The Lakers did the same thing to the Spurs in the playoffs.
The Lakers can play team basketball as well as anybody - as illustrated in the first half of the game. The problem is that they don't do it often enough, and long enough.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
The NBA Playoffs Thread
- Thread starter StanFan
- Start date
The Lakers did the same thing to the Spurs in the playoffs.
The Lakers can play team basketball as well as anybody - as illustrated in the first half of the game. The problem is that they don't do it often enough, and long enough.
LOL!
I wasn't able to see the game last night.
I'm just reading the recap now on nba.com.
LOL!
I wasn't able to see the game last night.
Same here. Boy did I miss a game. I'd watch the repeat but it isn't the same.
The....
Celtics in 6.
...will have a hard time winning two straight on Boston's floor.LAKERS!
Celtics in 6.
Pretty well played game that was there for the taking by the Celts. These teams are close enough in talent that a five game series just seems too short (as much as I would have preferred it). Six games strikes me as just right. 
I would've been really surprised to see Boston close it out last night, and yet they came within a mistake or two of doing it.
I'm going to go +1 on Celtics in 6.
I'm going to go +1 on Celtics in 6.
Yeah, I'm pretty certain that if KG had made those 2 freethrows and Kobe hadn't poked that ball leading to his uncontested dunk -- or, if the game had been 50 minutes instead of 48 -- this thread/series would be over.
Agreed.
I've had kind of a beef with the NBA in that those kinds of 'pokes", which used to be called reach-in fouls way back when, are allowed by refs no matter how much contact, it seems. Not that I'm griping specifically about Kobe's play last night--Scottie Pippen got away with those all the time in the '90s.
I always find it strange how some reach-ins get called and others don't, and how officiating starts to shift lax towards the end of the game.
I've heard the old argument about how people don't want to see games determined because of referee calls, but IMO I'd rather see free throws after the clock ran out to tie/win a game than see a foul go uncalled just because it was in the very last seconds of the game (i.e. Fisher's foul on Barry at the end of Game 4 of the Lakers/Spurs game). Now, maybe Barry failed to sell the foul, but I don't buy the whole "refs don't want to be the one to decide the game" junk. Whether you call a foul in the first quarter or the fourth quarter, your job as a referee is to decide the game (within the limits of the rules, of course).
The officials in the NBA have been hacks for years. the biggest problem is Stern lets them get away with it. How the H*@# is Bennet Salvatore officiating a playoff game? Anyway as far as the game last night. The Lakers and Celtics both didn't execute down the stretch, lots of missed defensive assignments, brain freeze fouls, and general basketball stupidity. Boston is still the superior team, I predicted a 7 game win, I was wrong it will be six. the Perkins injury has hurt the C's some, but with the home whistle, they will be too much for the Lakers. If the C's were healthy (Rondo, Perkins) this would have been over in five.
The Lakers are still the third best team in the league, behind Detroit and Boston. In fact Cleveland would probably take them to seven and might beat them. I'm actually surprised by the strength of LA's bench, but both Odom and Gasol are way to inconsistent. Odom would be OK as a three but he is way out of position at the four. He is not a good enough shooter to pull a four away from the boards. Gasol on the other hand is a defensive liability at either position, and is way to soft to be a center on a championship team. Neither player appears intelligent enough to defend a pick and roll.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5783176&postcount=311
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5808277&postcount=396
The Lakers are still the third best team in the league, behind Detroit and Boston. In fact Cleveland would probably take them to seven and might beat them. I'm actually surprised by the strength of LA's bench, but both Odom and Gasol are way to inconsistent. Odom would be OK as a three but he is way out of position at the four. He is not a good enough shooter to pull a four away from the boards. Gasol on the other hand is a defensive liability at either position, and is way to soft to be a center on a championship team. Neither player appears intelligent enough to defend a pick and roll.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5783176&postcount=311
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5808277&postcount=396
Keep your eye on Garnett during the next game in Boston. He's been known to keep cash stuffed in his jockstrap and is not above slipping the Boston refs a few hundred to "keep it fair".
I couldn't believe the amount of crawling over everybody's back last night. Kobe's play included. Every one of those over the back plays is supposed to be a personal foul.
I think I will watch the rest of this series for amusement, then I am done with the NBA playoffs until instant replays and coach's challenges surface.
How hurt do you think Rondo is? My take is that he seemed to lose confidence in his shot and then Doc lost confidence in him. The sequence when he drove to the basket only to kick it out to Pierce (who was open, but no need to give up the layup for a 50% shot at a three).
There is a certain amount of superstar advantage to the officiating - I was hoping on that steal that Pierce v. Kobe would be a push on the stardom ledger and the refs would simply get the call right. Pretty ballsy of Kobe to even attempt that play, gotta tip my cap to him as it turned out to be a good gamble.
I am looking forward to a pretty evenly called game. The NBA has no huge interest in seeing it go 7 which favors the Celts as does the home court, but the refs know that even if the Celts lose tomorrow that they will have another chance which may temper the home whistle advantage which helps the Lakers.
The same way Dick Bavetta and Ken Mauer are (I KNEW Bavetta would be in for that last game).
So...game 6- Crawford and Salvatore again?
By the way, I never noticed this before, but maybe some of you have. It seems Ronny Turiaf's job while sitting at the end of the bench is to throw white towels back and forth with the towel boy when opponents attempt free throws (pretty sure they only do this at home, since the folks at TD Banknorth Garden would probably tell them to eff off).
If they make the free throw he then throws it on a pile of towels laying at his feet.
Perkins would be a big help for the Celts. Even when he doesn't put much up on the stat sheet, he's a big 280 lb. load to clog the middle on the defensive end, and he's as tough minded as they come - the perfect role player. Powe is a better scorer, but he's too small to be that much of a factor on defense. Perkins has given the Celts what Ben Wallace gave the Pistons a few years back. He's not nearly as athletic, but he's bigger, meaner, and shoots free throws better. 
I agree that Rondo either needs to shoot or sit on the bench when his man starts dissing him to help defensively on someone else. What kills me is the little short shots he passes up; he's got great skills going to the rim and that little teardrop shot...I wonder why he seems to be neglecting those?
I agree that Rondo either needs to shoot or sit on the bench when his man starts dissing him to help defensively on someone else. What kills me is the little short shots he passes up; he's got great skills going to the rim and that little teardrop shot...I wonder why he seems to be neglecting those?
Speaking of officiating, interesting column in SI today on game 6 of the 2002 Western conference finals. This was the game where the Lakers (who hadn't shot more then 22 free throws in any playoff game) shot 28 to the Kings 8 in the fourth quarter. The officials in that game were Bennet Salvatore, Dick Bavetta, and Eddie Rush. The key quote:
Link Removed
Link Removed
