“Black Magic” makes Celts vanish; Yao goes warrior-style in L.A.
Dwight Howard (photo. Mannion)
Everybody who had the Lakers coasting to the Finals and playing the winner of Cavs/Celtics has something to think about now. Yesterday we saw both underdog road teams, Orlando over Boston and Houston over L.A., take homecourt for the time being with a pair of well-executed W’s … You figured Boston would have trouble early on after their grueling first-round series, and the Magic took advantage. Falling behind by 18 at halftime, the Celtics couldn’t figure out what to do with Rashard Lewis (18 pts, 7 rebs, 3 stls). Kendrick Perkins and Big Baby each got turns, as did Brian Scalabrine. If you’re Rashard, you’re making more than $100 million worth of contract and a team is actually having Brian Scalabrine check you in a playoff game, you should be going to the rack or dropping threes on him every possession just on general principle … Orlando stretched the lead to 28 in the third quarter when Big Baby got clobbered going to the basket and while Doc Rivers ignored what was happening on the court to scream at the refs, J.J. Redick hit a three to cap an 11-0 run. Reggie Miller admonished Big Baby for not getting back on D, not seeing that he was busy holding his head after taking a hard shot … Two minutes into the fourth quarter, though, Boston cut the lead to 10 after Eddie House hit a three and Rajon Rondo (14 pts, 10 rebs, 8 asts, 3 stls, 7 turnovers) got a steal and a dunk. What exactly was KG doing when the camera cut to him after the dunk and he was making a “walking” motion with his fingers and flashing an evil grin? It looked like he was talking sh*t to somebody on the Magic, but we all know KG isn’t like that. After an Orlando timeout, Rondo forced Rafer Alston into an over-and-back when he did the cagey vet move of using his knee against the back of Rafer’s knee to knock the ball away … Boston was down nine late in the fourth when Rondo almost committed a stupid turnover by letting the ball roll itself up the court. After Rafer dove on it (and failed to call “FIRST!”), Rondo snatched it back and fired a pass from his knees to Scal, who hit a three. Paul Pierce (23 pts) hit a three right after that to cut the lead to six with under three minutes to go, then Big Baby converted an up-and-under layup that was just like Michael Jordan‘s special move on Bulls vs. Blazers. With a chance to make it a one possession game, the C’s came up empty twice in the final minute when Ray Allen (9 pts, 2-12 FG) lost the ball off his knee, then had a three hit 18 parts of the rim before popping out. Hedo gave it right back on an inexcusable (albeit close) eight-second violation, but Pierce missed a tough runner and it was Redick making free throws after that … Dwight Howard (16 pts, 22 rebs, 3 blks) was not happy with how his team almost blew the game, as he mentioned to David Aldrige several times during the Longest On-Court Post-Game Interview Ever. Dwight only smiled when he revealed his newest nickname: “Black Magic.” And of course he got on Twitter later Monday night and asked the fans what the Magic need to work on (and asked that they don’t respond with negativity) …
Ray Allen
Give the Boston crowd some credit: They never think their team is out of it, and their energy only helped the Celtics during their second-half comeback. If that were the Lakers or Miami about to get 30-pieced in the third quarter, half of the fans would be back in their homes before the game was over … Funny moment when Rondo airballed a free throw and Reggie Miller was utterly stunned. Reggie probably never aired a FT in his life. He probably still at least gets rim every time he tosses balled-up paper into the trash can … Somebody get ahold of Marv Albert and tell him he can’t say, “Oh what a move by Rondo!” anymore from here on out. That goes for every other player, too. “Oh what a move by” should be reserved for #23 … Charles Barkley on Perkins: “Not in his wildest damn dreams can he guard Dwight Howard.” To his credit, though, Perk (16 rebs, 3 blks) did get Dwight a couple times, blocking that right-hand hook that Dwight likes … Give Scalabrine his due for playing the game of his life (10 pts), but why does he get treated like the “special” kid in school? Whenever Veal does something that any player with common sense would do, he gets praised for making the “smart” play. Deciding not to challenge Dwight Howard under the basket and passing to somebody else? “Smart play by Scalabrine.” Calling a timeout when he’s trapped in a corner and picks up his dribble? “Smart play by Scalabrine.” These are plays that anybody from Andray Blatche to Tony Allen would make. (Well, maybe not Tony Allen) … A lot was made about Kobe being sick — although surprisingly not very many swine flu jokes — for the last couple days, and he arrived at the Staples Center for Game 1 of Lakers/Rockets wearing what looked like one of Shaq‘s old sweaters and a pair of Mom jeans. That’s not against the dress code? … The Rockets then went about making Kobe’s night even rougher, throwing everything they had plus the kitchen sink and the bathroom mirror at Mamba on defense. Rick Adelman‘s strategy was to clog the lane and force Kobe to kick the ball out — which he had to do when he’d drive with Shane Battier on his hip, Yao Ming at the rim, and Ron Artest and Luis Scola coming in with hands swarming in a wall of red … Kobe finished with 32 points (14-31 FG), but his kick-out options weren’t delivering. Trevor Ariza, Derek Fisher and Sasha Vujacic went a combined 0-for-10 beyond the arc, and Kobe himself was 1-for-7 from three. The Lakers’ offense struggled all night, and Houston led for most of the game …
Yao Ming
With five minutes left, the Rockets were up by eight when Kobe drove and banged knees with Yao (28 pts, 10 rebs). Seeing Yao on the ground yelling and grabbing his knee probably caused a pandemic of puking across Texas and China, but Yao only went to the tunnel for a minute, stretched out the knee, gritted his teeth and came right back in after missing a few seconds of gametime. Who says Yao isn’t a warrior? Right after getting back out there, Yao hit a long jumper to stretch the lead to six, and down the stretch was money from the free throw line to help seal the win … Battier took an elbow to the face from Vujacic and ended up with more blood on his face than Flipper from “Daisy of Love.” It was nasty, but at least Battier wasn’t dumb enough to start spitting it on people … If Artest (21 pts, 7 rebs, 7-15 FG) is this efficient on offense throughout the series, L.A. is gonna have a problem on their hands. Ron-Ron got a lefty driving dunk amongst the trees in the first quarter, and in the fourth hit a tough fadeaway in the lane over Ariza … Jay-Z was in the building with Diddy. And apparently Jigga only trusts his barber in New York, ’cause it looks like Hov hasn’t had a cut in a good month and a half … LeBron was officially crowned MVP yesterday, and by a wider margin than we expected. ‘Bron got 109 of the 121 first-place votes; D-Wade got seven, Kobe and Chris Paul each got two, and Dwight got one. In the total scoring, though, Kobe finished second ahead of Wade. Dwight was fourth and CP was fifth, followed in order by Chauncey Billups, Paul Pierce, Tony Parker, Brandon Roy, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan and Yao. Does Tommy Heinsohn have a ballot? That’s about the only way we could see Pierce getting a third-place vote. Other than that, the only real weird result was Wade getting FOUR fifth-place votes, and Kobe getting two fifth-place votes … We’re out like Black Magic …
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May 5th, 2009 at 3:58 am
bigdog says:
1st – yeah boyy!!
Go my Boys Ron Ron and Yao – Rockets in 6
May 5th, 2009 at 4:01 am
shage says:
Rockets all the way!
May 5th, 2009 at 4:16 am
BRUCE says:
WTF is wrong with the Lake Show? I was pissed off the whole game. Bring it Lake-Show. I don’t want to hear Shaq diss Kobe again.
May 5th, 2009 at 4:19 am
BRUCE says:
Who thought of the translation? Pretty neat idea. I’m placing $500 on Game 2, Lakers!
May 5th, 2009 at 4:49 am
smity far away says:
rockets impress me. but not fantastically. i could have sworn (before the series started) that they had split the season series against l.a. on the bright side, they shot almost as horribly from outside as the lakers did and had more (controllable) turnovers. nice to see them take a game and yes they are a team that will make it tough for kobe and them but i’d be silly to get my hopes up in thinking that they can pull off the upset (i’m an underdog supporter for life, i suppose…except for when i’m on the court playing against an underdog.)
thought boston would somehow make a statement win in game 1. i was wrong
May 5th, 2009 at 4:55 am
Sambuu says:
Utah would’ve smacked Rockets…
May 5th, 2009 at 4:58 am
QQ says:
Game one DOWN!
Great game. I thought Orlando will win by 30 (LOL) but the Celts played real tough and sadly, our bogus plays in the fourth didn’t help us either. But Celts had the chance, and we took it away from them.
Can’t say nothing bout my Magic, haters. A fucking win is a fucking win.
LOL @ cats who were saying this will be an easy series for the Celts (and to that one guy who said it will be a Boston sweep).
See ya!
May 5th, 2009 at 5:23 am
jp2506 says:
Jordan VII shoes
May 5th, 2009 at 5:24 am
jp2506 says:
http://www.new-aj.com
May 5th, 2009 at 5:45 am
sh!tfaced says:
QQ sounds more like Freddie Roach than Mayweather Sr. so far… LOL
Damn Celtics waited to late to make their move and ran out of time. I’m no coach, but if you were Doc Rivers, you would have at least tried to play Marbury and Rondo at the same time with Ray Allen struggling. Starbury was in flashback mode, scoring 8 points in 8+ minutes.
If there’s any consolation for anyone who’s rooting for the Celts, it’s the difference between the Boston crowd and LA crowd today. C’s fans have just as much heart and never-give-up toughness as their team…
May 5th, 2009 at 5:51 am
smoove chips says:
The celts/magic series is an even matchup.So’s the lakers/rockets.One word to describe the celts.Poised.They rarely lose it.Respect that.
If you thought Ron was funny,you should hear Yao.They got to be the most amusing post game interview tandem in NBA history.
I’m getting sick of these on court interviews.I was thinking the same thing Superman was thinking.”how many times you gon rephrase the same fluckin question !!??”
Hova been on some wild shyt lately.Kinda like puffy with that mohawk.Guess when your paper’s like that and you gat you know who in the sack cant nobody say shyt right ?
Truth be told that was the right MVP call.You could easily switch Lebron with you fav player and not lose any sleep.At ANY position.And I mean ANY player.I get goose bumps thinking what juice Lebron could squeeze outta my Lakers.Lakers in 6 btw.
And dime you right on the money.I said it before too.Scalabrine isos can not be passed up as a general rule lol.With that being said he did his thing.not only was he not part of the problem,he’s been hinting at solutions.Appreciated.
I’m out like Ray’s j tonight..
May 5th, 2009 at 6:19 am
the_don_mega (representin' the 3 stars and a sun) says:
HOUSTON UP!!!
sorry GEE got carried away…
nice game by the Rockets… can’t wait for game 2… that would be fun…
May 5th, 2009 at 6:23 am
QQ says:
LOL @ 10. Oh yeah, I’m feeling it, brother.
I’ll keep reppin my squad, no matter what. The thing is my boys actually got the work done, proving all the haters wrong.
PS: GOOOOOOOO MAGICCCC!!!!!
May 5th, 2009 at 7:11 am
John says:
“Kobe finished with 32 points (18-31 FG), but his kick-out options weren’t delivering.”
How Kobe score 32 points on 18 FG that went in ???
May 5th, 2009 at 7:28 am
Arno says:
Not a word on Mike Pietrus’ performance ? The guy has some bone piece hurting his right wrist. Against the Magic med staff will, he decided to play the post season and postpone surgery, explaining that he couldn’t shoot it but would bring everything on D.
And he goes for 17, 3 threys, 2 stl and 2 bs.
Not bad, is it ?
May 5th, 2009 at 7:59 am
thomasmmm says:
Good call Arno 17, 3 threys, 2 stl and 2 bs – not shabby at all. Bench + defense wins championships.
Ronron redemption? Does this season’s performance outshine the Houston win streak last season?
May 5th, 2009 at 8:00 am
that's whats up says:
Rockets-Nuggets WCF would be tight.
Analysts would have to concentrate on the actual games instead of stroking Kobe’s Black Mamba
I saw Marbury do something last night that I never saw him do in New York – smile
Magic popped the Celtics – Celtics looked “dog tired boss”. nice win
Lebron just drops 30 tonight and Billups has a HUGE game for the Nugs
May 5th, 2009 at 8:39 am
POPPI GEE says:
the_don_mega (representin’ the 3 stars and a sun) I ain’t trippin. Go ahead and go wild!
HOUSTON UP, ALL OVA YALLS MONKEY A@@!
I am so geeked up it ain’t even funny!
I’ll explain GEE cause I can’t explain anyone else. Man basically I was already feelin like my squad won the championship for the year. Honestly my main and only (mostly) objective was get out the 1st round.
So when Houston did that, ya boi was content, happy and honestly the Lakers could have swept and I’d be cool (not to mention I like Kobe).
STILL! Them Houston boyz came out the gate reppin! When I saw the Rockets Logo on Ron’s head, lol, I saw awww shiiii, it’s gonna be something this game. We might get this.
Boys came in and had a plan and executed it and got them 1. I already feel like I am rollin around with the “Get out the 1st Round trophy” so that win was pure icing!
How ill is this. Right now the Houston Rockets have a 1 game lead and home court against the L.A. Top-seeded Lakers!
It may not last long or it may, either way, for now The Houston Rockets are the shiiiiiizNIT! out West!
I am out like my mind cause I feel straight wild today!
May 5th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Mikey says:
Yesterday was a good day to be a Lakers and Celtics hater.
Does anyone seriously think the Celtics have a shot at beat the Magic? After a grueling 7 game series with 7 OTs against the Bulls, the Celts (especially their older superstars) are going to be too tired for this round.
Cavs are winning it all this year.
May 5th, 2009 at 8:48 am
E$ says:
May 5th, 2009 at 8:49 am
jzsmoove says:
The Celtics and Magic were shooting themselves in the foot in the early4th quarter it was annoying and bothering to watch. They both were taking too much bad shots. The refs were obvious in this game, they were favoring the homeboys just a tad more on calls going their way although marginal calls.
The Laker-Rockets game stank BS too. Stupid refs would figure lifting your one shoulder even though both feet are on the ground against a gliding player, IS a foul. (eg. Yao’s 2nd foul). Compare this to a no-call elbow to the face (eg. Vujacic on Battier). A lot of bogus calls to both on Yao and Bynum that forced the 2 centers down on the bench.
Lambchops IS NOT a smart player. He knows how to play the game and compensate for his skills but thats it.
May 5th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Patrick says:
Why does TNT have to play these games so late? Tonight the Nuggets game will start at 830 local time. It won’t end until probably 1-130 eastern time. They gotta stick it to the west coast and let them miss a little of the first game coming home from work. I gotta get up too early for this.
Old man rant complete.
May 5th, 2009 at 9:05 am
QQ says:
@ 19:
The haters are just hush right now, but see the past few comment sections and everyone was saying that there is NO WAY that the Magic will win. NO WAY. And now, game 1 was played, the Celtics’ flaws were exposed, quieting all the fucking haters.
And to think people are calling me out for picking the Magic. Fuck the haters.
@ GEE:
Hey congrats for the win man. I’m feeling ya. It’s good to prove the haters wrong LOL!
Gonna go easy on the emotions though, haha. You seem so high, man, your brain might explode any minute now.LOL. Can’t blame you though. It’s all good.
May 5th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Dirtball Rotten says:
“Big Baby converted an up-and-under layup that was just like Michael Jordan’s special move on Bulls vs. Blazers”
LMAO LMAO LMAO oh shit, man only the 25 and older crew know about that!!!!!! man thats back on the SEGA GENESIS days there son!
im a KG fan but he is getting on my nerves with all of these facial expressions. my girl was even like ” whats wrong with his face” all thru the bulls/celtics series
May 5th, 2009 at 9:12 am
BERN BROGDEN says:
“…then Big Baby converted an up-and-under layup that was just like Michael Jordan’s special move on Bulls vs. Blazers.” —}} I’m only laughin’ at the “special move” mention. Y’all JOE.
BOSTON should’ve played like the 1st half like the 2nd half…now they got Orlando thinkin’ they can win.
PROPS to JJ. He got busy. Props to BABY even though he had his moments. RONDO and RAY are THEE ONLY REASONS Magic got a dub. They stunk it up.
Funny thing happened last night, got a call from a Magic player.
He said, “What’s good daddy?!? I see you on DIME talkin’ YO’ SH*T NUCCA.”
I said, “Yeah. And??? What y’all gon’ do? Y’all gonna get swept and I’ma keep talkin’ my SH*T.”
He said…
“WE GON’ DEAD THAT.”
Btw, how many shots KOBE took??
7 TIMES MORE THAN HE DISHED OUT?? Just guessin’ – LOL
May 5th, 2009 at 9:27 am
QQ says:
@ 25:
Funny thing happened to me last night,too. A CELTIC PLAYER CALLED ME! And it was not Scalabrine or Tony Allen, so bonus points for me, too.
He said ‘Yo, I read Dime’s comment section ans saw this guy ‘BROGDEN’ saying we gonna sweep your Magic.’
I said ‘So, what you gonna do, champ?’
He said ‘We will purposely lose the first game just to prove the asshole wrong.’
And so they did.
PS: None of that ever happened. Magic is just too good for the Celts. Just accept the fucking fact.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:05 am
bobbys says:
ronron and yao! most entertaining duo in the NBA and they can play some bball as well!
hopefully this goes to 6 or 7
ROCKETS BABY
May 5th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Yoooo says:
Lakers played like some fags last night. They gave Pau the ball MAYBE once or twice in the post ALL game. Give that man the ball! All those other bums like Fisher coming down shooting pull up J’s without a single pass is ridiculous. They played like the Warriors last night with that selfish nonsense. And they missed a billion free throws. Jordan Farmar actually played well the 3 minutes he was in, Fisher was TERRIBLE should have sat his ass down. Odom played like it was 06, missing layups and not letting the game come to him. Vujacic played good D, but what happened to homeys jumpshot? Shannon Brown played ight, but what the hell is his position? He is NOT a backup PG man.
BYNUM IS AN IDIOT, picking up dumbass fouls. He was killin when he was in and we need him this series cuz Odom doesnt match up well with the Rockets front line because theyre too physical for him. He looks like hes dribbling to avoid any contact, shook daddy. Farmar is the best chance at slowing down Brooks cuz he be duckin cats under those screens and just crawling up Gasols chest for layups. Ish was embarrassing for that midget to be in the paint laying it up over 7 footers.
BOTTOM LINE THOUGH, GET GASOL THE MUTHAEFFIN BALL! ESPECIALLY WHEN YAO IS ON HIM!!!
May 5th, 2009 at 10:25 am
rell says:
Good comeback by the Celts after they layed the egg in the 2nd and 3rd. I can’t believe I’m about to say this but if it wasn’t for Jackie Moon Boston wouldn’t made the comeback. Moon actually played good defense on Turkoglo in the 2nd half. Boston was a +22 when Moon was in the game. If Ray Ray would have knocked the 3 down we might would have won the game. I don’t think we will win the series, but I think the series will go 7.
I know Orlando have a better team but C.Webb was talking some nonsense last night. Last night Webb was saying Rondo/R.Allen is only slightly better than Skip/Redick. I think the Cav will win the East but if the Magic had Rondo and Ray Ray the Magic could win the NBA Championship.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:31 am
doc says:
Good game by H-Town.Way to hang on by Orlando.Its still anybodies game though fellas cant get to up or down from game 1.Aaron Brooks was busting Fisher ass.And my young boy Kyle held it down for the Illadelph with the pit bull at the point play.Good games all around though.This a hell of a season.I been trying to tell LA fans they aint no dynasty in the making they gonna have to scrap for just 1 chip and they dont have no scrappers besides Kobe and Sasha and Sasha game aint good enough to help besides ding up off the pine and hitting a occasional trey.Ron-Ron and them came to play so show me yall heart LA.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Sanpitch says:
am i the only one who thought the part where yao is in the hallway to the locker room looked staged or at least like a rocky movie or something?
lakers are in trouble. as much as they like to think they are a physical team they are not. gasol is soft like a box of feathers, kobe thinks he is more physical than he actually is, and bynum the most physical player in a lakers jersey can’t stay on the court longer than a 7 minute stretch. don’t look good for the lake show. they will win game 2, but watch out in houston.
as lamar odom goes so goes the lakers. kobe is going to get his and do his stuff, but the real mvp for the lake show is odom. if he is killing the glass and if he can hit some jumpers, lakers win. if not, kobe has to jack up a lot of shots and lakers sometimes win. odom is the engine that runs the lake show. kobe is the nice flashy paint job that makes or breaks the car but odom is the “under the hood” not seen player that fuels the team.
my prediction, lakers get bumped from the playoffs or finals and kobe throws a kobe tantrum this summer.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:41 am
doc says:
@sanpitch-That prediction not really going out on a limb since thats what happened to them every year since number 34 hauled ass.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Sanpitch says:
where are all the cats that were on bynum’s nuts early in the season??
here are his playoff stats:
5.8 pts 3.0 rebs 0.8 blks 0.5 ast 1.5 to 15.3 min 3.2 pf
that’s a foul every 5 minutes!
May 5th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Sanpitch says:
@ doc
no it’s not going out on a limb at all, but i had to say it.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Dennis Castro says:
Dime, not sure how Kobe can hit 18 FG’s and only score 32 points. Unless you count negative points for having Sasha Vujacic on your team, then in that case, it makes sense.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:00 am
isotope says:
It’d be funny (not so funny for the commish) if both the Cavs and the Lakers get eliminated. Can you imagine a Hawks/Rockets final? or even worse a Hawks/Nuggets final? LOL
May 5th, 2009 at 11:20 am
SWAT says:
wht up GEE…Htown stand up!! lol! wow getting past the first round was great and really anything after tht is just gravy. are we one and done…i dont think so. Our heart won tht game last night…not KOBE being sick, not the fact tht the lakers couldnt buy a bucket last nite, or the refs. There really were bad calls both ways but just watchin it last nite, i dont kno if it was just the fact tht i believe in clutch city again, but i wasnt really worried about those boys. We controlled the whole game and withstood every lil run. The only fear i had was watchin YAO fall and hold his knee…YES I THT POINT I DAMN NEAR CRIED. if he went down there went our season, but dude was a beast and told Keith Jones wht he was not gonna do. He went out thr and repped…hard. i couldnt believe wht i was seeing…this is not the same YAO we drafted. Hakeem, Mutombo, and even ewing all their work with dude has finally started to sink in. lets see how game 2 goes and we handle their adjustments. just stick to the script fellas. lol…”QB is in the building!” haha!
May 5th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Yao Fan says:
Go Big Yao. You can’t bring the Chinaman down!
Go Houston.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:23 am
parinaz suns says:
best text of the night that summed up the lakers game from my mother “is Gasol gay because he’s playing like it” I hate the Lakers but I was even shocked to see them loose last night. It is just one game and people shouldn’t go all crazy they can still win this series just might not be as easy as everyone thought it would be.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Big Island says:
Haven’t heard a whole lot from Bynum. Actually, haven’t heard a whole lot from Laker fans about Bynum’s greatness lately. When I saw Yao go down I thought that Kobe was just trying to wreck knees of big guys.
I can’t wait for the Celtics to get eliminated. I really can’t.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:48 am
isotope says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPgCozY9GZU
sick play by AB at 1:59
May 5th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
the_don_mega (representin' the 3 stars and a sun) says:
just read on SI that Sheed is plannin’ to hang-up his sneakers for next season…
May 5th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
AB_40 says:
but why does he get treated like the “special” kid in school? Whenever Veal does something that any player with common sense would do, he gets praised for making the “smart” play. Deciding not to challenge Dwight Howard under the basket and passing to somebody else? “Smart play by Scalabrine.” Calling a timeout when he’s trapped in a corner and picks up his dribble? “Smart play by Scalabrine.”
he’s white… american… has a weirder arm shoulder build then jason kidd and has RED hair. oh and a headband as a jackie moon tribute… by nba standards he’s a disabled kid haha. wow terrible joke
May 5th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Dave says:
yo Gee, we need some Houston Up t-shirts here in SLC! Not sure that the Jazz would’ve beaten anyone this season, but it’s good to see Artest, Yao, and your boys taking it to the Lakers!!!
May 5th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
POPPI GEE says:
@ QQ man I think I typed it last night. If I already didn’t have a baby on the way, last night I think I could have created one! When ya team been down so long, it’s just good to be among the squads doing well that is all.
I am sure a bunch of females in Houston probably got pregnant last night lol.
@ Sanpitch my boy text me last night as soon as the whole knee thing happen with that “ut-oh” . I hit him right back wit “Man ain’t nothing wrong with Yao, he just frail” Stuff had me mad. Granted on the replay it did look like a serious bang, but it’s playoff time and when you got wild players like Sasha playing that type of D that will get you 1 to the throat in the hood, you gotta be ready for the pain. Still proud of Yao for coming on back!
@ SWAT man it’s a great day to be a Rocket fan. I have to agree all the work with players telling him be agressive, take charge and really changing his whole demeanor and all is starting to show.
Orlando vs. Boston was good too. Can you imagine how folks would be going off about Rondo had he actually lost that ball he was letting roll up the court.
He probably stays real close to the ball if he ever decides to do that again. Orlando would have had the ball to if dude would have just stayed on it, but he saw two players going ahead and tried to get the pass of and Rondo got it back and then Boston got the three.
Loving the playoffs. Tonight teams better come with it!
May 5th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Dave I don’t know how long it will last, still I am riding the wave high!
Honestly though it ain’t even that I don’t like the Lakers…well cept for Sasha and Pau some. Cause I enjoy the way Kobe and crew play, but I do feel like they came in the game with this sort of “Oh it’s just the Rockets” type attitude, so it was good to see the squad bring it.
Preshate the support though!
May 5th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Dave says:
re: 28….I give you Sasha, Pao, and Phil Jackson.
May 5th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Dave says:
I could see them actually beating the Lakers, and I got the same feeling that the Lakers thought they’d just show up and win. I liked the Rox toughness, always have, and now that they have Artest I think they are a much better candidate to come out of the west.
May 5th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
docc says:
okay haha obviously a lotta people are going to put the “i see the rockets winnin this series” now that they took game 1. seriously? jump on the bandwagon already damn. give the rockets credit to get to the line, the lakers as a team shot jumpshots the whole night like they were still in warmup. i doubt any of them were even tired after that game from just jackin up shots and not goin to the line. before proclaimin rockets king, lets see how the lakers bring it in game 2–
May 5th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
I’m loving Houston taking Game 1. I’m not predicting they’ll win but they gave LA some problems. The fact that Kobe right from the beginning was sick with it cancels out his flu symptons. Houston def CAN beat the Lakers and that would be a serious upset to eliminate them but I can see them doing it because they’re incredibly tough and the D is serious. I think we’re going to see Denver and Houston in the West Finals man.
Speaking of D, Pietrus did it offensively too. The Celts just looked tired as hell. This is still going to be a good series but the Celts need to just sleep all day watch TV in bed and so forth. Without KG it’s not the same team, but they’ll make a series out of this. Orlando IS going to eliminate them in the end. Orlando and Cleveland in the East Finals.
I’m loving these playoffs man
May 5th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Sanpitch says:
@45
no the whole banging knees thing was real and i am not questioning that, cuz i have done that and it hurts. props to yao coming back out and playing. i am in no way saying his injury looked fake or was fake. no.
what i am saying is the whole camera guy following yao in the tunnel and yao turning around. that reminded me for some reason of the russian (dolph lundgren) on rocky 4. that scene was what i was talking about. in no way was i thinking yao was faking it.
May 5th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
srb says:
After I hit submit on this I’m going to hide under my desk in case the sky starts falling.. but Scal played really good D on Rashard Lewis in that 4th quarter. Seemed like Rashard scored all his points on Davis, and Ray when there was a switch.
May 5th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Diego says:
Yeah srb, I just noted the same thing under the Perkins article re. Scal. The boy played some tough D on Lewis and Hedo in that second half–and had Hedo frustrated too.
Run Fat Boy, Run!
May 5th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
SagJism says:
Yao ppulled the Paul Peirce move and acted like he was hurt then came right back, of course it was staged, you dotn really believe Yao is a warrior do you? and Come on Rocs won fair and square far as i am concerned but they wont win another game. Lakers did not show up, no one but Kobe could hit and they still only lost by 8 points, 6 most of the way. You give me 5 more points from odom and gasol and its over. BTW: You dont really believe Kobe will shot that bad the next game do you? Check his stats after bad games, he alays come back with a vengence. Lakers in 5, no more Rocket wins.
May 5th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
SagJism says:
BTW: Good Game rockets, they brung it and if they win next game, just like this one no excuses.
May 5th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
SWAT says:
lol boy yall lake fans kill me. thinking kobe is jesus’s 2nd coming or soemthing. Yall was talking tht crap against the celts last year…”Oh man kobe had a bad game you know he’s gonna kill next game!”…BLAH BLAH BLAH. KOBE had at least 2-3 bad games in a row last season and then thy were sent home. i dont kno how this series is gonna turn out but kobe cant beat us by himself. so let him go off, just as long as the rest of the fakers will be dumpster juice…im good and tht will be a W for the rox.
May 5th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
dagwaller says:
F the Lakers, Houston up! Pumped for you, Gee, and I caught that part about you expecting a baby. I think that you should name the baby Yao, even if it’s a girl. Tracy could go either way, but that’d just be cruel, setting your child up for a life of disappointment and injury.
Just going to point out how far apart Andrew Bynum and Yao are. Earlier this year people were saying that Bynum was going to step up and challenge Dwight Howard and Yao…?
May 5th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Ian says:
isotope
i was telling that samething to a friend yesterday
call it the wtf playoffs
houston vs mavs/denver
orlando vs hawks
May 5th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
SWAT says:
@dagwaller…LMAO AT THT TRACY COMMENT!! coldblooded but funny as hell!
May 5th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Ian says:
“You give me 5 more points from odom and gasol and its over”
LOL
you can say this same bs for everyteam that has just lost a close game. “oh just give me 5 extra pts from x player and we win” DUH.
love some of the laker fans that say that kobe is not going to let his team lose lol hasnt he been doing that since the big cactus left???
doc
why cant we jump on the rockets bandwagon??? you are in the lakers bandwagon and neither team has won shit.
May 5th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
POPPI GEE says:
@Sanpitch I probably went far if I used the word faking it. Still I don’t think Yao was hurt as he made it. Let me say it like this, I don’t think he had to even go back to the tunnel at all for all that dramatic flair lol. There.
@dagwaller lol I am a serious Rockets fan but nahhh I won’t be namin the kids Yao or Tracy (to funny what you said). Leave Tracy alone man hahaha. I can’t stand them Unisex names. Yea I am pumped though.
See what cats don’t understand on me is…The Lakers could win the next 4 games and I don’t give shiiiii. Can’t nobody tell me nothing since the Rockets got out the first round and now can’t nobody really tell me nothing with a Rockets win over the Lakers. If the Rockets win more or win the series, folks don’t even need to breath, fart, look, glance, blink or anything my way cause I am gonna be illin so hard like WHAT?!?! on everything lol.
So see Lakers fans I don’t come to bury you. For real if the Lakers win out I am happy for them and hope they take it all. I am just saying, there ain’t nuthing that can stop this feelin, cause for GEE, getting out the 1st this year was that trophy! All else, as someone said is just extra gravy!
Next Year now I will be on some, ok time to get this ring. This year mission complete and all else is just showing off! Show-off Rockets, Show mutha#$#@ OFF!
May 5th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
srb says:
yao’s injury was staged? (post 54)
i’ve banged knees hard playing sports and you can barely walk for a few minutes, but once you stretch it out and walk it off, it stops hurting – until the next day anyway.
May 5th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
the cynic says:
No mention of Phil Jackson dissing Craig Sager’s “Butterscotch” Suit
Orlando is going to bust up the Celtics, great frontcourt>great backcourt
Aaron Brooks was torching the lakers, especially when Bynum was in and failing to close off the baseline with his slow ass rotations. I’m sure Phil had to have known Brooks was going to blow by fish all game cause I did. Phil start Odom and finesse the Rockets to death cause your team isn’t equipped to get physical with a team of tough guys that they got over there in Houston
May 5th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
HA HA HA says:
LMAO at all the Laker fans shitting their pants after game 1. Who so nervous? Everyone though this was going to be a cake walk for the Lakers. WRONG. Kobe is going to shoot the Lakers out of this series. You can’t stop YAO. After last night, how can anyone call Yao soft? I’m going to start calling him Willis Yao!
May 5th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Big ups to the Rockets for getting that one.. couldnt really make it over the hump on that one..
Been too busy to get into with ya’all but i will be back!! and fuck the refs we just had a hangover against a hot team.. best believe we get some in Houston..
May 5th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
LakeShow84 says:
@ HA HA HA
yeah please report to back of the yellow bus ok.. fake ass Joker wannabe..
We dont get nervous you putz..