Go Detroit!

[Xilren's Twin]

AKA Screw the Lakers!

Now granted, I'm not a huge NBA fan anyway just because the regular season is way too long and the ratio of prima donna blowhards to players worth watch is quite skewed, but I have been enjoying the playoffs.  Not round 1 of course (idiot scheduling monkies!).

But it warms my heart to watch the soap opera in yellow and purple losing to the underdog pistons from mo'town.  (I could do without kid rock singing america the beautiful though).  The addition of ring whores Karl Malone and Gary Payton had everyone practically handing the trophy to Lakers perseason, yet barring a miricle last second 3 from Kobe in game 2, it would have been a sweep.   Yo glove, if the ring don't fit you might as well quit...

Chalk one up for a team is more than a collection of talented individuals.

Xilren
PS Please please don't blow this Detroit, the carnage is too fun to watch

[stray]

PS Please please don't blow this Detroit, the carnage is too fun to watch

I have no doubts. Detroit's Post Defense is too much for LA. I'm surprised it isn't 3-0, but no biggie. Definitely fun to watch the carnage, especially if your team got their asses beat by LA (Spurs).

[HaemishM]

I hate basketball, mainly because of the Me-Me-Me mentality that most of its players seem to revel in. Yeah, Iverson, I'm talking to you, bitch. And this is coming from a long-time Magic Johnson/Lakers fan.

I hope the Lakers lose.

It's the same thing that happened to the Cowboys in the NFL. They won the Super Bowl a few times, hired Barry Switzer and suddenly it was the same All About Me mentality on the team. Ego is fine; I expect that in a sports player. But when ego overshadows the team, that's when I hope for defeat and derision to be heaped on the team. And that's what happened to the Lakers.

Shaq and Kobe started believing the hype and got the big head. And I will love it when a "nothing" team with no stars knocks their freaking block off.

I will say that I do see some hope for basketball. LeBron James appears to be a humble kid with a good head on his shoulders who happens to play some incredible fucking basketball. If he can keep it together mentally, he can hopefully change the face of the game to one that isn't so fucking selfish.

[WayAbvPar]

The NBA is so hideous to watch right now, they are next on the endangered species list (right after the NHL). Between the celebration of thug life (which goes over really well with white America, the vast majority of ticket holders), with the nearly complete breakdown of any concept of team offense (85% of possessions are 4 guys standing around watching the 5th try to beat the defense alone), and it is a recipe for disaster. Watching Rasheed Wallace and Ron Artest play hoops when they in all likelihood should be in a mental ward or prison just doesn't do it for me.

I LOVED basketball as a kid, and was a huge Sonics fan from the days before they won the championship. Even through the dark 80s when they sucked, I still watched and agonized. They finally got decent in the 90s (very good a few years), but missed their 3 best opportunities- completely scumbagged by the refs in Western Conference final game 7 (they awarded Charles Barkley and the Suns 64 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) free throws), lost in the first round the next year to Dikembe Mutombo and the Nuggets (one of the darkest days in Sonic history), and finally got to the NBA finals in 1996, only to run into Michael Jordan and the Bull team that won 72 regular season games.

Fast forward to now- the players keep getting younger, making the draft a total crapshoot. Between that and the salary cap, it is impossible to recover from any personnel mistakes (Vin Baker, Jim McIlvaine, Calvin Booth, Jerome James) that may have occurred. The NBA should take a page from the NFL book- lose the guaranteed contracts. If a guy signs a huge deal and then totally fucking blows in the NFL, they can cut his useless ass and regain at least some of the money (if the contract is structured properly). Almost every NBA team has a total stiff or 2 sitting on the end of the bench; these guys are 10th or 11th in playing time, but 2nd or 3rd on the team in salary. That KILLS the fan interest, knowing they have to wait out the contracts before the team can get better.

[Rasix]

Seeing the Lakers lose is almost as fun as watching Duke lose.  

Chalk me up as another NBA hater.  I really don't watch at all until the second round of the playoffs.   I blame an 82 game season and the pick and roll.  It's much easier to run the same play over and over again than actually run some type of functional offense.  

Watching spoiled me-first millionaires shoot so bad that both teams fail to crack 80 points is NOT entertainment.  They can point to defense all they want, but the NBA has lost all resemblence of fundamentals. It's pretty bad when Rip Hamilton is a superstar for being able to hit a jump shot that Kurt Rambis would make routinely (lost art of the mid range jump shot).  

13 high schoolers in the draft this year.  It's just going to get worse before it gets better.  Why care if a kid can shoot when he's got RAW ATHLETIC ABILITY!!! (*groan* *roll eyes*)

[daveNYC]

As long as Karl Malone never gets a ring I'll be happy.

[Morfiend]

GO LAKERS!.... *Sob*


I am a big Laker fan, I have been for a long time. I really hope they can pull this off, but I just dont see it happening.

On the other hand, nice hypocracy in this thread. We hate NBA thug life, yet you hope the team with some of the least amount of gangsta is going to lose. Nice.

Shaq want to be a cop.
Kobe was brought up in Italy and speaks 3 langauges fluently.
Malone is the only black red-neck.
Luke Walton is a good guy.
Fisher is the man.

None of these guys are the gangsta thug types, thats one of the reasons I have always liked the lakers, and Im glad when they manage to get rid of that kind of player, ala Nick Van Exel.
If you dont like the gangsta players, dont root for the gangsta team.

But, my poor Lakers are getting ripped a new one, and no team has ever come back from being down 3-1 in the NBA finals.

[Rasix]

Shaq is easily one of the most egotistical me-first players to ever lace up sneakers.  Plus he made shitty movies. His only saving grace is his sense of humor (which often reeks of ignorance, but oh well).

Kobe Bryant is going to trial over a rape accusation.  I don't give a fuck what language he's going to use to say "she was a slut!"

Karl Malone is not just a redneck, he's a biggot and homophobe.  Listening to some of the crap spewed out of his mouth over the years has made me dislike him ever more.  On top of that, he is the dirtiest player in the NBA now that Danny Ainge has long since retired.

Walton is from my school. Dumb as rocks and kind of an ass.  But I like his play, good fundamental basketball.

Fischer is a clutch player seems like a good guy. Good for him. Grats on not being a fuckhead.

Where's the Thuglife(TM) in the Pistons? Sure Sheed has attitude problems but he's been tons better than he ever was in Portland.  Some coaches and environments just breed a team first state of mind.  Yah, they play the ugly basketball (god, how many layups can you miss), but it's better than the me-first two headed beast of LA. And on top of it, their current bitching about the refs and lackluster effort has made me wish that the finals just end on Tuesday so I don't have to hear any Laker crap for another half year.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[Morfiend]

Shaq is easily one of the most egotistical me-first players to ever lace up sneakers.  Plus he made shitty movies. His only saving grace is his sense of humor.

Or maybe the fact that he can consistantly score over 25-30 points. He is getting old, but still a good player. If not for shaq that game would have gone a lot worse for the lakers.

Kobe Bryant is going to trial over a rape accusation.  I don't give a fuck what language he's going to use to say "she was a slut!"

I thin this is a topic for another thread. I like to think he didnt do it, and I hope he didnt do it, and I hope this will be shown. If he did do it, then rot in hell.

Karl Malone is not just a redneck, he's a biggot and homophobe.  Listening to some of the crap spewed out of his mouth over the years has made me dislike him ever more.  On top of that, he is the dirtiest player in the NBA now that Danny Ainge has long since retired.

Well, I think dirtiest player could be contested these days. No doubt he was a pretty dirty player, but again, I wasnt saying he was a greta guy, just not a gangsta.

Walton is from my school. Dumb as rocks and kind of an ass.  But I like his play, good fundamental basketball.

Honestly I could care less for this guy, I was just using examples of how the Lakers are not a thug team.

Fischer is a clutch player seems like a good guy. Good for him. Grats on not being a fuckhead.

I have always be a huge Fisher fan, I think he was part of the glue that keep the Lakers together. Always giving 110% and firing up the rest of the team. I will be very sad the day he retires/is traded.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Hey, to each his own, Im just trying to defend my team, and try to give them a few props. It is obvious not many people outside SoCal like the Lakers, but you cant say they are thugs or that they arnt good.

[Rasix]

I'll conceed:

Shaq is carrying the team and one of the few Lakers that is just shutting up and playing.  He has dominated an era, though, where there are few great centers.  Hakeem and Ewing are gone. The great power big man seems to be a thing of the past.  He's really the last of a dieing breed. (Duncan isn't physical enough, imo)

I don't think Kobe did it, but this whole thing sure tarnishes his good boy image.  Cheating on your spouse is not a good thing but I guess it's expected in the NBA.

Nothing wrong in defending your team, but just realize they are the anti-christ of basketball :)  At least your team wins, I have to mumble that I'm a Bulls fan nowadays.

[Dark Vengeance]

At least your team wins, I have to mumble that I'm a Bulls fan nowadays.

You guys had Jordan in his prime, and won 6 titles in 8 years with him. You don't get to complain about having a lousy team for at least another decade. The Pistons went 14 years since their last Finals appearance....thanks in no small part to your Bulls.

It's like the Detroit Red Wings.....we had Gordie Howe, and won several Stanley Cups with him, then we went on a drought for a few decade, and you didn't hear Detroit hockey fans...er, um.....nevermind. Then we won in 1996, 1997, and 2002, and we aren't complain.....um, nevermind again.

Next up...the Lions, who haven't won a championship since 1957.

Bring the noise.
Cheers................

[HaemishM]

It's not the thug life gangsta type that I have a problem with, it's the I AM SO FUCKING GOOD ALL SHOULD WORSHIP ME types that I have the problem with. The raging egos that feel like they can do anything, and think they are the shit because they can score 30 points a game (despite going under 50% shooting from the field). Hello Iverson. Kobe being involved in the rape trial, cheating on his wife and THEN buying her tha big rock to soothe it over just smacks of ego gone wild. Shaq's always been an ego man, but at least he backs it up (except on the free throw line).

You are right about Shaq being a dying breed, though. Gone are the David Robinson's, Kareem's, Ewing's and the like who just dominated the center with size and strength. Yao is about the only thing close besides Shaq anymore. Now it's all point guards, Jordan-wannabes and Magic-wannabes.

I'd rather watch Hockey or baseball.

[UD_Delt]

I don't want to hear it Dark Vengeance.

Try living in Cleveland nearly you're entire life and being cursed with the Indians, Browns and Cavs...

Talk about your love/hate relationships...

[Dark Vengeance]

I don't want to hear it Dark Vengeance.

Try living in Cleveland nearly you're entire life and being cursed with the Indians, Browns and Cavs...

Talk about your love/hate relationships...

Things are certainly looking up for Cleveland though.....the Browns picked up some quality players, although those guys were idiots to trade up for Winslow. And the Cavs got LeBron, while we ended up with Darko (9.1 seconds of Darko-mania in Game 4 btw).

The Indians have at least been serviceable for the last decade or so....the Tigers are causing a sensation in this town by flirting with a .500 record. Don't forget that the Lions and Tigers are both coming off of seasons where they set RECORDS for losing.

But it could always be worse....we could be Boston Red Sox fans.

Bring the noise.
Cheers..............

[stray]

Want lack of Ego? There's Tim Duncan. Arguably the best player in the NBA (or at least equal to Shaq), but the guy is fuckin' Spock. Sometimes I wish Duncan had a little of Iverson's competitiveness/ego in him. It'd make him even better.

On top of that, he [Malone] is the dirtiest player in the NBA now that Danny Ainge has long since retired.

That would have been John Stockton I think. Or maybe it's just that Ainge would get caught at it. Stockton knew how to hide it, and make others look like the ones at fault. Malone definitely takes the cake now though.

Anyways, Jerry Sloan was considered the dirtiest player of his time, so that would explain things.

Duncan isn't physical enough, imo

That's why he's a forward. He hardly ever plays Center. Still, he's able to beat Shaq on finesse, or just wear him out.

[Teleku]

My two favorite teams are the Kings and who ever is playing the Lakers.

[El Gallo]

Why the hell isn't Shaq touching the ball on all of LA's possessions?  He is usually single covered by a guy who weights over 100 pounds less than he does, but you still get the Lakers fucking around on the perimeter until Kobe throws up some off balance crap shot.  All of LA's players not named Shaq, especially Kobe, need to realize that they are not the reason LA is good and give the big fella the ball.

That being said, I hate the Lakers, and Detroit winning is the closest thing to a Wizards title that I will ever live to see.