FYI - I am not really pulling for any of the remaining 4 teams. I guess if I had to choose, I'd go with Orlando because they're a Florida team. Then again, I love Kobe and would love to see him catch up to Jordan's 6 rings for the hell of it. Wouldn't mind seeing Boston win another one, though, with Rondo getting the Finals MVP this time. He's easily the postseason MVP thus far. All that trash I talked about Boston... truth is, I grew up loving KG and Ray Allen (never trashed Ray in this thread, just saying) and I've always respected Pierce until he started with the actress buffoonery. Rondo is becoming one of my favorites. I don't have anything against Boston... I just hate their fan base (more so the Patriots fans). I don't have anything against the C's. It's just that they completely dominated my team and I needed to find an excuse to get over it... so I blamed the refs, called KG a punk, called Pierce a *****/actress, etc. As long as Phoenix doesn't win it all I'm good... and they won't.
Am I the only person really intrigued by a potential BOS/LAL Finals? History accommodates the obvious annoyance in the matchup, but I think it'd be one hell of a series.
The Magic clearly came out rusty... but as the game went on, they started to get their legs under them offensively. 1Q - 14pts 2Q - 18pts 3Q - 26pts 4Q - 30pts This series is FAR from over...
I agree that the series is far from over. That said, I'm consistently left wondering what the Magic are thinking when they force feed the ball to an offensively challenged Howard on almost every possession. The guy just lacks even the most rudimentary post moves to be effective against a defender like Perkins. Yesterday, Howard posted 13 points and used 23 possessions. That is mindnumbingly awful.
Not playing ball for a week at a time will suffocate a team. The coaches should of had the team better prepared.
Great post man. Apologies if I came off as an *** on that post with your quotes, yesterday kinda sucked.
Well, they saw a 1v1 matchup in there, and tried to exploit it. If Howard gets going, it opens EVERYTHING up... and the Magic roll. But, the Celts did a great job of keeping Howard away from the rim. Howard didnt have ONE dunk last night. Not one. That in itself is mind-numbing... They are going to have to get into transition more and let Dwight beat Perkins/Baby/Sheed down the floor... b/c they are just beating the crap out of Howard in the half court offense. I feel bad for Dwight. Teams just push and beat and pound on him all game. As soon as he pushes back, they flop... and its an offensive foul. Its a no win situation for him down there when teams decide to play him that way. I disagree that he has no post game. He had the most hooks off the left block in the league this year IIRC. Is it amazing or unstoppable? No, but can move around and do some post work. His hook has improve tremendously. The problem was that the Celtics kept him off the block and didnt let him get good position. And when he did? They fouled him HARD. If the get Dwight going in transition, and at least get that fear into the defense that this guy is hurting him... it will open up their 3 point shooters and it will rain...
I expected the Magic to still be favored tomorrow night at home but not by 7.5. I didn't expect it to go up!
They don;t want me betting the Magic. I won;t touch the game at that price. (Bodog has it the same now)
Bodog has the Lakers at -6 tonight..and I gotta think it is an easy cover. I would pass...word is that Bynum is playing hurt. Gun to my head...the lakers cover easy. The O/U is at 210.......interesting. The kneejerk reaction is to take the over. The Suns have been playing better Defense and the Lakers are geared to play a half court game. Only if the game gets out of hand does it go over IMO. So UNDER seems like a decent bet. The Suns stay within 10 points throughout...and lose by 8. 102-94
I think the game will be a lot closer than you think, because there are some matchups that favor the Suns IMO. Only thing that scares me is that the Suns are not a very good team coming off a few days rest. Horrible ATS. In regards to the total, I think its pretty spot-on. The Suns are an under machine lately though, so if I had to pick a side, I'd probably go under. Lakers do have the best 3pt defense in the league, which should give the Suns trouble.
That move by the linemakers was to keep guys like me from wheeling right back in game 2. The truth is that Orlando is damn near a lock to win game 2..(historically). So how do you make money? They are asking you to lay a ridiculous amount on the money line or just taking the game off the money line outright. They want Sucker Boston bettors to jump on Boston at + 7 .5. They can count on me watching. That number sucks.
Same here, to me a healthy Kobe at home with a Nash with one eye means Lakers by 10 or more, maybe 106 to 88 or so.
So... have you guys heard this rumor about LeBron's mom? Apparently, Delonte West has been banging her and LeBron found out before game 4. He obviously was furious and it ripped the team apart... and why he went into the tank. LOL!
Farmer? I misspelled his name, but it would not surprise me. I'm having a tough time seeing Amare taking on Gasol and even a limping Bynum and having huge success, which reduces the Suns (imho) to a perimeter game meaning one shot and done. Cannot stand the lakers but see them winning this one in a walk.
Amare will abuse anyone on that team that tries to guard him, thats a given. Him and Gasol will go back and forth, but I don't see the Lakers stopping Amare. Here are Amare's point totals this season against LAL: 8, 18, 26, 29. He started to figure out that defense more and more every time they played. They will no answer for Nash, unless they decide to put Kobe on him. But if they have Kobe chasing Nash around, thats going to hurt them on the other end. Not to mention Jason Richardson has been playing very well, and taking Kobe off of him just creates another issue for LA.
Hmm, sounds like a plain old excuse imho. And for the larger point, what is worse, Irish asking Bryant about his momma, or West and James momma listening to Barry White and being "just friends"?
I dont really think its an excuse. Put yourself in Lebron's shoes. Think about the humiliation and the fact that no guy wants to hear about their mom's sexual interactions. It makes a lot a sense that something like that could throw off your performance regardless of your job whether its basketball or whatever.
And one knows that this is true...how? Someone floats a rumor, the public glooms unto it and builds a narrative around it based on absolutely..nothing at all..if one notices, James supposedly knew this before Game 4, yet game 5 was the meltdown
The person who reported the Delonte West-Gloria James deal is apparently the same person who reported that Reggie Bush and Kim Kardashian were breaking up a week before the rest of the press got wind. Feather in his cap, I guess. Just because it sounds strange doesn't mean it isn't true. Case in point: New York Jet Jason Taylor.
A friend of mine in Orlando is boys with Courtney Lee, and hung out with him yesterday. Apparently CLee told him it was true...
Hey, no one knows but it would make sense if it did. Varying sites have reported it was either before game 4 and before game 5 depending on where you look.
And that is sorta the point Bro, Game 4 James was a beast, Game 5 babe in the wilderness, if no one knows, then how can it be used to say "Oh, so THAT is what happened?"
This is going to be a tight UNDER to get. Now you know why I stayed away from this game. Although I do regret not playing the Lakers to cover. They look comfortable.
I knew I should have taken the Lakers -3.5 first half. Kicking myself now. I did place a small wager on the Lakers -6 for the game, so far so good. Hope they keep it up.