Dude that would be the single most awesome event in the history of the UNIVERSE!!!!! I would litteraly cry like a little girl and be damn proud of it.
Phil Jackson seriously looks like he just doesn't care anymore with the Lakers. It honestly seems like Kobe has been fighting for his way all season ("I'm not giving up shots just because you guys wanted to add Malone and Payton to MY team"), and Phil stopped fighting. Shaq can't even get 20 shots a game, which is insane. Period. Insane. I really wonder if Phil is just trying to get through this so he can pack his bags and leave. Only thing telling me differently is the fact that Byron Scott took the New Orleans job. Evan
I said it was unreasonable for us to expect JVG to take us to a championship in his first year coaching us. I was wrong - LB did it. Of course, LB was working with a team that made the Eastern Conference Finals last year, while JVG was given a team that hadn't made the playoffs in 4 years...
Well, I didn't say LB is better than JVG - I just said that LB woulda been my first choice. I can't discredit the Rockets management - I blame Eddie Griffin. The Rockets hit the playoffs missing a very important piece: they were hoping EG would bloom into the great power forward that his potential showed. Instead, he withered into a pile of dung. It's not JVG's fault, and it's not the fault of the organization. But since we didn't have him, it forced us to put Cato into a PF position, it threw off our balance, and it exposed a weakness. Salary-wise, the Rockets spent $50.9 mil on player salaries this year. There are teams who spent more on their salaries and were successful (Lakers: $64.5 mil, T-Wolves: $74.2 mil) and there are teams who spent more who weren't (Blazers: $86.9, mil, Raptors $62 mil). San Antonio did very well this year, and their team salary was considerably less than ours (Spurs: 47.5 mil). sure, it would be great if we added $10 mil to our salaries to get a superstar, but that doesn't mean that the Rockets ownership is skimping. good point -- droxford
Just a little off-topic, but did anyone get to check out the Fun Bags behind Phil Jackson? Very nice....
This reminds me of how LarryB won the 1st game with the Sixers, then lost 4 straight to the Fakers... I hope history doesn't repeat itself and Detroit wins...
same here...but sixers only won that one b/c inverson had like 48 points i think. Detorit just went in their and straight up beat them with no terrific perofmrances by anyone.
I still expect the Lakers to win the series, but I think the Lakers will struggle more than most people thought. Unlike the Spurs, Wolves, and Sixers that the Lakers have faced in the past, there really is no one player like Duncan or Iverson that the Lakers can prepare a defensive strategy for to disrupt their offense. A different player steps up for the Pistons each game. It’s difficult to prepare for a team like that. The Pistons perimeter defense is better than any of the teams the Lakers have faced. Fisher, George, and Rush got absolutely no looks at all. Part of this may be due to Detroit not paying as much attention to Shaq. Tayshaun Prince’s wingspan really disrupted Kobe’s shooting. I’m expecting Kobe to be much, much, much more aggressive at attacking the basket next game instead of trying to shoot over him. A lot of people are saying the Lakers didn’t take Detroit seriously, but Detroit really didn’t play as good as they could either. Rip Hamilton had easily his worse game of the playoffs. Ben Wallace didn’t play that great and Rasheed was in foul trouble most of the game. The Pistons were also outhustled on many rebounds, missed a ton of free-throws, blew many easy lay-ups, and turned the ball over a lot.
was it just me or did Kobe try to take over the game from the get go? this was the passive Kobe we saw against the spurs or the wolves...the guy tried to put his name in the spotlight and well..that backfired.
That's the thing. It was hard to tell what kind of team the Pistons are. I mean, the Pistons vs Pacers seemed to be very evenly matched. They had to work very, very hard to beat the Pacers. Kinda makes you wonder how they will do vs the Lakers. Plus, you never know what Laker team will show up (the clueless one, or the HOFer one). One thing is for sure. I do like watching the Pistons shoot off screens and picks; Billups, Prince, Hamilton and Sheed all can shoot the ball from the outside. Kinda refreshing to watch. It's going to be interesting to see next game if the Lakers try to "push the Pistons around; get rough." Pistons seem to enjoy that type of play.
They also barely won that game in OT, despite having a big lead during the game... the fact that LA was able to make it close when they upped their energy level told them that they'd have no problems the rest of the series, as long as they keep up the intensity. LA never was able to get back into the game last night, even though they played all-out in the second-half... for every time they got close, Detroit seemed to up their play as well, and play even harder. Sure LA could play better, and sure Detroit could play better... but as long as its a close series, you won't see too many dissapointed faces, even if LA ultimately wins.
Like Nick said, there is a big difference between the Sixers game 1 victory with Brown and the Pistons game 1 victory. The Sixers game went into overtime, and if I recall correctly, Iverson had an outstanding game. On the other hand, the Detroit game was not nearly as close as the Sixers' game and Rip Hamilton (Detroit's best player) had a pretty lousy game, and they still won it.
Totally agree, the Pistons could have easily given this game away, missed lay ups, missed free throws, turnovers, and a bad game from Rip. Even with all this the Faker were the one trying to fight back and simply couldn’t. If I Fill Jackson I would be very worried because they beat your team and to use a boxing analogy, they didn’t even throw their best punch! Pistons in 5!!!
this has been pointed out before. why do you people have to rub it in? we know that their rooster is better then ours, what do YOU suggest we do about it? everyone's a critic. stupid rooster haters.
you know what I dont get, the la times and one article by espn both give the lakers the edge when it comes to their bench. I guess having 2 guards (fisher,rush) who either are red hot or ice cold are more important than have 4-5 consistent players. but hey thats just me and my own crazy talk i mean these experts are always right after all
Well, he's kind of over the hill and he just runs his mouth a lot. I hear, I say I hear he's a distraction in the locker room.
