NBA Playoff Time...

[namkcuR]

Originally posted by speedracer


Last year's Lakers definitely had more non-Shaq talent than this year's Heat. Unfortunately for the Lakers, all that talent was contained in the person of Kobe Bryant.

No. No no no. The non-Shaq talent was NOT all Kobe, that is just an absurd thing to say. That team team had two HOFs on it outside of Shaq and Kobe. Yes, Malone was playing hurt and not 100%. Yes, Payton hated the triangle. Doesn't matter. They're HOFs for a reason. That Lakers team had a lot more non-Shaq talent than the Heat do and they lost handily to the Pistons. The Lakers of last year also had a better coach than the Heat of this year.

[speedracer]

Originally posted by namkcuR




No. No no no. The non-Shaq talent was NOT all Kobe, that is just an absurd thing to say. That team team had two HOFs on it outside of Shaq and Kobe. Yes, Malone was playing hurt and not 100%. Yes, Payton hated the triangle. Doesn't matter. They're HOFs for a reason. That Lakers team had a lot more non-Shaq talent than the Heat do and they lost handily to the Pistons. The Lakers of last year also had a better coach than the Heat of this year.

Complete non-sequitur. The reason Malone and Payton are HOF candidates is because of what they accomplished over their careers, and certainly not based on what they accomplished in 2004.

Talent is not a constant quantity with respect to time. And physical fitness, ability to avoid injury, and ability to adapt to new offensive systems are talents as well.

[Hewson]

Originally posted by namkcuR
The Lakers of last year also had a better coach than the Heat of this year.

Don't underestimate Ron Jeremy's coaching prowess.

[namkcuR]

Originally posted by speedracer


Complete non-sequitur. The reason Malone and Payton are HOF candidates is because of what they accomplished over their careers, and certainly not based on what they accomplished in 2004.

Talent is not a constant quantity with respect to time. And physical fitness, ability to avoid injury, and ability to adapt to new offensive systems are talents as well.

I'm not a Karl Malone fan, but the fact is that he was one of the most consistantly in-shape and physically-fit players to ever play on an NBA team, so don't give me that crap about how he's less talented if he got injured.

[namkcuR]

Originally posted by Hewson
Don't underestimate Ron Jeremy's coaching prowess.

Um...who is that?

[Hewson]

Originally posted by namkcuR


Um...who is that?

Miami's head coach

[namkcuR]

Originally posted by Hewson
Miami's head coach

Um...Miami's head coach is Stan Van Gundy.

[speedracer]

Originally posted by namkcuR


I'm not a Karl Malone fan, but the fact is that he was one of the most consistantly in-shape and physically-fit players to ever play on an NBA team, so don't give me that crap about how he's less talented if he got injured.

Well, one can't fault Malone (or Payton) for getting old, but a sad fact of life is that one's body does break down over time. Yes, this does mean that one's athletic talent dwindles once one gets sufficiently old. (And we're not just talking about avoiding injury -- we're talking about quickness, explosiveness, stamina, etc.)

While Malone and Payton were certainly stellar players for a long time in the NBA, the fact remains that all the factors that I have mentioned greatly diminished their worth to the Lakers.

[Hewson]

Originally posted by namkcuR


Um...Miami's head coach is Stan Van Gundy.

You need to find 2 things...a picture of pornstar Ron Jeremy aka the hedgehog, and a sense of humor, then maybe you'll see what I'm talking about.

[roy keane]

Never thought of that but Van Gunde realy resembels Ron very much.They have another thing in common.What Ron does to his partners Stan does that to his opponents and both are very impressive.They play it hard.

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Originally posted by Hewson
You need to find 2 things...a picture of pornstar Ron Jeremy aka the hedgehog, and a sense of humor, then maybe you'll see what I'm talking about.

zing!

3 degrees of seperation... stan van gundy played college basketball for SUNY Brockport, who's oh so illustrius list of former players includes headache in a suitcase, who is from long island, where ron jeremy was born and raised. i win.

by the end of that cluster-F of a series the lakers were starting devon george and slava medvedenko... malone was a complete non factor in the series, barely played in games 3 and 4 and was in civi's for game 5. he couldn't jump. not like he was ever shawn kemp in his prime, but we're talking here about a 6'8" guy who could not dunk because of the pain in his knee. 6'8". i'm 6'3" and 30 pounds overweight and i can still dunk. he's a 6'8" high quality athlete, and he was in too much pain to even attempt it. that should tell you about what malone's worth was.

gary payton has been done for 3 years, he just doesn't realize it.

i can throw bill russell and walt clyde frazier out on the court right now and claim to have a bunch of hall of famers on my team, it doesn't mean they can still play.

last year's lakers ran into a perfect combo of age, injury and selfishness... did they have more talent than this year's heat? i imagine you could argue that yes, on paper, they did. but if we want to use the ole "on paper" argument, the lakers had more talent than the pistons, too. and as we know, on paper means shit.

can the pistons beat the heat, even with a healthy shaq? yes. anything can be done. in a year that's seen a 50-1 shot and a 71-1 shot finish 1-2 in the derby, phil mickleson finally win a major, roy williams win a championship and the red sox win the world series... you really can't say that something is impossiable anymore. but would i bet on it? ummmm nooo. not even a penny. not even your penny.

fortunatly enough, shaq is hurt. no one's really quite sure how hurt he is. so frankly, for the pistons sake, they should really want to close out the pacers tonight (who, btw, would probably be winning this series if they had ron artest) so as not to give shaq any more time to rest.

now is kobe bryant better than dwayne wade? yes... as much as i hate kobe, you have to say that, if only on reputation alone. but wade is certainly no slouch himself. and the difference maker is that wade is not going to launch 30 outside, fall away jumpers per game like kobe did last year. completely different type of player. the same defensive game plan that larry brown used last year... i.e. we're not stopping shaq anyway so let him get his and put all the pressure on kobe, who's just gonna chuck it up despite being triple teamed anyway... won't work.

and finally... back to the "lakers had more talent than the heat" thing... i believe we should heed the example of the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. it's not about how many hall of famers you have... how many superstars are on the court. it's about having players to compliment your stars. who did the bulls have after jordan and pippen? ron harper? steve kerr? bj armstrong? bill wennington? will purdue? luc longley? jon paxson? horace grant? bill cartwright? come on... not exactly hall of fame material there. dennis rodman... a "superstar" by name and potential hall of famer, worked so well because he filled a role and a need. he was a star, yes... but the reality was he was simply the ultimate role player. the heat's players compliment their two stars perfectly... with a dominating x-factor in alonzo mourning, who can come in and be the old alonzo for 15-20 minutes a game... just enough to give shaq the rest he needs. last year's laker team did not have this. shaq, udonis haslem, alonzo mourning, michael doleac & christian lattener is vastly superior to shaq, slava medvedenko and brian shaw. karl malone was so hurt and ineffective, i won't even include him. he was an absolute shell of his former self.


but it all rests on shaq... if shaq can't go, or if shaq is severly limited... the pistons will win. if he's healthy, miami wins.

[namkcuR]

Pistons won tonight, taking the series 4-2 vs Indiana.

Reggie Miller got a multi-minute standing ovation when he sat down for the last time.

That makes it official:

2005 Eastern Conference Finals

(1)Miami Heat vs (2)Detroit Pistons

Let the record show that Headache picks the Heat to win and that I pick the Pistons to win.

Good luck to all.

[diamond]

Even with his stupid hair, this kid has earned my respect after last night's performance. : old pic..

He does have mad game, a little sloppy but, still mad game.





He won me over, on to the Western Conf Finals where real B-Ball is played. :

db9

[U2@NYC]

Go Spurs! Go Manu!

[diamond]

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Originally posted by namkcuR
Pistons won tonight, taking the series 4-2 vs Indiana.

Reggie Miller got a multi-minute standing ovation when he sat down for the last time.

That makes it official:

2005 Eastern Conference Finals

(1)Miami Heat vs (2)Detroit Pistons

Let the record show that Headache picks the Heat to win and that I pick the Pistons to win.

Good luck to all.

let the record show that Headache picks the Heat to win if Shaq is healthy... without him the Heat are useless. With him, they beat up on the pistons.

now we know shaq isn't 100%, and won't be probably until after the playoffs... so if detroit really is as good as the same experts who said they sucked before they ran into the kobe train last june say they are, they should have no problems what-so-ever getting past the Heat...

i shall be watching quite closely...

if shaq can put up 20 & 10, the heat will win the series.

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Originally posted by Hewson
More and more I'm starting to side with Ron Artest...Allen Iverson hit with a coin thrown by a Detroit knucklehead Tuesday night. Fortunately the igno was caught and faces a possible 90 days in jail and $500 fine (thats 2000 quarters buddy).

They should force the Pissed-ons to play their home games in an empty arena. Maybe if the Pissed-ons forfeited the next game where one of their "fans" throws something at an opposing player, the morons in the Motor City would start to smarten up.

i wonder if anyone will try to throw something at shaq...

[Hewson]

Game 1, Tayshaun Princess made Dwayne Wade Boggs look a lot like Koberapist...7 for 25.
Shaq got 20, but only 5 boards and the Heat got stomped.

[speedracer]

Props also to Rashweed Wallace, who played solid defense all game and scored 20.

[Headache in a Suitcase]

rashweed's the only pissed-on i actually like... i'm a fan of crazy.

shaq's leg is bad... i don't want to hear a thing about how he scored 20 points... he had 8 of those points in the first 5 minutes of the game and was effectively a non factor from that point on. he couldn't rebound. he's shaq, and he can't rebound. he's useless. they should bring him off the bench and hope they can get enough out of alonzo... who you could tell was major league pissed off at the calls the pistons were getting last night. the pistons have been getting those calls all year. they push off on every single offensive possession and they hammer people on defense. so does shaq when he's healthy. you either adjust to it or quit your bitching. when you whine about it, you accomplish nothing, and you get to wear a special skirt from the tony dungy clothing line. i also think doleac and lattener should play... for two reasons. a) to give one thigh man and one kidney man even more rest... and b) to draw out the pistons defense. both doleac and lattener have above average jumpers for big men. having them in the game could draw ben wallace out of the lane, helping wade and dooling get to the basket easier.

eddie jones quietly kept the Heat in the game. check those stats... 22 and 8, 9 of 13 from the floor, 3 of 4 from downtown. took nothing but good shots off ball reversals. he could be key as this series moves along.

the heat made their big run to get back in the game when dwayne "kobe junior" wade was on the bench. dwayne needs to realize, and realize fast, that the pistons defense is too long for him to take the kind of shots he was taking. when he was on the bench, the heat swung the ball, rather than watch wade go one-on-one, which is impossiable against this team. they swung the ball, and low and behold, got shots... 'cause as everyone who's ever played the game knows, good, clean, crisp ball movement will beat any defense... it's simple physics. the ball moves faster than the player does. you move the ball well, someone will get open... doesn't mean you'll hit the shot, and a good defensive team like detroit will close out well on the open man and not allow for second chance opportunities... but the shots will be there. trying to take on tayshaun prince, ben & rashweed wallace one-on-one is simply a practice in futility.

now all that being said... the heat played like garbage... and it was still a 3 point game with 1:30 left (oh and by the way.... if udonis haslem ever takes a 15 foot jumper off a pick-and-roll in crunch time again, he should be permanently shackled to the bench... that is not the shot you need at that point... at home, with a team on the ropes that also hasn't been able to score in 5 minutes. you need to work the ball a little... anyhoo).

the heat played like shit, and it was still a one possesion game with under 2 minutes to go. if shaq isn't healthy... which he obviously isn't, and won't be until he gets a good month of rest... which he can't until their season ends... thus then... yea... the western conference winner will smoke whoever wins this series... and with a severly limited shaq, you'd have to assume the pistons will win...

...and on to those pistons... they again proved that they can't score. especially ben wallace. if their offense for the rest of this series revolves around rasheed banging 4 of 6 from down town and prince posting up, they actually are going to put themselves in a position to lose a series that frankly, with shaq the way he is, they shouldn't lose. wade won't play this horrificly bad again, and sheed isn't going to go nuts from downtown again. add a few to wade and subtract a few from rasheed, and all of a sudden the heat are in the lead with 1:30 to go, not detroit.

carlos "don't call me bronson" arroyo had 7 assists in 10 minutes. chauncey "i managed to do absolutley nothing in this game and still end up with 18 points" billups had 5 assits in 46 minutes. detroit's putrid offense runs better with arroyo on the floor... he actually swings the ball. god forbid.

if i were larry brown, i'd be bald. also... i would play ben wallace less and play antonio mcdyess a hell of a lot more. shaq can't rebound and he can't play defense... but if he's guarding ben wallace, he doesn't have to play defense. he can just patrol the lane and block a few shots and make himself a factor when he shouldn't be. if you put mcdyess on the floor, shaq has to guard him. i don't know how long mcdyess' knee can last, but if he can go 25-30 minutes a game... screw ben "i'm the most over-rated player in the nba" wallace. make shaq play defense, and he'll have to come out of the game. period. his leg is just that bad.

right now, unless zen master phil stops by and puts some voo doo east african healing cream, courtesy of barry bonds, on shaq's thigh to make him, oh i don't know, be able to get more than half his career playoff rebounding average... i see detroit winning this in 6... in a series that looks very similar to the indiana one.

shaq having a miraculous recovery aside, if detroit loses this series they should be banned from the league.