Celtics vs. Lakers

[FiddySicks]

So, if you go over to ESPN.com, they have a new poll up. "How big is this Series?"

1. Bigger than the Super Bowl

2. On par with the Super Bowl

3. Less than the Super Bowl

Are :censored:ing kidding me?? At least America is voting right, for less than the Super Bowl. Just that fact that ESPN even thinks this is ridiculous.

And that is precisely why I am avoiding all things ESPN until the Finals are over, ABC/ESPN notwithstanding.

Uggh, seriously. I was just gonna post asking if anyone was as sick of all the hype for this series 95 years before it actually starts. I was actually getting excited for it the other day, and then I realized there was nearly a working weeks wait till it began That alone kinda kills the buzz for me.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Quick question: Have the NBA Finals always started so late on the east coast? I know that little Boston sports fans are by now used to staying up late to watch their teams in championship games, but that doesn't make it right.

Did I already called Lakers in six? If not, I'm doing it again. Kobe's a killer.

[infrared41]

So, if you go over to ESPN.com, they have a new poll up. "How big is this Series?"

1. Bigger than the Super Bowl

2. On par with the Super Bowl

3. Less than the Super Bowl

Are :censored:ing kidding me?? At least America is voting right, for less than the Super Bowl. Just that fact that ESPN even thinks this is ridiculous.

It's called self-absorption and ESPN has the worst case of it I've ever seen in the media. They are so -ing clueless when to comes to what actual fans care about it's almost laughable. ESPN thinks that they set the tone for what we like or don't like. They are so insulated from reality that they have no idea just how out of touch they really are. It used to drive me crazy but now I just find it hilarious. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again... The biggest story every day at ESPN is ESPN. ESPN covers ESPN first. It's a network of sycophants who basically make their living covering each other. It's the media equivalent of a circle jerk.

Go Lakers.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I think this is the part where I pipe in that I haven't watched ESPN in months (literally -- months) and I'm none the worse for it. I read my sports news on SI.com or here, and I manage to stay on top of things pretty well with none of the frustration. I dare the biggest complainers among you to just turn it off for a month, and see how surprised you are by how little you miss it.

[slapshot]

Quick question: Have the NBA Finals always started so late on the east coast? I know that little Boston sports fans are by now used to staying up late to watch their teams in championship games, but that doesn't make it right.

Did I already called Lakers in six? If not, I'm doing it again. Kobe's a killer.

I seem to remember the Finals starting this late for many a season. Aside from the profit that the NBA and network get from prime time sponsorships, the series has to start this late so the West Coast fans can see the games instead of listening to them on the drive home from work.

[infrared41]

Quick question: Have the NBA Finals always started so late on the east coast? I know that little Boston sports fans are by now used to staying up late to watch their teams in championship games, but that doesn't make it right.

Did I already called Lakers in six? If not, I'm doing it again. Kobe's a killer.

I seem to remember the Finals starting this late for many a season. Aside from the profit that the NBA and network get from prime time sponsorships, the series has to start this late so the West Coast fans can see the games instead of listening to them on the drive home from work.

Back in the day The Finals started at 11:30pm. Of course those were the halcyon days of the drug addled, pre-Bird & Magic NBA. The Finals were on tape delay. Can you even imagine something like that today?

I think this is the part where I pipe in that I haven't watched ESPN in months (literally -- months) and I'm none the worse for it. I read my sports news on SI.com or here, and I manage to stay on top of things pretty well with none of the frustration. I dare the biggest complainers among you to just turn it off for a month, and see how surprised you are by how little you miss it.

Same here although there are a few programs on ESPN that I actually do enjoy, NASCAR Now, Baseball Tonight, College Gameday, and the live games if they interest me. Other than that I don't watch the network at all. I guess I should stop complaining about them because, outside the shows I just mentioned, I really have no idea what they do anymore. I just enjoy bashing the out of them too much to stop.

[Cujo]

It's the Lakers by 5 at the half, and I've yet to really get into the game. I hate to agree with a few others on here, but the all this overhyping on top of the week-long layoff kinda did kill the buzz I had for seeing another Celtics/Lakers series.

[infrared41]

It's the Lakers by 5 at the half, and I've yet to really get into the game. I hate to agree with a few others on here, but the all this overhyping and the week-long layoff kinda did kill the buzz I had for seeing another Celtics/Lakers series.

I thought I might get into it but so far all it's done is make me realize how much I miss the old days.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

What this series needs is either an intense game three or four, or to have happened last year as well. You can't manufacture a rivalry, but there are at most six more games to go. Let's see where emotions are then.

EDIT: Not really provable of course, but this year shows that Rick Pitino was right along: All he really needed was a dominant power forward. It just came ten years too late for the Celtics.

[DarkJourney]

Celtics take Game 1 98-88

[chakfu]

I almost want the Celtics to win, just so the Hawks can say that they took the NBA Champions to the limit.

But, quite honestly, I could not stand to hear about that until next year. I want the Lakers to win, just because this team is a departure from the Super Lakers of 2004 that got trounced by the Pistons. Instead of trying to buy a championship, this team built through the draft, free agency, and Kobe being a catalyst by whining.

Whoa, are you serious? I guess (possibly) getting handed a championship doesn't qualify of trying to buy a championship - but honestly, the way Memphis arbitrarily altered the league's power balance would make it a tragedy if the Lakers win a championship that rightfully should go to Boston, or San Antonio (or whoever else might have come out of the west if the seeds had wound up different.)

[chakfu]

Man...seeing the Celtics go from a lottery team to potential NBA champs makes me wanna cry. I mean the Clippers/Hawks/Grizzlies have been trying to do this for years now and still suck. It's every teams dream, regardless of the sport to do what the Celtics did. And as Raptors fan, its a bitter pill to swallow, because we thought we could potentially run the Atlantic division for the next few years...but we took a step back...which is another story altogether. But anywho, I'm interested to see just how good Boston's defense really is.

I'd say 6 or 7 games, but don't know who'll win.

That's an interesting perspective that really makes me think a little bit harder about how put upon I feel as a Celtics fan. Grizzlies though had a chance to have a nice team if they had kept Gasol...

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Sometimes teams make opportune trades and win championships. The Pistons did it in 2004 with Rasheed, the Spurs got significant help from Stephen Jackson in 2003 (especially during the Finals), the Astros made the 2005 World Series in large part to Carlos Beltran, and there are about a billion other examples of a trade putting a team over the top. It's part of good team management.

EDIT: Wait, you're a Celtics fan complaining about an unbalanced trade that got your team to the Finals? That's a laugh.

[scraw28]

Pierce Hoaxed Everybody!

[See Red]

Yeah, I thought the Celtics were done when Pierce faked his injury...

[Starchild]

Solid play by PJ Brown (who, along with Pat Riley, should die a horrible, horrible death for 1997's Knicks/Heat brawl) off the bench defensively. The "Big 3" all put up solid numbers. KG with some real fire. But, perhaps most importantly, the Lakers missed a lot of shots they typically make - especially Kobe Bryant. Chalk some of that to good defense, but really, I saw Kobe get beautiful looks he normally drains and for whatever reason, they rimmed out. The fact that they got killed on the glass also doesn't help. Boy, if Bynum were healthy, this series would be over in a flash.

On the subject of Pierce's "injury" (AAAAH Kendrick Perkins landed on my leg. It's broken Doc, I swear it! Aaaaah Brian Scalabrine, carry me to the locker room so I can put on a knee slip and walk back onto the court bouncing up and down)... I'm really getting sick (already) of people comparing this to Willis Reed... and not just because I'm a Knicks fan and happen to hate the Celtics. In the same light as comparing this NBA Finals to the Super Bowl, how do you compare Pierce's B.S. injury and his 5-minutes-later "comeback" with no real visible signs of a lasting problem, to Willis Reed - who, having already missed time because of his injury, and who everyone thought would not play, actually hobbled around onto the court and nailed his first two jump shots, then did not come back out onto the court for the rest of the game? Oh yeah, and it was Game 7. Thank G-D Mike Wilbon and Jon Barry had the good sense to debunk that and, rightfully, compare it to a similar Larry Bird moment.

[TFoA]

On the subject of Pierce's "injury" (AAAAH Kendrick Perkins landed on my leg. It's broken Doc, I swear it! Aaaaah Brian Scalabrine, carry me to the locker room so I can put on a knee slip and walk back onto the court bouncing up and down)... I'm really getting sick (already) of people comparing this to Willis Reed... and not just because I'm a Knicks fan and happen to hate the Celtics. In the same light as comparing this NBA Finals to the Super Bowl, how do you compare Pierce's B.S. injury and his 5-minutes-later "comeback" with no real visible signs of a lasting problem, to Willis Reed - who, having already missed time because of his injury, and who everyone thought would not play, actually hobbled around onto the court and nailed his first two jump shots, then did not come back out onto the court for the rest of the game? Oh yeah, and it was Game 7. Thank G-D Mike Wilbon and Jon Barry had the good sense to debunk that and, rightfully, compare it to a similar Larry Bird moment.

You know, I heard about Pierce getting hurt and it was all theatric, then he made a 'miraculous comeback.' and immediately I thought "Faked it. He's trying to have a 'moment.' I knew people would eat it up as if it was real, but to compare it to Willis Reed??? WOW.

But of course, people are going to eat this up, it's going to become legend "I was at the Garden when Pierce starting jacking up threes and making them all on a BROKEN FREAKIN LEG!!!", and now Pierce has had his Finals moment, fake or not.

EDIT: I just saw someone compare this to the Michael Jordan flu game and I almost threw up in my mouth.

[Audiodrama]

I don't think Pierce faked anything. Over-reacted? Hell yes. In his defense, though, I believe his knee legitimately hurt like hell. I believe he heard the "pop" he claimed he heard, and I believe he thought he was done for the season. When you're in that much pain, everything goes rushing through your head.

As it turned out, he just had a sprained knee, but the initial pain is all the same whether it's broken or not. Carrying him to the locker room -- which was by order of the Celtics trainers, by the way -- was the right thing to do, because they couldn't make a proper diagnosis while he was lying on the court. It's the smart move to get him to the locker room without putting pressure on the knee, for safety's sake. The pain gradually subsided in the locker room, it was braced up, and he came back and played his heart out. Was he 100%? Hell no. But he wasn't crippled, either. He was hobbling a bit on the court, and that's that.

Listening to an interview today, his knee is sore as hell, and Doc Rivers said this morning that if Game 2 was played tonight, Pierce would not dress. So...is this a Willis Reed moment? I don't think so. But I don't think this was a pre-meditated thing by Pierce either. He just overreacted to the situation.

Edit: In other (related) news, if no one's mentioned this yet, KG's been named the cover athlete for NBA 2K9.

http://www.2ksports.com/nba2k9/

[Starchild]

Oh I believe he was hurt. But he sold it wonderfully. If this was next season, he'd have himself a nice fine. Carrying him into the locker room is nice, but when you're supposedly in pain from a knee injury, and you're being lifted by two teammates by your knees, he appeared faaaaaar too calm to be in that much pain. But you could tell it was at least sore by his initial free throw attempt after coming back from the locker room... he had zero lift on the knee. Then the knee loosened up and he was able to drain those threes and do what he needed to do to help win the game. So I don't believe he faked it, but he obviously sold it - I don't buy that overreaction at all. He knew his injury, the extent of it, and he milked it for all it was worth.

Comparing Pierce's moment to anything remotely similar just isn't right. MJ's Flu game as well - that game was more about a great individual player overcoming personal discomfort and putting on a spectacular performance. You can't even compare that game to Willis Reed's Game 7 moment. I mean, Reed's hobbling and sinking his first two shots not only sparked his teammates, but it put the fear of G-d into the Lakers. I mean, they STOPPED their pregame warmups and WATCHED Reed. That has yet to be topped. MJ's Flu game was phenomenal in its own right, but it's not like Luc Longley or Ron Harper suddenly had the motivation he needed to have the kind of game that Walt Frazier did to win that Game 7. They remained consistent and it just so happened MJ was able to do what he always did.

[chakfu]

Sometimes teams make opportune trades and win championships. The Pistons did it in 2004 with Rasheed, the Spurs got significant help from Stephen Jackson in 2003 (especially during the Finals), the Astros made the 2005 World Series in large part to Carlos Beltran, and there are about a billion other examples of a trade putting a team over the top. It's part of good team management.

EDIT: Wait, you're a Celtics fan complaining about an unbalanced trade that got your team to the Finals? That's a laugh.

No, what is a laugh is anyone who even says a word about the KG trade being unbalanced after the Gasol trade went down. Have you ever seen Al Jefferson play? You know, the guy who is a 23 year old PF/C and averaged 21 pts and 11 rebounds last year???????????

The Celtics GAVE UP a guy who is as good as Pau Gasol to get Garnett. The Lakers gave up Kwame Brown.

Seriously, are you just talking absurd smack intentionally, or are you really that foolish?

Why did you mention Stephen Jackson anyway? He was a no-name player that the Spurs signed who wound up having a decent impact in the playoffs, what does that have to do with teams acquiring stars cheaply???

Beltran was a pending FA who was traded for several good prospects and promptly left after half a season with the Astros, I don't really see how that's relevant either.

Rasheed is the only one who is remotely close to Gasol's situation, but Portland had to dump him by any means necessary - Gasol had been complaining some and his stock was down, but that situation was nowhere remotely near Gasol's.

Anyway, it's teams often make trades to put them over the top, or in the Celtic's case, turn themselves around completely - they took young talent that hadn't gelled, traded it including a budding star big man - and acquired a star. THAT is an opportune trade.

The Lakers traded 2 late draft picks and a recent late draft pick who hadn't shown anything, and some salary cap ballast in Brown, and got a star big man in Gasol!!! The Grizzlies decided to erase Gasol's salary and get nothing of value in return (except a few late draft picks which are nearly worthless - and if you're going to complain that they're not completely worthless, well, the Celtics threw in just as many draft picks in trade for Garnett PLUS a star in Jefferson.) The Grizzlie's return for Gasol was the same as the gravy that the Celtics THREW IN along with a young star big man in exchange for Garnett!!! I know Garnett is worth more than Gasol, but come on...

The defense of the Lakers/Grizzlies trade is despicable, and anyone who even compares the Garnett trade to it is just a moron or someone being disingenuous who has an agenda.