NBA Finals

Karae · Post by **Karae** » June 2, 2004, 7:42 am

Detroit...Los Angeles.

Personally I'm hoping Detroit's front line commits so many fouls that Tayshawn Prince winds up guarding Shaquille O'Neal. Oh the comedic juxtaposition of body types! Hrm...I'll settle for Darko. I think that's about as entertaining as this series will get for those of us who aren't die hard Lakers fans. :/

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 2, 2004, 1:41 pm

Hack-a-Shaq will be fun to watch for 4 games.

I can't stand the Lakers past and present.

Truant · Post by **Truant** » June 2, 2004, 2:25 pm

I don't think detroit stands much of a chance really, but I've been cheering for them all season, and I'll continue to do so through this series.

Kelshara · Post by **Kelshara** » June 2, 2004, 2:44 pm

I kind of hope the Lakers win so they will break up, Malone and Peyton retire and we will never see any of them again.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » June 2, 2004, 2:46 pm

I think they stand more than a chance. They play such a physical game that it will throw the lakers. Malone won't be able to throw random elbows without getting smoked. Shaq will get pummeled and frustrated. Kobe will have an adequate player guarding him. Payton will get abused like a junior high school girl.

I see the Pistons in 6.

noel · Post by **noel** » June 2, 2004, 3:18 pm

Shaq will get pummeled? By whom? B. Wallace? R. Wallace? Have you been watching basketball for the last few years? Shaq has never gotten pummeled by anyone ever. B. Wallace didn't even defend Shaq in the two games they played this season. You're kidding yourself if you think the Pistons have any one player who can match up with Shaq. The more they send at him, the more foul trouble they'll get into.

Kobe will dominate Rip. Rip is a good player, but he's not anywhere near Kobe's caliber. He'll get better, but he still has a lot to learn. This is more of a coming out season for him, I think in 1-2 years he'll really start to dominate. Malone will get into 'Sheed's head, and 'Sheed will, as usual, get into foul trouble. Malone just got done containing Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett two of the best players currently in the game. Rasheed isn't in the same class as either of those players.

Lakers in 5, Phil Jackson gets 10.

I hate the Nets, and was glad to see them lose, but if the Pistons don't acquire 'Sheed, they don't get by the Nets in the second round. The Pistons with 'Sheed playing smart (you can thank Larry Brown for that) are the best team in the Eastern conference, and definitely deserve to be in the finals, but don't kid yourselves. They don't match up well against the Lakers, and they're not going to beat the Lakers with homecourt advantage at the Staple Center. The Pistons will be lucky to get one game in Detroit.

Karae · Post by **Karae** » June 2, 2004, 5:11 pm

Rip Hamilton isn't even half the 1 on 1 defender Bruce Bowen is and Kobe lit Bowen up for 26.3 PPG. Neither can any one person defend Shaq. Detroit is going to have to double them and use some creative defensive schemes. The real question is can the other Lakers hit the open shots when the doubles come and can they hit them frequently enough? I think they can, largely because Detroit is such a low scoring team.

I think there will be some interesting matchups for L.A. defensively. I see Detroit's best lineup this series as Billups, Hamilton, R. Wallace, B. Wallace, Okur. I expect Prince will get time at both SF and SG. L.A. doesn't have a SF with the height to defend R. Wallace or Prince. Unfortunately, they both seem to like to drift out to the 3-point line where that advantage will be largely nullified. They're both going to have to adjust their game and spend a lot of time around the basket if they want to win. Even Prince, who won't have the strength advantage R. Wallace will, has the height, range, shot extension, and leaping ability to turn and shoot over just about anyone the Lakers could guard him with. I think Detroit's only hope is to exploit that position and whether or not L.A. find a way to limit the advantage. Personally, I think L.A. is going to be able to double off B. Wallace and that it'll nullify Detroit's 1 advantage.

noel · Post by **noel** » June 2, 2004, 5:19 pm

Don't take my word for it:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2 ... id=1814450

For the record, I agree with all of that except for the part about Kobe knowing when to take over the game. He mostly knows that, but he's still learning the appropriate 'when' and 'how' and he's still learning how to make his teammates better in a meaningful way. Shaq already knows all of that.

Post by **Sylvus** » June 14, 2004, 1:07 pm

Funny how wrong some predictions can seem after only 12 days...

xZiBiT · Post by **xZiBiT** » June 14, 2004, 1:32 pm

Just look at everyone who works for ESPN or any other sports media outlet including the ones in Detroit who all took the Lakers in 6.

noel · Post by **noel** » June 14, 2004, 1:57 pm

The only people I saw picking Detroit before the series were loyal Detroit fans.

Oh well. At least I was right about Shaq.

xZiBiT · Post by **xZiBiT** » June 14, 2004, 2:45 pm

noel wrote:The only people I saw picking Detroit before the series were loyal Detroit fans.

Exactly my point, but several local media sources on ABC, NBC, CBS, etc. all pisked the lakers to win.

Even Chuck Daly picked the Lakers and he hated the lakers when he coached the Pistons.

If it wasn't for 30 seconds at the end of Game 2, my predictition that the about the Piston's in four would have been sweet, sweet validation.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 14, 2004, 3:14 pm

I was wrong about Hack-a-Shaq. Detroit hasn't had to foul him to death.

The Lakers are weak. Shaq and Kobe are superstars and then it's all downhill from there with washed up platers and inconsistency.

It's been most impressive watching the entire Detroit team bust their ass every game.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » June 14, 2004, 3:29 pm

noel wrote:The only people I saw picking Detroit before the series were loyal Detroit fans.

Oh well. At least I was right about Shaq.

au contrair. I am only a Detroit fan when they play the Lakers....I am a Celtics fan. You may find my prediction on thsi series in the thread titled "NBA Finals"......where I predicted Detroit in 6 and was told I was nuts.

Whose crazy now!!1!!1!onehundredeleven!

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » June 14, 2004, 5:41 pm

the San Antonio series fortold this series.

San Antonio couldnt shoot for shit. But they outhustled the Lakers big time, and had some damn close games.

Detroit outhustles the Lakers and they can shoot. That combination equals 4 games of domination.

I wish this was a sweep, the Lakers deserve it. Phil Jackson is such a damn gravy-trainer too. I'd have 9 rings if i coached the teams he did too.

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » June 14, 2004, 7:18 pm

What's interesting about your assessment Vor, is the assumption that Det has a "go to" type of guy. While Sheed can show that on occassion as he did last night, even so far back as the Nets series, did everyone notice there's no "go to" guy.

The big worry on the Detroit side was whether or not they could actually pull a needed basket out of their asses. The problem of defending those threats was never addressed (nor was Karl's injury, which is probably the overall reason).

Ratings are great though. Obviously, noone, save Lakers fans, wants them to win and they(the collective non-laker audience) gets great enjoyment out of watching them lose. Kinda like my initial Yankee analogy.

Karae · Post by **Karae** » June 15, 2004, 1:34 am

Kilmoll the Sexy wrote:au contrair. I am only a Detroit fan when they play the Lakers....I am a Celtics fan. You may find my prediction on thsi series in the thread titled "NBA Finals"......where I predicted Detroit in 6 and was told I was nuts.

Whose crazy now!!1!!1!onehundredeleven!

Probably cos you said something stupid like, "Shaq will get pummeled and frustrated," and that one player could guard Kobe Bryant.

Sure, Detroit is winning, but it has nothing to do with the reasons you gave, other than Payton getting abused.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » June 15, 2004, 11:16 am

Where did I say that a single player would guard Kobe all game? He has been getting one on one defense....they just keep rotating players on him. They are wearing his ass out and he has responded by some stellar shooting performances....8 of 25 is a pretty good night for the next MJ.

They have played such good defense that they have not even needed the hack-a-shaq approach. They could let him score 60 and still win because they are shutting everything else down.

All in all....Phil Jackson is getting horribly exposed as a coach who is not even close to being great.

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » June 15, 2004, 11:20 am

Chidoro wrote:What's interesting about your assessment Vor, is the assumption that Det has a "go to" type of guy. While Sheed can show that on occassion as he did last night, even so far back as the Nets series, did everyone notice there's no "go to" guy.

i really wasnt referring to a "go-to" guy. THe reason the spurs lost is cause the Lakers could pack it inside, and not have to worry about Parker or anybody else consistently raining down jumpers. The Pistons have had Billips, Hamilton, and to a lesser extent Prince and Wallace forcing the Lakers to extend their defense, which is why they are fouling non-stop cause they are slower (fat or old - excluding Kobe) and simply don't have the heart to hustle.

The Lakers have no heart, and it is fun watching those bitches lose.

I think Teyshawn Prince can guard Kobe for 48 minutes. Just because his coach isnt stupid enough to do it like that, doesnt mean it can't be done. Kobe has had to make ridiculous shots to get his points, and i think part of the reason he is wearing down is because he has to bust his ass on the defensive side of the court too.

I will say that Kobe was the only one in Game 3 who showed any kind of desire.

xZiBiT · Post by **xZiBiT** » June 15, 2004, 12:53 pm

Karae wrote:
Kilmoll the Sexy wrote:au contrair. I am only a Detroit fan when they play the Lakers....I am a Celtics fan. You may find my prediction on thsi series in the thread titled "NBA Finals"......where I predicted Detroit in 6 and was told I was nuts.

Whose crazy now!!1!!1!onehundredeleven!
Probably cos you said something stupid like, "Shaq will get pummeled and frustrated," and that one player could guard Kobe Bryant.

Sure, Detroit is winning, but it has nothing to do with the reasons you gave, other than Payton getting abused.

Shaq is frustrated (at his own team)

Kobe is being defended by one player. The Pistons only help by doubling him until he tries to penetrate.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 15, 2004, 1:23 pm

xZiBiT wrote: The Pistons only help by doubling him until he tries to penetrate.

Where was Detroit in Colorado!?

xZiBiT · Post by **xZiBiT** » June 15, 2004, 4:52 pm

She couldn't keep him from going to the hole.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » June 15, 2004, 6:02 pm

That is not entirely true......she was letting him take it to the hole, but she was trying to prevent him from coming in the backdoor.