It seems that most don't remember how well the Suns played against the Lakers the last two years before Kidd was traded. The reason behind that is that Kidd tears the Lakers vaunted triangle defense apart. Did you see the number of defensive lapses when players cut in and the horrible pick and roll defense against Sacramento? I still fee the Lakers will win the series, but that New Jersey has a good chance of making it very competetive. You have Van Horn, Harris, Kittles that can light it up on Kidd's drives and cuts. Kidd and Martin are going to take it right at Shaq to get him in foul trouble, which limits his offensive effectiveness and tires him on one end. BTW, don't give me this Kobe will stop Kidd garbage, Kobe couldn't stop mike Bibby alone, kidd will eat him up. Matchups: POINT: Kidd, easily and by a substantial margin. SGuard: Bryant, Kittles has been lighting it up lately though SForward: Van Horn PForward: Martin Center: Shaq, by a substantial margin If the Nets continue to run, they have a chance to wear out the Lakers early and the Nets need to knock down their three's. I still think Lakers in Six, but the games will be closer than expected because of Kidd.
I think that both the Nets are underestimated and the Lakers are a little overrated going into this series. Does that mean I'm picking the Nets to win? No. But, I do think a lot of games will be close, and the Nets may take a couple. This entire postseason, the Lakers have not blown out anyone. Every win against the Kings was close in the foutth quarter. Every win against the Spurs the Spurs had the lead at some point in the fourth quarter. Even against the Blazers, who the Nets are definitely better than, the Lakers never won at home by double digits, and definitely should've lost the game in Portland. The Lakers right now are winning games by fourth quarter execution, not domination. I don't see any reason for this to change, but against a quality opponent, they're likely to drop a couple of those games by the bounces simply not going their way down the stretch. Lakers in six, maybe seven.
Cat, you believe this? How in the world did they decide to make the Kings miss all those FT's in game 7?
The officials let them play in game 7; the Lakers were the better team in that game. The point is that the officials, IMO, tried with all their might in game 6 to get the series to a game 7, so NBC would have the ratings game of a lifetime. If the officials don't fix game six with 27 free throws in one quarter, there is no game seven. If you think "Laker haters" are alone in this assessment, think again... check the Nader thread for another reference.
So... They let them play in game 7 Discounting game 6, how were the other games called, in your opinion? I think it was more than slightly in the Kings favor. Had all games been called as seven were, then game six might not be so hotly argued about...
I thought they were even or in the Lakers favor. Game 2 might've been the only time the Kings got a couple of breaks, and even then they weren't close to obvious calls. Rather, they were iffy calls that the Lakers usually get going against them. Game 3 was a blowout... officiating didn't play a huge factor. Game 4, which could've put the Lakers away, was all Lakers in officiating. How many times did Fisher and Shaw shove down Bibby in the second half of that game with their "pressure" defense? How about Walker's momentum turning three after the buzzer? Also, if you remember, the whistle for the foul on Divac (where he missed one of two free throws) came very late... interesting how they call a foul for barely touching him (if at all) when Divac has a wide open layup otherwise. Game 5, despite the objections of a few posters here, was probably the fairest game in terms of officiating. Was Shaq in foul trouble? Yup. Did he do it himself? Yup. With three fouls in the third quarter, Chris Webber headed straight at him... why leave your feet, Shaq? Give it up. It's two points, and you can contest the shot by just holding your hands up. With five fouls in the fourth quarter, why try and trip up Mike Bibby on a move baseline? He would've been too far under the basket to score on his own, so there's no reason to give him the trip. Oh, and how about that foul that gave the Lakers a three point lead with a minute left? Samaki Walker and Bobby Jackson were clearly locked up with the ball in a jump ball situation... and of course, the foul goes against the Kings. The Lakers go up 3, and that could've ended the game. The officiating sucked for the Kings all series long... game 6 was just much more blatant than the others.
The Nets beat the Lakers in NJ WITHOUT Shaq during the regular season. The Nets lost in Sacramento by 1 and thrashed the Kings by 24 at home. No way it's a sweep.
Look for Martin to foul Koby hard going to the rim in game 1- he may even get tossed- Koby will be shooting fade-aways for the rest of the finals. Lakers win in 7 - Finals MVP Robert Horry
I don't think the Nets are being underestimated at all. They lost game 1, as most predicted, and go on to lose the series, and then we have to go on hearing about all the Laker Dynasty BS, blah blah blah, and see Mark Madsen dance again! They are playing the role of Eastern Conference Champs to a "T."
<i>The reason behind that is that Kidd tears the Lakers vaunted triangle defense apart. </i> The triangle is an offense. Are you sure that you didn't mean the pentagon defense?
Just thought I'd bump this back up........underestimated my a$$. LA is almost toying with Jersey. Hell, Medvedenko got minutes last night. Thank you, drive through please.
Damn, I was SOOOOOOOOO Wrong.... I admit it.. I just didn't think they would just dissappear like that, I think my intense dislike of the Lakers clouded my judgement!
I wasn't trying to dog you.....don't get me wrong. I am as pissed as you, believe me, that NJ has just been a door mat for LA. What a waste of airtime this finals series has been.
Looks like I'm going to have to eat my words also. It's hard to believe that the EC is 1-7 in the last eight games versus the Lakers.
Just my opinion, but I think the Lakers are overrated because they think they're overrated themselves. They thought they could coast by after they blew out the Kings after game one. A season can change a lot of things, but if the Lakers don't move up in the draft, their roster will probably still have its core players. And so will the Kings if Vlade doesn't retire...
