The 2009/2010 NBA Season Thread

[D]

Boston are just the better team.

Kobe did great but in doing so he totally got his teammates out of rhythm offensively and defensively.

Ron Artest, I said it since day one was a terrible idea for this team and he continues to prove me right.

Pau has been soft as baby's asses as i predicted.

[pilferk]

Again, I wish the refs would swallow their whistles a bit more.  There was that sequence, late, where the teams spent more time walking back and forth to the free throw lines than the clock spent running.

As before, no "outcome changing" bad calls (though I still am not sure that shot by Allen hit the rim)...but a LOT of calls, in general.  Some of that probably speaks to how physical these games are being played (and I like it!), but some of it is just the Refs being overanxious.

I think, over the past 2 games, Doc has once again outcoached Phil.  That's pretty much what won the Celtics the series back in '08. 

And Phil handed the C's some pretty compelling bulletin board mateiral with his comments, in game, during the 4th quarter.

If the C's grab a lead early, it might be a rough night for the Lakers.  That being said, I expect the Lakers to win game 6 and then, for game 7, all bets are off....

[pilferk]

ONE more win needed for the C's.  Did what they needed to do and won the last 2 at home.  Now the Lakers need to do the same as they head back to LA.  I still find it hard to believe the Celtics could beat the Lakers 3 straight games, BUT I just don't think the Lakers are as strong as they were earlier in the series.  The loss of a healthy Bynum makes them such a different team.  It makes the frontcourt and Pau much easier to handle for the C's.  Bynum was a non factor tonight outside of a few minutes in the first quarter.  Pau had by far his worst game of the series.  Kobe was the only Laker who played well, and he played REAL well in the 3rd, but the Laker defense couldn't hold the Celtics in check.  When Bryant was scoring all those points, the Celtics were matching him on the other end.  And still, Kobe is getting the majority of his points off of jump shots.  The Celtics will take that all day long.  Limit him from driving to the hoop and getting his teammates involved, mission accomplished. 

The Lakers bigs looked frustrated, and Bynum looked to be in a LOT of pain.

I give the Celts D all the credit in the world for the frustration level.  I don't think this was a case of "bad games" for the Lakers Bigs...this was a case of the Celtics D just shutting them down.  They couldn't get the ball in good position to shoot (or pass).  They were getting stripped  and blocked (did you see that block by Tony Allen???!!) and muscled off their spots all game long.  The Celtic D just made things VERY uncomfortable for the Lakers bigs all night long....this game was, for me, the closest I've seen the Celts to the games in 2008. 

And, like 2008, late in the game....Kobe was yelling at his teammates.   That, to me, never bodes well for the Lakers....

[D]

only problem i have with the refs is how for almost the entire game they let them play and then last 5 mins or whatever they start calling everything

u cant let players get use to a certain way of playing and then change

that said, LA are still shooting WAY more FT's than Boston and still losing.

Kobe is getting Pau out of his game by ball hogging and shooting too much. sure he scored a lot and did great in the third quarter but to the detriment of his teammates. it got so bad his teammates started jacking up horrible shots just cause u knew they wanted to shoot also.

in Kobe's defense i will say this, I don't think his Micheal Jordan BUT, Jordan never played a team as good as Boston in the finals.

[gilee7]

Lamar Odom seems to be too concerned with hanging out with the Kardashians and he's forgotten that his team is playing for a NBA championship. He's had one decent game this entire series, and in the other games he's been pretty much non-existant. Kobe is frustrated with the lack of help and so he's trying to do everything himself. Ron Artest was brought there for his defense, and, for the most part, I think he's done a pretty good job on that end--- but damn, he kills his team on offense with all his terrible shots.

With Bynum hurting, you would think Odom would step up, but he's been horrible. People always say how much Odom sacrifices by choosing to play with the Lakers, whereas he could go to a lesser team and be a star. The guy is talented, but his head isn't in it or something. If the Lakers lose the series, they can singlehandedly blame Odom.

[faldor]

Odom just doesn't match up well against the Celtics.  He's a big man who doesn't like to play big.  He'd rather hang around outside and he can't defend down low.  The Celtics handle those types of players with relative ease.  Just look at how ineffective Rashard Lewis has been against the C's the last few years.  They're basically the same player, though Lewis is a better shooter.

So I wouldn't say Odom's ineffectiveness is due to lack of effort.  He's just overmatched.

[faldor]

Well that was ugly.  I think I watched a grand total of 2 minutes of that game.  Fortunately I worked late and didn't have to see any of that disaster firsthand.  I listened to the first half on the radio and only lasted a few minutes in the third quarter before I threw in the towel. 

In a way though, I think I'd almost rather the Celtics get blown out like that than lose a close game.  Now, they SHOULD come out hungry and more focused for game 7 since they got their clocks cleaned.  The Lakers were the more desperate team and played with so much more energy it was a mismatch from the beginning.  These teams have been about as equally matched as they could be the entire series so you would think this was just an aberration.  The Lakers are not 20 points better than the Celtics on your average night.  They certainly were tonight though.

The C's have suffered quite a few blowout losses this post-season and they've bounced back to win the following game each time.  Hopefully they'll be able to continue that trend into game 7. 

I didn't expect the C's to beat the Lakers 3 straight games.  A game 7 was destined to happen.  So we'll see how it goes on Thursday.  Looks like Perkins probably won't be able to play, which is a blow to the depth of the team.  Honestly though, Kendrick hasn't had a very good series.  At times Doc has closed games with Davis rather than Perk anyway, so I don't know how huge a loss that actually will be.  He has played good defense at times.  I just hope Doc goes with Scalbrine over Shelden Williams off the bench.  I don't trust Williams at all the way he's looked in this series.

[Malcolm]

Lakers...Chyea!!!!

[fito_gnr]

LAKERS BACK TO BACK!!!!
I was reading some of the stuff some of you wrote... Pau soft?? Boston the better team?? ridiculous comments...

We are the champs yeeeeeaaaahhhhh!!!

[w.axl.rose]

gotta give Ron props, he kept us in the game.

[gilee7]

Congratulations to the Lakers.

It wasn't a pretty game. Both teams played excellent defense, but both team were absolutely putrid on offense. At times it resembled more of a rugby game with all the players wrestling and diving on the court. The game was extremely physical, but I'm glad the refs let them play. It looked like the Celtics were going to win, but the Lakers somehow found a way to pull it out. Ron Artest has received a lot of flak throughout the playoffs, but he was the MVP of the game, imo--- although Gasol was big down the stretch. Who would've thought the Lakers would manage to pull off a win with Kobe struggling the way he did? I think the Lakers just wanted it a little bit more; they out-willed the Celtics.

And those last few minutes were insanely entertaining. Neither team could make a basket all night, then suddenly they're swapping 3's. Most of the games in the series weren't really all that great, but this one lived up to the hype. Even just watching it on TV you could feel the energy and the importance of every possession.

[pilferk]

I've been complaining that the officiating was lousy all series, and last night was no exception.  But, up til last night, I didn't think it had any effect on the outcome.

Last night, it definitely did.  Once the Celts stormed out to their big lead, the officiating DRASTICALLY changed.  Lots of bad calls (and non-calls)...and a majority of them went the Lakers way.  Some of the horrendous calls (and non-calls):

The blocking foul on Pierce, where Kobe clearly lowered his shoulder, in the open court.  The biggest problem is...Allen was called for the charge on an almost identical play earlier in the game (and rightly so) when he lowered his shoulder.

The non-call when Pierce drove the lane, was fouled at least twice on his attempt to shoot, where he ultimately had to push the ball to 'sheed, who couldn't keep the ball in bounds.

The very bad (and obvious) no-call on the loose ball foul by Gasol on Rondo, where he shoved him out of the way (and to the ground) to get an offensive rebound late in the game that turned into points.

The very bad (and obvious) no-call on the up and down by Gasol, on a clean Celtic block where the ball never left Gasol's hand, late in the game.

The 3 bad foul calls (one on Davis, one on Pierce, and one on Garnett) on clean blocks (apparent via replay), late in the game.

Now, there were certainly some no-calls on fouls the Celts committed, too.  I can think of a couple Garnett plays that were pretty obvious fouls that didn't get called....but there seemed to be FAR more of those calls that went the Lakers way.

Home court?  Maybe..but this game reminded me of one of the reasons I rarely watch NBA ball:  The officiating is TERRIBLE.

I'm sure there will be a number of people who chalk this up to "sour grapes"...but I invite you to read my past posts in this thread.  I've been on the officiating the entire series....whether the C's won or lost.  This isn't about minimizing the Lakers win....they were, IMHO, the better team coming in and I've no problem with them winning.  But it made last night's game hard to watch...because you couldn't clearly get a sense if the Lakers were REALLY better, or if the zebras just sucked.  Given how lousy the officiating was all series, I guess it was just a matter of time before they had some effect on a game's outcome....and given this was a close game, I guess it' s unsurprising that it was this one.  Still, I feel "cheated" out of a good game...not a champioinship, but a potential classic game 7 for the ages.

To give the Lakers credit....their comeback wasn't completely fueled by the refs.  They managed, for a large stretch of the 3rd qtr, to turn the Celts into a perimeter team while they had their way driving the lane.  They played VERY good defense, late (as did the Celtics).  They did what I expected them to do and get the game close, late.

It was a great Finals (minus the officiating being lousy) series, and it was about as evenly matched as you could get.  I think these teams could play 15 games, and it would be an 8-7 series.  So, congrats to the Lakers on a fine season.  I went in thinking they'd win it, and they did.  

[GeorgeSteele]

^ I agree with much of that, but I chalk it up to karma.  Home court without question affects the refs' abilities to stay objective, however, Lakers earned home court by playing better than the Celtics did in the regular season.  Celtics dogged it over various stretches of the regular season and it came back to haunt them. 

[D]

i never place blame on Refs

if the Lakers lose, id see Laker fans making the same case and pointing out things that could've been called.


Boston lost cause they could not rebound, Ray Allen couldn't make a shot, and they went away from the pick and roll to Paul Pierce.

KG played small and Ron Artest really stepped up big time.

[Malcolm]

i never place blame on Refs

if the Lakers lose, id see Laker fans making the same case and pointing out things that could've been called.


Boston lost cause they could not rebound, Ray Allen couldn't make a shot, and they went away from the pick and roll to Paul Pierce.

KG played small and Ron Artest really stepped up big time.

Thank you..Enough with the refs

[Ignatius]

Yeah...Lakers won!

It thought I was going to arrive to LA on time, but got here very late last night. Nevertheless, what an awesome feeling. It's cool to see all those lakers jerseys and flags sticking out of the car windows.

Lakers won cause they showed more heart in the end. Plain and simple.

[D]

heart or  Kendrick Perkins being injured.. however u want to look at it.

[pilferk]

i never place blame on Refs

if the Lakers lose, id see Laker fans making the same case and pointing out things that could've been called.

Boston lost cause they could not rebound, Ray Allen couldn't make a shot, and they went away from the pick and roll to Paul Pierce.

KG played small and Ron Artest really stepped up big time.

Going into half time, the teams had shot basically the same number of free throws.

By the end of the game, Lakers shot 20 more FT than the Celts.

People can want to discount the effects the refs had on the game if they want.  It's your pair of blinders.  I can think of a couple of bad no-calls and calls that favored the Celts.  I can think of about 10 that favored the Lakers.  I'm not saying the officiating was great on either side of the ball...it was just worse against the C's.    But you can't objectively watch that game and NOT think the officiating was awful, and seriously favored the Lakers.  It's just a fact.  The guys doing the commentary even noticed it.

And yes, I know, all you purple and gold fans are going to want to think it's sour grapes.  If that's what gets you through the night...fine by me.

The Lakers might have won anyway.  And it's not really the OUTCOME that bothers me (I pretty much expected them to win, from the get go).  It's the fact the refs impacted both the quality AND the outcome that bugs me.

It's hard to rebound, in big spots, when the Lakers (on 2 or 3 different occasions), late in the game, clear out the C's with obvious loose ball fouls.  Gasol's OBVIOUS shove of Rhondo was only one of them.  And they were not "going for the ball/fighting for position" fouls.   Perkins being out didn't help, either.

Allen couldn't shoot...that's true.  Pierce going to the hole stopped because the Lakers clogged the middle and THEN started fouling him when he would get close...and they wouldn't get called for it.  That started as soon as the C's were up 13.

KG actually, I thought, played fine.  But he can't overcome Perkins not being on the floor...and Davis/Wallace didn't do much but fill space.  Artest got hot at the right time, and his perimiter play was largely why Kobe started to be able to be effective, again.  The C's couldn't cheat on the double team EVERY time Kobe put the ball on the floor.

[pilferk]

^ I agree with much of that, but I chalk it up to karma.  Home court without question affects the refs' abilities to stay objective, however, Lakers earned home court by playing better than the Celtics did in the regular season.  Celtics dogged it over various stretches of the regular season and it came back to haunt them. 

That was a bit more than the typical home game bias...and it didn't really kick in until the C's hit their 13 point lead.  Up til then, the officiating was equally terrible.

I think, in game 7, if it's a foul on one end, it's a foul on the other.  If it's an up and down (and a super obvious one), it's an up and down.  There are some things you simply have to call the right way.  And the refs didn't, down the stretch of that game.  Plain and simple.

Again, not upset over the outcome.  Upset by how it came to be.  I feel like I was robbed of a classic game 7, for the ages.

[D]

Yeah but many factors play into it. Which team is aggressive? who is attacking the basket?

if Boston are settling for jumpers and aren't attacking the rim, then they aren't gonna get LA in the penalty, and aren't gonna shoot FT's on every foul call.
Bos being undersized, they committed fouls, got themselves in foul trouble and the bonus.

now, i will concede when a team shoots that many more FT's, of course they are at an advantage* I am a Mav fan, so if anyone has a right to bitch about refs, its me and other Mav fans after how D Wade got 5000 FT's a game.* but the refs didn't make Ray Allen shoot terrible,t hey aren't the reason Boston got annhilated on the glass.

KG didn't play fine. His Rebounding was attrocious.

Let's don't forget how LA got screwed in game 5 when Ray Allen's shot didn't hit the rim but yet Boston got the ball and a new shot clock.


I don't know if its just perception or what, but refereeing, umpiring etc in every sport seems to really have went to shit. I blame it on Sports talk radio, and the 24/7 coverage and I think Refs get nervous and choke.