12/22/24
June 06, 2004
Shaq and Kobe combine for 59...Ben Wallace only gets 8 rebounds and 1 block...Sheed only plays 28 minutes...: Game 1 of the NBA Finals *had* to go to the Lakers, right? Not so fast, Chester...
posted by MeatSaber to basketball at 10:48 PM - 19 comments
So...the Pistons held the Lakers to 75 points. Can we now say it's good defense, or is it still bad offense???
posted by MeatSaber at 10:53 PM on June 06, 2004
Pistons! Much to the chagrin of David Stern, homecourt has swayed away from LA. *cackles*
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:56 PM on June 06, 2004
Speaking of Dictator Stern, did you see the sourpuss look on his wife's face when the camera showed him and Michael Eisner chatting it up??
posted by smithers at 11:13 PM on June 06, 2004
Somewhere, someone should force Charles Barkely to eat his words for proclaiming that the Indiana-Detroit series was just sloppy or ugly. Muthahfuckin' detroit got some badass defensive mojo. Me, I enjoyed the game a lot- this was like a great pitcher's duel: the defense was there, and this made every score that much more interesting... Still, it's far from over; it is the luxury of being the Lakers that if they'd won game 1, people would already be writing Detroit's epitaph. You can't count out the Lakers, but if any team could beat them it was San Antonio or Detroit- and but for a lucky, lucky Fisher shot, the Lakers might not even be here. Detroit has a number of play-like-7-footers to throw at Shaq. Tonight, they did just that, making Shaq work to get his 35 points- but to the exclusiong of everyone else but Kobe. Making Shaq work so hard seemed to result in the rest of his teammates just standing around, or shooting nervously just thinking about the block. And the Lakers can't use the excuse that they weren't trying, or coasting- their effort was visible, and they still couldn't win.
posted by hincandenza at 12:58 AM on June 07, 2004
I'm actually beginning to enjoy watching these defensive fests. Maybe it's a sign of my maturity. It used to be the same way with a pitcher's duel. I remember whining in the 7th inning of a 1-0 game back when I was 16. I think Ben Wallace is as entertaining to watch play as Kobe.
posted by charlatan at 01:37 AM on June 07, 2004
Leading up to the game, this is what I kept hearing: "Larry Brown's defensive system is too predictable. It'll only work until the Lakers adapt to it, and then they'll go to town." In retrospect, what is the truth of that? Maybe the Lakers are taking longer to adjust than expected, and they'll come back strong in Game 2.
posted by molafson at 07:02 AM on June 07, 2004
Speaking of Dictator Stern, did you see the sourpuss look on his wife's face when the camera showed him and Michael Eisner chatting it up?? I'm not one to spread rumors, but I've heard that Stern and Minnie Mouse were breakin' off a little sumpin sumpin.
posted by wfrazerjr at 07:21 AM on June 07, 2004
Nah...Minnie's not cheating on Mickey...she's just fucking Goofy...
posted by MeatSaber at 07:41 AM on June 07, 2004
Leading up to the game, this is what I kept hearing: "Larry Brown's defensive system is too predictable. It'll only work until the Lakers adapt to it, and then they'll go to town." In retrospect, what is the truth of that? Maybe the Lakers are taking longer to adjust than expected, and they'll come back strong in Game 2. Well, before we shoot our collective load in anticipation of a Piston's victory, it probably is wise to remember that the Spurs took the first two from LA, right before the Lakers took the next four. Of course, those first two were in San Antone, but still... This is going to be a coaching battle for the ages.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:04 AM on June 07, 2004
This is going to be a coaching battle for the ages. Yes and no. In my opinion, Phil's greatest skill has always been managing the personalities of his players, whereas Larry Brown is an Xs and Os guy. The main difference is that the Pistons will listen to Brown unwaveringly, while you can't necessarily say that about the Lakers now, can you? Brown will outcoach Phil Jackson, hands down.
posted by smithers at 10:25 AM on June 07, 2004
This is a great, great series. While the announcers kept talking about how the Sixers won game 1 then dropped four straight, they seem to have forgetten the circumstances. I haven't. I remember Aaron McKie fracturing his ankle in game two and limping around after Kobe the rest of the series. In spite of that, the Sixers gave the Lakers all they could handle. The 4-1 record doesn't reflect how close that series really was. This series is different. The Pistons are more talented and smithers is right. The Pistons would run through a brick wall for Brown. It's going to be great to see if Brown's execution and team concept can defeat LA's stars. I'm rooting for team play. Futhermore, it warms my heart to see the Piston's play Shaq straight up. I'm convinced that his game has diminished so much that he can be played straight up. He's not the Shaq of 2000. He can be stopped. And the real beauty of single coverage on Shaq is it exposes Kobe Bryant as less than the second best player in the league. The main thing that's always bothered me about Kobe is that he's not as good as he thinks he is. Sure he's one of the top ten in the league but better than McGrady, for example? I always try and think what T-Mac could do if he was on a team with Shaq, where Shaq was always getting double teamed. I've always thought Kobe's numbers are inflated because Shaq draws so much attention. In this series we'll see if Kobe can chase Rip Hamilton through dozens of screens and breakdown a defense that can play him straight up. I don't think he can.
posted by Mike McD at 11:00 AM on June 07, 2004
As a homer, I have been annoyed by the general tone of the national media.* Leading up to the game, everyone proclaimed a Lakers sweep. Now after the game, the consensus seems to be that the Lakers weren't trying. I agree with Hal - they were trying all right, and it didn't work. Think of the missed layups and free throws early - Detroit could have put them away early and won by 20. I can't imagine Detroit winning before the seventh game, and I still have a hard time imagining them winning anyway (after the gore of the Eastern Conference Finals, last night's game had some real weenie fouls called to help Shaq along). I did figure they would have better offense because of the weakness of the Laker D (the Pistons two and three scorers, Sheed and Chauncey, going against two dudes with NO wheels). I also think the "Detroit should have taken Melo" people need to eat some crow. I didn't like Tayshaun at first because he's from Kentucky (Louisville fan), but perhaps Joe D was thinking about a Kobe stopper rather than yet another small forward who can score. Ask the Blazers how a team of Melo's works out... And maybe Darko will be good next year and the Pistons can sit on the Eastern Conference crown for a few more years... * - That's a level of annoyance commensurate with the fact that it is just a game.
posted by BobbyC at 11:01 AM on June 07, 2004
BTW, can anybody shed more light on the sudden shift in the Finals to a 2-3-2 home court format, following the 2-2-1-1-1 that we saw in the first 3 rounds? Is that some kind of fuck you to the Pistons, or did that exist at the beginning of the season? I wanted to take the Pistons in 6 at the beginning of the series, but will they win a pressure game 6 at the Stapler now? There's no way they will take 3 straight in Motown, so this seems like a real disadvantage. Why the sudden change?
posted by smithers at 12:45 PM on June 07, 2004
The finals have been 2-3-2 since 1985, according to this article from last year. My guess is that it has something to do with the additional work required to put on the event, which would be tougher with a more fair 2-2-1-1-1 format.
posted by rcade at 01:03 PM on June 07, 2004
The finals are always 2-3-2.
posted by Mike McD at 01:03 PM on June 07, 2004
This could explain the fouls on Shaq. About time as far as I'm concerned. Sure he gets fouled a lot but it's not as if you can stop a 350 lb man if the refs let him barrel through you. Or to put it another way, if refs called offensive fouls on Shaq, defenders wouldn't be forced to foul as much. I love the part: It sort of doesn't allow us to have our own philosophical thoughts about how to handle it About freaking time. Mark Cuban harps on this and he is right. Refs shouldn't have their own philosophical thoughts on what's a foul and what isn't a foul. You're professionals. Just call the rules.
posted by Mike McD at 01:09 PM on June 07, 2004
The finals are always 2-3-2 whoops....thanks guys....when I repeatedly said "sudden" I was more talking about the difference between first 3 rounds and the Finals, rather than it being a new format this year. The only thing I can think of is the cross-country travel and jet lag...
posted by smithers at 01:25 PM on June 07, 2004
Travel is most probably the reason the Finals are 2-3-2...imagine if the Sonics and the Heat made the Finals...that's a lot of miles in a 2-2-1-1-1 series...
posted by MeatSaber at 01:37 PM on June 07, 2004
The game ended at, like 10:47 CST. That's some fast post-age, Meaty. Let it not be said that Spofites are anything but hardcore. What a strange game.