Non-Football: Lakers and Sixers Declare War

[bulldog]

the proverbial hammer has hit the anvil in the Finals this year.

As a Lakers fan, I had hoped the layoff would not cause the team to rust and sit around reading all about themselves and the streak, but that is exactly what happened. Game 1 featured an absolutely dreadful performance by the backcourt of Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher.

Looking back I can't remember a worse performance by the Lakers' guards all year, on either end of the floor. 30% shooting, questionable defense, 11 turnovers.

As Game 2 showed, however, things can change in a hurry as players such as Kobe Bryant rarely play two poor games in a row under the bright lights. And O'Neal has been as dominant as Moses Malone in 1983.

That said, this series has all the hallmarks of a tough 6 or 7 game roll.

The Sixers are a scrappy team that plays hard for 48 minutes and is well-coached. Larry Brown knows, unlike Ric Adelman and Mike Dunleavy, that just having his players try to play the Lakers straight up and match baskets is a recipe for failure.

Brown has the Sixers pressuring Bryant and Fisher in the backcourt when bringing up the ball and the close defense has resulted in 15 and 16 turnovers by the Lakers in the two games.

That pressure combined with some career shooting by Matt Geiger (out to 16 feet!) and MacCullough has kept the Lakers off balance.

Everyone expected Iverson to throw up 35 to 40 shots and score 35 points. Noboby expected Geiger and MacCullough to combine for 18 in the front court.

I still think the Lakers will win this series in 6 or 7. They have showed to be an excellent road team this season and it would not surprise me if they made Game 3 a statement game in Philadelphia.

At the same time, Jackson has some situations he needs to address going forward. The Lakers simply can't put Horace Grant out there for 30+ minutes and get 6 points and 5 rebounds out of him while allowing the Sixers front court players to shoot as well as they have. Grant is 35 and is clearly not the player he was, but seeing him shoot that airball from 18 feet to start off game 2 had me shaking my head as to what he was doing that far from the basket.

When Mutombo is out of the game and O'Neal is being guarded by Geiger or MacCullough, the Lakers should try moving to a smaller, quicker lineup on the perimeter and bring in Robert Horry to play the 4 spot to get some movement and scoring out of the position.

The team can't use this lineup when the Sixers are in their regular rotation, so then I would consider giving Mark Madsen some minutes off the bench in the first half of these games. As we have seen, Grant is clearly struggling on both ends and has all but disappeared at the end of each game.

The other factor is we all know Aaron McKie and Eric Snow are nursing some bad wheels. So why let these guys get clean looks at the basket from 12-15? Make them drive in and force some contact to get involved on the offensive end.

I think Bryant was much more aware of making McKie work on the defensive end in game 2 after McKie's production in game 1. That has to continue. When Bryant hits those first couple of jumpers and then follows with his penetration game it opens up the entire floor and exposes McKie and Snow who have to cover more ground while favoring those injuries.

It was this spacing in Game 2 that allowed Derek Fisher to get back on track and contribute as the third scorer for LA.

When O'Neal and Bryant are over 25 and Fisher gets 15, the Lakers are very difficult to beat.

[BIGDC]

Philly did exzactly what they wanted to do allthough they lost the 2nd game I beleive the goal was to escape from L.A. with 1 game. They now have a chance to take the Lakers out, with the next 3 games being in Philly.

[redman]

bulldog, I totally agree with all of your post.

BDC- do you really think that the Lakers are gonna lose three in a row? It's gonna be extremely difficult for Philly to win two out of three.

I'm not impressed with Iverson's inability to deal with tenacious defense. Like I said in the other thread, what has he really done over the last 6.5 or so quarters since the Lakers put Lue on him? By my count he's scored around 33 points during that time, which is pathetic for him.

The Lakers can afford to have one of their stars performing at a mediocre level as long as their other players like Fox or Fisher or Horry are scoring. I don't see anyone who can fill the gap for Philly on the offensive end when Iverson's not getting it done on offense.

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"Loosen up, Sandy baby. You're just too damn tight!" - John Riggins to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

[markrc99]

i'm a long time celtic fan but there's question in my mind that shaq is king! i don't watch much basketball anymore but what i noticed in game 2 was shaq doing a much better job of quarterbacking the transition game. when he dominates the glass the way he can,he needs to make it count and stop just looking for his outlet.

his FT technique is something i don't see from any other player. he shoots FTs with his fingertips. i would've thought that would,ve been corrected by now!? you look at mutombo,and here's a guy who had absolutely no feel for the ball in his hands when he 1st came out,but now,technique-wise looks much more sound and comfortable shooting FTs.

i don't know that the lakers haven't already faced their toughest adversaries in this playoff run. i mean,let's get real,there's no one that can prevent shaq from posting anywhere he wants to. then wheeling and dunking!! he's not some big clumsy ox that got a clue what to do when he was 20 yrs old. he's a great basketball player,and one that's ahead of his time. LA did a better job of running their screens away from the ball and freeing up a cutter into the lane for shaq to feed for easy lay-ins. kobe's an excellent player too.

i don't care if it's iverson,KJ or tiny archibald,small penetrating guards are best met at the goal. the help should slide late and i'd have it be the man closest to the bucket. these type of guards don't make a living of penetrating,then pulling up in the lane to take short jumpers! for an iverson to penetrate the forest and pull up,you're talking a major adjustment just to prevent easy blocks.

be it iverson or any of the others,when they get in there,their always looking to go all the way to the goal. what the help waiting there does,is make a dish to a teammate(usually right under the basket)much more difficult,and forces the shooter to pull up in the lane,which isn't what he's in there to do. or take a charge. the sixers have to hope the refs put shaq on the bench early and often. hail the lakers!

[TennesseeCarl]

The games will be determined largely by what the refs do (or fail to do). I'm not a Sixers fan, but I guess I am a Laker hater so I'm not objective. Still I feel that the Lakers tend to get the benefit of officiating. It was refreshing to see Shaq called for a 3 second violation (Come on, Laker fans...it ought to be called 10 times a game on him). Shaq's signature move seems to be getting the ball low, lowering his shoulder and bulling into the chest of the defender enroute to a dunk.

Having said that, there's no doubt that Shaq is the most dominant force in basketball. It's a shame he doesn't have a 'Bill Russell' to play against his 'Wilt'. The guy moves with amazing agility.

The great defense against Iverson, by the way, seems to consist largely of slaps to the face, elbows to the body and those cute little pats on the shooting arm. Let's see if AI only gets to the free throw line two times a half at home.

[NavyDave]

Tennesse Carl exactly. We tend to believe the officiating has to get better because Philly Fan isnt going to show brotherly love if the Officials keep up the blind ref act.

As I was telling the bandwagon Flaker fans they are supposed to be destroying the 76ers. I mean they really dominated USC and Oregon State errr the Western Conference.

Iverson gets doubled and tripled teamed. Held, smacked on the arm. smacked in the face and we are to believe its tenacious flaker defense yeah ok.

I guess he11 will freeze over before they start calling shaq for offensive fouls which is what his bull rush style underneath actually is. Kobe is ok but he isn t a Tracy McGrady. Kobe was revealed to be a fraud when he attempted to guard iverson in game one but now he is great going against a guy with a fractured ankle oh wow MJ's legacy is being challenged- not.

Now can we say the true coach of the year won it?

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Yes I'm paid to think and I need a raise

[Zen-like Todd]

This is getting ridiculous. This is the NBA, not Duke vs. Maryland in the NCAA Tournament. I actually like the 76ers. I like them far more than the Lakers (I wouldnt come close to calling either of them "my" team though). However, this fanboy analysis is starting to get on my nerves. I've seen just as many bogus calls go the way of the 76ers. On Friday, Kobe came in on the side and had the world's cleanest block on an Iverson jumper. The result? A foul on Kobe. How about the moving screen on Wednesday night in OT on Horry? Yes, these are just two examples, but I maintain that blaming anything on the refs calls is just sour grapes. Stop yer ****in and play ball.

People are trying to say the Lakers are overrated. Hardly. People are saying the 76ers are underrated. Silly, I say.

Everyone knows the 76ers have the league's MVP, 6th man of the year, coach of the year, and a perennial All-NBA defender in Mutumbo. They go 3 deep with big men. They have plenty of active perimeter players. They play great team D. For most of the year, they had the best record in the league. No one underrates them, they are not the heart-warming 8th seed that has defied all expectations to make it to the finals. Simply put, they are a very very good team. Simply put, however, the Lakers are significantly better. I can't believe people are trying to rag on Kobe, btw. At the age of 22, an all-NBA defender who has put up 28 points/game while not being the primary scoring option, and still dishing out 5 assists a game. This isnt a comparison to anyone. Kobe is an amazing ball player, and will only get better. Some people might say you cant go off of age. BS. He's played organized competitive ball just as long as anyone else his age. If anything, he lost more time his first two years in the league when he wasn't starting.

Stop player-hating. I know you guys are used to it from the whole Deion thing (where it is quite justified). But here it just stinks of envy.

P.S. My team? The Kings, of course. I'm going to be quite bitter if/when they lose Cristie, J. Will, and C. Webb in one offseason though.

EDIT: Oh yeah... whine about Iverson getting held/slapped. That boy flops like a mofo. I root for the little guys, but its more than obvious he is a world-class thespian (I wonder how many people will read this sentence while buzzed and bust out laughing)

[ by TheChosenOne on June 10, 2001.]

[Om]

Decidedly non-PC comment from the peanut gallery:

What do you call 100 of Chosen's 'thespians' carrying rifles?

Militia Etheridge.

*

We now apologize and re-cloak ourselves in PC-dom until further notice.

[ by Om on June 10, 2001.]

[bulldog]

regardless of how many points some fans here think the Lakers should win by over the Sixers to prove their greatness, those of us who have followed their teams in the Finals over the years realize it is never really that easy to eliminate another good team.

Last year the Lakers beat the Pacers in 6 games, but those were some tough ball games. Reggie Miller went over 30 points in several games and proved to be as unstoppable at times as Iverson has. That was not a walk in the park.

Remember the Bulls last championship over the Jazz? Go back and watch those games and tell me the Bulls plowed through those games to easily win a championship. See the expression on Jordan's face after winning? He knew how much hard work went into winning that last title.

I guess my point is nobody, myself included, thinks these Lakers are a reincarnation of the '72 team or the '85 team that boasted Hall of Famers all over the roster.

At the same time, given league expansion and the passing from the scene of Jordan, Magic and Bird, this team may be about as good as you are going to see for awhile.

The days of having a starting 5 made up of all-star caliber players is over. And that's too bad.

But that is hardly Shaq's or Phil Jackson's fault. They are just trying to win in the system the are made to play in.

Ditto for Larry Brown and Iverson.

Give them all a break.

[NavyDave]

I'm not player hating but I'm not sucking up either. Practically every bandwagon fan was talking sweep and purple domination because of the lakers winning of the west which is akin of the Giants winning the NFC title last year.

Kobe is ok but lets get real he benefits from having Shaq on his team. put him in a situation like T Mac or Carter or vise versa and see the differing opinions.

Samething with Zen master.

Philly gets props because it is obvious the are walking wounded and are still playing scrappy. This team should be up 2 games to 1. However I believe the 76ers should tie the series.

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Yes I'm paid to think and I need a raise

[bulldog]

if wishes were fishes..........

If you want to play the "what if" game, what if the Lakers didn't blow that 5 point lead in the Game 1 overtime and come out with a win?

Then the series would be 3-0 instead of 2-1.

True the Lakers got some breaks in Games 2 and 3 but the Sixers definitely did as well in Game 1.

It all depends on which way you are looking at the glass on the table, half full or half empty.

[Beaudry]

NavyDave, The Western conference is much much much better than the East. If you took the 8th seed of the west (Timberwolves), they would have been like 4th in the east. If you account for their tougher schedule, they could have reasonably finished 2nd or 3rd. In the west they take 8th.

Also, the 76'ers got all sorts of crazy call/nocalls in the 2nd half of game 3. Mutumbo ain't blocking Kobe, he's slapping his arm. Shaq gets aways with throwing elbows, but Iverson makes a living pushing off with his forearm.

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ShonyX

[bulldog]

All the complaining about favoritism is nothing new.

Jordan pushed off. Larry Bird travelled on every possession. Kareem elbowed guys on every rebound.

There always has to be an excuse for the performance of the great players by someone.

Just can't accept the players are great players in their own right.

Geiger and MacCullough to be honest foul Shaq every time down court on the defensive end. If the refs really called every foul the Sixers would not have a frontcourt 15 minutes into the game!

As far as Iverson and Bryant go, they are both being slapped at and held by defenders. Otherwise they are unstoppable.

The same thing happened last year when Rik Smits and Dale Davis fouled Shaq nearly every time down court. And when the Lakers fouled Reggie Miller on almost every shot he took in the fourth quarter of games.

That's the nature of playoff basketball in the NBA.