Spurs vs Lakers (Western Conference Finals)

[abomb]

But lakerfans should want Detroit...there's also payback there from Fish and Kobe.

Fisher wasnt on that team.

 

[Andrew]

I am just saying, in my honest opinion if it shaped up to be a Pistons-Lakers finals, I got the Pistons. They have been together as a unit longer, I like some of their matchups...even for Fish Billups is hard to guard. I think Wallace could go off every other game because of his varies attributes.

No, its not because I don't want Kobe to win or because the Pistons were the last team to beat Shaq in a finals, I just simply believe the series might go 6 with the Pistons holding serve at home and stealing a win on the road....

Don't shoot me because I have a different opinion....

 

[AfroSuns]

I have a hard time seeing a Flip Saunders coached team beating Phil Jackson in the Finals. Dude let Lebron James beat them by himself 4 games in a row. Lost a lot of respect for Detroit in that series.

Is this the same Phil Jackson that got beat 2 years in a row by Pringles, one of which is coming back from 3-1 down. I wont be surprise if the Pistons beat the Lakers just because of that unit's chemistry, plus wont they have home court? I also think they matchup better than any other team to the Lakers and more consistent defensively than the Lakers

 

[D-Dogg]

Fisher wasnt on that team.

Ack, you are right. I try to forget The Mitten Experiment.

 

[D-Dogg]

Is this the same Phil Jackson that got beat 2 years in a row by Pringles, one of which is coming back from 3-1 down. I wont be surprise if the Pistons beat the Lakers just because of that unit's chemistry, plus wont they have home court? I also think they matchup better than any other team to the Lakers and more consistent defensively than the Lakers

What does any of that have to do with Flip? Which was, of course, the point of the post you are responding to.

 

[AfroSuns]

What does any of that have to do with Flip? Which was, of course, the point of the post you are responding to.

What i am saying is Flip may coach the team but he wont be suiting up to play too. There a whole lot of dynamics to consider before deducing you are going to beat a team based solely on its coaching; home court, players chemistry, consistency and experience. Mind you this is a Flip Saunders coached team that has the second best record in NBA and not to mention one of the best defensive team in the league.

 

[Andrew]

Donald, do you remember these guys from that 2003-2004 roster? Either they played very little in the season or post-season or were just on the roster with NO playing time, because I am either not remembering or never saw them play, which I doubt lol.

Carter (played very little), Grant (I know he played for them before, but honestly don't remember him that season), Russell (drawing a complete blank on this one), Sampson and Udoka (both played very little)...

 

[cobbler]

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[KCi]

No, this is a Flip Saunders that has inherited a championship team and a team that took SA to 7 and subsequently found a way to miss the Finals every year in an incredibly weak eastern conference. The Lakers have as good of chemistry as any team, they have been as consistent as any team in these playoffs, they have the best coaching staff, and are incredibly difficult to defend because their ball movement is extremely fluid. They play just as well in the half court as they do in transition.

If the Lakers are fortunate enough to advance, they would already be accustomed to playing physical teams by going through Utah and San Antonio. You got Matt Harpring thinking he's playing football against the Lakers. They have already won on the road in perhaps the most hostile arena in the NBA at Salt Lake. Kobe is as focused as ever. I like their chances. If you think Pringles beating the Lakers with that roster vs the roster the Lakers had is somehow a reflection of Phil's inability to coach, well that's your right I guess. Coaching makes a huge difference in a seven game series. It's about making adjustments and exploiting the opponents weaknesses. Something Pringles never understood. Coaching is only not a factor if the teams are incredibly over matched, I don't think either team would be incredibly overmatched in this potential matchup.

 

[thegreatest]

Fisher wasnt on that team.

Fisher was on that team. Remember he was the one to call a players only meeting.
Also he wished that he knew that GP was going to be trade, otherwise he wouldn't have signed with Golden State. He wanted a starting spot.

Fisher was a back-up on that team.

 

[Andrew]

Well, you gotta move over for the Glove, I mean really.

 

[Darth Llama]

Fisher was on that team. Remember he was the one to call a players only meeting.
Also he wished that he knew that GP was going to be trade, otherwise he wouldn't have signed with Golden State. He wanted a starting spot.

Fisher was a back-up on that team.

You are correct, Fisher was on that team, he was Paytons back up. Part of why he left is because he wanted to start and figured Payton would start over him.

On another note, today is the day for the Spurs. If the Spurs don't win today, the series is over. There is no way in hell they can come back from 0-3 against the Lakers. I feel like the Spurs will win today, but you never know. I never underestimate San Antonio, and I expect them to come out with a vengeance on their home floor. The key for the Lakers will be to try and stay close till the 4th and see if Kobe can do it again. I definitely have the Lakers in the series, but today the odds favor the Spurs.

 

[Andrew]

Darth and Donald, will you be this nice and polite to us Suns fans if say next season it's a Suns-Lakers WCF?

 

[mojorizen7]

Is this the same Phil Jackson that got beat 2 years in a row by Pringles, one of which is coming back from 3-1 down. I wont be surprise if the Pistons beat the Lakers just because of that unit's chemistry, plus wont they have home court? I also think they matchup better than any other team to the Lakers and more consistent defensively than the Lakers

Yes it is. One word...talent.
Phil brought a fist to a gun fight and still managed to get D'Antoni to empty his clip enroute to defeat.

 

[Darth Llama]

Darth and Donald, will you be this nice and polite to us Suns fans if say next season it's a Suns-Lakers WCF?

Of course.

I'm not here to fight with Suns fans, there are some good insights and discussion on this board which is what makes it a good place to post. I'm not going to lie and say I like the Suns, I don't, but I respect them and their fans. If the Suns make it to the WCF against the Lakers, I'll congratulate Suns fans, and I'll root for my team. I'll then root for the winner of the series in the NBA Finals.

As for the Jackson argument, people need to give it a rest with trying to discredit Phil for losing to the Suns 2 years in a row with the "talent" he had. Fact is, no other coach would have even been able to get those sad sack teams into the playoffs to begin with. You give Phil Jackson some talent and he'll win with them, that's what Great coaches do. Great coaches don't turn poor players into champions, great coaches shed lesser talent and bring in guys that he can win with. That's what Phil did, and now the Lakers are once again a good team. The Suns won those two years against us because they were the better team, that's it.

 

[arwillan]

in the pre-game interview bowen said that the spurs simply need to play better defense to win. i guess kobe better watch under his feet when he jumps

 

[mojorizen7]

I just hope the LAKERS don't bow down to the SPURS tonight like every other team seems to do.

 

[mojorizen7]

IMO L. Odom is the "x" factor for the LAKERS and he's struggling a bit tonight. He's got to stay aggressive and do other things.

 

[Darth Llama]

I just hope the LAKERS don't bow down to the SPURS tonight like every other team seems to do.

I'm really surprised the Lakers are only down 10. The Spurs are playing out of their minds so far, and Manu has been nothing short of god like out there. We'll have to see how the 2nd half goes, but the Lakers can't afford to allow Duncan, Parker and Ginobli all to have big games and expect to win.

 

[mojorizen7]

This guy's "PLAY"ing "COLD."

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sorry

 

[Proteus]

So what's the deal with Kobe's 3 point shooting in the playoffs? He shot 36% from the 3 in the regular season but is only shooting 27% in the playoffs coming into tonight's game (0/3 tonight currently).

 

[Proteus]

Spurs up 69-57 after 3 quarters. Lakers 42% from the field, Spurs 46%.

Lakers 1/8 3 pointers, Spurs 7/15. Lakers 4/10 free throws, Spurs 10/14 free throws.

Odom 1/9 field goals, 4 points. Gasol 6/17 field goals, 13 points. What great support Kobe is getting.

 

[Proteus]

It looks like this one is getting pretty close to over unless the Lakers do something asap. Spurs 77-60 9:14 left in the 4th. Lakers ball and timeout.

 

[Darth Llama]

I think this one is over. There is still a lot of time left, but the Spurs are unstoppable tonight, as I feared they might be. They are heaving up crazy off balance shots while falling out of bounds, and they still go in.

The Lakers aren't even playing bad, the Spurs are just so good tonight, I don't think anyone could stop them. Starting the 4th quarter with Kobe on the bench though, was just stupid. I know that's what Phil usually does, but tonight it erased any chance of a come back. The Bench can't hang with the Spurs on the road, you would think he would know this by now.

Oh well, we can still go for the split on Tuesday, I didn't really expect to win this one. Props to the Spurs, they are playing insanely good right now.

 

[LV-Suns]

NBA All-defensive team player guarding Bowen all game.

While Ginobili goes for 25 pts.