m EVER going to win. And then . . . it fades away? Now THAT would be devastating. Time to grow Lakers, fight like men for 144, and we’ll see what happens. The future IS BRIGHT. But We’re Los Angeles. We’re greedy. We’re hungry. We want it NOW! Bring the LIGHT ! Fight to the death for every second of 144! Lets GO GET IT DONE. LAKERS to VICTORY!

Good article in the NY Times today about Derek Fisher's role in drawing attention to treatment options for other children with the same eye cancer as his daughter Tatum.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/sports/basketball/15fisher.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

This season has been one of the most fulfilling I've experienced as a Laker fan.

To those of you like Jon in Houston: the season is a respectable one, regardless of how the Finals finish. The expectations of the media-driven hype machines only fabricate any disappointment the so-called experts might try to heap on this team and series. The media is really only a parody of itself at this point, and shouldn't affect how we view the outcome of what has been both an improbable and incredible Laker season.

The Lakers by far exceeded anything anyone has expected of them. How many people believed that when Kobe Bryant was being booed on his home floor in the opening game of the year, the Lakers would make an exciting roller coaster of a journey all the way to the NBA Finals? Who believed that when the Lakers had suddenly begun to show the elements of a true contender, only to lose the anchor of their defense and rebounding to injury, that they would be able to run through the western conference playoffs with amazing efficiency? Where did any of us think the Lakers would be after their starting center was being booed mercilessly on their home floor before being traded in one of the most lopsided deals in NBA history? The trade that sent shockwaves through the rest of the NBA, and caused an avalanche of deals that changed the shape of an entire conference and league for the next two years.

This has been an amazing season. Seasons come and go, and this team will be even hungrier next year after having tasted the Finals. These young Lakers are only going to get better next season. Not just because of THE BEAST returning, but because all of the young Lakers are going to improve during an offseason of hard work.

Win or lose, I'm proud to be a Laker fan, as I always am. I'm not disappointed in my Lakers nor do I think their performance should engender anything but my admiration for their effort. Many players have made Finals and lost. Magic Johnson appeared in 8 Finals and lost 3 of them. Larry Bird appeared in 5 and lost 2. Wilt appeared in 6 and lost 4. The Finals are the pinnacle of the sport, and every Laker fan and player should be proud of this accomplishment.

I can't wait for the journey to start again in October.

Let's go Lakers! Let's go!

GAME DAY!!!!!

THE BEST COMEBACK IN NBA FINALS STARTS TODAY

LAKERS YESTERDAY, LAKERS TODAY, LAKERS TOMORROW, LAKERS ALWAYS

GO LAKERS

Mamba24: It being game day, do you think you could muster a roll call?

Like Lakers_sth, I too will be at Staples this evening, cheering madly, regardless of which Lakers team shows up. In my pocket will be a print out of the roll call so that this blog can be there -- if not in person then at least in spirit. We'll rock the house.

MESSAGE TO KOBE, LAMAR, PAU AND THE REST OF THE LAKERS TEAM.

We have seen how our Lakers team have evolve throughout this year.
We have seen your ups and downs
We have been witnessed to some of the most spectacular games ever seen in the NBA with our Lakers team involved.
An for that we really love this Lakers team.
Pls. do not be disappointed too much with just that single lost. It is just a game and you can still come back.
Pls. do NOT throw the towels just yet.
Just play the game that you really like to play.
Do not give up, Give your best shot, win or loss we will be by your side.
Just do it for your fans now. Yes, you have fans not just hundreds of thousands but millions around the world and we are one of them. DO IT FOR US, YOUR FANS.
WE STILL WANT TO SEE YOU GUYS PLAY.
PLEASE DO NOT END THIS SERIES AS YET.
WE STILL BELIEVE.
GO LAKERSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY FAVORITE BASKETBALL MEMORIES…

No, it’s not Wilt and Jerry’s first championship against the Celtics. No, it’s not one of the five Showtime championships. No, it’s not the Lakers most recent three-peat. And surprisingly, no, it won’t be when the Lakers win the next three games in the greatest comeback in the history of the NBA Finals.

No, my favorite basketball memories are the many days and hours I spent teaching my son how to play Lakers basketball. From the baby basketball I put in his crib to the different heights of the basket as he grew up, these were the best moments of my basketball driven life beyond any doubt. They were the times when my son and I were the closest, when I could see myself as a boy in the life and love in his eyes.

I still remember the first time we played together in a pickup game. My son was in high school and just starting to develop as a player. He had a great outside shot, was quick and fast, and played with great confidence and intelligence. He also had been groomed in the pick and roll since he was in grade school. We must have posted a thousand assists on the day as we and two buddies of mine held court all day, losing only once.

Tonight, I am going to watch the game with my son and root the Lakers on to a clutch victory to send this series back to Boston. The last Lakers Finals game we watched together was Game 7 when we came back from 15 in the 4th quarter to beat the Blazers. We watched that game in the hospital with the sound off as my daughter-in-law was being prepped for the birth of my first grandson, who will be the next point guard in the family. Nothing but wonderful memories on Fathers Day. Let’s keep that dream alive.

Lakers and Father’s Day. An unbeatable combination. Just win 3, baby. Just do it!

Happy Fathers’ Day to all of the Lakers dads and sons out there. Keep the love alive.

Tom

Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers on the blog and to all the Laker players who are fathers.

Ditto what Pig Miller said. Regardless of what happens from tonight forward, the Lakers have done exceptional things this year. And it's only the beginning.

Go Lakers, win 3 just cause you can!

Boston Lover,

Thanks for celebrating the Laker's victory tonight with a party, that show a lot of class.

What's that sound . . . It sounds like a freight train . . . to Boston . . . I hope you've stocked up on anti-venum!