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The NBA Playoffs Thread
- Thread starter StanFan
- Start date
Man, huge comeback win by the Celtics! Heh, I've seen Posey a number of times with the Heat and the Nuggets, and he pretty much never had an offensive game like that. Oh, and I just checked the box score--Ray Allen played every minute! Maybe he's not quite done yet.
And they didn't even need Scalabrine the assassin.
That's a biiiig 3-1 lead. The Lakers gotta be hurting after blowing that lead.
And they didn't even need Scalabrine the assassin.That's a biiiig 3-1 lead. The Lakers gotta be hurting after blowing that lead.
That is one gutty Celtic team.
I had a night meeting and when I get in the car and turn on the game, the Celtics are down by 20+ in the second
with a 45 minute drive on Route 3 and 128 ahead of me. They start to cut the lead, the Lakers restore it and while they are in striking distance at the half, it doesn't look good for Gang Green.
I get home and turn on the game with a few minutes gone by in the third and it is not that encouraging but the Celts are not going away. Then... well you know the rest.
The proverbial "they" say that a playoff series doesn't start until a team wins on the road. If that is true, I'm cool with starting a best of 7; ahead 3 to 1.
I had a night meeting and when I get in the car and turn on the game, the Celtics are down by 20+ in the second
with a 45 minute drive on Route 3 and 128 ahead of me. They start to cut the lead, the Lakers restore it and while they are in striking distance at the half, it doesn't look good for Gang Green. I get home and turn on the game with a few minutes gone by in the third and it is not that encouraging but the Celts are not going away. Then... well you know the rest.
The proverbial "they" say that a playoff series doesn't start until a team wins on the road. If that is true, I'm cool with starting a best of 7; ahead 3 to 1.
I disagree. The Lakers got one less steal than the Celtics. They got one less blocked shot than the Celtics.
But they also missed eight free throws, and their subs played horribly (Vujacic only 1 of 9?). Hell, even the starters for both teams didn't have great nights, except for maybe Lamar Odom.
There's no doubt in my mind that the Celtics play better overall defense than the Lakers. But the defensive stats were too similar tonight to chalk the comeback up to defense alone. Is this maybe one of those games where Bryant lost his trust in his teammates?
Naw, it must be a conspiracy to prevent the team the league MVP is on from winning the championship. They did it to Nowitzki. They did it to Nash. They even did it to KG, in 2004. Now it's Kobe's turn.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
P.S. I wonder if we'll see Dick Bavetta as part of the refereeing crew next game.
It's funny that you're talking about defensive statistics and neglect to mention that Kobe, the MVP, was held to 17 points. Isn't that half his ppg average?
Lakers lost that game to a team that played their hearts out. Big win for the Celtics. I can't help but remember calling Eric618 out on a comment he made about getting hit with a sack of a$$holes. I can't really remember the context, but I do remember asking him to define what that meant. After seeing tonights loss by the Lakers, I can now safely say I know exactly what it feels like to get hit by a sack of @$$holes. :scowl:
+1
Defensive statistics like steals and blocks do say things about defense, but some of the best defenders weren't prolific stealers or blockers, they just got in the way.
??
And his socks didn't match his shoes. UGH!
Finally, I really hope Ray will get his ring.... I've been waiting for that since he was a Sonic. KG too since i respect him a lot.
I love how people will comment that the good defensive teams seem to "clamp down" in the fourth quarters. It's not that they played any harder in the fourth quarter, it's that they made the opposition expend so much energy getting their shots in quarters 1-3 that by the fourth they don't have their legs anymore. Most teams in the NBA, especially in the West, don't make teams work for their shots. The C's outscored the Lakers 57-33 in the second half. I'll agree it wasn't ALL defense, but the C's didn't do it just with offense, they still only shot 50% in the fourth. The other issue was the Lakers started getting lazy on D, especially their big men on pick and rolls. Gasol was a pylon on the defensive end in the second half.
Machine bolted to ground in lane late in game. Pao not help machine stop Ray Ray. Pao not very good mechanic. Machine break down.
Spoken like a true homer.
He shot 6-19 and didn't get to the line that much. Was it really good defense, or was it just arrogant gunning? Was it defense when he shot a horrible 9 of 19 in game three against Denver, where you can't claim it was defense that caused it because Denver doesn't play much of that (other than Camby, there isn't one current Nuggets player who has won a defensive player of the year or made 1st or 2nd team All-NBA defense)?
I don't know, so I'm asking. Just because a guy doesn't score as much as usual doesn't mean it was due to defense. Does defense explain Garnett's and Pierce's horrible performance the other night? It's the same Laker team playing them every time, and I don't see anyone touting the Laker defense.
Even the pros have bad games- especially the pros who take a lot of jump shots. Even MVPs. Wanna ask Dirk Nowitzki about that? He knows. Kobe's prone to taking any and every shot when he feels his teammates aren't fulfilling his expectations, kinda like Sam Cassell minus the "every time he has the ball" thing.
9 of 19 isn't "horrible", that's 47%--above his season average!
6 of 19 is 32%--now that's bad. Big difference. Also, 19 attempts isn't a lot for Kobe, it's below average.
Its just you-The real alien is sam cassell I swear he is a ferengi
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Im telling ya-He could go to a star trek convention and people would ask him to sign autographs---as quark.
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I think if flopping is going to get clamped down on next year, they should also clamp down on the "knock this guy out because he killed me on the fast break" foul. You know, fast break shooter going for the layup, and knowing you can't block the shot, you knock him to the floor.
I hate that. I know everybody does it. I still hate it.
I hate that. I know everybody does it. I still hate it.
Ouch, wrong on both counts!
Seriously, that was like a flashback to the 1980's Celtics (minus the 130+ point scores, of course). My wife & I have a running joke: Whenever a basketball team is, say, down 10 points with six seconds left in the game, she'll say "The Celtics could do it!" because I've regaled her for years with these (now confabulated, hyperbole-filled) stories about how Bird & McHale & Parish et al would do that sort of thing on a regular basis. So last night my wife walks by the TV when the C's are still down 21 points, just shakes her head and says "I guess the Celtics couldn't do it!"
40 minutes later I strolled into the bedroom and said "Did it."
Feels good to be back.
Where's your MVP now?!? Where's your "better bench" now?!?
Team play, a concept lost on the Lakers.
Boston did exactly the same thing to the Spurs, on their floor, during their 3-1 Texas triangle trip in February - down by 20+ in the the second half, pour on the D and pull out a win.
That's the game, and stopping Houston's 20+ game win streak, that made me start to believe.
One....more...win...
Team play, a concept lost on the Lakers.
Boston did exactly the same thing to the Spurs, on their floor, during their 3-1 Texas triangle trip in February - down by 20+ in the the second half, pour on the D and pull out a win.
That's the game, and stopping Houston's 20+ game win streak, that made me start to believe.
One....more...win...
Ouch, wrong on both counts!
Seriously, that was like a flashback to the 1980's Celtics (minus the 130+ point scores, of course). My wife & I have a running joke: Whenever a basketball team is, say, down 10 points with six seconds left in the game, she'll say "The Celtics could do it!" because I've regaled her for years with these (now confabulated, hyperbole-filled) stories about how Bird & McHale & Parish et al would do that sort of thing on a regular basis. So last night my wife walks by the TV when the C's are still down 21 points, just shakes her head and says "I guess the Celtics couldn't do it!"
40 minutes later I strolled into the bedroom and said "Did it."
Feels good to be back.
Indeed. It was a close finish, though. Does that count?
I was impressed as hell with the Lakers up to half time. They played superb basketball. Attacked the basket like crazy, make good passes, played tight defence.
And then it all fell apart. They stopped attacking. Stop pushing the fast break. Their D was confused and impotent. It was really frustrating to watch, that's for sure. Gasol needs to man up and play tougher. He started out well but by the end he was back to the same soft-finish post play that killed them in games 1 and 2. Bryant had an off night, too. He had some good assists but couldn't buy a basket.
The Cs played two awful quarters and two really good ones. They earned the win, that's for sure.
