|
Post by redskins12820 on May 20, 2009 19:02:49 GMT -5
Denver is an ignorant team that lets too many outside things distract them. Billups has helped but this "commitment to defensive end" is a joke-they simply have won more games because key players on other teams were hurt or else they likely finish 3rd in their own division as usual. Denver is one of the more talented teams in league--and they have been for a while, but they don't understand how to win and how to ignore stupid stuff. For instance--Martin's obsession with Mark Cuban. Who gives a crap what the idiot says/does? What does that have to do with anything? Karl playing Anthony Carter at key moments and Carter killing Nuggets--as he's done since being a Nugget. Best players not getting shots at big moments. For those who cry/whine about "consipracy" in NBA--the Nuggets choked at FT line, and Billups hit a 3pt shot to cut lead to 1 late where he stepped out of bounds before taking the shot. Denver should've won the game--but they found a way to lose--which has been George Karl's way in Playoff basketball since he's coached in NBA. BTW--Lamar Odom is added to the gutless clown list of players who have no concept of how to battle/compete. Gasol gagging FT's added to his reputation as being soft--but he'll often compete underneath and what he can't do is what he can't do--Odom just gets in "Lamar Land" which is a mix of Henny, Weed, and Poetry. I don't think you watch many Laker games. Odom got into it with Scola a bunch in the last series and is also probably the best per minute rebounder on the Lakers. I don't know how that is not battling/competing. Plenty of stuff he does wrong, but he doesn't back down and he boards extremely well. Those two don't scream wimp to me. As long as they have carter or that other joke guarding kobe, nuggets aren't getting to the finals. Melo actually did a decent job on kobe I thought. I would be interested if Denver tries to continue to match them up.
|
|
hoyarooter
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 10,441
|
Post by hoyarooter on May 20, 2009 21:07:19 GMT -5
Denver is an ignorant team that lets too many outside things distract them. Billups has helped but this "commitment to defensive end" is a joke-they simply have won more games because key players on other teams were hurt or else they likely finish 3rd in their own division as usual. Denver is one of the more talented teams in league--and they have been for a while, but they don't understand how to win and how to ignore stupid stuff. For instance--Martin's obsession with Mark Cuban. Who gives a crap what the idiot says/does? What does that have to do with anything? Karl playing Anthony Carter at key moments and Carter killing Nuggets--as he's done since being a Nugget. Best players not getting shots at big moments. For those who cry/whine about "consipracy" in NBA--the Nuggets choked at FT line, and Billups hit a 3pt shot to cut lead to 1 late where he stepped out of bounds before taking the shot. Denver should've won the game--but they found a way to lose--which has been George Karl's way in Playoff basketball since he's coached in NBA. BTW--Lamar Odom is added to the gutless clown list of players who have no concept of how to battle/compete. Gasol gagging FT's added to his reputation as being soft--but he'll often compete underneath and what he can't do is what he can't do--Odom just gets in "Lamar Land" which is a mix of Henny, Weed, and Poetry. Well, I need to comment on this a bit. Back when the playoffs started I questioned whether the Nuggets were still a bunch of knuckleheads. I think they have made significant progress, thanks in large part to Billups. Just because in this particular game the Lakers made more big plays down the stretch than the Nuggets did doesn't mean that the Nuggets don't know how to win. Billups, for example, made two huge falling away threes (although one shouldn't have counted) with a guy right in his face. Those were remarkable shots. It will be interesting to see how the Nuggets come back tomorrow after playing so well and still losing, despite the Lakers shooting only 41%. This game will be a huge test for the Denver psyche. As for Odom, I don't entirely agree with either RDF or redskins. The fact is that the Denver frontcourt badly outplayed the Laker frontcourt yesterday, and Odom was something of a no show. On the other hand, he played really well against Utah. The problem with Odom, as it will always be, is that you never know what you are going to get from game to game. He may go for 15, 15 and 6 tomorrow, or he may have 6, 5 and 2. I hope it's the former, because when Odom plays well, the Lakers almost always win. Gasol needs to be more aggressive offensively than he was last night. Nine shots are nowhere near enough. I almost gave back my dinner when he missed those two free throws, but for some reason his free throw percentage has been way down throughout the playoffs. Give him credit, though, for hitting both the next time he was fouled.
|
|
|
Post by redskins12820 on May 20, 2009 21:12:26 GMT -5
Denver is an ignorant team that lets too many outside things distract them. Billups has helped but this "commitment to defensive end" is a joke-they simply have won more games because key players on other teams were hurt or else they likely finish 3rd in their own division as usual. Denver is one of the more talented teams in league--and they have been for a while, but they don't understand how to win and how to ignore stupid stuff. For instance--Martin's obsession with Mark Cuban. Who gives a crap what the idiot says/does? What does that have to do with anything? Karl playing Anthony Carter at key moments and Carter killing Nuggets--as he's done since being a Nugget. Best players not getting shots at big moments. For those who cry/whine about "consipracy" in NBA--the Nuggets choked at FT line, and Billups hit a 3pt shot to cut lead to 1 late where he stepped out of bounds before taking the shot. Denver should've won the game--but they found a way to lose--which has been George Karl's way in Playoff basketball since he's coached in NBA. BTW--Lamar Odom is added to the gutless clown list of players who have no concept of how to battle/compete. Gasol gagging FT's added to his reputation as being soft--but he'll often compete underneath and what he can't do is what he can't do--Odom just gets in "Lamar Land" which is a mix of Henny, Weed, and Poetry. Well, I need to comment on this a bit. Back when the playoffs started I questioned whether the Nuggets were still a bunch of knuckleheads. I think they have made significant progress, thanks in large part to Billups. Just because in this particular game the Lakers made more big plays down the stretch than the Nuggets did doesn't mean that the Nuggets don't know how to win. Billups, for example, made two huge falling away threes (although one shouldn't have counted) with a guy right in his face. Those were remarkable shots. It will be interesting to see how the Nuggets come back tomorrow after playing so well and still losing, despite the Lakers shooting only 41%. This game will be a huge test for the Denver psyche. As for Odom, I don't entirely agree with either RDF or redskins. The fact is that the Denver frontcourt badly outplayed the Laker frontcourt yesterday, and Odom was something of a no show. On the other hand, he played really well against Utah. The problem with Odom, as it will always be, is that you never know what you are going to get from game to game. He may go for 15, 15 and 6 tomorrow, or he may have 6, 5 and 2. I hope it's the former, because when Odom plays well, the Lakers almost always win. Gasol needs to be more aggressive offensively than he was last night. Nine shots are nowhere near enough. I almost gave back my dinner when he missed those two free throws, but for some reason his free throw percentage has been way down throughout the playoffs. Give him credit, though, for hitting both the next time he was fouled. Oh Odom is only consistent in being inconsistent. I don't dispute that for a minute. His play frustrates me a ton at times. But as for not competing, I never really see him giving up on plays and his effort always seems to be at least decent. Battles on the boards, blocks enough shots, gets some tough putbacks-overall I wouldn't call his game gutless or say he can't compete.
|
|
Buckets
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,656
|
Post by Buckets on May 20, 2009 22:58:27 GMT -5
Great game. LeBron has a great game and doesn't get a lot of help, Magic go down early and claw their way back, and it ends with both teams going back and forth making big shots. Very fun to watch. LeBron dropped a ton of points, but the rotation of guys they kept throwing at him paid off on that final possession -- he was gassed and didn't have the burst to get to the rim.
I hope Dwight Howard doesn't get reffed like he's playing in a high school girl's game on Friday though. Really questionable offensive fouls in the first half and that sixth foul was absolutely awful. Howard (and probably half the people in the building) saw the play coming from a mile away, got into position, and went straight up. It's a great play by LeBron, should have been no call and Orlando down 1 with the ball. Fortunately did not decide the game, but easily could have.
|
|
RDF
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 8,835
|
Post by RDF on May 20, 2009 23:35:03 GMT -5
FreeMoney--NBA had 2 of the most crooked officials you will find--Ken Mauer (Joe's Uncle--seriously) and Bennett Salvatore working tonight--of course Howard was going to foul out.
Odom drives Bryant nuts--and most of it is for him being soft--and afraid to step over and challenge or take a hit from opposing bigs. He'll scream and yell when he gets an uncontested weakside putback, but he and Gasol just go AWOL when challenged physically. Bynum has the excuse of never having played significant playoff minutes and trying to "catch up" from being injured-but he makes some of the most obvious/stupid fouls you can imagine too.
Hifi---name one team that won with the "approach" you applaud? It's stupid basketball when you have more talent then other team and play "down" to their level--which Denver does when they get "cute" and sit Anthony a long time--and play Anthony Carter far too much.
|
|
SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 17,899
|
Post by SFHoya99 on May 21, 2009 9:57:55 GMT -5
Odom is soft. For anyone who disagrees, see last year's NBA Finals, where he stopped playing at all after Kevin Garnett looked at him in Game 1.
|
|
|
Post by redskins12820 on May 21, 2009 17:35:30 GMT -5
Odom is soft. For anyone who disagrees, see last year's NBA Finals, where he stopped playing at all after Kevin Garnett looked at him in Game 1. Well I hate to bring up facts and objectivity, but I just looked at last year's box scores and Odom average 14 points and 9 rebounds for the series which is way better if you throw out a one game stinker (see my comment above about inconsistency) where he had 4 points. In one game he actually had 16 free throw attempts which screams aggressive, not soft. Perception is one thing, but his production did not indicate he went into a cave when he saw Garnett.
|
|
FewFAC
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,032
|
Post by FewFAC on May 21, 2009 19:58:22 GMT -5
I wouldn't want Odom starting for me, but I agree with rooter he is pretty serviceable. The bigger issue for the Lakers is whether Bynum is ever gonna hit his stride in these playoffs, because a peak-performing, healthy Bynum offsets any consistency issues regarding Odom.
I also think Denver is much improved, and saw some flashes of defensive effort, though I wouldn't exactly go crowning that orangeman 1-and-done as the most improved defensive player. Denver's major problem is they can't sustain that effort over 48, whether George Karl is finally figuring out (after all these years) that that's how it's done. And Denver's bench is a mass of defensive liabilities, especially matching up against the Lakers, and RDF's fav, JR Smith, is still probably a net negative for Denver, regardless of how much offense he can put up.
On the other side, I still think the Cavs make the finals, but yesterday showed why they will have issues: Lebron can go for 50 every night, and the Cavs will break 100 maybe 1 out of every 3 times does. The Cavs have gotten pretty lucky in terms of matchups, though I would be particularly interested in whether Odom could step up and defend LeBron for 48, because if you can hold LeBron to 20-25, the rest of the Lakers matchup rather well versus Cleveland.
|
|
kghoya
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,049
|
Post by kghoya on May 22, 2009 8:32:27 GMT -5
i knew denver needed to get more out of klezia!
|
|
Buckets
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,656
|
Post by Buckets on May 22, 2009 9:09:50 GMT -5
That was one of the more unevenly officiated games in recent memory. From Dahntay Jones first two fouls (the ones where the refs clearly established that, no, you cannot be physical with Kobe Bryant even when he has his back to you and is trying to get position) up until about midway through the third quarter the Lakers were getting pretty much every call. Kenyon Martin finally got really fed up and just put Trevor Ariza on the floor and it felt like there was a turning point there in the officiating. The Nuggets finally started getting some calls under the rim, and the Lakers actually had to deal with some contact on the offensive end. Billups took advantage of it in the fourth quarter and that really helped seal the victory.
I also enjoy how Carmelo Anthony dedicates himself to offensive rebounding in the fourth quarter. He just gets down there and pushes Ariza and Bryant around. The second straight game Bryant has gotten worked underneath on a boxout that led to an Anthony layup in the fourth quarter, then looked around disgusted like it wasn't his fault.
Also, I'm happy for whomever does Mike Breen's laundry that Trevor Ariza didn't get a steal in the final minute. He was getting a little too excited every time Ariza made a play.
|
|
hifigator
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,387
|
Post by hifigator on May 22, 2009 11:41:29 GMT -5
I'm just happy that Denver shot a hole or two in some of RDF's arguments. Still a lot of ball to go though, but right now, I can't be too disappointed. I'm pulling for that Denver-Orlando matchup that no one else seems to want to see. But I can live with anyone but the Lakers.
|
|
hoyarooter
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 10,441
|
Post by hoyarooter on May 22, 2009 11:55:47 GMT -5
1. Totally agree with FewFAC about Bynum. I honestly expected that by now he would have worked himself back to playing the way he was before he was injured. That hasn't happened, and perhaps it was an unrealistic expectation on my part.
2. Also agree with freemoney's comment on Melo's offensive rebounding. Really ticked me off, and credit to him.
3. Odom won't be able to guard LeBron, but that doesn't exactly put him in an exclusive group.
4. The missed free throw shoe was on the other foot last night. Lakers lost because they missed 5 free throws in the fourth quarter, and the Nuggets made something like 17 straight before Billups' miss.
5. I love Fisher, he's been nothing but a class act his entire career, but his bad shooting is killing the Lakers. He has to start making some shots. And I'm not referring to the game-ender, because that would have been miraculous (sort of like .4 redux).
6. Lakers had the best road record in the league this year. If they can't win in Denver, they don't deserve to be in the finals.
|
|
kghoya
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,049
|
Post by kghoya on May 23, 2009 9:37:07 GMT -5
so close to being up 2-0 going to orlando
the nba playoffs...."where lebron happens"
|
|
hifigator
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,387
|
Post by hifigator on May 23, 2009 11:29:34 GMT -5
Just how many times has LeBron played that through in his mind and on the playground growing up?
NBA playoffs ... down by two ... the clock's winding down .... 4--3--2--1-- shot--horn--SWISH!
|
|
kghoya
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,049
|
Post by kghoya on May 24, 2009 16:53:25 GMT -5
Just how many times has LeBron played that through in his mind and on the playground growing up? NBA playoffs ... down by two ... the clock's winding down .... 4--3--2--1-- shot--horn--SWISH! there was only 1 second left when he got the ball
|
|
MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
Posts: 9,522
|
Post by MCIGuy on May 24, 2009 19:16:16 GMT -5
Yes.
|
|
kchoya
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Enter your message here...
Posts: 9,934
|
Post by kchoya on May 25, 2009 11:03:30 GMT -5
Hey, I got an idea. Let's hand the ball to LeBron while the rest of the players just stand around. He can shoot a contested three or bull his way to the basket, and we'll try and get the rebound. What a great offense.
Oh yeah, we'll be in every game since the NBA will give Dwight Howard 3 fouls in the first 10 minutes, and have him foul out on a spectacular (and clean) block in the 4th.
|
|
kchoya
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Enter your message here...
Posts: 9,934
|
Post by kchoya on May 25, 2009 12:05:33 GMT -5
|
|
kghoya
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,049
|
Post by kghoya on May 25, 2009 17:11:48 GMT -5
id still root for the nuggets, post ai, if it werent for kenyon martin
go lakers tonight
|
|
MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
Posts: 9,522
|
Post by MCIGuy on May 25, 2009 19:57:59 GMT -5
Someone is coming across as a hater. You know it may just be the sweetest shot ever. Try looking at the black & white version in the slow down speed. The insane high arc and the perfect rotation of the ball could not be any prettier. And considering the circumstances of the situation the Cavs found themselves in, the shot is even more impressive. I'm not saying its the most clutch shot ever or the biggest shot of all time. But was there any that was more "photogenic" for lack of a better word? I can't think of one.
|
|