Basketball (NBA, College, etc.)

bmwracer wrote:
Maybe looking ahead to the Heat game on Christmas Day. :shakehead:

with the way they are playing this season, I doubt they will get far into the playoffs, a 1st or 2nd round exit might be very possible, UNLESS they start playing consistent, improve in their game. The Mavericks, Miami Heat, and Spurs are now very capable of beating the Lakers, The Clippers almost did the other week.

qilver wrote:with the way they are playing this season, I doubt they will get far into the playoffs, a 1st or 2nd round exit might be very possible, UNLESS they start playing consistent, improve in their game. The Mavericks, Miami Heat, and Spurs are now very capable of beating the Lakers, The Clippers almost did the other week.

I'm sure they'll get it together come playoff time, but they're really plodding along at the moment... And home court advantage is a long ways off. :sweat:

The other thing to remember is that as bad as the Lakers have played, they're still 21-8. That puts them on pace to win 59 games this year. Last year they won 57 and had a horrible stretch at the end of the season, and still won the championship. I don't think the way the Lakers have played recently is any indication on how good they will be in the playoffs. To be honest, I expect a different Laker team to come ready to play against Miami. The Lakers are usually at their best against either the stronger teams or when the Lakers are missing key players.

mrsmith10 wrote:The other thing to remember is that as bad as the Lakers have played, they're still 21-8. That puts them on pace to win 59 games this year. Last year they won 57 and had a horrible stretch at the end of the season, and still won the championship. I don't think the way the Lakers have played recently is any indication on how good they will be in the playoffs. To be honest, I expect a different Laker team to come ready to play against Miami. The Lakers are usually at their best against either the stronger teams or when the Lakers are missing key players.

I agree: they usually play to the level of their opponents, so the game on Christmas Day should be quite competitive... And potentially frustrating as well. :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:
I'm sure they'll get it together come playoff time, but they're really plodding along at the moment... And home court advantage is a long ways off. :sweat:

Orlando snapped Spurs 10-game winning streak.....all i hear about is streaks,
Dallas at 14 games, Miami was at 12, Celtics at 14....

what it comes down to is May-June playoff time, and the championship, so it'll make these almost worthless streaks seem smaller than they really are, just because a team is "hot" for the while. Yeah, I agree with you, Lakers will gear up for April, playoff time, I am just not sure how strong and solid they will be, since they are showing great inconsistency in some games. Somehow I think this Miami game will be too hyped up, and probably more important for Miami to win it, than Lakers to win it.

qilver wrote:Orlando snapped Spurs 10-game winning streak.....all i hear about is streaks,
Dallas at 14 games, Miami was at 12, Celtics at 14....

what it comes down to is May-June playoff time, and the championship, so it'll make these almost worthless streaks seem smaller than they really are, just because a team is "hot" for the while. Yeah, I agree with you, Lakers will gear up for April, playoff time, I am just not sure how strong and solid they will be, since they are showing great inconsistency in some games. Somehow I think this Miami game will be too hyped up, and probably more important for Miami to win it, than Lakers to win it.

Yeah, there seems to be a lot of streaks so far this year... And by teams you'd expect to see come playoff time.

Wouldn't mind see the Lakers get on a nice winning streak... Starting on Christmas Day. :victory: :mrgreen:

bmwracer wrote:
Wouldn't mind see the Lakers get on a nice winning streak... Starting on Christmas Day. :victory: :mrgreen:

If they only win one more game for the year make it that one. :hehe:

hitomi #1 wrote:If they only win one more game for the year make it that one. :hehe:

Hmm.

Even better would be a blowout of the Heat... On national TV. :mrgreen: :applaud:

bmwracer wrote:
Hmm.

Even better would be a blowout of the Heat... On national TV. :mrgreen: :applaud:

Well, they only have a few games before the end of the year. :naughty: What would be a good ending, perhaps James clanking 2 FTs, down by one with no time on the clock? :beaten:

hitomi #1 wrote:Well, they only have a few games before the end of the year. :naughty: What would be a good ending, perhaps James clanking 2 FTs, down by one with no time on the clock? :beaten:

Nah, a blowout is your best deal. :mrgreen:

bmwracer wrote:
Nah, a blowout is your best deal. :mrgreen:

Yeah, we talked about that before for the Jets-Pats game and looked what happened there. :victory: Vendors will be hurting though if the crowd leaves in the 3rd quarter with the home team up by 25. :naughty:

hitomi #1 wrote:Yeah, we talked about that before for the Jets-Pats game and looked what happened there. :victory: Vendors will be hurting though if the crowd leaves in the 3rd quarter with the home team up by 25. :naughty:

Well the game is at Staples, so I'm sure the L.A. faithful will stay and savor a blowout against the new Evil Empire.

If enough leave early though, perhaps they can re-sell the seats to Clippers fans so they can see what a home team winning looks like. :crazy: :naughty:

hitomi #1 wrote:If enough leave early though, perhaps they can re-sell the seats to Clippers fans so they can see what a home team winning looks like. :crazy: :naughty:

:lol: :rofl:

bmwracer wrote:
Well the game is at Staples, so I'm sure the L.A. faithful will stay and savor a blowout against the new Evil Empire.

even though i'd love for Miami to get pummeled this year by the Lakers,

I would not be surprised if Lakers get beaten to a pulp like last year's Xmas game.

This game is too hyped up, i just hope Miami ends up the biggest loser.

qilver wrote:I would not be surprised if Lakers get beaten to a pulp like last year's Xmas game.

So far, you're getting your wish: Lakers are shooting terribly and playing like they did in that humiliating loss to the Bucks four days ago. :shakehead:

I'm going to stop watching them play on Christmas: they always ruin my day. :grumble:

bmwracer wrote:I agree: they usually play to the level of their opponents, so the game on Christmas Day should be quite competitive... And potentially frustrating as well. :sweat:

Turns out it's the latter. :shakehead:

The Nikes were ugly, but not as ugly as the Laker game itself... What a waste of my time.

At least I didn't pay thousands of dollars for courtside tickets like some people did... I'd ask for a refund from the Lakers.

Celts' win streak was snapped by the Magic. Not a good game, poor defense and at time clueless on offense. :sweat: At least Jermaine O'Neal is back. :beaten:

Jav_sol wrote:Celts' win streak was snapped by the Magic. Not a good game, poor defense and at time clueless on offense. :sweat: At least Jermaine O'Neal is back. :beaten:

I read some story about Shaq-fool complaining about fouling out... As usual, he's more worried about himself than the team.

bmwracer wrote:
At least I didn't pay thousands of dollars for courtside tickets like some people did... I'd ask for a refund from the Lakers.

Speaking of ticket prices, Stub Hub in NY sold a pair of courtside seats for $79,000 when the Heat came to play at MSG :beaten: ...and most tickets they sold were well over $2,500. :sweat: