the lakers are very fortunate, this playoffs has been full of injuries

[hoopster42]

utah had injuries, houston had injuries, then in the east, the celtics had their injuries, even hedo and rashard on the magic were injured coming into the playoffs, it was been a playoffs that began with more injuries than i have seen in so long, imo, the lakers are very fortunate that KG was not healthy because the celtics probably come out of the east again, they are also lucky that the magic had the matchup advantage against the cavs or the cavs might be here and would have the hm crt advantage

and before some dumb laker fan says "we were 2-0 against cleveland and boston this yr", well, that does not mean shit because you were 0-2 vs the magic but are 3-1 against them now, the reg season usually does not matter when the playoffs begin

so, again i say that the crazy number of injuries has made this one of the worst playoffs in yrs in terms of good teams and the lakers, who are not that great a team, have benefitted by this

[SBR Lou]

Normally a big fan of you, but absolutely ridiculous post with no substance.

[hoopster42]

Lou, when was the last time a 3 seed or lower made the finals like the orlando magic this yr?

it was dallas 06 who was a 4-seed but they had the 2nd best record in the conference but did not win their division so they did not get a 2 seed, this situation forced the nba to change the seeding process the following yr,

my point is that normally its a 1 or a 2 seed in each conference that makes the final, orlando in a normal yr would not be here, they are only here because KG was out for boston so in gm 7 in boston the magic got it done, this is not a great team by any stretch, in fact its probably not even as good as cleveland 07 who got swept in the finals

[hoopster42]

the orlando magic are by far by far by far the WORST free throw shooting team i have ever seen in the finals, and dudes, i've been watching the finals a long long time

[hoopster42]

Lou, you are a laker fan, you cannot see this objectively

i am an unbiased fan who does not like or hate the lakers, just a fan of the nba, this is the most injury ravaged, poorly played, poorly officiated playoffs i have ever seen

the lakers 08 team > the lakers 09 team, its just that the 08 team had to play an incredible celtics team while the 09 team gets an above avg orlando team

[lakerboy]

when the lakers win its always about other issues not about them winning. its sad that fans cant see the truth. you can only play what is in front of you. how many injuries did the nuggets have cause everyone said they would beat the lakers.

[TheIntegrityKid]

when the lakers win its always about other issues not about them winning. its sad that fans cant see the truth. you can only play what is in front of you. how many injuries did the nuggets have cause everyone said they would beat the lakers.

maybe it's cuz everyone can't stand the lakers...

they did win tho so give em props, but shit, that was a horrible game last nite and it was handed to them. you have to admit that atleast..

[hoopster42]

when the lakers win its always about other issues not about them winning. its sad that fans cant see the truth. you can only play what is in front of you. how many injuries did the nuggets have cause everyone said they would beat the lakers.

when the lakers won their 3 rings from 00-02, i cannot remember hearing more than a few haters saying anything, its hard to argue with an nba champion because winning a best of 7 series over and over again is hard to argue with

but........this yr the level of play has been very down in the playoffs, i'm not the only one saying it, this FT shooting display by the magic is even worse than the shaq days on the lakers, this is horrendous shooting and pretty much choking,

again, a 3-seed rarely makes it. cleveland had matchup issues with orlando and boston was without KG, the magic are fortunate to be here and the lakers are fortunate this is their opponent, no question the lakers are the best team in the west, but the #1 and #2 seeds in the east with records of 66-16 and 62-20 are not here, and there are reasons for that including matchup probs and injuries

the cleveland cavs with hm crt adv and the boston celtics with a healthy KG would give the lakers a real run for their money instead of the crap we are watching out of orlando right now

[hoopster42]

i give the lakers all the credit in the world for winning the west and pretty much dominating a gm utah team and a very good denver team, i just wish the cavs or healthy celtics with KG would have made it here to the finals instead of this choking poorly coached magic team because this series would be much different, i am sure of this

[hoopster42]

anybody who's been watching the playoffs for at least 10 yrs has to admit this has been a strange yr with injuries, weird matchups, chokes, and horrible reffing

[lakerboy]

are you trying to stir shit up

[hoopster42]

are you trying to stir shit up

just stating the facts, Sir. it is what it is. the orlando magic are one of the weakest teams i have ever seen in the nba finals, and the lakers are benefitting greatly from it, just happens that the magic had the matchup advantage against the cavs, otherwise the cavs might be here and have the hm crt advantage, and if the celtics had KG healthy for the entire season, they win more than 62 gms and more likely 68 or so, they would have the hm crt in the finals 2, the lakers are very fortunate that everything played out like this

[lakerboy]

just stating the facts, Sir. it is what it is. the orlando magic are one of the weakest teams i have ever seen in the nba finals, and the lakers are benefitting greatly from it

weaker than the cavs 2 years ago or those godawful nets teams,what about that sixers team in 2001. this orlando team is good but folks just dont understand they cant beat a team like the lakers it was never gonna happen

[lakerboy]

just stating the facts, Sir. it is what it is. the orlando magic are one of the weakest teams i have ever seen in the nba finals, and the lakers are benefitting greatly from it, just happens that the magic had the matchup advantage against the cavs, otherwise the cavs might be here and have the hm crt advantage, and if the celtics had KG healthy for the entire season, they win more than 62 gms and more likely 68 or so, they would have the hm crt in the finals 2, the lakers are very fortunate that everything played out like this

the lakers would have ate the cavs alive. the celtics didnt have kg so are the lakers supposed to put their season on hold and wait for him. boston fukked that up when they brought him back early and he messed his knee up. i still think the lakers would have beaten boston this year with home court

[hoopster42]

weaker than the cavs 2 years ago or those godawful nets teams,what about that sixers team in 2001. this orlando team is good but folks just dont understand they cant beat a team like the lakers it was never gonna happen

re-read my post, i said the magic are ONE of the weakest teams i have ever seen in the nba finals, and yes, philly '01 was weak but the lakers '01 were incredible and made them look really bad too, cavs '07 were nothing special either, but again they played the spurs who were juggernauts in 03 05 and 07. the nets 02 and 03? they were a great nucleus with kidd, k-mart, and jefferson, they won the east conf finals 2 straight yrs so they were a very very good team, they were just unfortunate to run into the lakers 02 three peat dynasty team and the spurs 03 who were beginning their dynasty of the 21st century with the first of three wins

sorry dude, ive been watching the nba playoffs for over two decades and i cannot be fooled, this laker team does not stack up with the great teams who won the finals in the last 20 yrs, the prior laker dynasty, the spurs dynasty, the bulls dynast, even the rockets with hakeem in 94 and 95, would have all run this laker team ragged

i know what i know and speak what i know

[lakerboy]

re-read my post, i said the magic are ONE of the weakest teams i have ever seen in the nba finals, and yes, philly '01 was weak but the lakers '01 were incredible and made them look really bad too, cavs '07 were nothing special either, but again they played the spurs who were juggernauts in 03 05 and 07. the nets 02 and 03? they were a great nucleus with kidd, k-mart, and jefferson, they won the east conf finals 2 straight yrs so they were a very very good team, they were just unfortunate to run into the lakers 02 three peat dynasty team and the spurs 03 who were beginning their dynasty of the 21st century with the first of three wins

sorry dude, ive been watching the nba playoffs for over two decades and i cannot be fooled, this laker team does not stack up with the great teams who won the finals in the last 20 yrs, the prior laker dynasty, the spurs dynasty, the bulls dynast, even the rockets with hakeem in 94 and 95, would have all run this laker team ragged

i know what i know and speak what i know

that comment there tells me all i need to know about your thinking. maybe they will give this lakers team the miniature version of the championship trophy

[TheIntegrityKid]

Lakerboy vs hoopster42

good debate

[ZBOIZ]

Lakers better be happy Garnett was hurt because they were going to clearly repeat

[hoopster42]

Lakers better be happy Garnett was hurt because they were going to clearly repeat

dude, theyre fricken lucky that houston had yao out the last 4 gms of the series and t-mac out the whole series, houston has to play gms 4-7 without their 2 superstar players and they take the lakers the full 7 gms including blowout wins over the flake show in gms 4 and 6 in houston

lakers = worst nba champion ive seen in 20+ yrs of watching

[The_Kid]

dude, theyre fricken lucky that houston had yao out the last 4 gms of the series and t-mac out the whole series, houston has to play gms 4-7 without their 2 superstar players and they take the lakers the full 7 gms including blowout wins over the flake show in gms 4 and 6 in houston

lakers = worst nba champion ive seen in 20+ yrs of watching

Rockets are better without T-Mac.

That last statement is ludicrous. Just because it took them 7 games to beat Houston doesn't mean they suck. The Lakers knew they could win that series so basically they just toyed around with Houston until they had to finish them off.

[hoopster42]

Rockets are better without T-Mac.

That last statement is ludicrous. Just because it took them 7 games to beat Houston doesn't mean they suck. The Lakers knew they could win that series so basically they just toyed around with Houston until they had to finish them off.

i never said they suck, you are imagining things in that purple & gold brain of yours. i said they are the worst champion in the last 20 yrs.

let me put it another way, the champions each yr in the last 20 yrs would bitch slap this laker team. every champ the past 20 yrs including the laker teams of 00-02 were > to the 09 laker team. the 08 laker runner up team was even > to the 09 team. they are lucky they did not get cleveland or boston with a healthy KG. i dont care if orl beat cleve, cleve would give the lakers more problems than orl, esp with hm crt. i dont need to say what the celtics would do to them. like my thread title says, the lakers are very fortunate. that's just it, so enjoy the fortune

[hoopster42]

the orlando magic had the 3rd best record in the eastern conference this yr

please show me a yr, any yr in nba finals history of the past 20 yrs, or go back even further, and show me where a team from the western or eastern conf did not have at least the 2nd best record and make the finals

dallas 06 was the 4th seed but they were 2nd best in the west conf in wins, right behind san antone, thats why the nba changed the seedings to reflect the records, not necessarily who the division winners are

orlando as the 3rd best record in the east conf does not represent the best team or even the 2nd best team from the east

the lakers got 8-seed utah, hou with no tracy and 4 gms without yao, a denver team that has not won a playoff series before this yr in GOD knows how long, and then they get the THREE-seed from the east

easiest road to championship you will ever see in the NBA, everything just fell their way

[hoopster42]

phil jackson once said that there should be an asterisk next to the houston championships from 94 and 95 because jordan was not in the league in 94 and came back late into the 95 season, well..............then put an asterisk next to this championship for LA for not having to face the 1 or the 2 seed from the east and in the process not having to face lebron or a healthy celtics roster that kicked the shit out of the lakers in last yr's finals

[SBR Lou]

Hoopster,
What team in the league has a better A game than the Lakers do?

[seaborneq]

Health and avoiding injuries is as important as ANY factor in ANY team winning a championship.

[hoopster42]

Hoopster,
What team in the league has a better A game than the Lakers do?

1) boston with a healthy roster which means KG and leon powe healthy,
KG missed the entire postseason and before that abt 3 mos of the reg season, boston still won 62 gms, amazing

2) cleveland who woulda had hm crt adv vs. the lakers and an equal across the way with one lebron james


anybody who does not acknowledge that the nba had more key injuries than normal going into this postseason, and ONCE the postseason began, simply has his head in the sand

[TheIntegrityKid]

1) boston with a healthy roster which means KG and leon powe healthy,
KG missed the entire postseason and before that abt 3 mos of the reg season, boston still won 62 gms, amazing

2) cleveland who woulda had hm crt adv vs. the lakers and an equal across the way with one lebron james


anybody who does not acknowledge that the nba had more key injuries than normal going into this postseason, and ONCE the postseason began, simply has his head in the sand

With all that being said hoopster, who do you like for tonite?

[hoopster42]

Health and avoiding injuries is as important as any factor in any team winning a championship.

agreed, talented teams who are fortunate enough to avoid injuries usually have a chance to win it all...............when you have a talented team that is fortunate enough to A) avoid injuries, B) have other key stars on many teams go down with injuries, and C) get to play the #3 seed from the other conference, that equals a title

open your goddamn eyes, guys, i'm asking a simply fricken question:

name the last time that a 3 seed or lower made the nba finals?

(06 does not count because dallas had the 2nd best record in the west but were the 4-seed because of the old fukked up NBA ways where the division winners were seeded higher than teams who won the most gms, they changed it after 06 mainly because of the dallas situation where they had the 2nd most wins to san antone but came in 2nd in their division to the spurs so they were seeded 4th, a complete crock of shit)

[hoopster42]

With all that being said hoopster, who do you like for tonite?

i am sitting on a small series wager on the lakers so i will let it ride, i had a strong feeling going into the finals that they would beat the magic pretty easily for all of the reasons i keep stating in this thread

[TheIntegrityKid]

i am sitting on a small series wager on the lakers so i will let it ride, i had a strong feeling going into the finals that they would beat the magic pretty easily for all of the reasons i keep stating in this thread

How about the Over/Under for tonite?

Any thoughts on that????

[hoopster42]

ti-kid, if i were going to make a play tonight, i would wait until the steam continued to push the magic to a bigger favorite and then once it hits lakers +4 i would grab some of that, i think the gm should be orl -1 based on what has taken place this series, i dont expect the magic FT problems to just go away tonight

[lakerboy]

i am sitting on a small series wager on the lakers so i will let it ride, i had a strong feeling going into the finals that they would beat the magic pretty easily for all of the reasons i keep stating in this thread

then he uses la to profit after calling them lucky- last year the lakers didnt have bynum he was injured so they werent fortunate- granted he hasnt looked great in the playoffs he still would have helped in last years in final- its all good hoopster la will win and it doesnt matter if their lucky or not-win baby

[seaborneq]

I do agree in the NBA the brackets are normally chalk unless Akeem or MJ are involved. So I do agree with you hoopster, this is a rare case in which a conference does not send its best team to the big show. However, I can name a few teams in the last 20 years that had great regular season teams and records but were not worthy of being called champions. SuperSonics 94, Dallas 07, Cavs 09, Sixers 01, and Nets 02 to name a few. Those teams had great records or made it to the Finals and were not worthy or good enough to win a championship.

[TheIntegrityKid]

ti-kid, if i were going to make a play tonight, i would wait until the steam continued to push the magic to a bigger favorite and then once it hits lakers +4 i would grab some of that, i think the gm should be orl -1 based on what has taken place this series, i dont expect the magic FT problems to just go away tonight

Interesting.. I'll follow that throughout the day then.

No pick on the total tho? With this possibly being the Magic's last game for the season, I'm thinking they are gonna come out firing. I think Over 198 is an easy play

[hoopster42]

interesting that TI-Kid is asking me for my thoughts on the gms, he has figured out pretty quickly that i am the person to ask an opinion about the gms because i have clearly shown my knowledge of the nba in this thread alone, not to mention others

lakerboy, if the lakers were playing the cavs or the celtics, i woulda been on the other side, just like i was last season in the finals when your boys were straight up bitch slapped, but i am one to look for profit over anything else and when i saw the lakers at just over 2 to 1 odds to win the series, i had to grab some of it,
money first, sports emotions second