<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Moo2K4:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers gave it their all.</div> If they did, believe me they'll be champs by now. If both teams gave their all (which Detroit clearly did), Lakers would've come up on top. Sure Lakers tried everything, INDIVIDUALLY. They forgot a few old-school tricks in the book- chemistry, teamwork, heart and pride. Detroit was supposed to be swept with the firepower that the Lakers have. Heck, a team with Shaq and Kobe in it is supposed to sweep them. But you can see the fire in the Pistons' eyes. They're running like a well-oiled machine. Every individual wants to make the whole team better. Tay will guard Kobe so they can have possession. You can expect Tay to shoot because he earned it with his great defensive plays. But no, you can see him giving way to Rip and Chauncy so they can have their fair share of the glory. Sheed doesn't demand the ball at every possession. Big Ben outplayed Shaq. Malone couldn't do a damn thing in the bench. GP looks like a mitten instead of a glove out there. Zen doesn't know what to do. This is simply a case of Detroit utilizing all their potential and strengths while showing the Lakers' weaknesses. Lakers gave up. That's the bottomline.
The Lakers have no determination. Once they start losing by a lot, they call it quits. Phil Jackson thinks that they should dominate but after they don't, it's all over? If the 1998 Chicago Bulls were in this kind of situation, then they would at least try to come back and win it. Too bad for the Lakers.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting All-Star:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers have no determination. Once they start losing by a lot, they call it quits. Phil Jackson thinks that they should dominate but after they don't, it's all over? </div> Aren't the Lakers the kings of making comebacks?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Bez Koske:</div><div class="quote_post">Aren't the Lakers the kings of making comebacks?</div> True. The Lakers were down 0-3 versus the Blazers in 2000 and they came back and won it I think. The Lakers were down by 35 versus the Mavericks in a regular season game in 2002 and came back to win it by like 5 points.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Chungster:</div><div class="quote_post">True. The Lakers were down 0-3 versus the Blazers in 2000 and they came back and won it I think. The Lakers were down by 35 versus the Mavericks in a regular season game in 2002 and came back to win it by like 5 points.</div> Actually, in 2000, the Lakers were up 3-1, but Portland came back to tie the seires up...The lakers ended up winning game 7 in dramatic fashion...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Malone=LOSER:</div><div class="quote_post">That's the desire of Malone working there. He's a loser, always has been always will be. The Lakers sealed their fate of not winning by picking up a bitch loser like him.</div> look man, quit bashing Malone, you obviously dont know what your talking about. he was a great player in his day, and still puts forth the effort despite his deteriorated game and injuries. malone was always more of a dirty work player, but every good team has one, and if you cant respect and recognize that you are an idiot and shouldnt have anything to do with basketball
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Chungster:</div><div class="quote_post">True. The Lakers were down 0-3 versus the Blazers in 2000 and they came back and won it I think. The Lakers were down by 35 versus the Mavericks in a regular season game in 2002 and came back to win it by like 5 points.</div> Like someone said earlier, the Lakers were up 3-1, got down in game 7 and came back to win. Then, it was actually 25 points they were down to the Mavericks before they came back to outscore the Mavs in the 4th, 44-15. But, something to remember about the Mavs, what don't they play, that's right, defense. Something Detroit does play. And that's the big reason why the Lakers could never make any type of a come back. The Pistons play defense. When you play good defense, any type of a come back is hard.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting InNETSweTrust:</div><div class="quote_post">If they did, believe me they'll be champs by now. If both teams gave their all (which Detroit clearly did), Lakers would've come up on top. Sure Lakers tried everything, INDIVIDUALLY. They forgot a few old-school tricks in the book- chemistry, teamwork, heart and pride. Detroit was supposed to be swept with the firepower that the Lakers have. Heck, a team with Shaq and Kobe in it is supposed to sweep them. But you can see the fire in the Pistons' eyes. They're running like a well-oiled machine. Every individual wants to make the whole team better. Tay will guard Kobe so they can have possession. You can expect Tay to shoot because he earned it with his great defensive plays. But no, you can see him giving way to Rip and Chauncy so they can have their fair share of the glory. Sheed doesn't demand the ball at every possession. Big Ben outplayed Shaq. Malone couldn't do a damn thing in the bench. GP looks like a mitten instead of a glove out there. Zen doesn't know what to do. This is simply a case of Detroit utilizing all their potential and strengths while showing the Lakers' weaknesses. Lakers gave up. That's the bottomline.</div> The Lakers did give it their all. But, that wasn't a lot because of the fact that the Pistons defense was absolutely phenomenal. It was suffocating to put in a different term. In this series, it didnt' matter what the Lakers did. Every time they made a run, the Pistons came up with a clutch shot to stop the run and then they'd go on a run of their own. Another thing, I don't think Detroit was supposed to get swept. I picked Lakers in 6, so, I wasn't thinking sweep. Shaq wasn't outplayed by Ben Wallace. The only thing Wallace did that could outplay Shaq was defensively, otherwise, Shaq was dominating on offense.....for the most part at least. Payton however, I will agree, was terrible. He did all this complaining about being on the bench in the 4 and what not, and when he was in the game, what did he do, nothing. He averaged what, under 4 ppg. He was a non factor. Everything he said, he was inable to back up. He was crap the entire series. He was dominated by Billups and Hamilton. He could do nothing to say the least. About Malone, it's not exactly his fault he couldn't do anything. When you're injured, lets see what you can do. He went out there and played injured for a 2 games and it wasn't working and it got to the point where he couldn't go on. Malone gave everything he had left in the tank. Phil was outcoached, plain and simple. Larry Brown outcoached him in every facet of the game and Phil couldn't do anything about it. The Lakers however, didn't give up. They did give it everything, because, if they hadn't given it everything they had, they would have been swept, plain and simple. The Lakers, if they'd given up, they'd never have done anything. They got down by 29 in the 4th last night, something in that area, and cut it down to 13. So, to say the Lakers gave up I think is false. They didn't. They tried all series. Detroit just wanted it more and because of that, gave more.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Moo2K4:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers did give it their all. But, that wasn't a lot because of the fact that the Pistons defense was absolutely phenomenal. It was suffocating to put in a different term. In this series, it didnt' matter what the Lakers did. Every time they made a run, the Pistons came up with a clutch shot to stop the run and then they'd go on a run of their own. Another thing, I don't think Detroit was supposed to get swept. I picked Lakers in 6, so, I wasn't thinking sweep. Shaq wasn't outplayed by Ben Wallace. The only thing Wallace did that could outplay Shaq was defensively, otherwise, Shaq was dominating on offense.....for the most part at least. Payton however, I will agree, was terrible. He did all this complaining about being on the bench in the 4 and what not, and when he was in the game, what did he do, nothing. He averaged what, under 4 ppg. He was a non factor. Everything he said, he was inable to back up. He was crap the entire series. He was dominated by Billups and Hamilton. He could do nothing to say the least. About Malone, it's not exactly his fault he couldn't do anything. When you're injured, lets see what you can do. He went out there and played injured for a 2 games and it wasn't working and it got to the point where he couldn't go on. Malone gave everything he had left in the tank. Phil was outcoached, plain and simple. Larry Brown outcoached him in every facet of the game and Phil couldn't do anything about it. The Lakers however, didn't give up. They did give it everything, because, if they hadn't given it everything they had, they would have been swept, plain and simple. The Lakers, if they'd given up, they'd never have done anything. They got down by 29 in the 4th last night, something in that area, and cut it down to 13. So, to say the Lakers gave up I think is false. They didn't. They tried all series. Detroit just wanted it more and because of that, gave more.</div> As I've said, they've done everything but the they forgot a few things as I already stated...heart, chemistry, teamwork. You still see Kobe jacking up shots after shots. When they do make their run, they don't have enough heart to sustain it. They don't have the composure when Detroit started forcing their turnovers. When they cut down the lead in the 4th, it was almost garbage time. Pistons and their fans are already celebrating. You can see from their faces that they've given up already. It would've been different if they made their run in the 2nd or the 3rd where Detroit is still playing their terrific defense. Eventhough Malone was injured, they still have Kobe and Shaq. Isn't the two of them the main catalyst in their past championships? A fluid and effective Shaq and Kobe is still better than Detroit if they did what they have to do. But then, they couldn't do anything about it. Big Ben did outplay Shaq in the last game. He had at least two follow up dunks. It's not suppose to happen. Kobe can't do anything about Tay's defense. They lost their poise. They're supposed to be a proud team. They're supposed to be guys who has at least 2 go to guys. They did everything? Nah. You're saying that the Pistons wanted it more. So from that statement, the Lakers didn't do everything. They weren't burning with desire to win the series. They didn't condition themselves against the stingy defense. Shaq was making fun of the eccentric NBA fan after a loss. It sounds so simple, but the things that they didn't do costed them this championship. Kinda like how Lord Voldemort forgot and old trick in the book when he tried to kill Harry Potter. He has everything. He was the most powerful dark wizard. But he forgot about the mother's love that was protecting Harry. Kinda like how the Lakers forgot heart, desire, chemistry and teamwork.
Talking about why the Lakers didn't win won't change anything. The better team won and I have to admit it is Detroit and not my Lakers. Detroit did alot of things to win and with Larry Brown as coach, not just the Lakers but any other team in the NBA would have trouble beating the Pistons. The simple facts are Detroit dominated the Lakers and we were lucky to win one game. I can't blame one player but the whole team and the coaching for the losses. Give the Pistons credit, they outplayed the Lakers regardless of all the what-ifs possiblilities. I am sure Mitch and Buss will make the appropriate changes needed to make the Lakers a team of the future not just one season. I am looking forward to Larry Brown coaching Team USA to a Gold medal and the upcoming months. Should be a very exciting and interesting summer for all. GO LAKERS :thumbsup:
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting InNETSweTrust:</div><div class="quote_post">If they did, believe me they'll be champs by now. If both teams gave their all (which Detroit clearly did), Lakers would've come up on top. Sure Lakers tried everything, INDIVIDUALLY. They forgot a few old-school tricks in the book- chemistry, teamwork, heart and pride.</div>I don't believe that. You cannot make up for Malone's injury. Billips is a better player than Payton at this point of their respective careers. The Lakers were not used to such great defense and their overrated coach couldn't make the proper adjustments. Don't blame this on a lack of effort, whatever the case the Pistons are the superior team and deserve this championship.
I'm not blaming it on lack of effort alone. Sure they were outplayed but why? They have the most dominant monster ever and probably one of the best one on one player. Just imagine if both of them played to their true strengths. Detroit with it's stingy defense and above average offense and Lakers with it's usual devastating selves. No doubt the Lakers would win it. But why weren't they in their devastating selves? Why is Kobe bricking his shots? If he's bricking his shots why don't he give it to Shaq who couldn't be stopped if HE PUTS HIS HEART INTO IT? Why is Billups and Rip hitting those J's uncontested? Why isn't Shaq defending the pick and roll? Why isn't anyone setting picks to free Kobe from Tay? Lots of questions man. I don't care if Malone is injured or Payton is crap in the series. They still have Shaq and Kobe who gave the Lakers all those championships. Now we won't know if those two (along with the other players in their past championships) can beat the Detroit of today, but they sure SHOULD HAVE given Detroit a harder time.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Moo2K4:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers however, didn't give up. They did give it everything, because, if they hadn't given it everything they had, they would have been swept, plain and simple.</div> I think it's safe to say it was a "five game sweep" The Lakers never really beat the Pistons in that series, naw I mean? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers, if they'd given up, they'd never have done anything. They got down by 29 in the 4th last night, something in that area, and cut it down to 13.</div> Yea, cuz everybody stopped playing cuz they knew it was over.
Yeah they definitely made the last quarter of the game boring to watch. I don't know whats wrong with this team. If you ask me, they didn't have any intensity since the beginning. You think they would too.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting the avenger:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers lost it in 5...I don't know what to say... This is a shock!!!</div> Its not shocking. It was expected. The Pistons were the better team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Malone=LOSER:</div><div class="quote_post">That's the desire of Malone working there. He's a loser, always has been always will be. The Lakers sealed their fate of not winning by picking up a bitch loser like him.</div> PREACH brotha. Malone brings the whole Laker team down. I look at it this way. Without John Stockton, there would be no "Mailwoman". I thought the Lakers were going to win, but right before game 1, I changed my mind and said "What am I doing going for the Lakers? I hate Malone". Then, I was rooting for the Pistons. Then the Pistons win the championship. Sometimes you just gotta go with your gut. Know what I'm sayin'?
Lakers should dump the jackass Gary Payton he has done nothing to this team... look at him whining about playing time to the media and hell what has he done. he needs to take lessons from Malone. I say we should dump him and stay with Fisher, Fisher is so much better than Payton, and i believe Fisher would shine in the NBA if Phil Jackson played him so much more and not behind the shadows of Kobe and Shaq.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Malone=LOSER:</div><div class="quote_post">That's the desire of Malone working there. He's a loser, always has been always will be. The Lakers sealed their fate of not winning by picking up a bitch loser like him.</div> I don't understand how could a biased idiot like you dare to post in public. Marlone is a loser? What makes him a loser? He is not the only one who doesn't have a ring, so many super stars who has retired for years still don't have a championship ring. He doesn't expect to just sit on the bench and wait for his teammates to get the ring for him, he does everything he could and try to get it. He makes a dramatic super pay cut and moves his family to LA just to achieve a dream of his, what is so "loser" about it? Sure, sometimes luck is not on his side and he got hurt at a time Lakers need him the most, but it is not his fault. Even his right knee hurts so bad, he still tried to help the team. I think it is very very honorable for Mr. Karl Marlone. How many NBA players has ever reached 30ppg for one whole season? Only a few. Let alone he is the second highest scorers EVER. How many players has got two MVPs? How many players have the chance to get into NBA final three times, and one of them at age of 40? Just look at his body, he is the fittest man even in the current NBA league, it is not easy to maintain that kind of body when your metabolism slows down. If you hate a person, there should be some reasons for you to hate him. You shouldn't hate a person just because he plays dirty, he looks ugly, he is old, he utilizes other superstars to help him, he is not loyal to a team he has served for 18 years, etc.......Fu*k all those bullshits. Of course I haven't actually known Karl Marlone, but as far as his career performance, I say he is one of the best players as well as one of the most respectable players, not just in NBA, but in any sports.
