stogie1020

Gentry needs to be fired for not letting the bench play WAY more. Starters had ZERO passion, but as usual Dragic and crew were probably up to the task. Oh well... *sigh*...


Also, I am fairly sure that Kobe sold his soul for his shot percentage...

is300eater

Stupid Sasha and Dragic's :gheyfight: almost lost it for the Lakers. I really don't see Sasha (and Luke for that matter) being with the team much longer after this season

Doom878

So did you guys hear how Wade said that the Bulls showed no loyalty towards MJ and Pippen after they retired? Any truth to this Bulls' fans?

paz840

iTrader: (2)

Some truth, but not a lot.

I think the Bulls have been pretty loyal and Jerry Reinsdorf has been good to his players. A LOT of former players are still involved with the organization. Jordan was offered a position and turned it down. Pippen has tried to get onto the Bulls coaching staff in the past but didn't make it, and may be a candidate next year. I think Pip also currently writes articles for the Bulls website.

elessar

This. If Boston had the home court I would even say 6, but 2-3-2 is a tough format for the visitors. Still, they've been great on the road all season and post-season, and I think they're a lot more balanced than LA. They've now got 4 starters who can each take over a game at any time, plus a couple of sleepers on the bench (where the hell did Spud Webb Jr come from in Game 6 vs the Magic??). Celtics in 7.

dom

Lakers in 6. Lakers are obviously far better than they were 2 years ago and Boston isn't as good.

Yumcha

I'm thinking Celtics in 7...but, it would not surprise me if the Lakers win it.



And oh, MJ will ALWAYS be >>>> than Kobe beef. Always. No ifs ands or buts. Just like Toews is better than Crosby.

elessar

I agree the Lakers have improved but they're still Kobe & Friends. I'm curious, what makes you say the Celtics are worse now than in '08? Just the difference in their regular-season records? It seems to me like Garnett was either not yet 100% healthy, or possibly saving himself for the playoffs, this year.

Think back to the '08 playoffs: the upstart Hawks (with a .500 regular-season record) and the Cavs (who were even more of a one-man show back then, if that's possible) both pushed them to 7 games. Until the Detroit series they seemed determined to lose every single road game. Ray Allen was pretty much a non-factor until the Finals - I remember one sportswriter calling them "The Big Two featuring Ray Allen." Now it's the Big Four with Rondo playing out of his mind.

I say they're better right now than they were during the '08 playoffs. Timing is everything and defense wins chamionships.

Yumcha

If the Celtics can overcome Lebron and Co. and Howard and Co...I believe they have the defence and lineup to overcome Beef and Co.



Beef has not played a team as deep as the Celtics yet...Sounds like Philly vs. Chicago in the NHL, actually.

elessar

Beef

mdkxtreme

I agree that MJ is much better than Kobe, but I don't know if I agree with ALWAYS. Kobe is improving every year. Watching him in the playoffs and seeing him make some unbelievable shots is telling me he is working hard to become great.

You never know....

mdkxtreme

Although I am a hardcore Lakers fan, I'm a bit nervous of the Celtics......because I agree that they are more of a team than the Lakers.

Yumcha

^ Oh, I know. MJ >>>>>> Beef.


Put it this way: MJ = McLaren F1 of basketball. Beef = Bugatti Veyron of basketball...

Sure, Veyron is not bad. You would not mind having it in your garage...but, it's no McLaren F1...no matter how much more HP, wings, features you give the Veyron to improve it.

Yumcha

Celtics have also so many more options to get them buckets than...Beef and Gassy.

Rockstar21

iTrader: (1)

if he walked on the court tomorrow, the millions of chicago residents would still show their endless loyalty.

but i cannot understand how the bulls organization could not still be kissing MJ's ass after the history he created for a team that otherwize, never had any.

there hasnt been, and never will be an iconic figure in basketball like 23 was.

(not a big basketball fan, but i watched every bulls game that was televised in the mid 90's just to see him play)

elessar

That does it. I'm going to have to start referring to the Lakers as Beef with Broccoli.

savage

Something to consider from 2008, Ray Allen still had ankle pain coming off the surgeries from the previous post season. He was definitely not 100%, he was constantly icing them and playing through pain. He also wasn't fully integrated into the offense, Doc did not have as many set plays for Ray.

This year you have Rondo playing at the elite level. Ray still hitting shots and keeping up with the youngest guys on the court. KG is a step slower, but he still runs the defense. Paul Pierce has been on fire since getting away from covering Lebron. Perkins is a solid defensive center with more confidence.

If they win it, they could potentially be a better team than 08. The Lakers have improved, but I still think with the emergence of Rondo and the Celtics bench the Celtics get the edge.

Defense wins championships.... Celtics in 6!

Doom878

Didn't Boston have a really nice record for the first few months before the injuries? They could've won 60. At one point they were 23-5.

http://www.nba.com/celtics/schedule/...-schedule.html

elessar

^ I think besides injuries, they were taking their foot off the gas a bit to rest the old guys for the playoffs. I don't like it when teams do that but it's worked for them so far this year.

Also, take what dom said above, go back a few weeks and make one simple word substituion:

mdkxtreme

Oh man, VERY excited for tomorrow's game. That and I don't have to stream online any more. ABC is local

MWalsh9152

as for tonight?

S14 n Tsx

Go boston!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

Yumcha

^ Could've sworn you were a Lakers guy!

MWalsh9152

how am I supposed to go against Dumcha if hes predicting a Celtics win?

Yumcha

Well, go pick the fucking Lakers then...?

elessar

Beat L.A.!

is300eater

OMG! Yummy said the "F" word!

Yumcha

I think certain members think poking fun at the Mega is regular privilege.

...then again, they act like they know me too.

MWalsh9152

nooooo everyone knows that the only person you can regularly poke fun at, is Jefford

MWalsh9152

@ lebron being owned by the busboy on Jimmy Kimell

Mizouse

MWalsh9152

at all the fouls on both sides

mdkxtreme

Yea, what was up with the refs? Ray Allen's 5th foul was pure bs

But phew, what a relief that Lakers took game 1

speedemon90

Lakers!!!!

elessar

NBA Finals games need to start earlier. I could've sworn I saw giant mice in a car commercial, Rondo and Nate Robinson in the game at the same time, and Kevin Garnett getting rejected by the rim. I'm hoping I was dreaming for at least 2 of those.

SG81

iTrader: (1)

man i hope the rest of the games are closer

MWalsh9152

I gotta say, I thought the C's looked like from the start, yet somehow kept it a pretty close game until a little after the half. I went to bed halfway through the 3rd

Yumcha

Story here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...html?eref=sihp

is300eater

I will be... I bet Game 2, is going to be a lot tighter...

Game 2's a crucial game for Boston... because since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format for the finals... I think only twice the team hosting the "3" games in the middle won all 3 games. So, if you were going by stats... Boston will most likely lose at least ONE game at home. Which means, if Boston goes back with 0-2, chances are... at the end of Game 5, the Lakers will still be up 3-2 (then, coming back to LA for games 6/7)

elessar

^ Also, hopefully this time Ray Allen will stay out of foul trouble, sparing us the backcourt tandem of Rondo and Spud 2.0. Seriously, I hate it when coaches pull players due to "early foul trouble." 2 fouls does NOT equal trouble, no matter how early it is. You're supposedly saving your best shooter for the end of the game, so you keep pulling him out for long stretches early, preventing him from establishing any sort of rhythm. Then he's in the game to shoot those 3s in the 4th quarter... but he keeps missing them because he's cold! Screw that. Keep him in and if he fouls out, he fouls out. I'd rather still be in the game at that point, thanks to a bunch of points that scored before fouling out, and have Pierce take the potential game-winning shot, than be down by 10 and let Kobe run out the clock before running up the score with a last-second 3. [/rant] Not that I'm bitter or anything.