In lieu of varsityoptimism, I won’t be doing much in the way of my normal preview (the superstitious side of me believes that that was the reason we won Game 5, and therefore this must continue on to Game 6. Haha!). instead I will post more questions than normal and hope that you all answer them when you really should be doing other things.
“The Celtics are going to be very sorry they didn’t close out the Lakers. You don’t give cats like Kobe extra lives to come back and kill you. Big mistake by the Celtics.”
-LakerTom
One of the great minds that troll the LA Times’ Lakers Blog has, beyond making an excellent pun on the term cats, made a very astute observation that condensed everything that I was going to write about Kobe into three sentences.
So instead, I though I’d ramble on about Phil Jackson instead…
The premise of my belief that the Lakers will win Game 6 is this: While Doc Rivers has made the better in-game adjustments, Phil Jackson has made the better between-game adjustments, and now Phil has adjusted to the point that Doc cannot do much to change it in-game.
Phil’s first brilliant move was to have Kobe “guard” Rondo. This confused the Celtics offense until Doc took him out and put Eddie House, or even Sam Cassell in instead. Now, the Lakers were back to square one again.
How did Phil respond? In Game 5, he put Farmar into the game against House and loosened the reigns a bit on the young point guard. The result was that Farmar was able to blow past either of Cassell or House and now, to borrow from chess terminology, Doc Rivers is forked. If he moves his “point guard defense” piece to safety then Phil will take the “Celtics offense” piece, but if he moves the “Celtics offense” piece then Phil takes the “point guard defense” piece. Either way, Phil has created a chink in the Celtics armor no matter what move Doc Rivers makes.
Doc also countered our small ball tactics by playing Posey at the PF slot and thus nullifying most of Odom’s moves to the basket.
How did Phil respond? In Game 5 was when they went to Posey and Garnett (or Posey and P.J. Brown) we got LO on the low block and he had 4-6 layups.
This isn’t to say that I’m not pissed at Phil for not implementing these changes during Game 1, because some of these things (Kobe’s struggle with screens, propensity to wander, and Rondo’s inability to make a shot) should have been evident before the series even started. I’m just pointing out that, apart from starting Tony Allen and hoping he does a “Leon Powe” (the reserve edition, not the starter one) Doc Rivers does not have a viable solution to the wrench that Phil Jackson has thrown into his offense, and that inspires me to believe we will win Game 6 and force a David Stern wet dream.
Game Information -
Radio: KLAC & KWKW.
Television: ABC
Burning Questions -
What’s up with Sasha? He’s taking bad shots and not making good ones, and that’s a bad combination. (also he was obviously assuming there would be help on “that”play at the end of Game 4 which was a mistake on his part.)
The announcers kept mentioning the difference in defensive philosophy in Game 5. Do you think trying to take a charge or going for the block is the better way to play defense?
Andrew Rafner, on The Voice of The Nation, mentioned that Lakers were ahead of schedule and that our unbridled enthusiasm for winning it all should be tempered with a realistic satisfaction with what our team has already accomplished this year.
Do you agree with that sentiment or are you more down with David Brickley’s, “Lakers fans should be fanatically supporting our team to the end? (paraphrased)”
Quick Note: Those two are doing a tremendous job with the show, everyone should subscribe.
Many people are saying that Paul Pierce is overshadowing Kobe Bryant in this series. I think it’s Bull, as Peirce has, in general, been going against weaker individual defenders (Luke, Vladdy) as well as the weaker team defense (Lakers). On the flip side, Kobe has been guarded quite well by a player notorious for his bad defense (Allen) for a good portion of this series, although Posey and Pierce have had extended stints on him also.
Do you think Paul Pierce is overshadowing Kobe Bryant?
Do the Lakers not send tapes to the league office? Between Posey’s continuously dirty after-the-whistle fouls to all of Kevin Garnett’s illegal screens. You’d think the Lakers front office would have enough material to make a mini-documentary.
I’m worried that Gasol and Odom’s aggressiveness might be read “foul trouble” in Game 6 , just like it did for Garnett in Game 5 (although if anyone should have fouled out, it was P.J. Brown).
Kobe: Mamba or Wolf who finally belongs to a pact (I’m hoping he smells blood either way)?
Final Thoughts-
I’m worried that Gasol and Odom’s aggressiveness might be read “foul trouble” in Game 6 , just like it did for KG in Game 5. (although if anyone should have fouled out, it was PJ Brown. Also, his crafty defense accompanied by that continuous smirk annoy the hell out of me, and I only watch the game)
About Chris Mihm… I liked it. If whoever was guarding Pierce at the time hadn’t been letting him blow by them so easily we would all be singing a different tune. The idea was to get an back-to-the-basket offense going and the other options for center, Turiaf and Mbenga, simply don’t have that in their arsenal of offensive moves.
I will say, that I’d much rather have seen Newble take a shot at guarding Pierce, and I’d still like to see that, given the current run of pitiful defensive efforts against the man.
Prediction: Laker win! Beyond that, I don’t care how or why.
TLN’s Finals Preview: Lakers vs. Celtics [Game 2]
TLN’s Finals Preview: Lakers vs. Celtics [Game 4]
TLN’s Finals Preview: Lakers vs. Celtics [Game 1]
TLN’s Finals Preview: Lakers vs. Celtics [Game 5]
TLN’s Finals Preview: Lakers vs. Celtics [Game 3]
guys i went to the doctor and he said I’m bleeding wrong colors. I said naw i just bleed Purp & Gold for life. LET’S GO LAKERS FORCE A GAME 7 THURSDAY
Lakers: done. They could barely win at home and that’s only because Garnett was on the bench with fouls (no Perkins in the middle either.) So Odom and Gasol got all the boards.
Pierce has owned and shut Kobe down the whole series. It’s over in game 6 in a blowout.
hey buddy go back to redsarmy site then don’t bring that bulls**t here at THELAKERSNATION you F***IN CELTIC BASTARD
i strongly do not believe lakers will win game 6
but i really hope they would…..
ok andrew im guessing ur a celtics fan…… but its not over till the lakers lose 1 more game and since that {Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.} aint happeinin it not over… lakers gonna win next 2 games…. kobe has not played ALL THAT GREAT but he is facing “the best D” in the league and the refs letting whoever, is guarding kobe, get away with murder out there yea i say u can shut anyone down like that but still they have not shut kobe dont cuz they cant u fu kin dumbfuks….. anyway lakers just win…and yea odom and gasol will get in “foul trouble” cuz of refs but we still need to win..
GO LAKERS!!!!!!!!11
I STILL BELIEVE! Celtic bandwagoners will sh!t in their pants if we force a Game 7. (: GO LAKERS! We’re out to make history now, baby!
This is how I see the series….
Paul Pierce has been killing us during all 5 games, but i do not think for a second that he is better than Kobe. If we had a better defender on him, then no one would be having this conversation. It’s not Kobe’s fault that Luke and Vladdy are so awful on defense.
No one even mentioned Paul Pierce in the same breath as Kobe until these playoffs…now everyone is saying he’s the best thing since sliced bread. Look what happened two years ago to Dwayne Wade. Everyone was saying he’s the next Jordan when he won the Finals MVP. Now, who knows if he’ll ever win a championship again?? All I’m saying is people need to calm down about Paul Pierce.
The Lakers have been close in both games in Boston. Game 2 was bad, but we still had a shot at the end. Also, This game is different from game 5. In Game 5, the Lakers HAD to win just to go back to Boston. Now, all they have to do is win to force a Game 7. That’s it!! Then, they’re dead even with the Celtics. I don’t think it’s farfetched to think the Lakers will force a Game 7…
Here are the keys:
1. Kobe has to step up even more. (35+ points)
2. Someone has to stop Paul Pierce. (I say put Ariza in there and flagrant foul him or something like the guys in the 80’s. Just teach him a lesson to make him stop being so {Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.}y)
3. Gasol and Odom have to play like they did in Game 5 (Each needs to have a double double)
4. Sasha, Farmar, Luke all need to have good games (Although I’m starting to lose faith in them)
tough, but not impossible..
i think we can get this one but playing really well
and in a game 7 , at home or away , anything is possible…
GO LAKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lakers have come to far to let this thing away. I´m sure that the Lakers will be ready to force a game 7. We all know Boston is gonna be hungry too but i really think the Lakers will want this more at this stage of the series in my opinion it really comes down on who wants it more. Remember people Kobe is still Kobe and i´m sure he won´t let us lose in game 6 same as with the rest of the team they know that they just have to tie this series and it´s going to be a one game showdown. Pressure is not on us it´s with Boston. Perkins is not playing i expect them to attack the basket more and i expect Lamar and Pau to play like in game 5. I BELIEVE, LAKERSNATION BELIEVES, NOW LET`S TIE THIS THING UP, LET`S GO LAKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did a little box score checking and of the 20 quarters played so far, the Celtics have won 11 by an average of 8 pts, while the Lakers have won 8 by an average of 10 pts. They tied one quarter. Omitting the 2nd half of the game 4 nightmare, it’s pretty even.
Anything can happen in the NBA. Get ‘er done, boyz!!!
thanks for all the cross TLN love jonny!
If the Celtics lose tomorrow, the momentum will shift dramatically to the lakers. And I am pretty sure Kobe will do everything in his powers to kill Boston on game 7.
So it is a must win for Boston tomorrow.
KEYS TO THE LAKERS VICTORY:
Lamar and Pau need play really well. It’s about time, specially for Odom. He need to play just like he did on game 4, but for the whole game.
Ariza and Sasha need to be bold and bring a lot of energy. Luke and Vlad should not play at all.
Go Lakers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lakers will have their hands full on tuesday. win or lose, i’m certainly proud of the team’s accomplishments. i’m not saying i’m satisfied but, i’m proud. common, we took out the the tandem of iverson and anthony, williams and boozer, and the defending champs! that’s pretty damn good if you ask me.
so how sweet would it be if we came back against this team and became the first team in finals history to come back from a 3-1 deficit? probably as sweet as “breaking the rose’s barrier” for the first time. our team has all the necessary tools. they just have to go out there and execute.
letttt’’sssss goooooo llllaakkkeeerrrrsssss!!!!!!
20+ Points: Kobe, Gasol, and Lamar
10+ Rebounds: Lamar, Gasol.
2+ Blocks: Lamar and Gasol.
3+ 3-Pointers: Sasha and Kobe.
Closest To A Triple-Double*: Kobe.
Point Margin: Lakers by 4.
Out On A Limb: Radmanovic finally hits one of the refs. Hes been getting pissed at the refs recently (mostly for just bad calls.)
Questions-
What’s up with Sasha? Im a big fan of Sasha(hence the name) and Ive noticed the shots arent going in. Alot of them have been balls that just bounce out, halfway down. He’ll make those shots in game 6. Also, even though its not that bad, Sasha has a cut or something on his right elbow that may have played a factor in his shooting.
Do you agree with that sentiment or are you more down with David Brickley’s, “Lakers fans should be fanatically supporting our team to the end? (paraphrased)”?
Im down with Dbricks.
Do the Lakers not send tapes to the league office? Haha, I also think there should be a tape sent of Cassell throwing Sasha to the ground. Sam should be suspended or at least fined.
How could you like the desperate idea of putting mihm in? He hasnt played since the clinton administration, and is so badly out of shape and mentally unready to play a finals game its not even funny. Ariza has been out only a few months and putting him in would be a liability if he was not so damn athletic. Mihm is the exact opposite, it was stupid and desperate to put him in and i doubt we will se him again. As for phil, boy he sure made some stupid decisions. Thinking his bench can learn a lesson from giving up a lead instead of putting the starters in, how many lessons do they have to learn before he understands that they just are inexperienced and not ready for the finals? Jesus christ, pierce is playing 48 minutes a game with a knee injury, and how many minutes is kobe playing? Certainly not that much.
Hey everyone,as far as Pierce vs Kobe,Kobe is the most feared player in the world. We’ve all been watching the game and what their doing to our star guard. It’s time to call out our bench to earn their paychecks just like we have to do at our jobs. Lakers come with all their passion,play smart,hell guys celtics are showing wear and tear…………Lakers should win game six I believe this with all my heart…..go lakers.
Andrew, We aint done homeboy, we might have barely won, but that was without Kobe taking over. The Mamba smells the blood and he can strike at any moment.
20+ Points: Kobe, Gasol
10+ Rebounds: Lamar, Gasol
2+ Blocks: Lamar
3+ 3-Pointers: No One
Closest To A Triple-Double*: Gasol
Point Margin: Lakers by 4
Out On A Limb: Game 7
What’s up with Sasha?
Thinking about it too much. He just needs to relax.
Do you think trying to take a charge or going for the block is the better way to play defense?
With “That” Play, IMO its going for the block. It’s a gamble that they should have taken (just like the gamble Kobe took in the last game for the steal) but instead the Celtics got the easy lay up. say the lakers tried to block Allen’s shot, at least it would have been contested and if he did make contact with a Laker, who knows, the refs might not have called the foul. but whatever. its the past and game six is on the way.
Do you agree with that sentiment or are you more down with David Brickley’s, “Lakers fans should be fanatically supporting our team to the end? (paraphrased)”
Till the End of course! don’t call yourself a true laker fan if you don’t
Do you think Paul Pierce is overshadowing Kobe Bryant?
Not at all.
Do the Lakers not send tapes to the league office?
It’s the Finals…just play it…send later
IF LAKERS WIN GAME 6, WE CAN START THE PARADE ON FIQUERA UNTIL THEY RETURN!
Game 6 will be the hardest game to win in the come back. Difficult, but not impossible.
The Lakers need to remember, they beat the team with the best home record, TWICE (for those of you who don’t know who that was…it was the Utah Jazz). The Lakers also need to remember, the went into the home of the defending world champions and beat them there too. Winning in Boston is NOT impossible.
Boston will come out and play their a**es off in Game 6. The Lakers need to match their intensity for 48 minutes. Boston knows there is slight pressure on them to win Game 6. If they don’t, Game 7 looms (and they have all the pressure to not only win, but to avoid an embarrasing historical record - being the first team in NBA finals history to blow a 3-1 lead). Boston does NOT want to go to Game 7.
The Lakers motivation for this game…GIVE YOURSELF ONE CHANCE TO WIN THE ELUSIVE 16TH GAME. Yes, the Lakers screwed it up in game 4, but the Lakers need to tell themselves, “we need to earn our Game 7, so we can have at least one shot at winning the 16th game”.
Get Ron D Don………………..=]
2009 CHAMPS
Start:
FISHER,BRYANT,ARTEST,ODOM,GASOL
Bench:
FARMAR,SASHA,WALTON,TREVOR,BYNUM
Trust me luke is good when his at bench with bynum in frontline
You know lakers fan, i always say so something to myself to the celtics, you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!Lakers are young ,but they have the guts to make history,like phil said and thats what we are goign to do!The nba when celtics bandwagons cry happens!!!
anytime
GO L.A. let do what new york did and give them a BEANTOWN BEATDOWN!
GO L.A. let do what new york did and give them a BEANTOWN BEATDOWN!
did you read all of the article?
“If whoever was guarding Pierce at the time hadn’t been letting him blow by them so easily we would all be singing a different tune. The idea was to get an back-to-the-basket offense going and the other options for center, Turiaf and Mbenga, simply don’t have that in their arsenal of offensive moves.”
the fact that pierce was able to get to the rim at will combined with the lakers inability to get him the ball made it a bad result, but the intention was good, and i liked the intention
time to head to beanie-full of wenie town! now its really time to come back and put a beatin on the celtics!
It’s just like how our season started, “bad” but it’ll end with the LAKERS on top like we did in the Western Conference!
Lakers will win game 6 and will cause the Celtics to sh!t in their pants, that’s why the Lakers will win. Plus, they’re the Lakers… Hahaha!
Its time for:
* Sasha to harrass/annoy whoever he’s guarding and make 3s..
* Fisher to take charges/make 3s..
* LO dishing out the sweet passes and getting 14+ rebounds..
* Pau finishing off his shots inside and grabbing those boards..
* Kobe to have a complete game..
* The rest of the Lakers bench to score and cause havock for the Celtics.
One quarter at a time, 12 minutes at a time. 48 hard fought minutes! C’mon Lakers, we follow because we believe!
I just want to say…. everyone thinks kobe is not playing well. Have we forgotten that kobe has a bum pinky that is conjoined to his ring finger? did you forget fisher has a bad heal? I mean these are real injuries. Not injuries that magically disappear after getting carried off the court. *AHEM* And with this bum pinky he still manages to have a good enough game. Kobe is just soo good that 25-30 points a game doesnt impress us anymore, but he still gets everything done. This series isn’t over… BOSTON is going down. GO LAKES!
“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.”
lakers in 7… bleeding the purple and gold
PLEASE READ THIS ALL LAKER FANS!!! MUST READ THIS!!!
Last year the GREAT BOSTON GARDEN was nearly EMPTY and the SO CALLED LOYAL FANS CHANTED MVP FOR OUR VERY OWN KOBE BRYANT. for the past 21 years where were all you loyal Celtics fans? After the Bird era were did all that pride go??? As for your all of a sudden beloved Garnett that acts so humbled by the pride and history of the Celtics which he is always gushing about (especially in front of Bill Russell), KG is a sack of $h!t, wanna know why? Danny Ainge tried to acquire KG and on his initial attempt the statement was that KG REFUSED TO GO TO BOSTON b/c of the losing atmosphere and the empty seats in the stands. Boston then makes a trade for Ray Allen and then ALL OF A SUDDEN KG LOVES BOSTON, WTF? F@#!$ THAT $H!T!!!. And now all the games are sold out, and the Boston Garden is once again the most hostile environment to play in? Celtics fans including KG are all a bunch of f’ing bandwagoners, if you wanna see real fans come to LA so you can get your @$$e$ kicked, if you want a prime example YOUTUBE “Staples Center Brawl.” LA has real pride, for 3 1/2 years following the Shaq/Kobe breakup LA fans were loyal through the thick and the thin, we are real fans and we STILL BELIEVE!!! If Boston was down 3-1 all you so called Celtics fans would’ve jumped off board. LAKERS IN 7!!!
Guys, lets bring all our support and positive vibes tomorrow for our beloved team. We must believe so hardly that we can overcome. I know this is tough but it’s not that out of reach if we really want this one. Let’s focus first for game 6. We are only two win away to glory.
I hope Kobe drives the ball regularly and absorb fouls and also the refs, please call fair calls.
GOODLUCK LAKERS!!!
BEAT BOSTON!!!
PLEASE READ THIS ALL LAKER FANS!!! MUST READ THIS!!!
Last year the GREAT BOSTON GARDEN was nearly EMPTY and the SO CALLED LOYAL FANS CHANTED MVP FOR OUR VERY OWN KOBE BRYANT. for the past 21 years where were all you loyal Celtics fans? After the Bird era were did all that pride go??? As for your all of a sudden beloved Garnett that acts so humbled by the pride and history of the Celtics which he is always gushing about (especially in front of Bill Russell), KG is a sack of $h!t, wanna know why? Danny Ainge tried to acquire KG and on his initial attempt the statement was that KG REFUSED TO GO TO BOSTON b/c of the losing atmosphere and the empty seats in the stands. Boston then makes a trade for Ray Allen and then ALL OF A SUDDEN KG LOVES BOSTON, WTF? F@#!$ THAT $H!T!!!. And now all the games are sold out, and the Boston Garden is once again the most hostile environment to play in? Celtics fans including KG are all a bunch of f’ing bandwagoners, if you wanna see real fans come to LA so you can get your @$$e$ kicked, if you want a prime example YOUTUBE “Staples Center Brawl.” LA has real pride, for 3 1/2 years following the Shaq/Kobe breakup LA fans were loyal through the thick and the thin, we are real fans and we STILL BELIEVE!!! If Boston was down 3-1 all you so called Celtics fans would’ve jumped off board. LAKERS IN 7!!!
20+ Points: Kobe
10+ Rebounds: Lamar, Gasol.
2+ Blocks: Lamar
3+ 3-Pointers: Sasha
Closest To A Triple-Double*: Kobe.
Point Margin: Lakers by 6
Out On A Limb: Radmanovic finally hits one of the refs. Hes been getting pissed at the refs recently (mostly for just bad calls.)
…tough. but i really really hope lakers force a game 7. :s
LAKERS WILL WIN THIS GAME.. FANS HERE FROM PHILIPPINES SUPPORTS LAKERS AND KOBE.. LETS DO THIS UNTIL 2015..
GO LAKERS BEAT BOSTON CALTEX!
THE ONE THING THAT SCARES THE HELL OUT OF CELTIC FANS:
KOBE BRYANT KNOWS HE IS JUST TWO WINS AWAY FROM THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN!!!!!
KOBE GOES FOR 43 TONIGHT
KOBE SMELLS BLOOD AND POURS IN 37 ON THURSDAY
2 WINS AWAY BABY!!!
Actually he only killed us for 4 games, game 3 he was pathetic with 6 pts. Now THATS the kind of defense we need to stop them, the defense that made paul pierce have 6 points
Pierce is a big problem for the Lakers. They simply don’t have an answer for him. The Lakers best hope to defend him is to hope that he is tired from the short turnaround/injury and that the adrenaline of being at home 1 win away from his first championship is not enough to get him through the whole game.
Apart from that change things up on him though out the game. Try to get him out of any kind of rhythm. Try trapping him every once in a while. Deny him the ball and force him to catch the ball as far away from the basket as possible. Throw multiple defenders at him (Kobe, Ariza, Odom, and as a last resort Walton and Vlad fro limited minutes). And most importantly play off of him force him to be a jump shooter. I know he is a good shooter but I’d rather have him beat me with jump shots than lay ups. Whenever Rondo is in the game, double him with kobe, and when you can’t double him try to force him into the help defender.
When House is bringing the ball up court (or Casell for that matter) have Farmar or Sasha (our two best pressure defenders) put a lot of pressure on him. This could lead to some turnovers, and just as importantly it slows their offense down, giving them less time to work with.
lakers will win tonight. mark my words
lets get ira newble in the game to guard pierce and membenga to challenge some of the shots that in the paint. we got both of them for defense lets put them to work. If we dont do that atleast give ariza more minutes at the 3, and when i say more i mean all of radmon and waltons minutes. We need our shooters to knock down some open looks that kobe gets them. We held a lead in every game except game two we just havent showed we can step on their necks when we got them down. Tonight we will see a desperate, hungry, and relentless team who is ready to make history.
Well put Kobe4ever.
I think tonight we win. Lamar and Gasol have found their game and Kobe will be Kobe. We need the machine and Radman to get to a good start and spred the floor for Lamar/ Gasol around basket.
How can you copare Paul P. to Kobe. Did Paul not have a horroble game 3 were he scored like 6-8 points?? KOBE would never, never score 6-8 points in finals. I will leave it at that….GO LAKERS.
HATE2LOVE KOBE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGccjdhWxho
My biggest diappointment with the Lakers defensively has been their inability to defend the pick-and-roll. For years, I gave Coach Jackson and his staff a free pass because opposing teams attacked Shaquille on the pick-and-roll. Shaq didn’t have the mobility to defend the play. But the Lakers bigs (LO, Pau, Turiaf) are more than capable of defeding the play correctly. They just aren’t hedging on the ball handler and recovering to their man with the same type of urgency as Boston’s bigs. That’s a reflection of the coaching staff. Either they aren’t instructing the Lakers bigs correctly (which is hard to believe) or they didn’t make it as large an emphasis as it should have been during the regular season.
Yeah I was wondering about Newbie another day. We got this guy because of his defensive skills and he did not play on the playoffs at all. Who knows, maybe he will be efficient against Pierce. I would try him for a bit and see if he can do the job stopping Pierce. If not, take him out.
Well, Mihn played last game, so why not Newbie?
Just leave Vlad and Luke warming the bench. Please!
PLAY TREVOR FREAKING ARIZA OVER VLAD AND LUKE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
B-E-L-I-E-V-E
As wacky as this series has been, I really believe we win tonight and Kobe has a big game. I don’t think anyone…including Celtic fans… are ready for the season to be over. Let’s play game 7. I can except not winning a game 7 in Boston more than I can except blowing game 4 and we should be up 3-2.
If Vlad is on, he can start, his 3s can create momentum. He has to stop playing “fake defense”. Sasha has to bug Ray Allen more, the thing I noticed is that the Celtics always start their comebacks with free throws. Don’t get in the penalty so they can’t get free points. This was ensued by the Chris Mihm in Game 5. On another note, Lamar Odom has to keep on doing what he did in Game 5. Use the right hand. He started using it and made easy buckets and got and one opportunities because he could use his off arm to hold off the defender, it’s fundamental. Pau was a beast last game and needs to continue his beastly performance. Jordan Farmar impressed me with his driving to the hoop, but Sasha was a disappointment the last two games, looking like he has in years past. I think the pressure is getting to him, and when people block his shots after a dead ball it’s affecting him. As far as Kobe… last game he was stopped, the impossible happened. It was partly due to foul trouble, and in part a result of good defense. Whenever Kobe gets into the lane someone steps in, it is his responsibility to either pass the ball which every human player would do, assuming the other Lakers do a good job of maneuvering without the ball, or be Kobe and superman those hoes and dunk on a mofo. Anyways, the reason I believe Paul Peirce is being hyped is because no one on the LAKERS can stop him, unless it’s Odom or Kobe. Since it’s the finals that gets hype. In reality put other defenders in the league on him like Battier or Artest, and he couldn’t do what Kobe does when given a challenge. Put Ronny on him or something and let him get blocked a couple of times. Shut him down like game 1.
What team is Phil Jackson coaching?
1. Does he owe Radmonovic some money or something? Why is Radmon starting? He has done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING offensively and especially defensively. In addition, Radmon is making poor decisions and forcing unnecessary turnovers. With these last 2 games, we can not, and I mean can not allow the Celtics to get off to an early lead.
2. Paul Pierce needs to be contained from the beginning. Ariza is obviously one of the best defenders on the Lakers and is active on both sides of the court. Offensively, Ariza will make Pierce play Defense since he is constantly moving off the ball which will cause fouls and/or make Pierce expend energy which will affect his offense down the stretch.
3. Defending the pick and roll. This killed the Lakers in the 4th quarter and Phil did not make the proper adjustments. Pau is too slow to defend that pick and roll. If Garnett is going to consistently be the man setting the pick, Lamar should guard Garnett so he can switch on to Pierce.
4. Chris Mihm? I understand Phil is trying to inject some life into the game, but Chris Mihm? He hasn’t played for who knows how many games and you put him in the finals? and then you leave him in after you see how ineffective he is?
5. Sasha needs to be on the floor the same time Kobe is. Sasha is a SPOT UP shooter. Therefore, he needs someone (KOBE) to drive to the basket causing defenders to collapse, leaving spot up shooters (SASHA) open.
6. Pau needs to start taking the mid-range jumpshot. He is money from that spot. If he starts taking those and making them, that will leave the pump fake and drive to the basket. Right now, you know that he is going to put the ball on the floor and back in. Too easy to defend.
we need to spread the floor with kobe.
fish
farmar
sasha
kobe
radman
we trade baskets this way and play real small ball…
20+ Points: Kobe & Farmar.
10+ Rebounds: Odom & Gasol.
2+ Blocks: Odom & Gasol.
3+ 3-Pointers: Farmar, Fish, & Kobe.
Closest To A Triple-Double*: Odom.
Point Margin: Lakers by 14.
Out On A Limb: Coby Karl gets in the game and hits a 3.
kb24philippines
LAKERS WILL WIN THIS GAME.. FANS HERE FROM PHILIPPINES SUPPORTS LAKERS AND KOBE.. LETS DO THIS UNTIL 2015..
GO LAKERS BEAT BOSTON CALTEX!
pre musta!dito ako sa UAE pero i still follow the season and this series kaya pahirapan ang coverage dito mahal at 5am ng morning ang live kaya puyat ako lagi….kasi 10am pasok ko!!!!lakers philippines mabuhay!
LakersFirst24 that’s the dumbest thing I think I have ever read here at TLN, thank you for that.
Just a little shot at the Celtics organization, I think its hilarious when you read all of these blogs about how “great” they are when they are actually very pathetic as an organization. In 22 years, you’re telling me that they couldn’t develope any talent within their organization? Bynum, Farmar, D-Fish, Kobe, Turiaf, Rick Rox, and many more players are all good young players who were scouted out and developed by a GREAT organiztaion, the Lakers. You’ll never see the Laker franchise missing out on the finals for 22 straight years, ever. In fact, the Celtics had to get desperate and use McHale’s dumbass to pull in Garnett, after they had swiped Ray Allen. It’s the same thing we did in 04′ except Garnett and Allen are better than Malone and Payton (at that point in their careers, Malone was old and always hurt and Payton was slow and lost a step). Oh, and for those Celtic fans who say ‘What about Gasol?!?!’ - If Bynum didn’t go down, we wouldn’t get gasol but I still believe that team with Bynum would be able to make the NBA finals and then the Gasol comment is irrelevant. Oh, and congrats on picking up old under achieving players like Allen and Garnett, they are just going to get slower and older, while the lakers get mature and stronger. Laker’s window: 5-6 years, Celtic’s window: Maybe another shot next year.
P.S. will one of the TLN writers write a piece responding to all of BILL SIMMON’s bandwagon BULLSH*T? The guy makes me sick and the fact that some bangwagon moron fan like him has a feature piece on ESPN.com makes me want to hit babies. The guy see’s green and nothing else, terrible writer.
GO LAKERS, TAKE IT TO THEM IN GAME 6!
were/are good players *EDIT*
Also, there are many more great LAKER developed players in NBA history.
we won games 3 and 5 coz of phil. for letting kobe n pau to play the entire 4rth Q.correct me if im wrong we lost a couple of games in utah n spurs n boston for sitting pau n kobe in the 4rth this players dont have to rest a lot this is the finals its all or nothing.phil maybe so old i hope he rest if he gets his 10th ring.
You’ve just won a hard fought game 5.
You have a 10am flight the next morning out of LAX to Boston where you have to win the next two games to bring the title back to LA.
What do you do after the game to get ready for this huge challenge? Get some extra rest? Maybe watch some video of the last game to see how you could improve your game?
Well it was reported yesterday on AM570 on the Joe McDonnell show that following the game after midnight Lamar was arriving at a nightclub in LA for an evening out on the town!
Way to put the needs of the team before your own self gratification Lamar!
Is there any wonder why now why this guy continually lays an egg out on the floor?
As was stated on the radio, the fans of LA want this championship more than Lamar does. This guy does not have the dedication, heart, or dedication or determination necessary to be a big time player in this league. Going through the motions is simply not going to get it done.
This is yet a further example of why, after this season is over, we need to pull the plug on the Lamar experiment and cut our losses. It should be beyond clear now that this guy just doesn’t get it! We need someone heart, someone with the character, intelligence, basketball IQ, mental toughness, dedication, and determination worthy of a champion. Clearly this is not what we have with this half-brain.
boston build dynasty when there was only not more than 15 teams in the nba and their last was on 1986 but the lakers still have their 3peat on the year 2000 with too many a 32 competitive teams.boston can win it now and now only so they have to force it coz they have too wait another 22 years.garnett,allen,pierce are going too fade but kobe,gasol,odom,and bynum are the new dynasty and their going to beat 8 straight until kobe retires.so boston this is your only chance the last chance,hoping kobe will be kind to give it.impossible!
The three keys to todays game:
1. Defense
2. Defense
3. Defense
Did I mention Defense?? With good defense, comes great offense. The turning point for our Game 5 was Kobe’s steal which lead to his two handed jam. That pumped up the team. That changed the tide of the whole game. That changed the outcome of the game.
Sure, our bench needs to step up again. Farmar needs to run circles around that Alien and Pant-E-House. And yes, Gasol needs to perform like the Spaniard from Gladiator. Gasol and LO’s aggressiveness getting in the way of their play? Well, we just need to have faith that Gasol will play smart AND aggressive, and not be such a female cat. Let’s hope LO hooked some weed that allows him to score high in the game. Better give some of that to Sasha too, because he’s in a slump and just needs to relax. But if we lock down on Defense and make a push in the 3rd quarter, I believe our Lakers will take down the Smelltics. As for the Lakers fan support? The true fans will be with their families tonite, screaming and yelling, tuning out the ABC commentators (Anti-Lakers Broadcasting Center) and listening to the AM 570 crew. The Gawden will be loud as ever, with KG and Rondo sharing intimate moments pre-game. Ever wonder what’s in THEIR chowda?
I predict a hard fought game, with some dirty plays by posey and pj brown. posey will be knocked in his nosey, and Far