Kobe Drops 36 on Celtics, Lakers Take Game 3 at Staples
Kobe Bryant (photo. Chris Sembrot)Win or lose, you knew before Game 3 of Lakers/Celtics got underway that Kobe Bryant wasn’t just going to give this one away. The last time we saw Kobe on the Staples Center floor — back when L.A. had beaten the Spurs to get to the Finals — you couldn’t have wiped the smile off his face with a framed brochure of the Colorado hotel. But last night during pre-game intros, Kobe looked like an annoyed father whose kids were acting crazy at the mall and he was about four seconds away from taking off his belt. On Kobe’s first touch he called “Mouse in the House” on Ray Allen and looked to score right away, and from that point he was going at Boston’s throat … Kobe scored 19 in the first half, and just when it looked like he and the refs had killed Boston’s spirit, the C’s came out of the locker room hot. Ray (25 pts, 5 threes) knocked down some shots, and the Invisible pills that Kevin Garnett (13 pts, 12 rebs, 3 blks) took before the game started to wear off, as he finally got aggressive with Pau Gasol on the block. Boston went on a 15-3 run to open the third quarter and eventually took the lead, which L.A. didn’t regain until there were about seven minutes left in the fourth quarter on a Kobe three where he was as wide-open as we’ve ever seen him … After that the Lakers took control; Kobe destroyed Ray over the last couple minutes as Doc Rivers patently refused to send a double team, finishing with 36 points while making 18 trips to the line … So about those refs. You could only look at L.A.’s 34 free throws (22 for Boston) compared to the 10 freebies they shot in Game 2 and say the refs were stacking the deck, but it’s not that simple. While there were some questionable calls that went L.A.’s way, they took all those free throws because they were aggressive going to the hole. And that’s the EXACT same reason why Leon Powe and the Celtics took so many free throws in Game 2, so everyone can stop whining about that now … The Celtics can hang onto the fact that despite everything seemingly going against them — including some unkind rims — they held a lead late in the first quarter and led almost halfway through the fourth. They just made a few mistakes here and there, like the possession where they were down by two points with two minutes left and Eddie House decided to take an unnecessary shot. But it bodes well for Boston that Paul Pierce and KG played about as bad as they’ve played all postseason and the team was still in the game with less than a minute to go … After more than 100 games this season, we’re just starting to see that Kobe’s supporting cast isn’t as good as everyone has been saying. Maybe it’s due to big-stage jitters, but Lamar Odom (4 pts), Gasol (9 pts) and Vlad Radmanovic (3 pts) are going to drive Kobe, Phil Jackson and Lakers’ fans crazy with their collective softness, bad decision-making, dumb fouls and constant brain-farts. Last night’s game looked just like every other Lakers game from 2004 to 2007, with Kobe having to do everything and one other random guy (Sasha Vujacic dropped 20) happening to step up. Are we sure the Kobe-aires are better this year than in years past, or has Kobe just done a better job of pretending to like them? Are we sure this Finals team isn’t somewhere up there with the ‘01 Sixers from a talent standpoint? … Odom has been especially disappointing. He picked up three fouls in his first seven minutes of action and even got away with a few charges that should have been called. He did have 9 boards, but also missed a ton of layups. Is L.O. ever going to live up to the expectations his talents have created? … Kobe is one of the only guys in the League (LeBron and Chris Paul being the others) who could miss a dunk/layup and not only do the announcers not say anything bad about it, they’ll say it was a good thing because it “created a second shot opportunity.” … At the same time, Kobe is also one of the few guys who will maul a guy’s face and shoulders right in front of a referee and still throw a temper tantrum when he gets called for a foul … Not much of an ovation or booing for Pierce during intros. But then again, a lot of the Lakers fans hadn’t showed up yet, and we guarantee there were plenty of bandwagon-types who don’t even know Pierce is from L.A. Did that non-response from the hometown fans throw Pierce (6 pts, 2-for-14 FG’s) off his game? The other day on DimeMag.com we explored the impact of fans on pro ballplayers … The Jay-Z “Heart of the City” sample was cool music for the Lakers’ intro video, but there’s no excuse for something made by the Lakers to contain Celtics’ highlights or the sound of Johnny Most’s voice … E-mail exchange right after the P.J. Brown/Jordan Farmar incident. Question: “What would P.J. do to Farmar in a dark alley?” Answer: “They’d have to bring in C.S.I. to find Farmar’s remains.” … And here’s a note from our in-house commercial critic, Pat: “So let me get this straight — a bunch of executives at Hanes saw the commercials with Cuba Gooding Jr. and MJ that have been running for the past year and thought it was a good idea to make another one that’s just as bad and then spend millions of dollars to run it during the NBA Finals?” What’s worse, the Hanes ads or the Yukon Denali Parking Lot Attendant/Stalker Fan ads … If Chris Mihm and Spencer Hawes switched places for one game, would anyone notice? We could do an NBA version of Face/Off with those two or with Richard Jefferson and Mo Evans … Jeff Van Gundy has CLEARLY never been to a ‘hood barbershop. When Mark Jackson talked about getting into a barbershop argument about Doc Rivers, JVG said, “Why were you arguing at a barbershop? Just go in, get your hair cut and leave.” That’s not how it works. Although Jeff saved himself with his, “You want me to turn to the camera? Yeah, look, I’M BALD!” routine … Would you pay $2,000 for THESE sneakers? … We’re out like Jordan Farmar surviving P.J. Brown …
June 11th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Remy Nguyen says:
Kobe, Kobe, Kobe!!! 2 Much!
June 11th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Duke says:
Why do I see Kobe getting more then 7 T’s in this Finals?
June 11th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Coach T-sun says:
Team Kobe won tonight with alot of sasha, how about someone step up? you think LA being home they will step up and take away momentum now the C’s have got to feel good with KG 6-21 and Pierce going MIA with foul trouble they almost stole one as a laker fan this is NOT good they need to sweep it out at the staples to have a chance looking forward to the game 5 thats always the pivotal game. Doc Rivers… well too much bashing but seriously posey shoulda been there at the end @ the 3 with pierce playing point because pierce shouldn’t be shooting if your in foul trouble just make plays for allen, posey and KG and add a big PJ you need to battle on the boards and i would go big cause there would be NO transition buckets for the last 2 mins usually. Again these finals have shown that gasol and odom are no all-stars they can play at a all-star level but on the biggest stage they look like 3rd and 4th options to me. Go Lakers
June 11th, 2008 at 1:33 am
Remy Nguyen says:
and the Yankees won too! Order is restored in the Empire!
June 11th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Oscarisalakerfan says:
Haha lol @ post 4
the machine/rockhead is my favorite bench player since the Mad Dog
Go Lakeshow!!!!!!!
THE MACHINE had his battery charged when he got back to LA
June 11th, 2008 at 1:46 am
Mikee says:
How about someone calling out KG for being “soft”? I am a fan of KG but he only had 4 more points than Gasol and they both pulled down the same amount of rebounds. Gasol finally showed up in this game in the 4th quarter to grab some huge offensive rebounds for a couple of put-backs. I have no clue whats up with Odom. That offensive foul in the last seconds pretty much summed up his play in this series. It was great to see Jordan Farmar not backing down from PJ Brown. Sure Farmar would get his ass kicked if they met in an alley, but with everyone calling the Laker’s soft and a finesse team, it was good to see someone not back down even if they were standing up to PJ Brown.
One other thing, I love reading “Smack” and usually agree with most that is said however, what’s with the sudden turn around about the Lakers not being as good as was advertised? The Lakers got to the Finals beating the much-more physical-than-Boston Jazz team. They got to the Finals by beating the defending Champion San Antonio Spurs. A Spurs team that plays physical and great team defense. Older than Boston? Sure, but they were the defending Champions and the Lakers beat them in 6. Once again love reading Smack, but that I disagree with.
June 11th, 2008 at 1:47 am
Jon says:
It’s not you, it’s me! Sorry, break na tayo.
Whoooooo
Hi kay The Machine at kay Mamba
Boo naman para kay P-Double at KG
June 11th, 2008 at 1:56 am
Jeff says:
YOUR ONLY CHILD!!! DOESNT EVEN RESPECT THE CHAPEL!
go chris mihm!
June 11th, 2008 at 2:00 am
D.H. says:
What happened to P-squared? And KG was jacking . . . they should look to pass to Perkins he was constantly losing his man cause of the double over on KG. Boy, is this a reminder of why House cant get a starting job . . . Lakeshow is still in trouble as the Celtics wont shout 34% again anytime soon.
June 11th, 2008 at 2:14 am
knoc says:
KG needs to take it to gasol at the post. hes jacking too many shots from 15ft out
June 11th, 2008 at 2:31 am
sans says:
I think the Celtics will “shout” 34% again. All it takes is some light physicality to throw off KG and for Pierce or RayRay to be off. Yeah, Lamar is awful right now. At 5′9″ I could physically fuck with Gasol inside (at least picking up some charges and making him have to step threw me to get within 15 feet of the hoop).
Dime, you are so right about the fouls. if you’re aggressive to the rack, and don’t cause the contact with another player, if you get hit, you’ll grab some free throws. On the same note, overly aggressive teams on defense always pick up fouls, because their overly aggressive.
June 11th, 2008 at 2:53 am
kulas says:
“We could do an NBA version of Face/Off with those two or with Richard Jefferson and Mo Evans” LOL
Powe and J-Rich should be on that list…
June 11th, 2008 at 3:09 am
karan says:
“Are we sure this Finals team isn’t somewhere up there with the ‘01 Sixers from a talent standpoint?”
very, very dumb statement, DIME. its funny how quickly the media makes dumbass conclusions, a week ago, this laker team was supposed to be complete and deep and unstoppable. Now you’re comparing them to the the 01 sixers, which is pretty much the worst team to make the finals, counting the 07 cavs.
the laker team is GREAT - and i’m a celtic supporter in these finals - gasol has been brilliant all season. you don’t get through tim friggin duncan and the unmovvable spurs by having the 01 sixers team.
They just ran into the best defensive team in the league in the form of the celtics, and have had a few tough games. gasol and odom were SUPPOSED to have a hard time against the DPOY, KG.
btw, celtics in 7!
June 11th, 2008 at 3:37 am
LSM says:
JVG!
June 11th, 2008 at 3:39 am
knocks says:
Kobe drops 36, gets pretty much every call that he wanted, while KG and P squared are MIA…and the Lakers win by only 7. If I’m Boston, I ain’t panicking.
Game 4, if i’m Doc Rivers, I STILL don’t double Kobe. This ain’t no different than 3-4 years ago. Let Kobe do his thing, while the other 4 stand and watch, hoping to grab the board if he misses. When crunch time comes, think they’re going to hit the big shot? Let Kobe get his 40, but this time, as you guys have said, get KG down low, spread the floor better than the Celtics did tonight. Let Pierce run through and cut, instead of trying to make a point, taking it one-on-one and jacking up that BS in Kobe’s face.
June 11th, 2008 at 3:40 am
the real marcus says:
lol @ the powe / j-rich face off…
i wonder if anyone can find sam cassell a partner for such ad…
we’re out like beantown in 6…
June 11th, 2008 at 3:52 am
Austin Burton says:
@karan — Gasol AND Odom were supposed to struggle against ONE defender? Me personally, I never thought the Lakers were unstoppable. Even when I picked them to win this series, I never thought they were unstoppable; rather, I thought they’d gotten hot at the right time as evidence by the San Antonio series.
However, look at the 01 Sixers against the 08 Lakers. Philly won 56 games that year and had their conference 1-seed. They were led by an outstanding guard who had an MVP season. They had an All-Star caliber center who definitely had his flaws. And the rest of their crew were role players who — up until the Finals — were probably playing above their heads. They beat the defending conference champs on their way to the Finals. Then it became clear they were a 1.5-man show. Sound familiar?
June 11th, 2008 at 4:06 am
KBY says:
Wow, those are some ugly ass sneakers!!
June 11th, 2008 at 4:53 am
Big Daddy says:
I agree Knocks… what are the odds of someone in LA showing up to play not named Kobe. Great clutch baskets from Kobe in the last few minutes. Pity you can’t say the same for House. (who let him take a shot in the end game? I know he nailed that 3 but still…)
That D Kobe was playing on Rondo had him lost! Who would have thought the best way to guard him is to ignore him!?
June 11th, 2008 at 4:57 am
Big Daddy says:
Did y’all see this: http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8231176/Donaghy-says-refs-fixed-playoffs;-Stern-says-no
Makes you wonder. Of course Stern has to cover it up by saying no… I reckon Donaghy picked a game with some questionable stats and picked it as being fixed to cover his as*
June 11th, 2008 at 5:17 am
bill says:
still going for celts but it is so weird how SO MANY write off a team after losing the first 2 games (away). Of course how they look is a factor but give the Lakers a chance to warm up.
Fisher, gasol and odom I would have on any team!
June 11th, 2008 at 5:28 am
Jay says:
LOL @ the ‘01 6ers comparison. Theo Ratliff to Gasol: as different as black and white (no pun intended), Fish > Snow, Odom > any member in that 01 team not named Iverson. Yes, Odom has had a terrible series, but comparing him to George Lynch or Ty Hill is insanity. Gasol also has not been as advertised, but Theo Ratliff was lucky the East had no other big body to throw in the ASG that year.
The ‘08 Lakers are a legit team, they have all the right pieces, but they just haven’t been making it work thus far. I didn’t hear anybody make many negative comments about Pau or Lamar through the first 12 wins in the playoffs…
The comparison to the ‘01 76ers is simply more “Kobe IS the Lakers” propoganda.
June 11th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Big Daddy says:
I’m not writing them off Bill, I reckon the Lakers will pick up one or two more games - hopefully we’l get a game 7! They looked rubbish last night though (excluding Kobe and Sasha).
June 11th, 2008 at 5:39 am
kulas says:
@Jay:
I think Dikembe Mutombo was the center of the Sixers that year, not Theo…
June 11th, 2008 at 5:41 am
bill says:
dream teams and all teams excepted of course ha ha
June 11th, 2008 at 5:43 am
bill says:
sweet Big Daddy, yeah even though I want the celts to win, I hope it is a triple overtime game winner game 7 he he
*KG becomes clutch for the game winning steal and pass to Pierce with a layin to win ala Bird and Dj of old…………
June 11th, 2008 at 5:51 am
oliver says:
Kobe is my favorate player, whatever he does, i love him and support him.A friend said that on tall dating site : http://Tallmingle.com ,which is a dating site for all tall friends and tall singles,especially models and basketball players.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:30 am
Soopa says:
I gotta back up my boy KG. Calling him soft is ridiculos ( im not english speaking, so pardon the spelling).
He cleary has some flaws offensively, shoots too much instead of working his way into the post. (In his defence, he does have the best outside touch of any big man)
But have you even paid attention to the C’s defence? Garnett is the glue. All out hustle, excellent on ball D, excellent help D, keeps balls alive and i could go on. So cut him some slack.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:21 am
rodnets says:
the machine has the ugliest chest bump I have seen in years.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Smitty313 says:
Paul Piere and KG didn’t show up, neither did Lamar Odom or Pau Gasol and the Lakers still won. If Lamar and Gasol would of helped just a little bit it would have been a blowout. Also there were alot of possesions were Kobe didn’t touch the ball in the 3rd and 4th qtrs. Kobe missed alot of free throws also. He did that in Dallas a few months back. Lakers in 7.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:05 am
josh says:
brain fart…hahahahaha
June 11th, 2008 at 8:16 am
WHAT'S REAL says:
STERN ORDERED KG AND PIERCE TO THROW THE GAME LAST NIGHT.
STERN CAN’T EVEN TRUST HIS DIRTY REFS ANYMORE; HE HAS TO GO TO THE SOURCE.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:27 am
MoxWestCoastRep says:
@27 GTFO!!!!!! Go tall and mingle yourself in to some traffic dumbass!!!
FAVORATE? what the hell is that??
Ok back to hoops, The Lake show!!
Finally, the someone stepped up and made some shots- The Machine. Still concerned though that LO and Pau are so ineffective on the Offensive end. LO does really looked “confused”. He is reminding me Ray Allen VS the Cavs, like he just forgot how to play basketball.
Now I got one of my buddies whos a Kings fan in my ear talking about “ooooh now it all makes sense why the Lakers won that series in ‘02 blah blah blah The refs wanted the Lakers to win blah blah blah They blew the call with the elbow to Bibbys face”
Let it go, no believes Donaghy’s lying ass!!
Lakers going for another 3 peat now…
June 11th, 2008 at 8:30 am
fallinup says:
Pierce wasn’t the reason the Celts lost. Doc Rivers’ horrible decision to have Ray guard Kobe one on one for the last 1:30 was the reason. Your big 3 is relegated to 1.5 and your still only down by less than 7. In a close game, the last person you want with the ball is Kobe Friggin Bryant. Ray Allen aint exactly known for his defense.
Good one, Doc. Good one.
And please, squash the chest bumps.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@Kulas
Dikembe and Theo were a part of the 01 sixers.
@Austin
I don’t know about the 01 sixers and the 08 Lakers comparison?
Aaron Mckie has NEVER in his career been touted as a potential all- star, and neither has Theo ratliff. And the two teams style of play is completely different. They had Larry brown as their coach and they ranked 5th in defense that year and we all know that’s what Larry brown specializes in making Theo, Mutombo, snow and Allen perfect for the system, theo and Mutombo block shots and iverson plays the lanes well.Snow plays man up D. And they beat all teams, (toronto, pacers, bucks) that played no D, so the stlyes clashed. The Lakers ranked 3rd in offense this year and 5th in D this year, and Lamar and Pau are capable of taking over games. Are Pau and Lamar choking in the playoffs? Yes. But it wasn’t that the Lakers were just playing out of their minds, truth is they are a good team with a lot of peices, and just shooting poorly against a team playing tough D and that ranks (1st) in defense this year. Will Lamar and Pau regain their confidence? With another win, I think they will finally see KG as mortal and begin to bang with them, if they don’t they have no chance to win. Bad comparison in my opinion though. The Lakers team is legit.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:35 am
hkp says:
Both teams played tight overall last night–witness the horrible free throw shooting. KG was noticeably tense (as opposed to his usual state of just being pumped up), and was rushing his jump shot and also missed two dunks.
That said, it was his defense that kept the Celts in the game in the first half. He shut down Odom while Perkins did a great job on Gasol, w/ Garnett helping on him. And, for the second game in a row, KG was basically the only rebounding presence for Boston. (and his rebounding total would have been higher if the refs didn’t stop calling loose ball fouls in the second half)
I think it’s funny that, even though both Garnett and Pierce struggled offensively (Pierce more so), Garnett still finds a way to contribute to his team, but Dime decides to make fun of Garnett for taking “invisible pills.” Pierce was the real ghost out there. He needs to go back to being a well-rounded player rather than the type who contributes nothing if he’s not scoring. I don’t expect either KG or Pierce to struggle like this again, at least not on the same night.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
I’m wrong about that Mutombo statement. I don’t know what I was thinking about, my bad.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Instilling some DNA says:
Haha, did you see that serial killer smile PJ Brown gave Farmar? Had that Hannibal Lecter glint. If they met in a dark alley, PJ would probably just leave the ears behind in Farmar’s honor.
It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for…
June 11th, 2008 at 8:44 am
rangerjohn says:
where is youngfed?
gotta open his mind for a second, pardon the interuption
http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/video.aspx?RsrcID=2036
that is for youngfed so everyone else can ignore it if they like.
oh and CELTICS IN 6
June 11th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@Kulas
Theo ratliff was injured and Mutombo was their center that year the sixers went to the finals
June 11th, 2008 at 8:45 am
WTF says:
i’d like to apologize for the guy at post #7. what the fuck?! don’t even think about bringing that probinsyano shit here, dumbass. most of them here don’t even know what your talking about.
taena, mahiya ka naman sa kacornyhan mo.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:47 am
E$ says:
Lakers are not the best team in the West
June 11th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@41
F*ck that! Can you at least tell us what the dude is saying? You kinda compounded the sh*t when you came on here speaking greek wit em!! LMAO!!! Translate or something. That’s like a person coming on here speaking chinese, and then his friend comes in like, “excuse him please.” Then starts concersatin with the dude in chinese like we ain’t there and sh*t! Defeats the whole purpose of the apology! LMAO!!
June 11th, 2008 at 9:22 am
mambo mamba says:
@ Jon
Stop watching KFC commercials!
June 11th, 2008 at 9:22 am
doc says:
We traded Ratliff fpr Tum Tum after the All Star Game that year.But Im not gonna put us up there with the Lakers talent wise.These dudes just ran through the so called toughest West ever.I dont believe that with Twolves Sonics Clippers and Grizzlies that will boost everybody wins up but this is what the media been hyping up all season.We got to the chip in 01 sorta like Boston without the options on Offense.We was locking teams down where they couldnt breathe.Thats what Boston doing now to the Lakers it aint got shit to do with they talent.Celtics Dis just trump tight with KG roaming that paint and you gotta respect that.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:27 am
rathauneak says:
Comparing this Laker team to the Sixers or Cavs is straight rediculous. They have legit players at every position and have all the tools needed to win. They just didn’t show up last night.
Celts could have easily been up 3-0, but I blame this L on coaching. No way do you let Ray guard Kobe, one on one, in the last few mins of the game, in LA, with him having the type of night that he’s been having. Dude was clearly getting any shot he wanted all night so why put Ray in that situation??? ……. Also, why bother bringing a
June 11th, 2008 at 9:28 am
karizmatic says:
The Yukon commercials are definitely worse, at least we know who MJ and Cuba Gooding are.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:31 am
yallallreadyknow says:
DIME
where is your coverage on tim donaghey? all the talk going on…and yall ended this smack section with a lot of BS nonesense.
spencer hawes and chris mihm?….hanes commercials? pj brown and jordan farmar?
c’mon…don’t end smack on BS when there is so much that you could inform us about involving timmy donaghey and his BS nonesense
June 11th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Celts Fan says:
@Chuck - 1 point in his career, Theo Ratliff was touted as a potential all star (dude did get a $14M per deal, what do you think that was for?!?) but it was because he was a FORCE on the defensive end/boards and lead the league in blocks a few times. He was a potential all star in the mold of a Marcus Camby or Dikembe, not an offensive force at all, but before his knees went (the Jail Blazer days next to Sheed,) he was a force on the defensive end…
June 11th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Big Mike says:
As fans, we hate to acknowledge it but we know these games are fixed. It makes rooting for your team obsolete now. Donaghy is shedding the light on it all, plus it is never just one person doing all the dirt. The L is tainted now and so is the ‘chip. Stern has taken away being a fan… That being said, Kobe still put Ray Ray in the blender last night..
June 11th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
And yeah, the lakers shot 34 free throws, and it had nothing to do with that cause they were aggressive crap. They were at home! you cats a see when they go back to Boston and shoot 12 free throws in game 5. You will see that the refs in Boston are professional hookers giving blow jobs on eater Sunday!
June 11th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@Celts fan
Oh, ratliff was a beast on the defensive end I agree, I said that on post no. 35, I was saying that he was perfect for Larry browns system. Larry Brown’s system is predicated on Defense. He was a very good defender until he started piling on the injuries.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Celts Fan says:
and PP was invisible because he got in foul trouble so he couldn’t be the well rounded player we’ve all come to expect. Oh well, it wasn’t gonna be a sweep anyway. Gald to see we hung around with 2 of our guys playing like GARBAGE. Still say Celtics in 7…
June 11th, 2008 at 9:49 am
djKianoosh says:
i loved that sixers ‘01 team. but it’s this laker team has quite a bit more offensive talent. we didn’t really have anyone that would consistently knock down threes off AI’s drives. i remember wishing we had a guy like derek fisher, or even Fox or George. They were all feeding off of Shaq’s GREATNESS. cause I believe that was his best postseason ever. anyway i digress… these lakers aren’t as good defensively as we think they are. yeah sure they’re long and athletic, but physical? sure they beat physical teams but that doesn’t make them automatically physical. they just overcame that deficiency in previous series.
Odom is wilting and turning into a 4th option in the bright lights of the finals. Gasol is diminishing. Where’s Derek Fisher? I expected a lot more from him.
LA still HAS TO HAVE games 4 and 5.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:50 am
DO says:
everything tim donaghy said is stuff we already knew. ref’s won’t eject star players, and they’ll swing the calls toward the team with the momentum. just the fact that they are instructed by the league to do so is shocking. i don’t know if it’s true or not, but if it is they’ll be talking about it all summer
June 11th, 2008 at 9:51 am
rangerjohn says:
hey chuck,
game 5 is in LA
2-3-2 remember.
if you are a celtics fan you have to be happy even though you lost, they shot 12 less freethrows, they shot a pour %, 2 of your 3 stars shot like shit, and you where in the game the whole time. short rest after the LONG flight, the lakers where destined to win game 3 just by being at home. there is no way the celtics shoot that bad in game 4. celtics win game 4, andclose the lakers out in game 6 at home.
celtics in 6
June 11th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Octopus Jonny says:
Octopus Jonny calls another!
Still, as has been mentioned 1000x since the series started, Pau and Lamar need to step it the hell up if the Lakers want to win anything. Also, D-Fish has been pretty quiet himself.
At first glance as it happened, it appeared Lamar pushed Rondo on the ankle tweak play and I’m glad the extra angles showed that he just misplaced his toe. As much as I don’t like the Celtics, I really don’t want to see any injuries to any of their players. This series would have went down in the major suck category of NBA Finals if PP would have been taken out with the knee thing.
KOBE! …didn’t get all the calls he was looking for. Neither did Pau when he flung up that shoot-it-because-I’m-getting-fouled-shot while is arm was locked up.
There were missed calls and nitpicky ones on both sides of the floor last night. Free throws weren’t nearly as lopsided as Game 2…
And where was Leon Powe? From supersub to 7 minutes of nonexistence…
June 11th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@rangerjohn
my bad, why you always the one catching my mistakes? LMAO!!!
Yeah, the Celtics shot a poor %, and 2 of their 3 starters played like crap, but so did Gasol and Odom, and the rest of the lakeshow.And everyone had a LONG flight, because everyone had to fly from Boston. If odom and Gasol step up and stop acting like some b*tches, The lakers can take game 4 and 5. Jordan Farmer and Sasha are doing what they have all season (hitting perimeter shots). My opinion, if the lakers lose. I ship Odom out. Dude is too wishy washy and he folds in big moments, EVERYTIME.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:58 am
word says:
not quite 40 for kobe but they still won, now this series will get interesting. the celts can’t let the lakers win the next 2 or they’re in trouble. paul pierce played like shit last night.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:01 am
GEE...Shirley got a big ol butt ...OOhh Yeaaa! says:
How Tim (donaghy)and them gone do my Rockets like that on a game 7. If it ain’t one thing it’s a ********** nutha.
dj I have to agree my man Fish let me down last night he really wasn’t up on it.
Lamar plays extremel weird. They say dude can be cold but I am about to be like “We don’t believe you, you need more people”
Kobe is just cold.
The Machine should get everything free in LA for a day.
Let’s push the series to 7.
Dang on them NBA conspiracies!
June 11th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Yoooo says:
That sixers team had the defensive player of the year, 6th man of the year AND coach of the year, alongside the MVP. The Lakers dont have any of that, so comparing the 2 isn’t far fetched.
I was thinking the same thing when I was watching the game last nite tho. The Lakers are good but they’re really not THAT good. I mentioned it weeks ago: some team is gonna pay one of the Laker role players a LOT of money one day only to find out they aint much when not riding Kobes coat tail. I hope Sasha stays tho, he’s gonna be a contributor in the league for a LONG time.
Never seen Kobe brick so many freebies! Then it was like a disease he passed along to not only his team but even the celts. Ray Allen missed 2 and he’s like a career 92% free throw shooter. And I don’t wanna hear about any free throw discrepancies because shooting 22 free throws is still waaaaaaay better than 10. if the Lakers had shot 22 in game 2 they would have won.
O and what was good with that foul PJ Brown had on Gasol (when he shot it over th backboard) no call? Officiating has got to better Especially for the finals.
Garnett set about THREE illegal screens before he FINALLY got called for the last one. He was lookin like an offensive lineman holding Kobe off and those plays resulted in 6 points; an and one for Pierce and a 3 from house. I was getting heated. Its one thing if you don’t call a foul on a off the ball screen, but an on the ball screen leaves the defense at too much of a disadvantage.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
Trade proposal for the Lakers should they lose this series on account of Lamar Odom playing like a confused American vacationing in China
Lakers
Lamar Odom (14 mil, expiring contract)
Rockets
Shane battier- would lock down player like Peirce
Luis Scola-gives you a natural PF
Jackie butler-only reason I said him, his contract expires anyway, and you wouldn’t have to deal with him after 08/09
June 11th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@Yoooo
Yeah man!! How wasn’t the refs calling Garnett’s screens like AAALLL NIGHT!!! They FINALLY called it at the very end of the game when the Celtics had a fork in em. I was like WTF, they can’t see that sh*t, even the announcers was callin it out.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:15 am
doc says:
Fuck them awards they was a feel good story when it happened but AI MVP the only one that hold weight.Nobody except AI had a good season after that NEVER.Unless you count Deke subbing for Yao or Raja getting hyped up because his Suns went on a 3 year regular season tear.Look it up.George Lynch,Ty Hill,E Snow,Kevin Ollie.We was fuckin terrible now that I think about it.Only team that can compare to us is the 07 Cleveland Lebrons.Who the fuck else we had?Rodney Buford.We woulda killed somebody on the Lakers in Philly in 01 for Gasol or Odom or even Fisher.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:17 am
SWAT says:
What up Gee? I was wondering if you heard that last nite…we were hosed. I remember Van Gundy saying that his source told him they were targeting Yao and he had to pay 100k fine and now we find out there may have been some truth to that. Damn i almost lost my mind last nite hearing that. That 05 series had the most questionable calls i have ever seen and of course when we were up 2 against Dallas d-bag Cuban calls stern then all of a sudden game 7 and we get bounced. I wonder how T-mac feels…
ok im gonna b ez and breathe…anyway i’m not too scared for Kg and the celts because those cats played like “dj” last nite and were still in it. Ray did his thing but every1 was eating his ass up on d. And really would someone please bench odom because dude is lost as hell out there. Last poss., and all he has to do is hold it and dude tries to drive to the lane…WTF? I mean really how bad would Mihm or Mbenga do compared to the “all stars” gasol and odom?
June 11th, 2008 at 10:19 am
rangerjohn says:
ok chuck got to call you on another one, rockets let butler go this season. no way the rockets let shane or scola go for odoms expiring contract. i do think i will start a rumor, i heard the spurs where going to sign and trade horry and thomas and finley and ship them over to la for odom. (ok i made that up but hey i can dream lol)
the thing i mentioned about the flight, yes everyone had to fly back on thier lone day off BUT who plays better on zero rest, the home team or the visitors? lakers had that home team energy, the celtics where hurting, that will be gone in the next game as everyone will have agood nights sleep. as long as you lakers fans dont tamper with their food and call their hotel rooms all night lol.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:20 am
doc says:
What the hell was they targeting Yao for.What was he doing holding or some shit.They probaly did cheat yall one of those games but if I remember game 7 was a 40 point ass whipping anyway.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Prof. TX says:
The last thing the Rockets need is another expensive underachiever. Keep Odom, they aren’t giving up Battier and Scola for him, especially after watching this series.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:24 am
WTF says:
@43
post # 7 was talking tagalog and was quoting some local lame ass tv commercial. believe me, that shit ain’t even worth explaining. the ad is more annoying than the closer or house of payne crap they had on tnt during the playoffs.
probinsyano means country, only worse. LMFAO
June 11th, 2008 at 10:27 am
DaPro says:
The Celts could have won the game if they continued to go to the hot hand in Ray.
You have to blame Ray for not being more aggressive and demanding the ball
Rondo for being the point and not recognizing who’s hot
Coaching staff for not calling Ray’s number more
P-double and KG were horrible offensively yesterday as well as LO and Gasol-
Who is more likely to find thier game and produce? Has to be Boston, I picked them in 6, with game 3 and 5 going to LA.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@doc
I agree wit you, post 64
@rangerjohn
you have some of the weirdest logic I have ever encountered? home team energy? Now that’s just some sh*t you made up. LMAO!!
Tired is tired, long flights are long flights, and just about everyone outide of Kobe, and Ray played like crap, except for sasha. So it was evident that everyone was tired, but there is no home team energy, there are home team refs, who call home team calls, they give home team advantages, except for in LA where you can set illegal screens on multiple occasions and no one calls it.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@WTF
You had me throwed off. LMAO!!
I was like, “What are they talking about?” LMAO!!!
June 11th, 2008 at 11:01 am
luckylester says:
Is it just me or does KG have less of a left hand than that kid at the park that can only dribble once with his left, and it’s only to get back to his right. I know he’s a 7 foot athlete, but my god, you’d think after this long he’d be able to finish with his left - seriously, is anybody with me here? I’ve always respected G as one of the best in the game, and I like the guy a lot, but learn a damn left!!!
June 11th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Illmatic says:
Two things: Does anybody else find it pathetic how hard van Gundy tries to be funny? He’s always trying to get on Mark Jackson, who usually proceeds to ignore him.
Also, why the hell is Cassell even on the floor anymore? He shoots it literally everytime the ball is in his hands. EVERY time. He’s ruining perfect scoring opportunities, and yet Doc continues to leave him on the floor. He finally got some sense later on last night by giving House a few looks.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:51 am
rangerjohn says:
chuck,
do you think the players dont get pumped by their home town fans? think they are not more energetic for the home crowd and “feed” off the crowds energy? sasha, kobe and farmar all did their part, gasol is fading fast, and odom is keeping close behind him. walton needs to go, fisher is already gone, vlad is about as consistent as the orlando magic, and turiaf doesnt know what to do with his head so far up kobe’s ass he cant even see if he did know what to do.
lakers need more help then the celtics do, bottom line.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Austin Burton says:
Funny how Lakers fans are insulted at being compared to the 01 Sixers. That team had the MVP, a Hall of Fame coach, a very good center, some tough role players, the #1 seed in their conference and they won ONE game in the Finals.
Lakers have the same thing here, and you’ve also won ONE game in the Finals. You don’t have room to act superior yet.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
DaPro says:
There are some comparisons AB, Lakers have more offensively than the 01 Sixers
When everyone is moving the ball then they are hard to cover but you’re right they haven’t separated themselves yet
June 11th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@Austin
but Austin They have only played 3 games? It’s not about acting superior, it’s just assessing the talent. I mean look at philly’s starting lineup?
Iverson-snow-Lynch-Tyronne hill and Mutombo.
Veery affective on the defensive end and like I said they ranked 5th in defense that yeat. They were a defensive oriented team that beat teams that didn’t play D.
Lakers starting 5
fisher-bryant-Radmanovic-Odom-Gasol
3rd best offense in the league and YES, people they play D, 5th best defense in the league.
Iverson was the only person even capable of really scoring on that team. Gasol, Odom and Bryant can score. With a plethora of gaurds and forwards that can kill you on the perimeter.
2 completely different teams with two completely different styles of ball. Remember during the season that Kobe wasn’t dominating the ball as much as he is now playing against the Celtics which I believe may be some of the problem of why the lane is so clogged up. If kobe let Gasol be the focal point of the triangle offense like it’s designed and move without the ball, it would open up the floor.
I’m not sold on that parallel.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
K Dizzle says:
Ranger
I would be embarrassed for any player on either team who is fatigued right now as there was a loooooong delay before the finals, then they went thursday, sunday and tuesday. Not exactly a hectic schedule.
Laker fans make me laugh sometimes. Lamar Odom played great against the Spurs, now 3 bad games against the best defensive team in the l and dudes are throwin out trade options. If y’all were Celtic fans, you’d be tradin Ray after his nasty Cavs series… Now look at him.
Lakers are fine. We don’t need a Battier or a “lockdown defender” cuz we got Ariza, who didn’t play all year, but is doin good work in the Finals. Please stop forgettin that Bynum comes back next season and a shotblocker/rebounder like dude INSTANTLY makes us a better team. It’s like Portland gettin Oden back.
Lakers have played like 6-8 good minutes in the whole series. I’m wonderin why the Celts mailed the game in with about 30 secs left in a 2 possession game instead of foulin and extendin the game and why is it that when the Celts do good defensively, Tommy T gets the credit, but when they put Ray on Kobe and he proceeds to get lit, Doc gets the blame. Nasty double standard. Lakeshow needs to get game 4 and not relax cuz we got one at home. Game 4 can end this series or make it new again
June 11th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@rangerjohn
I don’t think players being pumped by fans has any bearing on the game. If home court advantage was all it was cracked up to be, ALL teams would be winning at home and that’s just not the case.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@k dizzle
So Odom isn’t inconsistent?
So Odom is worth 14 mil?
So Odom has shown that he can be a leader down the stretch?
Not throwin dude under the bus, simply pointing out the obvious. He had a good series against the Spurs true….
But what’s more characteristic of Odom? Choking in the crunch or stepping up? Evaulate and do the math and hit me with the synopsis.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
jimmhumm says:
If your reading comment #82 you need to get a life. Post on the story about kobe and Kg’s wife dont waste your time. Its too late!
June 11th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Austin Burton says:
No one said the 08 Lakers and 01 Sixers played similar styles, I’m saying as an overall team I haven’t seen that these Lakers are much better than those Sixers.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Kudabeen says:
Is it such a bad idea to have KG on Kobe to deny him those midrange shots that he love to go to when it’s time to close the show? KG typically would be front and center in somekind of shifting zone… They could have matched up well and still had enough speed on the court to chase shooters off the three if Kobe decided to drive in the last 2 minutes.
Sasha hasn’t played scared all playoffs so it was good to see him get some shine. Pierce was dragging that leg. Luke Walton stuffed his shot and was defending him…crazy…
Ray Allen doesn’t get a look down the stretch? they just gave him a bunch of bad picks. KG kept sliping off of picks (too early) as if he was hitting shots or something. It’s games like this where I look at Doc and ask “what was the plan?” did they just not execute? I don’t think so. They weren’t getting good looks or moving the ball. It was a lot of one on one…
With all that it wasn’t as great a W as I though LA was going to be able to pull of after the way they started. We’ll see how KG and Pierce responds. If Ray is still hitting and confident, could be a problem for LA…
Still have Celts in 6…
June 11th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@Dime magazine
Theres only been 3 games played Austin?
Pau is a proven scorer in the post. Is he having problems with Garnetts altheticism? Yes he is
Odom also can do a multitude of things on the floor, and is a versatile big man. Is he an underacheiver? Yes, but certainly more talented than a George lynch?
Even though the Lakers don’t have all the similiar awards, they have a proven winning coach and the current mvp of the season. Phil has 9 rings.
How many does larry brown have? 1
When the last horn is blown and if the Lakers fail, I would understand the comparisons.
Nobody was talking like this when the Lakers were using San Antonion for a punching bag?
June 11th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
GEE...Shirley got a big ol butt ...OOhh Yeaaa! says:
SWAT I yea I was sitting there in shock when I heard what Tim was telling too and the way Stern just brushed it off like dude is just hyping up a bunch of stories.
Stern already knew and knows there is underhanded stuff going on and he more than likely got his hands on the controls. LOL @ the NBA possibly being on some underground mafia type circuit with more conspiracies than area 51.
Anyway I was thinking what Mac had to be thinking upon hearing that too. He had to let a sunday school word go off in his head or out loud lol. I hate that for dude. It’s like dude in prison and no matter how hard he try to hold the soap it just keep hittin the ground lol.
Anyway JVG was trippin me out trying to take the right way out not siding with Tim and all and that is cool… he know the truth though. We all do.
JVG had me trippin on the hair thing. Dude said it was messing with his family too lol. Had me cracking up, specially him talking bout now they want me to look at the camera.
Lakers will take the next one cause surely Fisher, Odom and Pau can’t play horrid forever lol.
June 11th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
rangerjohn says:
ok dizzle sure they have had some rest BUT every player on both teams is tired after playing a late game in boston on sunday, then flying to la sunday night/monday morning (remember that is BEST CASE and 8 hour flight) then having another game tuesday.
the bottom line, home court has been a huge factor in the playoffs PERIOD and the home team won last night (not by much and it was close all game, 2 points with 1 minute left) and on top of that, the visitors only had 1 player play well, while the home team had 3 players play well.
as for odom, dizzle i would not say he “played great” against the spurs either, 12 points and 9 rebounds? thats great? i would say he played great against the jazz with 18 and 11.5. so far he has barely met his season averages in the playoffs combined and he is averaging 4 points and 2 rebounds less then his season averages in the finals.
if he and gasol cant step up the lakers are done. it is not like he was david west or something.
celtics in 6
June 11th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
the antoine says:
who was the third player that played well for the home team?
June 11th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
alaskan_fire_dragon says:
lakers won and thats good
but with donaghy coming out
the nba is in big trouble
remember when the nba didnt want the kobe to succeed, and tried to morph d-wade into the next marketable superstar?
watching some of the games back then absolutely disgusted me
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JZyD3Zjuxvw&feature=related
its still happening too
i think d-wade is on his way to a griffey-esque career
btw congrats on him getting number 600
June 11th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
K Dizzle says:
@ “remember when the nba didnt want the kobe to succeed, and tried to morph d-wade into the next marketable superstar?”
that wasn’t the nba, playa. that was kobe goin down to colorado and puttin ink to his criminal record. He did it to himself. You wouldn’t see MLB marketin Bonds or Clemens now.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
alaskan_fire_dragon says:
you got me there k dizzle
but stern secretly suspended jordan
for gambling problems
after getting 3 rings in a row
he was perfectly marketable
after that