LA Lakers Club

2008 NBA Finals Game 4, Lakers Defense Fails

Joseph — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:11:58 +0000

Lamar Odom exploded in the beginning. He was perfect during his first 7 attempts. Trevor Ariza also played very well. The Lakers were leading by 21 points at halftime. It seemed like the Lakers sweep at home was two-thirds complete. Then the Laker Defense started to break down in the 2nd half. The failings on defense eventually trickled over to offense. Pierce and Garnett took over the last couple of minutes of the game and it was over, Lakers lose 97-91.

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2008 NBA Finals Game 3, Sasha Excels!

Joseph — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:37:49 +0000

This game got my heart pumping and stopped it at times. Throughout the game it seemed like the Lakers were going to pull away then the Celtics would come back and eventually took the lead. If the Celtics took 3 straight games they would pretty much seal up the series. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom shot for a poor 5-of-18 with a combined 13 points. Luckily Kobe received some help on offense from, “The Machine” Sasha Vujacic. Sasha was 7-for-10 with three 3-pointers and 20 points for the game and just the help that Kobe needed. Sasha has this intensity and confidence to him that I really like seeing in a Laker uniform. Phil Jackson commented about Sasha, “He’s a little bit of a rock head. That’s what we call him. He believes in himself very sincerely that he’s going to make the next [shot], and you have to be that way if you’re going to have the guts to go out there and do it.” Sasha has a very bright future with the Lakers. Kobe ended up with 36 points for the night but shot a horrible 11-for-18 from the free-throw line. It was great to see that the Lakers could pull off a low scoring 87-81 win verses Boston.

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2008 NBA Finals Game 2, Horrendous Officiating

Joseph — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:49:10 +0000

Game 2 had the worst lopsided officiating I have ever seen. Even Phil Jackson concurred during the press conference that followed. This game makes me think back to last year’s NBA scandal where referee Tim Donaghy confessed to betting on over 100 games he officiated. Perhaps one of the referees involved in this year’s Finals is also involved in some sort of gambling ring?

Besides shady officiating on the offensive side, the Lakers played horrible defense. If the defense or lack thereof persists the Lakers will have no chance whatsoever of winning the series even if the officiating evens out. One a good note, I am very glad to see Pau Gasol going hard to the basket. I jumped out of my seat in excitement when I saw Gasol dunk over Garnett in the 1st quarter. Hopefully in Game 3 the Lakers go through Gasol more on offense and have him run it the same way Shaq used to.

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2008 NBA Finals: Game 1

Joseph — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:41:03 +0000

During the end of the 1st half it looked very good for the Lakers. I was really happy that they were leading by 5 at Boston of all places. The Lakers were playing well, passing the ball around and playing decent defense against the Celtics. Towards the end of the 3rd they were losing but after the ally oop from Fischer to Bryant it seemed like they would be okay going into the 4th. That was an exciting play, I jumped up out of my seat and yelled out. Unfortunately during the 4th the Celtics shut down Kobe and the Lakers and pulled away with a win (98-88). Hopefully they could pull in a Game 2 victory so they can gain home court advantage.

What are your thoughts on Game 1?

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2008 NBA Finals: The Celtics immovable defense vs the Lakers unstoppable offense

Joseph — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:12:40 +0000

The LA Lakers great offense led by the league MVP Kobe Bryant, who is one of the greatest scorers of all-time vs the Boston Celtics #1 defense which is one of the best the league has seen in the past few decades, led by the Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett. Will the Lakers offense prevail or will the Celtic defense be too overwhelming? The following are two past examples of a Lakers dominating offense vs a defensive powerhouse in the Finals…

The 2001 NBA Finals featured the Lakers and two of the best offensive players in the league, Kobe Byant and Shaquille O’Neal vs the San Antonio Spurs led by the, “Twin Towers” David Robinson and Tim Duncan. This was supposed to be a historical series with a great offense clashing with a great defensive. Instead the Lakers murdered the Spurs in 4 games.

Going into the 2004 NBA Finals the Lakers with their 3 great offensive players and future hall of famers, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Karl Malone were what many believed to be an overwhelming threat for any team they faced. The Pistons on the other hand were no slouches with the best defensive team in the playoffs. Many including myself predicted that the Lakers offense would wear down and eventually dominate the Piston defense over the course of the series. The Pistons proved a lot of people wrong and crushed the Lakers offense, winning the series in 5.

Looking ahead to the 2008 NBA Finals, The Celtics immovable defense vs the Lakers unstoppable offense…

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The Rivalry: Lakers vs Celtics

Joseph — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:06:39 +0000

It’s 1959. The Minneapolis Lakers are facing the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Little did each team know that this would be the beginning of one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. The Celtics swept the Lakers during their first meeting to earn them their first of eight straight NBA titles. During the 1960s the Lakers moved to Los Angeles and faced the Celtics six more times in the NBA Finals. Unfortunately each time the Lakers fell short despite the many great Laker teams featuring players such as Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and Wilt Chamberlain.

Fast forward to the 1980s, ”Magic vs Bird”. Earving “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird had previously met in 1979 during the NCAA Championship where Michigan State led by Magic defeated Indiana State led by Bird. They met again during the 1984 NBA Finals. The series went to 7 games but this time Bird had his way and once more the Celtics defeated the Lakers (111-102). The next year they met again in the Finals. In Game 1 the Celtics beat the Lakers so bad (148-114) that the game became known as, “The Memorial Day Massacre”. Up to this point the Celtics had been undefeated in all 8 previous Finals series vs the Lakers and it seemed that they would steam roll past them once more. During the rest of the series Lakers defensive superstar Michael Cooper limited Larry Bird’s offensive output. The series went to 6 games. Finally, after 26 years of heartache vs the Celtics in the NBA Finals the Lakers pulled off a victory. The following video is of the last few minutes of Game 6:
(Please open the article to see the flash file or player.)

Two years later they met again in the 1987 NBA Finals. Once more the Lakers defeating the Celtics in 6 Games. The following is the final minute of Game 6 and the celebration that followed:
(Please open the article to see the flash file or player.)

On Thursday, June 5th, 2008 the Lakers and Celtics will meet for the 11th time in the NBA Finals. The Celtics Big 3 (Garnett, Pierce, Allen) vs the Lakers Big 3 (Bryant, Gasol, Odom). Will Paul Pierce finally win one for the Celtics or will Kobe Bryant have a perfect ending for his MVP season?
(Please open the article to see the flash file or player.)

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Kobe Bryant Top 10 Plays of 2007-08 NBA season

Joseph — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:52:52 +0000

Here are a few Kobe Bryant videos from this season I though you might like…

From NBA TV
(Please open the article to see the flash file or player.)

From Fox Sports Net
(Please open the article to see the flash file or player.)

Kobe Bryant’s Top 10 Baskets-and-1 2007/2008 NBA season
(Please open the article to see the flash file or player.)

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Roots of an LA Lakers Fanatic

Joseph — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 05:45:05 +0000

I was with my parents at a car dealership in Los Angeles listening to my father talk to a salesman about purchasing a new truck. I was suddenly startled by loud screams coming from one of the offices next to us. I took a peak and saw several salesmen glued to the TV reacting to it as though they were seeing a live tragedy that they could do nothing about. It turns out they were watching what would later be called, “The Memorial Day Massacre”. It was Game 1 of the 1985 NBA Finals and the Celtics slaughtered the Lakers 148-114. I was just a little boy and knew very little about basketball and the Lakers but I was so intrigued by the salesmens’ intense reaction to the basketball game that it ignited a spark of interest within me. Over the following years that spark turned into a blazing, fanaticle flame, rooting the Lakers every step of the way. From the highs of the Showtime era to the lows the Lakers have suffered over the past few years I have been there cheering my team on, Go Lakers!

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