This was one of the first games I have seen where I thought the Lakers got the short end of the stick all night long. Some of the crap called against the lakers was insane. At least two of the fouls on Bynum were complete bullshit. And this is coming from a guy who hates the Lakers with a passion. I just hate horrible officiating even more.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 We had a discussion about this on the Laker board, the Cavs have better depth and a much better backcourt. Their role players are superior defensively. Luke, Sasha, Powell, Mbenga, Bynum's backup minutes. Odom has been very inconsistent all year, Fisher was money last night but he's one of the worst starting PGs in the league. Kobe's playoff run just as an individual was better, imo. Hawks and Pistons in the first round got LeBron's PER to 40+, but Kobe did fine against Houston and Denver.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 Really? I think he's had two sub-par games (he got so hacked in Game 4 though), but really underrated in Game 2. He had a monster fourth quarter and overtime, and two phantom turnovers charged to him. I think he was fine today too but they can't defend him in a legit manner. 33/6/8 for the series, I'll take it.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 I didn't say that. I said they won in spite of his miserable play down the stretch in the 4th quarter.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 This was how I'd frame the end of the game. That's from DancingBerry at LakersGround.net (have to give him credit for his work). Second quarter and third quarter.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 I hate the Lakers, so it kills me inside to say this. But LA was repeatedly fucked over by the refs in this game. The Lakers are just the flat-out better team. BTW--has there been a more beatable-looking NBA Championship team than these Lakers? You'd think a team with Kobe, Gasol, Phil Jackson and Odom and a promising young center like Bynum would just dominate. They just seem.....meh. Kind of remind me of that great Mavs team that lost to Golden State in the first round. On paper they're great, but they just seem a little flakey.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 Bynum is a scrub right now, he looks like he's going half-speed. He's probably still injured. You're right though, Kobe is about to win with Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and filler. Usually you have maybe two superstars, or three hall of famers? I think the LA bench is pretty awful too. The triangle masks the deficiencies at PG, but I'll give Fisher a pass for life now.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 thats where I get Kobe as the best player. I'm not saying he has the athleticism that James has.. cause thats not close. But put Lebron in the same situation with less athleticism, and he is nowhere near the level of Kobe IMO. Kobe is getting it done without all that, that Lebron has. and I totally disagree on first team all nba.. name 2 better guards in the nba than him. I cant even name one better guard.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 meh. If Shaq were 6-2 he'd never have been an NBA player. A huge reason for LeBron's success is that he's built like a power forward, has the speed and athleticism of a small forward, and the smarts of a point guard. If you took away his strength and athleticism, not only would he compare unfavorably to Kobe, he'd compare unfavorably to Shaun Livingston.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 No he didn't, and he whines like a 4 year old after Mommy said no ice cream till after dinner ORL should be up 3-1 if Dwight makes a FT and Lee converts the layin.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 IMO Shaq is a bad example on that one, because he still had a tremendous skill set. I see the point you are trying to make. But my point was more on Lebron getting by on just that athleticism, and awesome, dominating athleticism at that. Take that away than he is an unselfish SF who can shoot somewhat, he doesnt have that dominating skillset that Shaq had to go with that power. take Kobe's athleticism away and he still can dominate. Kinda hard to explain over an internet board, but I can see your point too.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 Yes he whines a lot, what does that have to do with anything? You don't give a team 18 FTs in crunchtime, and the other 0. Oh well. He got fouled on various jumpers. Pau's "blocked" shot against howard, makes the Lee shot pointless. ;]
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 Well, it's not like Kobe is unathletic. He's got greater athleticism than 90% of the league (at least). He just isn't in the top 1% like LeBron. But yeah, I see what you are saying. Kobe is in the top 1% of the league in mental toughness and competitive drive, while LeBron is probably "just" in the top 10%. Kobe is a lesser version of Michael Jordan. LeBron is a weird combination of Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen. LeBron is also a lot like Shaq, in that he seems to make his team look like they are playing with an extra player. I can't explain exactly what I mean, except that he's such a massive physical mismatch the other team looks like it's struggling to guard 6 players instead of five. I've never really felt that way watching a Kobe Bryant team.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 The Magic have to be the dumbest team I've ever seen make it to the NBA finals. It's not that the Lakers are beating them, they are beating themselves and handing the tittle to the Lakers in the process. If they had anyone on the court with half a brain, they'd be up 3 - 1 instead of facing elimination. The 7th grade team I coached this year knows how to better close out a game than this bunch of idiots. They had games 2 and 4 both won - if they would have just avoided stupid mistakes. Good lord the blown defensive assignments, the stupid turnovers, the poor free throw shooting - it's maddening to anyone who is a fan of the game. How the hell did these Bozos get past the Cavs and make the finals. I know the East is generally a weaker conference than the West, but I thought they'd have at least one decent team to represent their conference in the finals. The Magic have the talent to beat anyone. What they lack is the smarts (and we're not talking rocket science here). More on their ineptitude from nba.com BNM
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 Lol. You are right. This is the least interesting Finals I've seen in a long time. The winner will be the loser who happens to lose less.
Re: Gift wrapped game 4 At least if the Lakers win it would better if it felt like they earned. But at this point it really doesnt feel that way. Disappointing to say the least.
