Tag Archives: NBA Finals

June 15, 2010

Lakers Vs. Celtics Finals Game 6 Diary

By chappy81

Unfortunately, Mceezy and I weren’t able to watch any of the first five games, because China isn’t all that excited about teams that aren’t from Houston. Now, we found ourselves extra excited about game 6. So we decided it was only fitting to bust out a game diary while watching the game tonight, to take anyone unable to watch through the ups and downs of the game or maybe even give you some extra insights to what went down at Staples Center. Everybody seems to be picking the Lakers tonight, and I hope they are wrong, so I can break out the Celtics hat I bought in 08′  just to piss off co-workers!

Pre-game predictions,

Chappy: Boston wins. Rondo gets ridiculous with a triple double. Pau already has a flight booked to South Africa to watch Spain play tomorrow in the World Cup, Odom ate too many gummy bears, Artest is confused, so Kobe is on his own out there once again…

MCeezy: There hasn’t been a Game 7 in the NBA Finals in five years. The Lakers don’t want to watch Boston celebrate on their floor again – at least until Game 7. LA can’t match the heart and drive of Boston, but Kobe with his back against the wall outweighs the Celtics with a game to burn. The Lakers live to see another day.

9:08 Lakers up 9-6

MCeezy: The Lakers are winning the battle of the most fired up bench.

Chappy: I think both teams look pretty pumped up for this one, should be entertaining!

7:44 12-14 Lakers after an Allen 3 and Kobe 3

Chappy: The Celtics got their only win when Allen was on fire, good sign for the C’s… Fischer complaining about someone flopping!?!

5:58 18-12 Lakers on a run as Perkins gets shaken up

MCeezy: Kobe: More PASSES or Shot Attempts tonight?  I’ll bet more shots than passes, in the second half at least.

Chappy: I’d lean toward more shots, but I guess that depends on if anyone is else making them! Perk could be a huge loss if he can’t come back…

1:48 26-18 Lakers

MCeezy: 10 minutes in and the Lakers are clearly the aggressor. C’s just need to keep it within 10-12 at the half and they can grind it out in the second half.

Chappy: I guess my prediction of Artest looking confused is already out the window! Does he think he’s back in Houston?

28-18 End of the 1st quarter Continue reading

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June 2, 2010

Anybody Else Feeling Another Lakers Title?

By dyslecix

Maybe you’ve figured out already that our two regular writers around here are die hard Bay Area sports fans. And generally speaking hate anything LA (despite  a certain “Chap” living down there), so for the next two weeks I’ll be doing my best to even things out around here as the Lakers embark on the quest for another title. On that note, here is the extended version of Derek Fisher’s assasin shot in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Spurs.

Quick side note: I think Shaq drops one of his all time great quotes in this clip, brillant stuff from Superman.

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June 2, 2010

Delusional Thoughts on The NBA Finals

By chappy81

Kobe's game face isn't nearly as intimidating as his game has been the last two rounds.

In reality, I don’t like either of the teams in the Finals. Maybe it’s more their arrogant fans than the players, but either way it’s a great match up that I’m sure the NBA couldn’t have drawn up any better if it was planned. Well, maybe they could’ve had the refs force a couple game sevens, but the teams they wanted were winning, so they couldn’t pull a reverse Sacramento 2002 to give the underdogs a chance! I guess we did see it coming though, so we may as well enjoy what we can from it. The best part for me in this series, is how much the main guys want that title. Kobe and Garnett are as good as Jordan at getting their teammates motivated and focused. Kobe is truly reminding me of MJ this playoff run, and this is probably the first time I’ve ever openly admitted that those two could be on the same level. Since the infamous knee draining, I’ve never seen him playing out of his mind like this. Everything he puts up is going in, there’s no defense against him that really works. Ok, hopefully that’s the most I’ll talk about Kobe for awhile, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little while writing those last couple sentences. Anyways, Lebron taught us one thing this year, and that was you need the Championship type heart throughout your team, and both the Lakers and Celtics have that heart. Continue reading

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May 17, 2010

Lakers – Celtics Inevitable

By mceezy

We’re only one game into each series. Technically, game one isn’t even over in Los Angeles, but watching Jason Richardson and Louis Amundson fight with each other for a rebound en route to a 26 point deficit five minutes into the fourth doesn’t really spark much optimism. The Lakers are headed to dominant defeat of the Suns in the opening game of the Western Conference Finals, and we all know what happened in the first game of the Boston-Orlando series. The Conference Finals look like nothing more than a formality at this point. Sure, a lot of people are convinced that the Magic made proper adjustments in the second half against the Celtics and appear poised to strike back in game two, but I’m not convinced. Granted, I didn’t catch game one due to my watching the Amgen Tour of California ride down the Auburn streets that I used to stomp on in my younger days, but it’s clear the Magic just can’t  match up with a more driven Celtics team. Everyone thinks the Magic will adjust their game plan, but what’s to say the Celtics won’t. The Big Three know that the window is closing; meanwhile, Rajon Rondo is busy establishing himself as one of the premier players in the league. I’ll be the first to admit I was a huge Rondo doubter coming out of Kentucky. I thought he’d be nothing more than a role player at best. But four years later, I’m ready to give the kid his due. I’m sorry, but 29, 18, and 13 in any game, let alone a pivotal postseason game, is enough to convince me that he’s for real. I was all but ready to post about Rondo last Sunday had it not been for Dallas Braden’s perfect game. As stacked as the Magic are, they simply won’t be able to outlast the Celtics this time.

Back to the West Coast, it seemed like Phoenix would at least be able to hang with the Lake Show. After watching this debacle tonight, I’m not so sure. The Suns have the same problem they seem to have every year. They’re talented, they can run, and they have plenty of firepower, but they just don’t have the drive and competitiveness. The Lakers are simply to big and even too fast. There’s no debating that Amare Stoudamire is a beast down low, but no combination of Suns can stop the trio of Gasol, Bynum, and Odom. It might be a different game in Phoenix, but they’ll likely be down 0-2, so they’ll be lucky to head back to Southern California with anything better than a 3-1 deficit. Thus, it seems pretty much inevitable that we’re going to see a Boston-LA rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals. Boston got the best of LA last time, but the Lakers are clearly better. Can we really say the same about the Celtics? I’m not so sure.

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December 18, 2009

Bored? Watch Some Vintage MJ!

By dyslecix

We all remember this game, 92′ NBA Finals, Game 5 and Jordan’s unreal 1st half. After scorching Clyde the Glyde and company for 32 pts in the first 23 minutes of the first half, MJ nails another 3 pointer and can only turn and shrug to the NBC announcers. Easily the best half of basket ball I have ever seen from any player, hands down.

Sit back and enjoy for the next few minutes!

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June 14, 2009

No More Magic

By mceezy
Stan Van Gundy watches his season come to and end during Game 5

Yes, I’m writing off the Orlando Magic. If you’ll recall, I wrote them off before the NBA Finals started. I felt that they lacked the mental toughness to pick themselves up off the mat after any knockout blows delivered by the Lakers.  So far, I’ve been right.  The Magic have played a surprisingly solid series, with the exception of game 1, but all they have to show for it is a 3-1 deficit.  Any hope of having the slightest chance to make a series of this went away quicker than a Jameer Nelson closeout in game 4.  The question now, isn’t whether the Lakers will win the series, but rather when.  I’m pretty confident it’s going to be tonight.  As much as I would love to see the Magic push this series back to Los Angeles, it’s not happening.  Orlando knows it has no chance of winning this series anymore.  Although I’m a fan of guys like Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, Mickael Pietrus, Jameer Nelson, Rafer Alston, etc… I’m not expecting anything beyond a lay down and fold effort tonight.  Typically, this is where a team that’s down comes out and gives it everything they’ve got just to live to see another day.  Not this team.  You’ll see.  They know if they pulled out a win tonight, they’ll be rewarded with an all-expenses paid trip to Los Angeles to get dismantled in front of a hostile Staples Center crowd.  They know they’re better off suffering a scrappy 7 point loss on their home floor then going back to LA to get blown out by 30.  Well, it’s tipoff time.  Don’t say I didn’t call it.

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May 31, 2009

Do The Magic Have a Chance to Win the NBA Finals?

By mceezy
Howard put up 40 en route to a series clinching win on Saturday

Howard put up 40 en route to a series clinching win on Saturday

Most would agree that the Orlando Magic have looked like the best team thus far in the NBA Playoffs.  The problem is, that can, and often does, all change when you step on the court with the Lakers.  Prior to Game 6, I was questioning whether Dwight Howard could be the centerpiece of an Orlando offense that seems to live, and occasionally die by the three.  Saturday night, Howard proved he could be a force inside on more than just open dunks and second chance points.  Even in doing so, however, the Magic still jacked up 29 three pointers.  That’s great when they’re going in, but the problem with the Lakers is they will bury a team, more so than any other squad, when the threes are not falling.  Look no further than Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.  The Nuggets converted a fairly solid 8-19 from beyond the arc, but the missed attempts seemed to stand out.  That is ultimately what did them in Friday night.

The Lakers have an uncanny ability to stick to their game plan.  Thanks to the presence of Kobe Bryant – who I still can’t help but to concede is still the best player in the league – they never seem as flustered as anybody else.  Even without any standout shooters of the same caliber as Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Mickael Pietrus, and even Rafer Alston, they boast an impeccable balance of size, speed, length, and basketball IQ that it would be surprising if they lost more than two games in the upcoming series.  Can the Magic match up with Bynum, Gasol, and Odom down low?  I just can’t see that happening.  What happens if Howard gets in foul trouble?  I have a hard time seeing Gortat patrolling the paint and doing anything defensively to slow the Lakers on the block.  I never thought I’d say this, but Adonal Foyle could be a key x-factor in the championship series.  Problem is, Foyle has logged a total of 4 minutes the entire postseason.  However, the Magic will need all the big bodies they have, and Stan Van Gundy doesn’t seem likely to call on Foyle off the bench.  There’s probably a reason for that.

You won’t ever hear me call Phil Jackson the best coach in the league – I’m of the crowd who chalks his success up to having great players.  But you can believe he will have his team defending the three-point arc without any lapses.  The key guy in this series, and not many people would see this the same way, will be Courtney Lee.  Lee has shown a supreme mastery of the ever popular mid-range jumper.  With LA likely having one or two big men locked into the paint and the other guys firmly planted around the three-point line, it will be imperative for Lee to dominate the 15-20 foot area.  The Magic must set an unofficial Finals record for most pump fakes and pull up jumpers to have any chance in this series.  I just don’t know if guys like Turkogu and Pietrus will be able to stray from their three point dependancy.

THE KEY ASPECT I look to in the postseason is, for lack of a better word, swagger.  What I mean by this is having players who have the mental toughness to go for the jugular and not get rattled when the other team is making a run.  The Lakers have this. They always have.  Sure, they’ve looked far from immortal this postseason, but we all know when it’s on the line, they’ll bring their A game.  Any time you have Kobe on the floor with you, you know the game is always within reach and there’s no reason to panic or get scared.  The Celtics were able to counter this thanks to the presence of Kevin Garnett.  The Magic don’t have a guy like this.  Looking up and down their roster, I don’t see many guys who can keep their composure when the Lakers are laying it on thick.  I’ve seen guys like Turkoglu and Pietrus crumble in big situations.  If Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony couldn’t do it, how can they?  Orlando will need flawless execution and resiliancy to pull this one off.  If they can survive the Staples Center and come away with a split, perhaps we can believe in them in a little bit.  But there’s no way they will win a Game 5 or 7 in Los Angeles, so they definitely have their work cut out for them.  Needless to say, I don’t see it happening.

Lakers in 4. ….maybe 5.

Might as well add 2009 to this

Might as well add 2009 to this

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