Official Los Angeles Lakers Thread

[podstock]

You made a good point..and I will leave it at that

I keep rooting for Kobe, and hope that he doesn't kill his career by moving elsewhere (esp. when the Lakers are the ONLY team allowed to give him $50M MORE than any other team on the new contract)

Ken Griffey Jr. had the red carpet treatment to the Hall of Fame while in Seattle....but he groused, wanted to go home, blah blah... and the baseball gods took vengeance on him

There is no way Griffey is a sure-lock Hall of Famer at this point in time.

If kobe leaves Lakers just b/c he wants to be THE MAN, he may find himself the next T-Mac / Vince Carter ---- lots of points, and lots of losses

[podstock]

3/24/04 update: Lakers 115-91 over the Kings, in a bashing seen on ESPN and heard all over the NBA world!!!!!

holy horse manure!!

Did I think this could happen?

Of course I did, but then again, I thought the Raiders were going to blow out the Bucs in the Super Bowl 2 years ago and that Rice was going to be the MVP

wowowowowowow!
after a 9-6 Kings lead, the Lakers promptly went on a 27-3 run and lead by 19 after the end of the 1st, led by 18 at halftime, by 22 at end of 3rd quarter, and won by 24

it was a sound beating from one end to the other.

Kobe scored the first points of the game, on a 22-footer, after being in the courtroom all day, and made his first 4 shots, ending with 36 points, 6 boards and 6 assists

Kobe set the tone, and Karl, Gary and Shaq carried it throughout the whole game.

Absolutely phenomenal shooting by the Lakers - 51.6% for the game and 79% free throws, vs. 41% and 65% for the Kings

Shaq had yet another GREAT defensive game, even coming out high on the pick and roll, and got 17 points, 16 boards and 6 assists

Karl had only 11 points, 7 boards and 4 assists (hampered by foul trouble), but did a very respectable job against Webber

payton had 20, with 5 boards and 3 assists; more importantly, he SHUT down Bibby, who was 4-16 shooting. Last game, Bibby went wild, going for 31 points

Slava had a TREMENDOUS game backing up Karl, and even did a somewhat ok job defensively Slava had 15 points (6-9 shooting) and 8 boards ---- just a great great game!!

Rick Fox, with a mere 6 points, 5 boards and 5 assists, SHUT DOWN Peja, as Fox was in Peja's face all game long. Peja had a good game, 7-15 for 20 points.....but boy, every time he touched the ball (which wasn't often) Fox and/or Devean was basically hugging him! tremendous defense!!

Surprisingly, Brad Miller was a none-factor.

yes, the Kings had a back-to-back game...but they played (and lost to) Bucks at Sacramento the night before, so the travel wasn't that bad.

yes, the Kings were missing Bobby Jackson

but, even with Bobby playing, the Kings weren't going to make up that 18-24 point deficit throughout the game

If the Lakers can play this defense (a very big big big IF), they cannot be beat, b/c they have too many weapons on the offense.

Whereas, before, you could double Kobe and double Shaq, and allow Devean and Fox to shoot to will, and still win.....

now, you cannot leave Karl and Gary for wide open jumpers.

All that stands in the way of a Lakers championship is their heart:

CAN THEY PLAY THIS TYPE OF DEFENSE?

if yes - they win the title for Karl and Gary
if no - they will not make it to the NBA Finals

whoever comes out of the West - Lakers, Kings, Spurs, Wolves - will destroy whoever comes out of the East.

[SingleDaddyof2]

Originally posted by podstock
All that stands in the way of a Lakers championship is their heart:

You hit the nail right on the head. That was an excellent post, Phil. ^5's to you. As we're heading into the season's crunch time, I can see Shaq is finally showing some real intensity. He is now doing some real jumping for rebounds and blocked shots. He has stepped it up now along with the rest of the team. When the Lakers focus on their defense, that's when you see games like yesterday's drubbing of Sacramento. I wish I could've seen the game's first half but I was helping my daughter with a school project--I should've taped it, d'oh!!

[minew_m]

What surprised me the most about the game is Fox. He finally looked like his old self. I though for sure that Peja would just destroy Fox, but the reverse happened. If Fox can keep on playing like he did last night, the Lakers have even more of a better shot to win the Championship this year!

[podstock]

Originally posted by SingleDaddyof2
I wish I could've seen the game's first half but I was helping my daughter with a school project--I should've taped it, d'oh!!

first, good job helping out your daughter!! That takes precedence over watching Kobe and Shaq

second...I was at work, and did tape it, but the damn tape and/or Foxsports channel screwed up, so I missed over 11 minutes of the 1st quarter (when all the good action was!), before the tape miraculously cleared up and I was able to watch the last 3 quarters

lolol...

but then again, I went home, and ESPN had a replay of it at 12:30 am, so I watched the 1st quarter on ESPN

[podstock]

Originally posted by minew_m
What surprised me the most about the game is Fox. He finally looked like his old self. I though for sure that Peja would just destroy Fox, but the reverse happened. If Fox can keep on playing like he did last night, the Lakers have even more of a better shot to win the Championship this year!

Minew,

ya, me too!!

I figured Peja would've scored 30+, and was hoping Kobe could do the same to neutralize it.

But, I never dreamed that Peja and Bibby would score LESS than Kobe!

Shaq, since the All Star break, is proving your point: he is a BIG BAD MAN!!!

boy, when he goes after the rebounds, no one else has a chance, as he just towers over everyone.

lolol, he and Kareem Rush went up for a rebound last night, and almost pancaked Kareem while getting the rebound. lol

[minew_m]

Actually both our players are proving both our points. Kobe has been suberb in the fourth quarter, especially for the last 6-8 games. He's really scoring quite a bit. In the same span Shaq is getting a great amount of rebounds and blocks. I hope they can both get even better for the playoffs. That would be a nightmare for any team!

[insanefishpossay]

Should be a great game tonight against the wolves.

And the games on ESPN, ahhh i get to watch it in HD :)

[stalking_WOLF_21]

lakers are going down wally starting to wake up and kg playing like mvp but i must say th lakers have been domint

[stalking_WOLF_21]

first quorter kobe goes on the baseline and no one on him dunks it and the ball comes flying at garnett then sprewell gets the same chance no one with in 7ft and he missed his dunk/layup it was pritty weird did you guys see that miami dallas game i almost pied by paints