apparently, not enough of us are basketball scientists and our inferior opinions and small talk are not worthy enough for the big baller status of some of the other participants of this thread. now there's some ass-hurtedness running through the thread like the plague (no homo), and those of us who were enjoying the thread but not scientifically breaking down each player's every move in the game are now indirectly being asked to shut the fuck up, i think.
I sense a lack of appreciation, respect, and understanding of the small things radiating from your post. You are probably a non-baller.
he probably is. bounce!
As snarky as it sounded, I genuinely asked the question for contextual purposes. How much organized/officialized ball have you played Yuichi? HS? AAU? College? Pro? D-League?
MARK STOP!!!! this is the third time in this series (ha!) that you've said something incorrect about the RULES OF THE GAME. Walton doesn't have possession of the ball, so it doesn't matter. He has a hand on it, but possession is definitely not his, and won't be until the refs call jumpball. At which point, they "jump ball" to see who will get possession.
stop nitpicking, most of the time you will be wrong.
i think you are wrong about this. first, you don't need to have possession to be called out of bounds. it happens all the time when guys fly into the stands to try and save a ball. the difference here is that Nash has control, but if Walton even has a hand on it and is out of bounds, the ref SHOULD[/b] call it out.
I had a peach basket nailed up to the telephone pole in the alley where I grew up...that makes me a damn expert batches!!!
So here is my take on the Suns/Lakers series....
All year the Lakers were a run and gun one man show...the Kobe Show.
Phil Jackson is smart enough to realize that this type of game won't take you deep into the playoffs.
The Lakers were lucky enough to meet the No-D playing(Other than Raja Bell) Suns in the first round and Phil came up with a Team Concept game plan as he knew he could not run and gun for 7 games with the Suns.
And his Team Concept plan has worked to a certain degree, although I still see this going to 7 games and is anyone's series to win/lose.
But the Lakers bigger problem, if the beat the Suns, is that they will have 7 games experience playing in this new style. An experienced, defense oriented team like the Spurs, Pistons or even the Mavs will KILL the Lakers if they play this style against them. 4-0 sweepsville.
And if they revert back to the Kobe Show he may go off for 80 and win a game or two, but no way they can't beat any of those teams in a 7 game series. And Jackson knows this.....he may have Jordan(Kobe) but there are no Rodmans, Pippens or even Steve Ker's on this Laker team...and don't delude yourself that there is.
Of course all of this still has to play out and I could be dead wrong, but simply beating the Amare-less Suns, with MVP Nash and all, is no great accomplishment IF it even happens.
Anyone who wants to bet on the Lakers going all the way can name their odds with me.....it ain't happening.
And just getting out of the first round is nothing to get too excited about.
this is probably the reason why so many dudes have left.....
you are clearly the one who is balling (pun intended) all throughout the last few pages. i'm not even offended, i was being humorous, you're still being ass-hurt. now you got me arguing with you like a 4 year old. thaaaaanks.
Of course all of this still has to play out and I could be dead wrong, but simply beating the Amare-less Suns, with MVP Nash and all, is no great accomplishment IF it even happens.
Anyone who wants to bet on the Lakers going all the way can name their odds with me.....it ain't happening.
And just getting out of the first round is nothing to get too excited about.
most people would disagree. the suns are a #2 seed and the lakers a #7. the suns didn't have Amare for pretty much the whole year. nash and marion were all year, and some have even argued that marion should get co-mvp. not only do the lakers not have any all stars, other than kobe, but most of their starters would be bench players on other teams, and in some cases (smush parker, maybe even walton), not even deemed good enough to make the roster. i haven't been a laker fan (just a kobe fan) up until the playoffs, but now that they are coming together i have stopped yelling at the tv when any other laker than kobe touches the ball. this will be a great accomplishment when the lakers win game 6.
Raja Bell has been suspended for his foul on Kobe Bryant tuesday : he won't play tonight in game 6.
Seems like everybody wants (including the NBA) the Lakers to beat Phoenix...
Uhhh...you don't think Bell should have been suspended for that bitch-ass cheap shot?
You're kidding yourself.
Based on everyone else that has been suspended in this year's playoffs, of course Bell should be suspended.
Sucks for the Suns though....refs shoulda had better control of that game. Bell was seriously baited into his actions. Kobe should've got tossed earlier. Fuck it though, I hate both those teams...anyway they can both lose?
Dan Wetzel wrote a good piece on Yahoo.com about the Kobe/Bell situation: --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phil Jackson has nine championship rings. Kobe Bryant has three. Raja Bell has none, although he does have a one-game suspension to serve.
In a beautifully calculated bit of series-long gamesmanship, the Los Angeles Lakers' championship-experienced coach and star have taken Bell, the Phoenix Suns' best defender (not an oxymoron), out of Thursday's critical Game 6 in L.A. It was all so predictable you can hardly believe it worked.
Bell had to be on the Lakers' radar before this series even began. He is a player of great defensive talent (enough to actually slow Bryant) but also of great emotion (enough to react to five games of poking and prodding).
So the Lakers poked. And then prodded. Bryant got some elbows up; Jackson got Bell's ire up with biting comments from the bench.
In Tuesday's Game 5, Bell snapped, idiotically throwing Bryant to the floor in the fourth quarter of an easy Suns victory. He was ejected and then predictably suspended for one game, leaving Phoenix with no obvious answer for the most dangerous scorer in the NBA.
It was a matter of taking the Lakers' bait, hook, line and (team) sinker.
"I have no respect for him," Bell told reporters Wednesday of Bryant, who has played chippy all series. "I think he's a pompous, arrogant individual."
Like congeniality matters.
Then there was Bell, immediately after mauling Bryant, turning toward Jackson and, according to the Associated Press, screaming "That's your foul." Bell explained that he was still upset that, after being fouled earlier, Jackson had told him he "(expletive) deserved it."
"I thought that was kind of bush league from such a good coach," Bell said. "That was enough for me."
If you know anything about Phil Jackson, you know he doesn't waste words, time or energy on anything that doesn't help achieve the end game. Phil Jackson talks to Raja Bell for one reason ??? to get in his head so he'll do something that benefits the Lakers. In this case, something stupid like getting suspended.
This was Mind Games 101, even if no one on the Lakers is ever going to admit it. But this is why certain coaches and certain players figure out how to advance in the playoffs, even when they don't have the best talent.
This was two playoff veterans ??? ultra-competitive and proven winners ??? taking on an inexperienced opponent and getting him to melt down at the worst possible moment.
If you are into this kind of psych-out sports stuff, this was about as good as it gets.
"I got a bruised cheek here and I can barely open my jaw on this side, and that didn't come from nowhere," ranted Bell, citing hard fouls by Bryant that the refs never considered flagrant. "I felt like I'd had enough of that."
"When I get hit in the face multiple times, you've stepped across the line with me," he said. "It's not basketball anymore. It was basketball for four games, then when he hit me in the face, that was the last straw."
This might be the last straw for the Suns, who, while still capable of storming back and taking this series, sure have a tougher road now.
The best reaction on Tuesday night to Bell's idiocy was not Bryant's big grin but the expression of Steve Nash. His face was part disgust and part disbelief that five months of hard work and overcoming adversity might have just gone up in smoke.
Phoenix has plenty of reasons to complain about the refs in this series, but that doesn't mean you wonder "What would Ronny (Artest) do?"
The Suns did everything right this season to shake off the loss of Amare Stoudemire and wind up the second seed in the West. They absolutely maximized themselves.
But there is a difference between the regular season and the playoffs and Jackson and Bryant know that as well as anyone. A playoff series is, at times, a battle of attrition, emotion and maturity. It isn't just speed and skill. Brains often overwhelm brawn.
Without laughing, Bryant and Jackson even publicly implored the NBA not to suspend Bell.
"I let him play. ??? Maybe he wasn't hugged enough as a child," Bryant smiled.
Kobe smiles a lot these days. Smiles about the way his team is playing. Smiles about his new daughter. Smiles over his restored relationship with Jackson.
Smiles that his team, which many thought wouldn't even make the playoffs, is on the verge of Round 2, where an historic matchup against the down-the-hallway Los Angeles Clippers await.
He was smiling big on Tuesday after getting hammered, brushing off the foul and playing up to the Phoenix crowd. He had every reason to. Raja Bell fell for the oldest trick in the book and took himself out of the most crucial game of the series.
Just how you can imagine Kobe and Phil dreamed it up.
Then there was Bell, immediately after mauling Bryant, turning toward Jackson and, according to the Associated Press, screaming "That's your foul." Bell explained that he was still upset that, after being fouled earlier, Jackson had told him he "(expletive) deserved it."
"I thought that was kind of bush league from such a good coach," Bell said. "That was enough for me."
If you know anything about Phil Jackson, you know he doesn't waste words, time or energy on anything that doesn't help achieve the end game. Phil Jackson talks to Raja Bell for one reason ??? to get in his head so he'll do something that benefits the Lakers. In this case, something stupid like getting suspended.
This was Mind Games 101, even if no one on the Lakers is ever going to admit it. But this is why certain coaches and certain players figure out how to advance in the playoffs, even when they don't have the best talent.
This was two playoff veterans ??? ultra-competitive and proven winners ??? taking on an inexperienced opponent and getting him to melt down at the worst possible moment.
Anyone catch the Wizards/Cavs game last night? The Wizards couldnt trap LeBron on the last play of the game... He had it in the corner with three cats around him,all they had to do was collapse on him. WTF. DOODOO-Defensive effort.
"I got a bruised cheek here and I can barely open my jaw on this side, and that didn't come from nowhere," ranted Bell, citing hard fouls by Bryant that the refs never considered flagrant. "I felt like I'd had enough of that."
"When I get hit in the face multiple times, you've stepped across the line with me," he said. "It's not basketball anymore. It was basketball for four games, then when he hit me in the face, that was the last straw."
even if kobe was hitting him with 'bows, it was indiscrete and the refs didn't notice it. if raja wanted to retaliate he should have been a little more creative.
"I let him play. ??? Maybe he wasn't hugged enough as a child," Bryant smiled.
boo.
Anyone catch theh Cavs game last night?? It was an amazing game up until the last play when it looked like Washington basically gave up and let Lebron score an easy layup to win the game. Lebron is a monster. He is 21 years old and out-muscling everyone who guards him. Then when they give him an inch, he hits fade-away jumpers that could easily be considered "trick shots". As much as I love Kobe, there are things that Lebron can do that just can't be matched. He had a step-back jumper off of a fake spin move late in the third quarter that was beyond a .
Props to Antonio Daniels and Caron Butler for stepping up. Butler is a beast.
Why the fuck didn't they just guard the 3 point line at the end of regulation?
the two ain't doing shit but keeping you in the lead.
Yeah, me and every other laker fan is asking that question. Oh well, it's over now gotta get ready for game 7. Yo this game is gonna be crazy, wanna see how raja handles himself.
I would not want to be loitering in Yuichi's private mind garden right about now.
haha. i'm composed but obviously down. I was listening to the whole game through radio cuz i was working, and i rushed over to the Cheesecake factory bar, and they were tied 100-100. Kobe made it a 3 pt. game, and I was like "damn, we have a hell of an opportunity right here". Then Tim Thomas made a 3, and then LA collapsed cuz of inexperience.
damn that hurt.
Why the fuck didn't they just guard the 3 point line at the end of regulation?
the two ain't doing shit but keeping you in the lead.
Word Adam. That was a huge mistake, in large part due to the coaching staff. They and the players were also responsible for not making adjustments on the defensive end throughout the game. Namely the high pick and roll which again killed the Lakers this game. Defense wins games, simple as that.
Course, this scenario (series tied at 3-3) was highly possible, considering the Lakers were burned out after that mirculous game. One could also say the Lakers have overachieved thus far, considering they even won 3 games, with a string of unprecedented defensive efforts. It's gonna take a hell of a miracle to win it in Phoenix. Assuming the officiating will be wack again, the Lakers will just have to raise the defensive intensity and inside presence; that'll be the only way.
Comments
losing 3-on-3 pickup games at the park.
As long as you know that (as badly as you want it) you will never, evereverever, match Kobe's duvet game.
What?
Meet Yuichi under the covers--he will WORK YOU, SON!
So here is my take on the Suns/Lakers series....
All year the Lakers were a run and gun one man show...the Kobe Show.
Phil Jackson is smart enough to realize that this type of game won't take you deep into the playoffs.
The Lakers were lucky enough to meet the No-D playing(Other than Raja Bell) Suns in the first round and Phil came up with a Team Concept game plan as he knew he could not run and gun for 7 games with the Suns.
And his Team Concept plan has worked to a certain degree, although I still see this going to 7 games and is anyone's series to win/lose.
But the Lakers bigger problem, if the beat the Suns, is that they will have 7 games experience playing in this new style. An experienced, defense oriented team like the Spurs, Pistons or even the Mavs will KILL the Lakers if they play this style against them. 4-0 sweepsville.
And if they revert back to the Kobe Show he may go off for 80 and win a game or two, but no way they can't beat any of those teams in a 7 game series. And Jackson knows this.....he may have Jordan(Kobe) but there are no Rodmans, Pippens or even Steve Ker's on this Laker team...and don't delude yourself that there is.
Of course all of this still has to play out and I could be dead wrong, but simply beating the Amare-less Suns, with MVP Nash and all, is no great accomplishment IF it even happens.
Anyone who wants to bet on the Lakers going all the way can name their odds with me.....it ain't happening.
And just getting out of the first round is nothing to get too excited about.
you are clearly the one who is balling (pun intended) all throughout the last few pages. i'm not even offended, i was being humorous, you're still being ass-hurt. now you got me arguing with you like a 4 year old. thaaaaanks.
go lakers.
most people would disagree. the suns are a #2 seed and the lakers a #7. the suns didn't have Amare for pretty much the whole year. nash and marion were
Raja Bell has been suspended for his foul on Kobe Bryant tuesday : he won't play tonight in game 6.
Seems like everybody wants (including the NBA) the Lakers to beat Phoenix...
Uhhh...you don't think Bell should have been suspended for that bitch-ass cheap shot?
You're kidding yourself.
Based on everyone else that has been suspended in this year's playoffs, of course Bell should be suspended.
Sucks for the Suns though....refs shoulda had better control of that game. Bell was seriously baited into his actions. Kobe should've got tossed earlier. Fuck it though, I hate both those teams...anyway they can both lose?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phil Jackson has nine championship rings. Kobe Bryant has three. Raja Bell has none, although he does have a one-game suspension to serve.
In a beautifully calculated bit of series-long gamesmanship, the Los Angeles Lakers' championship-experienced coach and star have taken Bell, the Phoenix Suns' best defender (not an oxymoron), out of Thursday's critical Game 6 in L.A. It was all so predictable you can hardly believe it worked.
Bell had to be on the Lakers' radar before this series even began. He is a player of great defensive talent (enough to actually slow Bryant) but also of great emotion (enough to react to five games of poking and prodding).
So the Lakers poked. And then prodded. Bryant got some elbows up; Jackson got Bell's ire up with biting comments from the bench.
In Tuesday's Game 5, Bell snapped, idiotically throwing Bryant to the floor in the fourth quarter of an easy Suns victory. He was ejected and then predictably suspended for one game, leaving Phoenix with no obvious answer for the most dangerous scorer in the NBA.
It was a matter of taking the Lakers' bait, hook, line and (team) sinker.
"I have no respect for him," Bell told reporters Wednesday of Bryant, who has played chippy all series. "I think he's a pompous, arrogant individual."
Like congeniality matters.
Then there was Bell, immediately after mauling Bryant, turning toward Jackson and, according to the Associated Press, screaming "That's your foul." Bell explained that he was still upset that, after being fouled earlier, Jackson had told him he "(expletive) deserved it."
"I thought that was kind of bush league from such a good coach," Bell said. "That was enough for me."
If you know anything about Phil Jackson, you know he doesn't waste words, time or energy on anything that doesn't help achieve the end game. Phil Jackson talks to Raja Bell for one reason ??? to get in his head so he'll do something that benefits the Lakers. In this case, something stupid like getting suspended.
This was Mind Games 101, even if no one on the Lakers is ever going to admit it. But this is why certain coaches and certain players figure out how to advance in the playoffs, even when they don't have the best talent.
This was two playoff veterans ??? ultra-competitive and proven winners ??? taking on an inexperienced opponent and getting him to melt down at the worst possible moment.
If you are into this kind of psych-out sports stuff, this was about as good as it gets.
"I got a bruised cheek here and I can barely open my jaw on this side, and that didn't come from nowhere," ranted Bell, citing hard fouls by Bryant that the refs never considered flagrant. "I felt like I'd had enough of that."
"When I get hit in the face multiple times, you've stepped across the line with me," he said. "It's not basketball anymore. It was basketball for four games, then when he hit me in the face, that was the last straw."
This might be the last straw for the Suns, who, while still capable of storming back and taking this series, sure have a tougher road now.
The best reaction on Tuesday night to Bell's idiocy was not Bryant's big grin but the expression of Steve Nash. His face was part disgust and part disbelief that five months of hard work and overcoming adversity might have just gone up in smoke.
Phoenix has plenty of reasons to complain about the refs in this series, but that doesn't mean you wonder "What would Ronny (Artest) do?"
The Suns did everything right this season to shake off the loss of Amare Stoudemire and wind up the second seed in the West. They absolutely maximized themselves.
But there is a difference between the regular season and the playoffs and Jackson and Bryant know that as well as anyone. A playoff series is, at times, a battle of attrition, emotion and maturity. It isn't just speed and skill. Brains often overwhelm brawn.
Without laughing, Bryant and Jackson even publicly implored the NBA not to suspend Bell.
"I let him play. ??? Maybe he wasn't hugged enough as a child," Bryant smiled.
Kobe smiles a lot these days. Smiles about the way his team is playing. Smiles about his new daughter. Smiles over his restored relationship with Jackson.
Smiles that his team, which many thought wouldn't even make the playoffs, is on the verge of Round 2, where an historic matchup against the down-the-hallway Los Angeles Clippers await.
He was smiling big on Tuesday after getting hammered, brushing off the foul and playing up to the Phoenix crowd. He had every reason to. Raja Bell fell for the oldest trick in the book and took himself out of the most crucial game of the series.
Just how you can imagine Kobe and Phil dreamed it up.
carry on .....
The Wizards couldnt trap LeBron on the last play of the game...
He had it in the corner with three cats around him,all they had to do was collapse on him. WTF. DOODOO-Defensive effort.
boo.
Anyone catch theh Cavs game last night?? It was an amazing game up until the last play when it looked like Washington basically gave up and let Lebron score an easy layup to win the game. Lebron is a monster. He is 21 years old and out-muscling everyone who guards him. Then when they give him an inch, he hits fade-away jumpers that could easily be considered "trick shots". As much as I love Kobe, there are things that Lebron can do that just can't be matched. He had a step-back jumper off of a fake spin move late in the third quarter that was beyond a
Props to Antonio Daniels and Caron Butler for stepping up. Butler is a beast.
Hi Gene ? How are things ?
LAKER FANS GIT UP!
no kurt thomas
no raja bell
leandro barbosa split lip (c/o kb)
soft?
Why the fuck didn't they just guard the 3 point line at the end of regulation?
the two ain't doing shit but keeping you in the lead.
Yeah, me and every other laker fan is asking that question. Oh well, it's over now gotta get ready for game 7. Yo this game is gonna be crazy, wanna see how raja handles himself.
Game 7! Game 7!
haha. i'm composed but obviously down. I was listening to the whole game through radio cuz i was working, and i rushed over to the Cheesecake factory bar, and they were tied 100-100. Kobe made it a 3 pt. game, and I was like "damn, we have a hell of an opportunity right here". Then Tim Thomas made a 3, and then LA collapsed cuz of inexperience.
Word Adam. That was a huge mistake, in large part due to the coaching staff. They and the players were also responsible for not making adjustments on the defensive end throughout the game. Namely the high pick and roll which again killed the Lakers this game. Defense wins games, simple as that.
Course, this scenario (series tied at 3-3) was highly possible, considering the Lakers were burned out after that mirculous game. One could also say the Lakers have overachieved thus far, considering they even won 3 games, with a string of unprecedented defensive efforts. It's gonna take a hell of a miracle to win it in Phoenix. Assuming the officiating will be wack again, the Lakers will just have to raise the defensive intensity and inside presence; that'll be the only way.
Ed, you were greatly missed. that is all.
It's gonna be HUGE!!!
But his team was not very reliant
His 7th Game Hell
Will be Raja Bell
He can't win without Shaq the Giant