The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

I hate the Lakers.  I love the Celtics.  So, for me, the choice is easy.

  Lakers in 6.

Lakers in 6 as well

I am homer.  Celtics in 4.

Lakers in 5, unless Celtics are using illegal video taping.

Celtics in 5. 

Go Green

I'll be pulling for Boston but I don't see anyone beating the Lakers right now.Lakers in 5.

I cannot believe Kobe is going to win this year.

I don't understand how this Lakers team went from crap to cream of the crop in less then a season.

Lakers in 6, minimum.....

The "Big 3" in 6 games!

Big 3 ? Does Ray Allen still play ? Man, he's been non-existent till the other night I saw at one point he had hit like 4 or 5 threes in a row, but damn dude he needs to step up if the Celts want any chance at the title.

They were an upper echelon team this year, but not the top team in the West, until they made that trade for Pau Gasol. 

Allen played well in both game 5 and game 6.

This is going to be a close one, but I predict the Celtics in 7.  If you look at the starting line-ups, overall the match-ups seem even.  In my opinion, the X-factor for Boston is Rajon Rondo.  If he does not turn the ball over and makes well-informed decisions, this series is theirs.

I think the West is massively over-rated.  Boston steamrolled just about everyone that they played from the West this past season.  I think Detroit or Boston could beat L.A.  Boston started to hit it's groove in the Detroit series and that continues starting Thursday.  Just a feelin'.

I think that Sam Cassell sucks.  Every time he touches the ball, it's a liability.

^Did he even get into game 6 of the Detroit series?  I don't think you'll see much of him, he was really signed for depth more than anything else.

Hopefully Doc will have Posey in a lot.  He's a defensive monster.

Yeah, he came in off the bench in place of Rondo a few times.  It was bad.  He shoots poorly, and defenses play him twice as hard, which causes turnovers.



Yeah, Posey is a great role-player.  When he was in Miami, he was key on defense. [/quote]

No surprise here. I'm going with LA. It'll be good hearing "Beat LA" coming from the Garden. This is how it'll break down. Split the first two games, LA takes 2 out of 3 @ home, and they split again here. Lakers in 7, unless it's in 6.

BEAT LA, BEAT LA, BEAT LA, BEAT LA..............that's all that needs to be said.

As for the series, people who think just because the lakers have Kobe that automatically puts them over the top be look twice. I have no problem admitting kobe is the best player in the game, but if Vladamir Radmonovic is going to guard Paul Pierce the entire series chalk up 30 pts a game for pierce every night.

I don't think the spurs were as physical as they should've been, but the celtics will test them. I want to see how the officials call the game. I still say the lakers don't play enough defense to win a championship and that's been the celtics bread and butter all season. Kobe can get his, but gasol and odom can't go off. If kobe comes down that lane somebody better be there to take his head off. We have to let the lakers know there will be a severe price to be paid for coming down the lane.

Did i mention Paul Pierce is from LA and is averaging almost 28 pts a game against the lakers in LA. He's going to stick it too the team he grew up loving.

I loved wacthing him pop that celtic jersey in front of all those pistons fans last friday night.

Celtics in 7 baby!!!

He should have a little more success this series. No one on the lakers will apply the type of on the ball defensive pressure as lindsey hunter did.

I think that the Lakers D will be able to handle the Celts. Afterall, the Lakers only neede 4 games to knock out DEnver, 6 to knock out Utah, and 5 to handles the almighty defending champion Spurs.  Fisher will pick your pocket.

^^And I think Cleveland was a better team than Denver and Utah and Detroit was better than San Antonio.

Again - the West is greatly outmatched this year, the better teams in the east are better than the best teams in the west.  I think the ease at which the Celtics handle L.A. is going to shock a lot of people.

^ But the fact remains that Boston had to go 7 against Atlanta, and Cleveland.  And with 3 games in LA, and given Boston's weak play on the road, I give the nod, Lakers fan, or not, to LA. I don't think it's going to be an easy series no matter what. It's going to be a war.

Beat LA! Beat LA!

I think folks need to let this go.  They beat Detroit in six while taking two on the road.  I'm not taking anything away from L.A.  I just have a weird feeling that Boston is a lot better.  I guess we'll find out.

I think a key of this series is going to be Perkins disrupting Gasol. 

What does atlanta have to do with this series. Again the celtics should have won games 4 and 6 in that series, but didnt pay attention to detail. I guess you missed that fact that the Cavs made the finals last season. As for the weak play on the road, kiss that goodbye. The fact remains when they were forced to win on the road they delivered and then closed out the pistons on their floor. That showed me they have some grit and toughness in the face of adversity.

I'll say this, Kobe has to be great for the lakers to win. We've seen in the playoffs Ray allen had a horrible series against the cavs, but pierce bailed him out. If by some miracle Kobe struggles who can the lakers count on to pick up the slack. The celtics margain for error is greater. Everyone jumped on the Mavs bandwagon two years ago, but when the series turned physical and rough the mavs punked out. Let's see if the lakers can adjust to that style of basketball.

If pierce starts to go off early in the series that will force jackson to put kobe on him and expend more energy, then allen will be free to go off. To many weapons. The celtics defense will be the deciding factor in this series.

I think the teams match up well with each other, and if Perkins can play like he did in game 5, the rebounding machine, I think the Celts are in good shape.

I'd love to see No. 17 hoisted to the rafters. Means I'd have to go and get new photos, all my old photos are of the Real Garden with the 16 banners :)

 Cowboys, the Cavs went to the Finals last season, which is why you suggest that Boston had to go to 7 against them? I guess YOU missed the fact the San Antonio won the Finals last season, and LA knocked them out in 5. Why, why, why, do people HAVE to bring up "last year"? It has no bearing on the here and now.

Lakers in 5. LA is going to mop the floor with these scrubs. sid rosenberg puts it best the lakers made short work of a much better team the spurs, and the celtics arent even in the same class. i cant wait until kobe posterizes garnett with his nuts in his face. noone the celtics is an offensive threat, and now paul pierce has the machine vujacic on him, fugget about it. who else is going to take over? ray allen is an absent old man and garnett for all his intangibles folds up like a cheap lawn chair in crunch time. that leaves little skinny rondo with no jumpshot or perkins...... or big baby lol.


GO LAKERS

Game 2 = must win for both teams. Go Lakers.

Congrats to the Celtics on being up 2 games to none.

Lakers are in a bit of a quandry right now.

^^No they aren't, are you crazy?

Boston held serve, that's all they did.  They did what they were supposed to do.  LA should take two, or all three, in LA.

Yep, but if the Celts steal one on the road, they'll be in very good shape

I agree.  I'm just not ready to cue Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and start making celebration parade plans just yet.

I really hope the celtics go into LA with the mindset of ending the series there. Kobe Bryant is to dangerous of a player to give extra games too. We have to be mentally tougher. Kobe and Phil have already planted the seed into the officials heads. The celtics arent going to get any calls on the road. They have to play defense without fouling.

The lakers role players will play better at home, therefore our stars have to play even better on the road. Can someone tell Kevin Garnett to get his ass on the  block on stop settling for jump shots. The lakers have no answer for him down low.

The series is far from over, but i was encouraged by the last series with boston on the road. I don't consider the staples center some intimidating place to play. We need to take 2 games and not be satisfied with one.


P.S..............If Bennett Salvatore is the head official for game 3 celtics fans might as well turn off their sets.

How can a stadium where half the fans don't show up til mid-way through the first quarter be intimidating?

LA needs to get back to playing lakers ball.

Maine said it once, twice and again...

Celtics in 5.  This series isn't coming back to Boston.

I watched last night and don't know what happened there.  All of a sudden the Lakers could score whenever they wanted.  I wonder if they'll have some of that momentum.

It was like a different team.  They just fired and scored at will.

Are you kidding me? After last night there can be no complaining about favortism. Powell took 3 more free throws than the whole Lakers team did. Almost a 4-1 ratio from the charity stripe is ridiculous in a Finals game.

Stuff like this doesn't carry over.  If it did don't you think Boston would have crippled Atlanta on the road after crushing them by 40 points at home?


Who is Powell?  I am assuming you mean POWE.  And if LA weren't such a collective bunch of candy asses and would take the rock to the lane and not settle for 18 foot jump shots they would get more foul calls.  Just common sense.  Kobe can't do it all.  Gasol and Odom are both earning their stripes for being the soft players that they are.  Boston is bigger and stronger and pushing LA around.

I really, really hope that BOS wins game 3.  That way, any possible result is good for me:

a) Celtics win, Kobe Bryant loses (I hate Kobe like poison), I get to talk trash to Kobe fans (including my dad)
b) Lakers come back from 0-3 and win; any time a Boston fan utters the word "2004," the word "2008" will immediately follow it (I dislike Boston, but not as much as I hate Kobe)

Go Celtics!

edit: In fact, I think I might like to take out a little "insurance" on game 3 (i.e. bet on LAL to win).  Does anyone know a good place for an average citizen to place an online bet (I mean, if online gambling were legal, of course)?

Soft or not, it still does not equate to that big a disparity of called fouls.

Sure it does.

Heat fans (of which I am one of) used to bitch about foul discrepancy in some of their series.  This was before Shaq.  It's because we didn't have an inside presence.  Last night consisted of Kobi pulling up for jumpers over and over again.  There was inside play, but not much taking it to the hole.  On the other hand, the Celtics played inside.  Powe was hitting it hard, and those are the kinds of plays that get fouls.

It's all about the type of basketball that the teams play.  When you settle for mid-range jumpers, you aren't going to get fouled a lot.  When you play inside, you are.  That was the story of last night.  Granted, there were a few incidences where Boston was smart enough to intentionally foul before the shot, to cause an inbound, and there was one Gasol dunk that looked like he got hacked.  ...but it was only one or two little things.  The vast majority of it was due to style of play.

Looks like the votes for the Celts are slowly piling on.  ha!

How about Powe last night!! He was on fire!

(http://bostondirtdogs.boston.com/BDD_LP_game2_gett.jpg)

Why do the lakers now, in the Finals, decide to not crash the board and take it to the hole? They've done this all season long, and now for some reason, they aren't driving to the hoop.

^It's because they are outsized and out muscled.  Boston is a very physical team that also shoots the ball well from 18+ feet.  LA isn't crashing the boards because they can't.  The east is, generally, a more physical league than the west.  Cleveland and Detroit would have both been able to push around Utah, Denver, San Antonio and L.A.

The Lakers are REALLY missing Andrew Bynum.  Bynum is a huge physical presence for the Lakers and would be able to match Perkins and Powe to an extent.  Even then, Garnett and Pierce are very physical players that take it to the body and rim where guys like Odom and Gasol are not.

I wish that Odom were about 3-4 inches taller, and that Gasol would hit the weight room.

I kept trying to drive that point home to the celtic detractors. Atlanta, cleveland, and Detroit are more physical than anyone the lakers have played with the exception of the spurs. They also play better defense. Cleveland and the pistons are always among the league leaders in defense.

The Denver series was basically a layup line. Utah tried to be physical, but didnt have the individual defenders to slow down kobe. The spurs offense abandoned  them to many times in critical streches and Ginobilli wasn't 100 percent.

Boston was the best defense all season and they have bangers on the frontline. Rajon Rondo is trying to dunk the ball from the baseline, meanwhile Odom is going up soft from 3 feet away. How does Leon Powe dribble 3/4 down the court and dunk the ball without paying the price.

If James Posey were wearing a laker uniform powe would've recieved a hard foul. That's the difference in the teams. The celtics have guys who are willing to do the dirty work, the lakers have guys who are shying away from it.

Tonight's officials are Joey Crawford, Marc Wundelic, and you guessed it..........Bennett Salvatore. Should be a very intresting night.

Congrats to the Lakers on winning game 3

Holy crap, the home team won!? Shocking!

I want the Celtics to win, but I'm not going to blame the refs.  The Lakers attacked the basket and were aggressive on the dribble, so they got calls.  It's the way it goes.

It was a complete reversal of game 2 - the Lakers were playing good defense while the Celtics were settling for mid-range jumpers instead of driving to the basket.

Thank God some calls went the Lakers way.  Now, maybe, we won't hear the national Laker apologists whining non-stop about the job the officials are doing in this series.

The Lakers took their game to the next level, physically, and got the calls. 

All that said - if I am Laker fan...I'm nervous.  You just lost games 1 & 2 on the road and finally get home.  You ramp up your game, the crowd is behind you and, yet, Boston holds you to 87 points. 

Like I said, I think that if Boston takes 1 of the next 2 games, they have the series in hand. They'll just need to win 1 of 2 at home (where they've only lost once all playoffs)

DAMN, DAMN, DAMN !!!


What a missed opportunity. The lakers were dead and we couldn't pour dirt over the grave. I can't count on odom and gasol both having those kind of games. This is what im saying about kobe, you can't have the game hanging in the balance when you had a chance to bury them late in the third/ early 4th. The guy is the best closer since MJ.

Once again Garnett fading away from the basket shotting jumpers. Get on the block, post up and go to the basket. It's so frustrating wacthing this guy bail out the opponent with jump shots.

The only  solace i take from the game was that the games are still being played at our pace. Hopefully Pierce comes back in game 4 and Garnett stays in the post and please no more Sam Cassell on the road. He took at least 3 ill- advised shots last night. Hats off to the lakers, Boston didnt want the game so the lakers took it from them.

We need game 4. No more life needs to be given to the lakers and especially KOBE!!!

Lousy game. The Lakers should have smashed them by 20. I'll be happy with the win, but not with the quality play. Odom and Gasol still are cold. There were WAY too many missed free throws by the Lakers. But, I get the feeling that if the lakers and Kobe had played aggressive games like this in Boston, the series would be tied at 2, with LA in position to wrap it up at Staples. But they got the win, got back into the series, and have to take it back here to win. Baby steps,  boys.

awww where were the refs to bail out the many travels of paul pierce this time. hey boston fans dont expect no more shennanigans from your boy now that kobe is defending him. 6 points, 4-19 shooting way to go. he looks great against smaller defenders but a real defender to negate him and boston is relegated to old man allen jump shooting and kg "i even choke on oatmeal" in the post making 1 out of 5 fade aways & free throw sky hooks.

Paul Pierce, with or without Kobe on him, scores a double-double tomorrow night.  Everyone is allowed an off-night.  Lord knows Kobe has had his share.

Care to elaberate more on this premise. I don't think a 10 point 10 rebound game from him equates to a victory.

Oh sht! Oh sht! Oh sht!

Total choke job by the Fakers. Beantown has this signed, sealed, & delivered. Small lineup with shooters killed LA. Garnett owns Gasol for free in the post he finally started banging a little. And what about ex-Heat Eddie House sealing the deal in the end. Boston broke their spirit, no way do the Fakers come from a 3-1 deficit especially after coughing up a 20 + lead --> Bostons head must be swelling. I hate the C's but god I hate the Fakers more. Go Boston

I can see the Lakers pulling one more out at home to save some face.

Nah, they don't come back from this, not with Kobe playing like shit for most of this series. After this historic collapse, they only way to save face is to win 3 in a row and that is not going to happen.

I can take the Red Sox winning because they built their team the right way, even though it cost an assload, but not the Celtics. They disgraced their franchise with their tankjob last year, they shouldn't be rewarded for it. At least the Pats were punished for what they did.

Well shut my mouth and fan my brow, looks like it can happen!   ;D 

P.S. to those who voted for the C's late, weak dude, weak. 

Dusting off my 45 of Matthew Wilder...

'ain't nobody gonna break my stride, ain't nothin' gonna hold me down...'

:)

I love that No. 17 is close. Very close.

OK um, wow. I'm embarrassed. That was pathetic.

Wow!!!!!!! Two Twenty point plus comebacks in a span of 6 years.

Mental toughness baby. To hold the lakers to 33 pts in the second half was unreal.

Thank you pat riley AGAIN for not giving James Posey that multi-year deal.

Thank you Eddie House for always staying mental prepared.

Thank you Ray Allen for playing all 48 minutes last night and coming up with key buckets

Thank you Paul Pierce for accepting the challenge of defending Kobe Bryant and making life difficult for him.

Thank you Kevin Garnett for Continuing to make Gasol your  bitch.

Thank you Doc Rivers for benching Rondo and playing small ball and getting better shooters in the game to space the floor.

We need to close out sunday!!!!!!!!! No extra games for KOBE!!!!!!!

Where was that vaunted Laker bench that was supposed to dominate the celtics bench? lol

Enough of the finesse western conference other than the spurs. The lakers are the 06 mavericks.........finesse and soft. Defense wins championships baby!!!!

1 more win till 17!!!!

I agree with almost everything Cowboys said (ducking lightning...).  The Lakers are mostly softies, which is why I thought the'yd never handle a team like S.A.  I'm glad to see the Cs doing what needs to be done...kicking Phil and Kobe's teeth in.

What a game.  Boston will win in game 5. 

(http://bostondirtdogs.boston.com/BDD_neverletup_celtics_6.13.jpg)

DAMMIT  >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

Do we have to hear more shit about Boston Sports, its not fair I tell you  ::)

I wonder what the odds of the series going seven is now?

I doubt it.... but if the Lakers can win game 6, they'll take game 7.  The pressure will be too much for Boston.

Decent, maybe.  Perkins being hurt is going to be huge.  I always thought the key match up of this series was Gasol and Perkins.  With Perk in the game Gasol got pushed around and didn't do much defensively or on the boards.  Different story last night with Perk out, Gasol was a monster.  I think that was the difference in the game.

I couldn't disagree more Tommy. I don't see the Celts not winning this series, only having to win 1 of 2 at home (oh yeah, and not once this season did they lose 3 in a row)

Do you think before you actually speak? There is pressure on everyone. Yeah, Kobe has no pressure to win a title without Fat Shaq. Phil Jackson dosent want that 10th championship to surpass Red Auerbach........no PRESSURE. I guess you missed the way the celtics responded to the PRESSURE in those prior 7 game series.

The game was there for the taking, but the lakers made a few more plays than we did. We did our job. We got one game in LA. Let's see if Gasol and Odom have those kind of games in Boston. The celtics bench has outperformed the laker bench even on the road and i don't expect the lakers bench players to play as well in boston either.

The lakers just saved face last night, Paul Pierce wont be denied tuesday night.

The one thing about your posts that bum me out, Cowboys, is that with your knowledge of the sport you could really add some serious objective discussion to this.  I'm not piling on for being a homer and being excited about Boston doing well, but statements like "Paul Pierce won't be denied" make me roll my eyes.  Paul had a great game last night, yes.  But I notice that no one is taking him to task for the sloppy ass ball handling that allowed Kobe to steal the ball and then finish with a thundering dunk that put the game out of reach.

Boston was down by 1 when Pierce had the rock at the top of the guy.  Kobe slams it 8 seconds later and now Boston is down by 3 and then they foul on the inbounds.  Fisher hits both and now the lead is 5, bye bye game.

All due to one sloppy play that should have been avoided.

I love Pierce as much as the next guy, I have even worked with him on some of the charity events he's done in Southern Maine.  But let's not ride the guy's jock so tightly we forget reality.

The guy had 38 pts 6 rebounds and 8 assists. If it werent for Pierce the game would've long been decided. How about giving Kobe Bryant some credit for a great defensive play. Kobe's only made all defensive team 8 or 9 times. Pierce is the last guy im finding fault with. The guy has been the best player in this series.

How about throwing some blame on Garnett who missed two critical free throws down the strecth and a easy tip in over farmar. 13 pts isn't enough from garnett to win a close out game on the road. How about Rondo who's acting like a 15ft jump shot is some kinda of sickness. Maybe he'll have a different mentality coming back to boston, but he was a detriment on the road. Like i said give the lakers credit the did want was necessary, but their supporting players even at home are inconsistent and i don't see them all of a sudden have 2 great games on the road in boston. If im wrong i'll be here to take my medicine.

Tell you what - say Dallas is in a Super Bowl.  Emmit Smith carries the rock 32 times for 160 yards and two scores.  End of the game is looming and Dallas is down by 5.  Sweep right and Smith breaks into the clearing.  70 yards, no one around him...or so he thinks.  He's carrying the rock like it's a loaf of bread.  Suddenly someone swats his arm, ball pops loose and it's recovered and four plays later you're watching the Dolphins dance around the field as champions?

Are you taking the 'we wouldn't have been as close as we were without him' stance?  I doubt it.

It was NOT a great defensive play.  It was possible because Pierce got sloppy with the ball.  Period, end of discussion.  You can lay the blame on KG, or Rondo, or Powe or Johnny Most for being dead...none of those guys had the ball in their hand and had it stripped in a critical junction of the game.

Yes, KG needs to step up.  His shot has gone cold since game 6 of the Eastern Finals.  Rondo is what he is, he isn't a shooter.  But at the end of the day I'm putting last night on Pierce - and those reasons are legit.

At least the Celtics will win the title at home.Boston should be making preparations for all the extra cops they will need,lol.

 It's not the end of story. Emmitt Smith's fumble could've been avoided with proper ball security. In basketball a great offensive play can been counteracted with a great defensive play. Sloppy ballhandling is dribbling the ball off you're foot or leg or dribbling between 2 or 3 defenders. You can spin the argument in any direction you'd like, but Pierce didn't fumble the ball into Lamar Odom's hands. kobe had to make a play and cause the turnover. Bottom line is Garnett missed 3 free throws in the 4th quarter and a makeable tip in late. If Garnett converts those free throws Kobe's dunk only puts the lakers up by 2 instead of 4. Paul Pierce is the last guy im blaming for the loss last night.

13pts and 14 rbs is a great game for a player like Kendrick perkins, but for the highest paid player in the league it's rather underwhelming. How about Garnett committing stupid fouls knowing that we needed his presence on the floor with Perkins being sidelined.

The only reason Garnett isn't getting blasted is because the celtics are up 3-2. If we were down 3-2 Garnett wouldn't be getting off so easily. With the exception of the first half of game 1 his offense has gone south. He continues to settle for outside jumpers, instead of posting up and either getting a high percentage shot or drawing a foul. Is Pau Gasol some great defensive stopper all of sudden.

I know what Rondo is, but in the previous three series he at least attempted those DARE shots. Kobe Bryant starts to defend him and he wants to become hesitant. When Eddie House enters the game i see a guy who thinks he can make every shot. If he misses he first 3, he feels he can make the next 3. Rondo needs to make Kobe Honor him.

A performance like that from your superstar player on the road should been enough to win if you can get a little help from your other STAR player.

If the celtics win,Paul Pierce is going to have to drive us over the finish line. Posey and Eddie House have Pierce's confidence, but they aren't going to take over the game. This will all be a moot point come Tuesday night, because i believe we close it out.

Maine you wanted be to be objective......you said celtics in 5, i said celtics in 7. Who's the homer here?

It's not the same thing at all.  A single steal in basketball is practically nothing.  It's 1/50th of your scoring.  In the grand scheme of a game, it's pretty unimportant.

However, in football, fumbles are very, very, very costly, and scoring of any kind is at a premium.  In a regular game, a fumble on an otherwise TD drive is about 1/3rd or your points.

You can't really compare a steal in basketball to a fumble in football.

Dude, lighten up.  It's an analogy, not a scientific debate on the difference between the difference in the two sports.

Cowboys - I also said C's in 5 based on almost nothing.  My exact words, really, it was just a feeling.  It was based more on my feeling that the East is such a better conference overall than the West.  I also said that Detroit would have beaten the Lakers in 6 and Cleveland would have given them a run for their money as well. 

I'm not disagreeing with you that Pierce is the engine making the C's machine go right now and that KG looks...well...ordinary.  And as a "superstar" he shouldn't look ordinary. 

I am making a flat out simple point about one instance in one game that cost Boston a chance to rap it up in five.  Re-watch that play.  Pierce assumed that KG had cleared the screen and didn't double check his defender.  Even he admitted it - that he got sloppy - and that it cost them. 

If you're going to give him all the credit in the world you also need to assign blame when appropriate.  When the C's need to come back, time and time again, from 15+ point deficits - you do realize Pierce was on the floor when they managed to fall behind, right?  Kobe scored 15 in the first quarter.  The difference in score was, what?  17?  Who was guarding Kobe in the first quarter?  Pierce.  As impressive as Boston's comeback win in game four was, they never should have been in a position to be down by 24 in the first place.

I'm not hating on Pierce at all - but if you're going to look at the picture make sure you look at it all.

One game at a time, Lakers. Go get 'em.

I'm not ranting or anything.  I just think it's a bad analogy and doesn't help you make your point.

You're probably right.  I'm basically saying that if a guy gets you close to a win but costs you that same win in the long term -- it's fair to look at his entire performance. 

Dear Paul,

Thanks for the 36 points and eight assists, Paul.  I appreciate it.  I also would have appreciated better defense in Q1 and less sloppy ball handling at the end of the game.  I know you can't do it all, and I'm not trying to be unfair.  You need help.  But as long as you are doing it all yourself, try to do it ALL. 

Love,
A casual fan that would love to see you win.

I think that your assessment, Maine, is part of a bigger question that plagues sports nerds:  Can an otherwise great performance be negated by a single bad play at a specific time?  ....on the flipside, can a terrible performance be salvaged by a single big play when it counts?

I'm actually not negating her performance, actually.  Boston did it's job, they won both at home and took one on the road.  That's why you fight all year for home court advantage.  Now they have two chances to close it out on a floor where they haven't lost two in a row all year.

Paul didn't cost them the game.  That isn't what I am saying.  I would have been very interested in seeing how that game would have turned out had he not allowed that turnover.  I think the series would be over.

But to cowboys stance: KG shows up in game four and this thing is a sweep. 

At the end of the day, when you have KG and Pierce on the same team, the game shouldn't come down to sloppy play at the end.  KG hits three of four at the line instead of 1 of 4 and we're not having this discussion.

I thought you had to play defense in the NBA. Do the Fakers know what defense is?
That was an ass-whooping of epic proportions. I expected the C's to win tonight, but I didn't expect LA to get smoked like that. I don't even feel the need to break this game down the C's stomped on that ass like a cockroach. Even Big Baby contributed.

I'm no fan but I have a newfound respect for this Boston team & Doc Rivers, who outcoached Phillip Jackson in almost every respect. Fakers could never defend the pick & roll, and made Kobe look ordinary.

Speaking of Jellybean Bryant, it should be a crime to compare him to Jordan again. A game 4 choke job & game 6 annihilation would have never happened under MJ's watch.

Congrats Celtic fans I was wrong, enjoy your championship

Pistons put up a better fight.

The Atlanta Hawks put up a better fight.

While I'm no great fan of Boston, I'm glad to see Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett finally get a title, and I'm absolutely ecstatic to see Kobe lose again and see Phil Jackson get coached under the table.

I will continue to believe that unless he has the talent balance absurdly stacked in his favor, Phil Jackson can't coach his way out of a wet paper bag.  My favorite Phil Jackson story was when someone asked Jeff Van Gundy about the secret of Phil Jackson's coaching genius, and he went to the chalkboard and wrote a giant 23 on it.

First of all, congratulations to the Celtics. The hammered L.A. and did what they were supposed to do.

Here's my observations

1. Weakest Lakers Finals Team Ever! - This was the weakest team the Lakers have ever had going into the Finals. I can't remember a Laker team so weak (even all the way back to the old highlights that I was watching of George Mikans Lakers) ever showing up for the Finals.


2. Revise the Playoffs - Maybe all this garbage talk of changing the playoff format will stop. The Eastern Conference has won two out of the last three and technically, the Spurs, if they were in the Eastern Conference, would fit right in.


3. Western Conference was average this year - The Western Conference may have had teams that were two games apart in the standings but no team really broke out of the pack.


4. Phil Jackson's Coaching Job - When you have a guy named Jordan, he basically wins championships by himself. How can you be outcoached by Doc Rivers? Rivers is no Auerbach, Fitch or K.C. Jones but yet, you get outcoached by Doc Rivers? Jackson looks like he's had it and I would be surprised if he retired.

Like it or not, Boston is in the center of the sports universe these days. On my astrological software, it has a Jupiter influence which means prosperity.

Miami giveth...Boston taketh away. Just like the Dolphins, now it's the Heat following the same pattern by letting ex-Miami players (Posey and House) get away to the Northeast to win championships.

Somewhere I get the feeling that Shaquilla is laughing at Bryant and Jackson. Maybe Shaq was right. Kobe can't carry a team by himself.

Phil Jackson is a fraud.  Larry Brown proved that in the 2004 NBA Finals.  Brown turned a shooter into a point guard (Billups), another shooter into a rebounder and defender (Prince), two rebounders and defenders into consistent scorers (the Wallace brothers), and he made an entire team believe they could topple Shaq and Kobe. 

Phil Jackson didn't even invent the triangle offense.   That claim to fame belongs to Tex Winter. 

Just an observation, how come everyone is saying Phil Jackson was outcoached and can only win when he has superior talent? In one case in the very same post a person calls this the weakest Lakers team ever in the finals, but blasts Jackson for being outcoached. The team with more talent usually wins. The Celtics outplayed the Lakers because they were soft. You can try to put that on Jackson and I guess you can somewhat if he had a hand in personell, but he had several players with a reputation of being soft. Players don't just change typically. If they are afraid to get dirty, they almost always will be afraid to get dirty.

This series would have been a little different with Bynum in the game.  It wouldn't have changed the overall outcome, but Bynum is the Lakers enforcer.

I dont think thereis a 24 point comeback in game 4 with Bynum.

Hey Phish, now come on! Jackson was clearly outcoached even though he had the weaker team. I really thought that the Lakers would take this to seven games.

I think Lamar Odom got a bad rap. I don't think that he's soft. Odom does have an offensive arsenal but he has to tone down hs game because Kobe is on the court. Derek Fisher has been with them before and he is tough as nails.

You're home and you're up by 24. If you win that game, this series is different. There were times that KG disappeared like he did in Minnesota so the Lakers didn't take advantage of that. That was part of their downfall.

This Lakers team could have pulled what the 77 Portland Trailblazers did against a stacked Philadelphia 76ers team. The 76ers had an All-Star at EVERY position. Talk about the big three, they had the big five plus two All-Stars coming off the bench. The Blazers had nobody but Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas, spotted the 76ers two games and came back to win 4-2 with a bunch of guys that you've never even heard of. Phil Jackson could be, slightly, the most luckiest coach alive and maybe he's better when coaching All-Star squads.

Maine,

When did Andrew Bynum become a superstar? Overnight? You really think that he would have made a big difference? I say that the series would have went to seven games but I don't see Bynum making that big of a difference.

Pau Gasol is soft as Kleenex tissue. Maybe Bynum will get a legend to school him over the summer.

I don't think he is that great a player at all, actually, but I do think he brings a toughness in the paint that the Lakers were lacking.

Look at game 5 when Perkins didn't play.  Odom and Gasol had massive nights on the boards and scoring.  Fast forward to game 6 - insert Perkins.  They couldn't match his level of physical play down low. 

I just think the Lakers could have used someone that isn't afraid to get in there and get dirty.  That's all.

Again those are references to physical play on the court. Since neither coach was miked and none of us were on the bench or in the locker room please explain how we know it was a clear case of being outcoached. The only defensive minded players on the entire Lkaers roster were Fisher and Bryant, while the Celtics had arguably the best defensive team ever. Bioston clearly had the better team in this series and yes the Lakers could have one, but as you said yourself the Western Conference was average this year. Boston definitely was not average all year so they were the clear favorites.

They were miked, ABC didn't use it. When Doc was doused with Gatorade by Pierce, you could see the mike transmitter on his waistband.

LMAO!!!!!!!! Good god. Man that was a go get the swicth of the tree beatdown.

That game reminded me of game 1 of the 85 finals, better known as the boston massacare. The celtics just wouldn't be denied. Ray Allen must have felt like he was in shootaround he was so wide open. Garnett finally established his game instead and Rondo is just more asserive and comfortable at home. That bench was spectacular. Hey Pat Riley you don't miss James Posey, do you? lol. Old man PJ Brown drinking from the fountain of youth. Eddie house always standing on the bench cheering on his teammates even when his playing time was reduced from the regular season.

Perkins being that physical presence and enforcer we needed down low. Powe and Big Baby contributing all season long with their energy.

Finally the man i've supported the last 10 years, know will finally be recongnized as one of the all time celtic greats, Paul Pierce. He never backed down from Kobe and in game 7 against Cleveland proved he could still take over a game. Paul you are "the truth". 34 will be hanging from the rafters, bank on it.

This was for the Eastern conference. We are no longer the JV conference. That's three different champions since 2004. The west maybe more flashy and glamorous, but the east is get down dirty, gritty, physical, intense basketball. So the western conference with the exception of the spurs can take those 120 -115 games and shove em.

Thank you Doc Rivers for swallowing your pride and hiring a defensive specialist. Tom Thibideau will be a head coach soon. Defense wins championships. Thanks Tom.

Also thank you to all those great celtics teams of the past. Without them we have no tradition. They set the standard of greatness that these current celtics and future celtic teams must aspire too.

Red........im having a cigar in your honor tonight!!!!!!!!

Whew!!!!!!!!! ON TOP OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!