Thanks Lakers, for scaring the shit out of me! At least you hung on and pulled it out. Nice job.
Gotta give some props to the Jazz. Those bastards played hard and gave the Lakers all they could handle.
Wednesday, May 14th Recap:
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Celtics defeat 4) Cavs 96-89: Kevin Garnett had 26 and 16 boards, Rajon Rondo had 20 points and 13 dimes, and the Celtics are within one win of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron James scored 35 points, but most of those came in the first half, and Delonte West added 21.
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Lakers defeat 4) Jazz 111-104: Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, and only took 10 shots from the field, Lamar Odom added 22 and 11 rebounds, and the Lakers go up 3-2 in the series. Once again, all five Jazz starters scored in double figures, and once again, Deron Williams led the way with 27 points and 10 boards.
Stud(s) of the Night: Kobe Bryant’s teammates. It looked like the man didn’t have to carry the load for the Lakers. Even though he scored the most points for his team, he didn’t take any shots in the fourth quarter, and his team played extremely well and helped pull out the victory.
[quote]Testy1 wrote:
Tmoney1,
I would just like to say thanks for your props to Detroit.
It is refreshing to see someone not from Michigan, giving Detroit sports teams their due. Feel free to hate on the Lions though.[/quote]
No problem testy, try to give credit where credit is due. Detroit is for real, consistency is key.
[quote]Xeneize wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
Xeneize wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
Xeneize, nice jobs on the pics as of late. I just realized you can click the pic, and it opens up a separate window with a bigger pic.
Thanks. Should have thought of it sooner. Just seems to add a nice touch to the thread. One good thing about working in the media is you have access to the pics quickly, so I can usually get some fresh stuff up in a timely manner.
Stud of the night, above.
Nice touch. Do you work in internet/sports info media, or print? Just curious.
I was wondering about the pics. I saw the LeBron dunk, and a few minutes later, you had the pic up. I was like ‘how did he get it up so quickly? Did he take the pic himself?’
Nice work, keep it up.
LOL.
TMoney, I work for one of the 7 or 8 largest newspapers in the country. I work almost exclusively on the Web site version of this fine publication. I dare not name it because people have been canned for less around here.
I don’t work directly in sports (I work in news) but I am a former sports journalist as well as a big fan so I stay pretty close to the action.
I don’t work weekends anymore, so you might not see pics on those days, but during the week I’ll post the best ones I see.[/quote]
Ahhhh gotcha, that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification, and thanks for the pics, keep em coming.
[quote]deputydawg wrote:
My thoughts on last night:
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Props to the Pistons. Two critical victories with Chauncey Billups on the bench. Very impressive. I’ve always been a fan of Detroit except when they played the Spurs for the Championship in '05. Particularly enjoyed the season when the Pistons beat the last Kobe-Shaq Lakers squad in the Finals.
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Unfortunately I haven’t seen any indication that my Spurs can beat NO in NO. They must win on Thursday but that game 7 in NO looks like a mighty big hurdle. Everyone focuses on NO’s offense but really you have got to say they play great defense especially in the third. Nobody was penetrating and when you see Parker throwing up threes and Bowen going to the basket you know NO played great D and shut down all of the real threats. Timmy has got to find a way period. Tmoney is so right. Everything comes back to Duncan. Right now it looks like a Hornets - Lakers Western Finals.[/quote]
Good post DD. But, good for your boys, they are playing well in this first half. Just gotta keep it up. But yeah, I agree with you, if the Spurs win and it’s goes back to NO, it’s gonna be tough for your boys, but that’s what true championship teams are made of: winning on the road.
And yeah, I completely agree about your post on Tayshaun Prince. Ever since he ran Reggie Miller down from behind and blocked his shot a few years ago in the playoffs, his defense has been noticed more, and those long arms definitely help.
Good post Nate. Yeah I totally agree on your view of the role players, they have really stepped it up, especially last night in Game 5. Kobe didn’t take a single shot in the fourth quarter, but yet, his team played well together and won.
And completely agree on Fish. Very consistent, and always has been. His veteran leadership is good for the team.
And infinite bonus points for the MacGyver avatar. One of my favorite shows of all time. I mean, who else can jump start a truck with a cactus? Respect.
[quote]DeterminedNate wrote:
Although I am still picking the Lakers to bring the championship home this year, the role players are really beginning to become a point of concern.
Lamar has been surprisingly dependable and Gasol hasn’t been bad, but certainly not great. The other constant is D-Fish. But aside from that, the rest of the team’s collective assholes seem to be tightening up infront of the bright glare of the playoff lights.
As mentioned earlier, Farmar has disappeared. He walked around all season long with a chip on his shoulder like he was some UCLA-badass, and now he’s become a ghost. Extremely disappointing, as he is an important piece backing up D-Fish and bringing momentum into the game.
The 5th non-starter on the Lakers is Vlad Radmanovich. This guy might be moving into Kwame Brown territory. He won a big contract with the Lakers by hitting 3 point shots for lesser teams with literally nothing on the line. Now that the playoffs have started he has been an utter non-factor, a disappointment. Seems like the physical pieces are there but mentally he is extremely weak, and therefore a liability. This guy does not have the balls to be in the game this late in the season.
Luke Walton seems to be hit or miss. He doesn’t make too many mistakes but when he does you can just tell by his body language that he’s getting down on himself. That is not the trait of a champion.
Sasha Vujacic has played valiantly with his timely shooting, but I’m not sure how much faith Laker Nation can have in him. We’re used to the likes of Robert Horry, Ron Harper, Rick Fox and Brian Shaw - all pro’s pros.
Kobe Bryant has been magnificent as per usual, but one has to wonder the extent of his injuries.
Hopefully, Trevor Ariza can infuse some energy into this Laker team. He’s due to be back in a week. He played fantastically in the beginning of the season prior to his injury. His defense and athletic ability will serve this Laker squad well.
I’m not worried about the Utah series, but I am worried about having to win TWO more grueling series against teams whose role players do not have the character flaws of some of the Lakers supporting cast.
I’m crossing my fingers and hoping Kobe and D-Fish can right the ship.
(Purposefully didn’t include any thoughts on Andrew Bynum - its just too damn depressing.)[/quote]
Watching Spurs v. Hornets right now. In 2 minutes Chris Paul and David West got tagged with 2 offensive fouls each. Now they both have 4 personals with 8 minutes left in the 3rd.
Right when they were beginning to make a run too. That’s a tough break.
Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler could walk on the beach and leave one set of footprints. Incredible.
Couple of pics for the Spurs fans in here.
Chris Paul has his shot blocked by Tim Duncan during the second quarter.
Thursday May 15th Recap:
- Spurs defeat 2) Hornets 99-80: Manu Ginobili scored 25 points in a starting role once again, Tim Duncan added 20 and 15 boards, and this series goes seven games. Chris Paul had 21 points and 8 dimes, and Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 6 rebounds.
Stud of the Night: Manu Ginobili. 25 points, including a lights-out 6-9 from three-point land, and the Spurs force a game 7 back in New Orleans.
[quote]Malevolence wrote:
Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler could walk on the beach and leave one set of footprints. Incredible.[/quote]
Did you see the between the legs/crossover/alley-oop from CP3 to Chandler? Sweetness!!!
I understand the rationale behind the move, but does anyone else find it odd that Manu Ginobili, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, has been starting as of late?
Just a thought.
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
Thursday May 15th Recap:
Stud of the Night: Manu Ginobili. 25 points, including a lights-out 6-9 from three-point land, and the Spurs force a game 7 back in New Orleans.[/quote]
Stud of the night. Vamos Argentino!
Looking forward to Game 7 between the Hornets and Spurs. The defending champs aren’t going to go down without a fight. If the Hornets show the least bit of nervousness about the atmosphere… well, as I heard someone say here on sports radio, “no one smells blood in the water like the Spurs.”
That said, I have to give the edge to the Hornets. Crowd is going to be nuts and I think CP3 is mature beyond his years.
I think the Cavs are going to take Boston to a Game 7, as well. The Celts should close it out then, but if LeBron has one of those games where he goes off… look out.
I think the Lakers will close out the Jazz in 6. They’ve come so close to winning on the road in this series, I think they’ll pull out all the stops and finally get over the hump in Salt Lake.
Xeneize: Loved the pics! Thoughts: As a Spurs fan and total homer – I hope that the Hornets get wrapped up in NBA officiating conspiracies and Robert Horry. I hope that Spurs extensive playoff experience and 4 trophies and a good number of game 7’s all payoff. That said, having watched games 1,2, and 5 wherein the Spurs completely melted down in the third quarter and were blown out, I feel a notable lack of confidence.
I don’t know if any of you guys on this thread have experienced low back problems with a pinched nerve and the kind of tightening up of the back that David West is experiencing. I have periodically suffered from that. To see him two days later playing in the semi-finals of the NBA is absolutely mindblowing. These guys are truly incredible.
Some first-half action from Cleveland…
One more, as LeBron fights to keep his team alive… so far, the game is following the script.