hey laker fans

[elindholm]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-playoffs18-2009apr18,0,3141257.story?page=2

Phil Jackson on the 2004 Pistons-Lakers finals:

"Every opening tap, Shaq was called for a violation, just things that you just knew that the whole series was kind of like, 'This thing's rigged against us. It's not going to go right,' " Jackson said. "Shaq was getting offensive foul after offensive foul. The Detroit team was like the fair-haired boys, the upstarts that were coming in. That was really a tough loss."

Boy, don't you just hate these whiny conspiracy theorists who think officiating has something to do with the outcome of a game? Great teams find a way to win no matter how large the bias against them, don't they? Sounds like Jackson would rather be coaching the Sacramento Kings.

 

[elindholm]

You know, I would consider responding if you had ever, once, shown the capacity to follow a logical discussion. But as it is, forget it.

 

[Darth Llama]

The Pistons won that series because they played better basketball. I don't agree with Phil making statements like this, especially when they don't make any sense. That team had not only Shaq and Kobe who were by far the biggest stars at the time, but also Gary Payton and Karl Malone both going for their first title. The NBA had absolutely nothing to gain by pushing the Pistons over the Lakers.

The Lakers just lost. Conspiracy theory is complete crap.

 

[cobbler]

PJ just blowing smoke. Total BS and anyone with a brain would know that. Lakers lost that series because Shaq was not playing well, the turmoil on the team, Malones injury, Kobe playing like crap, Payton not buying into the triangle, and the Pistons jelling like a team and completely outplaying them. Conspiricies had nothing to do with it. Well leave those for the whiney fans.

 

[shazaam6]

PJ just blowing smoke. Total BS and anyone with a brain would know that. Lakers lost that series because Shaq was not playing well, the turmoil on the team, Malones injury, Kobe playing like crap, Payton not buying into the triangle, and the Pistons jelling like a team and completely outplaying them. Conspiricies had nothing to do with it. Well leave those for the whiney fans.

You are quite a salesman.

 

[French Fries]

PJ just blowing smoke. Total BS and anyone with a brain would know that. Lakers lost that series because Shaq was not playing well, the turmoil on the team, Malones injury, Kobe playing like crap, Payton not buying into the triangle, and the Pistons jelling like a team and completely outplaying them. Conspiricies had nothing to do with it. Well leave those for the whiney fans.

i'd like to add here, the laker team was just a group of 4 stars playing against a team. all season long the lakers didn't find their identity. shaq was shut down by elden campbell and had to rely on slava medvedenko to open up the pistons interior. friggin disappointing, first and only time ever i made a bet in an nba game and i lost...

 

[cobbler]

i'd like to add here, the laker team was just a group of 4 stars playing against a team. all season long the lakers didn't find their identity. shaq was shut down by elden campbell and had to rely on slava medvedenko to open up the pistons interior. friggin disappointing, first and only time ever i made a bet in an nba game and i lost...

I totally agree. That was my point. The Pistons while not having the superstar talent played team ball and trounced the Lakers who were superstars in turmoil. It certainly wasnt because of officiating or any conspiricy!

 

[Bufalay]

It was because Kobe decided to stop passing. It was a beautiful thing to watch.

 

[cobbler]

It was because Kobe decided to stop passing. It was a beautiful thing to watch.

This is going to be a tough stretch for you Kobe haters! You and Shaq can watch all the passing and winning starting tomorrow as you both will have plenty of free time!

 

[Bufalay]

This is going to be a tough stretch for you Kobe haters! You and Shaq can watch all the passing and winning starting tomorrow as you both will have plenty of free time!

Good for Kobe it took him about 11 years to figure out that he needed to pass the ball. Don't make this into a Kobe vs. Shaq thing. I refuse to take the side of any Laker, past or present.

 

[D-Dogg]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-playoffs18-2009apr18,0,3141257.story?page=2

Phil Jackson on the 2004 Pistons-Lakers finals:

"Every opening tap, Shaq was called for a violation, just things that you just knew that the whole series was kind of like, 'This thing's rigged against us. It's not going to go right,' " Jackson said. "Shaq was getting offensive foul after offensive foul. The Detroit team was like the fair-haired boys, the upstarts that were coming in. That was really a tough loss."

Boy, don't you just hate these whiny conspiracy theorists who think officiating has something to do with the outcome of a game? Great teams find a way to win no matter how large the bias against them, don't they? Sounds like Jackson would rather be coaching the Sacramento Kings.

Who cares? Is this a recent article? And if so, wow...Phil is trying to get messages out to the refs to officiate well in the playoffs...he's NEVER done that before.

Silly thread E.

 

[D-Dogg]

Good for Kobe it took him about 11 years to figure out that he needed to pass the ball. Don't make this into a Kobe vs. Shaq thing. I refuse to take the side of any Laker, past or present.

Kobe has always passed the ball. But continue your belief, despite him having excellent assist numbers for a SG, and often leading the Lakers in assists.

 

[D-Dogg]

PJ just blowing smoke. Total BS and anyone with a brain would know that. Lakers lost that series because Shaq was not playing well, the turmoil on the team, Malones injury, Kobe playing like crap, Payton not buying into the triangle, and the Pistons jelling like a team and completely outplaying them. Conspiricies had nothing to do with it. Well leave those for the whiney fans.

Malone's injury doomed that team. He was the glue of that group, and they won because of him. Otherwise, it would have been TOTAL meltdown...without Malone, they had no shot. None.

 

[cobbler]

Malone's injury doomed that team. He was the glue of that group, and they won because of him. Otherwise, it would have been TOTAL meltdown...without Malone, they had no shot. None.

I 100% agree. It was Malones injury that caused all the other issues i mentioned to take center stage. Whe he went down the other 3 went into "me" mode.

Good call on the assists post as well. So many people fail to see clearly through their Kobe hater glasses that he has always been a top assist leader for a 2 guard.

 

[Bufalay]

I 100% agree. It was Malones injury that caused all the other issues i mentioned to take center stage. Whe he went down the other 3 went into "me" mode.

Good call on the assists post as well. So many people fail to see clearly through their Kobe hater glasses that he has always been a top assist leader for a 2 guard.

Good for him, and during his "prime" Marbury was a top assist leader for a 1 guard.

 

[arwillan]

I 100% agree. It was Malones injury that caused all the other issues i mentioned to take center stage. Whe he went down the other 3 went into "me" mode.

Good call on the assists post as well. So many people fail to see clearly through their Kobe hater glasses that he has always been a top assist leader for a 2 guard.

I don't think the argument is so much that Kobe's numbers weren't good as far as passing goes. It's more that because of the talent he played around, he could have had even more had he wanted to pass the ball more. I don't think anyone can deny that Kobe was, to at least some degree, a selfish player for a long time. He's obviously quite different now, and i've come to respect his maturity and growth in that regard. However, many anti-Kobe folks will always base their opinions on concepts which were conceived on completely false ideas. The bottom line is, Kobe was the best player on his team and he had the right to shoot the ball. The fact that he had good team mates made it seem as if he wasn't sharing because a lot of other players on his team during that era could have very easily put up 15-20 a night. I don't fault Kobe a whole lot for his style of play during that time, actually. He was what he was, and it led him to three titles. Hard to argue with those results. Kobe never was, nor will he ever be, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, or Jason Kidd. He's an under-rated passer and always has been.

 

[Bufalay]

The bottom line is, Kobe was the best player on his team and he had the right to shoot the ball.

Are you sure? I don't really like Shaq, but I'm pretty sure he was better than Kobe when they were teammates.

 

[D-Dogg]

Are you sure? I don't really like Shaq, but I'm pretty sure he was better than Kobe when they were teammates.

It depends on what you wanted done. Shaq was the more dominant player, but that doesn't mean he was better. Both of them could take over a game...Shaq absolutely destroyed the eastern teams in the Finals...in 2001 I think it was, Kobe singlehandedly dismantled the Spurs, after polishing off the kings in two monster games. They were a disgusting tandem. The Spurs were more afraid of Kobe than Shaq, and the entire eastern conference was terrified of Shaq.

Kobe was and is a selfish player, sure. But he's also ridiculously talented and great..

 

[arwillan]

Are you sure? I don't really like Shaq, but I'm pretty sure he was better than Kobe when they were teammates.

Statistically, he was clearly better. But talent-wise, I don't think many players have ever been better than Kobe.

Maybe it would have been more accurate if I were to say that Kobe was the franchise player (and still is), and thus had the right to shoot the ball.

 

[Bufalay]

Statistically, he was clearly better. But talent-wise, I don't think many players have ever been better than Kobe.

Maybe it would have been more accurate if I were to say that Kobe was the franchise player (and still is), and thus had the right to shoot the ball.

He had the right to shoot the ball because they didn't want to upset him, regardless of the impact that his excessive shooting had on the team? Word.

 

[cobbler]

He had the right to shoot the ball because they didn't want to upset him, regardless of the impact that his excessive shooting had on the team? Word.

Word? Really?

 

[arwillan]

He had the right to shoot the ball because they didn't want to upset him, regardless of the impact that his excessive shooting had on the team? Word.

His so-called excessive shooting coupled with shaq's play won 3 titles, so I don't think many can really argue with what was going on in that regard. Even if they let him hog the ball to keep him happy, so what? It produced results, he's still with the team, and they're poised to be contending for the title for the next few years once gain. Can anyone really argue with those kinds of results?

 

[Darth Llama]

Can anyone really argue with those kinds of results?

Bufalay can argue with anything!

 

[pokerface]

Hey Laker fans....da da da




Are we really in a position to smack-talk the Lakers??

 

[14 rings]

As a Lakers fan I'll go ahead and say that I think we got worked in those finals. Plain and simple.

That being said, here's some stats that might surprise/upset some people.

The number of FT's attempted by each team

LAL- 111, or 22 per game
Detroit- 174, or 34 per game

I don't think it was rigged and I think Detroit was the better team but when there's a FT disparity of 60 over 5 games it's interesting to say the least.