Official Los Angeles Lakers Thread

[stalking_WOLF_21]

no resson to put the player down ether
wally did great considering he has been injured most of the playoffs and regular season. And besides you try playing against a team that is dirty and play agressive with a big thing around your stomach

[podstock]

5/19/04 update: holy fark, the Wolves take game 7, 83-80 as Garnett scores 32 on his 28th birthday

a TREMENDOUS victory by the Wolves, who've never advanced past the 1st round before this season

Now, they are 4 wins away from the Finals

Game 1 vs the Lakers is this Friday

my prediction: Lakers in 5

[stalking_WOLF_21]

my prediction
don't have one except for the wolves beating them

[cardbuyer66]

My Prediction:Lakers in 5 or 6
My hope:Either LA in a hard fought 6 or 7, or Wolves to win....so the Pacers can beat the Pistons/Nets and then beat the Wolves to win it all

[insanefishpossay]

Great game by the wolves.

Sadly, LA has a very good chance of winning the next series.

Wolves don't have anyone to stop Shack.

Maybe Olowokandi will learn how to play the game of basketball, but i'm not holding my breath.

Sam Cassell is really hurting, it's amazing how well he played in Game 7. Sore Back, Bad Hip, Ruptured Ear Drum....

Hopefully it'll at least be an exciting series.

[podstock]

Final score: Lakers 97-88 in game 1, over the Wolves

as expected the Lakers won.

it was a close game, and undoubtedly if Cassell had played in the 4th quarter, the game might have been closer or even the wolves victory.

this game was won in the 3rd quarter, when the Lakers bench, led by Derek Fisher and Rush, helped Lakers outscore the Wolves by 9.

Shaq had a TREMENDOUS game, with 27 points, 18 boards, and a 9-11 free throw shooting. THAT'S RIGHT, SHAQ MADE 9 FREE THROWS IN 11 TRIES

holy fark!!!

even Kobe missed more free throws than Shaq did, lololol.

Karl had a TREMENDOUS game, scoring 17 points on 8-13 shooting with 11 boards and 4 assists for this 40-y/o guy!!
wowowowowowow!! What a job he did on KG, who score 16 points on 7-15 shooting and 10 boards.

In the Lakers 1980s-2000s, we've never had a power forward the caliber of a Karl Malone, and even at 40-y/o, Karl is proving that he's not riding the coattails of Shaq and Kobe to the title.

what a FANTASTIC game by Karl, something I did not expect. I was hoping Karl would hold KG to about 30 points and score 15 points himself!

Kobe had an average game, with 23 points on 9-20 shooting and making 5-8 free throws, with 3 boards and 6 assists in 45 minutes

Fisher was awesome off the bench, with 14 points on 5-9 shooting with several 3-pointers! This guy is performing like in 2001, when he made 16 3-pointers in a 4-game sweep of the Spurs

Sprewell played well, with 23 points on 8-15 shooting...but at least he didn't go off for 30

but, I admit this:

1. Wolves were tired, and didn't have time to catch their breath... that hurt them in the 2nd half. Wolves did well in the 1st half, falling behind by only 2 points at halftime...but it caught up to them in the 3rd quarter

2. Cassell didn't play at all in the 4th quarter, when the Wolves were as close as 2 points. No doubt, the Wolves could've used Cassell's outside shooting

3. Troy Hudson is out due to ankle surgery. Hudson provides quickness and shooting ability in the mode of Bibby, Ginobili, etc... guards who terrorized the Lakers slow and old guards Fisher and Payton

Wolves need game 2..if they lose, it's over.

The Lakers could've lost 2 games (like they did with the Spurs) and still won the series...

but don't forget, before this year, Wolves couldn't get out of the 1st round....now, they're in the West Conference Finals.

[cardbuyer66]

Do you think LA might let down the second game? I won a lot on the first quarter bets but got greedy and lost half it back in the second half, even though I knew LA would win the halftime spread, I just hoped Minnesota would. Im unsure if LA will come out and win game 2, or kind of sit back. I dont doubt that LA can almost win at will in this series, I just dont know when they're going to come out and play there hardest and when they may just, well, take a game off

[minew_m]

To tell you the truth, it just looked like the Lakers were coasting. They really only played defense when they needed to. Kobe wasn't really shooting all that much either. We all know he can take over a game when he wants to. Shaq really didn't go up and contest all that many shots like he did in the past. And they really weren't guarding Wally. They were forcing him to make shots instead of putting it in the hands of KG or Spreewell.

I think this will be a short series (hopefully even a sweep).

[insanefishpossay]

Originally posted by podstock
but, I admit this:

1. Wolves were tired, and didn't have time to catch their breath... that hurt them in the 2nd half. Wolves did well in the 1st half, falling behind by only 2 points at halftime...but it caught up to them in the 3rd quarter

Wolves were very tired, especially KG. KG played amazingly in game 7 against sacramento... but he played in 46 minutes that game.

There were times when KG was just walking up court, you could tell he was exhausted.

2. Cassell didn't play at all in the 4th quarter, when the Wolves were as close as 2 points. No doubt, the Wolves could've used Cassell's outside shooting

Flip Saunders asked Cassell if he could go back in and play during the 4th quarter. Sam said no. He must be hurting if he says he can't play. The game would have been at least a lot closer had Sam been able to play.

3. Troy Hudson is out due to ankle surgery. Hudson provides quickness and shooting ability in the mode of Bibby, Ginobili, etc... guards who terrorized the Lakers slow and old guards Fisher and Payton

T-Wolves fans aren't using Hudson being out as an excuse. He's been out for most of the season really, we've learned to live without him. It sure would be nice to have him back though, especially now that Sam's hurting and KG's exhausted.

[cardbuyer66]

It sounds dumb, but maybe only play KG if you're ahead in game 1? Now game 2 is coming right up, and he will be tired for that one too. He played 45 mins in game one, which most likely turn around and makes him tired again. I see LA as possibly sweeping this series, definately winning it, and they were coasting through most of game 1. I'm thinking of using the same strategy for game 2, picking the Wolves to win the first quarter, and maybe score 10 first again, and then taking LA to win the second half and the game. I dont think this will be much of a series