I expect the officiating to be balanced. I expect Peja to contribute more than previous games, him and the rest of the games outlast very strong efforts by Shaq and Kobe because the rest of the Lakers don't do squat. As far as the flow of the game itself, I think the Kings will hover around a 12-15 point lead most of the game, the Lakers make a late run on fumes, but the Kings end on a mini-run. Final score, Kings 107-Lakers 98. If the Lakers are tied or within a basket late in the 4th I woud say advantage Lakers though. The Kings better not let the game be close at the end because they will feel the pressure more (between them potentially blowing a 3-2 series lead and the Lakers big game experience dating back to the Portland series 2 years ago and last night). After sunday all I have to say is GO NETS!!!
I'll go ahead and say Kings 104, Lakers 93, if the officiating is balanced. The Kings have been the better team for the majority of the series, and now they have the motivation to go out and destroy the Lakers. The Lakers, last night, had their A game... Shaq was on fire, couldn't miss a free throw. Divac was in constant foul trouble. The Lakers got every call. It was in LA. Divac and Bibby couldn't throw one into the ocean. And after all of that, the Lakers only won by four points. The Kings will come out focused and determined Sunday, and go on to the Finals.
I'm gonna have to strongly disagree. Even though I have money against the Lakers, i'm just fooling myself by saying Sacramento has enough ammunition to play yet another game. The lakers on the other hand, haven't shown those great laker runs yet, because they've been answered by the kings. So I see the Lakers making some runs and eventually winning on their own will. I do say that the fans will give LA 2 points on TECH. shots, due to what they'll throw at the refs and onto the court. Lakers 96, Kings 82.
Sacramento can pull it out one more time I believe. It will be very physical and close throughout similar to the last game. But I think in the end Sacramento has enough to close out this Laker team. Sac-Town- 96 Lakers- 91
LA-98 Sac-94 Lakers will win in an evenly officiated game, yet every Laker-hater (yes all 23984732987324987 of them) will blame the refs for the Kings losing, as well as blaming them for World War II.
I WANT the Kings to win, but if it's gonna be 5 on 8 out there again, forget it. I get the feeling the Lakers will pull it out, hope to God I'm wrong. Not seeing a call is one thing, but that ref was staring right at Kobe when he went kung fu on Bibby.
If you want to cry about officiating, send the NBA an e-mail. All both teams can do is play ball. 3 through 12 the Kings are the more talented team, but the game is often decided by 1 and 2. The Lakers will win tomorrow because of Kobe and Shaq.
If you don't mind me asking, how? It completely baffles me how anyone besides Lakers fans seriously expect wo win the game tomorrow. Look at last night. The Lakers were on the verge of elimination. Shaq played one of the best games of his entire career, and couldn't miss from the foul line. Vlade and Pollard were in foul trouble. Vlade and Bibby couldn't hit a wide open shot to save their lives. None of the Lakers were in foul trouble after the first quarter. The Lakers shot 25 free throws in the fourth quarter alone. The game was in LA. With that and practically any variable in the world in LA's favor, the game was still in doubt until two seconds remaining. The Lakers brought their A game last night. The Kings, at best, played at about their C game. The officials gave every break humanly possible to the Lakers. And that was still enough for the Lakers to barely squeeze out a win on their home floor. I wouldn't be surprised if the Kings won game 7 going away.
Yup, just like your going to continue to keep telling me Horry is a good 1 on 1 defender even though Webber (and even Vlade) is torching him. Oh, yeah...and you told me Fox, Fisher and Samaki were great 1 on 1 as well.
Kings will thrive on the crowd energy and I expect atleast 10+ points from Peja Stojakovic and a fired up Kings team which will be huge. Kings just have to make sure they don't let their emotions get out of hand. No place like home especially in Sacramento. No matter the score, Kings will win this game.
If you don't mind me asking, how? It completely baffles me how anyone besides Lakers fans seriously expect wo win the game tomorrow. Good question. I think its mainly because, through this series, the Lakers have played about as badly as they can play. None of their normally reasonable shooters have hit anything. Shaq has been hampered by foul trouble. The Kings, on the other hand, have played as well as they possibly can (and that's very very good). Webber & Divac have stayed on the floor, which has often been a problem for them in the psat. Their shooters have shot reasonably well. And yet, the last 3 games have all been 5 pt games or less, 2-1 Lakers. Add to this the fact that LA has Game 7 experience whereas the Kings don't. If things go bad for LA early, they aren't likely to panic. I'm not so sure that's true for the Kings. I don't know how the players will react to the pressure of being less than 48 minutes away from the finals (and more than likely, a title). Shaq played one of the best games of his entire career, and couldn't miss from the foul line. Vlade and Pollard were in foul trouble. Vlade and Bibby couldn't hit a wide open shot to save their lives. None of the Lakers were in foul trouble after the first quarter. The strange thing is that all of this was the opposite in Game 5 and the Kings barely pulled out a win. Shaq & Kobe were in crazy foul trouble all night (4 fouls each in the first 2 minutes of the 3rd quarter, etc) and they still nearly pulled off the upset. This has been a weird series. I don't know why I expect the Lakers to win. Going into the series, I thought the Kings would take it in 6 or 7. Nothing's really changed to make me think otherwise, but I just can't pick against the experience of the Lakers. Game 4 was the one I really thought they needed to win. I hope I'm wrong, though. Go Kings!
IMO Stojakovic's return has been highly overrated and I don't expect him to play more than 15 minutes if the Kings don't have foul trouble. Mike Bibby is playing injured. He'll have a better game tommorrow, but he's still injured... I was watching game 6 and you could feel the officiating was on the Laker's side. If I was the official who gave Shaq his 6th foul, I'd hire two or three bodyguards... Lakers got their own problems but most of you guys have pointed it out. Lakers- 98 Kings- 91
Major, I'd hardly give the Lakers the edge in this game based on the one game 7 they've had to endure, at home mind you, where the end result was more because of a complete breakdown on the part of the Blazers than anything the Lakers did. There's a reason the Lakers 'haven't played as well as they did in the past'- they can't; they're just not the same team for a number of reasons, Shaq's injuries being the most obvious. Fisher hasn't played above himself like he did last season, Fox has continued his inevitable decrease in effectiveness, and their backups (Hunter and Walker) are horrible. It all goes back to Shaq though; they can't win unless he dominates (ie: the refs let him get away with the offensive fouls/3 second violations).....and when he doesn't, Bryant hasn't, or rather can't, fill the void. The Kings will take this game, and I will laugh like a madman.
I'd hardly give the Lakers the edge in this game based on the one game 7 they've had to endure, at home mind you, where the end result was more because of a complete breakdown on the part of the Blazers than anything the Lakers did. Well, that game 7 is only a part of it. I think winning a championship), let alone two, gives you lots of experience the Kings simply don't have. The '95 Rockets were carried by the experience of winning a championship. There's just a certain maturity and calm there. If things get a little crazy, I'm not sure the Kings will have that same calm. There's a reason the Lakers 'haven't played as well as they did in the past'- they can't; they're just not the same team for a number of reasons, Shaq's injuries being the most obvious. Fisher hasn't played above himself like he did last season, Fox has continued his inevitable decrease in effectiveness, and their backups (Hunter and Walker) are horrible. It all goes back to Shaq though; they can't win unless he dominates (ie: the refs let him get away with the offensive fouls/3 second violations).....and when he doesn't, Bryant hasn't, or rather can't, fill the void. What worries me is the progression of the series. Bibby started out great, but each game, they've seemed to slow him down a little more. Shaq also started out being totally outplayed by Divac, but that has turned slowly -- Shaq seems to be getting better each game. Bobby Jackson has been more-or-less neutralized. Peja, while I love him as a player, might be a downgrade from Turkoglu until he gets back to 100%. Bibby is now slightly hurt. Kobe and Christie have a *great* battle going on -- I think Christie's really making a name for himself as maybe the best defensive guard out there. The Kings best games were 2, 3, and the first half of 4. Since then, it's been a very close and very competitive series. A lot of stopping Shaq & Kobe has been due to great Kings defense. But the other guys have basically just missed wide-open shots. All it takes is one of Fox, Horry, or Fisher having a good game, and I think the Lakers win -- and of those three guys, someone seems due. The Kings will take this game, and I will laugh like a madman. I'll be laughing right there with you. I don't really hate the Lakers, but the Kings/Mavs/Nets are the 3 NBA teams I really like, outside of the Rockets. There's also the other factor that all my teams tend to lose
That kind of championship composure may have helped in taking two games in San Antonio, but Arco is a whole other beast, and the one place that rattles LA. The big question at the beginning of the season was: 'is Mike Bibby enough to dethrone the Lakers?"......well, he has been, and he will be, imo. As a point guard for the Sacramento Kings, who are ridiculously talented, you don't even have to be great, just steady. If he's on offensively, it just makes things easier. I do think the Arco crowd will have an effect on the refs policy towards Shaq, which means everything to the outcome of the game. If they allow him to 'play like a bigman' (ie: cheat), then the Lakers may very well be in a position to win. If not, then I could easily see the Kings finishing them off early. Another good thing going for the Kings- they have yet to lose 2 games in a row in the playoffs
The Lakers didn't lose 2 in the row before in the playoffs either. Again, if Shaq scores 40, Lakers are at their primes and unbeatable, especially in a game 7. I'm considering Kobe will be at the top of his game too...
