Now that the Lakers are back in the noisiest arena in the league, for that matter the noisiest ever (they broke the indoor noise level during game 1 of the west finals I believe) How will they respond. If they come out like in games 3&4 they are going to be in for a real real long night. Bibby will have to bring his game for them to win. Kobe seems to be guarding him now so he has to try to get some quick fouls on Kobe to force a switch. If that doesnt work Doug Christie needs to come up big. Fisher will be guarding him and Christie must exploit this as much as possible. The biggest key for the kings is to give the lakers only one shot each possession. The O rebounds did the kings in in the last game and they must grab every board possible on their end. If peja does play bring him off the bench I think no need to disrupt the flow of the starters, plus who knows how much he can contribute immediately? Honestly I think that the Lakers will drop this one unless the other 9 do something. So far its been kobe,shaq and horry the entire series another player must somehow step up. Where the hell is mitch richmond? I dont see this series going seven either for some reason I think the winner of game 5 whoever it is will win game 6.
Sac 106 La 94 Same story as the last two games. Sac goes up big early and LA comes back hard late. Only in their own house Sac holds on and puts them away.
Peja isnt playing game 5, but hes probable for friday. http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2002/s/2002/0527/1387529.html My prediction: 98-91, kings win.
If the Lakers win, it will be an 80's or lower game. Lakers can't really stop Bibby or Webber. Only in stretches because of fatigue or foul trouble. I hate to say it, but all signs point to a Kings win. Their offence is too free flowing and their bench is deep. For the Lakers to win, someone will have to step up offensively like Fisher, Fox, or even Lindsey Hunter ... Horry's gonna have his hands full defensively against webber, but these guys should be hitting their freakin open threes!!!!!! The Xfactor? Kobe Bryant. They can't stop him. But Kobe's dealing with Bibby on D. Behind all that smoke and mirrors, Kobe was rushed to an IV after the game. So who knows what shape he'll be for todays game. People think the Kings will assert themselves again in the first quarter after returning home, but I think Phil will stress the importance of taking the crowd out the game as soon as possible, with smooth passing for either Shaq or the midrange jumper. It's going to be a great game for NBA fans!!!
I really think this game may be the NBA championship. If the Kings win, I can't imagine them losing a game 7 at Arco Arena. If the Lakers win, I can't imagine them losing a home game 6 with a chance to go to the Finals. I still think the Kings win this game. They've outplayed LA for the majority of this series, and just need to keep up the ball movement that makes them so impossible to defend. I really hate to say this, but the officials (gasp) may have a big impact in this game. How much contact are they going to allow? I think one of the main turning points in game 4 was when the Lakers turned up the defensive pressure on Mike Bibby, but on several plays (at the end of the third quarter with Derek Fisher, for example) some Laker players completely mugged the guy, tripped him, and shoved him to the ground. If the officials call those (and I think there's a better chance in Sacramento), the Lakers will have to back off defensively. Kings 103 Lakers 96
I give the edge to the Kings because they are back home and the Lakers didn't win game 4 as much as the Kings got conservative and lost it. Here are some things I will be watching: 1) How do the Kings free up Bibby with Kobe on him? To me the obvious answer is high PNR with Divac. Vlade has shooting range and is a good passer. Webber has been killing Horry one on one without Shaq there to help. Another option is to overload the strongside with Bibby, Divac, and CWebb and have Bibby or Vlade reverse the ball back quickly to Christie (guarded by a shorter Fisher) and then to Hedo who has been killing Fox one on one. 2) What "style" of officiating will be in effect? The Kings need to recognize it but avoid being overly involved with it (read - complaining). I am hopeful (but not optimistic) that the officiating is transparent. IMHO, Vlade, Webber, and Bibby have played even with Shaq, Horry and Kobe. The deciding factor is how much production the Kings get out of Turkoglu and Christie. If Hedo and Doug get a combined 25 points, the Kings win. (I didn't mention Jackson because he automatically has the ball in his hands wereas Christie and Turkoglu get less touches). Go KIngs...I hate LA!
Predictions: I expect the Kings to throw their hands in the air and yell at the refs everytime a foul is called on them. I expect Webber and Vlade to run to the refs crying everytime a they get a shot blocked, everytime they fail to finish on a drive to the hole, everytime the Lakers make a steal. I expect Adelman to have a fit and be threatened with a T for ref abuse everytime Shaq scores.
100-94 King winning. Cat I have to disagree though. The championship will not be known tonight. Whoever loses tonight just needs to win 2 in a row. The Kings have already won 2 in a row (one of the Laker's home court) without Peja, the Lakers are surely capable of winning 2 in a row if Fisher and Fox play well (right now their key problem is all the scoring burden is on Shaq, Kobe and some degree Horry).
