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

[Zen-like Todd]

Heeeeyyy....

Everyone assumes I am Mr. Anti-Laker. If you guys remember correctly, I was fully in support of the Lakers going into the NBA Finals last year. I don't dislike them, its just that the Kings are my team, and beyond that, I don't think the Kings get nearly the respect that they deserve (example #1, everyone assumed that Dallas would roll over them for some odd reason, even though they don't have an inside game). I totally respect Shaq, however, the fouling issue can be argued either way. Some would say that Shaq commits an offensive foul every time down the court, and others would say he gets mauled every time he gets the ball in the post.

Certainly at least a couple of the foul calls against Shaq on the offensive end were valid. For example, one time Shaq faked towards the middle, and Vlade knew it was a fake, so he just planted on the baseline. Shaq went back outside, not realizing Vlade was still there, and just knocked him on his ***.

One thing I will say... the reffing in this series is horrid. Not even the foul calls, but simple things like who knocked the ball out of bounds, 3-second violations not being called, etc, etc.

And Christie wasn't "all over" Kobe. By leaning into his chest, he was simply providing a support for Kobe to rest on :D

[wildbill]

The funniest play of the game when was Vlade picked what I believe was his fifth foul on the over the back call. Watching Shaq flop was just hilarious, and the reaction Vlade had was even better. I think Vlade's flopping may be getting to Shaq, its almost like a soap opera.

[@DCGoldPants]

I don't remember Jordan complaining like this. I'm not even a Jordan fan but he would always say "We didn't get it done, or we need to work on this"

not blasting the refs because he knew they hooked him up in every game. Shaq needs to understand that he's getting away with murder out there like Ray Lewis.

[bulldog]

If I am not mistaken the Lakers and Kings had a very competitive 5 game series back in 2000 with the Lakers winning 3-2.

That is the kind of series I see here.

No, this is not last year's Lakers. But how many teams have gone 15-1 in the postseason as they did?

Comparing this team to that one and then saying because they are playing a notch below that level now does NOT mean the Lakers are still not a better club than the Kings.

I think the Lakers of 2001 could take 10-15% off their game and still be the best team in the NBA.

The Kings greatest asset in Game 2 was that pre-game cheeseburger that got Kobe Bryant weak and vomiting all afternoon.

That more than anything else was the reason the Lakers didn't have any jets at the end of the game.

Usually that is the time when Kobe takes over as he did in Game 1................

[NoCalMike]

Living in Sacramento, I am a Kings fan so I am very excited for the Kings. First off, I think the Lakers will come out on top in the end mostly because they won game 1, and I think it will be hard for the Kings to win 2 games in a row, which is what they will have to do now. I don't think it is impossible for the Kings to win, but I still haven't seen the Kings play their "A" game since game 3 of the series with the Mavs. In Game 2 vs. the Lakers, they shot horrible from the free throw line, a 12 point lead could have easily been an 18-22 point lead had they converted those easy uncontested shots. Webber was his usual self on the ft. line, yet the whole team had a horrible night on the line. I am hoping that Peja comes back for game 3 considering it isn't until Friday. Regarding Divac's flops, well I guess he had to think of someway to counter the fact that Shaq is allowed by the officials to just bull his way over people. I think flops are almost necessary for the refs to wake up to see the charging. The Kings will be in pretty good shape if they can win at least one game down in LA. If the Kings do win this series, I'd say it would take all 7 games to do so.

-Mike