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

[CP1708]

Originally Posted by 23ska909red02

CP1708:

---

Ummmm, a weeeeee bit far from Greatest Laker of all time though Ska.  Smidge.  Tad.  Just a little. 

No, I was saying that Artest had that moment where a guy goes from the fans' scapegoat to the fans' hero in a short time, as we've done plenty of times w/ DFish.

Yeah but trust, I am much more even keel when guys make mistakes and what not.  Believe it or not.  So while I was unhappy with Ron, And seething to myself, it's no different then any Laker taking a bad shot or making a bad play that I sit patiently and wait for to show up down the line to make it right.  I learned a loooooooooong time ago, guys will find ways.  Last night, Ron did that.  I don't like his game, I don't think he's as good as he thinks he is, but if he works and plays hard and helps my team, I'll be behind him.  Doesn't change my opinion of him, just as Karl Malone never won me over, but I'll be behind them hoping for them to succeed. 

If that makes sense. 
  

 

[darthska]

^ Nah, makes perfect sense, and it's funny you mention Malone. I don't think this topic has ever been brought up between us, but I'm SURE that the difficulty you have in cheering for Artest pales when compared to the difficulty I had in doing the same for Mailman. He was easily and always one of my top 3 most hated players in the league... and then we signed him. Uuuuuuuggggh.

If Stockton would have joined him, I might have had to havetaken a year long leave of absence from Laker Nation.

I mean, I still hate seeing pics with his #11 jersey in it. That was the hardest time I've ever had cheering for a Laker... but I did. Every rebound and long outlet pass, I applauded. But when he left, I exhaled and applauded more. "Good. Get your dirty, cheating self gone, then."

So yeah, all these threads before this year about 'Name your most hated players in the league', have you been naming Tru Warier? If so, then I definitely feel your pain trying to cheer for the guy.

@ that three. Like... what the hell, man? We're up three, 50 something seconds left, BRAND NEW SHOT CLOCK, and this dude lines it up like it's shooting practice before the game.

Had me sitting on my couch facepalming hard. I literally put my face in palm and went "Ron... what... *sigh*"

Least we can all laugh about it now, since he's made up for it.

 

[darth dnzy]

--KB8SanDiego and I were out for my brother's bday. When Ron shot hat open 3 we were like NOOOOOO....
--A few mins later we were jumping up and down by the bar yelling RON RON!!! Wow. Going from a let down shot to the game winning lay in...CRAZY.

 

[xsalvioutlawx]

^ Same here... I can't even describe how I felt when Ron took that 3 with the new shot clock. Way too many emotions at once smh...Playoffs. Nerve wrecking time.

 

[lvjordan238]

Just ordered 4 seats Sec. 302 for Game 1 of the Finals, for $169, off Stubhub. Had to have been a pricing error, but I'm sitting here praying it goes through anyways.

 

[three6mafia2007]

can someone provide me with the black/white picture of Kobe that was in the LA times after he won the MVP award? it was a nike ad, and it had different words on the back of his jersey, like "workhorse" and "chemist". thanx

 

[notorious 858]

[h2][/h2]

[h3]http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles...nt-rumors-of-his-demise-were-well-exaggerated[/h3]

[h3]Kobe Bryant: Rumors of his demise were, well, exaggerated[/h3]The playoffs have a way of bending time.

Only six weeks ago, the Lakers and Kobe Bryant were in a very different place.

The start of Bryant's postseason was, to say the least, rocky. Over the first three games of L.A.'s opening round series against Oklahoma City, Kobe shot an abysmal 28-of-76 from the floor (36.8 percent). He had been harassed first by Thabo Sefolosha, then the long arms of Kevin Durant. The lift on his jumper wasn't there. In their 21 point loss to the Thunder in Game 4, Kobe didn't have a field goal until three minutes into the second quarter, and finished with only 12 points.

The Lakers were tied 2-2, and after a season of endless injuries Kobe looked tired and slow. Charles Barkley famously declared Bryant had lost a step. Did he have the juice to make it through the second season grind? Was it the beginning of the end for Bryant?

Then a funny thing happened. The Lakers had two days off after Game 4, then blew out the Thunder in Game 5, allowing Kobe to play only 29 completely stress-free minutes. The bum knee hobbling him started to heal.
http://

From there, the guy some thought was cooked has been cooking, scoring 30 points or more in nine of his last ten games, the outlier coming in Game 2 against the Suns, on a night Kobe had 13 assists. Against the Jazz, Kobe averaged 32 points on 52.3 percent shooting along with 3.8 rebounds as L.A. swept Utah. Against the Suns, he's been even better: 33 points a night on 53 percent from the floor (including 44 percent from beyond the arc). To that, he's added 9.6 assists, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks.

In each of the last three games, Kobe has only narrowly missed posting triple-doubles, falling short by a rebound in Game 3, three boards in Game 4, and a dime in Game 5.

In his 13 years, Kobe has played 38 playoff series, counting the current one. At least as a matter of statistics, his work through five games against the Suns is better than all of them. Make the comparison to the rest of his greatest hits and judge for yourself (thanks to ESPN Stats and Information for the stats and information):

• 2001 Western Conference finals vs San Antonio (Lakers in four)- 33.3 PPG, 51.4 pct FG, 7.0 RPG, 7.0 APG
• 2009 Western Conference finals vs. Denver (Lakers in six)- 34.0 PPG, 48.1 pct FG, 5.8 RPG, 5.8 APG
• 2009 NBA Finals vs Orlando (Lakers in five): 32.4, 43 pct FG, 5.6 RPG, 7.4 APG (LAL in 5)
• 2001 Conference Semifinals vs Kings (Lakers in four): 35.0 PPG, 47.3 pct FG, 9.0 RPG, 4.3 APG (Note: This was Kobe's career high in PPG for any single series)
• 2008 Conference Semifinals vs Utah (Lakers in six): 33.2 PPG, 49.1 pct FG, 7.0 RPG, 7.2 APG

As you can see, in three of four major statistical categories, Kobe's exceeded his career highs. In the fourth (scoring), he's just shy. And when 33 points a night constitutes shy, it's hard to complain.

The explosion also serves to reinforce two very important concepts. First, Kobe Bryant is still very, very good at basketball, capable of dominating for sustained periods in myriad ways.

Second, context matters.

Before the start of the playoffs, I noted it was a little early to stick a fork in Kobe's career. He was hurt for most of the season, he was hurt early in the playoffs. (He's still hurt, just not nearly as much and so is everyone he's playing against.) One season of nagging injuries for a guy who averaged 80.25 games over his previous four seasons doesn't constitute enough of a pattern to make sweeping judgments.

Then there was the opening round matchup. The Thunder were very possibly the best defensive team in the Western Conference over the final 40 games of the season. They had a long, athletic defender in Sefolosha to throw at Kobe, then made a great adjustment by sticking Durant on Bryant. As a team, they move well enough to make a lot of players look a few steps closer to their pension. No other team in the conference could do to the Lakers and Kobe what the Thunder could.

Certainly not the Jazz.

Michael Jordan may still be the greatest nightmare for sleeping Utah basketball fans, but Kobe can't be far behind. He has more or less owned them since the three airballs overtime in Game 5 of the '98 playoffs, back when Bryant was an 18-year-old rookie. This year's Jazz squad was no different, totally lacking in any single defender able to mark him, and as a team they weren't good enough to compensate.

The same can be said about Phoenix, another squad against whom Kobe has had steady success. This season, in four regular season games against Alvin Gentry's crew, Kobe shot over 54 percent. So it's no surprise to see him (wait for it...) blister the Suns in the playoffs. (Sorry about that.)

Should the Lakers advance, Kobe will see a stronger defensive squad no matter who comes out of the east. My guess? The raw numbers will still be strong, but just as it was in the '08 and '09 Finals, he'll have games where he struggles with efficiency. Will that mean his elevated play now is just a mirage? Of course not, just that the other team sometimes gets a vote.

Sports are all about ebb and flow, changes in momentum and trends over time. Minute to minute, quarter to quarter, game to game, month to month. It's unrealistic to take snapshots and expect the image to hold. This year's playoffs have, like most do, proved the point. The Cavs were world beaters, until they lost. The Lakers were vulnerable, until they won eight straight. Phoenix was a mirage, until they ripped off wins in Games 3 and 4 and nearly stole Game 5 at Staples. The Magic were a crushing disappointment, until they got a game away from going home for Game 7.

Context matters.

Kobe Bryant is playing some of the best postseason basketball of his already incredible career. Does that mean he's just as good as he was five or ten years ago? No, not for 82 games, not even in the playoffs. His margin for error is smaller, his ability to drive at will has diminished. More than many Lakers fans who cheer for him, Kobe has no problem admitting time has forced his game to change. Anyone who notes his incredible footwork, enhanced by time with Hakeem Olajuwon last summer, and a seemingly infinite arsenal of jump shots from around the floor can say he's compensated well. Just as good? No, but close enough.

Does his recent run prove again he's best player in the game? Who cares? Bryant is still playing this year while other candidates for the crown are watching at home.

In the end, does anything else mean more to him?

Link:

http://espn.go.com/blog/l...se-were-well-exaggerated

Great read.

I seriously laugh at people on here or in public when they say "Kobe is old", "Kobe has lost a step", "Kobe isn't the best player in the league"

 

[mrdieselfuel09]

Any got the pictures saved of the 2 Lakers fan at the Boston game against Orlando? I think it was either game 3 or 4 when someone posted it.

 

[notorious 858]

So according to ESPN's so called experts Lakers are under dogs even though we have home court advantage this time. Which is HUGE in the Finals:

http://espn.go.com/nba/pl...p/_/teams/celtics-lakers

Not surprised with the idiots who picked the C's to beat the Lakers. It's the usual ESPN staffers who have long been hating on the Lakers.

Tim Legler dude's been hating on us since like the 2004 Finals.

Adande always has been a Kobe hater but has gotten a little better since he stopped writing for the LA Times and now works for ESPN. Trust I've been reading his work & columns since the 3 peat years and dude back then was more blatant with his hate for Kobe back then and loved & defended Shaq like crazy during those years.

Chris Broussard dude is from Ohio and is NYC east coast based reporter and is a huge Lebron D-Rider.

 

[jordan vs magic]

Time for revenge!

 

[acbboyz84]

We're so close i can smell it already

You guys think we can take it in 5 games ? I want us to win at Boston house to the revenge would feel better

 

[mustbetheshoe58]

kobe in the clutch

go get em LA

 

[notorious 858]

Originally Posted by ACBboyz84

We're so close i can smell it already

You guys think we can take it in 5 games ? I want us to win at Boston house to the revenge would feel better

I don't think so. I see this going 6 or 7 games with the Lakers taking it.

C's are a great proven road team.

I will be hella scared & nervous if the Lakers drop games 1 or game 2. We  just gotta handle or business and hold home court then go to Boston and steal 1 of the 3 there. Boston will comeback to take 2 of those middle 3 games and hopefully we win it at home.

 

[notorious 858]

[h1][/h1]

[h1]It's not easy for Lakers to beat green[/h1]Them again.

The ugly uniforms, the obnoxious fans, the chippy players, and that damn cigar.

Kevin McHale's arm around Kurt Rambis' neck, Cedric Maxwell's hands around his own neck, Larry Bird on the wing, Danny Ainge on the floor and Paul Pierce in that damn wheelchair.

The Memorial Day Massacre, the Heat Game, the Junior Skyhook game, the June 17 Swoon, and those damn balloons.

Love it and loathe it, the Lakers are once again going green, their 111-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns here Saturday night clinching the Western Conference championship and setting up the 12th NBA Finals meeting of the most storied championship rivalry in any sport.

It will be the Lakers against the Boston Celtics in the Finals, a phrase as common in the sports lexicon as, say, "Paul Pierce is a flopper."

If you sense any angst here, well, the Lakers have endured 51 years of it in this rivalry, losing nine of the 11 Finals, including being run out of Boston two seasons ago in possibly the most embarrassing Finals clinching in NBA history.

The Lakers have been to 10 more finals, but the Celtics have won two more titles. The Lakers have had bigger stars, but the Celtics have played with more substance.

Their Finals fights have been filled with great fun, but gruesome pain. Lakers fans today are using their hands both to applaud their chances and cover their eyes. They want Boston. The Lakers want Boston. Everyone willing to risk the annual heartbreak. Everyone dreaming of the ultimate knockout.

"After we came back in the playoffs last year, I ran into Paul Pierce in a complex . . . in L.A.," said Coach Phil Jackson, referring to one of the Celtics' stars. "I said, 'Get it back, we want to meet you in the Finals.' So here it is."

Will this year be different? Will this be the year that the Lakers gain some revenge for moments that span from 1959 to 2008? Can they dredge up the past without being swallowed by it? Will this series push the franchise to the heights of a second consecutive championship, or stall it in old stereotypes?

It says here, yes. It says here, yes to revenge, yes to heights, yes to a memorable seven-game defeat of their rivals.

I picked the Lakers to win two years ago, but didn't realize the toughness of the Celtics and the desperation of their veterans. Today, after a surprisingly difficult series against the Suns, the Lakers are the ones with those traits.

Beginning Thursday at Staples Center, the Lakers will hit the Celtics with a combination of speed and strength that doesn't exist in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers are not only a little better than this year's Celtics, but, more important, they are a lot better than the 2008 Lakers, and that will be the difference.

"We'll see . . . we'll see how much we matured," Kobe Bryant said Saturday after scoring 37 points in helping the Lakers recover from a fourth-quarter stall to hold off the surging Suns. "[The Celtics] challenged us two years ago . . . now it's a test to see how much we've grown.''

They've grown. From the soft team that wilted under the Celtics' elbows and energy two years ago, they've grown. Even from the distracted team that struggled to beat Oklahoma City several weeks ago, they've grown.

They have several advantages now that they didn't have two years ago, and they will use them to hammer out redemptions.

They have home-court advantage. They have won 28 of their last 31 postseason games at Staples Center. Enough said.

They have Kobe Bryant's memory advantage. He is still furious over the 39-point beating handed the Lakers in their last postseason meeting with the Celtics, that awful series-ending Game 6 in Boston two years ago. And you know what happens when Kobe gets mad.

Bryant went seven for 22 in that game and spent the next year listening to folks use it as proof that he couldn't lead a team to a championship. Well, he won that championship, last year in Orlando. Now he wants Boston to watch him win another one.

They have Ron Artest's defensive advantage. Two years ago, the Lakers didn't really have enough manpower to shut down series MVP Pierce. They do now. Artest has reached his Lakers potential this postseason, a game-winning shot Thursday, 25 points on Saturday, lockdown defense at every step.

They have the Andrew Bynum-presence advantage. He wasn't available two years ago and, although struggling with a knee injury now, he will at least be another big body who can throw a few blows to Boston's middle.

"Our bigs have to play, they have to play well," Jackson said.

The only thing certain is that the series will be bigger than all of it. Thursday? Really? Can't we start this thing now?

"It's obviously a huge rivalry . . . a renewed fervor between both these towns," Jackson said. "It's something that has been anticipated the last couple of weeks, so here it is."

Celtics again? Welcome back.
Link:

http://www.latimes.com/sp...0100530,0,1737255.column

 

[fuser86]

Originally Posted by AJIIIpLATINum

Originally Posted by tmoney85

Man this year is especially stressful for me. Each loss hurts so much more. I think its because I had more time to follow each game throughout the season. But also because I hate Boston so much.

Anyone else feel this way this year?

I hate Boston...lived there for 4 years.

I hate the Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, Revolution, and Celtics.



  

My sentiment exactly, any team from Massachusets I despise.

 

[percy.]

Man, time to avenge that 2008 NBA Finals. Can't wait for Game 1, although I wish there was somehow I could go to one of these games. Being a Lakers fan in the Bay Area is tough.

Thursday night can't come close enough. I'll be wearing my Lakers championship shirts throughout the games.

 

[kb8sandiego]

!@#$ THE CELTICS!

 

[moneymike9]

^Co-sign to that KB8SD

But my dudes....

4 WINS AWAY

Revenge on Phoenix...check

Onto Boston...gonna be a great, rough, physical series. Let's see how our boys hold up this time...but watching them the last 2 years, i think these guys are ready. Payback will be sweet.

 

[longrange3ball]

Lookin' forward to it

If Artest can play the way he played in game 6, its a wrap

 

[airkeung88]

Best finals so far.

 

[mronegative]

 

[dvdjamm5150]

 

[size 15 please]

LET'S GO LAKERS!!!!

 

[darth dnzy]

Originally Posted by KB8sandiego

!@#$ THE CELTICS!

--This. Always.

 

[papaprem]

Kobe's only 31 going for his 5th championship. Jordan was 34 I believe when he got his 5th. You know that's gonna be driving Kobe even more.