The Official 2003 NBA Playoffs Thread

[Guest Mindless_Aggression]

Why look at The Lakers get it handed to them by a better team. If they only had the offensive machine that is Rick Fox out there. Bwahahaha.

 

I feel sorry for anyone in the east. Think about it, you're playing for 2nd place and you pretty much know it too. Thats gotta suck on some level.

 

Good times, Mavs get bitch slapped, Lakers play like...well the way the Lakers played about half the season and Antoine Walker missed a billion shots.

[Guest razazteca]

I also mark for Ginobili. During the regular season, he helped my fantasy team get a lot of steals, and now that's he kicking the Lakers' asses, I mark for him even more.

 

You know its bad when Steve Kerr of all people gets playing time.

 

He's still around??? Wow. I thought he retired years ago.

Steve Kerr has been sitting on the Spurs bench for at least 2 years, I bet he is a good mentor for the guards and probably will make a good head coach in the NBA soon. I think this is his final year, he might retire after this season.

[Guest Mindless_Aggression]

I can never disrespect Steve Kerr. If given the time, he's still usually one of, if not the best shooter in the game from anywhere on the floor. Witness his Jazz killing in both finals appearances with the Bulls.

[Guest The Grand Pubah of 1620]

It seems as George's injuries had more of an effect then I was hoping for. The refs were on Shaq all night but let other shit go like letting Kobe get pushed to the ground. That's another bad thing, Shaq was on tonight, but Kobe couldn't get on for some reason. The main problem right now is that nobody's producing on offense so all the Spurs have to worry about is stopping Kobe and Shaq.

 

They have to win the next two games.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

what I learned today.

 

- Paul Pierce is arguably the game's best scorer.

 

- I was right, Antoine Walker is fucking worthless.

 

- Don't be fooled when a Net score 20 points. It just means Kidd found him wide open more than the other guys.

 

- Mutumbo needs to retire.

 

- Kobe should never play another game at the 3 for the remainder of his career.

 

- Kobe would be a great defender if he remembered to guard his man.

 

- Malik Rose is really good.

 

- Horry is washed up.

 

- On any other team Shaq would have 30 shots a game.

 

- NBA refs call every game different.

 

- There's literally nothing the Lakers can do to win this series. When Horry and Madsden are you starting forwards and you're up against one of the league's best teams, give up.

 

- Boston's offense should be called the Spray and Pray.

[Agent_Bond34 0]

What was up with the Lakers tonight?

 

That performance was the worst I've seen from them all year, or at least that I can think of right off.

 

How the hell do they expect to win a 4th straight championship if they keep playing like that?

[Guest Human Fly]

Like Steve Kerr, I was shocked to find out that Danny Manning is currently playing for the Pistons. Talk about your Journeyman.

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

Danny Manning is still alive? Holy crap!

 

- There's literally nothing the Lakers can do to win this series. When Horry and Madsden are you starting forwards and you're up against one of the league's best teams, give up.

 

- Boston's offense should be called the Spray and Pray.

 

- I was right, Antoine Walker is fucking worthless.

 

- Kobe should never play another game at the 3 for the remainder of his career.

 

- Kobe would be a great defender if he remembered to guard his man.

[Guest TheArchiteck]

Yeah Pistons only unleash Manning in the last 2 minutes when the team is up by 20.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

I've always felt bad for Manning. He could of been a great player, if he hadn't ruined his knees.

[Guest NoCalMike]

I still am not ready to say the Lakers are done. If SA goes to LA and takes one there, then the series is definately OVER.

[Guest Lethargic]

What was up with the Lakers tonight?

 

That performance was the worst I've seen from them all year, or at least that I can think of right off.

 

How the hell do they expect to win a 4th straight championship if they keep playing like that?

They really look like they've quit. Shaq and Kobe seem to be the only ones that play with any confidence but the rest of the guys just seem to realize that the run is over. For two games they have never even seemed like they thought they could win. There was never a point where it seemed like they were in the games. It always felt like whatever they did, the Spurs could answer. Seeing how well the Spurs defense is doing against them without double teaming Shaq or Kobe and letting the role players kill them makes me wonder why the Wolves didn't do that. They seemed to let Fisher and Horry and George do whatever the hell they wanted to do and just worry about the big two. Most teams play like that against them it seems. It's about time somebody has proven that if you don't leave those guys wide open they can't do a thing.

[Guest alkeiper]

Damn. The Spurs are now 6-0 against the Lakers this year.

[Guest Polish_Rifle]

2 more losses and my Laker-nightmare will be over.

 

I missed the game but from the highlights I saw, it seems like the refs are starting to pay more attention at all of Shaq's dirty and illegal moves. FINALLY!

 

I hope the Spurs don't get too high after this one and just focus on the next game. 2 more...

[Guest notJames]

Nets - 2-0

 

Spurs - 2-0

 

[insert smiley face here]

 

Although Pierce gave them a bit of a scare, the Nets kept their poise and maintained their lead. That's the mark of a champion.

 

And damn, could the Lakers have taken any more of a drubbing last night? I wonder if they'll be able to bring it on their home court. I say nay.

[Guest Spicy McHaggis]

My thoughts from Game 2:

 

-The refs, again, were horribly inconsistent... but that is absolutely no excuse to go away from the triangle and play Clipper defense, as opposed to the championship variety the Lakers have shown the last three years.

 

-Robert Horry has got to go, I hope to God he doesn't come back next year. He is, without a doubt, the worst defender of the Lakers. All the experts talk about his ability to poke the ball away, to me that is a side effect of his poor, unbelievably lazy defense. The guy NEVER moves his feet, he doesn't step out on pick and rolls, he doesn't block out on rebounds, and he forgets to take out the ball, EVERY TIME.

 

-Devean George's injury is also much worse than I thought. But I was hoping Fisher or another bench player might seize the opportunity and step up in a big way. As of last night I have been sorely mistaken. Not to say that something great will not happen in Game 3, I still hold a little hope left. George plays the kind of defense the Lakers need right now, active and disrupting and always eating up every single defensive rebound. He would also ignore the bullshit "get back on defense" crap and chase down the misses by Kobe and Shaq, something no one else does... I'm looking at you Rob.

 

-It's clear the young guys thought they would just go along for the ride and collect another ring. Rush was horrible last night. Every pass sucked, he got eaten alive on the screen-roll, and he couldn't make a shot to save his life. The only thing Pargo had going for him was the fact that Derek Fisher couldn't keep up with Parker if his life depended on it. This is the series that always dumbfounds me as to why management wouldn't pay Tyronn Lue to stay in L.A. They'd be much better off starting that guy and allowing Fisher to come off the bench, a role that always suited him better. For this game, suffice it to say, when Medvedenko is your best player off the bench, you've got a serious problem. Although I'd like to find out why Jackson wouldn't play Madsen... he is so much better than Horry.

 

-I was almost physically sick watching them play defense. Both coaching and play on the floor sucked. It was obvious the direction for Kobe to help out on Duncan was strict and came from Phil. They obviously didn't think Bruce Bowen would get hot like that. But when the guy is hot for 3 1/2 quarters maybe a change in strategy is in order. The guy hit 7 three-pointers for crying out loud. Don't you think Kobe would get on him, and when a switch came, shouldn't Horry or Shaw sprint to the guy? If I can figure that out why can't they?

 

-I'm not going to go on a long diatribe about the refs, but they sucked and were extremely inconsistent. But as the rest of my post shows, that had about 2% of an effect on this particular loss. But three offensive fouls in the next game on Shaq might make me start to think otherwise.

 

-I still want to see Game 3, especially the reffing and, more importantly, the offensive contribution of the role players and the Lakers' team defense. I want to see how this goes before I give up.

[Guest Ripper]

But the calls were correct. They were incosistant in the fact that the same refs NEVER called these fouls against him his whole career and now they are taking away his basic offense. It is wrong and right at the same time. BUT...Shaq is one of the best players in the league and can play without lowering his sholder and raming into people. He has to adjust and play the way he knows how to. It would be different if aggression was all he knew but he can dominate with in the confines of the rules and has to or he will cause his team to get swept.

 

Say what you want, but I don't believe that adding Rick Fox(damn fine defender) and Devin George(not a great defender but can murder most any team on the offensive boards) would make much of a difference in this series. Bottom line is Duncan has the players around him to be better than the lakers. The Spurs have at least 10 quality players that know how to play with a dominating force like Duncan. And it shows.

 

The Lakers are playing like they played all year. They beat up on the lower teams in the league because they had more talented players...their record against the winning teams in the league(including those out East) handed the lakers there ass all year. It is not a shocker to me now that they are losing. Instead of being lazy this off season, maybe they should consider trying to sign a free agent that will actually help the team...not Tracy fucking Murray.

 

I think that this shot in the Arm will make the Lakers be a hell of a lot more dominating next year...but they are not the better team, and I don't see how they could possibly win this series.

 

As for the East playing for second place...The Nets and Pistons can beat any team in the league consistantly...Except maybe the Kings..(who the pistons did pummel in the regular season). I wouldn't call it a forgone conclusion that the West will win it.

[Guest Polish_Rifle]

I think Shaq has gotten away with so many infranctions for so long that Laker fans/players/employees are just not use to the refs calling it legit.

 

No matter, I'm not going to get too high until the final nail is in the coffin.

[Guest razazteca]

I would like to know is what happen to Samake Walker? Did the Lakers cut him or forget to put him on the active rooster, just like Tracy Murry.

[Guest Polish_Rifle]

He's still pissed that Kobe punched him in the team bus last year and he was not allowed to strike him back.

[Guest Your Olympic Hero]

I would like to know is what happen to Samake Walker? Did the Lakers cut him or forget to put him on the active rooster, just like Tracy Murry.

I'm pretty sure he's still on the team.

[Guest Ripper]

Besides...a 6' 11" man getting on a active rooster would kill it and that would be animal cruelty.

[Guest goodhelmet]

It seems as George's injuries had more of an effect then I was hoping for. The refs were on Shaq all night but let other shit go like letting Kobe get pushed to the ground. That's another bad thing, Shaq was on tonight, but Kobe couldn't get on for some reason. The main problem right now is that nobody's producing on offense so all the Spurs have to worry about is stopping Kobe and Shaq.

 

They have to win the next two games.

this is funny. a lakers fan complaining about the refs. the whole fucking league has been complaining about the refs for the last three years (game 6 of last year's west finals)

 

also, samaki walker played in last night's blowout. he just sucks... hard.

[Guest The Grand Pubah of 1620]

Well when Shaq gets anal raped 10 times a night and there's no call, the yeah, I'm going to complain about the refs. But your selective memory baffles me. I have been complaining about the refs for the past two years and especially during the playoffs this year.

[Guest Lethargic]

The thing that sucks is that the Lakers will spend all summer blaming their loss on injuries and fouls. The truth is, everybody knows that this Laker wasn't that good from opening day of the season. They weren't the same team. 3 years of going all the way through the playoffs had beat them up a bit. Plus the Spurs are just too good. It wouldn't matter if those other guys were playing, this is a better team hands down. But we're gonna hear Shaq and Phil pissing and moaning for the next year because of this. As much as I hate Kobe, I don't recall him being nearly the crybaby that those other two are. If I hear Shaq say the word flopper one more time I'm going to LA to punch him in his kneecap.

 

Oh, how in the world does Kobe Bryant make all defensive team but Ron Artest doesn't? Or Bruce Bowen for that matter.

[Guest Ripper]

Yet Kobe's man routinely goes for the most pts on the team. Those awards and team appointments mean nothing to me anymore. Kobe Bryant should NOT be on the all defensive team.

[Guest The Grand Pubah of 1620]

It's not being a crybaby when it's true. The fouls and injuries have killed the Lakers this year, bottom line.

 

Oh and maybe it's because Bowen and Artest aren't as good of defensive players as Kobe.

[Guest Ripper]

I don't care if you are a laker fan, or Kobes damn Daddy. There is no way in the world that you can claim to be anything resembling a NBA fan a believe that Artest and Bowen..(or finley or iverson, or pierce...or plenty of other guys) aren't better defenders than kobe Bryant. Didn't he JUST give up 27 pts to his man last night. He is constantly tourched on D because he is constantly late getting back, ALWAYS goes under screens, and is basically lazy. I give you that he plays passing lanes well, but to even put him on the same planet as guys like Artest (#2 in voting for defensive player of the year mind you) is ridiculous.

 

And it isn't true. If you have made your game slamming into the opposing defense, guess what...they are going to slam back. Other big men in history dominated the game without trying to slam into guys (which Shaq will readily admit in the off season) You want defenders to finesse you, you play finesse ball. You want to bulldoze people then stop yer bitchin when the refs make the RIGHT call. Be a godamn professional and adjust.

 

It also doesn't help when you take your dumbass on television after the season and say "Yeah, ________ wasn't really flopping...I was hitting him. I just needed to play the refs a bit." Do you really think they are going to listen to your post game whineing now. The Lakers are getting their asses handed to them by the better team because of mostly what Spicy McHaggis said up top. They are playing Lazy D thinking they can beat anyone in the clutch. They have done it all year, and now no team fears them anymore. Once they lost thier mental edge they became exposed as a weak team with 2 EXTREMELY good players while the rest of the league was making good teams. Injuries has NOTHING to do with it. They lost 4 times to the Spurs in the season, and they are losing now.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

I like the Lakers, but you have to be absolutly high as a kite if you think Kobe is a better defender than Artest. Kobe could be a great defender, but he's more worried about keeping track of how many jumpers he's made, because if it's less than 10, he ain't passing.

[Guest Lethargic]

It's not being a crybaby when it's true. The fouls and injuries have killed the Lakers this year, bottom line.

Yes, it is being a crybaby. When you're Shaq and Kobe and you're supposedly the two greatest players in the world, shut the hell up and play. If you're so damn good, it doesn't matter how the refs are calling the game.

 

They are not losing because of fouls. They are losing simply because it's their time to lose. They are a beaten down team. They are old and worn out. The fact is is that they have played more games the last 3 years than any other team in the league. They have went all the way to the finals three straight years. That takes a toll on the body. They've played so many playoff games it's like they played 4 years in the past 3. Lakers were already a old team, those extra months of playing has made them age even quicker. Plus this season was their hardest season in years. This is a team notorious for just cruising through the season and then turning it on in the playoffs. THIS year they had to play hard each and every night to get out of the early season hole so when it came to playoff time, they're already worn down from the regular season grind that they usually never have to go through.

 

It also comes down to Phil Jackson's unwillingness to update the roster. His refusal to move guys like Horry and Fox and Shaw to try to get some younger and more atheletic pieces around Shaq and Kobe has doomed this team to self destruction. They should've moved those guys while it seemed they had something to offer because now they're stuck with them. And when he DOES allow a younger play on the team it's some stiff like Madsen. Of course, this off season the big speculation is that they're going to try to get Karl Malone. Another old man on the way down instead of a younger star in the making on the way up. These guys better start thinking about the future. Shaq says he'll probably retire in a couple of years. They better work on putting together some young guys that Kobe would be willing to stay and play with and not opt out of his contract.