Lakers vs. kings

[Guest ant_7000]

This is going be exciting series and whoever wins the series most likely will beat the Eastern Conference winner.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Most likely? If the eastern conference team wins 2 games it will be a shock. This series better go at least 6 or 7, or it will be a huge disapointment.

[Guest El Satanico]

Boston will win it all. It's the year of the heavy underdog beating the team that the "experts" say can't be beat. And yes i'm saying that the Boston area will have two such wins this year.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

Boston will win it all. It's the year of the heavy underdog beating the team that the "experts" say can't be beat. And yes i'm saying that the Boston area will have two such wins this year.

 

Are you talking about basketball? The Celtics should have been the number 2 seed in the East but they slipped to the 3 seed. Thus far, all of the top seeds have advanced except for the Spurs (3 seed beating a 2) and the Pistons (same scenario). I don't think anyone had the Spurs as favorites to beat the Lakers and I already pointed out that the Celtics were at the top of the East (vying for the best record at one point). I don't want to bring you down, but the Celtics aren't going to beat the Nets. If they do want to beat the Nets, they better not play as sloppily as they did against the Pistons, and they better come with their shit.

[Guest phoenixrising]

As a Saramento fan who lives in the LA area, I have been waiting for this rematch from last year, when the Kings were easily swept aside like the rest of the NBA by the Lakers.

 

Sacramento should have a better time in this series.  The team's defense has improved over last year, the Kings are a much deeper team than the Lakers, and Mike Bibby is an actual point guard - that is, he makes the unspectacular pass and shoots well from the outside, much different than the highlight crazy, crack smoking player he was traded for.  Shaq also is hurting, so this is the chance to take advantage.  I just hope that Peja can play though, even if Turkoglu had 20 points and 13 boards in Game 5 against the Mavs.  

 

Should go the full seven I think.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

I don't think the Kings can beat the Lakers. All the Lakers had to do was hang around until the last five minutes of the fourth quarter to beat the Spurs in all of their games. The Spurs didn't look like an inferior team until it was time to win the game. I think the Kings will have the same fate.

[Guest DragonflyKid]

I agree with PhoenixRising. I have been a Kings fan since the late 80's and have watched most of their games this season and this is the best team they have had. They are difinitely improved this year over last, Jason Williams was too inconsistent and Bibby has been great especially in the playoffs. I think it will come down to Shaq and how his toe holds up. Even with Predrag injured and Vlade and Webber fouled out(In the overtime game), the Kings could still beat a great team in the Mavericks just shows how deep they are.

 

My prediction: Kings in 7. It will be a hell of a series and nowhere near the sweep from last year.

[Guest Ripper]

Its like this:

 

If the Celtics beat the Nets(and I truely doubt it) they can beat the Lakers (be on Kobes dick all you want, Pierce can, will and has eaten him alive on the defensive and offensive end. Walker has been playing with a lot of pose lately, and we know how the lakers LOVE to leave big men open on the perimeter)  but the Kings would own them  

 

If the Kings win the west(and it could happen0 they will beat the celts like I said, but I don't think they could take the nets.  Too much pose from the best point guard in the league(and MY MVP) .

 

The lakers vs the nets??  As much as I hate to say it, the Lakers would destroy them.  They are having a hard time dealing with Cambell in the post, let alone shaq. And Kittles and Harris would get destroyed by Kobe.  

 

This championship isn't a automatically west coast thing like some think.

[Guest Redhawk]

No matter who wins the West, I won't count out the Celts if they win the East. Any team with two premier players like Pierce and Walker has a shot to beat anyone. The Lakers won their titles over two one-star teams, Indiana (Reggie Miller) and Philly (Iverson). Kidd is the best PG in the league, but when it comes down to it, Pierce and Walker can create their own shot and make that shot, whereas Kidd needs his teammates to come through and isn't a good shooter. So you have to at least give Boston a shooter's chance.

[Guest ErekT2k]

It actually comes down to how good Shaq is feeling. If he's 90%, then you have no chance at guarding him. Right now, he's only avg 22 pts against the Spurs and both his feet are hurting and both his hands are hurting. I'd say he's around 60% and still, Duncan and Robinson have a hard time guarding him.

 

Lakers and Kings, yes, definetly the series to watch this year. Then again, Boston and NJ is close. After all, you've got the 3 point bombers against the running general and the flash players.

 

And Chris Webber is a pussy. He's supposed to be the leader but he's actin like a pussy. That's all.

[Guest MaxPower27]

I don't watch a lot of basketball, but if it's Celtics v. Lakers in the Finals, I'll watch a game on a Stanley Cup off day, just for the nostalgic value. Sure, there'd be no Bird, McHale, Parrish, Ainge, Magic, Kareem, or otherwise, but I'd still watch. The Celtics were a big part of my younger years, I remember my uncle watching the games every week. So, only if it's Celts v. Lakers, I'll watch.

 

I'm trying to understand some basketball rules, though.

-Why do they foul each other every 5 seconds in the last 2 minutes of a game?

-What's a post? Baseline?

-How many fouls are allowed by 1 player in a game?

[Guest Crazy Dan]

to answer the questions

Why do they foul each other every 5 seconds in the last 2 minutes of a game?

 

This is more of a stragedy thing above everything else.  It is usually done when a team is down by a few possesions and they need to stop the clock.  It is hoping that if you put a guy on the line, he will miss at least one, or maybe two, and the team will have a chance to maybe cut the lead down, without running out of time.  This usually isn't very successful, but you see it a lot in 7-10 point lead games.

 

-What's a post? It's the area on the key, where many big men, or player usually will stand, calling for the ball.  Pay attention to what Shaq does, that would be your best example of what posting up is and the adavantages it can have.

Baseline?  If you were to look at the basket, it's the area which runs sort of underneathe it, and out to the sides of the basket along the out of bounds line.

-How many fouls are allowed by 1 player in a game? 5 in college, 6 in pros.

 

I really do hope the Kings win.  I love watching them play.  I think they are a good reason to watch basketball.  I hate how the Lakers have been playing this year in the playoffs.  They are playing "turn botton on/off" style basketball.  The Spurs should have at least a 2/3 game lead, but since they played like a bunch of pansies, they basically choked themselves out of the playoffs.  

 

I am hopping for at least a seven game series.  The Lakers better hope that they take the Kings seriously, because the Kings could beat them.  But, I think the Lakers will play like they have been, very ugly and still manage to come out on top.  Which is not a good thing.  I do feel that the Lakers are over confident.  I do feel that the Kings have a better, more balanced team with a deeper bench.  I think that the key to the Lakers is Shaq's health, and how much the rest of team contributes.  And yes Kobe will be his dominating self, but if he doesn't get help, then the Lakers will lose.. Over all a potentially good series.

[Guest El Hijo Del Lunatic]

Boston will win it all. It's the year of the heavy underdog beating the team that the "experts" say can't be beat.

No, football set a nice precendent for the New England teams winning the title.  However, regardless of how well the Celts play, they're going to have a hard time defending the Lakers and/or the Kings.  Both the Lake Show and the Kings play excellent perimeter D, and I personally don't think the Clts are ready for that.

 

Are you talking about basketball? The Celtics should have been the number 2 seed in the East but they slipped to the 3 seed.

Real quickly, the #2 seed goes to a division winner.  Do I think for a second that the Spurs are a better team than the Lakers, or that the Pistons are a better team than the Celtics?  No.  But, with the Nets winning the Celts' division, there was no way for them to be a #2 seed.

 

.. Mike Bibby is an actual point guard - that is, he makes the unspectacular pass and shoots well from the outside, much different than the highlight crazy, crack smoking player he was traded for.  

I certainly agree, but regardless, he's going to be matched up against a point guard (Fisher) that is not afraid to play good defense and is quick enough to hang with Bibby.  It's going to be interesting who wins that battle, a battle that won't be won just by who knocks down the most shots.

 

No matter who wins the West, I won't count out the Celts if they win the East. Any team with two premier players like Pierce and Walker has a shot to beat anyone. The Lakers won their titles over two one-star teams, Indiana (Reggie Miller) and Philly (Iverson). Kidd is the best PG in the league, but when it comes down to it, Pierce and Walker can create their own shot and make that shot, whereas Kidd needs his teammates to come through and isn't a good shooter. So you have to at least give Boston a shooter's chance.

.. and I agree with a lot of that, except that Pierce and Walker are both more or less perimeter players, and the Lakers and Kings have two of the best perimeter D's in the league.

 

If the Celtics beat the Nets(and I truely doubt it) they can beat the Lakers (be on Kobes dick all you want, Pierce can, will and has eaten him alive on the defensive and offensive end. Walker has been playing with a lot of pose lately, and we know how the lakers LOVE to leave big men open on the perimeter

First, Shaq is not going to be guarding Antoine Walker, and therefore he will not be left open much on the perimeter.  Second, Pierce may have eaten Kobe alive in the regular season, but Rick Fox and Derek Fisher are two of the more underraed defensive players in the league, and I'm sure that at some point one of those two will be matched up on Pierce.

 

Lakers in 6 and 6.

 

LUNATIC

Soon as you get a crumb they wanna bury ya

that's why I travel with a Semi, like Eddie in "Coming to America"

[Guest thevertex]

I know a lot of people want a Celtics/Lakers series, but.....

 

New Jersey and Sacramento just play a better kind of basketball. Sure Celtics/Lakers isn't Knicks/Heat, but I would much rather see Nets/Kings because of the style they play, and it helps that both aren't favored. I'm still rooting for NJ though, I stuck with them through the whole 90s when all the local basketball fans only cared about the Knicks.

[Guest Choken One]

The nation would perfer Boston/L.A since it fits in with the whole 80's nostalgia kick we're in these days.

 

However, Sac/Boston would be more exciting.

[Guest Ripper]

When will the world learn to not count out Jason Kidd.  The REAL mvp proved his worth yet again last night.  

 

I am really starting to think that if you let the Nets be close at all in the 4th quarter, you will lose.  They have 2 turnovers in the fourth for the entire playoffs.  They execute better, and Todd Macculah has stamina issuses, so they just put him in there in the 4th and he can go all out with out worry.  

 

I am a dedicated Suns fan(damn yous Colangelos, damn yous guys!!!!!!), but I made the Nets my East coast team the day after the trade(and no, I didn't think they would be half as good as they are) so I will keep sticking by them.

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

I certainly agree, but regardless, he's going to be matched up against a point guard (Fisher) that is not afraid to play good defense and is quick enough to hang with Bibby.  It's going to be interesting who wins that battle, a battle that won't be won just by who knocks down the most shots.

I have to agree right here. Fisher's an experienced vet while Bibby's the new kid on the block. One thing I'm seeing out of Bibby though is that he's playing very controlled and he kinda reminds of Fisher in a way. Despite being a biased Kings fan, this will be an interesting series because if the Kings manage to get something out of Turkgolu while Peja's recover and just get a split, they may have a chance against the highly favored Lakers. Plus, Webber's gotta show up some more. I know the guy's hurt and all, but he's the star of the team, so he should DEMAND the ball and get the sucky Laker forwards in foul trouble.

 

 

 

Second, Pierce may have eaten Kobe alive in the regular season, but Rick Fox and Derek Fisher are two of the more underraed defensive players in the league, and I'm sure that at some point one of those two will be matched up on Pierce.

If Boston makes it and you put Fisher on Pierce, Derek's gonna be seeing nothing but the back of his jersey or maybe just the hem of his shorts as Paul lights him up from outside.

 

 

If the Kings win the west(and it could happen0 they will beat the celts like I said, but I don't think they could take the nets.  Too much pose from the best point guard in the league(and MY MVP) .

No way. Despite how good Kidd is, they just don't have the defensive pose to stand up to a Sacramento or even LA. Hell, who would guard Webber and Peja? Martin and Van Horn? Please... Peja would make Van Horn his personal BITCH in that series and while Martin is pretty nice, he just wouldn't cut it against Webber. And if they faced LA in the Finals, that's even worse because Kobe would leave Kidd and Kittles shook like lil bitches and Shaq would kill EVERYBODY down low.

 

It's nice to back your favorite team and all, but come on... The East just isn't anywhere close to the West.

[Guest Ripper]

The Net, one of the best defensive teams in the league don't have the defensive poise to stand up to the Kings??? The mavs and jazz, two of the worst defensive teams this year, aparently did.  They might have lost, but the took basically every game to the wire, and they haven't played with half the poise in the playoffs that jersy has.  Martin is a defensive stopper, plain and simple.  Webber won't be able to use his quickness on him because they are evenly matched there,Webber would be able to bang him to death down low, but we know how much Chris loves to do that.  Mcullah and Divac are the same player basically.  Van horn will be able to get a hand in Pejas face.  That might not be much, but its something.  And on the same accord, Peja couldn't stop Van horn.  The Kings have a major advantage with Anthoney Johnson on bobby Jackson, but I don't think that would be enough.  

 

I'm not sure if you read the entire first post, but I said the Lakers would take the Nets easily.  I said they wouldn't take the Celtics.  the NBA is all about matchups.  The Celtics match up better with the Lakers(with their 5 3 point shooters on the floor and all) and the Nets match up better against the Kings.  The East is being counted out and I think they could easily shock someone.

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

Martin is a defensive stopper, plain and simple.  Webber won't be able to use his quickness on him because they are evenly matched there,Webber would be able to bang him to death down low, but we know how much Chris loves to do that.

You never know, what if Chris DID start banging Martin down low? What would they do then? Put Todd on him? Webber would eat McCullough for lunch.

 

 

Van horn will be able to get a hand in Pejas face.  That might not be much, but its something.  And on the same accord, Peja couldn't stop Van horn.

Yeah, Peja doesn't have much defensive presence, but I just don't see Van Horn as that much of a threat right now. BUT, if he does get hot, he'd eat Peja alive on offense.

 

 

The Kings have a major advantage with Anthoney Johnson on bobby Jackson, but I don't think that would be enough.

If Jackson and Bibby get at least 15 a game, then the Nets would be in trouble. On the same note, if Kittles and Van Horn get in the 15 to 20 a game range, the Kings would be in trouble. It's a pretty interesting match-up.

 

 

I'm not sure if you read the entire first post, but I said the Lakers would take the Nets easily.  I said they wouldn't take the Celtics.  the NBA is all about matchups.  The Celtics match up better with the Lakers(with their 5 3 point shooters on the floor and all) and the Nets match up better against the Kings.  The East is being counted out and I think they could easily shock someone.

Nah, I read the first post, I just posted on accident way before I was ready to. And personally, with the Lakers superior outside D, I don't think the Boston shooters would stand much of a chance outside of Walker(except when he's insanely spotty) and Pierce.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Peja is out the at least the first 2 games.

 

I don't think anyone can beat the Lakers 4 times. Anyone of the other teams can have 1 or 2 great games but not 4 games.

[Guest]

Mcullah [sic] and Divac are the same player basically.

 

You certainly have the right to your opinion, but I think that most basketball fans would concede that while there Divac and MacCullough may be a wash athletically, Divac is more savvy down on the low blocks.

 

Van horn will be able to get a hand in Pejas face.  That might not be much, but its something.

 

Peja is better at shooting with a hand in his face than you might believe; the kind of defenders that bother Peja are those like Rick Fox, who basically get in Peja's hip pocket and challenge every move that he makes.

 

Not only do I not think that Keith Van Horn could succeed at this (I personally believe that KVH is the defensive weak link in the Nets' starting lineup), but I think that it would be dangerous for the Nets to try it; Los Angeles can get away with Rick Fox playing such aggressive defense because he's not a focal point of their offense. KVH is arguably the Nets' best shooter, and even if he isn't, it would be too risky for them to have him burn too much energy on the defensive end against Peja.

 

And on the same accord, Peja couldn't stop Van horn.

 

Well, I don't know about that... Peja did a pretty damn good job on Dirk Nowitzki, or do you happen to think that Keith Van Horn is a better player than Nowitzki?

 

As far as the Lakers are concerned, I think that too many people place too much value on stopping Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant as being the keys to beating the Lakers. O'Neal and Bryant cannot be stopped. Not by anybody in the league right now. Kobe is increasingly proving that he can't even be contained in crunch time. I think that the keys to beating the Lakers revolve around two things:

 

Control the "battle of the role players." Shaq can't be stopped. Kobe can't be stopped. But Derek Fisher can; Robert Horry can. If Shaq and Kobe combine for 80 points, but you shut down the role players, I think the Lakers lose.

 

The other key to beating the Lakers is self-confidence; The Lakers have that championship swagger, and as they proved in the conference semis, they believe that they can beat anybody in the fourth quarter, no matter what happened the previous three quarters. In order to beat the Lakers, a team has to believe that they can beat them, and not allow the psych-out factor to take them out of their game in the fourth. Portland psyched themselves out, as did San Antonio.

 

Will Sacramento psych themselves out as well? I, for one, hope not, and I honestly believe that if the Kings play with confidence, that they will win.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

I'm trying to understand some basketball rules, though.

-Why do they foul each other every 5 seconds in the last 2 minutes of a game?

-How many fouls are allowed by 1 player in a game?

 

When you foul someone, the team either gets to shoot a free throw or take the ball out of bounds. A team gets to shoot free throws if a player is fouled in the act of shooting, or a foul is commited while a team is in the penalty. A team will find itself in the penalty if they commit more than the five fouls allotted per quarter. A team can also end up in the penalty if they commit more than 2 fouls in the final minute (or is it two?) of a quarter. I could be wrong about that last part, but a team will foul someone intentionally to save time because the player who is fouled will be sent to the free throw line while the clock is stopped. They do so hoping that the player will miss and give them the chance to get the rebound and score. For example, if a team is down by two points with not a lot of time left, they could conceivably foul the ballhandler on the other team and send him to the free throw line. If the player misses both free throws, they can get the rebound and still have a chance to tie the game.

 

I have trouble seeing the Celtics making it to the Finals. I can't totally rule them out, but i can't see them beating the Nets four times.

 

Home court advantage or not, I don't think the Kings can beat the Lakers four times either.

[Guest]

Prior to 1991, nobody thought the Bulls had what it takes to beat the Pistons, either.

 

There's a first time for everything (unless we're talking about Lance Storm getting a push in the WWE...).

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

What Jordan do the Kings have? What Phil Jackson do the Kings have?

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

Everyone is talking about how much different the Kings are from last year; let's not forget the 1-3 regular season record against the Lakers this year.

[Guest]

Let's not forget the 1-3 regular season record against the Mavericks this year... This is not to suggest that the Mavs are on the same level as the Lakers, quite the contrary; just pointing out that the regular season doesn't necessarily have any bearing on the playoffs.

 

Maybe you think that the Celtics could sweep the Lakers, should the two play each other in the Finals.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

You know the movie Coming To America?

[Guest]

? ? ? ? ?

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0094898

[Guest]

Okay, I've seen the movie before, but I don't see the correlation.