Basketball (NBA, College, etc.)

I am glad Boston made the finals and I'll be rooting for the Celtics.I usually prefer teams from the West,but I'm a player-fan and since KG is in Boston,I think he has the best chance in the career up till now to win the title. :woot: Go KG! :woot:

crvn107 wrote:I am glad Boston made the finals and I'll be rooting for the Celtics.I usually prefer teams from the West,but I'm a player-fan and since KG is in Boston,I think he has the best chance in the career up till now to win the title. :woot: Go KG! :woot:

Boo. :(

I haven't been following the NBA really,so I do not now how the Lakers are other than them beating Spurs to get to the finals.Biasness aside,how do you rate the 2 teams?

crvn107 wrote:I haven't been following the NBA really,so I do not now how the Lakers are other than them beating Spurs to get to the finals.Biasness aside,how do you rate the 2 teams?

Honestly, I'd think the Celts are favored, with their Big Three... :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:
Honestly, I'd think the Celts are favored, with their Big Three... :sweat:

The Lakers do have their own version of the Big Three, with Bryant, Gasol and Odom. Probably not as formidable as the Celtics' version, but still very productive. Along with Fisher running the point versus an inconsistent Rondo, I actually like the Lakers' chances here. Certainly the Celtics' have the defense, but with the likes of Farmar, Radmanovic and Vujacic being good shooters, I can see the Lakers spreading the floor trying to go for the penetration and kick-out for some shots. If those guys can get going, it'll hard for the Celtics to close down on Bryant or Gasol.

It won't be as easy task for the Lakers either though. Containing the Big Three will be difficult enough. Garnett can be in the post, and the Lakers would have to worry about Allen and Pierce knocking down their shots, but Garnett is just as good a shooter as well. If Rondo can get on track it'll be just that much harder for the Lakers. It's just with Rondo's inconsistency, along with the shooters the Lakers have, I think the Lakers have a great chance of winning the title. :victory:

bmwracer wrote:Now it's a classic battle between two storied franchises in the NBA Finals: Lakers-Celtics. :sweat:

Ugh .... not again! :bleh:

I heard some stat that between the 2 teams, they own 30 of the 60ish NBA titles. Apparently, neither the Celts nor Lakers have yet learned to share. :shakehead:

bmwracer wrote:
Honestly, I'd think the Celts are favored, with their Big Three... :sweat:

You're wrong and crazy. :crazy:

The Lakers definitely will be the official favorites ... just check the Vegas odds when they come out.

adub2adub wrote:Apparently, neither the Celts nor Lakers have yet learned to share. :shakehead:

As the old saying goes, "They Earn It."

adub2adub wrote:The Lakers definitely will be the official favorites

Finally jumping on the bandwagon I see.... :P

deseipher wrote:The Lakers do have their own version of the Big Three, with Bryant, Gasol and Odom. Probably not as formidable as the Celtics' version, but still very productive.

Actually, I'd rather have the Laker's Big Three over the Celts as of today.

Allen, KG, Pierce all have more of a history and better career stats, but both Allen and KG are past their primes and getting old.

Gasol and Odom are still fairly young and near their best. Kobe though ... is the main reason the Lakers' Big 3 would have the edge.

I agree with most of your other points. :mrgreen:

bmwracer wrote:
Finally jumping on the bandwagon I see.... :P

Ehhh? .... "Jumping on the bandwagon" would be me coming around to "rooting" for the Lakers, which would be like an ultimate sin and I'll never come to commit such heinous act. :twisted:

But, I do think the Lakers will win .... just not sure in how many yet.

adub2adub wrote:

Actually, I'd rather have the Laker's Big Three over the Celts as of today.

Allen, KG, Pierce all have more of a history and better career stats, but both Allen and KG are past their primes and getting old.

Gasol and Odom are still fairly young and near their best. Kobe though ... is the main reason the Lakers' Big 3 would have the edge.

I agree with most of your other points. :mrgreen:

Odom is probably the weakest of the Lakers trinity, while Allen would be the same thing on the Celtics side.

I'm eager to see what Pierce will do at this point, since that's an obvious mismatch the Celtics can exploit.

I pity Ray Allen's defensive assignment, though.

:sweat:

adub2adub wrote:

Actually, I'd rather have the Laker's Big Three over the Celts as of today.

Allen, KG, Pierce all have more of a history and better career stats, but both Allen and KG are past their primes and getting old.

Gasol and Odom are still fairly young and near their best. Kobe though ... is the main reason the Lakers' Big 3 would have the edge.

I agree with most of your other points. :mrgreen:

It'd be hard to argue your point about Kobe giving the Lakers' trio the edge. If Bowen had a hard time containing Kobe, I don't know who on the Celtics can (Ray Allen, I feel sorry for you). I think KG isn't past his prime just yet, but to me he seems to lack that killer instinct to take over a game. For someone as talented as KG, he should down in the post just taking over. He seems content with jump shots.

GO LAKERS!!!!

i kinda wanna see kg get a ring as well as ray allen.

but i really want kobe to get another one.
so i'm leaning more towards lakers.

The_Lyrics wrote:i kinda wanna see kg get a ring as well as ray allen.

but i really want kobe to get another one.
so i'm leaning more towards lakers.

As far as sentimental favorites go, Garnett is at the top of my list for this Finals. Busted his ass for all those years in Minnesota and not once did I ever hear or read about him complaining about his situation or demanding a trade, even when he had reason to. I don't think anyone can complain about the effort and passion he puts out every time he's on the court.

As a longtime Laker fan I would certainly like the Lakers to win another title, but I wouldn't be too sad if Boston wins, giving Garnett that championship that has long eluded him. :victory:

deseipher wrote:As a longtime Laker fan I would certainly like the Lakers to win another title, but I wouldn't be too sad if Boston wins, giving Garnett that championship that has long eluded him. :victory:

Garnett shoulda joined the Lakers then. :P

No sentimentality for the Celtics.

bmwracer wrote:
Garnett shoulda joined the Lakers then. :P

No sentimentality for the Celtics.

I seriously doubt Kevin McHale would ever want to assist the Lakers in anyway, so the chances of Garnett going to the Lakers were probably zero to begin with. :sweat:

deseipher wrote:

I seriously doubt Kevin McHale would ever want to assist the Lakers in anyway, so the chances of Garnett going to the Lakers were probably zero to begin with. :sweat:

There actually was talk during last off-season about TWolves wanting to trade Garnett in some sort of package to the Lakers for Odom + Bynum. Apparently, both sides couldn't come to terms, but perhaps it worked out for the better. :sweat:

deseipher wrote:As far as sentimental favorites go, Garnett is at the top of my list for this Finals. Busted his ass for all those years in Minnesota and not once did I ever hear or read about him complaining about his situation or demanding a trade, even when he had reason to. I don't think anyone can complain about the effort and passion he puts out every time he's on the court.

I share those sentiments too. It'd be nice to see KG finally win a ring, along with Ray Allen. Thing is, I've never liked the Celtics, nor any Boston team for that matter.

However, if my favorite team is not involved (Knicks :ashamed: ) ... I tend to root for certain storylines or players. So, basically, I'd probably root for the Sonics or Bucks (as random examples) in the playoffs if KG were traded to them instead.

I contrast this with Karl Malone & Gary Payton going to the Lakers at the end of their careers to win that elusive NBA title. Not only did I despise Kobe and Shaq, but didn't really care for Malone or Payton either. Thus, no love for the Lakers. :usuck: