The play of Shaq is going to dictate the series. Will he step up? He'll have to,'cause Trenton Hassell is gonna make life harder for Kobe in this series. Elbows will have his work cut out for him guarding the MVP, where I think he honestly doesn't stand a chance. He just doesn't have the athleticsm anymore, and the reason he could guard Duncan pretty good is because Duncan isn't an athletic freak. KG is, and he's basically Duncan with much more athleticism. With all this being said, I'll say Wolves in 7
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting PLATWolve:</div><div class="quote_post">So we have no chance winning this series because Cassell can't get past Payton? Latrell has no chance of stopping Kobe? Dude, look at what Minnesota's defense did to Bibby and Peja. Bibby is as quick if not quicker than Kobe to the basket and we held him to absolute crap shooting and also held Peja to absolutely nothing too. How can you justify this being over? You really think Malone will contain Garnett that efficiently? Malone is ancient compared to Garnett and can go right by him if he wants too. You think Shaq can stop Garnett? Shaq's a loaf who one on one couldn't stop Garnett because he can't even run let alone even shoot outside remotely at all. Garnett's moves can get by anyone and with his height and reach, forget about it.</div> I know you are a T'wolves fan and you are going to defend any type of hatin' on the wolve's and I'll admit, I hate KG. But this game will come down to the PG and Center position. Cassell is pretty banged up, and Troy Hudson, who can destroy Payton, will be no where to be found. Now you did get Wally to wake up but, c'mon he had a hieght advantage over Bibby. And Peja sucks his thumb when it comes to crunch time. But you guys are messing with the "big boys" now. Shaq will dominate and my prediction still stands. Lakers in 5.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Spree:</div><div class="quote_post">Okay, hassell and Spree are not going to stop kobe but they are going to get under his skin and make him work for everything.. he is NOT the greatest player on the planet.. that award goes to Kevin Garnett. How is Malone and his rusty old legs gunna stay with KG.. i don't see any real blow out type of mismatches apart from Shaq.. Shaq is really the only MAJOR threat to this team and im sure Flip is going to strategise defensively and work somethin out to at least slow him down.. other than that i see fairly matched squads and some quality basketball on its way.. It really isn't going to be a lake show like many think..</div> Kevin Garnett is this years most valuable player......that does NOT translate to being the best player in the league..... Kobe Bryant IS the best player in the league....there is nobody as clutch, nobody who can do it all as well, who is also carrying around 3 championship rings........ Kevin Garnett is a GREAT player.....Kobe Bryant is the BEST player.....
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting John from Hemet:</div><div class="quote_post">Kevin Garnett is this years most valuable player......that does NOT translate to being the best player in the league..... Kobe Bryant IS the best player in the league....there is nobody as clutch, nobody who can do it all as well, who is also carrying around 3 championship rings........ Kevin Garnett is a GREAT player.....Kobe Bryant is the BEST player.....</div> I respect your opinions on Kobe being the best player in the league and I don't wan't to turn this into a debate on who is the best player but I do not agree that Kobe is the best. He is a great player with amazing skills but KG is the more all-around player. Kobe is a very clutch player but you cannot compare who is better by who has more rings. Having more rings than a player doesn't necessarily mean he is better. KG is the most complete player in the league. MVP doesn't always mean that you are the best player but it shows how valuable of a player you are. In my opinion, he is the better player right now.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Just-Magic:</div><div class="quote_post">I respect your opinions on Kobe being the best player in the league and I don't wan't to turn this into a debate on who is the best player but I do not agree that Kobe is the best. He is a great player with amazing skills but KG is the more all-around player. Kobe is a very clutch player but you cannot compare who is better by who has more rings. Having more rings than a player doesn't necessarily mean he is better. KG is the most complete player in the league. MVP doesn't always mean that you are the best player but it shows how valuable of a player you are. In my opinion, he is the better player right now.</div> well said. that is exactly my opinion. Rings = Great Teams.. Not taking anything away from Kobe, i just think hes more like the 3rd or 4th best individual player in the L.. but i dont want to change the thread into who's the best player.. Its very hard to judge who is the best individual but Kobe does belong up there, only its behing KG.. and arguably T-Mac..
Kobe is the best finisher in the league. He can post up, spot up, drive, catch and shoot. He can create his shot anytime he wants. Hassell cannot stop him nor can Spree. Someone said that Garnett can also get to the hoop when he's "hyped up", well that's the problem, more often than not he settles for the jumper rather than goin gto the rack. The performance he had in the 4th quarter where he scored all 6 of the Wolves' FGs (I did not know this until today) is amazing but the Lakers play better D than the Kings. Lakers in 6
i think they will split games 1 and 2....games 3 and 4 will be minnys....3-1 minny lead.....then the lakers win 2 str8 to make it 3-3.....and Minny wins game 7 at home by 4 hmmmm....im really hoping KG wins that ring....
The Lakers owned the Timberwolves tonight, because of Sam Cassell's injury, and because of Garnett's non-MVP performance. No way does a 40 year old prevent you from playing like your real self.
ok lets calm ourselves wolves fans.. Shaq was posing a threat to us and it proved to be a worry. I still think we are in this.. its early days. We were in that game the whole way untill the end of the 3rd qtr when kareem rush n fish face hit a few threes to put em up double digits.. Game 2 we should bounce back from this upsetting loss.. KG needs to be more or a superstar and take it straight to these mo' foz! Kobe didn't breakout like he normally does apart from his little array of jumpers in the 3rd.. Hassell n Spree will stick to him all series long.. Wolves had waay to many silly turnovers.. especially my man Sprewell, he had a great 2nd half but he and KG turn it over too much down low when they get trapped in the post. They had 10 TO's at the end of the first half! come on wolves.. im not gunna get 2 upset because they are still in this.. but they gotta fight to the very end and make somethin happen in the crunch. Sammy's injury must be gettin to him because he sat out the 4th.. and i can't see any other reason why Flip would bench him.. well bad luck twolves (and fans) .. lets make another strong run for game 2!!
Hopefully for you TimberWolves fan Sam is gonna be able to get back to full health by some regenration miracle. Cause ya'll don't have a point guard being that Troy Hudson is out and Derek Martin hasn't played for awhile. If he can play somewhat, there's a lil ray of hope that the TWolves are gonna be able to pull their next game out. But if Sam doesn't play, the TWolves rotation will be messed up and I can't see them pulling game 2 out and possibly get swept.
I hope all you Malone haters out there watched that game closely. No Malone didn't "own" KG, but he did get under his skin. And watch for the "Pull the Chair Out" move, Malone does that atleast once a game. And when he does, turnover. What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in experience. Aside from that, I think Minnesotta has a great team, and with a healthy roster, they are amazing. But unfortunately that T-Wolves team isn't going up against the Lakers. The team that is playing the Lakers right now is a tired, injured team. Hopefully Cassell isn't out for long, but without his offense, they may get swept. I still think they'll manage to do damage, but I still call Lakers in 5.
Cheryl Miller said that Flip went up to Sam with 6:00 minutes left in the game & asked him if he could go any more, & I guess Sam said no. But he really didnt look good in the 2nd anyway. He got to the basket a few times but didnt have any lift to finish. And all his jumpers in the 2nd half hit front iron, which tells me he didnt have any lift on his shot either. So Iam not for sure how effective he would have been if he checked back in anyway. But you always want Sam on the court late because their is a possiblity that he can make something happen out of nothing late in games. As far as the rest of the game goes, I think KG has to move around alot more, he was kind of stationary tonight. Thats exactly how Tim Duncan played against the Lakers late in that series. He got to be more moible, he needs to take Karl Malone out to the top of the Key & try to create off the dribble a litttle more. And Wally S has to stop trying to do so much. It seems like everytime he puts the ball on the floor its a turnover. All he has to be on this team is a shooter, stop trying to be a creater, leave that to KG, Spree, & Sam. I think Sam did a go job getting Kandiman invloved in the game in the 1st half. He got him a few dunks & Layups which made Kandi a much more confident player. Hopefully Kandi can carry that confidence for the entire series & stay in the games to be productive because its clear Ervin doesnt stand a chance against Shaq. The one thing I think Flip needs to see if he can change is How easy Shaq caught the ball? You have to make Shaq catch the ball further away from the basket then, he cuaght it to night.
i say lakers in 6 too, the wolves have no homecourt adv. anymore, lakers won the first one, go lakers man no really, twolves lack of experience (turnovers) u cant change that fact
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting los:</div><div class="quote_post">I hope all you Malone haters out there watched that game closely. No Malone didn't "own" KG, but he did get under his skin. And watch for the "Pull the Chair Out" move, Malone does that atleast once a game. And when he does, turnover. What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in experience.</div> Yeah, he didn't own him but he did outplay him. He produced better stats on everything but blocks . 40 yearold Karl Malone outplayed the league's MVP!!! YEA!!! lol j/k Malone had help with all those double teams they were throwing at K.G.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Phreeze:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, he didn't own him but he did outplay him. He produced better stats on everything but blocks . 40 yearold Karl Malone outplayed the league's MVP!!! YEA!!! lol j/k Malone had help with all those double teams they were throwing at K.G.</div>He didn't outplay KG. Did you even watch the game? Put your bias aside. KG was constantly double and triple teamed while Malone had open shots all night long.
