Lakers in 3.

Check back in 3 weeks for the correct answer to this poll question.

I say Lakers in 7.

Lots of matchup issues (like last round) for ORL on offense. If Bynum was healthy I might say Lakers in 6, but he won't be able to guard Howard much. Gasol will have trouble with him. I doubt he rebounds like he did against Denver. Ariza should get posted up a lot by Turk. I expect to see Walton a lot (as much as he can play before fouling out) with Odom as well to guard Lewis/Turk.

LA on offense doesn't provide a lot of matchup issues. Kobe should be easier to contain than Lebron was. gasol is a better offensive player than any big men on the Cavs, but Howard should be up to the task (as long as he doesn't get in foul trouble helping on Kobe or Ariza cutting to the basket).

I think Orlando has a legit shot at this because of the matchups, but I expect Kobe's closing ability and their depth to win out eventually.

Not worried. The Lakers aren't that good.

If Bynum was to get healthy, I'd say the Lakers win in 4. Since he's not lakers in 5. Bynum, healthy or not will probably get guarded by D12, leaving Lewis on Gasol? I mean they could try playing a zone, but kobe fisher and ariza all got a decent 3point shot. It'll be interesting

Should be an interesting series and I think Orlando give them all they can handle.

It might even go the distance but in the end I think Kobe will do whatever it takes to win the thing and show the world he can do it without Shaq (but not without Fisher lol)

There'll be a game where Howard is a force of nature and a game where Orlando's gunners hit every shot... and four more where the better team wins. Lakers in six.

Anyone else still snickering that the Orlando Magic are in the Finals? Just think, if the Pistons could have miraculously made it to the 6th seed, the Magic wouldn't even have made it out of the first round.

pretty weird how we can easily beat the magic in a 7game series, but they can beat the cavs and we cant. cant wait for next year

Anyone else still snickering that the Orlando Magic are in the Finals? Just think, if the Pistons could have miraculously made it to the 6th seed, the Magic wouldn't even have made it out of the first round.

I had been thinking along those lines myself. It was probably less awful to get executed by cleveland than embarassed by the team that used to be our bitch.

I'd rather lose in the first round if it means sweeping changes for the better. Although, I think Joe would still make big changes even if we had made the finals (already started that with Billups).

What I'm getting at is that having the benefit of hindsight seeing how teams showed up in the playoffs, orlando would've crushed :us: in the first round just as surely as cleveland did.

So who's ahead in the series? Lakers? j/k

It's 1-0, right?

Starts Thursday.

I wanted us to play our young bucks serious minutes the last 20 games (otherwise known as tanking) and likely miss the fucking playoffs altogether.

It's just not about a Lottery pick - it was about finding out what pieces we do have and what we really need. The pick is a nice bonus (although people seem sure that a pick @ #10 is the same as a pick @ #15. How is that possible? More guys are available at #10!)

Then, after the Draft we would still have our cap space and I don't buy the excuse that players wouldn't wanna play on a Lotto loser. Um, hello - we aren't a Lotto loser even if we finished out of the playoffs.

Agents and players aren't stupid - they know what we're about.

But, Fuck No! - we man'd the fuck up and made the Top 8, only to get bitch slapped by the King and his Court (jesters).

It really wasn't worth it.

I wanted us to play our young bucks serious minutes the last 20 games (otherwise known as tanking) and likely miss the fucking playoffs altogether.

It's just not about a Lottery pick - it was about finding out what pieces we do have and what we really need. The pick is a nice bonus (although people seem sure that a pick @ #10 is the same as a pick @ #15. How is that possible? More guys are available at #10!)

Then, after the Draft we would still have our cap space and I don't buy the excuse that players wouldn't wanna play on a Lotto loser. Um, hello - we aren't a Lotto loser even if we finished out of the playoffs.

Agents and players aren't stupid - they know what we're about.

But, Fuck No! - we man'd the fuck up and made the Top 8, only to get bitch slapped by the King and his Court (jesters).

It really wasn't worth it.
Some people here disagreed at the time and then went away until the smoke cleared.

I liked that we made the playoffs if for no other reason than the fact that it probably left a bad taste in Stuckey's mouth. He should come out with a lot to prove next season. All y'all Stuckey haters will disagree though, I'm sure.

Disney wins.

4 to 4 in the poll, interesting...

Disney wins.

yup. Disney World vs Disney Land on a Disney owned channel.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/Spaction3/Mickey_Mouse_Johor.png
>
http://www.notempire.com/images/uploads/lebron_kobe.jpg

I wanted us to play our young bucks serious minutes the last 20 games (otherwise known as tanking) and likely miss the fucking playoffs altogether.

It's just not about a Lottery pick - it was about finding out what pieces we do have and what we really need.

The youngsters got substantial playing time this season to show what they can do. I'm curious as to which ones you feel are still major question marks?


Some people here disagreed at the time and then went away until the smoke cleared.

I disagreed at the time and still prefer getting the clear verdict that the playoffs provided over a ping pong ball.

Amir, Maxiell and AA could have been given more minutes, to see what we had and/or what they needed to work on.

I wonder if Billy Donovan regrets not staying with the Magic?

RE: playoffs: I really wanna know what the benefit was (other than financial)?

We all knew Sheed and Iverson were not coming back next season.

We already knew Kwame had stunned the entire planet by not sucking.

We already knew what Tay and Rip could and couldn't do every night.

We already knew Dice didn't deserve such a shitty season.

What we didn't know:

Did Amir learn anything from the season?

Did Maxiell find a heart?

Could AA play significant minutes, and how would he cope at SF?

Could Bynum and Stuckey play together for 20 minutes per game and not get brutalised when the other team had the ball?

I could go on, but none of it matters.

We wanted the playoffs. Joe wanted Orlando!

Maybe we should be thankful we got Cleveland and not the Magic after all.

Amir, Maxiell and AA could have been given more minutes, to see what we had and/or what they needed to work on.

I guess we just saw the season differently. In my eyes, all three of those players got a lot of run and solidified the case for/against them. Amir disappointed, Max plateaued, AA met/exceeeded expectations with some upside still remaining.

Dwight Howard is going to beast all over the Magic big men. Can't guard Turk or Lewis. The Lakers only advantage is at SG, and I don't think that'll be enough.

Doesn't look good for LA.

^Vegas disagrees

"13th year" for Kobe seems almost impossible

Dwight Howard is going to beast all over the Magic big men. Can't guard Turk or Lewis. The Lakers only advantage is at SG, and I don't think that'll be enough.

Doesn't look good for LA.

You were right all along.

One game.

Well, that was all very tidy now, wasn't it?

Fool's not worried, though.

Not worried.

Well, that was all very tidy now, wasn't it?

Fool's not worried, though.

Thanks Gl'enn

I guess we just saw the season differently. In my eyes, all three of those players got a lot of run and solidified the case for/against them. Amir disappointed, Max plateaued, AA met/exceeeded expectations with some upside still remaining.

I was disappointed with the season.

We didn't get to see Stuckey and Bynum on the floor for 20 minutes per game for 10 or 15 games and that might be something we'll try next season. Could have seen if it worked or not instead of pushing for the playoffs.

We didn't get to see Maxiell or Amir play 20 minutes per night for 10 or 15 games to see if they could re-discover/recover their form. We might need them next season (and Amir could have possibly increased his trade value)

We didn't get to see AA play SF for 20 minutes per game for 10 or 15 games to see how he'd handle the work load. That is something we might do next season and it would have been nice to know ahead of time if it was a good idea or not.

Could have also had Stuckey play extensively with all the young guys at the same time to help him be more of a vocal leader/captain on the floor. I doubt he dictates much on the floor when he's in with Rip, Tay, Sheed and Dice.

A lot of things could have been done to help us for next season and we didn't do them. Instead we made the playoffs, got bounced regardless and now we'll have to find out who our young guys really are next season.

We wasted a GOLDEN opportunity simply to pad a meaningless playoff streak and to pad the coffers of the organisation.

Not worried.
Still?

I just read this on Hoopshype, uncensored, and kind of did a double take.


Rashard Lewis to Courtney Lee in the Orlando locker room after Game 2: "Don't let tonight fuck your head up for the rest of the series."

http://twitter.com/marcel_mutoni

Zero worries.

Is Courtney Lee the new Nick Anderson?

Rumor has it that Pat Riley is attempting a hostile takeover of the Magic and will be replacing SVG on the bench for game 3.

Is Riley bringing Scott Hall and Kevin Nash?

The Magic shot 75% for the entire first half. Only up by 5 and were down most of the half.

So I didn't tune in until near the end of the third. How does that shooting percentage not translate into at least a double digit lead?

I just started watching, but this thing is physical.

Howard and Gasol look like they are ready to go toe to toe

So I didn't tune in until near the end of the third. How does that shooting percentage not translate into at least a double digit lead?

Lakers were shooting 50% for most (all?) the first. Kobe had 21pts. Lakers weren't turning it over and were rebounding well.

Is it just me, or does the NBA get a little gayer if you watch it AFTER watching hockey?

yeah, it's true. you can't beat playoff hockey. NBA is mostly free throws and bad calls down the stretch. NHL is edge of your seat action.

yeah, it's true. you can't beat playoff hockey. NBA is mostly free throws and bad calls down the stretch. NHL is edge of your seat action.

Or, depending on your perspective... edge of your seat boredom as most of the game goes by with a lot of back and forth but nothing really happening. It's not quite soccer with sticks but close.

Kobe can throw elbows and not get a T? whodathunkit?

Or, depending on your perspective... edge of your seat boredom as most of the game goes by with a lot of back and forth but nothing really happening. It's not quite soccer with sticks but close.

Hockey's nothing is better than soccer's nothing.

Players love when their coach does this:
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/06/12/stan-van-gundy-jameer-nelson-blew-assignment-on-derek-fisher/

We need a thrown under the bus icon.

ORLANDO, FL—Since the NBA Finals began, Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing has been sharing his vast knowledge of how to lose the title with Dwight Howard, carefully but emphatically advising the center to concentrate on making crucial mistakes if he wants to put his team in the best position to lose. "Dwight, if you want to misdominate this series, you have to get creative with those turnovers and be willing to commit stupid technical fouls," Ewing said Monday, encouraging Howard to expose his ballhandling deficiencies by dribbling as much as possible. "You gotta be soft in the paint. You gotta waste energy. Let them push you around and box you out. And if you get the ball, drive as hard as you can toward the sidelines and look for the panic pass." Ewing reportedly stayed after practice to help Howard work on throwing the ball away and missing free throws.

I think Chris Webber is his consultant on the side.

I think Chris Webber is his consultant on the side.
CWebb works with Boozer on improving his injuries.

So glad this shit is finally over.


Still not worried.

Kobe Bryant, MVP and family man... barf!

I overestimated the Magic. Sorry Kobe.

L.A. not that good.

L.A. not that good.

Still not worried?

-100 worried.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/kobe_bryant_proves_he_can_win?utm_source=onion_rss _daily

ORLANDO, FL—With the Lakers' 99-86 victory over the Magic in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Kobe Bryant silenced critics by achieving what most had thought impossible: winning an NBA title with Luke Walton on his team.
Enlarge Image Kobe

"I was so sick of hearing people say how I couldn't do it with Luke out there," said Bryant, acknowledging that his teammate's deficiencies have overshadowed the Lakers since Walton was drafted in 2003. "It gets annoying to hear that question over and over, but you can't argue it. You can't deny it. You have to show that you can prevail alongside one of the worst small forwards in the game."

"Now I just want to kick back and savor the moment," Bryant added. "I feel like a huge 6-foot-8, 235-pound burden has been lifted from my back."

Bryant, who averaged 32.4 points a game and was named MVP of the NBA Finals, played with a fiery determination and lifted his Walton-compensation skills to an almost superhuman level, ultimately erasing any doubt that he was capable of greatness while playing alongside Walton.

According to Bryant, it was vital to step up his game and take on a leadership role in order to surmount the countless flaws in Luke Walton's game, which include playing a slow, hindering style of offense that relies on ruining pick and roll plays; clogging up lanes with an ungainly lumbering stride on the transition; and making slow, drifting passes to double-covered players.

In addition, Bryant said he tried to focus on making up for Walton's lack of production by scoring at least ten times as many points as the small forward.

While coach Phil Jackson said losing to the Celtics by 39 points in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals motivated Bryant to succeed, he acknowledged that Kobe could not overcome Walton's utter lack of talent alone.

"Kobe certainly put up big numbers, but he also rallied this young group of players and took their play to another level with him," Jackson said. "Winning in the Luke Walton era took a total team effort. They should be proud of what they accomplished. You have to be at the very pinnacle of your game to rise above a player of Walton's caliber."

Bryant credited Jackson for working tirelessly to assemble the pieces necessary to fill the hole created when Walton joined the team. He also praised recently acquired players and veterans alike for handling the challenge of guarding Magic center Dwight Howard, defending perimeter shooters Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, and keeping the ball out of Walton's hands to prevent him from screwing up their chance to win a title.

"We were able to prove all the doubters wrong because we had an excellent game plan that we executed at the highest level," said Bryant, who verified before each play that his teammates knew their assignments and were prepared to shutdown Walton's dominating awkwardness in the paint. "It was physically draining to limit Luke's missed scoring opportunities, but that's what it takes to win."

"Personally, I don't think Shaq could have won with Walton," Byrant added. "I'm not even sure Jordan could have."

Lakers luminary and part-owner Magic Johnson said that Bryant has proven himself to be the preeminent talent in the league, and that he was "astonished" the Lakers had even made the playoffs with Walton on the team.

Johnson was not alone in expressing his surprise.

"Believe me, what he did defies all logic," said Lakers small forward Luke Walton, adding that it was unlikely Bryant and the Lakers could win back-to-back championships with a player as indescribably mediocre as himself. "I'll admit it. I didn't think he could pull it off."