Beautiful words coming from Magic...

[sly fly]

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Magic Johnson doesn't like what he sees from the Los Angeles Lakers, and he decided to speak up about it Saturday.


"I think the Lakers had a mind-set that was disrespectful to the Pistons. They thought it was going to be easy. That is not the case," Johnson said. "Unless they come out and play very hard, with the same level of intensity as the Pistons, this series will be over."


Johnson, a vice president and part-owner of the Lakers, was not displaying his trademark grin as he exited The Palace on Thursday night following the Lakers' 20-point loss in Game 3.


At a news conference to promote his basketball camp, Johnson heavily criticized the Lakers.


"I am angry. You have to compete. And we're not competing," he said. "You can just see the Lakers' frustration. No one is welcoming anyone to the bench. Guys are sitting there, wandering off into the crowd, defeated. We've got to get that look off our faces and play basketball the way it's supposed to be played. If not, the series won't get back to Los Angeles."


The series resumes Sunday night with the Detroit Pistons leading the best-of-seven series 2-1.


"I have eight rings and I want nine," Johnson said. "My anger is that we haven't competed in this series. I don't know what's going on. I don't know what the mind-set is. But this is just unacceptable."


Johnson also singled out Karl Malone and Gary Payton for criticism.


Malone had an altercation with a heckler prior to Game 3.


"You don't put your finger in a fan's face. That's unacceptable. Lakers don't do that," Johnson said of Malone, who claimed the heckler spat on him. "I don't care what he said. He has been to two Finals. I've been to nine. Do you think the Celtics fans didn't say things I didn't like?


Payton has been outplayed by Detroit's Chauncey Billups.


"Gary Payton is 35 years old and isn't the same Gary Payton he was 10 years ago. He has to accept that," Johnson said. "Gary Payton has had a lot of great, wide-open looks and hasn't knocked them down. That doesn't change if you're in the triangle or a 1-4 or what. Wide-open looks are wide-open looks. He shot an airball just the other day, wide-open. Hell, nobody was 10 feet from him.


"He got it, caught it, wide-open, airball. You've got to make that shot. You've got to make plays. Gary's problem isn't on offense. It's on defense. Billups is using him up."

 

[elindholm]

"You don't put your finger in a fan's face. That's unacceptable. Lakers don't do that," Johnson said of Malone, who claimed the heckler spat on him. "I don't care what he said. He has been to two Finals. I've been to nine. Do you think the Celtics fans didn't say things I didn't like?

How much would you pay to watch Karl Malone kick Magic Johnson's ass? I'll start the bidding at $500.

 

[sly fly]

The truth hurts, so I expect the Mouth and The Third-Person to dispute what Magic says.

The Lakers philosophy should be easy:

GET THE BALL INTO SHAQ'S HANDS EVERY TIME DOWN THE FLOOR. Let him do his thing, and then let Kobe take over once they start helping.

What kind of brain surgeon does the rest of the team need?

Devean George pulling up for 3 with numbers.... clank.

 

[elindholm]

The truth hurts, so I expect the Mouth and The Third-Person to dispute what Magic says.

The truth may hurt, but Johnson is a hypocrite. Lakers may not stick their fingers in fans' faces, but apparently they do try to run over an official when they don't like a particular call.

And for him to say that the series means more to him than to the players (which he basically did) is breathtaking arrogance. If the Lakers' effort isn't there, it's not because Malone got tangled up with a heckler or Payton is missing open shots. It's because, thanks to the dysfunctional triumverate of Jackson, O'Neal, and Bryant, their chemistry has been terrible all season long.

It's not the fault of role players -- which is what Malone and Payton are on this team -- when chemistry goes bad, and it's not their responsibility to correct it. That burden falls to the leaders.

If Johnson wants to ride someone's ass, he should get on Jackson and the two superstars. But, just like everyone else in Los Angeles, he's too busy kissing up to Jackson and O'Neal. He gets credit for not taking the easy way out and dumping everything in Bryant's lap, but on the other hand, I guess adulterers have to bond together, right?

I have no respect for Johnson or his comments. Remember that Malone was one of the few to speak out against Johnson's attempt to come back while infected with HIV. As it turns out, Malone's prejudice was based on ignorance of how difficult it is to transmit the virus through casual contact, but he deserves credit for being willing to speak his mind. My guess is that Johnson has never forgiven him for that. With the Lakers facing an upset of historic proportions, Johnson is jumping at the chance to cast his old rival in the role of scapegoat.

If Johnson thinks that Malone and Payton are going to start playing better in order to make him feel better, he couldn't be more wrong. His diatribe will only further fracture the team, and it certainly won't make them more likely to win.

As always, Magic Johnson should just keep his big mouth shut. He was a great basketball player, but no one other than himself and the rest of the Laker faithful wants to hear what he has to say.

 

[fordronken]

...but on the other hand, I guess adulterers have to bond together, right?

So...you mean, like, 95 percent of the NBA?

 

[elindholm]

So...you mean, like, 95 percent of the NBA?

Nonetheless excluding Malone, if I had to guess.

Maybe I should have said caught adulterers...

 

[Joe Mama]

I do agree with Magic Johnson with regards to Karl Malone's behavior with the fan. If the fan was that bad Malone should have talked to one of the officials or a member of security. His reaction was simply unacceptable.

Have any of these people ever stopped to wonder whether the Lakers are struggling because they are just facing a team that matches up very well with them? It happens. The Lakers have not played well, but a large part of that has to do with the Pistons defense.

Joe Mama

 

[F-Dog]

I have no respect for Johnson or his comments. Remember that Malone was one of the few to speak out against Johnson's attempt to come back while infected with HIV. As it turns out, Malone's prejudice was based on ignorance of how difficult it is to transmit the virus through casual contact, but he deserves credit for being willing to speak his mind. My guess is that Johnson has never forgiven him for that. With the Lakers facing an upset of historic proportions, Johnson is jumping at the chance to cast his old rival in the role of scapegoat.

I never thought to give Karl Malone positive marks for using his ignorance as a bludgeon to knock one of his principal rivals out of the league.


Anyway, I don't see how the Malone or Payton comments are a problem, since he's right in both instances. And since Magic is an analyst for TNT (for some unfathomable reason), I can see how he would assume that people were interested in his opinion.

The stuff about himself sounds very self-centered, and I laughed at the 'eight rings' stuff. But you have to admit, it'll be hard for the Lakers to win now unless Gary Payton plays better, and Malone has no business getting into a physical altercation with a fan at courtside.

 

[George O'Brien]

I am sorry Magic has decided to give Kobe a free ride. I was listening to an interview with Oscar Robertson and he ripped Kobe up down and sideways. One statement was memorable, it went in effect "What triangle. All I saw was them passing the ball to Kobe and him trying to go one on one".

Robertson mentioned that when he went to the Bucks, he sacrificed his offense to get everyone on the team involved.

What he didn't say way that he sacrificed some of his offense because he was playing with Jabbar. All that mattered to him was winning.

 

[Chaplin]

Keep in mind, though, that the Lakers do not run the triangle when Payton is on the floor.

 

[George O'Brien]

Keep in mind, though, that the Lakers do not run the triangle when Payton is on the floor.

Did you notice a difference?

The one thing I saw was that the Lakers had minimal off the ball movement so Kobe was often trapped against the sideline with little time to do anything. I don't remember it making any difference whether Fisher or Payton was in the lineup.

 

[Chaplin]

Did you notice a difference?

The one thing I saw was that the Lakers had minimal off the ball movement so Kobe was often trapped against the sideline with little time to do anything. I don't remember it making any difference whether Fisher or Payton was in the lineup.

Disagree--the Lakers are much more disciplined when Fisher is on the floor. They won 3 championships with him, after all.

 

[elindholm]

The one thing I saw was that the Lakers had minimal off the ball movement

And as Suns fans, we all know how well that works.