OFFICIAL LAKERS 2009/2010 (57-25) 2009-2010 CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!

[notorious 858]

Alright I know it's a little early to start talking about the off season & free agency. But what do you guys think about Shaq? I think he's done and should retire.

We all know that he's 38 and is way past his prime & dominant years in his career. I honestly don't even think he's much of a presence anymore in the paint because of his size. Teams don't even really double team him anymore when he gets touches in the paint. I really think the last time he was a post presence and still had some dominating moments and games was during his time in Miami with the Heat.

Yes I know there are a bunch of Laker fans here on NT who want to see him badly re sign for the MLE for year this summer to return and play his last season with the Lakers and get one last ring. I honestly wouldn't have a problem with seeing him back in the purple & gold and back in LA.

But I think there are a couple major obstacles and just don't see it happening:

- His relationship with Dr. Buss and The Buss family. I think both Shaq and Dr. Buss still aren't on good terms and have hard feelings for each other still.
- I don't think Shaq would accept or be willing to sign for only the MLE.
- Shaq probably thinks he's still a starting center and would have a hard time accepting a backup center role and coming off the bench. It would get to the point where Shaq would get bored and not feel important and would start complaining again to the press about his playing time, or say "The Big Dog Is Not Being fed the ball" and he would start a media circus again.
- And of course Kobe. They've both said publicly that their beef has been squashed. But honestly if the Lakers repeat this year and Phil Jackson is back next year to go for another 3 peat I really don't think Kobe would want him back on the Lakers because it would stir up all kinds of hate & non sense again with people saying crap like "Kobe needed Shaq for his 2nd 3 peat"
- Last. The Lakers current team is already a championship team and don't really need him. The Lakers weaknesses and where they need to improve this team is finding a PG, a shooter like Mike Miller or Kyle Korver.

So with all that being said. If Shaq doesn't retire the team I see paying him to be their starting center is the Mavs.

Mark Cuban loves him and has tried to trade for him at least twice in the past couple years.

Other than the Mavs or Lakers I really don't know if any other team might be interested in him this summer.

 

[notorious 858]

[h1][/h1]

[h1]Kobe and Phil: redemption found together[/h1]

EL SEGUNDO – Phil Jackson has now won more playoff games with Kobe Bryant than with Michael Jordan.
Jarring to hear, hard to believe ... and inspiring to understand.


That's how much redemption we can find with people – even people who drive us crazy (as Kobe drove Phil) or people we think don't give a crap about us (as Phil left Kobe thinking).

Even on the sunny Southern California pier of paradise, thick icicles hung from their relationship. So Bryant and Jackson predictably parted ways in 2004, so sick of each other that neither cared enough even to bother breaking off the icicles to backstab.

That could've been the end of it. Should've been, Jackson's own friends said. Yet the coach felt some special pull toward the "uncoachable" Bryant.

Jackson's games are played in the mind as much as Bryant's are played on the hardwood, so the inability to get all the way through to Bryant was a regret when Jackson could not completely shake while swimming in New Zealand or dabbling on political platforms.

Jackson came back just a year later, even though the spring brought no thaw. Bryant remained distrustful of a coach he felt had distanced himself from him. Besides Jackson's Kobe-critical book about the 2003-04 season, Bryant believed Jackson flat-out made up some other stuff he said about him.

In time, Bryant came to understand better their similarities. Why did Jackson come back? Not just to coach Bryant again, but to coach him better this time.

Embracing challenges in that way is speaking Bryant's language.

To keep trying ... it's what Bryant and wife Vanessa preach to their daughters more than anything. You've got to try.

And because Jackson kept trying with Bryant, ultimately Bryant tried back. He hadn't even known he wanted to – Jackson realizing it long before Bryant ever did. Jackson suspected it would work this time if he allowed Bryant more of a hand in leadership the way Jackson did with Jordan – and it did work only because Bryant was ready for it.

What they're doing together now – practically sharing a triangular brain, by the way – is their reward.

Bryant was lobbied by Jackson to stay a Laker in 2007. Bryant won his first NBA MVP trophy in 2008.

Then came Bryant's first NBA championship without Shaquille O'Neal last year.

It was Bryant's voice that lured Jackson out of the back of the visiting locker room in Orlando's old Amway Arena that night. Bryant reminded Jackson about the coach's tradition of saying the Lord's Prayer as a team after Sunday games. Bryant assured Jackson that the players were done with their champagne-spray partying and ready for him.

So a dry Jackson edged out of his secluded coach's office on the other side of the tiled shower room. He came over the threshold of an awkward raised step with yellow and black "DANGER" tape on it, plus the masking tape added with the handwritten message: "CAUTION." He stepped out warily onto the Moet-soaked carpet in front of the players' lockers and toward this group he had brought together in a manner perhaps only he truly understood.

And Bryant got him. Champagne poured from the bottle in Bryant's right hand. Bryant's left arm was thrown all the way over the square shoulders filling Jackson's white collared shirt. And Jackson, whose life credo has been to stay in the moment, reveled in this one with the purity of a child prancing in front of a sprinkler.

Jackson smiled a smile so satisfied that the proper word to describe him in that moment would be "free." It's how you think you might smile when swimming in New Zealand on your most relaxed vacation, but this kind of peace comes only out of having done your best – and done the best – at something that matters deeply to you.

Bryant and Jackson are halfway there again, with Cleveland's fall making the Lakers slight oddsmakers favorites over Orlando to do it again.

And with four victories over the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals that begin Monday night, Bryant and Jackson will have 110 playoff victories together – tying the record Jackson and Jordan sidekick Scottie Pippen hold. With at least one NBA Finals victory, Bryant and Jackson will – amazingly – be the most successful player-coach partnership in basketball history.

After spending most of his professional life in New York and Chicago, Jackson came West originally in 1999 with an idyllic dream of helping heal the Southern California area after its riots and racial issues and everything else with a hard-working basketball team that everyone would appreciate.

He did it, immediately winning three consecutive NBA championships as coach of O'Neal, Bryant and the Lakers. Yet when that dynasty ended in 2004, the implosion left an overriding sense of failure – everyone riding off into their own sunsets with no sense of the togetherness Jackson had cultivated.

Who knew when it all began that it would be Bryant and Jackson – not Bryant and O'Neal – teaching the lessons.
Forgiving and forgetting, exhaling and accepting, trusting and winning.
Link:

http://www.ocregister.com...48994-jackson-coach.html

 

[westcoastsfinest]

Originally Posted by dland24

Originally Posted by tupac003

Originally Posted by dland24

Anyone else find it HILARIOUS that Young Cheezy gets banned and JDiddy gets suspended right before their team starts the Western Conference?

You serious? Man...more hate for us laker fans and we didn't have anything to do with it. What thread did they get banned/suspended in?
  

I could be mistaken....but didnt Cheezy get banned in here?  Something to do with Notorious right?  And JDiddy got suspended for making a thread about a website that sells fake NBA jerseys.  

ouch.


  

 

[cedric ceballos 1995 lakers]

man they shouldn't have banned neither of them. if jdiddy knew those jerseys were fake and still posted it then i could see but it was already edited when i checked.

the dudes who cheezy got into it with even said it wasn't that serious and zodogg i want him back on here because he's zodogg.

aside from the fact that the Lakers are going to get payback for 2006 and 2007 (even though this is a different suns team) i rather have them posting then not posting because it makes the game threads fun, rather then 15 pages of the same responses.

 

[notorious 858]

[h1][/h1]

[h1]Lakers' Kobe Bryant is a real drain on Suns[/h1]"What do you think?''

It was the enigmatic, emphatic question that answered a question.

It was Kobe Bryant's response to The Times' Brad Turner last week when Turner wondered whether the Lakers' consecutive postseason horrors against the Phoenix Suns burdened Bryant.

"What do you think?" Bryant said, glaring.

Well, Monday night, after watching a golden rage pour out of him like pure lava from jagged and smoldering rocks, here's what I think.

This is Kobe with a bigger chip on his shoulder than in his knee. This is Kobe holding a memory as painful as his finger. This is, on or off the court, the most unstoppable Kobe that anybody can encounter.

This is payback Kobe.

"It's never personal with me," Bryant said late Monday, smiling.

Which means it's always personal, and certainly against a Suns team Bryant had just knocked silly with his baggage in the Lakers' 128-107 victory at Staples Center in the Western Conference finals opener.

You want to pin the Lakers' previous postseason failures against the Suns under his watch on him? Pin this — 40 points in 35 minutes on 23 shots, wow after wow after wow.

"Part of it was to show them that we're a different team than the one that they face,'' he said, clearly referring to previous playoff losses. "It was important in Game 1 to show them that this was going to be a fight.''

You want to think his drained right knee is too sore? Drain this — 21 points in a third quarter in which he attempted 16 field goals and free throws and missed only three.

"Just lost weight,'' he said of the effects of draining on his knee, a procedure that The Times reported occurred earlier this spring. "Lost a couple of pounds.''

You think he's too old to hang against a running team? Run with this —leading by seven at the start of that third period, he scored on a fadeaway, a floater, a three-pointer, a layup, two jump shots, three free throws and a dunk in the first nine minutes.

He showed the grinding teeth. He showed the angry stare. He would dribble into Grant Hill's face, then fall backward for two. He would muscle around Jared Dudley, then fall forward for two more.

"He hit some shots,'' said the oft-beaten Hill, pausing, correcting himself. "He hit some tough shots.''

Dudley shrugged and said, "He just had it going today. I mean, he really had it going.''

Bryant didn't just beat the Suns on the court, he beat them in their heads, with Hill and Dudley exhausting so much effort on defense that they combined to go two for 13.

"He kind of controlled the whole game," Suns Coach Alvin Gentry said of Bryant. "Those shots he was making, you can't do anything about.''

Bryant obviously benefitted from a week's worth of rest — he had not really practiced since the Lakers finished their four-game sweep of the Utah Jazz.

"My legs benefited a lot,'' he said. "Take some time off. Just get stronger. like a training camp all over again. ... Now I feel I have two legs to play with.''

But he was also fueled by three years' worth of haunting.

Surely you remember the 2006 and 2007 playoff losses to the Suns? They were the Lakers' first postseason games since the trade of Shaquille O'Neal, the first chance for Bryant to show his stuff as a team leader, and he failed miserably.

The first series ended with Bryant's alleged tanking of Game 7, a charge he vehemently denied again several days ago.

The second series ended with Bryant openly complaining about a lack of help, a public gripe session that devolved into a summer-long sass.

In many ways, good ways, he is a different Bryant now. But in many ways —the ways that win championships — he is not.

He works a grudge like he was working an undersized forward. He strives not only for victory, but vindication. When he took the court Monday, he didn't see just see a team from Phoenix, he felt the tug of one of the most miserable times of his career, and he was prepared to finally tug back.

"He was going to shoulder the game," Coach Phil Jackson said. "He was going to take it on.''

And when he did, even his teammates shook their heads.

"You kind of get used to it,'' Shannon Brown said. "But then sometimes, you're out there like, 'Wow.'''

Bryant answered last week's question from Brad Turner with more than just a question.

After saying, "What do you think?'' he paused, looked at Turner, and said, "You already know.''

We do now.
Link:

http://www.latimes.com/sp...18,0,6415775,full.column

 

[notorious 858]

[h1][/h1]

[h1]Suns feel the wrath of Kobe Bryant's anger[/h1]Thanks for coming, Phoenix Suns.

Oh, that was just Game 1?

In the good news for the Suns, the Western Conference finals are still best-of-seven, so this series didn't end Monday night... appearances to the contrary in the Lakers' 128-107 romp.

Or is that the bad news for the Suns?

As Steve Nash said afterward, "We'll see....

"They're a lot bigger than us, and they're probably going to continue to be taller than us as the series goes on."

With all their other problems, the Suns ran into a ticked-off Kobe Bryant, upset either because Grant Hill was bumping him around... or because the Suns knocked the Lakers out in 2006 and 2007... or seeking vindication for, quote, tanking Game 7 in '06... or, in a safe bet, up to here with being asked about the quote, tanking controversy.

Whatever it was, Bryant turned his full fury on the Suns, scoring 40 points. It could have been 50, but with the issue settled, he watched the last minutes from the bench.

Not that the Suns didn't show that new defense they're supposed to play, but after the athletic, swarming Thunder and the physical, rock-ribbed Jazz, the Lakers looked like those furry mascots who come running down the lane and dunk, jumping off a trampoline.

The Lakers shot 58%, and 47% on three-point shots, a pleasant development for Coach Phil Jackson.

"We're not that high-powered of an offensive team," Jackson said. "We [average] in the lowly 100s, not the 120s like the Phoenix Suns."

Of course, if you really want to see a fireworks show, imagine the Suns' offense against the Suns' defense.

For the piece de resistance, Shannon Brown tried to tomahawk one, vaulting right over the head of 6-foot-5 Jason Richardson, and almost pulled it off.

With Richardson called for a blocking foul, Brown went to the line and made one of two free throws, although he didn't try to dunk either.

As far as Bryant's knee, which he recently had drained, if there was any problem, it wasn't apparent Monday.

Said Bryant, with the usual bemused disdain in the postgame news conference:

"Feels a little lighter. I lost a couple pounds."

For the Lakers, that knee — which has swollen up after rest on four occasions since April 1 — had better be good to go.

Instead of featuring Kobe and the 7-Foot Tandem, the combination that can make them great, it looks more like Kobe and Pau Gasol, with Andrew Bynum's sore knee rendering him less and less of a factor.

Showing what they're capable of in Games 1-2 against Utah, Gasol and Bynum combined to score 72 points with 51 rebounds.

Showing where he is now, Bynum played 19 minutes Monday with four points and four rebounds.

Guess who that leaves to save the day?

Before the game, Phoenix Coach Alvin Gentry, amused at the local press reviving its own speculation that Bryant tanked Game 7 of their series in 2006, asked, "Can you get him to do that the next four?"

Apparently not, at least yet.

Any notion Bryant was hurting ended when he came out firing.

Missing his first two shots, making his first at the 11-minute mark, Bryant then knocked down two more, including a three-pointer, and wound up with 11 points in the first quarter.

By then, Gentry could tell what was coming.

"I've never, since he walked into the league, I don't think I've ever underestimated him," Gentry said. "You knew at some point of the game he would try to take the game over...

"I think our attitude was fine. We ran into a guy who's a great player. I'm pretty sure we're not the first team he scored 40 against."

Indeed, they're not.

That was just one of the silver linings for the Suns.

In another one, things can't go any worse.
Link:

http://www.latimes.com/sp...518,0,823350,full.column

 

[notorious 858]

Dope radio interview with Big Game James Worthy:

http://espn.go.com/espnra...1&callsign=ESPNRADIO

 

[2g00d4u]

Shannon's missed dunk is probably the most amazing missed dunk attempt Ive seen so far.

 

[notorious 858]

[h2][/h2]

[h2]Pay cut involved in Jackson's return[/h2]LOS ANGELES -- Are the Lakers trying to low ball Phil Jackson?


The 10-time title winning coach, in the last year of his current contract with the Lakers that pays him a reported $12.5 million for 2009-10, told reporters Wednesday prior to Game 2 of the Western Conference finals that he has already had discussions with the team's front office about coming back next season and the Lakers want to reduce his salary.

"It's been indicated there will be a salary cut but not ... I'm not going to say 'down,' that's kind of weird to say stuff like that," Jackson said. "It's still a ridiculous salary whatever it is."

The pay cut was first reported by Michael Wilbon when he appeared on Tony Kornheiser's WTEM-AM radio show in Washington D.C. on Monday.

"Jackson's been told that not only will he not be making $12 million next year, it's going to be a $5 million cap on his salary," Wilbon said, citing unnamed sources.

Jackson first mentioned the potential pay cut on Dec. 19 before the Lakers played the Nets in New Jersey.

"A lot of it has to do with the direction the league is going, the direction the ownership wants to go in," Jackson said. "People are cutting costs all around the league, and coaches are obviously going to take a cut too, so they may not even want to hire me. They may want to save some money."

When a reporter followed up Jackson's statement by asking him if he would accept a lowered salary, Jackson responded, "Would you?"

Jeanie Buss, Jackson's girlfriend and the daughter of Lakers owner Jerry Buss, has her own idea of what might happen.

"I think if they win, it's like a no-brainer he'll come back because he'll want to win three in a row," Jeanie Buss, Lakers executive vice president, said Wednesday night. "But [if they don't win], if there isn't that connection, he would understand.

"Plus, my dad has made it very clear he doesn't want to pay him what he's been paying him. So that's kind of hard, too. You could kind of say, in some jobs, well, I'm cutting back your hours. But can you see him cutting back his hours?"

The future of the 64-year old coach has been a mystery surrounding the team all season.

On March 26 in Oklahoma City Jackson said, "No decision and no leaning at all. I'm leaning against the wall and that's about it," after a report surfaced earlier that day that Jackson had made his decision to return.

On April 28, Jeanie Buss told ESPNLA.com's Ramona Shelburne that Jackson would definitely be back on the sidelines for the 2010-11 season, just not necessarily in Los Angeles.

"I know Phil will be coaching next year, somewhere. Whether it's here or someplace else I don't know," Buss said. "There's going to be a lot of good jobs that come up this summer."

On May 4, during the second round against the Utah Jazz, Jackson said, "I'd say it's 90 percent that if I'm coaching it'll be here."

On Monday, prior to Game 1 of the conference finals, Jackson modified the line he used in Oklahoma City, saying, "I'm leaning on a podium, that's about it," when asked about a radio interview with Fox Sports Radio's "The Petros and Money Show" when Jackson's stance seemed to waiver.

"Well I think it's pretty good," he said following a question about his chances of retiring after this season. "It's really about how I feel about getting into another 82-game season. It's a commitment."

Link:

http://sports.espn.go.com...ba/news/story?id=5202910

Hope this isn't true.

Dr. Buss would be making a big mistake and I can see Phil going back to Chi town to coach Lebron if the money is right and he knows Lebron is signing with the Bulls this summer.

 

[2g00d4u]

The way the Lakers are playing defense has to be of some concern to the Lakers staff and us fans. The Suns are shooting ~49% from the field and scoring 100+ points in 2 games (gave up 90 points through 3 qtrs in game 2

). Thats not getting it done. Theyre basically just out scoring the Suns.

I know the team is winning and all, but they cant have this kind of defensive mentality if they were to face the Celtics. They'll pick us apart.

I really want to see the Lakers SHUT DOWN the Suns offense the next 2 games. Hold them below 95 points/<45% FG.
 

 

[notorious 858]

[h2][/h2]

[h2]Artest shaking Ariza comparisons[/h2]

LOS ANGELES -- About a week ago Ron Artest lingered after practice with a small group of reporters, sitting down on an exercise machine and talking about his progress this postseason when somebody mentioned it took Trevor Ariza about a full season to fully grasp the Lakers system too.

"You're going to compare me to him?" Artest asked, pained by name.

You're always going to be compared to him, we told him, after their free agent swap landed Ariza in Houston and Artest in Los Angeles. People always thought his mind was already in La La Land, but now his body would be too.

"How?" Artest continued. "Anybody that compares me to Trevor doesn't really know a lot about basketball."

It wasn't scrutiny Artest wanted as he started the playoffs shooting just 12-for-40 from the field and 3-for-23 on 3-pointers in the Lakers first four games against the Thunder, with the team going just 2-2. He knew Ariza was key to the Lakers playoff run last year by bombing away from deep and coming up with game-saving steals in the Denver series.

Artest meanwhile had made headlines with his hairstyles and a Twitter tantrum.

It's time to compare him to Ariza after his 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting in Wednesday's 124-112 Game 3 victory. After his three made 3-pointers. After his five rebounds, three assists and two steals, including one in the fourth quarter when the Suns were threatening, cutting the Lakers lead back down to single digits.

It's time to not only compare the two but admit that Artest just might be the better fit.

"I think once the playoffs came around, he probably put a little too much pressure on himself to produce, to perform," Kobe Bryant said, after he found Artest in the corner for a three ball with one of his career playoff-high 13 assists to beat the buzzer at the end the first quarter, walking towards him with two index fingers pointed at Artest and a sly grin on his face.

Bryant delivered a similar pass when Artest was camped out in the opposite corner of the court during the regular season game in Memphis, and Artest missed the potential game winner as the buzzer sounded, going 1-for-9 that game, perhaps the lowest point of his season.

"He just had to settle in and play like he's used to playing," Bryant said.

Said Artest, still in full uniform standing in the middle of the locker room: "It's about that time now. It's about that time to just play, play basketball."

Artest got to where he is today by revisiting a shooting ritual he was used to do in his days in Sacramento. He was always one of the first Kings players to arrive at the arena before the game to get up extra shots. Wednesday Artest was on the court by 3:30 in the afternoon hoisting them up with Lakers scout Rasheed Hazzard.

"I guess it helped a little bit," Artest said, who also has been helped by shedding the protective pad on his left shoulder and heavy tape on his left thumb that he wore earlier in the playoffs. "For some reason, you do things and they work and you go again to it. Sometimes you sleep on the left side of the bed and wake up on the right and when you go to sleep on the right and wake up on the left, your whole day is messed up. I just wanted to go back and sleep on the left side of the bed and wake up on the right."

It sure woke up his shooting.

Artest had 15 points before halftime as the Lakers leapt out to a nine-point lead, and he was keeping pace with the Suns two leading scorers combined with half as many shots attempts. Amare Stoudemire and Jason Richardson joined forces to score 20 points, but needed 15 shots to get there. Artest got his by going 5-for-7 overall and 3-for-5 on 3-pointers.

"He's been working on it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "You know, he's taking the shots that are there. He bailed us out on a number of shots tonight. I thought he played a great first half."

After he put Kevin Durant in a straight jacket in the first round, guarded everybody from Deron Williams to Carlos Boozer in the second round and now that he's playing supremely both ways against Phoenix, how can you not consider him to at least be Ariza's equal?

Here are Ariza's numbers from last year's playoffs: 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.7 3-pointers made, 49.7 percent from the field, 47.6 percent from 3-point range and 56.3 percent from the foul line.

Here are Artest's numbers during the Lakers current eight game winning streak: 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.6 3-pointers made, 45.1 percent from the field, 32.5 percent from 3-point range and 58.3 percent from the foul line.

"Not too many wing defenders can shut guys down and then you have to pay attention and watch them spotting up, he can get his own in the post," Lamar Odom said about his old AAU teammate from their days growing up together in New York. "Not too many guys can score 20 and lock their man up, that's the one guy in the NBA that kind of does it every year."

Back on that day after practice, Artest elaborated why he wanted to nix all the talk about him and Ariza.

He would talk about his defense, sure.

"I held guys to zero points before, two points, seven points, five points, guys in their prime," Artest said. "Totally in their prime and the NBA loves them and then I go: zero points -- Ron Artest. Who can do that?"

But Ariza? No, chance he could talk about him.

"First off, he's a champion, that's first off," Artest said. "I respect the champion more than that individual. Individually, how are you going to compare that?

"People with rings, I can't talk to them. I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy at all.

"You can't compare us because he's a champion. You can't compare me to [Dennis] Rodman because he's a five-time champion. It's impossible."

The Lakers are just two wins away from a third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. Bryant's been brilliant, Pau Gasol's been potent, but Ron Artest, finally, has arrived.

"Just move on to the next day, like I always say, move on," Artest said. "Go on to the next day and get ready for the next story."

If he keeps playing the way he's been playing, the story will continue to be about him.

Link:

http://sports.espn.go.com...columns/story?id=5203745

 

[moneymike9]

6 MORE WINS FELLAS

 

[MVP]

Originally Posted by 2g00d4u

The way the Lakers are playing defense has to be of some concern to the Lakers staff and us fans. The Suns are shooting ~49% from the field and scoring 100+ points in 2 games (gave up 90 points through 3 qtrs in game 2

). Thats not getting it done. Theyre basically just out scoring the Suns.

I know the team is winning and all, but they cant have this kind of defensive mentality if they were to face the Celtics. They'll pick us apart.

I really want to see the Lakers SHUT DOWN the Suns offense the next 2 games. Hold them below 95 points/<45% FG.
 

They aren't going to shut down the Suns, they are just too talented offensively and are going to hit shots. Their role players should play better at home. All the games are going to be at this pace.  We just need to weather the early storm that is sure to come on Sunday and try to bury these guys in Game 3. Just keep doing what we're doing, punish those midgets inside and we'll be fine.

 

[moneymike9]

Originally Posted by Mamba MVP

Originally Posted by 2g00d4u

The way the Lakers are playing defense has to be of some concern to the Lakers staff and us fans. The Suns are shooting ~49% from the field and scoring 100+ points in 2 games (gave up 90 points through 3 qtrs in game 2

). Thats not getting it done. Theyre basically just out scoring the Suns.

I know the team is winning and all, but they cant have this kind of defensive mentality if they were to face the Celtics. They'll pick us apart.

I really want to see the Lakers SHUT DOWN the Suns offense the next 2 games. Hold them below 95 points/<45% FG.
 

They aren't going to shut down the Suns, they are just too talented offensively and are going to hit shots. Their role players should play better at home. All the games are going to be at this pace.  We just need to weather the early storm that is sure to come on Sunday and try to bury these guys in Game 3. Just keep doing what we're doing, punish those midgets inside and we'll be fine.

Word.

The pace in these games are fast. And in Game 1, I thought we did a pretty good job defensively.

Even last game, they had 90 by the end of 3 quarters...and until some garbage buckets late, they were stuck on 106, if my Math is right, that's only 16 points allowed until there was like 1:30 left in the 4th.

We're doing a pretty good job on D, IMO. It's a different type of game.

Overall, i think the D has been pretty good these playoffs....always room for improvement though.

 

[cedric ceballos 1995 lakers]

how long of a drive is it from LA to Phoenix or what would be the cheapest round trip ticket to expect between the 2 cities. Tickets on stubhub for games 3 and 4 are pretty reasonable and I would assume if the Lakers take game 3 that ticket prices for game 4 would drop significantly. Nothing would be sweeter then going to Phoenix in person and seeing the team potentially finish the Suns off on Tuesday. Yes game 3 needs to be played first but if the Lakers win on sunday, the thought of going to see them clinch on tuesday sounds very appealing to me.

 

[CP1708]

Must win game 3.  We get a few extra days rest, we have that "freshness" that helps Kobe and Bynum get ready for games, we get this game, and rip their hearts right the @#$% out. 

Mercy is for the weak, we do not train to be merciful, man confronts you, he is enemy,  FINISH HIM!!!




(It' not lost on me that the dude that said all that crap from the movie is the dude that got it handed to him.........maybe this was a bad idea for a quote.........Ima go catch some flies with chopsticks just in case. )

 

[Rockabilly Zombie]

Originally Posted by Cedric Ceballos 1995 Lakers

how long of a drive is it from LA to Phoenix or what would be the cheapest round trip ticket to expect between the 2 cities. Tickets on stubhub for games 3 and 4 are pretty reasonable and I would assume if the Lakers take game 3 that ticket prices for game 4 would drop significantly. Nothing would be sweeter then going to Phoenix in person and seeing the team potentially finish the Suns off on Tuesday. Yes game 3 needs to be played first but if the Lakers win on sunday, the thought of going to see them clinch on tuesday sounds very appealing to me.

It's about five hours. Give or take 30 min. or so. I have family close to there so I go out that way fairly often.
  

 

[Rockabilly Zombie]

Someone needs to make this a "You Mad?" pic asap. 

 

[cedric ceballos 1995 lakers]

^

thanks, that's not bad at all. now i got between now and monday to hit all my friends with the, "Hey guys who wants to go to Phoenix on Tuesday line"

 

[westcoastsfinest]

i think if we win this year phil will definitely come back....IF

 

[kb8isclutch]

long layoff on games suck

 

[davizzy]

Bosh lists Lakers as 1 of 5 teams he’d like to go via S&T

* By Chris Manning | May 21, 2010 | Lakers News 34 comments

Chris Bosh has told Raptors about his five places he’d like to go; Lakers being one of them.

ESPN: The list of five teams — Toronto plus the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and New York Knicks, sources said — were given to Toronto management in case the Raptors want to construct a sign-and-trade deal (assuming he doesn’t re-sign with Toronto).
http://thelakersnation.com

 

[thegreekgangsta]

Originally Posted by mogzz04

6 MORE WINS FELLAS

cant wait for sunday. take game 3 and its a wrap.

 

[cedric ceballos 1995 lakers]

this conference finals scheduling sucks. we could be and should be watching game 3 right now rather then having to wait 2 more days.

 

[darthska]

Chris Bosh, just going to go ahead and throw this out there, is overrated, and far from championship caliber.