NBA Playoff Thread

1. Not surprised at the outcome. As I said earlier, absolutely hated the media analysis that came out of Game 1, where ESPN was essentially writing off the Celtics entirely.

2. Rondo is relentless player. On the glass, on defense, on the break.

3. The officiating in this game was not good. Both ways.

4. Garnett is done as an effective NBA force.

5. The only reason the Lakers hung in this game was Bynum.

 

The fourth foul call on Kobe was garbage and probably killed the Lakers in retrospect. That extra posession for Boston didn't help either on the wrong out of bounds call. That said, they played like shit for several stretches. Can't do that in the finals.

 

Lakers will win series, me thinks.

 

...and much to my surprise, Vic the Brick pops up on the screen during the post-game presser. Let the hilarity begin.

 

The Lakers of the '80s were a great team and proved it time and time again. THESE Lakers are a very good team that has played a startlingly large number of shoddy playoff games, even last year, when they won a title. Mental toughness is real, and it is not a blue or white collar attribute. After sucking in Game One, Ray Allen came up huge in Game Two. That's toughness. He is nobody's idea of a blue-collar player.
I am no Celtic fan. Quite the opposite. But THESE Lakers have yet to prove to me they can beat Boston, or even really make it a competitive seven-game series. 2008 sure indicates otherwise. If the Lakers can prove it, more power to 'em, and my congratulations. But until it happens, I won't believe it.

 

Bingo. It happens during individual games, too. Damn near every one. Thank the second unit for that, though. I mean, how many times have seen a 15-point lead going into the fourth quarter turn into a tie game this year? Lots.

 

Did Jordan ever let a team just pull away like that in the final minutes of a Finals on his home floor this late in his career?

Is the Kobe=Jordan debate still going on?

Rondo is a stud. Just thought I would mention that again, and Allen is just playing out of his mind on both ends of the floor.

 

At this point, it's a discussion. Nothing more.

In my mind -- and I'm a huge Kobe fan -- Jordan > Kobe until Kobe gets a 7th ring. And even then, it still might not be enough. Just for shits and giggles, take a peek at Jordan's postseason stats. Talk about blow-your-mind ridiculous. Just unbelievable how fucking good he was. It's hard to believe we're in a generation where people are forgetting how good Jordan was and are entertaining the Kobe > Jordan talk.

That said, Kobe could very well end his career with 9 or 10 Finals appearances. Pretty silly.

 

I was in a BK yesterday by U of R with my little girl and two kids in some serious AAU/camp gear walked in with an older guy, and I overheard them getting on him about still saying that Jordan was better than Kobe. I chimed in and we had a great conversation about Jordan having his own category and then you start talking about second place.

They believed it, mostly because they said LeBron and Kobe have both said they cannot ever be as great as Jordan, but one of the kids, and these were really nice kids, said that Jordan really did not "blow up" that much in college his first couple of years just looking at his college stats. I did mention that he did hit a game winner in the NCAA Finals and shared the ball with Sam and Big Game James.

Two kids who looked about 17 or 18 have no real concept, or have ever seen, a game of Jordan in his prime. I said LeBron is very close to Jordan for doing things in spells where if he wants the rebound, wants the ball or wants the shot, he gets the rebound, steal or shot, but LeBron just can't seem to win in the playoffs like Jordan.

I also told them if Jordan did not play baseball (get kicked out for ???????) for two seasons he would have won seven, I used two hands to show them, titles in a row. Freeking sick.

 

Jordan's career playoff averages: 33.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists. In 179 games. Sick.
Kobe's career playoff averages: 25.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists. In 193 games. Not terrible.

Like I said, it's a discussion. Nothing more.