Scar-Sac needs Webber to show up, or they will get swept. Interior teams always beat perimeter teams in the playoffs. And the Kings are a perimeter team, unless Webber can do some damage inside.
Derek Anderson's a whiny b****, to borrow a phrase from this board. I don't have the exact quote, but when he came back in games 3 and 4 of the Laker series last year, he said something to the effect that the Spurs should give him 25 shots a game. This from the same player who was 0-8 in his first game back. This from the same player that was just coming off a serious shoulder injury. This coming from an adequate role player on a team that needed to pound the ball inside to Tim Duncan. DA, for all intents and purposes, looked great because of the Spurs system. He was good in the transition, and got plenty of open jumpers off the double teams TD and David drew inside. I tried to tell everyone here that he was replaceable, but most people said he was the "key" to the Spurs last season. Wrong. He told himself that though, and instead of accepting a 6-7 million per season contract (which would still be overpaying), he expected the Spurs to treat him like a max player. Fortunately, Gregg Popovich realized how replaceable he is in the overall system, and let him go for Steve Smith, who brings both a fabulous outside stroke and an expiring contract in 2003. After the Spurs refused to treat him like Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, and other max players, Derek acted like a spoiled brat, signing with a team that had no problem overpaying him and making all sorts of statements on how he would make the Spurs "pay". Man, he's really showing them. In Portland, he's not even good enough to start, and he's only playing 26 and a half minutes per game. His statistics are down in every category, including field goal percentage, three point percentage, etc. And the Spurs? They're better off without him. The Spurs will equal last season's record if they can win their final two games. And, this year, they're the team red hot going into the playoffs, like the Lakers were last year. They've won their last seven in a row, and 19 of their past 22. The team's chemistry is extremely reminiscent of the championship run in 1999, and so is Tim Duncan's play. (that was the year they dismantled the Lakers and BLazers in the postseason) The Spurs have had three legitimate meetings with the Lakers this season. (one was when Shaq was injured, so obviously the Lakers sets and offense is different) In one meeting, the Spurs destroyed the Lakers. In the other two meetings, the Spurs took the Lakers to the final possession, and arguably should've won. Motivation a factor, you say? I don't know. In the last game in LA, the Lakers had all the motivation in the world. The Spurs had humiliated them a week and a half earlier. It was on national TV, the Spurs were catching up in the standings, and the Lakers had something to prove. The Spurs led throughout, until the closing seconds. Even with Tony Parker (who had a brilliant first three quarters) coming down with an injury, even with some poor playcalling down the stretch, even with questionable officiating all game, even with Shaq hacking Duncan on the final shot, the Lakers only found a way to win a home game by one point on the last possession. The Spurs were hardly the most talented team in 1999, but their chemistry (along with having the best player in the game) put them over the top. I'm starting to notice those same signs this year. Personally, I think they'll win it all, but even if they don't, I think they'll shock a lot of you and give the Lakers and Kings a great run. Good riddance, DA.
Since I am in Portland and I'm assuming you're in Houston... how about a gentlemans bet unless you have a different idea?
scottie pippen must have felt like a complete dumbass when he got to the locker room and found out the call wasn't for a foul at all, it was a defensive 3 second call on ruben patterson who was camping the lane. lots of bad calls for both sides that game (who has ever heard of wiping away 23 seconds of basketball? give wallace the fts and let the game continue from that pt, since shaq got fouled and they wiped that away), but the lakers gave that away. all portland showed me in that game though, was that they will still blow up at the smallest thing, and they will screw themselves out of the playoffs.
One advantage that I think Sacremento has over LA is Vlade Divac. Divac and his flopping tendencies might just be enough to get Shaq into foul trouble on occasion. And Desert Scar is right, that team can still be a hell of an asskicker without Webber, and with him, they are amazing. I think Sacremento can beat LA this year, but I still wouldn't put any money against the Lakers.
Ragin', You need to remember that in playoff basketball, the refs swallow their whistles. Mwhahaha Floppy Divac and Christine Webber will be powerless in the playoffs!
Smoothcat-Obviously you disagree with me, that's fine. Just tell me which part of my statement makes me hypocritical. If Kobe elbowed Wells in the face, I would say Kobe is a punk for doing that. I also wouldn't mind it, if the "victim" was Wells.
I thought the Dunk Technical was just plain stupid....did he even hang? That's one problem with the current NBA......there are so many. Another is the stupid Charge fouls that "defensive" players get for just standing still. Personally, I see this as players and the NBA as a whole not wanting to actually play defense....or admitting that they can't. Another problem with the League. I hate it when I see a player "take the charge".....earn your money and play some defense. It's also very dangerous to see a player in the air taking it to the basket hard only to be met by someone standing still with their heels barely avoiding that inner circle. Ahh, I'll just stop before I turn this into a "What's wrong with the League" issue.
