OT: Lakers vs. Kings: Shaq's Coming Out Party

[bulldog]

Shaq and Phil might have strategized that he could take a breather for stretches against the Blazers and Spurs, but in order to beat the Kings O'Neal is going to have to go at it 40 minutes.

Let's be honest here. For the Lakers this IS the NBA Finals.

The Nets or even younger Celtics are not going to beat LA in a seven game series this season

With that in mind I think you will see a more intense and productive O'Neal in this series.

My prediction: Lakers in 6 hard fought games.

[The Evil Genius]

Lakers in 5 - Peja's out game 1 and 2 - and the Kings(Royals) will need Peja to beat the Lakers.

The Kings (Royals) can ring their cowbells all the want - but unless the Refs call Vlade's Flops against Shaq - then they cant stop the Lakers.

[Zen-like Todd]

Kings in 5. Shaq's new name.... Gimpy Toe O'Neal.

[cowboykilla]

I think Bibby is the difference here. People keep overlooking the Kings because they just couldn't do it in past years. I think that falls on the shoulders of J Will. Bibby will be able to hold down Fischer and be WAY more productive on the offensive end than Williams was. I think the X Factor is if Divac can get in Shaq's head. Shaq has said he hates when Divac flops to try to get the foul called, and I think he'll get under Shaq's skin.

Kings in 7.

[theposse]

Originally posted by cowboykilla

I think Bibby is the difference here.

I think the Lakers will win, but Bibby was extremely impressive in the Mavs series. That trade for Jason Williams was ridiculously good. Bibby looked (in that series) like the Kings best player, which makes them pretty tough, especially if Stojakovic can come back and play well (after the first 2 games).

So, I'm still thinking the Lakers will win, but I think the Kings have a decent shot at it.

[cowboykilla]

Exactly, if the Kings ever had a chance, this is it.

[J33Edwards]

I would just like to say I hate the Lakers...

[cowboykilla]

I don't like to be a playa hater. However, I do hate Kobe for one reason: He doesn't want anyone to compare him to MJ, yet he imitates the same mannerisms, tries to talk the same way, etc. What does he expect? He's a dick, he's not fan friendly, he thinks commercials can take care of that.

[Golgo-13]

I'm a Laker hater myself. I hate the whole "playa hata" crap. That's just the champs way of whining when everybody isn't holding their di@k after they win it all. The fact of the matter is, people hate you when you are on top. Same goes with our country. Lots of people out there hate us because we are on top of the heap. America's all fine and good, but I still hate the Lakers. I hope the Kings can do some damage. If they knock out the Lakers (IF IF IF) then do you guys think Jackson will retire? I have heard rumors, but what do you think? Then what will happen with Shaquille "I won't play for anyone but Phil" O'Neal? That could be interesting. Vlade just needs to step on Shaq's toe real hard and watch him hobble. We're seeing him become more and more human. I'm hoping that he doesn't become his superhuman self again like last year.

[NavyDave]

If the Lakers continue to play the first three quarters as they did against the Spurs the Kings win in 5.

However it would be sweet for the winner from the East to knock off the favorite like the Pats did against the West Conference favorite Rams.

Wouldn't it be great to see the Champions being,

New Jersey Nets

Carolina Hurricane

To go with the Pats?

Talk about the year of the underdog.

[baralufficus]

I am a Die Hard Kings fan....I have lived in Sacramento since the Kings came to Sac, and watched them have the worst team in the NBA for 10 years ....NOw that we are winning , it is a feeling you can't controll....enough of the babbling ......I think the Kings beat LA in 6 ....and end it in LA .....Bibby is the difference compared to last year ....but it will be hard to beat LA without Peja....but he hardly ever shows up against the Lakers....so it might be a gift in disguise that he sits these games ......

and BTW ...the refs are going to call charging on Shaq ....Vlade is the best at "flopping".....BUt hell , what else can you do with a beast like Shaq .....he bullies his way in the lane , and used to never get called for it .....now he is whining like a little girl , because they are calling it even , for a change ....

I think Vlade is already in Shaq's head ...otherwise there wouldn't be this talk of somebody hanging Vlade's picture on Shaq's locker ....somebody is obvously trying to motivate the best Center in the league .....but for what? ...Vlade is not in the same league as Shaq , but Shaq needs motivation?......Shaq is going to get into foul trouble , by trying to do to much .....

Can't wait till Saterday ......this is the moment Kings fans have been waiting for .....the moment of truth ....Go Kings!!!!!!!!!

[The Evil Genius]

Props for not being the typical Sacramento bandwagoner.

Although this reference... "now he is whining like a little girl" could actually be used against CWebb also.

How many times must we here from him that the opposing team is playing dirty? C'mon - it the NBA - EVERYONE plays dirty.

The best that I have ever seen play - Magic, Bird, and MJ would be dirty players by CWebb's standards.

Tell you what CWebb - go back to smoking the pot and taking money under the table and quit your crying.

Okay...so I am made at the guy because it took him 3000 miles to find his game.

Peace.

[wildbill]

First off, there's no such thing as a Fisher stopper.The only reason Fisher is even talked about is because when the defense collapses on Shaq, he's able to hit the open shot.

With or without Stoy,Sacramento just doesn't match up well against the Lakers, even with the old Laker Christie gaurding Kobe. BD is right. Shaq will dominate this series and will do nothing but create wide open jump shot for the other Lakers.

Vlade is garbage when matched up against a physical and dominant center.I say that because I watched him get dogged by better centers when he played with LA.

My question is,and I'm not thumpin my chest as a Lakers fan, is what happens with 5 seconds left and the Lakers have the lead. Who do you go to?

[Charlie Murphaaay]

Sacramento will lose because they are a soft team. Their biggest superstar, Chris Webber is soft as a babies a$$. Whenever you go to Webber in the clutch he shoots that weak mid-range jumpshot that clangs off of the front of the rim. He won't take it inside on Shaq consistently enough for the Kings to win the series.

Derek Fisher is entirely underrated. He plays excellent defense. He goes for loose balls. He's tough and he is a very good perimeter player. Bibby won't be able to do anything with him.

Rick Fox and Robert Horry can play ball too. They are pro's with championship experience. Devin George has yet to emerge, and he probably will sometime soon, he's due.....

Oh yeah, Bibby sure did look great against the Mavs. Steve Nash can't play any defense, and he dribbles to ball way to much in the half court offense and turned the ball over too much. Who isn't gonna look good against the Mavs, they have NO defense.

Kobe's game upon his intro to the league was similar to Jordan's, hey, it was his idol. But as Kobe has matured, his own style of game has come out. Kobe is taller and is using this to spin into the lane and shoot over larger players. Kobe's a much better passer than Jordan at this age. Kobe is best in the league in the clutch.

[cdanrun]

I have to agree with Rellim, I don't think the Lakers get enough credit for their defense. The only thing people look at is the final score and wonder why aren't they blowing by everybody. True Shaq is hobbling, but Duncan and Rose always plays him tough. That is why it was Kobe's series as well as last years. Shaq shouldn't have difficulty with Divac and I believe he is salivating at this opportunity. They went up against Rasheed and Duncan already so I don't want to hear that the Lakers can't guard Webber. Lakers will attack the basket more.

All I hear is Bibby and Jackson is gonna tear things up. But look at the quality of defense that they just went up against. Somebody has to average twenty points a game when you play against the Mavs. The real question is, who is gonna guard Shaq and Kobe?

Lakers in 6!

[Zen-like Todd]

Who's going to guard them? Christie is an All-NBA defender. Shaq is gimpy. There are your answers.

This is crap. The soft label is ridiculous. C. Webb's game isnt inside pure power. He's an all around guy. Plus, he gets shafted on calls inside, so half the benefit of going in there is lost. Bibby and Jackson don't resemble "soft" in any sense of the word. Nor does Christie, or Pollard, for that matter.

Now answer me this. How is gimpy shaq going to run up and down the floor and keep up with the Kings' fast break?

Like I said, to all of you non-believers.

Put your icon where your mouth is.

[bulldog]

I think people here are giving Divac way too much credit. Last year a better post defender, Mutombo, gave it all he had against Shaq and after the first two games, Shaq still wore him down and dominated inside.

If Shaq allows Divac to stay with him in this series, rebounding, defending and passing then he knows the Kings are going to be on the doorstep. So I doubt that is going to happen.

As far as the intangibles go, Bryant has looked off this postseason, playing well in spurts but not approaching the player he was last year. He and/or Fisher could ratchet up their games to another level from what they have been producing in the first two series, and that is a scary thought for an opponent.

Horry's perimeter shooting and defense is ALWAYS underrated until it pays big dividends in the Conference and NBA Finals

While playing some close games the Lakers have only lost 2 contests in the postseason (and that's while the team has been allegedly sleepwalking)................

For the Kings the wild cards are the health of Stojakovic and the play of Bibby.

Bibby is a good NBA point guard. No question he makes the Kings a better team. Personally, I feel an elm tree comes within shouting distance of Jason Williams as an NBA stiff :laugh:

Stojakovic provides the third option for the Kings, which is really what makes them an impressive offensive team.

Down to TWO real options and with Webber being a question mark in the late going of key games in the past, you have to question if the Kings have the necessary variety to shake up the Lakers defense as it stands now.

Yes, Stojakovic may return later in the series, but David Robinson did too in the last one, and he wasn't very effective playing hurt.

[bulldog]

Chosen One, the last time I checked to get a fast break going you need to collect rebounds off of missed shots and pare off and fill the lanes down court.

Isn't that hard to do if the other team plays a half-court game and doesn't miss a lot of open 15-18 footers that clang long off the backboard or rim?

You are assuming the Lakers strategy is to play the KINGS game and then try to beat them at it.

That would be very stupid indeed.

The way to beat the Kings is not the way Dallas tried to.

The way to beat the Kings is to use their youth and impatience against them.

Webber becomes frustrated when he is getting closely defended in a half-court game. The Mavericks were 3 yards away from him and let him set up with the ball, the Lakers aren't going to allow him that kind of spacing.

Christie is a good ballplayer but as I mentioned before players collect fouls guarding Kobe Bryant. That is one of the ways he is able to get some space in the fourth quarter of games. His opponents are regularly guarding him with 4 or 5 fouls late.

If anything this comes down to defense and defensive EFFORT.

Adelman has a history of taking high scoring teams into the playoffs and then getting stopped by teams that can play stifling defense and force turnovers and bad shots.

That's what's happened the past two years against LA.

That's what's happened when Adelman was in Portland and the Blazers were losing to the Bulls.

Adelman has never taught his teams how to be patient, disciplined and pay the price physically to win in the postseason.

And that's why he has been a popular coach with his players, because he lets them do what they want to do on the floor.

Run up and down and shoot jumpers. Great.

Until they clang off the rim and the opponent is shooting 50% from the field.

Then you lose.

[Zen-like Todd]

ZZZZzzz....... of course, this is all idle speculation... the games will speak for themselves... however...

You are assuming the Lakers strategy is to play the KINGS game and then try to beat them at it.

Errr... no. I assume nothing. Maybe you are assuming that the Lakers will be able to force the Kings into a half-court game?

The way to beat the Kings is to use their youth and impatience against them.

They aren't nearly as young and impatient as they were last year.

Webber becomes frustrated when he is getting closely defended in a half-court game. The Mavericks were 3 yards away from him and let him set up with the ball, the Lakers aren't going to allow him that kind of spacing.

Err... C. Webb gets irritated when he doesnt get foul calls that he most certainly should get. C. Webb is the best passer at the 4 in the NBA. With more consistent outside shooting (the replacement of williams with bibby), this becomes a more prominent part of the game plan.

BTW, the Kings arent even close to jumper crazy. They like to bring it to the rim from all positions. They do both equally well. If you just watched the Mavs series, you don't really get the Kings' style (I'm not saying that YOU havent watched other games).

It's silly to look at last year's playoff series and assume that this year will be a repeat. This team is far more resilient, consistent, and mature. The Lakers are certainly not playing to the level they did last year.

Will it be a hard fought, well contested series? Sure... will the Lakers win it? In my opinion, no way...

Someone take the icon bet.... am I going to have to start calling people wusses just to draw them out?

[cdanrun]

This is definitely gonna be an interesting series. True the Lakers haven't looked dominant in any of their series, but they have won on tough defense. Yes there are many intangibles, Shaq's injuries to top the list, but as of right now, the Lakers have won despite their lack luster effort so far in the post season. The Lakers can only get better with Shaq's injury healing during this time off.

I fully expect Shaq to get off on Divac and this series. The Spurs like I said before always gives Shaq difficulties and it showed compounded with his injuries. Divac is a different story, flopping here, flopping there, might as well give the kids a day off from mopping here, mopping there. He's gonna eat his word when he said that Lakers can't win if they don't have homecourt advantage. Has to be a psychological edge cuz it seems like the Kings are banking on it. Lakers don't need it. Evident by their 11 game wining streak on the road. How many teams in any professional sports can pull that off in this day and age?

As for Webber, is he gonna dissappear like Duncan down the stretch? Yeah he can pass, maybe to someone who is willing to take charge of HIS team. Lakers have been tested over and over again at the PF spot. Wallace, the MVP Duncan, but as it turns out they can't slay the Lakers.

Have you noticed in the Lakers-Spurs series on how they defended Duncan? First three quarters, bascially one on one. Fourth quarter comes along, double and triple teams from every position. Duncan didn't and couldn't identify quick enough where the double teaming came from. Expect Jackson and the Lakers to disguise their looks down the stretch. Aha, but Webber can pass it to one of the outside shooters. Yeah he can as well as Duncan with their alledged 3-point specialists, but they couldn't produce. With Stojakovic side lined for the first two games, I have to like the Lakers chances. Besides, Bibby has one great series against a team that played no defense and all of a sudden he's an all-world guard that is gonna beat the Lakers??? Shoot, had it been Parker against the Mavs, he could have been all-universe.

The Lakers are the Champs and seems as if there role players do not get the credit they deserve. Is it not the same players pratically that won them two consecutive championships?

The Kings of cow country have youth and optimism on their side. If not this year maybe ten years down the line. As of right now the Lakers are the CHAMPS! :cool:

[@DCGoldPants]

Afterward, with a white hat pulled low over angry eyes, O'Neal blamed the Lakers' loss on the refereeing. O'Neal was whistled for three offensive fouls -- and the Arco crowd howled for many more. The Lakers got 31 fouls to the Kings' 25.

I can't believe this. The man who gets away with more fouls than Jordan is crying about getting called?!?

[Zen-like Todd]

It's pretty funny. Given the styles of the two teams, the differential should have been much higher. The Kings were attacking the hoop all night, and the Lakers were taking bailout fouls. Most of the fouls were intentional, so seriously, what on earth is he complaining about? I saw 5 separate occasions where the man defender or someone who was cutting by cracked one of the Kings right in the face and didn't get the call.

[bulldog]

going up 2-0 would have been nice, but the Lakers got the split they needed to get back homecourt advantage and that is a point lost amid all the 'the Lakers should win every series 4-0' garbage that you hear from the national media.

No one expected the Kings to get swept this time around.

This series will change in game 3 for a number of reasons:

1. Stojakovic might be back.

2. Kobe will be healthy again after losing 5 pounds the night before game 2 to food poisoning.

3. The venue shifts to LA.

[@DCGoldPants]

How do you feel about the excuses though? The Refs?

[wildbill]

I don't like Shaq's comments but there were some bad calls.What I found difficult to understand is there was no consistency in the way the officials were calling.Sure,you can call a foul on Shaq on just about every play but Webber has a tendency to hook his defender with his off arm, especially when spinning towards the baseline.

All in all, the Lakers got done what they needed to do(a split).It was nice to see Shaq back in rythim and I think that if Sac. is going to beat them in the series, they are going to have to get Shaq in foul trouble in just about every game.

The Lakers have now lost two games this year in the playoffs.Both times Shaq was in modest foult trouble which takes away his ability to go strong to the hole. I know TCO won't agree, but Shaq is fouled on just about every play he touches the ball down low.Sometimes you get the calls and sometimes you don't.

If the officials are going to call that many offensive fouls on him, they should at least blow the whistle on Christie when he's throwing his body all over Kobe. If I'm the Kings I'm still a little worried.If it wasn't for horrible play from Walker and George the Lakers probably would have pulled this one out also.

I know, I know probably don't mean sh$t