This blog is the story of Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 08 NBA Finals and beyond. We believe this team is a dynasty in the making built around the best player in the game today, Kobe Bryant, and a young promising 20 year old center, Andrew Bynum. This is the blog about the 08 Championship season and beyond.
LOS ANGELES -- With great reluctance, the Los Angeles Lakers decided at Friday's deadline they wouldn't match Golden State's offer for Ronny Turiaf, meaning the former second-round draft choice will move up the California coast to play for the Warriors.
ESPN.com's J.A. Andande first reported the Lakers would not match the offer.
"There are emotional ties with Ronny that go beyond basketball," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said on a conference call. "I think that makes it difficult. I think organizations that draft players who turn out to be good players, it's hard for them to let go of those players. And if you know Ronny, you know he's a special kid."
The Warriors signed Turiaf, a restricted free agent, to a four-year, $17 million offer sheet last week. By rule, the Lakers had seven days to decide whether to match it. The three-year veteran from Gonzaga averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 78 games with the Western Conference champions last season, making 21 starts.
The Lakers played much of last season without starting center Andrew Bynum, giving Turiaf the opportunity for more playing time than he would have had otherwise. But, Kupchak said, Bynum is expected to be healthy when training camp begins in early October, and Turiaf's opportunities figured to be diminished significantly.
Kupchak said Bynum has been in New York and underwent physical therapy in 19 of the last 21 days and has been cleared to work out and play.
"He's basically on his own to begin conditioning and basketball activity, starting today," Kupchak said. "It's a process. Based on what he did last year, I would expect him to come in in mid-September basically in great shape. I know that's his goal. He's coming back this weekend, we're going to meet with him Monday. He will go to Atlanta late next week to begin his training for the upcoming season."
With frontcourt players like Bynum, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovic, Luke Walton, Trevor Ariza and Chris Mihm on the roster, that wouldn't appear to leave much playing time for Turiaf. Kupchak said he believes that Mihm, who missed most of the last two seasons with ankle problems, will also be fully healthy at the start of training camp.
"We will miss Ronny, we will miss his contributions on and off the court, the emotion and the energy he brought, whether he's playing or not," Kupchak said.
Kupchak said he met with Turiaf for about an hour Thursday.
"It was a very emotional meeting because he loves the city, he loves the organization, there are certain bonds here," Kupchak said. "He feels it's in his best interests to move on. The last thing you want is a young player like Ronny no matter what he's being paid is being on the bench at 25 years old and not playing.
"We discussed it yesterday, he wants to play, and sees an opportunity to play in Golden State at least twofold what he can play here."
The Warriors certainly have a much greater need for big men than the Lakers.
Kupchak said the Lakers will now focus on re-signing guard Sasha Vujacic, another restricted free agent.
Shaquille O'Neal is one of the greatest center's of all time. Undisputedly, he will always be held in high regard and the NBA will have its biggest void since Micheal Jordan retired when O'Neal retires, for real. But, Shaq is also a rapper, when he wants to be, this latest "situation" is just another episode of O'Nealology, if you will. Alot of people are getting bent outta shape about this humorous performance by the big man, and that would be for one of two reasons: they just don't understand hip-hop and rap music, and they feel Kobe was unfairly disrespected, or they were always a SHAQ HATER, and they hate on anything Shaq does to try to belittle his accomplishments because they're intimidated by this man's swagger, let alone his basketball skill. I, or we at DynastyLakers think this situation is hilarious, and as a Lakers fan, i STILL am laughing out loud at this video, and i'm thanking Shaq for remotivating Kobe and the Lakers, and renewing the rivalry between the Suns and the Lakers, even before Shaq they had bad blood, now, ESPECIALLY after this rap, this whole thing is gonna be worse than before. First, let me explain hip-hop to some people who may have found this whole thing "offensive":
Hip-Hop is about swagger, confidence, style, and realness in the present moment, whether we're talking about current events, sports, politics or somebody's bad shoes, hair, or their ugly mama. In a freestyle or battle, a rapper plays his advantages to his ultimate advantage by rhyming about them, bragging about them, declaring your own greatness with undeniable FACTS over whomever your opponent at the expense of their emotions, and if the victim of these rhymes catches emotions, gets angry or anything, that just makes the rhyme-sayer look better, especially if the victim is not a rapper and is not going to respond. But ultimately, its about wordplay, anologies, and a cunning mind to put statements together that people can understand and relate to. "can't nobody in the world do it bigger than me" FACT "that's like a white person tryin to be more nigga than me" lol "that's like a homeless person having more figures than me" lol "that's like Patrick Ewing having more rings than me" lol "that's like you saying to yourself you're better than me" lol "that's like Kareem saying to himself he better than me" STOP
that's the only problem i really have with this freestyle. Come on, now we know there has never been another center at 7 feet 310 pounds, the physical presence of Shaq is surely BIG, but there are two centers Shaq will probably never pass, that is Kareem Adbul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain. It is unwise to even compare the those guys, because they lived in their primes in different eras of basketball, and they all made history in different ways, statistically. Wilt's 100, 50 PPG, Kareem's 6 rings, 38 yr old Finals MVP, and Shaq's dominance 35-15-5 Finals performances. Maybe if Shaq wins a championship with PHX and wins Finals MVP at 37 or 38, we may have an argument.
ANYWAYS, that whole thing is really a testament of Shaq's perspective of the things that have occured in his public relationship with his ex-teammate. EVERYBODY knows Kobe literally told the FEDS, "i should have just paid her off like Shaq does," whoa... i thought this was an unwritten rule that is programmed into men's brain's at birth and intensifies by the richer he gets: NEVER speak on another man's business, ESPECIALLY with women to another person, ESPECIALLY not the f*cking COPS! But, hey, Kobe did that and even as a Lakers fan, i can forgive but i cannot forget about that, that's the worst type of dishonor to the locker room code AND the man code of honor.
HOWEVER, that particular part in Shaq's rap was mostly making fun of himself, which just shows he's not all about arrogance and disrespecting Kobe. "I'm a horse, Kobe ratted me out, that's why i'm gettin a divorce" Of course that's not the ONLY reason, Shaq, don't let Kobe make a freestyle about that, LOL
"He said Shaq gave a b*tch a mill, i don't do that, cuz my name Shaquille" just for the sake of rhyming "i love em, i dont leave em, i got a vasectomy, now i can't breed em" WhOA that's a lil' too much information, but it's FUNNY, Shaq did what he did to be funny, not just to make fun of Kobe, but look who we're talking about, Shaq, the lakers losing the way they did in the Finals, did u think Shaquille O'Neal wouldn't take an opportunity to say something about that?
Oh, speaking of COPS, COPS ARE NOT YOUR ALLY SHAQUILLE
This may be a blessing in disguise, Shaq gets his sheriff badge revoked for that same freestyle. Something about "racist language" used in the song. RACIST? COPS ARE TALKING ABOUT A RACIST? Cops DEFINE racism, especially this woodpecker Joe Arpaio, Arizona Cop. This mutha f*cker is known for being a racism prick, and what he likes to call himself, "the toughest sheriff in America" is that supposed to be something respected or what? Shaq is not caring about that slug, he is bigger than that entire police department anyway.
Another Police department followed the fools, and asking for their badge back. i hope Shaq goes full-time NWA now, he needs to being a coon to those cops and make a after-NBA career doing something else, but don't make an album either, we just don't need that.
In conslusion, this situation is actually really good. Good for Shaq, good for Kobe, good for the Suns, good for the Lakers, good for the NBA, they are gonna eat this up from here, all the way until May 2009 when Kobe Bryant wins his second MVP, and the Lakers and Suns meet in the Western Conference Finals.
Yes, yes. What more can i say? I expected more from the Los Angeles Lakers, i am a true fan and i never game up hope on the home team, i figured it was all in the order of things for Shaq, Wade (and Posey) to get their ring in '06, and Kobe, Odom (and Pau) to get theirs in '08. But, it was not the Kobe's year, i guess the power and will of the "Big Three" is stronger than the passion and skill of the Lakers, and we gotta state the now obvious fact: Defense wins championships. i think i
mostly wanted the Lakers to win for the fact that the Celtics were the overwhelming favorites, they REALLY DiD have the better team, they had better PG play (Rondo> Fisher), better Center play (Perkins> Gasol), and of course, the Paul Pierce factor. Paul Pierce is an unstoppable force of basketball nature that cannot be stopped or slowed down, you can only hope he has an off night, or find you a Ron Artest or Tayshaun Prince, REAL defensive stoppers to hold him down a little bit. You know, there is another overwhelming reason why i think the Lakers could not, and did not deserve to win the championship...No team with Vladamir Radmonovic starting at PF can win the ship, they actually cannot win with him starting on that team. He was a defensive liability the entire time, forget inconsistent, he's really just not a talented player, i don't see how somebody that tall can be so untalented with Phil Jackson coaching you, depending on you, or maybe thats ju
st a knock on Jackson. No, seriously though, we could have started Luke Walton at PF and got better results than what he did. So, let's touch on a few factors that may be in question for next season, so we can make sure we get back to the NBA Finals next season.
Kobe Bryant -Kobe is great, he is the best guard in the league and the second best guard of all time in his prime, this NBA Finals just showed that he along with the rest of the young lakers are not ready to win a championship yet. We could go game by game and point out some things in every game, some crucial mistake in situations or failure to make plays in opporitunity throughout the series. Kobe Bryant can score at will, he is a much better three point shooter than he is given credit for, but for the Lakers to win a championship he has to play much better in scoring and passing, along with trust, unity with his teammates (the Blog was the Truth like Paul Pierce, it defined the Lakers in 2008). Also, if he wants to be the greatest, he is gonna have to completely remake his game in 2009 i expect him to improve to another level by getting Bynum,
Odom, and Gasol in that order, the stars of the team with him.
Lamar Odom - Lamar Odom is a good player. The word great has eluded his game for most of his career with the Lakers since 2004, but he can and should be a 20 ppg scorer and a top rebounder in the league, even if not on the team with Bynum coming back and assuredly avging at least 10 rpg, so 7-9 is acceptable, but Odom has got to become a driving slasher, FT getter, and really slightly like Paul Pierce to be his potential and his role on the team. Because Odom is a BIG DUDE, he is the only one that could stop Paul Pierce, but he was busy with KG and Perkins, but he should be a potential DPOY and 20 pt scorer starting at SF for the Lakers, and an all-star at least once. For real, now that we know Kobe isn't the "Jordan" in any way, shape, form, or fashion in gameplay or situational smarts, basketball IQ, we need Lamar Odom to be a scorer as much as or slightly less than Kobe,
as in, they should take almost just as many shot attempts, drive and kicking, and working together both avging 5 assists they would be Unstoppable in the league. But, Odom has got to be a defensive player and avg 20+ ppg 8+ rpg and be a different, better player.
Pau Gasol - Pau is a really good complementary player, a solid double-double or not guy who can hit open shots and grab rebounds, he is slightly quick around the basket so he might step into a move a couple times a game, but this guy is not gonna play back-to-the-basket, elbows weapons, big-man, AL HORFORD type Big Man EVER in his basketball life, so therefore its unfair we expect him to be, just let him throw in layups and get a dunk or two sometimes, average 16/8 and grab important rebounds sometimes, because he really is a 7 footer, he just makes Dirk Nowitzki look like Karl Malone out there, he is the opposite and proof of the Lakers "championship calibur team" with Andrew Bynum starting at Center, but we'll get to him later. Pau is a good scoring 7 footer who will hit important baskets for the team just for being there, he makes the lakes complete, but not
the talent ready leader big man that the lakers tried to use him as in the NBA Finals. He will play an important role to getting the Lakers to champions in 2009 just for playing his game, he should avg 16 pts 8 rebs and hit 75% FTs.
Derek Fisher - Derek Fisher got one more year to try to win a ring with these Lakers, but very soon it will be time to give that starting PG spot to Jordan Farmar. Derek is the oldest player on the team at 33 years old, and even that's not old, so he is still in the prime of his career, the question is if his game, his style of PG play is enough to win the Lakers a championship. I don't think we've ever seen a starting PG effect the game as LITTLE as Derek Fisher does, or doesn't. He hits big shots, we know that, he really is a very good shooter, and he's a lefty which makes him very dangerous to defenders, but he is not a good ball distributor AT ALL (avg.ed 3 apg in Finals) he doesn't really "run the offense" in any way, he barely even brings the ball up the court. The PG is supposed to be a team leader, not necessarily in scoring but in running the offense and making sure plays are made, and make a play if no play seems to be opportune. Derek Fisher is a solid PG, but he is not a game changer in any way, its almost like he was reluctant to bring the ball up the court, or Kobe just wouldn't let him, but either way, the PG play in the Finals is a deciding
factor in the Lakers success, granted he is WAAYY better than a Smush Parker, but he is not the long term PG solution the Lakers will need, no need to look outside though, Jordan Farmar is ready.
the bench
Trevor Ariza - Trevor Ariza is a worthy sixth man on this Lakers team, he is a defensive stopper, a good shooter, and a very good slasher, drive-and-kick kind of player. He should play more than any other bench player on the Lakers, he is an important part of the defensive identity of this team and he needs to prove his importance to the team and the NBA. He should average about 10+ PPG but he doesn't have to, he is a genuine game-changer on the defense and offensive end of the court. Jordan Farmar - Jordan Farmar is the best PG on this Los Angeles Lakers roster, he plays with poise, passion, and makes good decisions in situations on the court. He knows how to distribute the ball, and when to make a play, he can drive and score, or he can make a great pass to make a play. Jordan is a good shooter, a good passer, and a great leader on the court. If he were to start and focus on distributing the ball, making sure the stars (Kobe, Bynum, and Odom in that order) get the ball the most, and driving and scoring when opportunities come, he could easily average 12+ ppg 8+ apg and shoot 45%+ FGs, 38% 3pt FGs, and 80% FTs. He should start for this team soon, but he must continue to polish his game under Derek Fisher for now, but not for long.
Sasha Vujacic - Sasha is a pretty good shooter and a good defensive player, but he is not good enough yet to be the Lakers sixth man, there's a level of consistency, reliability that he has got to evolve into, and the Finals exploited that. If he wants to be taken seriously as the sixth man, he must be able to play PG or SG instead of just SG, and he must learn the art of the drive-and-kick. He must try to emulate the game of the great Manu Ginobili, which is a tough comparison, but he can evolve into a decent slasher, drive-and-kicker and he must to be a threat off the bench, he has to earn respect on this team and in this league. Avg. 10+ pts consistently and shoot 38%+ 3pt FGs, 80%+ FTs, he will be alright. Luke Walton - Luke is sort of like a big question mark right now, mostly because that is all he showed in the Finals, a whole lot of nothing. He is a good player in the regular reason, really almost a starter, or at least a sixth man, he avged like 13/5/5 at one point, and he was consistent, reliable, a good passer, a decent shooter, but he always came up with good rebounds, and made plays for his teammates often. In the Finals, for whatever reason, he didn't perform, and it showed from the way Phil Jackson refused to play him alot, so he has got to improve in order to really be an important part of this team.
Ronny Turiaf - Ronny is really not really super-talented in the game of basketball, people keep calling him an "energy guy" but that's really the only thing he has going for his game. He's tall, like 6 foot 10 apparently, but he has no polished areas of his game, he has no real specialty or abilities that make him important, but we like him, so he's someone to bring off the bench and make defensive plays, but if he ever has the ball, please, pass it out immediately.
EVERYBODY ELSE ON THE 2008 Lakers SQUAD SHOULD BE TRADED or something
Vladamir Radmonovic - i mean seriously, i see no reason why this guy is getting more playing time than Coby Karl, what does he do for our team? He is not a knock-down shooter, he is not a defensive stopper or even a defensive FACTOR, he cannot read the court well for passing, he doesn't rebound, just trade him for cash so we can have some cap space to sign Gasol and Bynum to extensions in the future.
and of course this is all without the young, great center that was injured earlier this year named ANDREW BYNUM
i don't think people realize how good this young man really is/was at 20 years old, lets look at some statistics:
Leads the entire NBA in field goal percentage
Ranks #2 in the NBA in efficiency rating per 48 minutes
Is #4 in the NBA in rebounds per 48 minutes
Is #11 in the NBA in rebounds
Is #11 in the NBA in double doubles
Is #9 in the NBA in blocks
And Andrew Bynum was improving as the season went on. Since 2008 started and before getting hurt, Bynum:
Has averaged 70% shooting
Averaged 17.4 points per game
Averaged 12 rebounds per game
Averaged 2.8 blocks per game
Many people are worried about his ability to recover from such an injury to play up to the standard people are putting him up to, listen, even if it takes some time to get back into the rhythm of playing, he WILL ONLY IMPROVE over time! HE'S 20 YEARS OLD (10/27/87), and apparently he is not finished growing, he started the season at 7'0 and after his injury with all the physical therapy he is receiving he is reportedly 7'1 and STILL GROWING, he is expected to be about 7'3 at his peak at around age 23. He is already more TALL and LONG than alot of NBA centers, and being developed by the greatest center of all time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isn't unfair either, but it might be when he masters his game, he is a force in the paint and a HUGE game changer, he might average 22+ ppg 11+ rpg 3 apg and 3 bpg in his prime. He is gonna start off as just a role player, but when he proves himself to be unstoppable, he will be a team leader and a undisputed all-star.
Bynum is the deciding factor, the world is his for the taking, when the Lakers get back to the NBA Finals and Bynum plays to the best of his abilities, Kobe Bryant STILL will not get his first NBA Finals MVP, many argue that Kobe Bryant is best with a great big man at center, of course, because he won the championships with Shaq, Andrew Bynum may not be Shaq, but he will be his kind of great, and he will "hit his free throws" like he said when he first got drafted. When Bynum is avging 25/12/3/3 and they win at least 1 championship, that Kobe video is really gonna haunt him in his career.
2007-2008 Los Angeles Lakers NBA Champions, Kobe Bryant Finals MVP
Tonight is the night. History in the making is definetly taking place tonight at Whatever-the-hell-the-new-Garden-is called in Boston, Massachusetts.
its as big as the New York Giants VS Green Bay Packers, because Thursday, June 19, 2008 is the REAL Super Bowl NBA Finals, and AAALLLLL the pressure's on the CELTICS. Of course they are the heavy favorites in this series, they are the team with the three all-stars and they have outplayed the Lakers for most of this series, but each of the 5 games played so far have been a different level of learning, exposure, and growth for both of these teams in these Finals. Kobe and the Lakers are done learning, they're done losing, and they have vengeance on their minds as they have game 4 engraved in their memories, their first home loss in the playoffs when the Celtics made their historic comeback. But, that will be the last history the Celtics get against the Lakers, now its time for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers to make history against the Celtics.
Of course, we are all just fans of the game of basketball, and the Celtics are, admittedly the better team, but the Lakers have a better "best" player, and a better coach, one of the greatest coaches in NBA History, and if he wins this series, he will have to be known as THE best coach in NBA History, championship wise. Seriously, I don't think any other coach will ever win 10 championships in 17 seasons as a head coach, including three 3-peats, with 3 VERY different teams, sans Micheal Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal. Not only that, this 2008 NBA Championship would prove to be the MOST IMPRESSIVE of the 10, for this is undoubtedly the (no offense), weakest squad Jackson has ever coached in the FINALS ever.
But, if for whatever reason the Lakers lose game 6 or 7, against my prediction, i will not be mad, for the Celtics will have earned it. Paul Pierce is a top 5 2-3 guard-forward in this league, he is pretty much unstoppable, Ray Allen has shown himself as still a top 10 Shooting Guard in this league, and one of the best shooters since Reggie Miller (who had an opportunity to be on this Celtics team, and declined saying he is too old...He was 41 at the time), and the Big Ticket named Kevin Garnett, one of the best PF's in the league, undisputedly. Also, this would vindicate the old guys they picked up on this championship ride, PJ Brown and Sam Cassell, who would love to talk his way into another championship. But, if the Celtics win the championship it would be because of a player just as important as the "Big Three" and i'm not talking about either other starters (though if the Celtics lose, its because Kendrick Perkins wasn't himself out there, and Rajon Rondo is a beast, but he is not quite ready yet.); James Posey. Posey has a great to the Celtics, and he was great to the Heat when they won their championship in 2006, he is best as a sixth man, defensive stopper, and 3 point shooter, clutch player.
But, this isn't James Posey's year, this isn't Paul Pierce's year, though it sure seems like it, the Celtics have owned this season, but they can't have the whole thing. This is "the year they won without Bynum" in the lineup, this is Phil Jackson's 10th ring, this is Kobe Bryant's (and Derek Fisher's) 4th ring, and 1st ring without Shaq. This is the year of the dynastylakers first championship.
A victory is just what the doctor ordered for this team to get its swagger back. There are two websites that liveblogged the entire game and i think they gave a great account of the whole thing; truehoops' Henry Abbott, David Thorpe, Mike Moreau, and Dr. Jack Ramsay gave a great play-by-play, and insidehoops.com's liveblog was alot less detailed, but also pretty good. i think Kobe had the mindset to ruin this game for the Celtics, he was about to absolutely go berserk when he scored 15 points in the first quarter and the Lakers raced out to a 39-22 lead at the end of the first quarter. But Kobe sat during the first 6 minutes of the 2nd quarter and i have a serious question....WHY oh WHY did Phil Jackson put CHRIS MIHM in the game?! WHY did he put the pillow-soft no-skilled white guy in the NBA Finals during an elimination game? I mean seriously, its too late to be experimenting, that guy is not gonna have a positive impact on the game, he is lucky to have been in a Paul Pierce highlight, getting a 3-point play on his soft head.
the Celtics, mostly Paul Pierce, went on a 18-4 run, so when Lamar Odom finally stepped up to make a driving layup the score was 45-39. The Celtics finished with another mini-run and at halftime the score is 55-52.
I've gotta say, this is a recurring trend, the Paul Pierce factor is way bigger than the KG factor in this series. I will not make the blasphemous statement of Paul Pierce is better than Kobe Bryant, but Paul almost certainly has played more efficiently and is playing against softer defense than Bryant, but Bryant does not have 2 perennial all-star franchise players by his side so Bryant is still more talented than Pierce, that's undisputed. But, Pierce is having a better NBA Finals than Kobe Bryant right now, until and unless the Lakers win in Boston at least once.
Okay, so onto the second half, where the Lakers won the first third quarter against the Celtics of all the NBA Finals. It actually started with a Lamar Odom right handed layup, then the Celtics got a layup from Ray Allen, then Tony Allen which tied the game at 57-57, drawing loud cheers from the suprising number of Celtics fans in the house at Staples Center. Kevin Garnett backs down Gasol and makes a easy move on him, 59-57, Kobe Bryant scores and gets fouled, 60-59. Pierce gets fouled, makes 1 of 2 free throws, 60-60. By that time Garnett picks up his 4th foul and heads to the bench, which is when LA went on its run led by Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, not too much Kobe Bryant, to make the score 79-70 going into the 4th.
Then the Lakers came out hard in the 4th, starting with a Lamar Odom 3 pointer! Only his third of the entire playoffs, the Celtics tried to make a comeback, and when the score was 97-95 with Pierce with the ball, Kobe stole the ball, Lamar passed to him, and Kobe dunked to make the score 99-95. Kevin Garnett missed 2 HUGE free throws before that though, and that would have tied the game, boo-hoo big nigga, now we're heading back to Boston down 3-2, but with all the confidence in the world. The Celtics are thinking close them out in GAME 6, the Lakers are thinking, all we gotta do it win this one game.
i said it before ill say it again, the Celtics don't wanna see KOBE in a game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Game 4 was a defining game for the 08 Lakers, it was a game to tie the series, to prove your equal, what it did was prove the Celtics advantages. Look at Los Angeles' City Hall Plaza, where a large group of Lakers fans congregate for what was supposed to be a parade celebrating the 2008 NBA championship. What they got instead was a bandwagon celtics fan to try to plan for next seasonstory by Scoop Jackson. Why is it now suddenly impossible for the Lakers to win this series, am i the only one that thanks the 2-3-2 format and sees how the Lakers will use that to their advantage? Kobe Bryant is a mad-man, he does not take losing lightly and even the Celtics are a little worried about the results of that man's motivation for game 5. People have been saying the Kobe-MJ comparisons should stop now, the forum on insidehoops.com made it a rule, and maybe they should, regardless of what happens in this series. BUT, if Kobe Bryant gets 40+ points in the next 3 games to put the Lakers on his back and carry them to a championship, which he is very capable of doing, this year, that history made will make him one of the best players of all time, and legitimately comparable to MJ23.
The Celtics overcame the largest deficit in the first quarter ever in an NBA Finals game for the Celtics to go up 3-1 and for the Los Angeles Lakers to catch their first loss in these playoffs at the Staples Center this year. I mean, where did we go wrong? How did the Lakers let this happen? How did KOBE BRYANT let this happen? With a 24 point lead at the end of the first in Kobe's 24th NBA Finals game, how did number 24 allow Paul Pierce and the Celtics to get a win in his building?
The game started off great, Lamar Odom was getting to the basket, going 7-7 for 15 points in the first half, Pau Gasol got off to a good start, 9 points in the first half, Kobe Bryant didn't even have a field goal and they were winning by 18 at halftime (by a buzzer beater Jordan Farmar 3 pointer, no less). Phil Jackson stressed at halftime how important it was to go out and win the 3rd quarter, they hadn't won a 3rd quarter all Finals, and the Lakers subsequently were outscored 31-15 in the third to make the score 73-71 going into the fourth, which should have been when Bryant got going to make sure the Lakers didn't f*ck this up.
The Celtics finally caught the Lakers at 73-all on Leon Powe's jumper in the lane with 9:05 remaining, tying the score for the first time since it was 2-2 in the first minute.At that point, the Lakers looked lost, confused, you name it. And when House hit an 18-foot jumper with 4:07 remaining, the Celtics had their first lead, 84-83. Boston's bench erupted, Lakers fans gasped and it was just a matter of time before they were heading out of Staples Center wondering what went wrong.
They asked Kevin Garnett how it felt to be this close to a championship, and can he taste it.
"Yeah," Kevin Garnett said. "I can taste it."
Well guess what?
Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are gonna beat the taste right out of his mouth in these Epic NBA Finals. See, we at dynastylakers don't think this series is over, despite all of the critics and statistics saying the Lakers cannot win this and the Celtics are the better team, this Celtics win is gonna light a fire up under Kobe Bryant and the Lakers more than people think.
SO, we are gonna GUARANTEE a Lakers win on Sunday, to make the series 3-2 heading back to Boston, the Celtics are DUE a home loss for beating the Lakers at home so i will GUARANTEE a Lakers win IN BOSTON for game 6, which will make the series 3-3 and a winner take all game 7 on Thurday in Boston.
I said this from the beginning, Lakers in 7, and you don't wanna see Kobe Bryant in a Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The 2008 Los Angeles Lakers are gonna be the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship, Kobe Bryant will be Finals MVP, and finally they will legitimately compare the career and skill of Micheal Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
I could be tempted to say, "That's more like it" upon seeing the Lakers win in Los Angeles, but that was expected, it was the way they won that has me opposite of proud and relaxed about my teams performance in this win. I'm not at all worried about our team's chances of winning this series, only 3 times has a team come back from 0-2 to win in the Finals and the last time was the 2006 Shaq-Wade Miami Heat when the NBA conspired against Mark Cuban, Avery Johnson and the Mavericks to make sure the Mavericks DIDN'T win, but we can be SURE, that nothing like that will happen in these finals riighht?
Considering the magnitude of the deserved scrutiny the league is getting from the snitching, lying, betting, Tim Donaghy, they may decide to call a fair game in these finals, and the refs will leave whatever player bias they have at home. So, hopefully Joey Crawford doesn't have the same vendetta against Kobe Bryant that he had against Tim Duncan that got him suspended and re-instated in less than a year. the NBA where cheating referees happen again and again. Anyways, how about that Game 3?
Game 3 was a pretty good performance by Kobe Bryant (11-18 FTs) , a breakout game by Sasha Vujacic (20 pts), and everyone else played like sh*t. This game was a reminder of this little acknowledged fact; this is still the pretty much the SAME TEAM that Kobe hated just season ago for some pretty valid reasons: the inconsistency of Lamar Odom, the lack of any good bench players, and let's not forget the Kwame Brown-Smush Parker Laker Destroyers. Really, the Lakers benefited more from getting RID of Kwame Brown and Smush Parker, then from acquiring Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol.
Its really amazing the relationships between players, fans, coaches, and the referees, its sort of like the relationship between young men, parents, lawyers, and the police. Somebody violates a rule like this: the offensive player drives toward the hoop and fakes a pull-up jumper, the defender jumps, and the offensive player jumps forward into the defender to shoot and to create contact for the foul. *WHISTLE* Offensive Foul. WTF?! BULLSH*T! the Offensive player declares. *WHISTLE* Technical Foul. Now, everyone knows that it should have been a defensive foul, but now the coach is talking to the refs like, hey, chill out on the bullsh*t calls.
Game 2 is when the finals really get interesting. It is always the case that the first two games are at the home court advantaged team's court, and game 2 is a test to see how advantaged home-court REALLY is, or it can be a showing of how talented the team is by making the necessary adjustments to show their teams advantages to WIN on the road. Now, the Los Angeles Lakers can win on the road, Phil Jackson is ONE OF THE greatest coaches in NBA basketball history, and if and when the Lakers win this series, he will be the UNDISPUTED greatest coach in NBA basketball.
Like a President back in the oval office for his second term, these NBA Finals are familiar territory for Jackson, not so much for Doc, so expect him to inspire the Lakers to come back like crack fiends to the Celtics house where both teams are starving for the high of being the champions. And they will come out on top, the Lakers will tie this series up going to Los Angeles, and if the Celtics couldn't beat the Hawks at home (Joe is no slouch) or the Cavs at home (Lebron no slouch either), they how the hell are they gonna beat the MVP Kobe Bryant, the Hall of Fame Phil Jackson, and the great team that is these 08 Lakers in the Finals at home?
Alright, alright, i know, i know. The Celtics are no pushover, and we understand that, both teams have both had an ample amount of rest and preparation, so this game was if anything an indication of the teams learning each other, and home-court advantage took care of the rest. I mean seriously, that 4-point play by Paul Pierce was one of the most amazing shots anyone has ever seen in these playoffs, even moreso than that SHOULD-HAVE-BEEN 4-point play by Pierce in game 6 (offensive foul?). But this game was lost by the Lakers simply because of mis-execution and missed shots, and not just by Kobe Bryant.
Okay, if Vladamir Radmanovic is such a non-factor on the defensive end and the offensive end, why does he start? I'm pretty sure Luke Walton could start at PF and do a hell of a job against Garnett and maybe score a bucket or two, 2 things Rad-man did not or could not do. Granted, he only played 17 minutes, and i see why, Phil Jackson is no fool, so i, the blogger, could never question his rotations or any coaching decision he makes, but i don't like what we saw from Vladamir on Game 1 of his first NBA Finals. And what was up with Derek Fisher and those two missed free throws in the first quarter of the game? I would hate to think this 33 year old 3-time champion veteran could be NERVOUS at the free throw line, we can't have that from our point guard. Other than that Fisher played pretty good, he seems kinda trigger-happy in the first quarter, then he finally calmed down and started distributing the ball well. Sasha Vujacic played okay, he is acting as our sixth man in these playoffs, and we are gonna need him to be defensively strong and make his three-point shot attempts. Jordan Farmar played well in the first quarter, but he only played 7 minutes in the whole game.
the stage is set. Just as we watched Barack Obama clinch the democratic nomination 2 days ago, we are watching history in the making. Boston Celtics versus Los Angeles Lakers, many men are giddy with excitement, but we here see the dynasty in the making that is the Lakers, and we know that we are going to win this series and the championship. I actually predict Lakers will win game 1.
i say 105-98 Lakers win.
Kobe Bryant with 35+, Lamar Odom with a double-double, Pau Gasol with 20+ points 8+ rebs, and Derek Fisher with 15+ pts 5+ asts.
Thank you for visiting my blog, i hope that you are an avid fan of basketball and the NBA.
Most basketball fans are unappreciative of the NBA game these days because of the referees cheating, the relationship politics between owners and players, like Kevin McHale trading his franchise player to his good friend and ex-teammate Danny Angie, who operates the same team that they used to play on, despite other deals available that would have made his franchise better. We're glad no one cried foul though, when Jerry "the logo" West donated, er, traded his franchise player to the team he used to play for for the worst player on that team and a rookie. But Kevin Garnett at the Boston Celtics is a good fit, and Pau Gasol on the Lakers is a great look, these NBA finals is a huge event for the vindication of both those trades, but this year's finals is much more vindication for a certain player heralded as the Greatest Player in the Game today. Kobe Bryant.
This is a blog to mark the beginning of a new era, the next chapter in the Lakers franchise history and the increasing legend of Kobe "assassin" "black mamba" "81" Bryant.
Kobe's great, that goes undisputed, but this Lakers team is great with him, and we may be looking at a dynasty in the making. Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Luke Walton, Vladamir Radmonovic, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Trevor Ariza, and Ronny Turiaf, and those are just the ROLE PLAYERS.
We still have our other franchise player to dominate the paint when he returns.
Andrew Bynum. This 2008 Lakers Championship will be known as "the year they won without Bynum" because when Bynum is back in the lineup, this team's defense and offense will drastically improve, and we will surely be looking at one of the greatest teams in Laker's franchise history, not THE greatest, i ain't trippin, but one of the greatest.
This blog will be the chronicles of this Lakers team, Kobe Bryant, and Andrew Bynum as they win the thing this year, and the progress of their improvement for the next 8 years to come.
Like a President back in the oval office for his second term, these NBA Finals are familiar territory for Jackson, not so much for Doc, so expect him to inspire the Lakers to come back like crack fiends to the Celtics house where both teams are starving for the high of being the champions. And they will come out on top, the Lakers will tie this series up going to Los Angeles, and if the Celtics couldn't beat the Hawks at home (Joe is no slouch) or the Cavs at home (Lebron no slouch either), they how the hell are they gonna beat the MVP Kobe Bryant, the Hall of Fame Phil Jackson, and the great team that is these 08 Lakers in the Finals at home?
