NBA Finals: Lakers (1) vs Celtics (4)

[shadowgrin]

If it wasn't for Artest the Suns would be in Finals now, so Lakers fans can't be completely on him

We're talking about Lakers fans here. Only a few of them make sense.
Artest saved the Suns series for us! Yey. He's losing the Finals for us! Boo.

[Lamrock]

To be fair, if not for Artest constantly bricking threes, the Lakers wouldn't have blown that game 5 lead in the first place...

[benji]

Here's a question, why wasn't Odom the inbound guy and Artest a screener on that play with ten seconds to go?

I mean other than the obvious fact Jackson gave up and just said "inbound it to Kobe" since nobody was even in motion except Kobe. (Who wound up going the wrong way around the faux-screen to jack up yet another flailing "I TOTALLY GOT FOULED BRO" three.)

I don't think I can hate these two teams (and their fans) and this series more. The fact that they both seem unable to play basketball or do anything reasonable is what keeps bringing me back. More Pierce and Kobe isolations that result in shitty jump shots! More nobody being able to rebound! More passes that are so shitty they get nowhere near the intended person! More dribbling off the leg or into people hoping you get a call!

This series couldn't be more different than the 2008 one despite having mostly the same players.

If there's one way to sum up this series, it's like watching the Pistons play the Pistons.

Also, is it possible to NOT award a Finals MVP?

[NovU]

Great team effort. I like how each different player stepped up in Boston's 3 wins in this series, Paul Pierce being the last one to provide.

Lakers however is disappointing. Could be blamed on Bynum's hp, but still Lakers were considered to be upgraded while Boston's big 3 aged from 2 years ago.

2 more games to go, and I'm guessing this series is hitting game 7 though.

[shadowgrin]

Even if Bynum was a non-factor the Lakers still got more offensive rebounds than the Celtics (16-7), got more free throw attempts (26-13) despite both teams almost having the same amount of fouls (22-23). The Lakers even shot better behind the arc (37% - 27%). The FTAs and three-point shooting by the Lakers offset the points in the paint by of the Celtics (32-46) imo.

Bynum shouldn't be made as an excuse for the Lakers (even though he played 32 mins. doing nothing) because the entire team sucked in game 5 outside of Kobe Bryant. Their offense got stagnant around Kobe as shown by their 12 assists as a team.

[benji]

40% to 56%. That's all that mattered. The Lakers were better or equal (for the bulk of the game were better) at everything else. They just weren't making shots (because a lot of them were long jumpers under duress for no reason) or defending shots (because help defense is for teams that don't hate each other) and that's what killed them.

Should have just let Kobe take every shot.

[koberulz]

If it wasn't for Artest the Suns would be in Finals now, so Lakers fans can't be completely on him

We're talking about Lakers fans here. Only a few of them make sense.
Artest saved the Suns series for us! Yey. He's losing the Finals for us! Boo.

When did Artest win the Suns series?

[NovU]

Artest deserves to be critisized but it's more of a team fail, since the faciliators aren't doing their jobs right for the Lakers on offensive end. That's where Lebron, Dwight, and Wade failed, their teams scoring efficiently against the Celtics' D. The Celtics always enjoy 'grind out' games as we've seen in their 3 wins in this series and they I think are the best team at it.

If you don't want Artest to struggle, then why not give him more open looks/lanes rather than giving him the ball on rare occassions(mostly uncomfortable position) and expect miracle plays out of him. On defensive end, he's the hardest worker for sure.

[George7]

One win to go!

[shadowgrin]

When did Artest win the Suns series?

He didn't. He saved the team (and redeemed himself as Lamrock mentioned) by giving them the victory with that putback from the Kobe miss instead of going through OT, giving them a comfortable 3-2 edge against the Suns, and contributed significantly to help Kobe in closing out the Suns in game six.

[koberulz]

Of course he wouldn't have had to hit that game-winner if he hadn't taken that godawful shot the play prior.

[shadowgrin]

Can't really tell. For all we know that play could have resulted in a made shot or not, whether it was Artest or the other Lakers that would have eventually took the potential shot in that particular play, awful or open otherwise.
The Lakers also had their chances, from Gasol's unfortunate missed dunk and not getting the offensive rebound and also not getting the defensive rebound twice from the Suns missed shots.
I wouldn't dwell on that horrible shot by Artest to speculate that if he hadn't taken that shot the Lakers still would have had the lead and won game 5 outright.

[Sauru]

i dont understand how artest does not foul rondo at the end. he just let rondo blow by him then get the pass to kg who got it to allen and thats all she wrote there. you put rondo on the line there he probably blows them both and the lakers still have a shot. so yeah, thanks ron

[koberulz]

Exactly. He didn't stick near Rondo to take the foul, but he didn't double Pierce either. Then he ran at Rondo at completely the wrong angle. After missing two free-throws.

The next four years should be fun...

[puttincomputers]

i was disappointed when the bulls got rid of artest.... now i see why they did.

[Murat]

i was disappointed when the bulls got rid of artest.... now i see why they did.

[Sauru]

honestly this guy should not even be allowed to play anymore so whenever he fucks up i am happy with it

[Jeffx]

Exactly. He didn't stick near Rondo to take the foul, but he didn't double Pierce either. Then he ran at Rondo at completely the wrong angle. After missing two free-throws.

The next four years should be fun...

I heard on the radio, Kobe was so disgusted with Artest's defense, he wanted Phil to let him play Pierce, but Phil said no. Phil has to challenge this cat to pick up his game.

[Axel The Great]

Ron Artest always fucks up his defense in crucial moments.

phpBB [video]

Around the :30 mark.

[Sauru]

Exactly. He didn't stick near Rondo to take the foul, but he didn't double Pierce either. Then he ran at Rondo at completely the wrong angle. After missing two free-throws.

The next four years should be fun...

I heard on the radio, Kobe was so disgusted with Artest's defense, he wanted Phil to let him play Pierce, but Phil said no. Phil has to challenge this cat to pick up his game.

i saw the video of it. he was telling phil he wanted pierce and he said no. probably a good idea though. for all the good putting kobe on pierce would do you really needed him with rondo and allen. the problem was all the celtics were playing a good game

[koberulz]

What they were doing wasn't working, changing it up wouldn't have hurt.

[Sauru]

i would not say that. i would agree that it was worth a try but it very well may have hurt them alot worse than what was happening

[koberulz]

A loss by 30 is no different to a loss by 5. If what you're doing isn't working, it can't hurt to try something different. It's not as though Kobe Bryant isn't a capable defender.

[air gordon]

great job by Celtics defense Gasol last nite looked like 2008 Gasol

[Sauru]

A loss by 30 is no different to a loss by 5. If what you're doing isn't working, it can't hurt to try something different. It's not as though Kobe Bryant isn't a capable defender.

it can hurt is what i am saying. they stayed close enough to win the game still. maybe that change helps them get the win, maybe it make the game a blow out. i dont disagree that something should have been changed just saying that it could have been worse