Place Your Bets, Gentlemen.
GENERAL By Gotty™ on May 31, 2009 at 9:10 am
After all the predicting, rationalizing & theorizing, the NBA Finals are set. The Black Mamba & the Kobes versus Superman & friends. Here’s seven random thoughts on what’s happened thus far & could happen next.
1. Did you notice that Nike dropped off two MVPuppets commercials during Friday’s game, knowing that it would be the last time they would be relevant? They rushed those through like soon to expire milk. How long will it be before we see the other 5-7 “unreleased” commercials hit Youtube?
2. Speaking of King James, wasn’t it poor sportsmanship to duck the media after the loss? After any other game (specifically after the Miracle shot), he made sure to make himself available, almost seeking out Craig Sager (whose suits make him easy to spot). Last night, nil. No interviews. Even worse, he didn’t shake hands with the Magic. :| @ the lack of sportsmanship & maturity there.
Considering that the media has helped make LeBron the star he is, following his every move since high school, it seemed to be poor tastes that he didn’t speak to them last night. Yes, a season-ending loss is a huge L to absorb. But one of the first things you learn in organized sports is lining up & shaking hands with the other team. Dear LeBron, see if the Cavs can help you find a wee bit of maturity over the offseason.
As the game dwindled down & as he exited the court, he had the Friday, “he gon’ cry in the car” look on his face.
3. Before the Magic-Cavs series, Charles Barkley predicted the Magic would win. As previously stated, I pointed to the TV & literally called him “a shittin’ fool.” Nevertheless, he was the only TNT cat to call the series. Last night, he went against the grain again (Reggie “Lakers in 6,” Kenny “Lakers in 6″) and took the Magic in 7 for the Finals. Remember that because I will. Barkley’s a degenerate; his money depends on being able to call these things. Yet…
4. …It’s not that hard to call, considering the Magic trumped the Lakers 2-0 in head-to-head matchups this year. But, that was with Jameer Nelson runnin’ point, a slightly different player than “Skip To My Lou.”
For me, the bigs will almost cancel themselves out. Mickael Pietrus should play be able to hold his own on both ends of the court. Rashard Lewis will get his points, but one of the Kobes from off the bench should be able to provide offsetting
Yes, the x-factor will be Lamar Odom. Sure, he’s a poor man’s Pippen to a certain degree. But he can get the job done, especially if his ailing back allows. And as he goes, so go the Lakers.
Speaking of Jameer…
5. Dear Magic, don’t be boneheads & Jameer don’t allow it. Do NOT suit up Jameer Nelson. Let the man’s knee heal properly.
6. The guy pictured is your fellow commenter & longtime TSS supporter, Turk. It’s rare that Turk & I are on the same side of arguments. You see how he mocks me, knowing that I’ve been chasing those Asics in my size for roughly a calendar year now? But, for this series, we’ll be on the same side of things. I’ll be rooting for the Lakers.
A.) Kobe’s Manifest Destiny has been to win a championship without Shaq. I’ve mentioned this before as well: Kobe is still the best player in the league, but he’s looking @ his watch. Give him one last ring & let’s just get this out of the way.
B.) Kobe & Nike > Dwight Howard & adidas. Sometimes, we decide our loyalties by the most intricate of nuances. And although I usually root for the underdog, I pretty much hate adidas and find it hard to support any athlete under contract with them or Reebok.
7. Admit it, you laughed when this commercial came on last night.
In fact, let me go spend some QT with my own family. Lord knows I’ve been neglecting them with all these crucial games coming on every single night. Thanks David Stern.
Posted in GENERAL, SMOKE BREAK, Sports — Tags: 2009 NBA Playoffs, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Basketball, Orlando Magic, VIDEO
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54 Comments
Hopefully the “new consumate teammate” employee #24 (vomitspit) is more gracious in defeat.
Go Magic!
Ahh…. I’ve been waiting for this post *cracks knuckles*
Ok first things first, The Cavs. For anyone that thought they were gonna see anything different from the Cavs than what they *witnessed* last night (i.e. LeJesus Christ going for a quadruple dubble to win the game to take it back to Ohio to win the series)…I have prayer services for you. Its just not humanly possible. He was fatigued after the 1st game, cramps and all. Simply put, He’s been doing toooooo much. “They” did “try” very hard and thats pretty much all you can do. And LeBron pulling a Bill Belichick and walking out without looking into the eyes of the men who out-worked you, and giving them the respect they clearly deserved, was in poor taste. I know you’re upset hommie but you gotta be a man of respect at your highs as well of your lows.
Moving the fuck on.
The finals are going to be an even better series I believe now. This is what happened that I dont believe that people realized…
I am a die hard Boston Celtics fan and was CRUSHED by the game 7 where those guys didnt even show up, (looked like Cleavland last night and the Nuggets 2 nites ago). However I jumped on the Magic bandwagon earlier this season when I seen the great performances by Jameer mixed all the versatility the magic had and I clearly stated that if these guys cant perfect what they have, they will win it all. I still dont think they’ve perfected it but they definitely have the ability to win it all
Orlando in 6 or 7
Now back to why I think that this is a better series now. For the same reason that LeBron made an early exit, I believe now the games will when the better for the NBA fan. The Cavs were gonna demolish the Lakers, The Cavs would have demolished the Celtics if they had played them. Even though the LA team provided the only “real” lost for the Cavs at home, the momentum and the chemistry that the Cavs had was growing by the second….. (continued on page 6)
I’ll admit, as a Lakers fan I would’ve rather faced Cleveland. Their interior D couldn’t stop Pau or Odom during the regular season, and with Bynum back they might’ve had to get J.J. Hickson out of that suit. But I still think we can take the Magic. We’ve got HCA now, and I think Phil Jackson realizes how you beat the Magic.
Dwight is gonna get his. He’s too strong to stop without getting your players into foul trouble. When you try to double, you’re leaving 1 of 4 great 3 point shooters open. You’ve gotta commit to stopping the 3 ball, and let Dwight get his.
It’s gonna be a much better series than people think, Lakers in 7.
Man niggas don’t do all that hand-shaking in the pros, that shit is mostly for college. And Dwight and them were already celebrating so he just went straight to the locker room. And I don’t feel you’re obligated to speak to the media if you don’t want to, especially after a hard loss like that.
Howard will get in foul trouble when matching up w/the Lakers bigs. He’s been plagued all playoffs & it won’t end now, esp w/Kobe forcing those dudes to step up & take shots.
Loso - disagree. Did you notice that Melo & the Nugs congratulated the Lakers after the game?
Lakers vs. Magic in the finals??? BOOOOOOOORRRIIIIIIIING!!!
….The Cavs had the type of consistent system that a NBA team has wet dreams about. if they were on the court, they could do no wrong. From shots from the half court to full court to behind the goal, one handers, I mean the Lakers would have had nothing for them. That was a sentiment that I believe Kobe didnt want to feed into and LeBron couldn’t wait to feast on.
Take it back to the end of game 6 in the Celtics/Magic game, reporter asked LeBron, who would you rather face in the Con Finals, that was the first time I seen the King show that he was a human being…He said that whatever team came they would be prepared for them. But it was clear to see that he wanted to see the Celtics. The Celtics were weaker and were holding the crown, and the Magic had giving the Cavs the WORST lost of the regular season just a month before. I believe that had my Celtics won game 7, the Cavs would have been an easy shoe in for the Larry O’Brien. I think they would have out a hurting on the inconsistent Laker team.
3 reasons why I think the Kobe and the Kobets will not get this series:
A. The Big Guys- Odom, Gasol, Bynum. Gasol dominates so often, mainly because….he’s just taller that his opponents. His post up game that he has will not match up well against the Defensive Player of the Year. He wont even attempt as many shots because of that, and lets face it, he is the only other Laker you can count on besides Kobe. Odom and Bynums game are WAAAY too spotty. And its not because I dont believe that they are too arrogant to try, I just believe that’s just the type of players they are. Pau in a even match up is going to be exposed for the soft player he was last years finals.
B. The Nuggets/Rockets/08Celtics exposed….- If you just play physical ball against the Lakers they fold. While watching the games that LA beat Denver, I felt like Denver was playing horrible ball - horrible shot selections, immature reactions, inconsistent D. But LA would be shooting pretty well and they would only have like a 5 pt lead.
C. The offense- Just like the Cavs series, you cannot stop the James/Bryant from scoring. Impossible. However, just like the Cavs you can stop the team from being a factor. And Kobe and LeBron know all too well that you cannot win the Chip alone.
On the flip side, you have the Orlando offense. They can be a little inconsistent as far as who is gonna have a dominating game but I think thats the best factor they have….options. More offensive options than the Lakers/ and Cavs have combined.
@ Loso. In a close out game, the heads always come (ll) together and congratulate the team that beats you. Just like in a prize fight, once its over, you give the respect to the man that competed with you
Totally agree with number 2; that’s the one difference between him and Kobe and MJ, he’s yet a man of the game. As much as I despise Kobe and the Lakers, I have to say I will give credit when due. He’s a beast and I don’t see any other victor than L.A. BUT Barkley keeps hope alive.
I hate to be THAT guy, but I think a lot of the Cavs loss falls on the shoulders of Mike Brown. He is not an NBA Finals coach. He’s like Doug Collins was for the Bulls and Cleveland needs a Phil Jackson to come in.
Brown made NO changes since game 1. LeBron was still guarding Alson when everyone was saying put him up against either Lewis or Hedo. And 6 straight games of giving a guy the ball @ the top of the key and screaming “save us” is NOT coaching. Sorry. He also cost them a game buy having Ben Wallace on Lewis in the final seconds. Mike Brown is a good mid-level coach but he can’t coach a team to the championship.
As far the Finals: The matchups are tough. The Magic aren’t going to have the same mismatches as they are playing a different team w/ Odom to guard Rashard and Kobe on Turkoglu. But the Lakers prolly won’t be able to play both Gasol and Bynum w/ all the outside range Orlando has.
And a lot is riding on this series for Kobe. For the 2nd year in a row, they’re expected to win and the only way they lose is if they get their bitch cards pulled again, which could spell bad news for Kobe and his legacy. Lakers in 7.
Magic,
I hate to be THAT guy, but I think a lot of the Cavs loss falls on the shoulders of Mike Brown. He is not an NBA Finals coach. He’s like Doug Collins was for the Bulls and Cleveland needs a Phil Jackson to come in.
Brown made NO changes since game 1.
=========
“Let the church say ‘Amen’.”
Mike Brown isn’t the best coach, but he can’t have LeBron guarding Hedo or Shard. Dude woulda been tapped by game 3.
I believe I said Lakers in 6 & I’ll stick to that.
^Well yea he woulda been tired cuz dude was playing 1 on 5 offense. If Brown had, oh I don’t know, an offensive playbook that didn’t come from the NBA Live 95 instruction manual, he would have had a better flowing offense wouldn’t have been as taxing on LeBron.
I see a lot of Lakers in 6 or 7….Other than the game 6 against the Nuggets, what could that possibly be based on?? If Melo hadnt fallen asleep behind the wheel after game 3 in the series, we would be looking at David Sterns worst nightmare.
lol @ David, but why should have M Brown picked up any other book than that dusty 95 Live one that he had. I mean his teams offense outside of this series has been stellar
I don’t care bout LeBron not talking to the media-they are the media. But come on and shake a hand after the game. That was the first thing I noticed; LeBron rushing to the tunnel. Very immature. A loss is a loss, but at least shake the guys’ hands who beat the snot outta your team.
Hopefully, the Magic and former SEATTLE SUPERSONIC Rashard Lewis continue to ride the wave…..in 6.
But I have a feeling the refs and David Stern will find a way to have Kobe boost the trophy in 5 for ratings sake.
@ David
Brown can’t make the LeBrons make shots. They missed more than enough to prove that and put LeBron in that situation. Those shots are alot harder to make in the playoffs. I personally thought that this would happen to them in the Finals against Kobe, but it happened a round earlier.
Hell, until this playoff run the same thing could’ve been said about Hedo & Rashard when they were out West.
“he had the Friday, “he gon’ cry in the car” look on his face.”
lol made me think of Curren$y’s album track 3 “he gon cry in the car, won’t see his girl till tomorr…”
lakers in 6 too!
gm1-lakers
gm2-magic
gm3-lakers
gm4-magic
gm5-lakers
gm6-lakers
remember this is 2-3-2 format giving the lakers i think a adv in the last 2 games. i just hope odom shows up…and gasol and bynum can do a little bit to stop superman..and the lakers got enough perimeter defense.
I am surprised the Cavs lost, mostly because a broken ass Celtics team took the Magic to 7 and easily could have had game 6. I can now confidently state that with a healthy KG, C’s are the best team in the league. Hopefully they’ll get to prove that next year.
I think Brown did let them down in that he failed to make any sort of offensive adjustments to get the Cavs easy offense that didn’t involve LeBron doing it all (this has always been a problem of his.) Worse was he lack of defensive adjustments. How do you let Dwight Howard repeatedly kill Z like that? He cant be on the floor if thats going to happen.
Anyways its nice to see Bron have to work for it a bit. Hopefully he’ll have to for at least one more year.
Tekitha (of Wu-Tang) - various tracks - bootleg - 2005
http://rapidshare.com/files/239247778/tekitha_of_wu-tang_-various_tracks-bootleg-2005.rar
ARTIST: Tekitha (of Wu-Tang)
TITLE: various tracks
GENRE: Hip-Hop
LABEL:
BITRATE: 185 kbps avg
SIZE: 98 MB
TRACKS: 18
ENCODER: LAME 3.90.3mod
SOURCE: CD
LENGTH: 80:21
RIP DATE: 2005-09-14
TRACK LIST:
1 Mother Earth 9:50
2 Impossible 4:29
3 Street Opera 3:49
4 Survivin 4:13
5 Heaterz 5:26
6 Second Coming 4:39
7 Fantasy 3:59
8 I Love U So (live) 2:57
9 Manchild 3:40
10 Conscience 9:07
11 Walking Through The Darkness 5:17
12 Wolf In Sheeps Clothing 3:50
13 You (Radio) 3:45
14 You (Remix) 3:55
15 I Can See 3:50
16 Love You So (live2) 3:02
17 Sole In The Hole Skit (live) 0:58
18 Walkin Tru The Darkness (live) 3:35
Also he did kind of throw a dud out there this game. Can’t expect him to win every one, but its true
Lake Show in 6 PerioD
6 episodes of The Lake Show.
^looks like Usher and his wife are on the rocks again
Blame it on management. This Cavs team as constructed had no way of making it to the Finals against the Magic. They are clearly not versatile or talented enough. Wally’s World? Ben Wallace? Really?There were a couple of off season aquisitions the front office could’ve pulled the trigger on to get Lebron some real help (namely, trading for Vince Carter), but they didn’t.
And even though I don’t like how Lebron acted at the end of the game, I understand.
Gotty, my man! That Friday clip was hilarious. Brought back mad memories of my days of youth. I had to give you props for that. But I digress.
I am a Magics fan. And I must admit, that I was worried there for a while. Not because I thought my boys couldn’t do it, but because of conspiracy theories that were surrounding the Finals. Plus these damn puppet commercials were not making it easy for a brotha to shake off the “ratings boost” theories.
But the boys are in the Finals now. I wanna say Magics are gonna take it, but the Lakers have a real coach who has been there many times over in the past. But I am still rooting for my guys.
And about the “King” not speaking to the media…Aren’t there certain contractual obligations to speak to the media after a game? If there are, I don’t think that Lebron would have a problem paying a fine or what not. But that is neither here nor there. I was just wondering.
But I have a feeling the refs and David Stern will find a way to have Kobe boost the trophy in 5 for ratings sake.
===================================
Just like they found a way to sneak the Cavs into the Finals, right?
SMH
You wrong for posting that pic by the way. I see Steve Francis in there! That’s an old pic NIGGA!!! Dwight won’t let that shit happen today!
Why would David Stern want it to end in 5? that’s not good for ratings…double smh
Do you know how LONG I’ve been just waiting to use that Friday quote lol? It’s all about perfect timing lmao.
I’m not 100% sure they’re obligated to speak w/the media, but you better believe writers took that as a slight, esp for a media-hound like LBJ who has made it a point to make sure his face is seen everywhere. He said early in his career that he wanted to be bigger than bball, & he has. But I still think you have to show some class IN basketball…and win something…then move on to life after bball.
You know why nobody gives a fuck if Shaq takes acting classes, plays honorary deputy & Twitters?
B/c he’s proven himself & maintained a very open relationship w/the media about who he is & wants to be. If he fucks up, he mans up in most circumstances.
And he’s got titles.
If you’ve never read his autobio, do lol. Dude’s funny as hell.
On the game: The refs finally didn’t keep the Cavs in the game and the better team finally won outright. After the first 4, Stern and his cronies realized the Cavs just aren’t that good, and would get crushed by the stacked Lakeshow. Lakers have their work cut out for them, but I see DHoward in too much foul trouble for this series.
On Lebron walking out: Who cares? Wally was right behind him… I saw someone following… when teams win a championship or any type of title on their home court, and you walk off the court and let them celebrate, it’s not the end of the world. Have you been in that position? I have… heat of the moment, and it was poor judgement. It won’t be the last time. Media once again makin a mountain out of a molehill. The media thing… who cares again… if he cries for a trade in public before going to his GM, then I have problems with that.
We can’t have both sides with the most competitive cats in the world… we can’t expect someone THAT competitive to not show his true competitive nature off the court at times as well… if you heard the stories about Kobe’s demeanor toward his teammates and coaches behind closed doors in practice (I have some people out there) you would think very little of the dude. I know I do… and I’m not talking the glazed over “he doesn’t hang out with his teammates” approach. I’m talkin, the nitty gritty … but, he’s more competitive than 99.9% of the population out there. MJ wasn’t a model character off the court either, yet people don’t want to remember that. Let Lebron be 24 (damn, he’s just gettin started, scary).
BTW, coach interviews during the game should be outlawed… that’s a slap to the sport of basketball. One of my pet peeves for some reason…
But Shaq’s got his bitchass qualities too.
In that one commercial where they show Kobe throwing Shaq the alley, once Shaq makes the dunk, he does everything in his power not to acknowledge Bryant. To err is human.
I can root against Kobe…so its a good look that Denver didn’t make the Finals.
I’ll be rooting for the Magic but I think Lakers in 5; that’s if the Magic don’t try and play defense. If Van Gundy’s plan is to just outscore LA (like they did against the Cav’s) then its over. So like the Cavs/Magic series the coaching will be the difference maker.
Lebron looked liked he had that “I’m sick of this shit” look on his face as early as the 2nd quater (Moe Williams 3pts 3fouls). But I don’t what Lebron is supposed to do when the Magic are already celebrating like that at the end of the game; Its like asking LT to go and shake the Patriots hand while they’re doing the “lights out” dance on your logo.
The Lakers in 7. This is the last year of Kobe & Company’s dominance(?). He’ll win this one giving all the sports writers/analysts something to talk about until free-agency 2010 when LeBron will become a Knickerbocker.
Orlando with a healthy Jameer Nelson (and Skip as a backup) are going to be a powerhouse in the coming years.
My prediction?
That I’ll care less about this series then any other combination of the final four teams.
Lake Show in 6.
All I have to say to all these predictions about the Lakers winning is this…”Kobe, tell me how my ass taste!?” (c)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UziUhf1ukw
And if the Lakers win, I won’t be on TSS for a good week. Cuz that’s how the fuck we roll, me and my homie LeBron!!!
MAGIC AND LAKERS = WACK FINALS….
LeBron losing to Howard = Debo taking Red’s Chain…
give me a break about the immaturity talk, he didn’t do anything, and its probably better that he didn’t… it hasn’t even been 24 hours since the game, he’s going to talk to the media whenever he feels like it and he has earned that right
everyone have your fun, you finally found a flaw in lebron that you can talk about, hate away… maybe ill jump on the hate bandwagon too, since everyone else seems to enjoy it so much
and i don’t blame him for not talking to the magic after the game, how many other players have done the same thing (cough ladainian tomlinson cough). but by all means, use it as fodder to beat a dead horse about how lebron is immature and this and that… <3 internet
No hat tip to cursedcleveland.com for the video?? I hate the term “hat tip” seriously.
It’s not going to be a wack finals, everyone’s disappointed bcus no lebron/kobe match-up… this is what the lakers been working towards all year and it will become a reality when bynum,gasol,kobe,odom and company to their thing. orlando proved they were better, superman and all the superheros of the world can’t stop the black mamba when he’s on point, pietrus is good but will hold kobe under 30 in any of the games, unless bynum,odom, gasol are playing good. howard is a beast and is the leagues best defender this year, he plays great, but lake show got the bigs to stop him. turks going to reminded of when he was on the kings and the lake show sent his ass home for the summer.
i used to like the magic when they had shaq,penny,nick anderson, horace grant, etc. but that was a long ass time ago.
lebron’s bitchassness showed. you know he cried on the plane back.
did anyone else notice Mike Brown’s assistant coach drawing up plays on multiple occasions, while he just played the background?? haven’t seen too many cavs games outside the playoffs, so i don’t know if that’s their norm but i’ve never seen that, ever.
lakeshow in 6.
AND FOR MY PREDICTION!!!!!????????
Guess. :-/
In 6 Ya’ll.
Silence to all the busters who doubted us through the season. Silence to all the beaner fans and those who are holding on to the tailpipe of the bandwagon.
@cell thuropy
“I am a die hard Boston Celtics fan”….
Immediately stopped reading your thesis.
Lakers in 5, they will win the first 3 games.
I hope Lebron Bounces the Cavs are lazy as hell!
We are definitely the minority here Turk!
I just bought tickets to game 1 via stub hub and logging on tomorrow at 4pm to buy game 2 from ticketmaster. I was there last year for game 3 against beantown when Sasha was still actually making jump shots.
Get em Kobe!
The Kobe dunk pic reminds me of a line on that song, “No Problems”:
“Hell no/ them boys don’t play/ STRAIGHT NUTS IN YO FACE/ put yo pistol away. lol
And I love the commercial.
Lebron should have congratulated the Magic and talked to the media; he is quick to find the mic when he wins.
now we see that Lebron is still a youngster on this championship, kobe iz still the master…
lebron must to learn, (of this defeat, thats for sure!).
peace
LeBron did his job. Even Jordon couldn’t win a finals series alone.
@uliama,
That’s cool hommie, believe me I hear a slew of unfounded Celtic hate on the reggie. I like good teams….sue me. Lakers in 5??….. I posed this questions almost 24 hrs ago and have not gotten 1 answer. What are you all basing a Laker victory on, do y’all watch the games or just skim through em? (c) Jay
Someone put something on this board besides just the emotional fan posting.
@Cell Thuropy
Apologies for the delay but the Magic do not have the mismatch that they have enjoyed for almost the entire playoffs (i.e. height advantage at the 2 and 3 position). They will not get the same shots they got against the Cavs and the Lakers have Bynum to bang bodies with Howard when he is on offense and he will have to guard Gasol on the defensive side. He will either get in foul trouble (esp when in Los Angeles) when guarding Gasol or at least not be as effective because he is spending a lot of energy guarding Gasol (i.e. Cavs not putting Lebron on Hedo or Rashard for fear of fatigue). The Lakers will not, I repeat will not double Howard in the post, he has no face up game and must be at least within 5-7 feet for him to be effective. He cannot hit a jump shot to save his life. Add in the fact that Lamar is a legit 6-11 that can guard Lewis and it spells trouble. The Lakers may have some issues guarding Howard but the Magic are going to have their hands full guarding a more balanced Lakers attack (if game 5 and 6 against the Nuggets is a good indication). So lets take a closer look at the “matchups” Howard and Kobe are going to get theirs regardless but I will tell you this much, the Magic will not get the same looks like they did against much smaller back courts they faced in the LEastern conference. Add into the fact that the Lakers have home court advantage and the experience I say the Lakers in 5 but would not be surprised if it went 6. See I gave you shit for writing a long post and here I am with one just as long! Good convo.
One question though….how the heck were the Cavs going to Destoy the Lakers if they faced them in Finals? The matchup issues they faced against the Magic would have only been magnified against a team with more height and Kobe Bryant…. I’m a little lost.