Live from the Finals, Game 6: Lakers vs. Celtics
You folks cheering at home better do some screaming, because your Lakers need all the help they can get drowning out these Bostonians. They seriously know how to yell at whatever this arena is called. There was even a small "Beat L.A." chant going an hour before the game.
AK
Big cheers for Kendrick Perkins, who is starting.
By the way, I know longer feel bad about my nose bleed dwellings. I'm actually seated next to Kevin Blackistone, of "Around the Horn" fame. He's a considerably bigger and more prominent figure than yours truly. That provides me some comfort in a petty kinda way.
And look, David Stern is on the other side of me! Okay, that part isn't true.
FIRST QUARTER
Lakers win the tip. That's certainly not a bad start. And 14 seconds before Perkins picks up a foul and Kobe cans a jumper. All in all, not too bad.
11:00 - The Celts fans don't like the charging call against Pierce, but the replay shows it was the right one. PP was neither set nor square when taking the contact from a driving Fisher. Derek hits both freebies.
10:18 - Some tightness by the Celts (a terrible missed trey by Ray Allen against the side of the backboard, Perkins bricking a put back) is finally offset by Rajon Rondo, who strips Gasol and streaks towards the bucket, then dishes out to Allen outside the arc. Money this time for Jesus Shuttlesworth.
9:01 - Kobe pulls up and cans his third three ball early in the game. He's 3-3 from the field, all behind the arc. Good results, but I definitely don't want to see him there all night. But still, great start for Bryant.
END OF THE FIRST: 24-20 Boston. (BK here, as AK is having interweb problems at the Gah-den.)
Not a terrible quarter for the Lakers from a score standpoint, but they aren't looking good in some key areas. First, Pau Gasol has been nonexistent on the offensive end, and has been extremely passive. Four turnovers assigned to him (I might have given one to Kobe that was tagged to Pau, but that's not the point). They need him to find some confidence and start giving the Lakers another outlet. Kobe kept the Lakers in the quarter with some very clutch shooting from downtown, but that can't be expected through an entire game. Defensively, the Lakers are doign a nice job in the halfcourt, but are giving up far too many offensive rebounds (five) and have shot themselves in the foot with six TOs.
That's given the Celtics 24 field goal chances already. Clean up that stuff, and the Lakers might be able to make some progress. Good moves thus far include getting LO on PP more.
SECOND QUARTER:
8:23- Timeout on the floor, Celtics up by five, 28-23. Boston is making the Lakers a perimeter team. Lots of deep jumpers, and Kobe in particular is having trouble getting some space. They're stagnant right now on that end- LO has found some rhythm and is getting aggressive, but they have to figure out a way to find holes in that Boston O. Inside out.
6:25 - Eddie House connects from distance one possession removed from Posey giving him the idea. Same left corner of the court, same result, pushing the Celtics' lead to nine. Rotating around to cover is leaving guys way open. Everyone needs to make sure not to overcommit and keep a bead on their guy. In particular, Posey was given days to measure up his shot and fire.
Belichick gets puts on jumbotron and gets thunderous ovation. I have nothing against the Pats, but I really hate that dude.
6:15 - Another quick three from Kobe fails to connect. He's enjoyed some early success, but he needs to knock it off with the downtown stuff, especially early in the clock. Take it inside, keep the ball moving.
5:53 - Third foul on Fish around the perimeter, sending House to the line. Farmar checks in.
5:37 - Kobe turns the ball over after working iso'ed in traffic and it slips into House's mitts. Another three ball from Posey comes from it. Theat would be the ninth turnover by the lakers, for those keeping a running tally (and I am).
3:57 - Vlad takes a catch and shoot from Kobe and comes up bad on his first attempt, both from the field and behind the line. He compounds the error by sending Pierce to the line after fouling him (his third) along the baseline. PP shoots a pair and Walton comes in for Vlad.
3:04 - Walton passes up the three ball, steps inside a few, then clangs off rim and eventually to the top of the backboard. The Laker O has gone seriously cold, with Boston outscoring them 15-4 since the 7:50 mark. Time out Boston.
2:12 - After turning the ball over working his way into traffic, Farmar redeems himself with a steal under the Boston basket, then draws a foul going back to rack. One of two fall.
1:12 - A little floater by Rondo under the bucket goes down. The Celts are back up by 18. Scratch that. 20, after KG sinks the fall away floater after picking up LO's second foul. And now it's 21, when the freebie strokes nylon.
23.6 - Some criss cross action between Celtics eventually works the ball into Perkins' hands down low. He works the layup into the goal, making this a 23 point affair, where it sits at halftime. Hard to say which is hurting the Lakers more. A shooting percentage that's plummeted to 30% (8-27 from the field). An absurd 11 turnovers. Getting beat 26-14 on the boards. Being outdimed 17-5. But whatever you label the #1 factor, they all need to be corrected ASAFP if the Lakers want to maintain any prayer of a miracle comeback. We'll see if they can get it together after some halftime Gatorade and orange slices.
THIRD QUARTER
11:42 - Boston's first possession is a mid-range jumper by Rondo gone good. That's not what I would categorize as a proverbial "good omen."
10:51 - More movement inside by Boston, with Rondo drawing attention around the tin and kicking out to Ray Ray at the arc. Kobe's late to close. Three ball goes down.
9:52 - After missing from behind the arc, Fish thinks again from that distance after receiving the kick out from LO. Instead, he worms inside and works a layup home, drawing a whistle on Perkins. And one good. L.A. finally gets on the board with a field goal this frame.
9:32 - LO sets up Pau for the dunk. It's back to 24, then back up to 26 after a PP driving layup.
8:48 - Vladdy finally gets on the board after slipping a defender, then parking himself back behind the line to spot up for three. But before any momentum can be found, Rondo drives the lane and picks up a whistle on Kobe. "And one" layup made good. We're still in "tough sledding territory" for the Lake show.
7:30 - An LO turnover creates yet another score for Boston off transition. This time it's Ray Allen, who's left beyond wide open for what's essentially shooting practice for him behind the arc. He drains it.
6:11 - Pau can't handle Fish's pass inside, resulting in... you guessed it... another turnover (a baker's dozen and counting). On the other end, he picks up an offensive on the ground in a scrum with PJ Brown. It's been that kind of night for him... and everyone wearing his uni, really.
5:09 - This game's tone was just neatly summarized, as Pau tries to work his way to the bucket against KG, who stymies Gasol's motion and forces a jump ball while grabbing the rock with ONE HAND. Not a typo, folks. One hand. If you need an example of how and why nothing is going right for L.A. (or how and why everything is for Boston, depending on your POV), there you have it.
2:54 - Time out, Lakers, with a 30-point spread staring them down. I just receive an email. "This isn't going well, love Mom." The woman knows her hoops.
2:49 - Pau gets the chair pulled out from under him by KG, adding another turnover to the mix. No Celtic bucket comes from it, but the Lakers don't get a chance to capitalize. Kobe quickly adds a turnover of his own, with a sequence ending with Rondo at the stripe. One of two go down.
1:47 - Kobe earns a pair at the line after driving and drawing a foul on Brown. Both are good. Coming on the heels of a converted layup, am I the only person wondering why he didn't do more of that earlier on instead of all the long jumpers?
The quarter wraps up with Kobe's 17 foot baseline jumper going errant at the buzzer, leaving the Lakers with 29 points to make up for in the next dozen minutes. That would be a tall order under any circumstances, but the way this team is playing, it's beyond ludicrous to picture. I just want them to go out playing hard, playing with heart and, if we're lucky, maybe playing smart.
FOURTH QUARTER
Eleven seconds in, we have LO at the strip on another fouled and unconverted layup (0-5 on a tough night) and hitting one of two at the line. Trevor Ariza makes his first appearance of the night.
11:02 - Ariza at the line after drawing the foul underneath the cup on Big Baby. One of two are good. In the meantime, the crowd is chanting "Where is Kobe," in reference to #24 taking a seat on the pine.
10:44 - Clear path foul on Farmar while trying to prevent a layup by Rondo after the point guard receives a Hail Mary from Brown. Curious how the sequence got started? If you guessed "turnover," give yourself a gold star.
9:11 - Allen buries another three, bumping the score to 101-70, Boston. Of course, it's only an 11-possession game, so really, this baby is still wide open.
7:27 - At least the Lakers are getting interesting turnovers now. After pulling down Rondo's miss at the rack, Farmar attempts the Hail Mary alley oop to Ariza. The ball bounces off the backboard and into KG's hands. Points for originality, I guess.
5:21 - Another bomb from distance courtesy of Ray Allen, giving him a grand total of 26 on the night.
They're playing the music from "The Departed." I figured it had to come soon enough.
The "nah nah nah nah, hey, hey, hey, good bye" chant has started up. Frankly, I imagine the Lakers wouldn't mind obliging the invite to leave.
2:21 - Time out Celtics. A jumbotron montage of "Dancing Gino" from the 70s comes up, mixed in with American Bandstand footage. All to the tune of the Bee Gees' "You should be dancing." I desperately wish it came under different circumstances, but I'm also a sucker for anything of that era. I must admit, it's actually kinda cool.
1:30 - Ariza attempts a dispy doodle layup to no avail. Garbage time can't end quickly enough. This is growing tortuous.
Thirty seconds to go. Boston players, staff, and fans are getting ready to storm the court. The baseline is stacked with spectators. This place is about to go insane. KG, PP and Allen are hugging.
4.4 - House dribbles down to a 24-second violation. Then the last four tick away. "We are the Champions" by Queen plays. 131-92 Boston, in a game that was every bit as lopsided as the score would indicate. On the jumbotron, I see Kobe, LO, Turiaf, Fish, and Sasha seek out various Celts to offer congratulations. I'm sure other teammates followed suit. Glad to see the display of class by the Lakers. It's gotta hurt bad, but they're doing the right thing. This will be a tough one for the team and the fans to swallow for quite some time, but this was still a fantastic season that nobody could have seen coming and can only be built upon. Try to remember that while absorbing this sting.
And yes, before you ask, I do smell many a cigar lit up.
If you have a Duck that lays the golden eggs, will you trade it with many Ducks that will just kwak, kwak, kwak like Neutrality? You already have Kobe, Bynum and Pau, all you have to do is surround them with better players and good defenders. So why trade the MVP? Laker fans, you know the names of people who have been in this blog that reasoned out throughout the year. Ignore the noisy trolls in our discussions.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | June 17, 2008 at 11:47 PM
kobee? no one saw this demise coming, except me.
I'll make a deal with you - I'll stay off this blog if you'll keep the laker trolls off the SUNS boards!
Posted by: BUTLER | June 17, 2008 at 08:29 PM
No way Troll all you want. We don't care about you. We beat you 3 out of 4 games and expect a sweep from us on you next year. We can take your ish but be ready to handle us when we humiliate you again.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 17, 2008 at 11:48 PM
Wow! Where were all these classless C trolls Tuesday when the Lakers beat their ass. Enjoy it this year while you still can.
Posted by: mjassbong | June 17, 2008 at 11:53 PM
OMG-The BOSTON CELTICS played a phenominal game.
They are the CHAMPS of 2008.
Why were you all talking about next year, while this year's
final wasn't even decided yet??
I hate being a Laker's fan now, because you sissies
are all wuss's. Your so sure one minute the Lakers
will win, and within a blink of an eye, you plainly see
that they suck compared to the Celtics.
You all gave the Lakers credit where they never deserved it. It was definately like the Harlem Globetrotters playing the Washington Generals.
You shut off the T.V., because you
can't bear to see the World Champ Celtics receive
the trophy and celebrate their dynasty.
None of you are true basketball fans, you are all on the
bandwagon, because, no matter what, a true blue fan
watches the trophy celebrations, no matter which
team wins. And is happy for the team that triumps.
You jealous, envious idiots, who said such insulting
things, since this series began about the Celtics.
And then you all had to SUCK it up.
AK/BK-you guys were still giving the benefit of the
doubt to the Lakers up until you were forced to put
your head between your legs. You guys were even
talking about a game 7, after landing in Boston for
Game 6. Your comments were so wrong!!!!
AK/BK bitched sooooo much about how cold the
Boston Garden was, (like little girls whining), instead of
reporting the latest sports FLASH NEWS. You guys
are like little old ladies.
The Lakers were horrible tonite, and an embarassment
to their conference. They stunk out loud.
The Western Conference was weak from the start,
however, no-one seemed to notice it. Boston and
Detroit were the better teams. How blind you all were.
AK/BK-you took defense for granted, you guys should
have noticed how superior Boston's defense was,
and let your followers realize it too.
Our blog turned into a joke, and a laughing stock for
the Celtics. We acted and re-acted like a bunch of
uneducated basketball fans.
We may not even make the playoffs next year. You
certainly can't bet on your predictions, because they
were all wrong, and you don't have a crystal ball.
Also, you talk about next year, live in the moment, which
is now, we all are not going to be here next year.
So stand up and give KUDOS to the WORLD CHAMPION
-CELTICS. Because we are living now, THIS IS OUR MOMENT,
Posted by: Jack | June 17, 2008 at 11:55 PM
dkw
EXACTLY, PHIL PLAYED HIM TWICE AND WHEN HE DIDN'T GET THE "TRIANGLE" HE PULLED HIM.
WHAT I REMEMBER WAS A PLAYER ON DEFENSE WHO RAN HARD TO GET TO HIS MAN ON A SWITCH, I MEAN I NEVER SAW ONE LAKER RUN HARD TO THEIR MAN THE ENTIRE SERIES.
IN THE REGULAR SEASON HE GAVE KOBE FITS WITH HIS TIGHT DEFENSE.
THIS IS WHY PHIL HAS TO GO, HE EMPHASIZED THE OFFENSE SO MUCH AND WOULD PULL PLAYERS BECAUSE "THE OFFENSE BECAME STAGNANT" THAT HE FORGOT THAT IF YOU CAN'T STOP YOUR MAN FROM SCORING YOUR NOT GOING TO WIN.
OH MY GOD, PHIL JACKSON IS MIKE D'ANTONI
ONLY D'ANTONI HAS AN OFFENSE THAT DOESN'T CONFUSE AND MAKE HIS PLAYERS LOOK LIKE IDIOTS.
Posted by: Do You See What I See | June 18, 2008 at 12:01 AM
AK/BK Why didn't you guys bring your electric
blankies with you to keep you warm in
the Boston Garden??
If we are lucky enough to meet the Celtics
again in the playoffs in the garden, please
don't mention how high the air-conditioner
is on. Just bring your onsies pajamas with
you, and don't forget your footsies and
ear-muffs.
You are supposed to be sports-writers,
not indoor weathermen.
We don't CARE about that! UNDERSTAND.
Posted by: A Laker's Fan | June 18, 2008 at 12:11 AM
JustaLakerFan:
Hey Faker, as I remember it, the Suns bounced your beloved Lakers from the first round the past two meetings.
haahahhaahaahahahahaahahh!
What else you got poser?
hshsshshshsshhshs
Did I mention that Celtics won? haahhaahhah
Man o'man, I will stay around ALL SUMMER just to remind you that CELTICS WIN! CELTICS WIN!.
AHAHHAAHAHH.
brawahahah brawhbarasewrldrwer1
Good night ladies. I'll see you when I see you.
Posted by: Let's go C's! | June 18, 2008 at 12:11 AM
The biggest bandwagon person out there is KOBE himself.
When the Lakers stunk after Shaq left it was Kobe who wanted to jump ship first.
Posted by: the REAL band wagon person | June 18, 2008 at 12:14 AM
Jman449 is an example of a fan who takes out his aggravation by attacking others. You also prove my point about classless fans.
Grow up, man. The Warriors aren't at the Lakers' level (yet), but that isn't the point here is it? The hungrier team won the finals. Deal with it. This is a taste of what we get whenever Laker trolls pull their cocky "we're so good" acts on our blogs and forums.
Posted by: WarriorsRule | June 17, 2008 at 11:40 PM
Let me see if I've got this straight: Some jackass Warriors fan who should get on his hands and knees (if he's no there already) and pray that the Warriors can have a day like the Lakers had TODAY comes on this board for the first time in his life to taunt Lakers fans about losing the NBA Finals and I am a classless fan?
Hey, classy, not only aren't the Warriors at the Lakers level now, they haven't been for 30 years and won't be in your lifetime. Deal with it.
How come you didn't answer my question? What do the Warriors rule, WarriorsRule? The 1975 NBA Finals?
Keep coming back. I have more aggression that I need to work out, and a Warrior fan makes a handy punching bag. Just like your team.
Posted by: Jman449 | June 18, 2008 at 12:15 AM
Why shouldn't Boston have been shooting threes ?
Last time I looked it was the Celtics job to shoot and the Lakers job to DEFEND.
Boston played defense from the initial tip-off until the last second. If the Lakers quit and decided to no longer guard Boston it's their own fault.
Stop being such crybabies.
Posted by: Shawn | June 18, 2008 at 12:19 AM
JERRY WEST RECENTLY SAID IN AN INTERVIEW THAT HE DOESN'T THINK THAT BYNUM AND GASOL ARE A GOOD MATCH TOGETHER. HE SAID A TRANSITION TEAM WOULD KILL THEM BECAUSE BOTH OF THEM WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO RUN BACK ON DEFENSE.
SO NOW I AM BEGINNING TO WONDER MYSELF. LETS FACE IT, WHAT MAKES ANYONE THINK THAT GASOL IS POWER FORWARD MATERIAL?
HE DOESN'T HAVE A MEDIUM RANGE SHOT, HE DOESN'T MOVE WELL, HE IS NOT A POUNDER OR REBOUNDER.
HE GOT POUNDED BY PORTLAND, SAN ANTONIO, SACRAMENTO, UTAH, AND BOSTON.
WHAT MAKES ANYONE THINK HE WOULD BE A GOOD POWER FORWARD?
Posted by: Do You See What I See | June 18, 2008 at 12:20 AM
shut up C.
shut up with your "faker" bs...
its getting old. and people are tired of your nonsense.
get a rope and just die.
Posted by: i_heart_LA | June 18, 2008 at 12:22 AM
Hey Laker Fans,
As a Boston fan, let me say, aside from tonight, your team played well this postseason. They gave the C's fits at times and did your city proud. Your team will be back next year. I hope to see many more matchups of this rivalry.
Have a great summer. When does football start?
Posted by: chris sisto | June 18, 2008 at 12:23 AM
JustaLakerFan: Kobe playin one-on-one is the best strategy to win championships.
Man o' man, aren't you Einstein?
E=MC2?
Posted by: Let's go C's! | June 17, 2008 at 10:35 PM
Just like you1 E=MC2??? How about E=MC squared.
Team ball wins genius!
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 18, 2008 at 12:40 AM
Let's Go C's ....
Ohhhhhh, poor Celtic fan who didn't win a championship in 22 LOOOOOOOOOONG YEARS.
Now he gets a chance to SHOW his STUFF by taunting Laker fans.
It's OK, you have no class. You will be bitter when you start another 22 years of LOSING cuz KG, Allen, and Pierce ain't no spring chickens. You pathetic Celtic PUS!
Let's see your C's do a three-peat .... Oh no they can't CUZ THEY'RE TOO OLD!! Let's see, who are the other old Celtic GM's that'll help ole' Danny Ainge. Uh, that's right, they have NOBODY left to "donate" to the C's.
And just for you ... a big MIDDLE FINGER up your ...ss
Posted by: PurpleMagic | June 18, 2008 at 12:42 AM
O.K. i_heart_LA - Who are you telling to GET A
ROPE AND DIE????
You are NUTS, and need help. What a crazy son-of-a-bitch you are. What a crazy bastard.
Posted by: Big Guy | June 18, 2008 at 12:42 AM
JustaLaker fan
What makes you think Newble would have helped? I watched every Laker game and he played like twice in garbage time and showed nothing. mbenga seems like a nice guy with a heartwrenching life story - but he did very little to show he would have made an impact. I don't get where the mbenga support comes from. he was a scrub, and played like a scrub in scrub time
??????
Posted by: dkw | June 17, 2008 at 11:25 PM
Apparantly you did not watch him contribute and you can't say Ira did not contribute when he did not get a chance to play. But one thing I am very sure of is Luke sucked this entire series and cost us leads the times he was in.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 18, 2008 at 12:44 AM
its not that PJ needs to play 12 people....
it is a veteran move to play a small circle... which also works fine...
PJ's problem is in-game adjustment and player motivation...
adjustment on how to fix the C's defense on kobe... 6 games no adjustment... kobe not going to the line killed us. dont say he cant... but he has been obedient to pj's direction to the bitter end.
and like some of you, the triangle doesnt work. scrap it
motion offense is the way to go...
Posted by: i_heart_LA | June 17, 2008 at 11:05 PM
Really. Just how successful was he? As I see it we lost the series because of PJ and his coaching and substitutions. If Doc says he plays a 12 member team and they won, what does that say about PJ?
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 18, 2008 at 12:47 AM
Ko-crybaby is a starlet.
Any questions?
Definition: a young actress (Kobeef) promoted and publicized as a future star, esp. in motion pictures.
Posted by: Let's go C's! | June 17, 2008 at 11:21 PM
Sounds like the perfect description of PP and his academy award wheelchair performance. Actress of the year.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 18, 2008 at 12:51 AM
JustaLakerFan:
Hey Faker, as I remember it, the Suns bounced your beloved Lakers from the first round the past two meetings.
haahahhaahaahahahahaahahh!
What else you got poser?
hshsshshshsshhshs
Did I mention that Celtics won? haahhaahhah
Man o'man, I will stay around ALL SUMMER just to remind you that CELTICS WIN! CELTICS WIN!.
AHAHHAAHAHH.
brawahahah brawhbarasewrldrwer1
Good night ladies. I'll see you when I see you.
Posted by: Let's go C's! | June 18, 2008 at 12:11 AM
I remember PJ coached us out of 2 playoffs but I also remeber we beat you 3 out of 4 last year and remind me again how many championships the suns have? Oh wait I remember....NONE....
Quit talking crap unless that is all you have in your mouth.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 18, 2008 at 12:58 AM
JustaLakerFan:
Hey Faker, as I remember it, the Suns bounced your beloved Lakers from the first round the past two meetings.
haahahhaahaahahahahaahahh!
What else you got poser?
hshsshshshsshhshs
Did I mention that Celtics won? haahhaahhah
Man o'man, I will stay around ALL SUMMER just to remind you that CELTICS WIN! CELTICS WIN!.
AHAHHAAHAHH.
brawahahah brawhbarasewrldrwer1
Good night ladies. I'll see you when I see you.
Posted by: Let's go C's! | June 18, 2008 at 12:11 AM
With all this Suns love this Let's go C's has to be the 12 year old Butler. Go to bed now or mommy will be mad at you.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 18, 2008 at 01:01 AM
I think us Laker fans should try to step back and not analyze what happened tonight because it's too fresh and most of the commentary about what to do with the team is somewhat emotional.
This Laker team needs to play together a whole season. I'm sure Mitch Kupchak will look at the gaping holes this team has on defense and make the needed moves, which is usually not a spectacular one rather, a reasonable one based on Kupchak's history of making moves.
I think Pau needs to bulk up and learn how to power down in the post against players his size. The biggest reason why they lost is the post play. The Celtic defense took away the post play by packing the paint, much in the same way the Pistons did in 2004. By doing so, they addressed the Lakers' 2 key offensive options: Kobe's perimeter play and Lamar's/Pau's post play. After Pau and Lamar, the Lakers didn't have anybody left to match the defensive energy and prowess of the Celtics down low, not that Pau or Lamar did match them but they were the best options on the team.
Oh well, tomorrow's another day. Next season's gonna be another championship run. Until then .... Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: PurpleMagic | June 18, 2008 at 01:02 AM
Justa,
"PJ with his usual insertion of Luke and non use of Mbenga cost us this series."
LOL!
Posted by: exhelodrvr | June 17, 2008 at 10:37 PM
Yup I too am lol.
I see the truth yet I believe you are just kidding yourself. Explain to me why you think PJ did such a great job. Not calling you out but just curious what you think went wrong. You know I believe, but please explain your position.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 18, 2008 at 01:12 AM
I didn't answer your question, Jman449, because it has no relevance to the discussion.
If you wish to be juvenile and proceed to attack teams,though, then take a look at the results of the regular season. I think Capt. Jack and Baron's performances against the Lakers say more than your pipe dream does.
The L's played hard, and I'll give them props for that.
I just take offense at your (and any other fan's) offensive comments towards loyal fans of other teams. You're as bad as the dude who grasped his eye and screamed to taunt Derek Fisher.
Posted by: WarriorsRule | June 18, 2008 at 01:32 AM
Giving obnoxious fans a taste of their own medicine is delicious.
Posted by: WarriorsRule | June 18, 2008 at 01:40 AM
Hey Lakers Fans.
Obviously, from my name, I'm a Celtics fan. But I just wanted to stop by and congratulate you guys on one hell of a season. No one expected you guys to even make the playoffs this year, and yet you hung tough, made a couple awesome trades, and ended up in the NBA Finals against the Celts, for a rekindling of the best rivalry in the NBA.
I have no doubts in my mind that you guys will be back next year, as will we, hopefully for a rematch once again in the Finals. I'll be rooting for you guys to make it there again, but I hope you understand if my Lakers support ends after the Conference Finals.
Congrats to the Western Conference Champs! Hope to see you guys NEXT June. :D
Posted by: I Bleed Green | June 18, 2008 at 01:41 AM
A big dose of W-T-F again this morning.
Like a bad hangover on the day of a funeral...does not feel any worse than this.
Keep the team together Mitch -- and add another role player to our mix. Bynum isnt the sole answer.
Wishing it were 2002 again...
Posted by: W-T-F | June 18, 2008 at 07:15 AM
JustaLakerFan,
It's very simple - PJ did not have the options to work with that Rivers had. A wildly inconsistent Lamar Odom, a Kobe whose shot wasn't falling, point guards not quick enough, Vujacic three point shots not falling, Gasol playing decent defense and rebounding, but being over-powered while on offense, Turiaf not getting any rebounds, Radmonovich playing horrible defense, Luke Walton playing poorly. Ariza and Mihm not ready for playing yet, as they showed when given the chance. Overall a significantly less amount of experience.
The Celtics had three scorers in the starting lineup; the Lakers had one, and two "sort ofs". The Celtics had three scorers on the bench (counting Cassell), the Lakers had one "sort of". The Celtics had good rebounders on the bench, the Lakers didn't.
The Celtics roster was better; JAckson did a very good job getting the Lakers two wins, and coming very close in three other games.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | June 18, 2008 at 08:11 AM
PUNKED
Posted by: GREENGODS | June 18, 2008 at 08:38 AM
laker fans, congratulations on a good season and i do mean that! they weren't even supposed to get this far.
this year, the celtics were the better TEAM. the lakers were too soft on defense....when you have evenly matched teams in terms of talent, defense and rebounding are KEY. they are the telltale signs of heart and toughness. the lakers couldn't match the celts in those categories.
lakers will be back. kobe is a great player.
Posted by: celtic fan | June 18, 2008 at 03:19 PM
The fact is that the Celtics roster was better this year.
Those of you being so critical of Gasol - you do realize that without him the Lakers would not have even made the playoffs, right, let alone made it to the Finals.
And those of you being critical of Jackson; he beat teams coached by Greg Popovich and Jerry Sloan. The Lakers without their starting center, their backup center, and their best perimeter defender. Third youngest team in the league. With a bench where the most experienced player is Luke Walton. Compare that to the Lakers bench. And yet three of the Celtics victories came down to the final minute. The Lakers are lucky to have Jackson as the coach.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | June 17, 2008 at 09:39 PM
The players won those series in spite of do nothing PJ. How come Doc out coached him? Please explain why we are so lucky to have PJ. Please tell me so I can understand where you are coming from.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 18, 2008 at 03:53 PM
JLFan, there is no way PJ will be fired. He has two years option on his 12M contract per year, so next season will be his last year. Even if we question his rotation, PJ is a good coach that brought us to the Finals.
[ Hey edwin. Got to respectfully disagree. I think the best thing to do is fire PJ ala Rudy T. Move him to some sort of consulting postion and let him move on with dignity. I also have said we got to the finals inspite of PJ and probably would have been there sooner if not for PJ.]
After the injury of Bynum, he has no legitimate Center or healthy Centers out there, used Turiaf prior to Gasol and when Pau got injured, brought in the best in DJ Mbenga eventhough he was trashed by Mavericks and Golden State. PJ stretched some winning streaks out of a rag tag team of one Superstar and some medium stars. You mentioned bring in Artest, Arenas etc. - will these players accept MLE? That's all we have. It will be a problem for Mitch how to dump players to clear cap space b/c we're near the luxury threshold.
[ Yes they Mbenga and Turiaff helped in stretches during the season but PJ went away from them when they showed they could contribute. I recently read an article about Artest, link from this blog, that he knows the FA market is slim for good contracts as too many teams in cap trouble. He is thinking about signing MLE with contender like Spurs, Lakers and Utah(? Jazz not sure of but there is 3rd team) . Arenas has already publically said he was willing to sign with Lakers for less money (contender and his home town). He said around 8 mil. I think he can be negotiated down. The rest see 9f they can be convinced (Corey M, C Butler etc) and make a run at them. Can't hurt to talk.]
Trading Pau Gasol, that's not a good idea, Troy, you're being carried by his soft baggages ignoring his assets when teamed perfectly with Bynum, Kobe as well as other medium stars joining the team out from free agents list. Initially, I agree with what Korey suggested that Ariza should be a starter and Lakers need a quick PG. Farmar should consider playing 2 since he loves the perimeter shooting. I think we're going to lose Sasha b/c other teams are willing to give him an MLE contract of $6.5M for 5 years. Will the Lakers match that? We should bring in Sun Yue as shooting PG but being a fresh international player, I doubt if he can compete with CP2, Deron, Monta etc. Is Coby Karl ready to play more minutes next year?
[Edwin I agree with you on this as opposed to Troy. But he is entitled to his opinion. I don't agree but he is entitled. It would be a waist to bring in Sun Yue if PJ is still coach as he will not see any PT. You know rookies and PJ.]
Ironically, Lakers need a complete preseason games this coming August and September exposed themselves in other sports of endeavor, not only basketball. They need to join track meets, martial arts classes, soccer, sharpen their minds with Chess games. These sports are not related to basketball but it develops the total personality of an athlete to make the right decisions, hardened those strides in grabbing the ball, avoiding injuries by learning how to fall and develop endurance to fight back at those little rondos or bulky perkins. That's what I mean by Championship, it is not just a word or a destiny but a plan, a process in preparing one self like what Bynum did and declare in the end that you are ready to be a Champion.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | June 17, 2008 at 11:36 PM
[ I don't disagree with this and they need to learn from Fish to take a charge or foul hard but clean on penetrating players. ]
JLF
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 18, 2008 at 04:26 PM
Let's see, first I read:
"A great big MIDDLE FINGER to all you Celtic Trolls! I hate you! I hate the Celtics! I hate Boston! Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen are all Celtic PUS!! I hate you Celtic Trolls!!! I hate Celtic Fans!!!"
Followed by:
"I really wanted LA to win. I hate the Celtics, and I hate the City of Boston. I wouldn't p*ss on it if it were on fire. The Celtics have to be the ugliest team in the league. If I had a dog that looked like Sam Cassell, I'd shave it's *ss and teach it to walk backwards. Ray Allen always looks like he's close to tears, Kevin Garnett is just plain weird and ugly, and Paul Pierce reminds me of a thinner version of Fat Albert. Doc Rivers always looks like he's taking a dump."
And you say that Boston fans have no class? You guys are sorer losers than Yankees fans! For Heaven's sake, be gracious and have a little dignity, will you?
-smith
Posted by: Smitty | June 18, 2008 at 04:34 PM
Ex,
Fineally something I can wrap my hands around.
I respectfully disagree that Doc had better players. I think the Lakers had the better team.
JustaLakerFan,
It's very simple - PJ did not have the options to work with that Rivers had. A wildly inconsistent Lamar Odom, a Kobe whose shot wasn't falling, point guards not quick enough, Vujacic three point shots not falling, Gasol playing decent defense and rebounding, but being over-powered while on offense, Turiaf not getting any rebounds, Radmonovich playing horrible defense, Luke Walton playing poorly. Ariza and Mihm not ready for playing yet, as they showed when given the chance. Overall a significantly less amount of experience.
[ OK yes LO was inconsistant but who had him out there? Pull him out and TALK to him and let him you what you expect out of him. In other words coach him.
Same as Kobe tell him to drive to rim and shoot lay up or dish or expose illegal D more. No more fade away jump shots if they are not falling.
As for quick point guards I saw positive things especially from Farmar when he dribble penetrated attacking the rim. Even Fish did good when he did the same. PJ should have told them to continue to do the same.
Radman did decent job against PP and way much better than Luke. As soon as Rad went out and Luke in PP had green light and lit him up for 8 straight points. The only thing about the last game is Rad did decent defense but his shots were not falling.
Vujacic shots not falling in last game but if so why leave him in? That is coaches decision. As for Turiaff playing out of position as well as Pau (both are PFs) then why not go for size with Odom at sf to guard PP Turiall to hassle KG and Pau/Mbenga vs Baby, Perkins and Brown. PJ has the players just does not use them. Also Cassel was eating JF and DF but was shut down by Ariza. Ariza could have then posted Cassel up. Mihm should never have been on the court as PJ refused to give him PT to shake off rust before playoffs. Mbenga would have been the go to guy as big off bench.
Luke never should have been on court as he is too slow and can't shoot a lick. He is bad matchup for playing against Celtics. And Ariza was ready when used properly as he held Cassel to zero points when matched agaist him and made steals. But again PJ did not give him many minutes to play to shake off rust.]
The Celtics had three scorers in the starting lineup; the Lakers had one, and two "sort ofs". The Celtics had three scorers on the bench (counting Cassell), the Lakers had one "sort of". The Celtics had good rebounders on the bench, the Lakers didn't.
[ Sorry but the Lakers had size and rebounding strength and that was left unused. Defense wins games. Lakers had a team but you need to use the cards you have and not mis use them and then throw the players under the bus after the game.]
The Celtics roster was better; JAckson did a very good job getting the Lakers two wins, and coming very close in three other games.
[ again I respectfully disagree as Lakers had the better overall team but they were not used. Doc kept telling his players we are team of 12 but PJ used only 7-8 and in the wrong places. Jackson did nothing especially coaching as the players stepped up for those 2 games in spite of PJ not doing a thing coaching wise all series.]
Posted by: exhelodrvr | June 18, 2008 at 08:11 AM
JLF
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 18, 2008 at 04:58 PM
To those of you who congratulated my Celtics last night:
Thank you. It must not have been easy. And, living in California as I currently do, I know that there are some fans who are jackasses, but some who are gracious and know that rooting for a team does not have to mean spitting on the reality that another team deserved to win. Best of luck to you in coming seasons, and hopefully tonight's bitterness will be short-lived.
To Lakers4Realz, 70'sLakersFan, Diesel100, Jon K. and a few others that I have read here:
Really. Go F*** yourselves, you bunch of classless idiots. "The refs gave the Celtics the series." "Boston is trash." "Why doesn't someone take out players' knees and end their careers?" "This season didn't even count because Bynum was hurt, so the Celtics weren't really a good team." How pathetic of you to be so bitter about your team's performance that you want your Lakers to be classless pieces of garbage like you are.
The Celtics deserved this championship. They played injured. They played with players who hadn't played together. They dealt with the adversity of looking subpar in the early rounds. They dealt with family illness and tragedy. They dealt with the overwhelming predictions by the national media that they would lose to Detroit and then to this soft, terribly-coached whiny Laker team. The fans battled through 20 years of terrible luck and often terrible talent. This season is not a "warm-up act" for next season--if you had won the title, you wouldn't be talking about next June on that very night. This was not a series determined by referees--that is SUCH COP OUT LOSER horse sh**. The Celtics destroyed the Lakers in 2 games (yes, they destroyed them in Game 2 until they decided to celebrate 4 minutes too early), and the Lakers had NO answers to stop the Celtics runs in LA. You have NO excuses for why you lost. You lost because you were not as good, and the Celtics won 66 games and DEMOLISHED the Western conference worse than you did this season. Have some dignity and some perspective and give the Celtics actual credit (rather than "enjoy it now, losers" nonsense that a freaking 6 year old would say.) You embarrass your city and Laker fandom as much as the Lakers themselves embarrassed it tonight.
Call the Boston fans classless if you wish--penalize us for the fact that 3 of our teams (4, including the Revolution) are suddenly all great at the same time. Ask yourself what it would be like in LA if the Lakers, Dodgers, Kings and Galaxy were all in the finals of their sports in the same 8 month period. But if you look back at our most recent crushing defeat--the Superbowl, there were hundreds of blog posts criticizing Brady's play or Samuel's missed INT or the offensive line, and lots that just chalked the loss up to fate. VERY FEW people decided to express their grief by classlessly blaming the refs for the loss, and even fewer spent their time trashing the Giants' season or dismissing the year as illegitimate or wishing for Giants injuries because--what?--they had the temerity to win the game.
Be proud of your Lakers. Don't be f***ing jerks.
Posted by: Milltycoon | June 18, 2008 at 08:44 PM
JustaLakerFan:
haahahaahhah
Have a nice day.
hahahahahaha
Posted by: Let's go C's! | June 18, 2008 at 10:37 PM
JustaLakerFan:
haahahaahhah
Have a nice day.
hahahahahaha
Posted by: Let's go C's! | June 18, 2008 at 10:37 PM
I will Butler. You do the same!
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | June 19, 2008 at 08:00 PM
To the Celtic Fans who post on this blog:
Understand that the hate that spews from this blog is directed from the gloating and goading of classless and idiotic Celtic fans.
Now, why after a bitter defeat would anyone goad Laker fans and taunt them by saying all these nasty and provocative comments? That is just uncalled for especially if you post on this board which is overwhelmingly populated by Laker fans. That's what chaps my hide!
The Celtics were the better team and they deserve to win the finals. The classless Celtic fans who chastized, taunted, and disrespected us Laker fans AFTER the game deserve the vile spewed on them.
If you want a civilized conversation then act accordingly and to those who did, thank you for being cordial. By the way, DO NOT put us in the same category as Yankee fans, they are NOT anywhere near true Laker fans.
Posted by: PurpleMagic | June 19, 2008 at 09:58 PM