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Official NBA Playoffs thread.....


Special K

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I thought it was a terrific game. The better team won, and the second best team played as hard as they could, for better or worse. It sucks to lose, but, I am pretty proud of the Celtics.

 

Hats off to the Lakers...even when the Celtics were up by 13, I wasn't feeling good about the game. Lakers just had a huge advantage with rebounds (Gasol finished with 18!!), the Celtics lack of size was just too much to overcome. I think Doc did a good job, but there were just too many obstacles to overcome with foul trouble, and the Perkins injury. I was most disappointed with Ray Allen. I love the guy, he played the best defense he could, but, I thought he was too sloppy with the ball...not to mention the shooting woes...

 

Ron Artest was awesome tonight. The guy really seems to have grown up...

 

Congrats John from Hemet! Great game, great series, great season!

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I thought it was a terrific game. The better team won, and the second best team played as hard as they could, for better or worse. It sucks to lose, but, I am pretty proud of the Celtics.

 

Hats off to the Lakers...even when the Celtics were up by 13, I wasn't feeling good about the game. Lakers just had a huge advantage with rebounds (Gasol finished with 18!!), the Celtics lack of size was just too much to overcome. I think Doc did a good job, but there were just too many obstacles to overcome with foul trouble, and the Perkins injury. I was most disappointed with Ray Allen. I love the guy, he played the best defense he could, but, I thought he was too sloppy with the ball...not to mention the shooting woes...

 

Ron Artest was awesome tonight. The guy really seems to have grown up...

 

Congrats John from Hamet! Great game, great series, great season!

 

Thanks Buff.....

 

This game was a really really ugly game.....I felt the whole game like we were playing Celtic style not laker style......but then i realized that the lakers have BECOME a Celtics style type team in order to win. That when I started looking a little further.....all through this series Kobe has said that in order to win we have to play consistant defense and rebound......I think he said that because he REALLY struggles against this team and he knew it was going to take a team effort to win.

 

And they did win together.....Ron Artest, Pao Gasol, even Sasha made big contributions

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Thanks Buff.....

 

This game was a really really ugly game.....I felt the whole game like we were playing Celtic style not laker style......but then i realized that the lakers have BECOME a Celtics style type team in order to win. That when I started looking a little further.....all through this series Kobe has said that in order to win we have to play consistant defense and rebound......I think he said that because he REALLY struggles against this team and he knew it was going to take a team effort to win.

 

And they did win together.....Ron Artest, Pao Gasol, even Sasha made big contributions

 

 

Yes, you are right. The Celtics dictated the style of play, but the Lakers had the horses to win that kind of game. The rebound disparity was huge. And the Lakers were committed to playing defense. I didn't think it was so ugly...I thought it was a great game, full of tension and drama. I suspect the Lakers will be right back in the finals next season, perhaps ieatcrayonz knows who they will be playing. But, I suspect it won't be the Celtics (I hope I am wrong) and the Lakers will have the weapons to play their kind of game.

 

btw- I am not a Kobe hater, I have immense respect for him. But, do you think he should have been the series MVP? I know he is the best player on the Lakers squad, but I think Gasol, and maybe even Artest, would have been better choices in this series. I know it isn't all stats...but you can't say enough about how much both of these guys really stepped up, against a very good defense. Kobe is always Kobe, but Gasol and Artest, IMO, elevated their games in this series, when it mattered most.

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Yes, you are right. The Celtics dictated the style of play, but the Lakers had the horses to win that kind of game. The rebound disparity was huge. And the Lakers were committed to playing defense. I didn't think it was so ugly...I thought it was a great game, full of tension and drama. I suspect the Lakers will be right back in the finals next season, perhaps ieatcrayonz knows who they will be playing. But, I suspect it won't be the Celtics (I hope I am wrong) and the Lakers will have the weapons to play their kind of game.

 

btw- I am not a Kobe hater, I have immense respect for him. But, do you think he should have been the series MVP? I know he is the best player on the Lakers squad, but I think Gasol, and maybe even Artest, would have been better choices in this series. I know it isn't all stats...but you can't say enough about how much both of these guys really stepped up, against a very good defense. Kobe is always Kobe, but Gasol and Artest, IMO, elevated their games in this series, when it mattered most.

 

My first thought was no Kobe should not have been the MVP.....and that Gasol actually deserved it more.

 

BUT in retrospect he probably does deserve it......even if he had a bad shooting night he still had 23 points and FIFTEEN rebounds.....and if what he holds true that defense and rebounding were the key to winning they he did what was needed to win. You gotta understand that he draws 3 defenders on almost every play and that opens up everyone else....we had a lot of lakers missing open shots.

 

I personally thought that it should have been a Co MVP thing with Gasol and Kobe

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Just out of curiosity, do you guys think the level of play in the NBA is below, the same, or better than what we had in the 80s and 90s? I grew up watching the Lakers v. Celtics and I was RIVETED by them. The late 80s Pistons, the 90s Bulls and Rockets, the emergence of the Spurs....It just seems like the league is too watered down or the players just aren't as dedicated to the game as they used to be.

 

Am I off base here?

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Just out of curiosity, do you guys think the level of play in the NBA is below, the same, or better than what we had in the 80s and 90s? I grew up watching the Lakers v. Celtics and I was RIVETED by them. The late 80s Pistons, the 90s Bulls and Rockets, the emergence of the Spurs....It just seems like the league is too watered down or the players just aren't as dedicated to the game as they used to be.

 

Am I off base here?

I think the finals this year were as intense as just about anything from the 70's, 80's, or 90's. Both teams hated each other and really left it all out on the court, either team could've won it all... much better than Celtics-Lakers in 2008. That being said, I think the league is definitely watered down compared to what it was... if it was Magic-Suns in the Finals instead, I doubt that I would've watched every minute of every game. The ridiculous salary cap and all the rules that go with it kinda ruined everything IMO.
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Just out of curiosity, do you guys think the level of play in the NBA is below, the same, or better than what we had in the 80s and 90s? I grew up watching the Lakers v. Celtics and I was RIVETED by them. The late 80s Pistons, the 90s Bulls and Rockets, the emergence of the Spurs....It just seems like the league is too watered down or the players just aren't as dedicated to the game as they used to be.

 

Am I off base here?

 

Could not have said it better myself. Magic Johnson was/is my all-time favorite athelete. I never missed a finals game all throughout the 80s and 90s.

 

Now, I see bits and pieces of the finals; just not interested in it anymore.

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Could not have said it better myself. Magic Johnson was/is my all-time favorite athelete. I never missed a finals game all throughout the 80s and 90s.

 

Now, I see bits and pieces of the finals; just not interested in it anymore.

 

Magic was amazing. It's weird, cause I used to always love watching the Celtics v. Lakers growing up, but I don't remember ever choosing a side I wanted to win. For every Laker I enjoyed watching play, there was a Celtic I felt the same way about. I remember Danny Ainge always hitting for 3, which always impressed me. Bird and Mchale never looked the part, but always found a way. DJ just got the job done, and Parrish always had that consistent presence in the middle. Loved James Worthy, byron Scott, magic, Kareem...hell, even Rambis had some gritty skills.

 

Yesterday just didn't compare to that for me, and it wasn't even close.

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Just out of curiosity, do you guys think the level of play in the NBA is below, the same, or better than what we had in the 80s and 90s? I grew up watching the Lakers v. Celtics and I was RIVETED by them. The late 80s Pistons, the 90s Bulls and Rockets, the emergence of the Spurs....It just seems like the league is too watered down or the players just aren't as dedicated to the game as they used to be.

 

Am I off base here?

Disclaimer: I wasn't old enough to appreciate the Showtime Lakers or Larry's Celtics...I started watching basketball just as MJ made his rise.

 

This is not directed at you, AJ, but I think for the most part, peoples' gripes against the NBA are unfounded, exaggerated and often contradictory. Most arguments seem to fall into three groups:

 

(1) Lack of talent

(2) Thug culture

(3) Style of play

 

(1) Since the mid-2000s, the star quality in the league has vastly increased. LeBron, Wade, Howard, Carmelo, Paul, Rondo, Williams, Durant, Bosh, etc. represent a great depth of young superstars. The elder-statesmen (Kobe, Duncan, Pierce, KG, Allen, Dirk, Nash, etc.) having numerous rings between them and still lead winning teams.

 

(2) This was partially legit and partially overblown. A lot of players got in the news for the wrong reasons and the league rightfully paid the price. But a lot of it was an audience's inability to relate to baggy shorts and tattoos. Interestingly, the NFL has never had such a "thug" stigma, but the same kinds of people reviled on the hard-court populate the gridiron.

 

(3) This is usually separated into two groups: (a) The NBA is nothing but one-on-one dunking and threes (b) The pace of play is boring. The first one is for the most part wrong, yet it is comically ironic. Usually the people championing this viewpoint are the same ones praising Michael Jordan for being the best player of all-time. His Airness is SOLELY responsible for spawning an entire generation of me-first, one-on-one players who grew up wanting to "Be Like Mike™." He is the tongue-wagging, ****-talking, through-the-legs-dribbling, 40-shot-jacking, GTFO of my way architect of the style of play that so many criticize. If you truly think team basketball is dead, then you can blame it on your hero.

 

Now the pace of play argument obviously has no defense; the game has slowed down significantly. More defense, more set plays, less fast breaks. I personally never experienced the time when 145-132 was commonplace so I can't relate. But I could see how the game might seem less exciting to those who lived through that.

 

 

Basically, the NBA has one major weakness right now, and it is really a Catch-22....the league is too nice. After the Palace Brawl, the NBA **** its pants and declared all-out war on its bad image. The results have been mostly great. The culture has been cleaned up significantly and faces of the league are seemingly good guys. But it lost an edge when this happened. The players are all buddies! Everyone hugs after games and hits the clubs together. If two guys so much as glare at each other, referees fall over each other to issues Double-Technicals (the scourge of the league!). While a lot of this is great, the intensity suffers and the fans become less invested. No more MJ choking Reggie Miller after two hours of jawing at each other. No more Charles Oakley clotheslining someone when the come into the lane. Hell, last year when LeBron didn't shake everyone's hand after the Magic loss, David Stern seemed about ready to check him into rehab! What a joke.

 

It's great that everyone is buddy-buddy, but I miss animosity and bad blood. It's part of sports. The NBA has artificially removed it because it is scared to death of another Brawl. But it makes the game unnatural and wishy-washy. And realistically, they are in a tough spot. People pine for the old days but as soon as a few fights start, the same ignorant "thug" card will be brought up again.

 

But overall, the quality of play and quality of players has been very good for the past few years...and the future looks bright. A lockout is probably all but certain, but nothing new there (or unique from other sports).

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I watched a decent amount of these playoffs and finals, the first NBA I've watched since Jordan left, and I was pretty entertained, I must admit. However, I do have one question: why do no players follow their shot? They shoot a jumper and pretty much everyone stares at it. I played a little basketball when I was younger, and my coaches would take you out of a game if you failed to follow your jump shots. Is this something that you don't need to do in basketball at an advanced level or is it just lack of fundamentals?

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Disclaimer: I wasn't old enough to appreciate the Showtime Lakers or Larry's Celtics...I started watching basketball just as MJ made his rise.

 

This is not directed at you, AJ, but I think for the most part, peoples' gripes against the NBA are unfounded, exaggerated and often contradictory. Most arguments seem to fall into three groups:

 

(1) Lack of talent

(2) Thug culture

(3) Style of play

You missed a big one. Scripted Yes, scipted.

 

Trust me, I am not a basketball genius. But when I go to the movies, I usually figure out the ending. The NBA is like a bad movie.

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You missed a big one. Scripted Yes, scipted.

 

Trust me, I am not a basketball genius. But when I go to the movies, I usually figure out the ending. The NBA is like a bad movie.

Woah! Talk about nailing it. Why have you hidden this from us this whole time? If I were you, I would have been beating this like a dead horse all throughout the thread.

 

J-E-T-S Jets JEts JETS.

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Woah! Talk about nailing it. Why have you hidden this from us this whole time? If I were you, I would have been beating this like a dead horse all throughout the thread.

 

J-E-T-S Jets JEts JETS.

Is mockery part of the grief cycle or do I detect anger?

 

 

And, um, take it to a Jets board I guess.

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Is mockery part of the grief cycle or do I detect anger?

C'mon....no mockery or anger. Just a little fun (well, maybe a little mockery too). I shouldn't have deleted the winking smiley face before I posted.

 

Your predictive powers were impressive...as we were all reminded several times.

 

And, um, take it to a Jets board I guess.

Oops...my fault. I meant to post that in the Jimmy Spagnola thread. Just got mixed up, I guess...

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Jimmy is dead, show some sensitivity.

OMG. I haven't seen Jimmy since I fell and was rescued by the code name Jonah Brothers in the Googlebot whale. I had no idea he was dead. What happened? I feel bad missing the funeral and all.

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You da man Crayonz... What? You predicted this script to a tee almost... What... One, two years ago?

 

Anyway... I am so glad the Celts go served... !@#$ those bastards... They did practice at the LA Clippers facility when they were in LA... Appropriate because that is where they belong. :thumbsup:

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Woah! Talk about nailing it. Why have you hidden this from us this whole time? If I were you, I would have been beating this like a dead horse all throughout the thread.

 

J-E-T-S Jets JEts JETS.

 

 

It wasn't hidden. I was surely doing it for him! :thumbsup: What? People can't remember what he has said through the years?

 

Sure he mixed up game 2 and 3... And 5 and 6.

 

I think Kobe slipped up a little in his interview:

 

"We shouldn't have won this thing."

 

I know know what he meant... But what do you really mean Kobe?

 

:thumbsup:<_<;)

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