Lakers vs Celtics

[scottmandue]

OK you dunderheads stop arguing about your silly politics and lets fight over something really important!

[lendaddy]

Lakers in 5.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Lakers

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

OK you dunderheads stop arguing about your silly politics and lets fight over something really important!

Lakers in 6...because they're from a liberal state!

I'm kidding, I'm kidding!!!

[Buckterrier]

Thugs On Wood

[artplumber]

I want the Lakers to win, but it will be Celts in 7.

[gprsh924]

Lake show could not hit open shots in the 4th tonight and it killed them...Lakers in 6

[84porsche]

Lakers fan for life. Lakers in 6 sounds really good but its going to be tough especially in Boston.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Always loved watching this rivalry as a kid growing up in Boston (plus my dad was a basketball coach for many years so I'm a closet fan of the game). Gotta' like the Celtics' chances, although it's not going to be easy. My gut says Celtics win the upset in 6 or 7. They're the real deal and I think pretty hungry for it after the drought.

I haven't really followed NBA since the Michael Jordan era - at least not regularly. Too much ghetto drama. It's been slowly coming around though, but it still needs some improvement. This series will (hopefully) elevate the game and return some of the past glory.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

...I haven't really followed NBA since the Michael Jordan era - at least not regularly. Too much ghetto drama. It's been slowly coming around though, but it still needs some improvement. This series will (hopefully) elevate the game and return some of the past glory.

That's pretty much been my story until last year when I watched the Spurs during the playoffs (I'm been a Tim Duncan fan since his days at Wake). I was also a BIG Boston fan during the Bird era (hey, as a white boy who couldn't jump, who wasn't ), so I like Boston's chances as their defense is going to be the key imo. One other thing...I've always despised the 2-3-2 (as opposed to a 2-2-1-1-1) format for a seven game series, but I think it will possibly work in Boston's favor this year. It always seems that the home team opens the series winning both, then is able to "steal" one of the 3 middle games on the road. If that happens, RARELY can team win the last two games of the series on the road. Celtics in 6 or 7.

[mattdavis11]

The Lakers get 6 to 7 years. Oh wait...

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by mattdavis11

The Lakers get 6 to 7 years. Oh wait...

they can afford better attorneys than that

Kobe raped a girl and only had to pay off his wife.

Thought they were in trouble when Pierce went down with the knee. Assuming no injuries, Celtics in 7.

[mattdavis11]

Originally Posted by Tobra

they can afford better attorneys than that

Kobe raped a girl and only had to pay off his wife.

Haha.

The NBA is such a joke, everytime one of those clowns dribbles, it's traveling.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I do have to say that the over-presence of officiating in these games is a bit annoying. This is a trend that's come out of the last 5-10 years - never used to be so many whistles (one on practically every play now). Cripes, let the guys play! Take a lesson from the NHL and only whistle the stuff that really matters.

Maybe we need to resurrect Johnny Cochoran so he can claim it's a conspiracy by the white referees to subtly imply that a bunch of brothers can't play by the rules.

[sammyg2]

Depends on the refs. If they call the rest of the games as bad as they did last night, the celtics win in 5. If they actually call a foul in the paint for a change and stop calling the stupid ticky-tack stuff, the lakers win in 7.
The first half last night looked more like football than basketball. The refs had no control. Was that intentional?

[Tobra]

Thing that has been pissing me off is they never show the replay on close calls to avoid making the officials look bad. This is much worse this season.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

They have to make sure the series goes to 6 or 7 to maximize league revenue.

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I really do believe this is an agenda of most major sports leagues (including the NBA). The refs may or may not be directly told this, but I'll bet they're sure as hell "encouraged" to try and bump playoff/final series to as deep as possible. They alone can't rig games but they can certainly nudge things one way or the other.

I forget how many millions MLB lost in 2004 and last year with the 4-game series wins of the Red Sox in the W.S. versus going to 7. I'll try to find that. It's a humongous schitpile of money.

[scottmandue]

Being a native Los Angeleno I am a big Lakers fan... but after last nights game I'm a little worried.

Of course the Celtics had the home court advantage... but two of their best player were also injured during the game and bounced back to win.