there was a team called the Sacramento Kings, and they would have gone to the NBA finals in six games, and they'd no doubt have championship rings, if only they had made their free throws. That's the lesson of this series, period. You can point to all the other stuff, but the only good thing that came out of this series (for those of us who are just a wee bit tired of Shaq and Kobe) is a real-life fable for kids and young players everywhere. The next time you don't feel like practicing your free throws, or you shrug off a miss or two at the line, figuring you can make up the points later, remember the Sacramento Kings. A brick here, a brick there, and you're history.
So, so true. And you can also point out the example of Shaquille O'Neal, who used to have that attitude of "so what if I miss one, I'll make up the points later" ... and survived to pursue a third title because he changed his ways.
maybe i'm missing something here but how six games. game six they hit 72% on FT's and then were raped to the tune of 27 ft's to 9 in the 4th quarter as the game was quite literally stolen from them by the zebras. if you are talking about a previous loss then it would be five games so i assume you are talking about game six which doesn't seem to have any merit. as for tonight, oh my. that was a travesty of ft shooting. i can understand vlade a little, but hedo?? good lord, you're a good shooter, how about getting a sac and making a ft. this game i felt was actually evenly officiated and sac town simply blew it at the line and by having too many scared people outside of webber and BIBBY. bibby was huge and webber's was making passes no big man in the game can make. 11 damn assists. if anyone tries to say he didn't come to play tonight, they are sadly mistaken. also, peja and christie with their clutch shooting. peja can't even draw friggin' rim on a wide open look while christie was busy shattering the backboard on his wide open looks. fact is, this series should've ended in six except for the officials and the kings were then just outplayed (although it did go to overtime so hard to call that outplaying, just simply lost to a damn good team) in a game 7 that never should've been.
I agree with Will. You can blame it on the refs, but the Kings had their chance with the free throws. They blew it and lost. And the Kings will be back next year, when All-Star Peja Stojakovic is healthy.
Amen, Will. All of us Phi Slamma Jamma fans will attest to that. (It was painful just typing that comment).
Webber had only 20 points and 8 boards and overall looked passive on both ends in the most important game of his career. Sorry, Freak was right all along the guy just steps down from the challenge.
I disagree wholeheartedly. Webber had a very impressive first half. The Lakers adjusted to him defensively and made him more of a passing PF in the 2nd. There is nothing wrong with that. He coulda scored more in the second/overtime, but he was a little occupied. The guy stepped up and said let me guard Shaq - and I think he did a very good job of it. Little did Adelman know it would take him off his offensive game a little, but it was their only chance when Divac fouled out, which, as much as free throws, was the deciding factor in this series.
JZ, we will have to disagree. Compare the intensity and production of TD or KG (even though his team was swept) and they don't compare. I understand if Webber's points were off, but boards reflect effort and intensity--especially for one of the quickest guys in the league for his height and strength. Webber also had 20 points in 52 minutes when his team needed him to score, not pass. The other story for Sac (along with the the FT missed and big shots choked) was they let the Lakers get a lot of 2nd shots in the key phases of the game. Webber was a big part of that. Webber is a very good player with among the most god-given talents of any power forward to ever be born. But he will never go down as good as TD, Barkley or even Karl Malone or IMO KG will down the line because he didn't raise his game in the defining games of his career.
Compare the intensity and production of TD or KG (even though his team was swept) and they don't compare. The reason for that is those are the only good players on those teams. Sacramento is built around an entirely team concept. That means that they go whereever the mismatch is. Whereas TD will still get the ball if double-teamed (because he's *still* their best option), the Kings will go whereever they have the best matchup. In the 2nd half, the Lakers were double-teaming Webber. Instead of trying to do it all himself and take stupid shots, he passed to the people who were open -- that's exactly his role on the team (and the role of every player on that team) because they have so much talent and can get good shots from any player on the court. The result of it was open shots all over the court all game long. The problem was that the other Kings didn't make those shots, but that's the Kings philosophy.
Still does not explain his paultry rebounding on both ends when most the game he was drawing the easy cover or his costly T (they might have won w/o that). Besides you score when your team needs you. Horry never stopped him down low, but Webber would wait for double instead of the quick move to the basket before. The bottom line is Webber didn't do, or make the adjustments, for what his team needed of him. Shaq and Kobe elevated their games, even within the Lakers scheme, Webber didn't.
I think what people fail to remember is that Webber also missed a clutch shot which could've put Sac up by 2 with 1:20 left in the 4th. He missed a open 18 ft jumper then Christie missed then Peja missed.
Thanks for the recognition Scar. The thing about Webber is he put up great numbers throughout the series, but it still didn't seem like he was making much of an impact. When the game was tight in the end, did anyone here have confidence in Webber making the big shot? You could tell he just DID NOT WANT TO SHOOT. That's just unacceptable. He reminds me a lot of Pippen, in that he's a guy that gets paid a lot, but you can't really count on him down the stretch. When you're the franchise guy, you have to force your will on the other team....you can't just sit back and play "team ball" or "let the defense turn you into a passer".
