Someone throw Scottie a Pepto Bismol, that upset has got to hurt. Heck, even a neutral fan like me felt bad! Someone please answer a question for me though. Lakers were up by 3, with plenty of time left on the game clock and shot clock, and Sir Scottie dribbles and throws up a trey! You would think a battle-scared six-time champion like him had better judgement. Obviously, that and the poor excuse of a call by the refs on Steve Smith were not the reason the Blazers lost. They had a meltdown that we Rockets fans knew all too well the season before this one (coincidentally, that choke of a season featured Quitten on the team as well) Now, all the hope I have is Reggie to pull a few miracles out of his bag of tricks, Larry Legend to will his team to victory and for Rik Smits to play at least his size against Shaq-Fool. Azim da Dream ------------------ True champions do not take their failures to heart and never let success go to their heads.
Yes, Steve Smith was fouled--right after Shaq was called for a goal-tending that wasn't. It all comes out in the wash. The officiating didn't favor one side or the other--unless you're a conspiracy theorist. LA looked like crap out of the gate, Portland looked like they deserved to win the game, then Portland got complacent, and LA came back and won it. Pippen loses like the whiny little punk he is, and that's all she wrote. ------------------ stop posting my damn signature
IMO, that was an obvious goaltend. No question about it. And Crisco, with Portland down 4, Steve Smith went down the lane and got hammered by Shaq. I was hoping for a flagrant foul cause that was what Shaq deserved. It was a hard foul. But there wasn't even a personal foul. If simply a personal is called, Smith would have made his two free throws most likely. 2 point game. Then, Kobe goes down and misses his two. (he did) Then, the Blazers would have had a shot to tie or win. But they never got that chance. Dean said it best with just a few words. The Lakers bought the refs. ------------------
My thoughts exactly Cat , I watched a 16 point lead disapear quicker than Houdini and watched the Blazers choke harder than Latrell Spreewell . Welcome to life in Hell Scottie .WHY THE HELL ARE WE MAD QUITTEN GOT WHAT HE DESERVED! ------------------ Proud owner of 271 different Hakeem Olajuwon Basketball cards
puh leeze. That was not a flagarant. No attempt at the body was made, Shaq just basically jumped straight up in the air. Should have been a foul call, but definently not a flagarant. ------------------ I have a special purpose.
Don't even complain that lakers got better treatment from refs than Blazers. This is what they call "home court advantage" Blazers recieved the same treatment in Portland. What's the point of homecourt advantage if the refs don't favor their side? Why are you guys even complaing about Smith call. Sure he was fouled, however its not their homecourt and plus how do you know he'll hit both freethrows? You never know which laker fans waving and screaming, Smith might miss. If Smith gets fouled and then how do you kobe would miss thereafter? Sure he missed the 2 before, but this isn't same exact senerio. Maybe without cushion he'll hit them. Or maybe the ball would be in another person's hand, you don't know. As you can see these "What ifs" are pointless, just move on. ------------------ Check out the new and improved Draftsource.net
Whoever was the commentator on Fox Sports News tonight had about the best line I've ever heard referring to the Shaq foul on Steve Smith. "There was less contact on the Bobby Knight video", he said. LOL. Asterick Fakers. ------------------
The goal-tend call could have gone either way and everyone on this BBS knows it!! Check the replay! The point is the Blazers lost a 16 point lead and I don't give a damn how bad a team plays during that stretch, defense had something to do with it. LAKERS WIN OVER BLAZERS 4-3 ------------------ We need some meat in the post!
Oh well. Still, I know who the better team is, and you do too. LA deserves an asterick- in my mind Shaq is still a choker and always will be. Just because Portland chokes doesn't mean one damn thing in my mind towards establishing the Lakers credibility. ------------------
About the Steve Smith non-call ... maybe it was a make-up not just for the goaltending call (looked to me like the ball was still going up) but the charitable calls both Smith and Pippen had been getting the whole series: (1) The call against Kobe earlier in the game when Smith tripped over his own feet in the open court. (2) At least three questionable Pippen flops in Game 7 alone (and heck, not even any Derek Fisher flops to balance them out), with charging called each time. (3) The famous sixth foul against Kobe earlier in the series, when Smith grabbed Kobe's arm and pinned it under his, then turned to the basket to make it look like Kobe was holding him. Yes, we all know Shaq and Kobe get too much hype, but blind, unreasoning hatred is never the answer . . . well, except maybe in the case of Pippen. ------------------
Famous 6th foul? Are you stupid? Yeah that game was memorable, but for a different reason. Kobe pushed off on Wallace about 6 minutes before that call!!! He should have fouled out with 10 minutes left. Anyone who watched game 5 will back me up because Kobe pushed off on Wallace. The refs were going to call it, and then, realizing it would be Kobe's 6th, changed it. CONSPIRACY!! Also, I was screaming at my TV tonight over one of Fisher's famous flops. He did it. You again must not have payed attention. And Scottie taking a questionable charge- the one I remember most was where Horry ran over him, kicked him, and pushed him down in an out of control fashion. Nothing wrong about that. ------------------
Why must everyone slam the Laker like it was the in thing to do? Whoops, answered my own question. ------------------
The Blazers had the better players. The Lakers had the better team. They proved that in this series. ------------------ Drop kick me Jesus through the goalposts of life, Tumble end over end, neither left nor right. Straight on ahead through the goalposts I'll go. I've got the faith Lord, If you've got the toe.
If there was a Fisher flop, I did indeed miss it, but I'll take your word for it. Thank goodness whoever paid off the refs also paid Rasheed to brick those 2 free throws, eh, Cat? Not to mention all those consecutive missed shots in the 4th quarter. And, of course, that bribe to whoever widened the rims so "Shaq the choker" could hit those free throws down the stretch. ------------------ [This message has been edited by Swopa (edited June 04, 2000).]
But they did miss a call on Shaq that ruined the Blazers season. Also, you think that Shaq making two free throws for once in his life makes him justified? Please. This guy is one of the biggest chokers of all time. He can't even make a free throw!! (Look at other times in the game) He deserves no championship. ------------------ [This message has been edited by The Cat (edited June 04, 2000).]
I wouldn't say Shaq is a choker. Remember, he's never been on a team that lost a Game 7. Also, he did shoot 8 - 12 from the free throw line. ------------------ Drop kick me Jesus through the goalposts of life, Tumble end over end, neither left nor right. Straight on ahead through the goalposts I'll go. I've got the faith Lord, If you've got the toe. [This message has been edited by Puedlfor (edited June 04, 2000).]
The reason Shaq's never lost a game 7 is because he chokes and gets swept before he can even come close. ------------------
As someone who was really looking forward to seeing LA become a morgue after losing game seven, I must say, Cat, your hatred is clouding your judgement. Very much. This game was called evenly throughout. Not only did Smith and Pippen get some favorable non-calls, but Shaq and Kobe got thier share of fouls called also. And yes, that was a block by Shaq in the 4th, not a goaltend. I truly do think that the refs have given New York, Kobe, and others some very favorable treatment here and there, but not tonight. The refs did not affect the outcome of this game. Portland did. Not only are you "what-if"ing, your "what-if's" are weak. Here's a game saving sequence: 1) What if Smith got the foul called, 2) What if he hit both free throws, 3)What if Kobe bricked both of his next and the game was tied, Portland's ball 4) What if Portland could actually score on the next possession and 5) What if they could prevent LA from scoring the rest of the way?" Lame. If that is the "what if?" sequence you need to justify how the refs lost the game, then you are reaching big time. I really wanted LA to lose- it would have been delicious to see that city eat their stars alive who were supposed to deliver a gift-wrapped title. But that doesn't prevent me from seeing the game for what it was. I guess since Starks missed all those threes in Game Seven back in the day, that really means that New York lost the game, and we didn't really win it. We didn't really deserve the title so much as it was given to us by a New York team that had an off night shooting. Hey, guess what- players are responsible for the outcome of the game. If you can't hit the shots when they most count YOU DON'T DESERVE TO WIN. What were they waiting for? There it was, man: GAME SEVEN; FOURTH QUARTER. The situation that all true ballers dream of. And they did NOT deliver. If they couldn't hit shots, they could have at least held off the comeback with their defense. But they didn't. In the fourth quarter of Game Seven, the dream of all ballers, Portland failed and LA held on. This game was decided by players, and players are responsible for what they do on court. [This message has been edited by Nolen (edited June 05, 2000).]
A couple of comments: First, complaining about the calls is sorta arbitrary at this point. Nothing can be done. That being said, I DO THINK that the LAKERS were teh beneficiary of many calls tonight, at least important ones. Put the Kobe Bryant foul where Steve Smith just tripped aside. It was the only call in the Blazers favor and had no bearing on any part of the game. Rather, why don't you take a look at about half of the fouls called on the big men guarding Shaq. At least ahlf were phantom calls. Both players are bumping into each other so how can you call it one way or another. Take the secoond foul against Grant. And Sabonis fouling out really did seal the victory for the Lakers. He was the key in my opinion as Grant couldnt guard Shaq. Further, the no-call on the Steve Smith drive was probably the worst blown call I've ever seen (at least in a long while). I would at least hope that those refs (I really hate Steve Jaby especially) don't work the FInals too much. Maybe it would have affected the game maybe it wouldn't. The least the NBA can do is admit the mistake and prevent it from happening in the Finals. Now this whole conspiracy thing. I don't know what to think about it but it is quite strange. Think about it. Shaq has what, 13 points entering the 4th quarter or something like that. HE is frustrated all game long then all of a sudden in the fourth quarter he starts to dominate, even before Sabonis fouls out. And the Blazers just collapse. And while there werent too many pictures of the losing team, no one looked extremely angry. I mean, man, if that was me, I would be the most pissed off man in the world right now. But Scottie Pippen did not look too mad. Just strange that an excellent POrtland team, plays well all game then tanks and a underachieving Laker team suddenly starts to play well. Coincidence or conspiracy?? Conspiracies aside, it is not my opinion that the Lakers "D" won the game. POrtland had numerous open shots during the period, missed foul shots, etc. Portland lost, Lakers didn't win. ------------------ When I die I want to go peacefully like my grandfather. Not screaming like the passengers in the back seat!
Here's my autopsy report on the Blazers. 1) They went cold from point-blank range in the 4th. Some of it was bad timing, some of it was choking. 2) They took some ill-advised shots, including Grant's jumper during the Lakers' run, and Pippen's 3 toward the end. 3) They lacked a go-to player. When the Lakers needed baskets at the end, Kobe knew to step up, and the other Lakers knew to get the ball to Shaq. The Blazers, on the other hand, didn't know who to get the ball to. That was their problem all series long. Who was the go-to player? Smith? Sabonis? Stoudamire? Augmon? They got confused, hesitated, made the wrong moves, and took the wrong shots. Here's the punch line: They are paying Pippen $20 million a year. And he is not that player.
