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Rockstar Matt

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Posts posted by Rockstar Matt

  1. On 7/18/2023 at 9:54 AM, tigerslionspistonshabs said:

    Early predictions anyone?

     

    AFC

    EAST

    1. Miami

    2. Buffalo- WC

    3. NY Jets- WC

    4. New England

     

    NORTH

    1. Cincinnati

    2. Baltimore

    3. Cleveland

    4. Pittsburgh

     

    WEST

    1. Kansas City

    2.  LA Chargers- WC

    3.  Denver

    4. Las Vegas

     

    SOUTH

    1. Jacksonville

    2. Tennessee

    3. Indianapolis

    4. Houston

     

    NFC

    EAST

    1. Philadelphia

    2. Dallas 

    3. NY Giants

    4. Washington

     

    NORTH

    1. Detroit 

    2. Minnesota- WC

    3. Chicago

    4. Green Bay

     

    WEST

    1. San Francisco

    2.  LA Rams- WC

    3.  Seattle

    4. Arizona

     

    SOUTH

    1. New Orleans

    2. Carolina- WC

    3. Atlanta

    4. Tampa Bay

     

     

    PLAYOFFS

     

    AFC

    Cincinnati gets bye

     

    KC over NY Jets

    Jacksonville over Buffalo

    LA Chargers over Miami

     

    Cincinnati over LA Chargers

    Jacksonville over KC

     

    Cincinnati over Jacksonville

     

     

    NFC

    Philly gets bye

     

    San Francisco over Carolina

    Detroit over LA Rams (Stafford's return to Detroit results in the Lions' first playoff win in forever)

    New Orleans over Minnesota

     

    Philly over New Orleans

    San Francisco over Detroit

     

    Philly over San Francisco

     

    SUPERBOWL

    Cincinnati over Philadelphia

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Why not predict something that'll be horrifically false: 

     

    AFC

    EAST

    y-Buffalo 12-5 (3)

    x-NY Jets 11-6 (6)

    Miami 9-8

    New England 9-8

     

    NORTH

    y-Cincinnati 12-5 (2)

    x-Pittsburgh 10-7 (7)

    Baltimore 8-9

    Cleveland 5-12

     

     

    WEST

    *-Kansas City 13-4 (1)

    x-LA Chargers 11-6 (5)

    Denver 7-10

    Las Vegas 5-12

     

     

    SOUTH

    y-Jacksonville 12-5 (4)

    Tennessee 8-9

    Houston 7-10

    Indianapolis 4-13

     

     

    NFC

    EAST

    *-Dallas 13-4 (1)

    x-Philadelphia 11-6 (5)

    NY Giants 8-9

    Washington 4-13

     

     

    NORTH

    y-Detroit 10-7 (3)

    x-Chicago 10-7 (6)

    Minnesota 8-9

    Green Bay 6-11

     

     

    WEST

    y-San Francisco 10-7 (2)

    LA Rams 9-8

    Seattle 9-8

    Arizona 5-12

     

     

    SOUTH

    y-New Orleans 9-8 (4)

    x-Carolina 9-8 (7)

    Atlanta 7-10

    Tampa Bay 3-14

     

    PLAYOFFS

     

    AFC

     

    LA Chargers over Jacksonville

    Buffalo over NY Jets

    Cincinnati over Pittsburgh

     

    Kansas City over LA Chargers

    Buffalo over Cincinnati

     

    Buffalo over Kansas City

     

    NFC

     

    Philadelphia over New Orleans

    Detroit over Chicago

    San Francisco over Carolina

     

    Dallas over Philadelphia

    San Francisco over Detroit

     

    Dallas over San Francisco

     

    SUPER BOWL LVIII

     

    Buffalo over Dallas

     

    AFC feels absolutely stacked this year. Top 4 from last season just seem to be far and away the best 4 teams in the conference, if not the league. I'd be stunned if the eventual champion is not Kansas City, Cincinnati, Buffalo or Jacksonville. The Chargers, Jets and Dolphins all have the quality to knock off one of those elite four teams and insert themselves into the conversation. Tennessee, Baltimore, New England and Cleveland have shown the ability to be playoff contenders in the recent past too. 4 really good teams will miss the playoffs in the AFC

     

    In the NFC it really feels like a 3-team race, with Philly, San Francisco and Dallas being the main contenders. Teams that lose in the Super Bowl typically have a difficult time in the following season (though the last two teams who lost the previous year's Super Bowl both made their conference championship games) but more crucially for the Eagles, they struggled against elite QB's last season and this season they face a gantlet of the league's best QB's. San Francisco's biggest question mark is QB health and can their defense remain this elite unit following Demeco Ryan's departure to Houston. If Trey can make the jump this season, the 49ers look to be far and away the best team in the conference. If he's not and they're still dependent on Brock Purdy who's coming off of a major injury, I expect the 49ers to regress a little bit.

     

    It really does seem like it's lined up for Dallas in a sense. There's really only two other elite teams in the conference (one of whom hasn't beaten the Cowboys with Dak at the helm since 2019), the Cowboys addressed all of their needs on paper, have arguably the best defense in the league and have consistently proven to be one of the league's best offenses for the last 4-5 seasons. It just feels like if it's not this season for the Cowboys to make a deep playoff run, then they never will. 

     

    Which of course means the Cowboys will finish 7-10 and miss the playoffs entirely because that's what they do when they're playing with expectations.

  2. What's the key phrase here, "play stupid games, win stupid prizes", yeah?

     

    Kind of glad the US lost. They were not taking this tournament seriously at all and thought they could win with a seriously subpar roster against the other team's A/B rosters. Outside of a handful of players (namely Turner, Miles (even though he had a bad tournament), Ferreira, Cowell, Neal, Slonina) the rest of the squad simply isn't good enough to play for the National Team in major tournaments. Players like Roldan, Yedlin, Long, Miazga, Morris, Sands, and Yueill should have played their last competitive games for the NT. Appreciate their contributions to the USMNT, especially both Yedlin and Morris, but they are not good at this level anymore.

     

    On a side tangent I really wish CONCACAF would host this tournament every 4 years instead of every two, especially with Nations League coming into existence and with the priority that gets from the Federation's in the region.

    • Like 4
  3. 16 hours ago, HOOVER said:

    Sitting in Mom’s basement

     

    Firstly, I'm a fully grown adult, comfortably in my 30's now. 

     

    16 hours ago, HOOVER said:

    :censored:ting all over Nike because they “can’t make historically accurate dazzle pants” is ridiculous when the pants weren’t always shiny.

    But that doesn’t mean you are being accurate or truthful when spew venom at the manufacturer as being inept, or somehow inferior to manufacturers that are, in fact, inferior.

     

    You'll find that I have not stated this nor anything close to this in the quote of mine you're replying to. Hell I was arguing in favor of matte pants because they're more historically accurate than dazzle fabric (although, @Carolingian Steamroller pointed out that satin pants have been available to use for nearly 100 years which I didn't know and is honestly, quite awesome). 

     

    I was simply stating that the dazzle fabric went away because the NFL did not care enough about it to force Nike to continue making it. Nike's done a lot of things that I like and dislike with the NFL. For example, I absolutely love how much better the retail jerseys are when compared to Reebok or earlier manufacturers. I have to say, I find your blind homerism and defending of Nike to be a little weird too. They aren't infallible, just like any other company. 

     

    16 hours ago, HOOVER said:

    Many of you have missed my point entirely ... That’s it.  That’s my point.  

     

    It's hard to understand what your point is when you still communicate at a child-like level at times.

    • Like 6
  4. 5 hours ago, HOOVER said:

    Nike has its faults, but I'm really tired of the ignorance of the shiny pants complainers:

     

    Brock-Purdy-Joe-Montana-Split-GettyImage

     

    Counter-point: both uniforms would be vastly improved with the shiny metallic pants from the 90's and 00's. 

     

    Arguing that the matte metallic pants in the modern era are fine because of how the NFL use to look 40+ years ago is a strange one to me. Didn't all teams have matte pants before the tech allowed teams to use shinier fabrics for their uniforms? Using that argument we could postulate that all teams should be using matte pants because that's how it's been for the majority of the NFL's history.

     

    It just comes down to simple subjective preference and it seems a lot of us uniform nerds prefer the dazzle fabric over matte fabric. The only reason why Nike hasn't produced pants for every team with the dazzle fabric is because the NFL just doesn't care enough about it (outside of a few teams like the Raiders and Cowboys) and I imagine it's more cost effective for Nike to use the matte fabrics instead. 

    • Like 5
  5. 5 hours ago, Digby said:

    My only question with this eleven is... what do you do with Adams when he's back? He seemed more integral to the team when he was playing, but also plays much differently than Musah. If Reyna stays healthy and out of trouble, he's gotta start, so figuring out which of the MMA becomes your game-killing second-half sub...

     

    What a problem to have though. The odd man out is going to have to be either McKinnie or Musah which is insane to say because Weston is arguably the USMNT's best player when he's in form and Musah is our best ball-carrying forward CDM and truly dynamic, but Gio and Adams are too important to the team's success IMO. Hopefully it'll be a flexible option for the US where sometimes they can play Weston, Gio and Adams, and Musah is the 2nd half sub for either Weston or Adams. But than other games it might be better if Musah and Adams are playing as dual 6's backing up the front 4 of Gio, Pulisic, Weah and Balo. 

     

    I was also wondering about the possibility of Dest being a back-up for Weah if Scally started the game at RB. We all agree that Dest has something dynamic offensively but sometimes his defense is lacking (which is why he's been struggling with his club form). The US plays so well defensively when Scally and Jedi are the team's two FB's. Dest has gotten some time with AC Milan as both an attacking midfielder and defensively midfielder (always on the right side) so it could be a potential option to not lose offensively scoring chances when Weah needs a sub. 

     

    Again, what a problem for the US to have. We have too many talented players that are fully deserving of being in the starting eleven. 

    • Like 2
  6. US was thoroughly dominant tonight in probably our most impressive performance against Canada in the last few years (once Canada became good). Overall an impressive 5-0 aggregate against our two biggest rivals. 

     

    I really hope Gregg was watching closely and seeing how great the team was playing with the attacking freedom they had in these past two games. Gregg's system can work if he's playing his best XI and if he allows his talented players to use their talent. But I have to say, it's a little concerning that the USMNT has looked far more explosively offensively under a first-time interim manager than at any point during Gregg's tenure. It looked natural out there for the guys

     

    I think we saw how great Reyna is and how vital he is to unlocking the team's offensive prowess. I'm thrilled that Pulisic finally let someone else take the free-kicks/corners and Reyna is the perfect man to fill that role. His delivery was excellent, time and time again. His link up centrally with Balogun was what we were all hoping for. I hope Gregg saw that and came to the same conclusion that everyone else should have come to and that is to play Reyna at the 10 flanked by Pulisic and Weah with Balogun at the 9. They all play off each other so well.

     

    Speaking of Balogun, I thought he played a really good game tonight. His runs were excellent, his pace was excellent and dynamic, and his one-time finish on his goal was exactly the kind of quality the US has been sorely lacking with it's #9 spot. Once the team and Flo get used to each other, this team will be that much more dangerous of an opponent now that we finally have a really good striker. 

     

    I really hope these two games weren't the last time the USMNT plays so freely offensively. If Gregg can understand that, the US will be better for it.

     

    EDIT: I also have to add how damn good Joe Scally was tonight. He, along with the rest of the team, shut Davies down. Made a world-class player a non-factor. He's going to present a little problem for the USMNT because of how good he is defensively in comparison to Dest. Dest is a great offensive RB, but sometimes can be poor defensively. Scally is essentially the opposite. Also need to mention Chris Richards who was phenomenal tonight. He's going to become a permanent feature on the backline for the USMNT. Easily our best CB in the pool.

    • Like 3
  7. On 6/16/2023 at 7:04 AM, MJWalker45 said:

    I think he has to stay on. He's been with the team since January at least and he's using the same tactics that Berhalter wanted to use, according to insiders.

     

    To an extent he is, but with more flexibility than Gregg usually wanted. BJ and Hudson both utilized our players in slightly different formations than Berhalter's rigid 4-3-3. Yesterday for example, BJ had our guys lined up in a 4-2-3-1  with Reyna as the 10 flanked by Pulisic and Weah on either side, coupled with McKinnie and Musah playing the dual pivot. That has been my dream formation for the USMNT and we finally saw how good it actually is (and I know LLL Tri isn't nearly as good as they once were).

     

    They were still playing through the back and out wide with fullbacks making overlapping runs with the wingers and sending crosses into the box like Berhalther likes (which is going to be more effective with a quality striker like Balogun), but with more freedom to attack and exploit the midfield. I'll honestly be fine with Berhalter so long as he isn't so rigid in "his" style of play, and stop calling up players like Ferreira,  Arriola and Roldan. Maybe it'll be better this time too because the players know the system so well now they don't have to think as much and just play.

    • Like 1
  8. Not sure where to post this, but smack dab in the middle of tonight's US-Mexico Nations League semifinal the news broke that the US is about to bring back Gregg Berhalter. I cannot stress enough how poorly this looks on the USMNT.

     

    Independent of my own personal opinions on the matter, bringing back Gregg after these weird 7 months where they basically relieved him of all duties and then conducted a "head coaching search" only to stay with him makes this organization look embarrassingly amateurish. If he was their guy from the start, then why have the 7 months where the players/the federation have been essentially rudderless and being coached by interim managers? Why not have Gregg in charge from the beginning of the year? This gap with no coach only to return to Gregg just doesn't make any sense.

     

    At least the US thoroughly destroyed Mexico tonight. Pulisic looked outstanding, really happy for Pepi to get that goal tonight and the whole team looked ready to play tonight. Credit to BJ and his staff for getting this team to look as good as they did. The official unfortunately lost control of the match and because of that the US will be without Dest and McKinnie in the Final against Canada, but hopefully we can still get it done Sunday.

    • Like 2
  9. 13 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

    To see this process play out for soccer clubs in North America is wonderful. Everyone knows what team you are referring to when you say the Red Devils or the Magpies (even if colour names such as the Blues and the Reds have many possible referrents); likewise, we are getting to the point where we can speak with the same ease of the Pigeons playing the Lions.

     

    I love these organically developing nicknames, but no club in the MLS is anyhere near the level of the Red Devils or Magpies in terms of nickname recognition. These nicknames are still too new/young to be common knowledge for fans of other teams. For example, I had no clue NYCFC's developing nickname is the Pigeons (which I love). I only knew of Toronto's, Atlanta's and Minnesota's (aside from LAFC obviously). I knew of Orlando's "Lions" nickname, but my first thought when I hear "Lions" is of the Detroit Lions. 

    • Like 1
  10. On 4/25/2023 at 11:58 PM, FiddySicks said:


    It kinda feels like Denver’s year. The west is down, and they’re finally fully healthy (hopefully Jokic’s wrist issue isn’t a big thing). I don’t see any of the teams left in the west taking them down. 

     

    On 4/22/2023 at 9:59 PM, Rockstar Matt said:

    Gotta be honest, as a Lakers fan, I don't think this team can make it past the Western Conference Finals. The effort in the 1st was world-class and they played championship level defense which was leading to easy offense. That version of the Lakers can win the title. Pathetically poor offense, especially late in the 4th, and poor decisions on defense as the game went on. They're too reliant on a hobbled LeBron (he's clearly still not 100%) and they need AD to be dominant.

     

    When everything clicks, these Lakers can beat anyone. I just have a feeling that even if they get past Memphis and the winner of Kings/Warriors, they're going to get crushed by Denver/Boston/Milwaukee.

     

    On 4/30/2023 at 3:59 PM, Rockstar Matt said:

    Denver is still going to the Finals though. 

     

    Looks like we were right @FiddySicks

     

    The same issues I saw during the Memphis series came to fruition in this series. The Grizzlies and Warriors weren't good enough to make the Lakers pay for their blunders, but I knew a better team like Denver would be more than good enough to capitalize on the Lakers mistakes. Denver has been the best team in the West all season, and if they didn't finally reach the Finals this year, they never were going to. They should be massive favorites in the Finals.

     

    Lakers have some questions going forward. The changes made at the trade deadline have drastically changed the trajectory of the franchise. Do they keep this team, add a few more pieces and run it back with full off-season and season with this team? Or do they go after Kyrie as the 3rd star to help carry the load. They're going to have to re-sign Reaves and Rui, or keep Reaves and go after Kyrie (which is possible), but they'd lose Rui and D-Lo. They need some higher end 3 and D players, plus they have to figure out how to unlock AD offensively as he was too inconsistent on that end. If AD had been averaging he's usual 27-30 points per game in the playoffs like he has in the past, the Lakers are still playing. Hell, had LeBron not torn the tendon in his foot this team is still playing

     

    There's also the elephant in the room about the rumors from reputable reporters that have been swirling this past week or so about LeBron being done after this postseason run. He looked absolutely exhausted in the 4th tonight. I've never seen LeBron look that tired.

     

    All in all, this was a fun postseason run that really came from nowhere. This team was god awful to begin the season and that continued until the all-star break. They were 13th just weeks before the playoffs even began. 

     

    EDIT: LeBron confirmed, somewhat cryptically, in his presser that he's mulling retirement.

    • Like 1
  11. Newcastle has secured Champions League football for the first time in 20 years. Pretty remarkable all things considered. I know they have the richest owners in the world now, but they haven't been the highest spenders on transfers/players to achieve this (only a matter of time until they are though). Started following this team back when they had been freshly demoted to the championship for the first time and I only saw them in the CL on FIFA. 

     

    Would love to see Pulisic join them in the off-season as he would be a perfect fit, however I can't imagine Chelsea willingly transfer him to a main competitor. 

  12. 20 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

    Really curious how 2020 Final Four Part II ends up. My heart says LA/Boston. My head says Denver/Miami.

     

    Would really love to see LA-Boston again. The battle for ring 18 for both franchises would be highly entertaining. I know the rest of the league wouldn't, but it'd be great to see LeBron beat Boston in the Finals in a Lakers uniform. It might actually sway the weird Lakers fans who hate LeBron to finally support him too. 

     

    My heart says LA-Boston, but my basketball brain says Denver-Boston. 

     

    EDIT: I'd find it highly amusing if the Lakers were to get yet another title before Boston again, especially because the Lakers have been really dog-s*** this past decade whereas Boston has been consistently good and appearing in the ECF's. 

    • Like 2
  13. On 4/30/2023 at 3:59 PM, Rockstar Matt said:

    Lakers v. Warriors is going to be a ton of fun. I'm biased obviously, but I do think the Lakers match up pretty well with Golden State. They played each other 3 times after the trade, with the Lakers winning all 3 (although none of the 3 games had both LeBron and Curry playing in the same game). Lakers have a clear advantage in the paint, as Golden State really doesn't have anyone to match up with against AD, offensively and defensively. AD has to be aggressive for the Lakers to win the series. If the Lakers can limit the perimeter scoring/playmaking of Curry, Klay and Wiggins, or at least make it difficult, they have a good chance at winning this.

     

    Denver is still going to the Finals though. 

     

    As I suspected, the Lakers matched up really well with Golden State. They really had no answer for the Lakers size, athleticism, defense and most importantly, simply no answer for AD. Crucially for the Lakers, they're having key, but different, role players step up in different games when LA really needs it. That's something that carries over throughout the postseason and it's something all championship caliber teams have. 

     

    I still think Denver wins this next series, but the Lakers are more than capable of pulling off the upset. They have the players and the roster capable of beating the Nuggets. These two teams split the season series, with each team winning at home, however they haven't played each other since the trade. 

     

    Still remarkable that the Lakers were 2-10 at one point, looking like one the worst teams in the league but now they're in the Western Conference Finals and only 4 wins away from the Finals.

     

    EDIT: I was curious about the Lakers record in the WCF's because I can't remember the last time they lost in the WCF. Turns out it was 1998 against the Jazz. I was 6 so that's why I don't remember. The Lakers have won 8 straight conference finals. In fact, dating back to 1980, the Lakers are 17-2 in the conference finals (they're 19-4 overall).

     

    One more interesting stat too, Lakers-Nuggets is now tied for the most common match-up in the conference finals (with Lakers-Spurs and Celtics-76ers).

    • Like 3
  14. 2 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

    If Denver wins in 5, in officially scared of them.

     

    I think Denver wins in 6 over whoever wins between Lakers-Warriors. They are so good and a really bad match-up for both LA and Golden State.

     

    However, there's a quirky little stat when it comes to Denver. Every time they've made the conference finals, they've always played the Lakers. They've only made the Western Conference Finals 3 times (1985, 2009, 2020) and the Lakers have been their opponent each of those years (the other stat you can take is that when the Lakers face Denver in the West Finals, they always win the title).

    • Like 2
  15. 16 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

     

    Best record in the west since the ASB. Some caveats there, but they clearly hit a different gear. Lakers were in total control of the second half and their defense is almost perfect.

     

    Lakers in 6.

     

    Doesn't bode well for Golden State that they made 15 more 3's than the Lakers, shot 40% from 3 to the Lakers 24%, Poole and Klay finally both had good scoring games in the same game and they still lost. 

     

    The tape showed that the Lakers are a bad match-up for Golden State before the series, and tonight proved it. AD was utterly dominant. The Warriors really had, and have, no answer for AD.

     

     

    • Like 2
  16. Hypothetical question, if LAFC wins the CCL, does that make them one of the all-time great MLS teams? If they beat Tigres/Leon they will be the MLS Cup, Supporter's Shield and CCL champions. How many other MLS teams have accomplished anything close to this?

     

    Another impressive win tonight, thoroughly dismantling the Union 3-0 and 4-1 on aggregate. 

     

    EDIT: Just saw a stat that stated LAFC are the first team from the MLS to have gone to the modern iteration of the CCL Final twice.

    • Like 1
  17. 9 minutes ago, Unocal said:

     

    We've seen it enough times. 5 feels like overkill.

     

    3 minutes ago, Unocal said:

    Who exactly am I supposed to get behind in these playoffs? James Harden? CP3 and KD?

     

    All the likeable teams are gone

     

     

    I always find it amusing that people think like this. If you can't enjoy great players battling each other in the playoffs, maybe this isn't the sport for you? There's lots of interesting teams and storylines even when putting aside my own bias as a Lakers fan.

     

    Feel gutted for the Kings. They had a tremendous season, but their inexperience really showed down the stretch. Curry was masterful, Looney was grabbing anything that came off the rim and they as a collective just seemed quite unbothered by anything in that game. 

     

    Lakers v. Warriors is going to be a ton of fun. I'm biased obviously, but I do think the Lakers match up pretty well with Golden State. They played each other 3 times after the trade, with the Lakers winning all 3 (although none of the 3 games had both LeBron and Curry playing in the same game). Lakers have a clear advantage in the paint, as Golden State really doesn't have anyone to match up with against AD, offensively and defensively. AD has to be aggressive for the Lakers to win the series. If the Lakers can limit the perimeter scoring/playmaking of Curry, Klay and Wiggins, or at least make it difficult, they have a good chance at winning this.

     

    Denver is still going to the Finals though. 

    • Like 2
  18. 15 minutes ago, BBTV said:

    So the Eagles, who were just in the Super Bowl, have added Jalen Carter (Georgia), Nolan Smith (Georgia), Sidney Brown (not Georgia), Kelee Ringo (Georgia) and traded for D'Andre Swift (Georgia) for nothing.

     

    Not sure there's too many SB runners-up that make out like that on draft day.

     

    Howie's done it again - and it doesn't seem like the Hurts contract is going to impact them much at all going forward.

     

    EDIT: word on the street is that they're in talks with AZ about Budda Baker, but AZ apparently doesn't want to be completely fleeced... yet.

     

    Howie is the best GM in the league. He was able to build that Super Bowl winner in '17 then completely rebuild it into a title contender again with a brand new quarterback. Also understands that their title window is open and is doing everything possible to strengthen that team. I can't help but to be thoroughly impressed by what the Eagles are doing. 

     

    I wish Jerry would allow Will McClay to be this aggressive.

    • Like 4
  19.  

    3 minutes ago, who do you think said:

    Six months ago I'm pretty sure the Lakers' bench was the fried helicopter parts from the Kobe crash, so anything probably helps.

     

    This is a pretty gross analogy. A clown comment worthy of being on reddit/twitter, not here. Expected better from you.

     

    On 4/14/2023 at 10:36 PM, who do you think said:

    Grizzlies over Lakers: Last time the Lakers were the sp0000ky low seed they faceplanted in round one. Now they're two years older and have literal nobodies in the playoff rotation. I don't want to hear it.

     

    Then again you make horrendous basketball predictions so maybe I expected too much from you. 

     

    --------------------------------------------------

     

    The Lakers are clearly not a typical 7th seed. Since the trade, they've been on a pace that would have had them competing for home-court advantage when that record is projected over 82 games.

     

    AD was phenomenal tonight, on both ends. When he's locked in defensively like he was in this game, he's quite clearly the best defensive player in the league. It's a travesty he's never won a DPOY. LeBron was efficient and picked his spots well; D'Lo was outstanding, along with Reaves and the bench was playing outstanding defense (as were the starters). Everybody was hitting 3's too, the Grizzlies really had no chance tonight.

     

    These Lakers we saw tonight can beat anyone in the league. Outstanding all-around.

     

    Bring on the Kings or Warriors. 

    • Like 2
  20. LeBron is unbelievable. Don't understand how anyone can hate on him. He just didn't have it offensively tonight, looked completely gassed in the 4th and yet, he came up with key buckets in the clutch when the Lakers needed him the most. He's in year 20. Unreal.

     

    The Lakers should finish this series off by Game 6, maybe sooner if the dominant offensive AD shows up.

    • Like 3
  21. That Lakers-Grizzlies game had no business being that close at the end. They dominated the 1st quarter in a way I've never seen in a playoff game. The Lakers were up by as much as 29 and kept it around 20 for most of the game. Ja went nuts in the 4th, had something like 22 straight at one point. He's incredible. 

     

    Gotta be honest, as a Lakers fan, I don't think this team can make it past the Western Conference Finals. The effort in the 1st was world-class and they played championship level defense which was leading to easy offense. That version of the Lakers can win the title. However, the team from the 2nd-4th quarters was not good. Pathetically poor offense, especially late in the 4th, and poor decisions on defense as the game went on. They're too reliant on a hobbled LeBron (he's clearly still not 100%) and they need AD to be dominant.

     

    When everything clicks, these Lakers can beat anyone. I just have a feeling that even if they get past Memphis and the winner of Kings/Warriors, they're going to get crushed by Denver/Boston/Milwaukee.

    • Like 1
  22. 15 minutes ago, DCarp1231 said:

    GUD giving us a 2D representation of potential uniform combinations 

    FuVNk2_aYAQcAJI?format=jpg&name=medium

     

    The non-monochrome options are really nice, just as I imagined they would. Hopefully they'll settle into their traditional home look of red-white-red for the jersey, pants and socks after a little bit. 

    • Like 9
  23. These are fine, so long as they don't exclusively wear monochrome. Could do without the huge ARIZONA on the home, and if they added some stripes on the red pants, but all in all, these are pretty solid all things considered. Substantial upgrade over the last set, so much so this was nearly an A+. However, the aforementioned ARIZONA, stripe-less red pants and monochrome sets keeps them from being an A+.

     

    The helmet is outstanding tho. Love that they used the old color rush logo with a silver flake in the white. 10/10 there.

     

    All in all, somewhere between a C and B-. Not amazing, but solid. 

    • Like 2
  24. 3 hours ago, heavybass said:


    The City mostly, they tried to get the A's to fund the refurbishment of the stadium... team was like that wasn't part of the deal and basically both sides aren't heroes in this.

     

    Billionaires should build and fund their own stadiums, not the taxpayers (*cough* Spanos, *cough). Make no mistake, the A's owner could have refurbished the Coliseum when they purchased the franchise back in '05 and in the years since, but hasn't done so purely because he's trying to earn the maximum profit possible from his ownership.

    • Like 8
  25. 3 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

    Man, for as terrible Westbrook was for the Lakers, he's been brilliant down the stretch for the Clippers and won them this game.

     

    Wow.

     

    He's a much better fit for the Clippers. Didn't help that the Lakers were asking him (because they needed it) to do things he just isn't good at anymore, but he stepped up tonight. I'm happy for him.

     

    Speaking on the Lakers, it was awesome to see the superstar duo of Reeves and Hachimura seal the game just as everyone predicted...

     

    More seriously, Austin was sensational in the 4th quarter. He's been a good closer ever since he was inserted into the starting lineup and that continued today. In his first ever playoff game and he delivered when the team needed it the most. Unbelievable performance. AD was phenomenal defensively today too, but the Lakers will need him to be a little more aggressive offensively going forward and the Lakers will need to formulate a plan to slow down Jackson. 

     

    I really hope Ja is good to go for the rest of the series, don't want any excuses if the Lakers win this series. That said, if Ja isn't healthy enough to play, this series is over.

     

    EDIT: Forgot to add, anyone see Booker at the end of the Clippers-Suns game? Got blocked by Westbrook and Russ ended up throwing the ball off of Booker sealing the game, but Booker didn't notice it because he was too busy complaining to the refs that he was fouled (which he wasn't). He has such a poor, loser mentality for a "superstar", too worried about a non-foul instead of playing winning ball.

     

    I feel rather confident in stating he'll never win a championship being one of the main guys on a team. Too concerned about getting his instead of doing whatever it takes. 

    • Like 1
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