The Official Redszone NBA Playoff Thread, now with more accuracy!

[marcshoe]

I'll give the ball hitting the rim thing to those of you with better eyesight. It's been pointed out to me today that my visual perception's not what it should be--I thought I saw air between the ball and the rim at the moment the spin seemed to change on one of the replay angles. I haven't watched anything today.

As for Kobe, yeah, it was what it was (sorry for those who hate that expression). He had a great third quarter, but wasn't able to take the team on his back and single-handedly grab a victory in the fourth. Thing is, there shouldn't have been any need for him to do anything single-handedly. Just a bad game for the Lakers on the whole. And a good game for Pierce and Rondo.

[blumj]

No, the Lakers need to get their "D" in gear. They are giving Celtics uncontested points in the paint. A big no, no. Celtics were driving to the basket at will. If you're not doing it on offense, Gasol/Artest/Lamar, at least play some D. Rondo's driving to the basket, you have to make him beat you from the line.

It really doesn't matter, but to me the ball was clearly off the backboard and did not touch the rim at all. The overhead shot showed it all the way.
The refs didn't review it, anyway, they just conferred, so they didn't see what we saw on the video, they just saw whatever they thought they saw in real time.

[improbus]

How about this. If the Celtics pull this off, they are very possibly a KG knee injury away from a 3-peat. Yikes.

[RBA]

How about this. If the Celtics pull this off, they are very possibly a KG knee injury away from a 3-peat. Yikes.

If the Lakers pull this off, they are possibly a Bynum injury away from a 3-peat.

[improbus]

If the Lakers pull this off, they are possibly a Bynum injury away from a 3-peat.
Agreed. It has been a strange few seasons.

[blumj]

If the Lakers pull this off, they are possibly a Bynum injury away from a 3-peat.
And, if they don't, they'd still maybe be 2 Bynum injuries away.

[Homer Bailey]

FWIW, Sportsbook has the Celtics and Lakers at even odds to win the series (both -110).

Unfortunately, I won't be able to watch tonight, as I'm flying to (ironically) L.A.

[Boston Red]

Lakers/Celtics Game 7. I don't think the NBA could ask for anything more.

[reds44]

See yall Thursday.

[Cedric]

Wow! There is going to be a game 7?

Shocker!

[Roy Tucker]

Should be a great game tonight.

Hopefully, the Celtics show up for this game. They sure didn't for game 6.

The Perkins injury hurts. Wallace plays a lot more minutes and I'm not sure he has enough in the tank for that. And Big Baby is good for spot-play for 10-15 minutes, but anything more than that, I'd think the Lakers will exploit the height mismatch.

[Homer Bailey]

93-86 Lakers win.

Playoffs were pretty freaking awesome. Aside from the Bulls-Cavs and Jazz-Nuggets, I think every single series went the opposite of how I wanted it to go, but was still entertaining to say the least.

Driving up the Pacific coast today so I doubt I get to see the game. Enjoyed the discussion throughout the last 2 months.

[texasdave]

No matter how it ends up, I have to tip my cap to Boston. I thought they were going out in the second round.

[RBA]

93-86 Lakers win.

Playoffs were pretty freaking awesome. Aside from the Bulls-Cavs and Jazz-Nuggets, I think every single series went the opposite of how I wanted it to go, but was still entertaining to say the least.

Driving up the Pacific coast today so I doubt I get to see the game. Enjoyed the discussion throughout the last 2 months.

AM710 ESPN LA is the Lakers Flag Station. I'm not sure if they are still carried on 1240 KSMA Santa Maria or not. 710 doesn't carry that far at night.
Of course you will find the National Broadcast of it on other radio station.

KNX 1070, all news station for the after game riot either way.

[texasdave]

This is not directly Finals related but it is NBA related. Kings traded for Samuel Dalembert who is scheduled to make 12.2 million dollars this season. NBA where unbelievable happens. 12.2 million dollars.

[Boston Red]

Someone call Kobe and alert him that the game has started. Same for Pau.

[Revering4Blue]

This is not directly Finals related but it is NBA related. Kings traded for Samuel Dalembert who is scheduled to make 12.2 million dollars this season. NBA where unbelievable happens. 12.2 million dollars.

Yeah, but trading away Spencer Hawes and Nocioni = addition by subtraction.

Perhaps this is a signal that the Sixers plan to draft Favors instead of Turner.

[Revering4Blue]

Brian Scalabrine...

You cannot stop him..

You can only hope to contain him.

[blumj]

Brian Scalabrine...

You cannot stop him..

You can only hope to contain him.
I thought he was the mascot. But, now that I think about it, he's awfully tall for a leprechaun.

[WMR]

I don't particularly care about the Celts winning, but I would like to see the Lakers lose. :D

[Scrap Irony]

And the leading scorer for either team at halftime... Ron Artest?

That said, man, this is a difficult Finals to watch. Can anyone hit a jump shot consistently?

[WMR]

Ugly basketball favors the Celts. The uglier the better from their perspective.

[texasdave]

The Ray-Allen-best-shooter-ever mantra hasn't been repeated since game two.

[texasdave]

Lakers have to make a shot sometime, don't they?

[WMR]

Lakers have gotta be feeling pretty good about their chances heading into the 4th.

[WMR]

Big Baby has been Big GARBAGE Baby in the 2nd half. :redface:

[texasdave]

Lakers have gotta be feeling pretty good about their chances heading into the 4th.

Pat Riley would be proud of a game like this.

[BuckeyeRed27]

What a horrible Game 7. I guess it's close, but the quality of play has been awful.

[WMR]

What a horrible Game 7. I guess it's close, but the quality of play has been awful.

sort of reminds me of two really bad JV high school teams who play really hard but just suck horribly :D

[WMR]

wow, ray allen, how dumb can you be??? aren't you a veteran?

[OldRightHander]

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.

[texasdave]

It is like pulling teeth but we are going to crown a champion tonight. Maybe the first time in my life that I DON'T want overtime in a Game Seven situation.

[Cedric]

This is why the NBA has lost a ton of fans. I tried to watch this garbage and had to turn it off.

Players that don't have any fundamental skills. Ray Allen is caught reaching in and fouling Kobe on a HUGE 3 pointer. Later he reaches again and misses and gives Kobe a wide open shot.

One good thing about this is Kobe can't be even mentioned with Jordan.
I'm lucky to have grown up with Jordan, Magic, and Isaiah. Kobe isn't in their league. Kobe HAS to have great players around him to win.

[Scrap Irony]

Agreed on both counts, cedric.

Allen cost the Celtics the championship. Horribly poor fundamental defense, horrid shooting, and worse passing.

It's not like the Lakers have earned this. They've been given it. The main knock on Kobe throughout his career is that he has poor games when it matters most. That knock shouldn't go away after this one. He's been horrid. Ron Artest (!) deserves what little credit should be given for this dog of a series.

In a word-- ick.

[texasdave]

Do the Celtics miss Perkins on the boards or what?

[texasdave]

This is why the NBA has lost a ton of fans. I tried to watch this garbage and had to turn it off.

Players that don't have any fundamental skills. Ray Allen is caught reaching in and fouling Kobe on a HUGE 3 pointer. Later he reaches again and misses and gives Kobe a wide open shot.

One good thing about this is Kobe can't be even mentioned with Jordan.
I'm lucky to have grown up with Jordan, Magic, and Isaiah. Kobe isn't in their league. Kobe HAS to have great players around him to win.

I agree that Kobe isn't in the class of Jordan or Magic. But this is close to being back-to-back. Who are the great players around him? Gasol?

[Cedric]

I agree that Kobe isn't in the class of Jordan or Magic. But this is close to being back-to-back. Who are the great players around him? Gasol?

Gasol is probably the best big man in the NBA. He has dominated this post season.

Kobe is a great scorer that plays in a bad era. There are no great teams.

[Scrap Irony]

Gasol is Kevin McHale good. He's the second-best PF in the NBA right now.

I'd call that pretty good.

[Chip R]

I'd say either Artest or Gasol for MVP.

[texasdave]

Gasol is very good. I wouldn't stick him in among the great big men in the history of the game. He is a very good player in an era without a lot of outstanding big men. IMO.

[Cedric]

Gasol is very good. I wouldn't stick him in among the great big men in the history of the game. He is a very good player in an era without a lot of outstanding big men. IMO.

He's not anywhere near the best of all time or anything. But in today's game he is dominant. A big man that understands that his spot is underneath the rim. That's rare with all these 7 footers who do nothing but shoot 3's.

[UKFlounder]

Nah - it has to be Kobe. He shot poorly tonight, but at least made his FTs, unlike Gasol, who shot poorly from the floor and the line. Bryant really hit the boards tonight, made key FTs in the 4th quarter and with his scoring in the previous games, he's the MVP of the series.

Artest did make a huge impact these last two games though, and Gasol did a great job on the boards


I'd say either Artest or Gasol for MVP.

[Cedric]

I'm just glad to realize I haven't missed much now that I don't watch the NBA regularly. The league is at it's all time worst. Hopefully there is a work stoppage and the game declines to the point of no return.

[Revering4Blue]

Lamar Odom is clearly the best sixth man in the game. He is the Michael Cooper/Bobby Jones of this era.

[RBA]

"Unlawful Assembly" just declared outside Staples reported on KLAC 570 LA.

[Scrap Irony]

Where's Doug Moe when you need him?

I do have high hopes for this draft class. I'm hoping they herald in a new style of fun and gun play missing for, oh, 25 years. (Since Lambieer and Mahorn were starting and John Salley had knee ligaments.)

[reds44]

Holy crap. I nealy died.

YESSSSSSS

[Razor Shines]

This is why the NBA has lost a ton of fans. I tried to watch this garbage and had to turn it off.

Players that don't have any fundamental skills. Ray Allen is caught reaching in and fouling Kobe on a HUGE 3 pointer. Later he reaches again and misses and gives Kobe a wide open shot.

One good thing about this is Kobe can't be even mentioned with Jordan.
I'm lucky to have grown up with Jordan, Magic, and Isaiah. Kobe isn't in their league. Kobe HAS to have great players around him to win.

I don't think Gasol is better than Pippen, in terms of greatness. I don't think Kobe is better than Jordan but if we're lumping Jordan, Magic and Isaiah together then Kobe is in that group as well. He had a rough series, but he's still an all time great.

[Roy Tucker]

That was one ugly basketball game. I don't know if all the guys were tired or what. Played hard and exciting from a crowd standpoint, but jeez, that was terrible basketball. Looked like a World Cup soccer match with all the grabbing and pulling and hacking.

Not a showcase for the quality of play for the NBA. And really not representative of the series up till then.

[OldRightHander]

I think there has been a huge fundamental shift in the way the game is played since I played in the 80s, and it's changed at all levels. For one, I am sometimes shocked at the amount of contact that is allowed these days, not to mention moving the pivot foot, up and down, (the one shot Gasol made last night where he left his feet, hit the ground, and then put the shot up) and extra steps that guys take these days. I'm disappointed because I really like the game of basketball, but I must be an old stick in the mud or something because I just don't like a lot of what I'm seeing these days. When I play at the gym all the young kids call me things like "that old school white dude" and stuff like that because I'm the guy who moves without the ball and tries to get open for jumpers.

In defense of the NBA, and maybe that depends on the team and the coach, I went to a game in Salt Lake when I was out there over the winter and I really enjoyed the way the Jazz played that game. Maybe that's just the way Jerry Sloane coaches or something, but that was way more enjoyable than what I saw last night.

[Homer Bailey]

Can't believe Kobe took a dump on the Staples Center floor in a Game 7, and the Lakers won. I assume he won MVP. I only saw the last 13 seconds. Has anyone shot a lower percentage and won an MVP award? What a joke.

[RBA]

I

[Scrap Irony]

I don't think Gasol is better than Pippen, in terms of greatness. I don't think Kobe is better than Jordan but if we're lumping Jordan, Magic and Isaiah together then Kobe is in that group as well. He had a rough series, but he's still an all time great.

If Kobe is in that group, he's the lowest on the totem pole.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Larry Bird
4. Wilt Chamberlain
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
6. Karl Malone
7. Moses Malone
8. Oscar Robertson
9. Isiah Thomas
10. Hakeem Olajuwon

I don't think Bryant is anywhere near any of these guys, nor is it really questionable. Kobe's not only not in the top tier, he's not even in that next group down.

Bryant's TO ratio (especially for someone who isn't a point guard) and his remarkably poor shooting (and shot selection) keep him from being top 10.

[Tony Cloninger]

Maybe it was the tenseness of Game 7....but how ..after watching that game....can basketball be the 2nd most popular sport in this country?

Soccer games looked more exciting. I realize those under 30....do not understand how much better basketball was in the 80's and early 90's..but at the risk of sounding like the old man....This brand of basketball sucks.

[Revering4Blue]

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Larry Bird
4. Wilt Chamberlain
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
6. Karl Malone
7. Moses Malone
8. Oscar Robertson
9. Isiah Thomas
10. Hakeem Olajuwon

Julius Erving says hello.

[OldRightHander]

Julius Erving says hello.

He could play a little.

[Roy Tucker]

That game last night really wasn't representative of the NBA these days. They do play better basketball than that.

The defenses were suffocating, everyone seemed fatigued, the refs seemed to let every kind of thuggery go uncalled, and *nobody* played good offense.

[Scrap Irony]

Julius Erving says hello.

Thought about him. Shaq, too. Same with Russell, Wilkins, and Barkley.

How about Alex English? Gervin? Maravich?

Is Kobe Top 25 right now? Top 15?

[Jack Burton]

I'm just glad to realize I haven't missed much now that I don't watch the NBA regularly. The league is at it's all time worst. Hopefully there is a work stoppage and the game declines to the point of no return.

Agreed 100%.

[Revering4Blue]

Thought about him. Shaq, too. Same with Russell, Wilkins, and Barkley.

How about Alex English? Gervin? Maravich?

Is Kobe Top 25 right now? Top 15?

Top 15?

No.

Top 25?

Maybe.

Barkley, English et. all shouldn't be penalized for not winning championships, considering the era in which they played. Heck, Bob Lanier in his prime would be considered the best Center in the league if he played today.

Back to the original point.

Kobe as best Laker ever?

No way, at least as this point.

However, I may be in the minority, but I'm not even certain that the Shaq-Kobe championship squads could beat this Laker team in a seven game series.

[Razor Shines]

If Kobe is in that group, he's the lowest on the totem pole.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Larry Bird
4. Wilt Chamberlain
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
6. Karl Malone
7. Moses Malone
8. Oscar Robertson
9. Isiah Thomas
10. Hakeem Olajuwon

I don't think Bryant is anywhere near any of these guys, nor is it really questionable. Kobe's not only not in the top tier, he's not even in that next group down.

Bryant's TO ratio (especially for someone who isn't a point guard) and his remarkably poor shooting (and shot selection) keep him from being top 10.

That's one of the silliest things I've seen in a while. Kobe's as good as or better all those guys not named Michael or Magic.

Karl Malone? Without John Stockton Karl Malone is a pretty good NBA player, but not great.

I can't believe I'm defending Kobe, I don't even like him or the Lakers.

[Scrap Irony]

The next time Kobe shoots 50% will be the first time. His career field goal percentage is .455.

That's it.

He takes an absolute ton of shots as well.

He's Allen Iverson with a few more inches on his frame and a better rebounding percentage.

Is that good? Absolutely. It's even great. Top 25 of all time, IMO.

But I don't think he's Top 10 nor even Top 15.

[cumberlandreds]

Thought about him. Shaq, too. Same with Russell, Wilkins, and Barkley.

How about Alex English? Gervin? Maravich?

Is Kobe Top 25 right now? Top 15?

Jerry West and Oscar Robertson say hello! :wave:

[improbus]

That's one of the silliest things I've seen in a while. Kobe's as good as or better all those guys not named Michael or Magic.

Karl Malone? Without John Stockton Karl Malone is a pretty good NBA player, but not great.

I can't believe I'm defending Kobe, I don't even like him or the Lakers.
I agree 100%. Every great NBA player has a "yeah, but..."
MJ has Pippen
Magic has Kareem
Bird has Mchale
etc...
You can't blame Kobe for playing with great players. That is not his fault.

[Scrap Irony]

How am I arguing that the only reason Kobe's in the Top 25 players of all time because of the players around him?

He's great, I admit.

But I don't think he's top 10 yet. That's it.

[Cedric]

How am I arguing that the only reason Kobe's in the Top 25 players of all time because of the players around him?

He's great, I admit.

But I don't think he's top 10 yet. That's it.

I don't think he is close either. I'm not someone that thinks championships matter much.

Oscar, MJ, Magic, and Bird are clearly better perimeter players, IMO.

[Kingspoint]

I despise the Lakers.

[WVRed]

This is why the NBA has lost a ton of fans. I tried to watch this garbage and had to turn it off.

Players that don't have any fundamental skills. Ray Allen is caught reaching in and fouling Kobe on a HUGE 3 pointer. Later he reaches again and misses and gives Kobe a wide open shot.

One good thing about this is Kobe can't be even mentioned with Jordan.
I'm lucky to have grown up with Jordan, Magic, and Isaiah. Kobe isn't in their league. Kobe HAS to have great players around him to win.

For everybody who is saying this, keep one thing in mind about MJ, the Jordan Rules.

Jordan tried to win by himself, but it wasn't until he had Scottie Pippen and others that the Bulls really broke through.

[reds44]

Kobe HAS to have great players around him? Uhh....what? Jordan didn't win anything until he got one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history on his team. Is Gasol anywhere near the player Pippen was? No.

Please. The Kobe hate is unbelievable.

[reds44]

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199805310CHI.html

Jordan was 9-25 against the Pacers in Game 7.
10-15 from the line too.

Love how people forget about this kind of stuff.

[BRM]

That was one ugly basketball game. I don't know if all the guys were tired or what. Played hard and exciting from a crowd standpoint, but jeez, that was terrible basketball. Looked like a World Cup soccer match with all the grabbing and pulling and hacking.


Agreed. That was very ugly basketball and disappointing for a Game 7.