I believe this poll covers all possible combinations of outcomes:
Showing posts with label LA Lakers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LA Lakers. Show all posts
02 April 2010
Your Daily Photo (Go Lakers and Things You Might Also See at the Obama Library Edition)
Hopefully, Pres. Obama's future museum will have a few of these on display as well (he's already received one signed ball from the LA Lakers, why not a few more?).
05 February 2010
07 October 2009
Lakers Chat, Part 2010: The Artestening . . .
The Lakers kick off their title defense with a pre-season match-up against Golden State from the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Last year about this time, I predicted that the Lakers would rattle off 30 straight victories to start the season and not have any losses in the 2008 portion of the 2008-9 season. That may have been a bit optimistic, but looking back on those games, they had only lost 5 by that date, and only the Detroit game was one that they didn't have a chance to win in the fourth quarter.
Things worked out, though, they didn't set any regular season records (except for most wins by a team that had no win streaks of greater than seven games, but that's a pretty obscure record, and was a testament to both their consistency, and their inconsistency throughout both the season and the playoffs), but they did win what mattered, the championship.
This year, they are a bit of a mystery. They've made some big changes to their core rotation, and until they play together, there's no way to know if they've improved on a 65 win, championship team, or if the returning players are a year older and a bit too satisfied, and if their new player is too volatile to be helpful when it counts.
Stuff like this (from this SI article), isn't encouraging
The photo shoot is understandable (just click and check it out, if you are chatting up a stunning model while hanging out in a hotel lobby, you'd probably find a credible excuse to get you and her semi-clothed, as well), the rest is Artest being Artest.
For a championship team, with all but Ariza returning, and his replacement of Artest being an upgrade (at least on paper), the Lakers should be without question the favorite to become the first team since the Lakers "Threepeat" team to win back to back championships.
But Artest is Artest, and unless Farmar or Brown make a huge leap this season, the Lakers are very weak at point guard. Kobe is a year older and despite only being 31 has played an insane amount of competitive basketball the past two years, he played all 82 the past two seasons, plus 23 playoff games in 08 and 21 games in 09, plus the Olympics. Odom's colorful off season (between the contract negotiations and the sudden marriage) might effect him on the court, given that he's always been a bit moody and inconsistent, all that's gone on isn't likely to help matters. Gasol played international ball again this summer, so he's logged a lot of minutes over the past few years (like Kobe), but if Bynum steps up and stays healthy, that takes a lot of pressure off him. The role players need to be consistent so that the starters can play lighter minutes in the regular season, last year they started great, and each had some major slumps at different times during the season.
All that said, they could open the season winning every game leading up to their Christmas battle against Cleveland, or they could struggle to a 17-10 start. They start the season with only four road games in their first 21 games, with only two sets of back to back games, so they again have a solid opportunity to have the longest unbeaten streak to begin a season (the number to surpass is 15 wins by the 93-94 Rockets, and the 48-49 Washington Capitols), or they might drop their opening night game against the not so lowly anymore Clippers.
Preseason might give some answers as to where they are as a team, but on paper, this team could challenge the 72 wins put up by the 95-96 Bulls, at the very least they are (barring injuries) a lock to win at least 60 this year.
And as a reminder to how successful the Lakers franchise has been, if they make another Finals this year (and they are solid favorites to win the Western Conference), that'd make 31 Finals in 62 years of NBA basketball.
Last year about this time, I predicted that the Lakers would rattle off 30 straight victories to start the season and not have any losses in the 2008 portion of the 2008-9 season. That may have been a bit optimistic, but looking back on those games, they had only lost 5 by that date, and only the Detroit game was one that they didn't have a chance to win in the fourth quarter.
Things worked out, though, they didn't set any regular season records (except for most wins by a team that had no win streaks of greater than seven games, but that's a pretty obscure record, and was a testament to both their consistency, and their inconsistency throughout both the season and the playoffs), but they did win what mattered, the championship.
This year, they are a bit of a mystery. They've made some big changes to their core rotation, and until they play together, there's no way to know if they've improved on a 65 win, championship team, or if the returning players are a year older and a bit too satisfied, and if their new player is too volatile to be helpful when it counts.
Stuff like this (from this SI article), isn't encouraging
Artest, 29, may be one of the league's most well-known players, but he often carries himself like a struggling rapper trying to make a name for himself with a grassroots marketing campaign and a penchant for saying yes to just about anything. Just weeks before the season he was on TV raising money for the Hasidic Jewish movement Chabad-Lubavitch, volunteering at an Iranian basketball camp, walking dogs at an animal shelter and taking some of his Twitter followers to a WNBA game, breakfast and bowling. Every time you turned around Artest was at another event, one more random than the next.
He seems to have made a point to win over Los Angeles one Lakers fan at time, though he doesn't exactly see it like that. "These things that I do aren't for anything. They have no purpose," Artest said. "I'm not promoting anything or selling nothing. I just want to have fun and meet my fans."
There are many things that Artest does that have no purpose. For example, for an interview with SI.com the other day, Artest hired Natalin Avci, a 23-year-old Turkish model he had met recently in a hotel lobby, and a camera crew for a photo shoot for the heck of it. "The only purpose is to have fun," Artest said.
The photo shoot is understandable (just click and check it out, if you are chatting up a stunning model while hanging out in a hotel lobby, you'd probably find a credible excuse to get you and her semi-clothed, as well), the rest is Artest being Artest.
For a championship team, with all but Ariza returning, and his replacement of Artest being an upgrade (at least on paper), the Lakers should be without question the favorite to become the first team since the Lakers "Threepeat" team to win back to back championships.
But Artest is Artest, and unless Farmar or Brown make a huge leap this season, the Lakers are very weak at point guard. Kobe is a year older and despite only being 31 has played an insane amount of competitive basketball the past two years, he played all 82 the past two seasons, plus 23 playoff games in 08 and 21 games in 09, plus the Olympics. Odom's colorful off season (between the contract negotiations and the sudden marriage) might effect him on the court, given that he's always been a bit moody and inconsistent, all that's gone on isn't likely to help matters. Gasol played international ball again this summer, so he's logged a lot of minutes over the past few years (like Kobe), but if Bynum steps up and stays healthy, that takes a lot of pressure off him. The role players need to be consistent so that the starters can play lighter minutes in the regular season, last year they started great, and each had some major slumps at different times during the season.
All that said, they could open the season winning every game leading up to their Christmas battle against Cleveland, or they could struggle to a 17-10 start. They start the season with only four road games in their first 21 games, with only two sets of back to back games, so they again have a solid opportunity to have the longest unbeaten streak to begin a season (the number to surpass is 15 wins by the 93-94 Rockets, and the 48-49 Washington Capitols), or they might drop their opening night game against the not so lowly anymore Clippers.
Preseason might give some answers as to where they are as a team, but on paper, this team could challenge the 72 wins put up by the 95-96 Bulls, at the very least they are (barring injuries) a lock to win at least 60 this year.
And as a reminder to how successful the Lakers franchise has been, if they make another Finals this year (and they are solid favorites to win the Western Conference), that'd make 31 Finals in 62 years of NBA basketball.
07 April 2009
I Suppose There Are Worse Reasons For Picking Which College You Attend . . .
from Lakers.com Basketblog's mini-mailbag today:
(notice, the question wasn't answered)
And Andrew, embrace your impending Anteater-ness, Kobe or no Kobe.
Zot!
Q: I was recently accepted to UCI and I enrolled, to be honest, the only reason I applied is because I heard rumors that Kobe works out there in the summer. I was wondering if there is any truth to that rumor or did I throw away four years of my life?
- Andrew, Anaheim, CA
MT: This is easily my favorite question of the year, and perhaps in my young sports career. I’m going to have to think about it before we get to the big Mailbag, Andrew. But thanks, that’s fantastic.
(notice, the question wasn't answered)
And Andrew, embrace your impending Anteater-ness, Kobe or no Kobe.
Zot!
04 February 2009
You Really Expect Us to Believe That Line of Crap?
"I don't go out there for the numbers, I just play my game," James said. "You guys seen every phase of my game tonight, the scoring, the rebounding, the assists and defensively just trying to attack the opposing team.
Yeah, sure, Kobe dropping 61 the
And yeah, LeBron James is a lock for MVP this season, his game has been out of this world, and even if Kobe carries the Lakers the rest of the regular season without Bynum and puts up crazy numbers, LeBron is still the MVP.
Sunday's game on ABC between the Lakers and Cleveland ought to be fun.
UPDATE: Edited to reflect the fact that Kobe's performance was from the previous game at MSG, and not the previous night, same difference.
12 November 2008
Lakers Chat, Part 6-0 Going on 7-0 (The Hornets Are Really Good, and This Is Going to be a Tough Game Edition)
Lakers continue to roll, sort of, they gave up 60 points in the first half against Dallas, and didn't take the lead again until late in the 4th quarter. They prevailed, though, and their biggest test of the early season is tonight.
2nd night of a back to back, in New Orleans, against most people's pick as the 2nd best team in the Western Conference, if they get past this game, then they have a serious shot at least matching the record of 15-0 starting a season.
Trevor Ariza continues to play amazing basketball, there was a sequence in the 4th where he stole the ball, almost got trapped, recovered, and then threw down a monster slam. It was a thing of beauty. The Lakers have two serious contenders for 6th Man of the Year honors in Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza. Both these guys make big contributions and I doubt there's any other non-starter more talented than either of these players. Right now, their play is matching their talent (except for Trevor's free throw shooting, his percentage from the foul line is barely better than his percentage behind the three point line, that ain't right). If the Lakers bench continues to pour in better than 40 points a contest, all my insane optimism won't be misplaced.
2nd night of a back to back, in New Orleans, against most people's pick as the 2nd best team in the Western Conference, if they get past this game, then they have a serious shot at least matching the record of 15-0 starting a season.
Trevor Ariza continues to play amazing basketball, there was a sequence in the 4th where he stole the ball, almost got trapped, recovered, and then threw down a monster slam. It was a thing of beauty. The Lakers have two serious contenders for 6th Man of the Year honors in Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza. Both these guys make big contributions and I doubt there's any other non-starter more talented than either of these players. Right now, their play is matching their talent (except for Trevor's free throw shooting, his percentage from the foul line is barely better than his percentage behind the three point line, that ain't right). If the Lakers bench continues to pour in better than 40 points a contest, all my insane optimism won't be misplaced.
11 November 2008
Lakers Chat Part 5-0 Going on 6-0 (The Mavericks Don't Have a Chance Edition)
Another night, another Lakers probable victory. Everything is sweetness and light in Lakerland at the moment. Dr. Buss was interviewed in yesterday's LAT, and he says some interesting things.
Mainly, he's happy, he'll spend the money it takes to keep this going, he's pleased with the kids working for the Lakers. Jeannie's doing great with the business side (and keeping Phil happy, presumably), and Jim is doing well with the basketball operations.
The next two nights will help either prove the Lakers just to be a good team with a shot at this year's championship, or if they continue on their roll and kill both Dallas and New Orleans, then all my crazy optimism about how they'll complete 2008 without a loss will seem a little less crazy.
Mainly, he's happy, he'll spend the money it takes to keep this going, he's pleased with the kids working for the Lakers. Jeannie's doing great with the business side (and keeping Phil happy, presumably), and Jim is doing well with the basketball operations.
The next two nights will help either prove the Lakers just to be a good team with a shot at this year's championship, or if they continue on their roll and kill both Dallas and New Orleans, then all my crazy optimism about how they'll complete 2008 without a loss will seem a little less crazy.
10 November 2008
Getting Paid by the Comment (Marc Stein Edition)
I'm guessing that Marc Stein gets a little bonus based on the number of comments generated from his posts.
How else can you explain elevating the Boston Celtics over the Los Angeles Lakers in this week's Power Rankings over at ESPN.com?
Laker fans and Laker haters are fighting it out in the comments, and by the end of the day I predict at least 1000 comments to turn up on this one. It's a good strategy, comments drive traffic, and they drive multiple visits over a day and a week as people make a comment, then obsess over responses to their comments, then respond to the responses to their comments, and so on.
More eyeballs to see their ads, so the big winner is the US Army who sponsor ESPN's NBA Power Rankings, so do your patriotic duty, and comment away.
(for the record, I understand his reasoning, even if I don't agree with it, and I suspect some east coast bias is at work, given that I doubt he's seen how the Lakers have accomplished their whopping 22.4 ppg win margin in their first five games, and he's probably just assuming it was done against weaker competition)
How else can you explain elevating the Boston Celtics over the Los Angeles Lakers in this week's Power Rankings over at ESPN.com?
Laker fans and Laker haters are fighting it out in the comments, and by the end of the day I predict at least 1000 comments to turn up on this one. It's a good strategy, comments drive traffic, and they drive multiple visits over a day and a week as people make a comment, then obsess over responses to their comments, then respond to the responses to their comments, and so on.
More eyeballs to see their ads, so the big winner is the US Army who sponsor ESPN's NBA Power Rankings, so do your patriotic duty, and comment away.
(for the record, I understand his reasoning, even if I don't agree with it, and I suspect some east coast bias is at work, given that I doubt he's seen how the Lakers have accomplished their whopping 22.4 ppg win margin in their first five games, and he's probably just assuming it was done against weaker competition)
09 November 2008
Lakers Chat, Part 4-0 Going on 5-0 (The Now It Gets Tough Edition)
The LA Lakers have had serious shooting woes, but their insanely active defense has prevented them from being defeated (Kevin Pelton at Basketball Prospectus breaks it down in detail on this post).
When the Lakers play with the line up of Bynum, Odom and Bryant in the front court with Ariza and Farmar in the back court, they have by far the quickest line up in the NBA, but rather than focusing on fastbreak points, this line up focuses on defense. They double the ball handler agressively, usually leaving someone on the weak side open, but so far teams haven't been able to pass out of the double teams fast enough to exploit the opening, instead teams hoist up bad shots or turn the ball over. It's a huge improvement over their defensive performance last year, and their stats in their first four games have been outstanding (average margin of victory so far 20.8 points).
This week is their most difficult weak in the remaining calendar year. If they get past the next four games, then they will have a legitimate shot at finishing 2008 undefeated. Tonight they host Houston, a team that might be able to handle the Laker's quick team, and if the Lakers continue to shoot around 44% from the field, they'll have big trouble beating the Rockets. After that they have back to back road games on Tuesday and Wednesday in Dallas and New Orleans, then they come home on Friday to face Detroit. That's a big change of pace from playing one game in eight days last week (and that one game, hosting the Clippers, who were playing well and challenged the Lakers until 7:58 left in the 4th quarter when the Lakers went on a 22-0 run). The Detroit game is the late ESPN game on Friday night, so don't pretend you have something better to do, and catch this game, you'll see the new look, AI-enhanced Pistons, and you'll get a chance to see for yourself the changes the Lakers have made in their defensive approach in the 2008-9 season compared to last year's team.
When the Lakers play with the line up of Bynum, Odom and Bryant in the front court with Ariza and Farmar in the back court, they have by far the quickest line up in the NBA, but rather than focusing on fastbreak points, this line up focuses on defense. They double the ball handler agressively, usually leaving someone on the weak side open, but so far teams haven't been able to pass out of the double teams fast enough to exploit the opening, instead teams hoist up bad shots or turn the ball over. It's a huge improvement over their defensive performance last year, and their stats in their first four games have been outstanding (average margin of victory so far 20.8 points).
This week is their most difficult weak in the remaining calendar year. If they get past the next four games, then they will have a legitimate shot at finishing 2008 undefeated. Tonight they host Houston, a team that might be able to handle the Laker's quick team, and if the Lakers continue to shoot around 44% from the field, they'll have big trouble beating the Rockets. After that they have back to back road games on Tuesday and Wednesday in Dallas and New Orleans, then they come home on Friday to face Detroit. That's a big change of pace from playing one game in eight days last week (and that one game, hosting the Clippers, who were playing well and challenged the Lakers until 7:58 left in the 4th quarter when the Lakers went on a 22-0 run). The Detroit game is the late ESPN game on Friday night, so don't pretend you have something better to do, and catch this game, you'll see the new look, AI-enhanced Pistons, and you'll get a chance to see for yourself the changes the Lakers have made in their defensive approach in the 2008-9 season compared to last year's team.
05 November 2008
Lakers Chat, Part 3-0 Going For 4-0 (It's Practically a Guaranteed Victory, They're Hosting the Clippers)
You are getting Lakers Chat before each expected victory whether you like it or not. They've got a long way to go before they break Houston's record of 15-0 to start a season, and they have an eternity in NBA terms before they get close to my earlier prediction that they could go undefeated in the remainder of the 2008 calendar year, but with all that said, they look very solid, and capable of beating any team, any night, under any conditions.
Their first two games they were outstanding, combining efficiency on offense with a devastating defense to defeat Portland and the Clippers by a combined 58 points. In some ways their 3rd victory against Denver was more impressive. Nothing was going right offensively, and their defense was poor, but they still were able to shut down Denver in the 4th quarter and they escaped with a 7 point victory in their first real road game. Being able to beat a decent team on the road when you shoot a lousy 37.9% from the field is a strong indicator that this is not only a good team, not only the team that looks like the best team in the league at the moment, but also has the potential to be an historically good team if everything clicks in place.
Putting Odom with the 2nd unit has been a brilliant choice so far, and the real star of the first three games for the Lakers hasn't been Kobe, or Bynum, or Gasol, but instead, it's been Trevor Ariza. His energy and explosiveness on offense coupled with solid defense (which is likely to only get better as the season goes on) has helped Kobe spend more time on the bench, and helped the 2nd unit for the Lakers slaughter each opponents bench. Opposing coaches have a rough decision to make when playing the Lakers, leave in your starters and watch the Lakers 2nd unit run rings around them as they tire, or put in your own 2nd unit, and watch as a far more skilled Lakers bench pick them apart.
The Lakers can beat teams even when they don't play their best, to lose, the Lakers have to underperform, and at the same time their opponent has to put forth their best possible game. I don't expect that to happen against them that often, and there are a bunch of regular season records that this team will challenge as the season drags on (assuming they all stay healthy, they can survive injuries and still be a 60 win team, but to be a 70 or 75 win team, they need to not only be absurdly talented, which they are, but also lucky enough to avoid injuries to key players through all 82 games).
The Clippers have the honor of being the Lakers only opponent this week, odd schedule for the Lakers, and they'll need the rest since their facing some good teams next week.
Their first two games they were outstanding, combining efficiency on offense with a devastating defense to defeat Portland and the Clippers by a combined 58 points. In some ways their 3rd victory against Denver was more impressive. Nothing was going right offensively, and their defense was poor, but they still were able to shut down Denver in the 4th quarter and they escaped with a 7 point victory in their first real road game. Being able to beat a decent team on the road when you shoot a lousy 37.9% from the field is a strong indicator that this is not only a good team, not only the team that looks like the best team in the league at the moment, but also has the potential to be an historically good team if everything clicks in place.
Putting Odom with the 2nd unit has been a brilliant choice so far, and the real star of the first three games for the Lakers hasn't been Kobe, or Bynum, or Gasol, but instead, it's been Trevor Ariza. His energy and explosiveness on offense coupled with solid defense (which is likely to only get better as the season goes on) has helped Kobe spend more time on the bench, and helped the 2nd unit for the Lakers slaughter each opponents bench. Opposing coaches have a rough decision to make when playing the Lakers, leave in your starters and watch the Lakers 2nd unit run rings around them as they tire, or put in your own 2nd unit, and watch as a far more skilled Lakers bench pick them apart.
The Lakers can beat teams even when they don't play their best, to lose, the Lakers have to underperform, and at the same time their opponent has to put forth their best possible game. I don't expect that to happen against them that often, and there are a bunch of regular season records that this team will challenge as the season drags on (assuming they all stay healthy, they can survive injuries and still be a 60 win team, but to be a 70 or 75 win team, they need to not only be absurdly talented, which they are, but also lucky enough to avoid injuries to key players through all 82 games).
The Clippers have the honor of being the Lakers only opponent this week, odd schedule for the Lakers, and they'll need the rest since their facing some good teams next week.
01 October 2008
Lakers Chat, Part Infinity, Insanely Optimistic BLOGTOBER Edition
Is it NBA time already? Almost, the Lakers play two exhibition games this week, and are in day 2 of training camp. Bynum claims to feel fine, a lot rests on his repaired knee and Kobe's torn pinkie ligament.
They should be better than last year, but even being better than the runners-up might not be enough to get them back to the Finals cause other teams in the Western Conference have also improved.
John Hollinger at ESPN isn't sold on them, but he does think they are the 2nd best team in the West (to Utah). I think they should come out strong, they only have 4 games away from Staples in their first 15, so a fast start is expected, and is a must. Wouldn't be surprised to see them make it to 15-0 by the end of November, and who knows, 30-0 through December 31st isn't outside the realm of possibility for this team if everything clicks in place (18-12 is just as possible if they get injuries, or just don't figure out how to handle their new line-ups).
So, I'm going to err on the side of optimism and say that this Lakers team won't lose a game in 2008, and will have an NBA record season starting 30 game win streak (obliterating the old 15-0 mark shared by 48-49 Washington Capitols and the 93-94 Houston Rockets) going into their Jan 2nd match-up against Utah at Staples (where they will sadly, suffer their first defeat, missing out on the all time best 33 win streak mark set by the 71-72 Lakers, but they'll rebound to set a 40-1 mark in their first 41 games to break the half season record shared by those same Lakers and the Jackson coached 95-96 Chicago Bulls).
That's a prediction you can take to the bank, and I'll back that prediction with the same level of certainty and same kind of guarantee that the federal government did with Fannie and Freddie.
They should be better than last year, but even being better than the runners-up might not be enough to get them back to the Finals cause other teams in the Western Conference have also improved.
John Hollinger at ESPN isn't sold on them, but he does think they are the 2nd best team in the West (to Utah). I think they should come out strong, they only have 4 games away from Staples in their first 15, so a fast start is expected, and is a must. Wouldn't be surprised to see them make it to 15-0 by the end of November, and who knows, 30-0 through December 31st isn't outside the realm of possibility for this team if everything clicks in place (18-12 is just as possible if they get injuries, or just don't figure out how to handle their new line-ups).
So, I'm going to err on the side of optimism and say that this Lakers team won't lose a game in 2008, and will have an NBA record season starting 30 game win streak (obliterating the old 15-0 mark shared by 48-49 Washington Capitols and the 93-94 Houston Rockets) going into their Jan 2nd match-up against Utah at Staples (where they will sadly, suffer their first defeat, missing out on the all time best 33 win streak mark set by the 71-72 Lakers, but they'll rebound to set a 40-1 mark in their first 41 games to break the half season record shared by those same Lakers and the Jackson coached 95-96 Chicago Bulls).
That's a prediction you can take to the bank, and I'll back that prediction with the same level of certainty and same kind of guarantee that the federal government did with Fannie and Freddie.
11 June 2008
Laker Chat: Part Phew! . . .
The Lakers (except for Kobe and Sasha) couldn't score, couldn't get in a flow, and played poorly. But they won anyway (highlights here from this herky-jerky game).
Here's a little quatrain inspired by Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom's performances in this series so far . . .
OK, so this poem wasn't written about the Lakers front line, but I wish, I wish, they'd (or at least the version in these first three games) stay away. Odom has let foul trouble plague him in this series, and Gasol just gets pushed around like a ragdoll. Odom will have to play smarter, and Gasol will have to play tougher, if they do that, the Lakers will have no problem winning 3 more games against this Celtics team.
Having Kobe guard Rondo was an excellent adjustment by Jackson, and helped improve the Lakers defense by a huge factor. Kobe could sag off of the unable to shoot Rondo and roam as a help defender. That help defense lead to horrendous shooting by Garnett and Pierce, Allen shot well, but that wasn't enough for the Cs.
Now we'll see what adjustments Doc Rivers makes to the adjustments made by Phil Jackson. Putting Eddie House out there for big chunks of minutes seems to be the answer he came up with, but House didn't shoot like he was supposed to, so that backfired.
(bet you didn't expect a Hughes Mearns reference in an NBA post, did ya?)
Here's a little quatrain inspired by Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom's performances in this series so far . . .
As I was going up the stair
I saw a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
I wish, I wish, he’d stay away.
OK, so this poem wasn't written about the Lakers front line, but I wish, I wish, they'd (or at least the version in these first three games) stay away. Odom has let foul trouble plague him in this series, and Gasol just gets pushed around like a ragdoll. Odom will have to play smarter, and Gasol will have to play tougher, if they do that, the Lakers will have no problem winning 3 more games against this Celtics team.
Having Kobe guard Rondo was an excellent adjustment by Jackson, and helped improve the Lakers defense by a huge factor. Kobe could sag off of the unable to shoot Rondo and roam as a help defender. That help defense lead to horrendous shooting by Garnett and Pierce, Allen shot well, but that wasn't enough for the Cs.
Now we'll see what adjustments Doc Rivers makes to the adjustments made by Phil Jackson. Putting Eddie House out there for big chunks of minutes seems to be the answer he came up with, but House didn't shoot like he was supposed to, so that backfired.
(bet you didn't expect a Hughes Mearns reference in an NBA post, did ya?)
08 June 2008
Laker Chat: More Like These, Please Edition . . .
See above, repeat for 4 quarters on Tuesday, everything will be fine. (also, I doubt it will be 38 free throws for one team and 10 for the other once again)
And yes, of course I agree with Michael Wilbon's assessment in the above clip, this pattern of the home team getting the benefit of the doubt consistently in the NBA Playoffs seems to be worse than ever this run. The Lakers benefitted from, and suffered from, this tendency against Utah, and San Antonio (didn't really matter against Denver), they've been hit by it in Boston, remains to be seen what will happen back at Staples Center starting Tuesday.
But great comeback anyway, they almost erased a 24 point deficit in less than 8 minutes, rather than the Lakers being demoralized, they've given the Celtics something to think about on the flight to Los Angeles. The Lakers have a must win game Tuesday night, if they execute their game for 4 quarters, they'll be down 2-1 instead of 3-0, if they have defensive lapses the way they did in the 2nd and 3rd quarters tonight, they'll be lucky to even see a game five, let alone win the series. Phil Jackson is going to have to earn that 10th ring (if he's going to get it at all), and you still have to like the future for this team over the next few seasons, so if it's not this year, doubt this is the last Finals Jackson will be coaching.
05 June 2008
The Dumbest Story You'll Likely See Relating to This Year's NBA Finals ('aka' God, I Hate Whiny Ass Identity Politics Obsessed Liberals)
To sum up this Slate "Sports Nut" (they have the nut part right) post, 'white refs like white players (and by extension, hate black players).
There's so much stupid in this article, I don't know where to begin. First, it uses its point of departure a ridiculous study that attempts to quantify racial bias in NBA officiating. The study itself is deeply flawed.
Second, sounds like it's just a Boston fan making pre-emptive excuses as to why his team is going to lose this series in 5 games (in summary, they lose tonight, win Sunday, get swept in L.A., Kobe celebrates Father's Day with a 4th ring).
The 'white players' in the NBA are mostly not 'white', but rather European and South American. For the most part, those players play a different type of game than their American counterparts. Maybe the reason that Radmanovic will be called for less fouls in the upcoming series compared to Paul Pierce, isn't because white refs are happy to see a white face on the court, but because he plays an entirely different kind of game. Why not parse the results even farther and apply a 'coffee and cream' filter to the data? Almost white black guys like J-Kidd (a lot of cream in the coffee) compared to very black guys like K. Garnett (no cream, and just a little sugar), who gets the calls, who doesn't? Why not parse the data based on percentage of exposed upper body area covered in tattoos (bet there'd be a tendency to call those players more, too)? Why not parse the data based on years played in the NCAA (bet players with more than 2 years of NCAA experience get called for fewer fouls)?
If you parsed the data as 'International' players versus 'Native-born', bet you'd see nearly the same evidence of bias they found when parsing the data through a racial filter. It's quite possible, given the completely different player development systems that foreign-born players and American players play in as pre-teens and teens that American players are intrinsically more likely to commit fouls than foreign born players. Foreign players have a reputation for being soft (less earned than it used to be), and that reputation might color officials decision making when making a close call (it goes both ways, foreign players may get away with a little extra contact, but given the reputation for flopping, have a hard time drawing charges on defense).
The LA Lakers won't win or lose because they have a lighter skinned regular rotation than the Boston Celtics, they won't win or lose because of the officiating, they will win or lose based on the games both teams put out on the floor.
If both teams played flat out the best they can possibly play for 48 minutes at the same time, I think the edge would go to Boston, given that at their core they have a strong line-up. But there's an ebb and flow in basketball, and the Lakers are better able to survive the times they aren't playing their best, and better able to capitalize on the moments when Boston shows weakness, that's why this is going to be a short series, with only one or two close games.
There's so much stupid in this article, I don't know where to begin. First, it uses its point of departure a ridiculous study that attempts to quantify racial bias in NBA officiating. The study itself is deeply flawed.
Second, sounds like it's just a Boston fan making pre-emptive excuses as to why his team is going to lose this series in 5 games (in summary, they lose tonight, win Sunday, get swept in L.A., Kobe celebrates Father's Day with a 4th ring).
The 'white players' in the NBA are mostly not 'white', but rather European and South American. For the most part, those players play a different type of game than their American counterparts. Maybe the reason that Radmanovic will be called for less fouls in the upcoming series compared to Paul Pierce, isn't because white refs are happy to see a white face on the court, but because he plays an entirely different kind of game. Why not parse the results even farther and apply a 'coffee and cream' filter to the data? Almost white black guys like J-Kidd (a lot of cream in the coffee) compared to very black guys like K. Garnett (no cream, and just a little sugar), who gets the calls, who doesn't? Why not parse the data based on percentage of exposed upper body area covered in tattoos (bet there'd be a tendency to call those players more, too)? Why not parse the data based on years played in the NCAA (bet players with more than 2 years of NCAA experience get called for fewer fouls)?
If you parsed the data as 'International' players versus 'Native-born', bet you'd see nearly the same evidence of bias they found when parsing the data through a racial filter. It's quite possible, given the completely different player development systems that foreign-born players and American players play in as pre-teens and teens that American players are intrinsically more likely to commit fouls than foreign born players. Foreign players have a reputation for being soft (less earned than it used to be), and that reputation might color officials decision making when making a close call (it goes both ways, foreign players may get away with a little extra contact, but given the reputation for flopping, have a hard time drawing charges on defense).
The LA Lakers won't win or lose because they have a lighter skinned regular rotation than the Boston Celtics, they won't win or lose because of the officiating, they will win or lose based on the games both teams put out on the floor.
If both teams played flat out the best they can possibly play for 48 minutes at the same time, I think the edge would go to Boston, given that at their core they have a strong line-up. But there's an ebb and flow in basketball, and the Lakers are better able to survive the times they aren't playing their best, and better able to capitalize on the moments when Boston shows weakness, that's why this is going to be a short series, with only one or two close games.
03 June 2008
Greg Anthony Has Lost His Damn Mind . . .
(imagine post title spoken in a Charles Barkley voice, now watch the clip below)
Anthony towards the end of the clip says the current LA Lakers are the, "best passing team I've seen since the early 70s Knicks".
Sorry, I love the way the Lakers are playing right now, but nah-ah.
Magic era Lakers. Bird era Celtics, mid career Stockton-Malone Jazz, even the Divacs-Webber Sacramento Kings could be placed ahead of the current Lakers team with regards to passing.
Where the Kobe-Odom-Gasol Lakers excel is that the decent passing goes 10 deep. When 2 out of the 3 stars are sitting down (rarely does Jackson sit all three at the same time, usually one of those guys is out with 3 or 4 subs at the beginning of the 2nd and 4th quarters, and the end of the 3rd quarter), the "bench mob" all know how to play well within the triangle and move the ball. Sometimes Walton gets a bit too creative with his passing, Vujacic gets a bit too frenetic and frantic, and Farmar gambles a bit too much defensively, but overall you will not find a better non-starting 4 to combine with one starter than Turiaf, Walton, Vujacic and Farmar. All can pass, all know how to fill the lanes on fastbreaks (which didn't used to be so unusual, but nowadays seems like a miracle), and all can hit a jump shot when needed.
I can buy that this Lakers team is one of the best 9 man rotations the NBA has seen since the 80s or 70s, I can buy that this team has the best non-starting 4 the NBA has seen in awhile, but I'm not buying this as the best passing team since Phil Jackson was a player.
If the Lakers can pay everyone, and getting a healthy Ariza and Bynum next year, the Lakers are a team that has quality players 11 deep, with at least 2 players who can back up the starter at all 5 positions. That's just ridiculous.
Anthony towards the end of the clip says the current LA Lakers are the, "best passing team I've seen since the early 70s Knicks".
Sorry, I love the way the Lakers are playing right now, but nah-ah.
Magic era Lakers. Bird era Celtics, mid career Stockton-Malone Jazz, even the Divacs-Webber Sacramento Kings could be placed ahead of the current Lakers team with regards to passing.
Where the Kobe-Odom-Gasol Lakers excel is that the decent passing goes 10 deep. When 2 out of the 3 stars are sitting down (rarely does Jackson sit all three at the same time, usually one of those guys is out with 3 or 4 subs at the beginning of the 2nd and 4th quarters, and the end of the 3rd quarter), the "bench mob" all know how to play well within the triangle and move the ball. Sometimes Walton gets a bit too creative with his passing, Vujacic gets a bit too frenetic and frantic, and Farmar gambles a bit too much defensively, but overall you will not find a better non-starting 4 to combine with one starter than Turiaf, Walton, Vujacic and Farmar. All can pass, all know how to fill the lanes on fastbreaks (which didn't used to be so unusual, but nowadays seems like a miracle), and all can hit a jump shot when needed.
I can buy that this Lakers team is one of the best 9 man rotations the NBA has seen since the 80s or 70s, I can buy that this team has the best non-starting 4 the NBA has seen in awhile, but I'm not buying this as the best passing team since Phil Jackson was a player.
If the Lakers can pay everyone, and getting a healthy Ariza and Bynum next year, the Lakers are a team that has quality players 11 deep, with at least 2 players who can back up the starter at all 5 positions. That's just ridiculous.
02 June 2008
Blog Announcements . . .
First, noticed the new ads? Hate 'em? Like 'em? Indifferent?
2nd cleaning up a few links, Kareem's isn't really blogging anymore, it's just a site to shill his audiobook, so he's gone, deleted my Unhinged Rants link cause I haven't been posting to that site, added Sundries back in since she IS blogging again, and fixed Tim Blair to point directly to his new home. Also, added my 'Zune Card' which links to my Zune profile and shows what I've listened to recently.
Also, after watching the above "Sunday Conversation" with Kobe last night, I've decided that just like Kobe, I'm going to endeavor to, 'Instill my DNA in my readers'.
(and like Kobe, I find it pretty easy to walk the streets of L.A.)
(and you are getting my DNA whether you want it or not, guess I should put a biohazard warning on this blog)
2nd cleaning up a few links, Kareem's isn't really blogging anymore, it's just a site to shill his audiobook, so he's gone, deleted my Unhinged Rants link cause I haven't been posting to that site, added Sundries back in since she IS blogging again, and fixed Tim Blair to point directly to his new home. Also, added my 'Zune Card' which links to my Zune profile and shows what I've listened to recently.
Also, after watching the above "Sunday Conversation" with Kobe last night, I've decided that just like Kobe, I'm going to endeavor to, 'Instill my DNA in my readers'.
(and like Kobe, I find it pretty easy to walk the streets of L.A.)
(and you are getting my DNA whether you want it or not, guess I should put a biohazard warning on this blog)
30 May 2008
Sure, the Lakers Made it to The NBA Finals, But J.A. Adande Has A REAL Scoop . . .
J.A. Adande has a nice post about the Lakers victory over San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals, but what I really wanted to point you to was this part at the very end,
Kobe Bryant, is a major league Sex and the City fanatic. My world has been turned upside down. If you believe this Evening Standard article (via Drudge), Kobe may end up being the ONLY straight male in the UK, USA, and Canada to willingly venture into a showing of the Sex and the City film this weekend. That's real news right there.
Also, in the TNT post game they mentioned that this will be the 29th(!!!) NBA Finals appearance for the franchise in its 60 year history. So if they make the next two finals after this one (not impossible, though with the development of New Orleans, Utah and the talent in Portland, the West is tough), they'll have made the Finals in half of their years in the NBA. That's what you call a successful franchise.
Bryant, meanwhile, was off to catch a showing of "Sex and the City" at a movie theater that was being held open for him.
Kobe Bryant, is a major league Sex and the City fanatic. My world has been turned upside down. If you believe this Evening Standard article (via Drudge), Kobe may end up being the ONLY straight male in the UK, USA, and Canada to willingly venture into a showing of the Sex and the City film this weekend. That's real news right there.
Also, in the TNT post game they mentioned that this will be the 29th(!!!) NBA Finals appearance for the franchise in its 60 year history. So if they make the next two finals after this one (not impossible, though with the development of New Orleans, Utah and the talent in Portland, the West is tough), they'll have made the Finals in half of their years in the NBA. That's what you call a successful franchise.
28 May 2008
NBA Conference Finals, Humiliating Update . . .
Detroit-Boston are in the middle of game 5 as I type, and the San Antonio-Los Angeles series completed game 4 last night.
I got some things right, and some things wrong with my picks.
In the East, I expected Detroit to steal one in Boston, and they did, and I expected Boston to steal both games in Detroit, and they didn't. Just before halftime looks like my prediction of a 3-2 Boston lead at this point is looking pretty good (but that would mean I was wrong about Detroit winning tonight).
My revised picks for the rest of this series is as follows, homecourt matters. Boston will continue to play well in the second half tonight and win, Detroit will gut out a tough victory in Detroit on Friday, and Boston will manage to win another game seven at home Sunday, but mainly because Chauncy Billups isn't at 100%. David Stern's prayers will be answered, and instead of another ratings killing Detroit-San Antonio finals he gets his dream match-up of Boston-Los Angeles.
In the West, I did better. I picked the victor in each game (though the how was a bit mixed up, did call a 2 point victory in game 4 though, and was only off by 2 points on final total, Kobe didn't go for 50 though), and I expect Los Angeles to wrap up the series tomorrow, just like they're supposed to. The Lakers deserved to lose last night, they mishandled the last 56 seconds and Fisher's foul on Barry could have easily been called, but the Spurs have shown class and maturity by not blaming the refs, and clearly stating that they agreed that no call was the right call in that situation. Ought to keep San Antonio area sports talk guys busy ranting for weeks, if not years, to come.
There's at least five moments in every Laker game where I feel compelled to yell at the screen and admonish Gasol to go up and grab the ball with both hands on rebounds. The Lakers managed to dominate the offensive boards, even with Gasol's weak-sauce technique, but he's going to get eaten up alive on the boards by Garnett or Perkins against Boston. The Odom v Garnett show should be pretty amazing, as will the Pierce v Kobe show. Lakers still have the deeper bench, younger legs, and more potent offense, and they've improved defensively throughout the playoffs, so the team that got blown out twice by Boston in the regular season isn't the team that Boston will be facing in the Finals. Ought to be a good show, but first both teams got to get there, and the Spurs aren't dead yet, if they can win at Staples on Thursday, the young Lakers might start getting a bit nervous, and Detroit won't give up easily, even with a limited Billups, but Lakers-Celtics is still the most likely scenario.
I got some things right, and some things wrong with my picks.
In the East, I expected Detroit to steal one in Boston, and they did, and I expected Boston to steal both games in Detroit, and they didn't. Just before halftime looks like my prediction of a 3-2 Boston lead at this point is looking pretty good (but that would mean I was wrong about Detroit winning tonight).
My revised picks for the rest of this series is as follows, homecourt matters. Boston will continue to play well in the second half tonight and win, Detroit will gut out a tough victory in Detroit on Friday, and Boston will manage to win another game seven at home Sunday, but mainly because Chauncy Billups isn't at 100%. David Stern's prayers will be answered, and instead of another ratings killing Detroit-San Antonio finals he gets his dream match-up of Boston-Los Angeles.
In the West, I did better. I picked the victor in each game (though the how was a bit mixed up, did call a 2 point victory in game 4 though, and was only off by 2 points on final total, Kobe didn't go for 50 though), and I expect Los Angeles to wrap up the series tomorrow, just like they're supposed to. The Lakers deserved to lose last night, they mishandled the last 56 seconds and Fisher's foul on Barry could have easily been called, but the Spurs have shown class and maturity by not blaming the refs, and clearly stating that they agreed that no call was the right call in that situation. Ought to keep San Antonio area sports talk guys busy ranting for weeks, if not years, to come.
There's at least five moments in every Laker game where I feel compelled to yell at the screen and admonish Gasol to go up and grab the ball with both hands on rebounds. The Lakers managed to dominate the offensive boards, even with Gasol's weak-sauce technique, but he's going to get eaten up alive on the boards by Garnett or Perkins against Boston. The Odom v Garnett show should be pretty amazing, as will the Pierce v Kobe show. Lakers still have the deeper bench, younger legs, and more potent offense, and they've improved defensively throughout the playoffs, so the team that got blown out twice by Boston in the regular season isn't the team that Boston will be facing in the Finals. Ought to be a good show, but first both teams got to get there, and the Spurs aren't dead yet, if they can win at Staples on Thursday, the young Lakers might start getting a bit nervous, and Detroit won't give up easily, even with a limited Billups, but Lakers-Celtics is still the most likely scenario.
22 May 2008
Some Timely Rankings . . .
Charles Barkley caused a bit of a hoo-haa by flatly stating (then quickly back-pedalling when Chris Webber freaked out about it) that this current LA Lakers were the best team Kobe's played with. Webber probably still has nightmares about some of those playoff series against the Shaq-Kobe lead teams of 1999-2004, his Sacramento Kings might have made a final or two had the Lakers not been in the way.
But that reminds me how much fun it is to come up with ridiculously biased rankings of things you really shouldn't have an opinion about.
So here you go. 5 lists, at least three will probably make your blood boil.
Top Seven Spielberg Directed Films (that I've bothered seeing)
1) Jaws (still his best work)
2) Raiders of the Lost Ark (I refuse to put Indiana Jones in the title)
3) Schindler's List (by far his best 'serious' work)
4) Empire of the Sun (easily his second best 'serious' work)
5) Catch Me If You Can (Walken, DiCaprio, 60s Jet-Set, sign me up)
6) 1941 (hell yeah, it belongs on this list, that was a funny movie, dammit)
7) The first two-thirds of AI (If it weren't for the last 30 minutes or so, would have been a nearly perfect film)
Bottom Seven Spielberg Directed Films, From Absolute Worst, to Just Plain Bad (that I've bothered seeing)
7) The Terminal (Good lord, so many bad choices, so much schmaltz, such a waste of 2 hours)
6) The Color Purple (I haaaaaaaaate the source material, the film is better than the book, but not by much)
5) All but the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan (Outside of the opening sequence, this is a horrible, predictable, and boring film)
4) Munich (boring, boring, boring, and disgustingly morally relativistic to boot)
3) The Lost World (While the first Jurassic Park wasn't great, it was a good popcorn film, the followup, was just like a big steaming mound of Tyrannosaurus dung)
2) Hook (Seeks to be magical, but mostly it's just a mess, Williams at his most loathesome, and Hoffman at his most actorly, not a good combination for a kiddie picture)
1) The Trial of the Chicago 7 (I'm cheating a bit to put this on the list, given he's just begun shooting, but come on, Borat as Abbie Hoffman?!? You know it's going to be a positive portrayal of those damn dirty yippies (even worse than hippies), so I'm going out on a limb and forming my opinion of this turd before it's even dropped in the pot)
7 Best LA Lakers teams since Magic was a Rookie from 7th to 1st (to build suspense)
7) 2007-08 LA Lakers*** (conditionally, based on the assumption that they will win the championship this year, otherwise insert your favorite Showtime Era team that hasn't made the list in this spot)
6) 1979-80 LA Lakers (Magic's first year, not alot on this team other than Magic and Kareem, but that was enough)
5) 1984-85 LA Lakers (The first LA Lakers team to breakthrough and beat the Celtics, wouldn't be the last though, the rivalry that defined the 80s in the NBA)
4) 1988-89 LA Lakers (Wait, they didn't win the championship, they were even swept in the Finals by Detroit. But there were extenuating circumstances, injuries to Magic and Byron Scott ended what was an impressive undefeated streak in the playoffs, might have had a perfect record in the playoffs that year, but for those injuries, absurd stat from Basketball Reference, EVERY player on this team averaged over ten points per 36 minutes played, that's pretty remarkable)
3) 1999-2000 LA Lakers (The first title season for the Shaq-Kobe teams, not quite playing their best as a team, yet, even though they did compile a 67-15 regular season record, needed a miracle 4th quarter in Portland to make it to the finals)
2) 2000-01 LA Lakers (They were one insanely great performance by Allen Iverson away from having a perfect post season. Had some struggles in the regular season (injuries to Shaq and Kobe), but rolled through the playoffs. Still, you got to love a team that loses only one game in 4 post season series)
1) 1987-88 LA Lakers (A very special team, the last Showtime team to win a championship. Did not dominate in the playoffs, but ironically that's what makes them great. Taken to 7 games by the upstart Jazz (back when Stockton and Malone were young guns) in the 2nd round, again a game seven at home against an excellent Dallas team, and finally, battled a great Detroit Pistons squad in an epic Finals series that should be played on a loop over at ESPN Classics)
Top 5 Reasons to have an HDTV
5) Lost in HD
4) Summer Olympics in HD (mmmmm, Women's Beach Volleyball . . . .)
3) Torchwood in HD
2) NBA in HD
1) NFL in HD
Top 3 Reasons NOT to have an HDTV
3) Simon Cowelll's Erect Nipples in HD (in SD you can't tell his headlights are on through those sweaters, but in HD, it's obvious)
2) All those Damn CSI Shows in HD (seriously, all the pretty montages, are just wankery to make it all look 'cinematic' but it's just boring crap, and it's still boring in high-def)
1) The View in HD ( . . . shudder . . ., seriously at least 60 Minutes has had the sense to not make the switch yet)
But that reminds me how much fun it is to come up with ridiculously biased rankings of things you really shouldn't have an opinion about.
So here you go. 5 lists, at least three will probably make your blood boil.
Top Seven Spielberg Directed Films (that I've bothered seeing)
1) Jaws (still his best work)
2) Raiders of the Lost Ark (I refuse to put Indiana Jones in the title)
3) Schindler's List (by far his best 'serious' work)
4) Empire of the Sun (easily his second best 'serious' work)
5) Catch Me If You Can (Walken, DiCaprio, 60s Jet-Set, sign me up)
6) 1941 (hell yeah, it belongs on this list, that was a funny movie, dammit)
7) The first two-thirds of AI (If it weren't for the last 30 minutes or so, would have been a nearly perfect film)
Bottom Seven Spielberg Directed Films, From Absolute Worst, to Just Plain Bad (that I've bothered seeing)
7) The Terminal (Good lord, so many bad choices, so much schmaltz, such a waste of 2 hours)
6) The Color Purple (I haaaaaaaaate the source material, the film is better than the book, but not by much)
5) All but the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan (Outside of the opening sequence, this is a horrible, predictable, and boring film)
4) Munich (boring, boring, boring, and disgustingly morally relativistic to boot)
3) The Lost World (While the first Jurassic Park wasn't great, it was a good popcorn film, the followup, was just like a big steaming mound of Tyrannosaurus dung)
2) Hook (Seeks to be magical, but mostly it's just a mess, Williams at his most loathesome, and Hoffman at his most actorly, not a good combination for a kiddie picture)
1) The Trial of the Chicago 7 (I'm cheating a bit to put this on the list, given he's just begun shooting, but come on, Borat as Abbie Hoffman?!? You know it's going to be a positive portrayal of those damn dirty yippies (even worse than hippies), so I'm going out on a limb and forming my opinion of this turd before it's even dropped in the pot)
7 Best LA Lakers teams since Magic was a Rookie from 7th to 1st (to build suspense)
7) 2007-08 LA Lakers*** (conditionally, based on the assumption that they will win the championship this year, otherwise insert your favorite Showtime Era team that hasn't made the list in this spot)
6) 1979-80 LA Lakers (Magic's first year, not alot on this team other than Magic and Kareem, but that was enough)
5) 1984-85 LA Lakers (The first LA Lakers team to breakthrough and beat the Celtics, wouldn't be the last though, the rivalry that defined the 80s in the NBA)
4) 1988-89 LA Lakers (Wait, they didn't win the championship, they were even swept in the Finals by Detroit. But there were extenuating circumstances, injuries to Magic and Byron Scott ended what was an impressive undefeated streak in the playoffs, might have had a perfect record in the playoffs that year, but for those injuries, absurd stat from Basketball Reference, EVERY player on this team averaged over ten points per 36 minutes played, that's pretty remarkable)
3) 1999-2000 LA Lakers (The first title season for the Shaq-Kobe teams, not quite playing their best as a team, yet, even though they did compile a 67-15 regular season record, needed a miracle 4th quarter in Portland to make it to the finals)
2) 2000-01 LA Lakers (They were one insanely great performance by Allen Iverson away from having a perfect post season. Had some struggles in the regular season (injuries to Shaq and Kobe), but rolled through the playoffs. Still, you got to love a team that loses only one game in 4 post season series)
1) 1987-88 LA Lakers (A very special team, the last Showtime team to win a championship. Did not dominate in the playoffs, but ironically that's what makes them great. Taken to 7 games by the upstart Jazz (back when Stockton and Malone were young guns) in the 2nd round, again a game seven at home against an excellent Dallas team, and finally, battled a great Detroit Pistons squad in an epic Finals series that should be played on a loop over at ESPN Classics)
Top 5 Reasons to have an HDTV
5) Lost in HD
4) Summer Olympics in HD (mmmmm, Women's Beach Volleyball . . . .)
3) Torchwood in HD
2) NBA in HD
1) NFL in HD
Top 3 Reasons NOT to have an HDTV
3) Simon Cowelll's Erect Nipples in HD (in SD you can't tell his headlights are on through those sweaters, but in HD, it's obvious)
2) All those Damn CSI Shows in HD (seriously, all the pretty montages, are just wankery to make it all look 'cinematic' but it's just boring crap, and it's still boring in high-def)
1) The View in HD ( . . . shudder . . ., seriously at least 60 Minutes has had the sense to not make the switch yet)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)