Alright Lakers, You're Next.

[OneMadOgre]

Nuggets down, Kings dispatched. It's your turn you name stealing, no lake having, monster in the middle team. I'm not sure I like our chances, but you never know... if one of our jump shooters catches fire...

[Graav Wolfsong]

Ouch, looks like Shaq took care of business tonight. :D

[OneMadOgre]

Yeah. No point guards is going to kill us.

[Graav Wolfsong]

Karl Malone really impressed me.
I mean, the guy is 41 years old and he actually outplayed KG tonight. I havent seen anyone do that well against KG in a long time.
Considering his great defensive effort against Tim Duncan and now against Garnett, I'd say Malone is just that little extra sumthin' the Lakers need to pull out another championship.
All they have to do is stick Malone on KG and let Shaq take care of everything else in the paint. :thumbsup:

Then again, the Timberwolves are probably tired too. Kinda sucks to only have one day rest after a 7 game series before you have to deal with the Lakers.

[windwalker]

God I hate the Wolves. Kevin Garnett is an idiot. They only beat the Kings because the Kings were stupid and kept Chris Weber in who screwed up the whole thing.

[Drakeon]

Please don't make kings fans look like idiots with such posts windwalker.

The whole series was close and the kings loss to the wolves can't really be blamed on any one thing.

[Spensdawg]

I'm all for Laker bashing. And I, being from Northern California, have a real reason to :D. Althuogh my reasons of course pale in camparison to having my team stolen from me, as is the clearly the case with OMO, who I now surmise is from the Minnesota area? Anyway good luck with those purple and yellow monsters. (I still say it's a foul every time Shaq runs someone over in the paint).

[Graav Wolfsong]

Shaq's succsess from the freethrow line sure came out of left field. He said afterwards it was because he read an aticle on the plane about an 80 year old man who hit 3000 freethrows in a row and he realized he had to focus less on the act of shooting and more on routine. Or something. It was a little bit bizarre.

And that on the same day his ex-girlfriends maid was stabbed to death by her own son in Shaqs house while their daughter was at school.
Shaq is trying to upstage Kobe on the whole personal life drama situation. :lol:

I dont think the Lakers will get away with another win that easy tonight tho', KG seemed really upset with himself after the last loss.
And if the Wolves lose this one theyre in big trouble as they have to win at the STAPLES center to stay alive.

I really admire Cassel for his will to play, he is in alot of pain but still plays hard and does a pretty good job. I mean, 16 points and 8 assists in 32 minutes with a back injury, hip injury and a ruptured eardrum. Thats hardcore.
If hes still gonna play the Lakers might try to exploit more him by having Payton push him around a bit for some post plays.

[windwalker]

Yes Drakeon, but I need SOMEONE to blame.

[Drakeon]

Yea I know, I'm frustrated too.

We've been getting to the playoffs for 4 years now and we can't even get back to how good we were in 2002 (WCF vs Lakers which WAS stolen from us..)

[Essex]

i'm just glad to see teams like the kings and mavs owned by fans who made the teams good instead of the crap they were for so long. Maybe one day billy crystal will buy the clippers :)

[Eiger]

I'm rooting for anyone but the Lakers as they appear to be basketball's version of the Yankees. Besides - Gary Payton had his chance to win with the Sonics and helped blow it for us. I'm still kinda peeved about having the best record in the NBA and then losing to the Nuggets - the #8 seed.

Anyway - go Indiana! (I was born there, and those fans are so serious about basketball - they deserve an NBA championship...)

[Glitch]

The Lakers WILL win the playoffs. Those stupid wolves think they can stop us? No. They can't.

[Ifrit18]

The Lakers WILL win the playoffs. Those stupid wolves think they can stop us? No. They can't.

Lakers have a bleak offseason after this NBA season. Enjoy it while it lasts :).

If you need someone to blame on the Kings, blame Peja. Bibby, Doug, Webber did their best. Peja had plenty of good shots in game 7 but he missed quite a few.

[Essex]

I agree with everything you just said. Boo to long standing over powered sports dynasties booooo.

However if the knicks could ever start doing what the lakers have... then.... yay over powerd sports dynasties.... but I know that will never happen.

[Graav Wolfsong]

Yeah the Lakers are in big trouble this offseason.
Kobe, Payton, Malone, Fisher and Phil Jackson can all leave.

And with Shaqs 80 million contract extension the Lakers dont have the salary cap space to support Shaq with quality players. The lakers have 44 million to spend next year and Shaq alone takes up like 30 millions. Instead of taking a small paycut to help the team he shots "I will not be devalued!", Shaq is a punk in my opinion. What does he need all this money for? His forst contract with Orlando was for 40 million, and his first with the Lakers was for 121 million and yet he shouted "pay meh!!1111!!" in the media and got himself an 80 million extension while GP and Malone at the same time agreed to basically play for food and shelter.
Thats almost half a billion dollars, all that money just to have a gold and\or platinum superman 'S' on absolutely everything he owns? Nah, Shaq is a punk.

However, team owner Jerry Buss said he'd do everything in his power to keep Bryant, wich might involve trading the overpriced Shaq and maybe even letting Phil Jackson go.
In my opinion, that could work out well, if they trade Shaq for someone like Ben Wallace or whatever they would have alot more salary cap space and a more balanced offense focused on Kobe.
If Kobe does leave, McGrady said he wishes to play for either the Lakers or the Spurs if he decides to leave the Magic next season.
But I'd like to see them trade for Vince Carter. :love:

It will be very interesting to see what happens this offseason, but the dynasty is pretty much done for tho'.

[Glitch]

You people are just bitter. Sure, the Lakers don't do to well in the offseason, but where does it really matter?

I'll tell you: in the playoffs. And that's where the Lakers excel. Every member of the Lakers sticks up for each other and is good natured and skilled, and they make a great team. However, sometimes the Lakers just aren't playing to thier hardest. That's what causes them to lose games.

And teamwork and good naturedness- that's more then you can say for the Kings. Jeez, I dislike them. For one thing, they're the Laker's bitter enemy, but they play dirty, foul, don't work together, yell at the refs, etc. I especially dislike Vlady Divak.

[Graav Wolfsong]

Its all over for the Timberwolves, they had me worried for a while there tho when they took the lead in the third.
But really, without a healthy Sam Cassel the Wolves didnt really have to much of a chance.
Without Cassel the Wolves offense didnt run smoothly at all, it became the Garnett show and then turned into the Sprewell show while the Lakers for some reason balanced their offense better than ever in this season these last few games.
But thats how it usually goes in the NBA, teams claw their way up, out of the first round, then out of the second round, then knock on the door a few times before they go all the way. I'd look for the Wolves to win it all in a year or two as long as the three headed monster stays healthy.

I'm really happy about this tho', I really hope Malone and GP can get their chamionship rings, Malone especially deserves it.
And it was great to see Kareem Rush finally get some decent minutes again, he did great while Kobe was sidelined with his shoulder injury earlier this season, I'm not really surprised he grabbed the chance to show off.


But the Pistons-Pacers series is really getting interesting, the Pistons are better than I ever gave them credit for, Hamilton is riding a magic touch. And with Tinsleys torn hamstring and Jermaine O'Neals bum knee I'd say the Pacers will have to pull off a miracle to get to the finals.
Then again, Rasheed Wallace has a foot injury and and Ben Wallace has an aching back and didnt practice monday.

Bodes well for the Lakers that their eastern conference foes are basically walking corpses and they have a few days more time to rest.

I'd predict Lakers beat the Pistons 4-2 in the finals. :thumbsup:

[Echod16]

Its all over for the Timberwolves, they had me worried for a while there tho when they took the lead in the third.
But really, without a healthy Sam Cassel the Wolves didnt really have to much of a chance.
Without Cassel the Wolves offense didnt run smoothly at all, it became the Garnett show and then turned into the Sprewell show while the Lakers for some reason balanced their offense better than ever in this season these last few games.
But thats how it usually goes in the NBA, teams claw their way up, out of the first round, then out of the second round, then knock on the door a few times before they go all the way. I'd look for the Wolves to win it all in a year or two as long as the three headed monster stays healthy.

I'm really happy about this tho', I really hope Malone and GP can get their chamionship rings, Malone especially deserves it.
And it was great to see Kareem Rush finally get some decent minutes again, he did great while Kobe was sidelined with his shoulder injury earlier this season, I'm not really surprised he grabbed the chance to show off.


But the Pistons-Pacers series is really getting interesting, the Pistons are better than I ever gave them credit for, Hamilton is riding a magic touch. And with Tinsleys torn hamstring and Jermaine O'Neals bum knee I'd say the Pacers will have to pull off a miracle to get to the finals.
Then again, Rasheed Wallace has a foot injury and and Ben Wallace has an aching back and didnt practice monday.

Bodes well for the Lakers that their eastern conference foes are basically walking corpses and they have a few days more time to rest.

I'd predict Lakers beat the Pistons 4-2 in the finals. :thumbsup:

oh ,yes, of course, now the "oh wells, we didn't really think we'd win" comes along..

shush you minnesota loving, too many lake having, anorexic of an MVP people!

but alas, the Lakers won *yay*, i'm just interested in them pulling out a championship, if one last time

[Essex]

its just not fun for the lakers to win YET again. It wasn't fun when the bulls did it and its not fun now. I'm sure it was pretty damn boring when the celtics were consnstantly winning with Bill Russel too.

At least when it was a contest between the lakers and celtics both sides had an even chance you can't possibly say that the east has a shot in hell of beating the lakers. (the pistons have a slightly larger chances but not by much)

[Graav Wolfsong]

oh ,yes, of course, now the "oh wells, we didn't really think we'd win" comes along..

shush you minnesota loving, too many lake having, anorexic of an MVP people!

but alas, the Lakers won *yay*, i'm just interested in them pulling out a championship, if one last time

*ahem*
If youd read any of the previous NBA threads or even the posts in this thread here you probably would have figured out that I'm a Lakers fanboy. :)
I absolutely adore Kobe and the Lakers are an interesting team and they earn me alot of money but still ... even if youre cheering for one team you can still aknowledge that another team is good. And the Timberwolves are damn good. When theyre healthy that is. But theyre not as good as this years Lakers team. No one is as good as this years Lakers team.

I'm just waiting for the Toronto Raptors to make their big run at the championship! :thumbsup:
Vince Carter hasnt been playing anywhere near his potential the last two years, if he sorts out all those minor injuries and start putting up 27 points per game again, Chris Bosh start living up to his potential and the Raptors reinforce their bench a little and trade for a good defensive big man they can go a long way. :winner:

[Eiger]

Arrgh... Unless the Pacers can pull out their series I'm done watching until next year...

[Echod16]

*ahem*
If youd read any of the previous NBA threads or even the posts in this thread here you probably would have figured out that I'm a Lakers fanboy. :)
I absolutely adore Kobe and the Lakers are an interesting team and they earn me alot of money but still ... even if youre cheering for one team you can still aknowledge that another team is good. And the Timberwolves are damn good. When theyre healthy that is. But theyre not as good as this years Lakers team. No one is as good as this years Lakers team.

I'm just waiting for the Toronto Raptors to make their big run at the championship! :thumbsup:
Vince Carter hasnt been playing anywhere near his potential the last two years, if he sorts out all those minor injuries and start putting up 27 points per game again, Chris Bosh start living up to his potential and the Raptors reinforce their bench a little and trade for a good defensive big man they can go a long way. :winner:

i wans't poking at you, i jsut have a tendency to quote the above post...heh

[Graav Wolfsong]

Well, the Pistons vanquished the Pacers.
I guess anyone could see that coming when Jermaine O'Neal hurt his knee.

I'm really impressed by Richard Hamiltons shooting and energy, the guy never stops moving, he ran poor Reggie Miller into the ground.


I'm still sticking with my prediction tho'. Lakers over Pistons 4-2.
In fact, I have 50 bucks on it. :innocent:

[Essex]

its a classic battle a good D vs. a good O. The only problem is the Lakers have a pretty damn good D too...

[JailBreak]

No one has defense for Shaq. Defend him and the rest of the team will go nuts on you ala Rush in the Lakers/Timberwolves series. Only chance the Pistons have is with point guard play.

[Mad_Mat]

To whoever "predicted" the T-Wolves will win it all in 2 years or so I say this: Tell me the combined age of the No. 2 and 3 best players the Wolves have. It'll take some hefty trading, and perhaps a weak season (thus a good draft pick) to rebuild the Wolves.
I, too, am a Lakers fanboy, and to my credit I've been loyal through tougher times as well. It's no coincidence they're such a good basketball club - their management is some of the best in the business. Vlade Divac for the Hornets' draft pick (I.E Kobe Bryant) anyone?
Anyways as much as I love the Lakers, next season I hope an Eastern team goes all the way (yes the Lakers will beat the Pistons, I say in either 5 or 6 games, if pressed I say 5).

[Graav Wolfsong]

To whoever "predicted" the T-Wolves will win it all in 2 years or so I say this: Tell me the combined age of the No. 2 and 3 best players the Wolves have. It'll take some hefty trading, and perhaps a weak season (thus a good draft pick) to rebuild the Wolves.
I, too, am a Lakers fanboy, and to my credit I've been loyal through tougher times as well. It's no coincidence they're such a good basketball club - their management is some of the best in the business. Vlade Divac for the Hornets' draft pick (I.E Kobe Bryant) anyone?
Anyways as much as I love the Lakers, next season I hope an Eastern team goes all the way (yes the Lakers will beat the Pistons, I say in either 5 or 6 games, if pressed I say 5).

Dont be so quick to count out the Timberwolves.
Granted, Spree is 34 years old and Cassel is 35 but they both still have a few good years left in them. The Wolves will naturally be looking to reinforce their bench in the offseason and trade for another big man as Kandi is absolutely not living up to his potential.
The experience they got from this season will make them even better. They sure wont be any worse next season when Troy Hudson gets back.

The Lakers meanwhile, could go both ways, Jerry Buss is basically giving the team to Kobe if he decides to stay. We're looking at a Michael Jordan\Bulls situation in the Lakers if that happens. If Kobe , GP and Malone leaves theyre left with a hugely overpaid Shaq and no salary cap space to bring in quality players.

I agree that the Lakers have always made good choices in the GM department, its a reason why they have had 26 50+ win seasons since moving to L.A. And it took something special to sign GP and Malone for breadcrumbs.
The Vlade Divac - Kobe draft pick trade was indeed one of the biggest success trades in the history of basketball. But you couldnt really see it in the '96 season where Kobe as a rookie only managed a modest 7.6 ppg 1.9 rpg 1.3 apg. I dont think they saw this coming.
He was little more than a high flyer when he started out. I dont think anyone even imagined how this kid would develop his game and become THE star of the NBA. I mean, his second season, he got more minutes and his jump shot improved, then he developed a mean turnaround jumper, then increased his range to 25+ feet, then became a great clutch shooter and able to force amazing shots at will. He also is a great defender.
And at only 25 he will surely continue to develop his game.
As long as that skank doesnt screw up his career with her accusations that is.

[Essex]

the more I hear out of eagle the more it sounds like Kobe will get off. I don't know if he did it or not but ya know... she may not be a skank she may be a victim... even though you can't call her that in court (which makes sense rally)

[Graav Wolfsong]

the more I hear out of eagle the more it sounds like Kobe will get off.

*giggles* :innocent:



Anywaaaay ... even if Kobe did **** her, she is still a skank, I mean, she did have some other guys sperm in her panties when she went to the hospital.
And there is obviously a reason why Kobes defenders are trying to have the strickt Colorado **** shield law overruled and use her sexual history as evidence.

The way I see it, some promiscuous blonde bimbo saw one of the biggest sports stars in the world walking into the hotel she worked at and turned on the charm and started flirting like crazy. She agreed to meet Kobe at his room later, wich she did.
This has been established in the court hearings already.
Now, does anyone actually believe she came there just to hang out and had no desire at all to get laid? This reaks of groupie love all over.

Kobe was insanely stupid to let himself get suckered in by some skank when he is married and had just had a little baby girl, but he is just not dumb enough to **** some random 19 year old white chick.
Especially in Colorado, a black man does not **** a white woman in Colorado, geez, if they had their way these rednecks would grab their pitchforks and hang the guy. :lol:

If Bryant is convicted, hell surely have to pay her millions and millions of dollars. And she is even scheduled to write a book about all this. Cashing in anyone?

Now that Kobes defense lawiers have been allowed to use the cum filled panties as evidence, they probably wont have much problems proving that she had sex with someone else shortly after being '*****' by Bryant and that her injuries could have come from the other guy. They are already getting DNA samples from her boyfriend and a piccolo at the hotel.

The womans -To my credit, I'm trying hard not to broadcast her name all over the internet here- credibility is dropping every day.
If Bryants lawiers get to use her sexual history as evidence the case will be pretty much over.
BUt the womans lawiers are scrapping all over the place to stop her sexual history, her medical records and pretty much any evidence that can shed some light on the case from ever being used.
If she is an innocent victim, why wont her lawiers let all the evidence be used in court?
The only logical reson I can come up with is that all the information will hurt the womans case.

So I dont believe Kobe did it, these things happen to celebrities all the time.

[Graav Wolfsong]

Lakers got slapped around 87-75 at home!
Man, the Pistons shut everyone but Kobe and Shaq down. Shaq and Kobe combined for 59 points while the rest of the Lakers combined for 16. Thats pretty owned. :(


Even though it saddens me to see the Lakers fall on their faces like that, the one positive point is this game is nothing short of a testament to my incredible 1337 gambling intuition. :innocent:
I was putting 50$ on the Lakers for a pretty bad 1.20 payoff when I noticed the 4.33 odds for a Pistons win so I went out on a limb and smacked 100$ on them and added another 50$ on Kobe scoring above his average of 24.5 points for a 1.80 payoff.

Pistons won and Kobe came through with 25 points and more than made back my 50 wasted bucks on the Lakers. :D

[Essex]

LOL Graav you are a master gambler!

I was so glad to see the Pistons win.

[Glitch]

I was not glad to see the pistons win. They will fall though, I'm still very sure the Lakers will beat them. To come this far for nothing, man, that'd suck.

[Lord Archaon]

The news said this was the first time this season the Lakers have been beaten at home. Thats got to suck, last game and lose at home.:(

[Essex]

the lakers will still play several more at home lol.

how could you not want the pistons to win unless you live in LA yourself. Think about it the Pistons winning equals more money for Graav lol also the East would finally have a championship again, and all that talk of the west being so unstoppable would end.

[Graav Wolfsong]

I think, or atleast hope, that this was like against Philly in 2001 when the Lakers swept everyone on their way to the finals and then lost game one in the finals but won the next four for a 4-1 win.
Coincidentally, Pistons coach Larry Brown was the coach of the Philadelphia 76s back then.

I bet Phil Jackson tore the Lakers roleplayers a new one after the match for being so ineffective, even Malone was completely shut down and Payton totally tanked, he couldnt even stop Billups on the defensive end.

They actually let Shaq have fun inside with rotating shifts of man-to-man coverage instead of doubling him and instead focused on everyone else, stopping them from passing to Shaq and contesting every single shot. Shaq wasnt pressured at all, hitting 13 of 16 shots. He would have gotten a helluva lot more than 34 if they managed to get him the ball more.
Its probably among the best defensive efforts against the Lakers I've seen this year.

And Tayshaun Prince guarding Kobe was probably the best desicion they made defensively. Prince is 6.9 with a wingspan of a 7.2 guy, Kobe had trouble with that as Prince managed to get in his face every time Kobe tried a shot, keeping him off balance. Kobe got 25 points but needed 27 shots to do it, not very effective and most of those points came when he was matched up with Lindsey Hunter.

Gotta give props to Kobe for managing to keep up with the energizer bunny Hamilton and limit him that much while at the same time give a major effort offensively.

[Eiger]

Woohoo! Go Pistons! Ok I was really rooting for Indiana, but with them gone, my mantra is anybody but the Lakers, anybody but the Yankees, anybody but Bush. Hehe and haha!

[Drakeon]

I'm with Eiger up to the "anybody but bush" part :p

Go pistons!

[Graav Wolfsong]

Game 2 tonight. This is gonna be exiting. I didnt bet anything today as I'm simply not sure what will happen and a Lakers win still gives a lousy 1.20 payoff. :(

The Pistons look strong but the Lakers may have readjusted their tactics enough to nail a win like they did after getting whupped the first two games at San Antonio.
Coach Phil Jackson talked about moving Kobe to small forward and letting Kareem Rush step in as shooting guard since George was not working out at SF. Rush is a better shooter than George and Kobe would conserve energy on D by guarding Prince instead of Hamilton.

And Malone has been kicking the crap outta himself for only contibuting 4 points in game 1.
"I’ve been giving us double figures all year and the playoffs, and I didn’t do it tonight," said Malone. "We always talk about somebody else, but I can look at myself and say I didn’t get it done." "Four points in nothing, my little boy can do that."

I've pretty much counted out Payton tho', I doubt its just his trouble with the triangle thats making him tank like this. Hes not the player he used to be, hes getting slow.


Downside with being such a basketball fanboy is the NBA finals is being broadcasted live and start about 3:00 - 3:30 AM over here.
The sleep deprivation is beginning to get to me. I drive almost as bad as women now. :lol:

Edit:
Kobes explanation of why they lost:

Bryant pointed out another factor that might have distracted the Lakers — O’Neal’s pregame underwear choice.

“You probably can blame it on the thong Shaq had on,” he said, breaking into laughter. “It kind of traumatized everybody in the locker room. But we’ll be all right. We’ll bounce back.”

[Mad_Mat]

Lakers win Game 2, erase last minute 6 point deficit with a 3 point play by O'Neal and a 3 pointer with 2.1 sec to go in regulation by Bryant to force OT. Bryant, O'Neal take over in OT and the final score is 99-91. Bryant finished with 33 points, O'Neal with 29 and the Lakers also enjoy 8 assists from unexpected hero Luke Walton.

This one is definatley a classic, amazing game. I practicly thought it was over with the Lakers trailing by 6 a minute from the end, and when Bryant hit that 3 I literally bursed in roaring laughter and joy (it was about 7 AM over here, and my dad just woke up and joined me in watching the final couple of minutes before heading off to work). :D

[Graav Wolfsong]

I cant believe that three pointer by Bryant with Hamilton in his face. Amazing.
I truly love that guy. Its when he does things like that you see the shades of Jordan.
And Shaq actually hit the free throw! I was sure he wouldnt get the triple when he got to the line but the big baboon actually hit it.
Luke Walton was huge, some of his assists was mind blowing, in the air cross court pass to Rush, or the pass straight through the entire pistons defense to find Bryant under the basket. And the alley oop to Shaq. Its great to see that the Lakers reserves can come up big, their bench is inconsistent but very underrated.

The downside was Payton getting smacked around by Billups again. GP is starting to look more like a liability than one of the fantastic four.

Incredible game, I was scared out of my mind when Malone hurt his knee again and limped off the court, I shouted angrily at the TV when Hamilton was hitting mid range jumpers on the run in the 4th and Billups got to the basket for easy layups. I woke up everyone in the building with my shouting when Kobe hit that three. I think people are beginning to question my sexuality as this is the second time this month I've run outside shouting how I love a dude. :cheesy: The first time being Fishers shot that defied time and space in 0.4 seconds.
Kobes three shot comes in at a close third this playoff for me, after Fishers 0.4 miracle and Billups half court tying three in the Pistons-Nets series triple overtime match.

[Essex]

well as much as I hate the way this game was played I was cheered up a bit. The lakers did everything they wanted, big games from kobe and shaq and the reservers chipped in, but the pistons still almost one. I think that if less miracles can happen, and Sheed could avoid foul trouble they may just win.

I didn't realize they won 3 out of 4 games in the regular season.

[Eiger]

My prediction is that the Lakers might win game 5, but that's it...

[Graav Wolfsong]

I think alot depends on Malones knee. He aggrivated the injury a few games back, had to have his knee drained last week, missed practice monday and hurt it again last night. Without Malones defense the Lakers will be in deep dodoo, Medvedenko, Cook or Grant would all be severely outplayed by Ben and Sheed.

[Mad_Mat]

The Lakers don't really have a matchup problem defensively for Big Ben as much as they do with Guaran-Sheed.

The problem with Ben Wallace and Elden Campbell as well is that Shaq doesn't challenge the shooter off the pick and roll. When detroit sets up a pick and roll and manage to force a defensive switch of say Payton to Ben and Shaq to Chauncy, Shaq is slow to react which often results in a clean look for a jump shot or open lane for Billups. If Payton attempts to stick to him off the pick, Ben/Elden remain open for midrange shots, and they've been hitting them fairly well lately. You can't really blame shaq because frankly he can't do it all - defend aggressively off the switch, box out for rebounds, and battle for position in the post on offense. He has to conserve his energy, and it's Detroit's job to try and capitalize on it.

To Essex: Detroit didn't beat L.A 3 out of 4 in the regular season, teams from opposing confrences don't play 4 games in the regular season. They tied the season series a 1 apiece, and now they're overall (regular and post season) 2-2.

Anyways I'm betting on the Lakers winning 2 out of 3 in Detroit and closing the series at home in game 6.

[Eiger]

Anyways I'm betting on the Lakers winning 2 out of 3 in Detroit and closing the series at home in game 6.
Oh, that's right - next 3 in Detroit. Forgot about that part of the format - was thinking 2-2-1-1-1 rather than 2-3-2. So in that case, Detroit takes the next 3 and it's season over. Hahahahaha!

[Bartleby]

I think Phil is done with Payton and Malone. Sadly, Malone is too injured to play and Payton is spotty at best. It's time for our veteran support to step up big like Walton did last night (note: I'm not calling Walton a vet, just noting his great performance).

Originally I figured Lakers would win games 1, 3, 4, and 6; however it's been amended to 2, 3, 4, and 6 for obvious reasons.

And a fun fact for all you Detroit fans not one single team in the history of the NBA has won all 3 middle games at home, and I sincerely doubt that a team with such a sloppy offense is going to change that. :evil:

[Mad_Mat]

Regardless of what I think will happen, I hope it'll be a 7 game series. With games like the one last night I want this series to last as long as it may :)

[Graav Wolfsong]

With the unexpected home loss in game 1 I think this will be a 7 game series. I think the Lakers will get one in the Palace and they'll head back to STAPLES center with the Pistons up 3-2 and hopefully the Lakers will be able to close them out at home.
Kobe figured out the Pistons defense so if he and Shaq can keep the huge momentum they got from game 2 this Lakers era might still end on a high note.


I also think Karl Malone will play again this series despite spraining the MCL in his right knee, the same one he tore in December. An injury like that needs around 4-6 weeks to heal but this may be Malones last chance, its do or die for him so I think we'll see Malone back by game 5 if not sooner.
From what I've seen it seems like Malone doesnt really care at this point that he might make his knee worse since he has 1 more season in him at the most even if he stays healthy. He got into a big argument on the bench after injuring his knee in game 2 about going back out there or not and ended up playing 39 minutes despite the trainer telling him to sit down.

"The last time I went in the back, I was out three months."
"There's a comparison to that," he said. "I consider what's at stake here. What the hell am I saving myself for? If I can play with my kids when this is over, it's worth it to me. Just three more wins."

"I'm all right. I'm sure if there's a will, there's a way."
"I'll give it what I've got," Malone said. "If I suit up, I expect to play and have no excuses. It feels better. I'm not doing anything today."
"I know me pretty well, I know my body. I'm fine. I'll be fine. Sometimes bad things happen to good people."


Even if they win a championship, a guy like that wont be happy unless hes out on the court helping them win it. Its great to see determination like that in professional athletes,he came to LA for mere 1.5 million and hes grinding his teeth in pain, risking further injury to his leg, all for a championship ring.

Karl is a whole lot better than Payton, thats for sure. GP spends his time totally tanking on the court or sulking on the bench.

[Mad_Mat]

Karl is a whole lot better than Payton, thats for sure. GP spends his time totally tanking on the court or sulking on the bench.
My sentiments exactly. As much as I hate to admit it GP is hardly the player he used to be. It's a shame.

[Essex]

ah sorry about the wrong stat there stat boy lol (PTI imitaton)

I thought I had heard that during the half-time show. My bad

[Mad_Mat]

No prob. Seeing how it was halftime, You probably heard that the pistons lead the overall season series (which they did untill the Lakers won).

[Essex]

Wow now that was an *** beating last night. 68 points... lowest the Lakers have scored EVER in the playoffs. I know no team has ever won all three at home but when you think about it, if not for a miracle 2.3 second shot the Pistons would be up 3-0 right now.

I still think this game will go 6, but I think it will be the Pistons winning, because Malones not gonna get any healtheir. Shaq and Kobe will no doubt rebound but what about everyone else?

I'll be damned happy to see Larry Brown win a championship

[Eiger]

DE-FENSE DE-FENSE

Oh, we're not playing football? sorry, hehe
Gotta love those pistons taking down the LA All Stars like that. THTHTHUUUMP! :thumbsup:

[Bartleby]

I hope to God this is just like San Antonio (and pretty much this whole damn season) where the Lakers didn't start playing until the odds turned against them... Guess they need a hollywood ending :D

I'm not sure if it's the Piston's defense or the Laker's lathargic playing that's making the series so ugly. I guess it's probably both. Either way I'm getting sick just watching the playoffs.

Oh well, if things don't improve it looks like it'll take the Lakers 7 games to bring this one home.

[Graav Wolfsong]

It was pretty harcore by Malone to go out and play, even tho' he only managed 18 minutes. He didnt even want to wear the knee brace saying until Kobe convinced him. Sad thing is, Malone wont get any better from resting, h needs at least a month, sitting him out a match wont do anything.
I cant even imagine how Malone must feel right now, so close to his dream, so close he could touch it and then he gets injured again and have to either play in blinding pain or sit on the bench watching everything he worked for being taked from them by the Pistons.

Its trange to see the Lakers on days when Kobe just cant get going, when hes not there to drag them along or slack off the entire game and become omnipotent in crunch time, they really struggle.
The times the camera caught a closeup of Kobes face you could see he was pretty pissed off, at himself, his team, the refs, the Pistons. He looked like he was cursing the world after some of those misses.

As much as I despise the Pistons way of playing I have to respect them, they have some mad skills, well, defensively, they are questionable offensively.
They scrap all game, no matter what, I prefer the showmanship of the superstars and dynasties but there is alot to be said for the heart of the Pistons.
If you subtract Shaq and Kobe from the equation its obvious the Pistons are by far the more talented team.

I still think the Lakers will pull it out tho', Shaq and Kobe will bounce back and carry the Lakers to a win in the Palace and then they'll gut it out at home with a game 7 win.
I hope.

This Lakers era is just about over, it deserves to end in a good way since it has been by far the most entertaining dynasty in practically any sports ever. They really should have a had cameras around the last 5-6 seasons and made a reality TV show of it.
And Malone so deserves his ring, GP has done nothing to earn his but Karl really deserves one.

[Drakeon]

The lakers "era" should of ended in 2002 Western Confernece Finals if you ask me..

I hope the pistons win game 4 & 5.

-=Kings Fan For Life=- :p

[Bartleby]

Figures... dirty Kings have dirty fans =P

[Bartleby]

My God... the Lakers are almost done... this just can't seem to get started. This could be the end of another Laker era.

[Drakeon]

woot! 1 more to go and the lakers are gone :D

Go pistons go!

[Graav Wolfsong]

Someone needs to explain to Luke Walton that hes on a Basketball court not in a wrestling ting. I've never seen someone foul everyone so quickly.

The Lakers are in big trouble with Malone limited the way he is, they really need his defense, Sheed is having his way with Medvedenko, Walton and Cook.

I thought Kobe would figure out the Pistons but it seems its the Pistons who have figured out Bryant. Not often you see a guy like Kobe be limited like that.

Atleast Shaq showed up last night with 36 points and 20 rebounds.

If the Lakers manage to get the last game at the Palace and go back home they still have a decent chance of winning.
But can they win game 5? I'm not so sure. :(
They need Shaq to keep crashing the boards and Kobe to get himself going again. And hopefully Payton and Fisher can hit some shots.

If not this Lakers team ends in Detroit. :hanky:

[Essex]

yeah... baby woo!!! God I hope the pistons win tuesday. Good hard nosed basketball teams need to win more. You can't say that Larry Brown doesn't deserve to finally win a championship...the only one on that whole squad I feel sorry for is Malone he doesn't deserve to go out like this, with a bum knee watching from the sidelines.

Other than that I'm damn glad to see the East win again and I couldn't be happier that its the Pistons a team that noone gave a chance.

[Graav Wolfsong]

I gotta admit the Pistons are incredibly good. ALOT better than I figured them to be going into the playoffs.
But I just dont like their way of playing the game. Nothing wrong with great D and theyre hard workers with plenty of heart but they lack that prime time flash so many other teams have.
The Pistons are just boring alot of times.

I would have liked to see the Pacers go all the way, Reggie really deserved a ring too.

But the east team that needs to go all the way is the Toronto Raptors. I dont know why I love the Raptors, I just do. Ever since they first came into the NBA with Damon Stoudamire as the star. I really liked that a 5.10 guy could come in the NBA and put up 20 ppg. Man did he tank after leaving the Raptors. :(
Their time is coming. They have the foundations of a good team going, they just need a few more pieces of the puzzle. A dominant big man and a better bench. They didnt play anywhere near their potential this season.
And Vince Carter alone has enough flashy moves to make them very entertaining to watch. Wooo! Vince! :love:

Edit: They do have a good big man in Chris Bosh but still needs time to develop so I'm not counting him as a dominant big man just yet.

[Bartleby]

It's a long shot now, but I still believe the Lakers will win it... I got so pissed last night watching Shaq get smacked around and few fouls being called for it, but that aside the Pistons have taken the Lakers with good D and quick points before the Laker D gets set.

[Eiger]

It's a long shot now, but I still believe the Lakers will win it... I got so pissed last night watching Shaq get smacked around and few fouls being called for it, but that aside the Pistons have taken the Lakers with good D and quick points before the Laker D gets set.
Hehe, well I can see why you might be pushing Nader then - Bartleby, the patron saint of lost causes... ;)

[Bartleby]

Well... 4 1/2 minutes to go... the Lakers down 27... I guess the dynasty is over for now. I'll be waiting for the next Laker dream team, if this one loses.

Edit#1 - Ben Wallace is the MVP of the finals. Hands down.

[Bartleby]

Well it's over now, and likely the end of another Laker dynasty. The Pistons were a better team.

For all you Laker haters I'd like to point out that nobody in the history of the NBA has gone to the finals as many times as the Lakers (28 times) and only one team has more championships than the Lakers (14), the Boston Celtics (16) most of which they acquired during the longest dynasty ever known which lasted over a decade with almost no championship losses. And as a fun fact, the Lakers were their primary finals opponent for most of that decade.

The Lakers will be back, it's just a matter of time and when they do, the life long fans will be here like always.

[Essex]

bart give the pistons time to be happy :) lol

I'm glad that Larry Brown won, I thought the comments he made after the game were just classy. He thanked Rick Carlisle the coach last year, he said sorry to the guys who weren't on the team from last year, he's just a classy guy all around to me.

It was a great series that no one saw ending this way. I feel ben wallace was the mvp but they always have to reward the scorers

[Lord Archaon]

Well, im more for the Lakers than the Pistons but what can you do.

**Shovels the last bit of dirt on the Lakers Grave**

[Drakeon]

wooo Lakers lost!

Another reason I don't like lakers is because of how many times they've been to the finals. I like to see different teams in the finals then just the same 1 or 2 teams every year, I really dislike dynasties (I suppose I might like it if it were my team..).

I'm not saying the lakers didn't have skill, just that I hated them :p

Oh and woot for pistons! They totally blew the lakers out tonight.

[Graav Wolfsong]

The Pistons thump the Lakers in five and Billups is the finals MVP? The hell happened here? :)

This was an interesting finals tho', I mean, the Lakers and the Pistons are each others complete opposite. And the team totally slaughtered the superstars.

Well, at least the Lakers had someone other than Kobe and Shaq in double figures. Fisher and Medvedenko. :lol:
But I think if Malone hadnt been injured thi series had looked alot different.

Its going to be real interesting to see what happens in the Lakers off season, who stays, who leaves, whos gonna blame who. Shaq has already started blaming Kobe. And in the middle of all this, Malone must be heartbroken.

One thing that is pretty much sure tho', if Kobe goes, Jackson probably stays, if Kobe stays, Jackson is out. STAPLES center will be the host of an all out Lakers battle royale. :D


But if Sheed stays with the Pistons next season (he would be stupid not to) and the Pistons manage to build on their team with some quality free agents, then I'm afraid, very afraid.

Edit: Deadpool huh? Hes cool but Agent X was way cooler. :thumbsup:

[Eiger]

Can I predict 'em or what? Lakers gone in 5 and so it is. Damn I'm good! Uh huh! :clap:

Ok, so I got lucky for once and get to be all happy and stuff. Gimme a break. ;)

[Bartleby]

Essex, they have exactly one summer to be happy. After that look out. We'll see if Cinderella makes it back to the ball.

[Essex]

that team is going to be kept together and may only get better. The lakers on the other hand are going to be scattered in all directions, unless Cinderella happens to wear the size 32 shoe that Shaq has I don't know what your talking about.

I think the pistons will be back in the eastern confrence finals at least, who else in the east is there to challenge them?

I think a timberwolf-Pistons matchup would have been much closer.

[Graav Wolfsong]

I'm telling you, watch the Raptors next season, They're about ready to blow up. :thumbsup:


The really surreal thing about this series and game 5 in particular was seeing Ben Wallace hitting jumpers. If that guy keeps evolving offensively like he has after Brown came in as coach he is going to be sick. Totally sick.

[Bartleby]

that team is going to be kept together and may only get better. The lakers on the other hand are going to be scattered in all directions, unless Cinderella happens to wear the size 32 shoe that Shaq has I don't know what your talking about.
Funny... the Spurs said the same thing last year. :rolleyes:

There still has never been as consistent a winning team as the Lakers with attendance at 50% of the leagues finals and taking home half of those.

[Essex]

the spurs were an intersting case but they also had stiff competiton in the west. The lakers just had some bad luck with injuries and some selfish play by kobe. I still think the pistons will only get better... like my knicks who only get worse

[Bartleby]

The Spurs are a case now, huh? Down play it all you want, but you've still got history on your heels.

[Drakeon]

Graav, Deadpool has been around for years and Agent X is relatively new :p

While I'll agree Agent X was cool, he is in no way cooler then DP :evil:

[Graav Wolfsong]

Graav, Deadpool has been around for years and Agent X is relatively new :p

While I'll agree Agent X was cool, he is in no way cooler then DP :evil:

Now way man. Deadpool is cool too and has a long history but Agent X was slightly better. :winner:
I've never laughed so much while reading a comic as with Agent X. It was my favourite book during the short run it had.

Agent X is over now anyway, he lost his powers and all when good ol' mr Wilson and the Swan came back and revealed Agent X was really the remains of Nijo somehow reanimated with Deadpools powers and stuff after the last issue of Deadpool when he blew them all up.
Too bad Agent X lost hos powers tho', it could have been interesting with a Deadpool\Agent X combined book.

[Graav Wolfsong]

I found an interesting article in the LA Times:

"Bryant, who can leave the Lakers in July and could be on trial by August, said again he intended to opt out of his contract. After that, with the Clippers and New York Knicks believed to be among his options, Bryant said he did not know."

I'd love to see Kobe with the Knicks. With the team they started buidling midway through the season theyre already looking good, add Kobe and you could have some m4d eastern conference powah on your hands. If they manage to teach Kobe how to share the ball that is. :)

The rest of the guys:

"Malone is expected to opt not to extend his contract into next season as soon as today, and spend the next few weeks assessing his injured knee, which kept him out of Tuesday night's game. He is mulling retirement. Payton is expected to wait for Jackson's decision, then decide by the weekend if he'll return to the Lakers. If it appears as though Jackson will leave, then Payton, who felt his game was muted under Jackson's triangle offense, could be more likely to stay."

"O'Neal, who can leave after next season and has been openly critical of General Manager Mitch Kupchak, has hinted of demanding a trade if the team is not rebuilt to his specifications. Two weeks before, he'd said he was pleased to have delivered the NBA Finals to his friends, Malone and Payton, that he'd felt like a man of his word."

"Rick Fox has said he might retire. Derek Fisher is expected to opt out of his contract by the end of the week. Other parts, veteran parts such as Horace Grant and young parts such as Slava Medvedenko, can be free agents."


And Jackson is likely to leave as well. The Lakers might look like the Clippers come training camp. The Lakers general management team have had a history of pulling off genious trades tho'. Tracy McGrady said he'd love to play with the Lakers if he decides to leave Orlando, and hes slightly better than Bryant at sharing the ball so it could even be for the best.

[Drakeon]

Huh? Agent X didn't lose his powers..

BTW, the reason Agent X rocked was because of the writer, who also did a few deadpool issues before Agent X (Gail Simone, who now does Birds of Prey for DC). She writes hilarious books usually.

I think Swan was the only one who died. Deadpool and Agent X both have their powers if I remember correctly.

*sorry for derailing topic :(*

[Graav Wolfsong]

*Rereads issue #15*

Dude! Youre totally right!

Where the hell did I get that from? Hmm ... guess I was a little upset when I realized this was the last issue for now and got thrown when Alex's scar and eyes returned to normal after the 'vulcan mind meld' thing. :lol:

So they didnt effectively end this character after all, just stuck him in limbo for a while. Heh, that actually made my day. :D


But really, an Agent X & Deadpool series would be great, especially seeing as they hate eachothers guts with a passion and all.

[Bartleby]

I found an interesting article in the LA Times:

"Bryant, who can leave the Lakers in July and could be on trial by August, said again he intended to opt out of his contract. After that, with the Clippers and New York Knicks believed to be among his options, Bryant said he did not know."Actually that's a common misconception, unless Kobe has changed his position from a day or two ago. All he's actually said so far is that he is willing to listen to the Knicks.
If they manage to teach Kobe how to share the ball that is. :)He's gotten better about that :whistle:

The rest of the guys:

"Malone is expected to opt not to extend his contract into next season as soon as today, and spend the next few weeks assessing his injured knee, which kept him out of Tuesday night's game. He is mulling retirement. He's out, although not sure about retirement.
Payton is expected to wait for Jackson's decision, then decide by the weekend if he'll return to the Lakers.Couldn't care less.
"O'Neal, who can leave after next season and has been openly critical of General Manager Mitch Kupchak, has hinted of demanding a trade if the team is not rebuilt to his specifications.It's not out of line with Shaq's ego, but I don't know where the writer heard that, although sports writers are known for not needing facts.
"Rick Fox has said he might retire."IMO if he believes it's over, he'll retire.
Derek Fisher is expected to opt out of his contract by the end of the week.I had heard otherwise, but then how old is this article?
Other parts, veteran parts such as Horace Grant and young parts such as Slava Medvedenko, can be free agents."Haven't heard much about them.
And Jackson is likely to leave as well.There's been little or no discussion on this, but Jackson has had a terrific career as an NBA coach and I have a feeling from all his family talk that he may well retire to focus on his family.
The Lakers might look like the Clippers come training camp.Doubt it, but did you know that the Clippers are one of the leagues few profitable teams? Just a fun fact.
The Lakers general management team have had a history of pulling off genious trades tho'.Amen to that.
Tracy McGrady said he'd love to play with the Lakers if he decides to leave Orlando, and hes slightly better than Bryant at sharing the ball so it could even be for the best.I had heard that too... it could be interesting but it would require that the Lakers pickup some consistent shooters to prevent triple teaming on Shaq.

[Essex]

hmm I don't know if McGrady would be that good... he's had problems with his back the last two seasons that really hampered him. Plus you know that he would think he deserves that max contract, despite the fact that he may not be worth it.

Kobe in New York would be nice, but I just generally don't like him so him becmoing a knick won't make me a huge fan off the bat, even though I love my knicks.

Also if he wants to stay in a big market then the Knicks is really the only option other than L.A.

I doubt we'll see Kobe playing for the Grizz lol

[Bartleby]

Agreed, if Kobe leaves, he'll be going to NY.

If I were Kobe I'd stay because Shaq only has 2-3 years left in him.

[Essex]

yeah but if he stays and shaq stays three years, kobe turns 28 when the lakers become his team, or he can go to NY and have his own team at 25

I do wonder what they would do with allan houston. Hopefully trade his expensive ***

[Graav Wolfsong]

Well the article went up wednesday morning so I guess its pretty up to date.

Malone will probably have surgery on his knee but he said he would only come back if he is 100% by training camp. He'd either play for the Lakers next year or retire.

I think Payton will be better if he stays and Jackson leaves, Paytons biggest problem was the triangle and the lack of pick and roll plays. If a new coach comes in and lets Payton do his thing more he'll get better. But hes still alot slower than he used to be tho'.

Kobe said he loved playing for Jackson and with O'Neal and wouldnt mind playing wih them "forever". And I guess that max contract Buss will offer him is tempting.
But I think he was just blowing smoke on that one, I think they have too many differences to sort out. And you know Shaq is blaming Kobe for losing because he shot like crap, shot to much and refused to give the ball up at all. Even I think Kobe pretty much screwed up this series, and I'm a m4d Kobe fanboy. But then again, his teammates are trying to convince him to stay. Malone said he'd spend some time with Kobe and if Kobe asked his advice he'd tell him to stay with the Lakers because he'd regret leaving later.

It can still go both ways, the core championship team may stay together and give it a few more shots or they'll scatter with the winds.

[Bartleby]

Well one thing is for sure, this summer will be "interesting" for Laker fans. I'll just have to wait and see what happens, but no matter what happens I'll be at the tv cheering my team on and hurling a whirlwind of obscenities at the refs when the season starts again.

[Essex]

Well one thing is for sure, this summer will be "interesting" for Laker fans. I'll just have to wait and see what happens, but no matter what happens I'll be at the tv cheering my team on and hurling a whirlwind of obscenities at the refs when the season starts again.
yeah i think we all curse the refs..

they should do like baseball and have a computer that caluclates how many fouls actually occur and how many are called. (in baseball they have a program that actually monitors the strike zone and officals are ranked based on how close they are to the program)

also in boxing they have compu-box numbers but usually those numbers don't mesh well with what the judges have done.

Any of you all like boxing? I'm a huge boxing fan.

[Bartleby]

I like the low and middle weights but that's it. Oh yeah and professional kick boxing.

[Graav Wolfsong]

I love boxing. I usually only bother to watch the Heavyweight and light heavyweight classes tho'.

I actually havent seen a single match since Roy Jones jr lost me a truckload of money. Damn puny punk cant take a punch.

But heavyweight boxing has been declining in recent years, there are no real superstars to look to anymore. The Klitschko brothers are interesting but theres not much else to cheer about. I never liked Byrd.
Vitaly Klitschko is really good, no one gave him even close to the credit he deserved before he almost beat the crap outta Lewis. Vladimir has a stamina problem and a bit of a glass jaw but he has amazing technique and power.

I like pretty much all full contact combat sports, MMA leagues like UFC is pretty good but it tends to degrade into humping eachother on the floor so I tend to prefer K1 and such because of the litle to no grappling allowed rules.

[Essex]

i perfer the lighter weight classes too.. heavy weight matches becoming leaning matches after a while. The Klitschko brothers I like but you nailed it when you said Vladimir has some problems, I also just love the robatic Russian boxer like out of Rocky.

My favorite fights were the ones between Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti (sp) those were hellish fights. Did any of you see that Barara-Moralles fight a few years ago on hbo? That was non-stop action.

I don't care for kickboxing too much... it just seems to end too quickily for my tastes

[Graav Wolfsong]

Well ... Phil Jackson is officially out, Malone and Kobe opted out, Shaq wants out, Payton and Fisher are still undecided.

Payton is more inclined to stay now that Jackson and the triangle goes but I figure he'll leave now that Shaq wants to leave since Shaq is what brought him to LA in the first place.
On the positive side, if Payton leaves, Fisher will be more inclined to stay as then he can have more money if he opts out and resigns and he gets back his starting job at point, wich he should've gotten back during the playoffs anyway.

Shaq was obviously very angry when Kupchak said the team would never ever ever trade Bryant no matter what, but were open to trade Shaq if he asked to be traded.

So Shaq cancelled his exit meeting and reportedly asked to be traded.

I found this interesting article focusing in Shaqs point of view. Its pretty rough on Kobe.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?id=1824721

From the article:

"It looks like Buss, the Lakers' owner, has made his choice: Kobe stays; the others can go. In other words, he is not averse to trading Shaq and is willing to build his franchise around a narcissist who's on trial for ****, doesn't make his teammates better and is in denial over all of it.

Buss apparently will stop at nothing to keep Kobe off the open market, and I've been told that means he will offer Bryant partial ownership down the road. In the short term, he'll at least offer Kobe a quasi-general manager job, meaning Kobe can help pick the new coach and, ostensibly, Shaq's replacement.

Shaq knew this was coming, has known it for months, because he's refused to take the pay cut Buss wants him to take -- the same sort of pay cut Kevin Garnett bent over backwards and took in Minnesota. Shaq says the Lakers organization asked him to recruit Karl Malone last summer, asked him to recruit Gary Payton, and that it was understood they'd take care of him down the road. But they're not taking care of him, and I'm not surprised that he's just demanded a trade. He told me in late April he was resigned to the fact that it was time to go."

I've heard talks about trades to teams like the Pacers for Jermaine O'Neal or the Mavericks for Antione Walker. Preferably a big man contract with few years left on it, it said.

This article also mentions Orlando as a possible team to trade Shaq, they have big contracts like Howard and Hill or even McGrady to trade for.
And if Shaq comes back to the Magic, McGrady will surely give up his trade request and stay.
A Shaq and Mac duo would be interesting. Especially if Orlando could retain Grant Hill as well who is set to try another comeback next season.

Anyway, I think Kobe will stay with the Lakers.
With Jackson and the triangle gone and Shaq maybe on his way out the door, theres no real reason for Kobe to leave.
And the deal he will be offered, some 140 million, 7 year contract with a probable say in the GM side of things and possible part ownership in the team down the road. He would have to hate LA with a passion to pass up that.


There are rumours that the Lakers have approached Rudy Tomjanovich, the Rockets former championship coach, and Henry Bibby about coaching them. Henry Bibby is Miky Bibby's father, that would put interesting storylines in the LA - Sacramento feud. :thumbsup:

But this, this is why I've grown to love the Lakers. Aside from their flashy style of play, they dont even need to be anywhere near the court to provide entertainment. :D

Thats the problem with the Raptors and my beloved Vinsanity, hes as special a player as they come but off the court hes just too much of a good guy, with his charity allstar games and community work. Hes a good person but that isnt nearly as entertaining as the selfish stars of LA. :lol:

[Essex]

yeah i was gonna post this but graav beat me to it. I head on fox sports net last night that shaq may be going back to Orlando.