Kmart and Nene.


Keep the Nuggets stupid.

With a guy as young as he is its hard
just to show up right before the playoffs
after that type of injury
and expect to blend in with a team that
had a basic scheme that worked in the
regular season.

You expected Bynum to be Duncan and
the Lakers could go halfcourt through him?
When any player is on the court they have
to play offense and defense. Girls 70's halfcourt
basketball is gone.
It has never been established exactly how
Bynum will fit in with this team. People
have claimed what he should do on paper,
but there has never been any well established
pattern in games primarily because he has not
been around long enough.


And the way the Lakers play is working.
Especially at the end of games. Kobe is
getting lots of foul shots, Gasol's mobility
allows him to clean up spread court misses.
Its just taking
a toll on Kobe and Gasol in the playoffs
unlike the regular season. Minutes are much
more difficult.

I've never seen Kobe that tired. Gasol finally got the balls to take a couple shots in the 4th quarter. Ariza hit some massive bombs(after he got something niiiiice from that locker room.) Other than that, Kobe...Brother...You (as Obama says it) ..."You are on your own!" So, it's pretty obvious that if one of those hot-tempered thugs takes Kobe out (in a particular way,) then the series is over. I would guess it would most likely be Smith, but Billups is the only one I'd rule out. Even Linus(pssd cuz Snoopy got his blue blanky) is a candidate.

Has Ariza ever created his own shot even once in the playoffs??? His offensive contributions include standing at the three point line and taking open jumpers when Gasol and Kobe are doubled.

He is basically playing the Steve kerr role at 6'8". While he has hit the open jumpers he is hardly an offensive factor. And his defense on Anthony....

Gasol fits in very nicely with this team.
Last year he got beat up by the Celtics.
They had too many big guys for him.
He has very nice mobility, can pass, can
get out on screens on D, does a nice job on the
offensive boards. He is their second best player.
He goes down and the Lakers are out. No way
Bynum, in his current state, can touch what
Gasol is doing right now. A stronger forward with some mobility
like Millsap, Brandon Bass or even Scola would
really help imo, along with a PG.

Kobe of course is a given.
Hell if the Lakers took Carmello or Billups
out the series would end.

Bynum is not in shape and his knee is probably still bugging him. He has stunk though.

Kobe was faking. He saw LeBron faking the other night after they lost and figured it was a good way to attract more attention to himself. The way the NBA refs are calling the fouls i think if someone tried to take Kobe out they would make Denver forfeit. I'm sure David Stern is very happy today though.

Gasol could fit in on any team.

Most of those times(you're talking about) he is fouled, and they don't call it. He loses control of the ball (because he is fouled,) and has to do that fake stuff. It's not like that acting job Billups does (like turning that 3 pointer into a 4.) Why don't you complain about the biggest actor on the floor last night? Sasha is acting like crazy, but you don't mention him (cuz he isn't brown or something?) Sasha looked like he was in a Bruce Lee movie.

The Grizzlies thought differently.
Kidding aside:

If the Spurs would have stolen Gasol
somehow that "trade" would have been
declared illegal.

Kobe is having to play much harder in the playoffs.
Unlike Cleveland, the Lakers are coming off a very
tough series. Kobe sitting the first 4 minutes of the last
quarter during the regular season was a luxury. He has
got to be tired. Unless Dutrow is his consultant.

And why the heck they make him play Carmello...
Carmello is just beating him up. Carmello can just walk
Kobe under the basket off the ball. That just kills a
players legs having to sumo-wrestle off the ball like that.

That elbow Kobe rubbed on Artest, even if it was in
the chest/throat area and not the face, might have got another player suspended for a game.
for a game.

Not the point Mr. Shell. You said Delonte West was way better. I said they were about the same.

So far, Ariza has made at very least an equal impact but objectively speaking he has made more of an impact than Delonte West.

Exactly. Someone has to let me know which team a mobile 7 footer with touch and skills doesnt fit "nicely" on.

A team run by Kobe Bryant.
Or a team that has Kevin Garnett.
Gasol has done a heck of a job
playing with Kobe ego.

Some People on this very board were all about Bynum
even when the Lakers got Gasol. Last year Gasol was constantly
bashed on this very board after the Celtics beat
him up. Last year it was not fashionable to have a mobile
7 footer on the Lakers. He was too soft.

Kobe plays on the lakers still doesnt he? Im just trying understand. You said earlier in the thread that Gasol fits nicely on the lakers and now you are saying that Gasol wouldnt fit nicely on a team run by Kobe Bryant.

Has kobe left the team?

Edit* Im just giving you a hard time. Bynum has been extemely disappointing. I dont know who was bashing Gasol but the soft label was probably a little justified. Bynum has just been plain bad thus far. I expected a young 7 footer with long arms that could clog the lane, block shots and maybe chip in 12 a game along with 8-9 boards.

Gasol apparently can handle the ego.
Shaq very clearly could not, or vice versa.
Seriously, some of the Lakers appear to
play scared and tight.

Has anybody besides Carmello Anthony said they
really think Kobe is a great guy and fun to play with...

on another note, if someone knows someone at TNT...

Can you please ask them to include subtitles next time they interview Delonte West? Thank you.

They still have AMWAY?

Rafer Alston scores 11 pts in the first quarter on 5-6 shooting. Interesting quote after the quarter from Cleveland's coach:

"with so many weapons on their team, if rafer is rolling like that we are just going to make him prove that he can beat us"

Yeah, sounds like Lebron is really "guarding" rafer alston. I guess like me, charles barkley and doug collins...the COACH OF THE CAVS doesnt know what type of defense they are playing.

Its bad defense so far in this series.

Cut man?

Those are boxing cracks.
Mo would not last in the ring.

They have pavlovic guarding alston now. I guess he can guard five positions as well. Cleveland must have the market cornered on these guys.

It must suck living in denial

I live in Virginia.

Just to clarify, if the cavs and lakers dont play in the finals, the bet is null and void. Correct?

Now he has done the same to Hedo. At some point you will admit he is a very good defensive player.

Yes the bet is void.

This game was the Cavs shot to get one in Orlando as they are not shooting lights out tonight...Cavs are shooting like 3rd grade girls however.

He is a very good defensive player

at some point you will admit that delonte is no better than ariza all around. They are virtually the same player. Delonte a little better off the dribble, ariza better in the open court.

and Dwight howard outshoots LeBronze from the foul line. Cavs stink.

I take them from 20 percent to win the series to zero percent now. The massive stench eminating from that team is awful.

series ends in 5. 100 percent guarantee on that dalakhani....another bet???

Worst shooting game the Magic will have this series and the Cavs were never in the game in the second half. Never got it under 4 after 3 minutes were gone in the 3rd quarter. It's simply a miracle they didn't get swwpt. Guess I'll just have to accept game 2 as the shining moment this season and be happy with that.

Hey, dala. Two bets...the series ends in 5 games. And I'll give you Cleveland and 15 points in game 4. What say you?? I need more money!

This game, unfortunately,
was a solid horrible.

I feel violated

Cavs get a 1 for 11 for Turkoglu and lose by double digits. Game 4 could be anywhere from a 35 to 45 point loss for them.

Ariza isnt a part of LA's offense and he is a marginally effective defensive player. He is athletic, doesnt need to shoot and signed to a cheap contract. West is a combo guard who runs Clevelands offense when Williams isnt on the court, can create his own shot off the dribble, is a good spot up shooter, guards the opposing teams best scorer and plays virtually the entire game. He wouldnt win many spelling Bees but he is a better player than Ariza.

Stop it.
This is not Ernest Byner fumbling on
the goal line. What has got into you
Cleveland fans. Stop it with this
chronic pessimism.

Someone please talk horseofcourse off the ledge...

They are Cleveland fans. What else do they have without pessimism?