In a season where our own team configuration was hanging in the balance, I feel the Lakers shocked the world getting to the NBA Finals. This was a season where tweaks were made to improve the team and a season where a young superstar named Andrew Bynum started to emerge. We started off, establishing ourselves around the league. Then Bynum went down, Gasol came in.
As Lakers Nation, we should feel proud of this team and how far they have come. But at the same time, sit down, and remember how you feel right now. Now is the time to focus on this summer. Now is the time we wait for young Andrew Bynum to come back to us and get ready to prepare for a war.
You see, while we were embarrassed in front of the entire world, there is a more important goal now. This is the time to start preparing to derail the Celtics of their pursuit of their 2nd straight NBA championship. This has just began… Give credit to the Celtics and their amazing, historical defensive performance. Remember how you feel right now. Congrats to the Boston Celtics. they were the better team and they played like it. We congratulate them… and at the same time, we here at TLN say we will see you next June, with Bynum and gang, ready to get revenge… ready to derail you.
Congratulations to the 2008 NBA World Champion Boston Celtics.
Lakers vs. Celtics - NBA Finals 2008
Know Your Enemy: The Boston Celtics
“We want Boston,” the crowd chants.
Garnett to Boston quite not dead yet?
RealGM: KG will wear #5 for Boston
Congrats to the Celts
congrats KG Pierce Allen…You all deserve it…Kobe DOES NOT this time…congratulations Celtics! 2008 Champions! We will beat you next year though! hahaha
Congrats Celtics
and now thanks to kobe, i have to lick my neighbors big toe!!!!!!!!!!! freaking NASTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but im jk hahahhahhaha
Inexcusable the way Lakers lost.
They should have shown at least some pride and fight all the way to the end.
I am proud of the season, but very disappointed of the finals. We were a completely different team than the playoffs.
Boston well deserved the title.
We need to move some guys out of our team for next season. Micth wake up and start making moves.
DAVID STERN 08CHAMP MVP FINALS !!
lol @ bc18
Really sucks how Celtics won…and as much as I think this series was bs, I do see that Celtics deserved it…
Go lakers =(
f8ck the celtics
It’s pretty cool to see the Big 3 out there.
I think we all have to give credit. Their defense was the best I’ve ever seen - and I’d like to think I really do VIEW alot of basketball - in my life.
Amazing.
I hate these punks.
F*CK THE CELTICS I CAN’T STAND THEM…BUT I WILL GIVE EM CREDIT FOR PLAYING WITH MORE HEART, DETERMINATION, AND ONE OF THE BEST DEFENSE I’VE SEEN IN A WHILE…SHAME ON THE LAKERS FOR A HALF-A$$, HALF-HEARTED, NO SENSE OF URGENCY, NO SENSE OF PURPOSE, NO LEADERSHIP PERFORMANCE.
but they deserve kam, im happy for them
Like I said hZm, tonight is the start of how we will derail them come NEXT JUNE.
Also, Lakers should’ve never lost that 24 point lead in Game 4. That’s why you can’t make mistakes - especially catastrophic ones like that.
yeah, give credit where credit is due
congratulation to the BOSTON SUCK-[PLEASE EDIT YOUR POST]!
- show some class
why didnt we get Tom Thibodeau?
congrtatulations
boston was the better team be a man and accept it lakers tried there best.
Congratulations to Boston!!! But next year, we’ll get Andrew Bynum back and beat Boston. Boston is getting old and probably won’t repeat. Lakers will be 2008-2009 NBA Champions.
congrats to the Celtics..
Im so proud of the Lakers..
nobody expected them to reach the finals…
With the pain and experience, they will by hungry next season…
Of course with Bynum back and maybe ron artest for defense improvement…
We might grab the best record… LA all the way!!!
8 on 5 that´s all i could say 8 on 5. You will never beat 8 guys, what really dissapoints me is because we didnt even try but i gotta tell this was the worst finals i have ever seen in my young life. All calls to celtics. You ask if they deserve i say NO, you don´t act to win a championship, you don´t get help from 3 guys on the court. 8 on 5 that´s all why i could say.
humbling experience for a young lakers team. Next year is ours
lakers will be more prepared for next year. when kobe and the USA team wins the gold kobe will DOMINATE and win 2nd MVP and 4th nba title-1st w/o shaq. BELIEVE THAT HOMEBOY!
No words can’t describe my emotion right now. I Wanted this title so bad and I am not even a player on the team. I hate Boston with even more passion now. They deserved the trophy this year. I can’t wait for them in June next year with Bynum and Artest.
Really? The refs blew the Lakers 24 point lead?
The refs helped the Celtics steal 18 balls off the Lakers tonight?
Refs IMPACTED game 2 heavily - other than that, the Celtics deserved it all.
Congratulation Boston!! You deserved it, you really fought for it, you wanted it more.
I was a proud Laker fan the whole season, I am not disappointed that they lost, but how they lost, they totaly gave up after 24 min of game time, I didn’t see the pride, the determination, and the energy that they had all season. Every game during whole season they played like champions, there is no excuse for the way they lost tonight.
It was a great season; I look forward to the changes that this summer will bring… There is always next season!!
If u guys saw how happy the Celts were after the game, you’d have a change of heart.
to those who banned me…..i was just saying MIHM to be sarcastic…hell nah i HATE MIHM! hahaahha…i was just trying to lighten the mood up hahhahhaha so yeah dont take it so seriously people
i cant believe all you guys are congratulating the celtics.
what kinds of fans are you?? F the celtics!
I am sorry to see the lakers go down but congrats to the Celtics, they played a great seriers
I would also like to say congrats to Garnet! I am from MN and its nice to see him get his after all these years!
LAKERS ‘09
If the Lakers would have won game 4 instead of blowing that 24 point lead, they would have just been embarrassed twice in Game 6 and Game 7. Celtics were in another league then the Lakers offensively and defensively. Lakers had no heart in this game. Seemed like they weren’t in the game at all. They looked like the old, tired team in need of a vacation. Well they got it now.
Fact is, Celtics this year were built to win a championship NOW. Lakers this year were built to make it past the first round. They accomplished that and more. Now they need to be re-tooled to win NOW.
Go Lakers in 2009 and come back stronger than ever #17. We need you.
Weird thing is this is the Celtics 17th championship, won on the 17th of June and the Lakers lost when they needed #17 the most.
They out-everythinged us. I’m upset at the way we played. They ran circles around us.
Still, I hate Boston. Always have, always will…
man quit being a Jazz fan-esqe, don’t drop yourself down to there level.
This just shows the type of defensive SF we need next year…… hmmmmm any ideas anyone?!!!!! Also we should totally trade Mihm, Radman & Walton. WE need players with Heart and Passion. And can somebody tell me why the HELL did we ever sign IRA NEWBLE??? WE BARELY USED HIM AT ALL!!!
I think we all got to congratulate the Celtics. Their defense is one of a kind. They did not stop, but discouraged any ball movement of the Lakers. I’m sure we’ll be back again next year.
hey man if we won game 2 or game 1(the games where we were screwed) we would be up 3-2 coming to game 6 so tell me what impact this refs have sure we played like garbage but how do you explain 167-120 FT´s in this series how do you explain me that don´t give me the Kobe don´t attack the rim crap. This is the worst finals ever.
AND THAT IS WEIRD!!! THIS IS BOSTON”S 17th CHAMPIONSHIP, WON ON JUNE 17th, 17 + 17 = 34 = Finals MVP, WE”LL NEED #17 IN A PURPLE AND GOLD JERSEY TO WIN NEXT YEARR!!!
That was the best defense I’ve ever seen as a basketball fan. No question, no doubt.
the 2008-09 season starts now. welcome back andy. Ron Artest aka next years dpoy, welcome to LA
Tough loss but the better team one this time. Celtics in 08 but Lakers in 09-14. This loss will fire up the lakers to break the Bulls 72 win season next year. Everybody just remember how you feel, and remember all the Sh*t you will get from all the haters but wait until next year, and the year after that, and that….and that….and that…….
i love our LAKERS very much….but the Celtics had more hunger. i hate the celts, but u gotta give credit to where it is due. im proud of our lakers. no one thought we were even gonna pass the 1st round let alone go to the finals….next year is a new year….and im looking forward to it. see u guys next season…and let the summer rumors fly!
im a die hard lakers fan and all,but the da boston celtics deserved it guys…lolll they played with heart and they were more hungry to win it all….da lakers did all they could make it to da finalz and all with young roster and inexperienced players…but will be back again i gurantee u,but boston deserved it more,we had absoulute no defence…
Celtics played well, i’ll give them that…
but damn they were so unclassy towards the end of the game…
i’ve never seen gatorade being poured with 5 minutes left in the game…it’s just really unclassy the way they beat the Lakers…i mean, show some respect
and dont even worry Laker fans…Bynum will be back next year…Ariza will be 100 percent healthy…And hopefully we can get Artest on our side…
also, Sam Cassell and PJ Brown are retiring after this season…and all the other guys will be one year older…The celtics will NOT repeat…NO WAY AT ALL!!! LAKERS - 2009 CHAMPIONS!!!!
the celtics deserved it more, they played with a lot more heart, the lakers dont seem like they got the hearts of these celtics players, if these lakers ever really wanna be in this position again, then they better get kobe’s ethic and work them selves to be greater players than what they are cause kobe is never going to do it him self and sometimes, i would rather have kwame’s big body bang in there rather than pau gasol, even though i really like pau gasol i really hope he hits the weights this summer and gets tough, but no doubt andrew bynum will mirk any other big man from kg and perkins to any other big man that steps up……..2008-2009= laker champs and start of a new championship run.
they suck screw them.
i think they should have had to forfeit
they messed up the court while the game was still going
im just kidding obviously
even if they’d forfeited we probably would have found a way to lose haha
now it’s just time to get over it
and begin the quest for revenge
now that we won’t have a parade
we have a few days head start
so lets get to work
I’m so happy it’s all over. I mean the Lakers were great all season and the way they handled the west was extraordinary. But to be honest, these finals really sucked for me as a Laker fan. The way the Lakers played was ugly and hard to watch. I’m glad I don’t have to watch anymore ugly ball from the Lakers in this finals again. It’s over, have a great summer and I look forward to a revamped lineup and the return of the great AB17.
Now that it’s over, we have to give credit where credit is due. The Celtics were simply just a better team at this point in time and they deserved to win the championship. They were consistently the best team in the NBA for 97 games this season.
However this season was far from a disappointment. The only thing that was disappointing was how this last game ended but in the end we really overachieved.
The saddest thing of all is that we’re going to have to wait 3 months to see what this team is really made of. Still bleeding purple and gold.
yeah thats true geloman. it was very hard to watch. so stressful. but like i said, im still proud of our guys. and i hope everyone shares the same sentiment. we’re no bs Utah fans….
i still think paul faked it
Keep your heads up guys!! We’ll get them next year with Bynum back healthy…I’m pissed only because they could’ve showed alot more PRIDE!
TO MITCH AND MR. BUSS:
PLEASE GET RID OF..
PHIL “WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW” JACKSON
VLADIMIR “SPACE CADET” RADMONOVIC
LUKE “IN THE LIFE OF” WALTON
YES, I BLAME THE LOSS ON THEM.. including Lamar but if we can keep him that would be ok, but as a back up to Artest
BRING IN RON ARTEST!!!!
187 CELTICS i dont givvvaa a F***…..
TRADE====WALTON, RADMONOVICH, KARL, BHENGA, NEWBLE, MIHM
NEEEED TO GET===ELTON BRAND, RON ARTEST, BARON DAVIS, AGENT ZERO GILBERT ARENES…
i think we need another point gaurd..i mean fisher is good,,but we need a point gaurd to help make plays…………..
VLAD RADMONOVIC is the laziest piece of SH!T in the NBA. FLUKE WALTON IS JUST A HUMAN WART WHO DOES NOT EVEN BELONG IN NBA. MITCH IF U CAN’T SEE THAT AND MAKE SOME KEY CHANGES TO GET PLAYERS WITH MORE HEART, DETERMINATION, ENERGY, WHO CAN SLASH/DRIVE/CREATE THEIR SHOTS BESIDES KOBE, THEN U GOT TO GO TOO.
BARON DAVIS AND RON ARTEST ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tough one to swallow.
had it been a 10… or even a 20 point loss, i wouldn’t be so upset.. but 39.
ohh man.
congrats to the celts though. they deserve it.
Vlad and Luke have to got to go.
The Lakers overachieved this year and for that I’m incredibly proud. We were playing with only four starters throughout most of the season and still ended up the #1 seed in the stacked West and made it to the Finals.
The Celtics deserved to win this game - they had much more intensity and focus. However, the Celtics have no class. They acted their way to the line instead of playing like men. KG is the only respectable player on that team.
Laker fans also deserve some blame for this series. The Garden was shaking from the roar of the fans. In LA, the resale prices of tickets seems to keep real fans out. My goldfish could scream louder than the people in Staples.
We need to make some moves next year. I’d like to see the Lakers run more like a corporation - they should acquire another team in a merger and cut the deadweight players. In fact, a good strategy would be to acquire a team in a small market with loyal fans (Oklahoma City?) and use it as a permanent trading partner. That team would trade all of its good players to the Lakers for the Lakers’ crappy players and cash to pay its losses. As it drafted top talent in the draft every year (since they’d always be in the lottery), the good players would be shipped to the Lakers.
That’s similar to how the Celtics did it (via Kevin McHale and the Timberwolves). Which one is the lopsided trade now?
We lost so pathetically. We could have at least lost with some dignity! A 39 point loss does not represent us well. We definitely did not deserve to win. We did not play too our fullest all finals. There were games we should have won. Kobe never exploded in any of the 6 games like we expected him too, even in the ones we won. We always had the strong start but fell apart at the end. This is the year that the rivalery begins again. We will definitely be more prepared next season. I can’t wait til next year.
Ron Artest and Baron Davis can both opt out…if they do, they become unrestricted free agents…GET ARTEST AND BARON! Get one of the best defenders and one of the best slashers in the game! GET ARTEST AND BARON!
Kobe Bryant is not who I thought he was. He is no superman. He is no Michael Jordan. He is but a man. He is no longer a superstar in my eyes because superstars don’t allow their teams to lose by 39 points in an NBA Finals game. He is not a star, because there was no fire in his eyes tonight. No sense of urgency. No leadership. He made turnovers, he shot the ball like {Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.}, and he should be investigated for treason because he was too friendly with the enemy, too many times have I seen him give little pats to a Celtic here and there, too many times have I seen him play nice. This is the NBA Finals. YOU DON’T PLAY NICE. YOU PLAY TO WIN. YOU DON’T PLAY TO GET PAID. YOU PLAY FOR GLORY.
In a series between these rivals, I expected more of a fight than the ones these Lakers put up. Instead, the Celtics pushed and the Lakers gave. After dazzling us all year, raising our hopes up, having us believing that this Nation will all gather on one hot day in the streets of L.A free of discrimination bonded by passion and love to celebrate Champions, this group of men have let me down.
…
Kobe…what the {Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.}? Never thought I would ever question your determination and commitment to winning. Never thought I would ask you to step up. Never thought I would waver in my belief that you are the greatest I have ever witnessed. But now I do question your determination and commitment to winning and now I am wavering in my belief that you are the greatest I have ever witnessed. You have provided all of your critics with enough ammo to hit you for the rest of your career. Your 3 championships are now forever credited to Shaq. Your inability to get it done post-Shaq are highlighted with a even brighter ink. Until you win your next Championship, you will be remembered for being incapable of helping your team hold on to a 24 point lead, incapable of having good 2nd and 3rd quarters, incapable of starting off hot AND finishing hot in a single game in the Finals. This is not the Kobe Bryant I have come to love. This is not the Kobe Bryant I have come to look up to. This is not the Kobe Bryant I have defended so adamantly throughout the years.
Today the Lakers were stripped of their dignity, and the Celtics were the strippers.
Today a Die hard Lakers fan just died, because a 39 point defeat by the Boston Celtics did just the trick.
Thank you Thank you Thank you. Just like when you got smacked by Detroit, you whined about refs for 5 games and now finally are admitting that your team sucked (plus lame L.A. fans). Way to man up on this post, it’s refreshing (though a few games late.)
Who knows if the Lakers would have pulled this out if Kobe encouraged his teammates more and was more positive with them, instead of sulking and chewing them out all the time (which is amazing since he shot 40% in the series and was just manhandled by Pierce.) MVP? Yeah right.
Soft A** Bi*tches with no heart! Portland is gonna do the same thing to them next year when they get Oden back. This was a disgrace. 39 friggin points. Jackson was totally out coached by rivers.
We’ll be ready to derail the Celtics - book it.
We lost so pathetically. We could have at least lost with some dignity! A 39 point loss does not represent us well. We definitely did not deserve to win. We did not play to our fullest all finals. There were games we should have won. Kobe never exploded in any of the 6 games like we expected him too, even in the ones we won. We always had the strong start but fell apart at the end. Its finally a rival again! We will definitely be more prepared next season. I can’t wait til next year.
…disappointing loss. congrats to the c’s though.
Andrew, great players chew teammates out, get over it.
If you’re constantly guarded by 5 players, you WILL NOT shoot better than 40%.
MVP? Hell yes.
Kobe encourages his teammates and is positive with them all the time, if you watched Lakers games you’d see that. Way to be an ignorant dumbass.
That said, congrats to Boston! You blew the Lakers and the rest of the league away.
will be back next year dont worry.this is celtics is last championship their old.
when bynum comes back , watch out boston.
pg:fisher
sg:bryant
sf:odom
pf:gasol
c:bynum
or if we get ron artest.
pg:fisher
sg:bryant
sf:artest
pf:odom
c:gasol
2nd rotation
pg:farmar
sg:vuajacic
sf:ariza
pf:turiaf
c:bynum
cant wait till next lakers is gonna be kickn everybodys ass.
2008-2009 Lakers Nba Championships!!!!!
I’d like to have Ron Artest
C: Bynum/Turiaf/Mbenga
PF: Gasol/Odom
SF: Artest/Ariza
SG: Kobe/Vujacic
PG: Fisher/Farmar
FUKIN BIT CH… NOW WE START JUST LIKE MAGIC LOST THE FIRST ONE TO THEM WELL KOBE LOST THE FIRST ONE TO THEM NOW.. BUT LAKERS WILL BE BACK AND LIKE LD2K SAID “We’ll be ready to derail the Celtics - book it”
ALL THE LAKERS SUCKED AND THIS WAS JUST SAD NO FUKIN PRIDE NO PRIDE AT ALL…. CELTICS LUCKY THAT THE CELTICS HAD NOT ONLY THE REFS ON THERE SIDE BUT DAVID STERN AS WELL.. YES WE CHOKED IN GAME 4 THATS ON US.. BUT GAME 1 AND 2 WERE HORRIBLE OFFICIATING.. DONT MATTER THEY WATED IT MORE THAN WE DID AND THEY “DESERVED IT” GIVE IT TO THEM.. CUZ HE FUKIN MEDIA WANTED KG TO WIN THE SHIP WOW DID YALL SEE HOW MUCH THAT MAN CURSES WAYYYYYYY MORE KOBE, AND THEY SAY KG IS BEST AND THIS AND THAT YEA REALLY POURING IT ON WHEN THE GAME WAS OVER.. YEA GREAT CLASS GUYS
IF I WAS KOBE I WOULD OF JUST LEFT NOT EVEN GIVE THEM PROPS BUT KOBE AND LAKERS ARE BETTER THAN THAT AND THEY HAVE CLASS..
FUK ITTTTTT..
WE GOTTA WIN NEXT YEAR.. GO LAKERS
Refs changed things in Game 2. The Lakers were playing tough defense, and the refs took them out of their game. They never recovered. Just like the Tim Duncan shot in the Suns/Spurs series. One game can make/break the whole series. I know the Game 4 capsizing was also bad, but the Lakers should have won Game 2 as well … AND … the Celtics illegal defense: hacking, moving screens, after shot fouls by Posey, etc. .. the illegal defense was ‘accepted’ by the refs all throughout the series. This was just like 80s Lakers/Celtics … specifically the 84 Finals. But we know what happened after that
…
Thank you Kobe and Lakers for a very great season. We can move on with this quickly. and start focusing on improving our team. This defeat just shows us that there are still rooms for improvements.
GOODLUCK LAKERS!!!
we should feel proud of our lakers… they gave us a hell of a season
congrats to boston..
but look out next year….
lakers and kobe will be looking for some reveange… should be fun…