Gasol, Bynum and Odom are a bunch of pansies

[Section136]

I'm saying that Kobe can't do it by himself when the other players suck it up. The Lakers have a great chance of beating the Celtics when the whole team plays well as a team, though.

If both teams were to play up to their full ability I would take the Celtics. I am die hard Celtics fan but that should be pretty obvious to anybody with basketball knowledge. They are the more talented team and have great depth.

You have to give credit to Boston for the poor play of the Lakers in this series including the poor play of Kobe Bryant. Game 5 was the first time this series that they really allowed him to "go off".

You cant base your argument on the assumption that the entire team should play well.

 

[CWBhawkeyes]

If both teams were to play up to their full ability I would take the Celtics. I am die hard Celtics fan but that should be pretty obvious to anybody with basketball knowledge. They are the more talented team and have great depth.

You have to give credit to Boston for the poor play of the Lakers in this series including the poor play of Kobe Bryant. Game 5 was the first time this series that they really allowed him to "go off".

You cant base your argument on the assumption that the entire team should play well.

I don't even know what you're arguing about anymore.

 

[Section136]

I don't even know what you're arguing about anymore.

Lets just drop it. The Celtics are the better team. The only thing I was arguing was you made it sound like Kobe was playing with a bunch of hacks. I wanted to point out that this same team won the title last year. Boston is the reason the Lakers are struggling and not Kobe's supporting cast.

And now Kobe is pouting at the podium. Gotta love it!

 

[FBletterman]

Relax the Lakers will blow out the Celtics in two next 2 games. Just like Phil Jackson said in post game this series is a home court series and Lakers won the one they needed to get home court back.

 

[HAWKEYESTATE4ever]

A couple things...

-First of all, all Kobe needed was ONE teammate to have a decent night, and they win the game. He was the only Laker to show up for Game 5 of a 2-2 NBA Finals series. That is frustrating. He has talent around him, but...
-Gasol (the 2nd best player), for some reason, reverted back to the pansy "Euro softy" that he was labeled after the 2008 Finals when he got dominated.
-Lamar Kardashian is soft too. He has had about 4 good games the whole playoffs.
-Bynum is a stud, but he is playing with a torn meniscus, and two torn ligaments in the same knee. I admire his desire to play, but he is extremely limited. He has had horrible luck with the injury bug, including missing the '08 Finals vs Boston. He does not score much, but is a big part of what the Lakers do from a defensive standpoint, and he cleans up the glass to finish the defensive possessions.
-Fisher is usually great when the game is on the line, and single-handedly won Game 3, but he had 15 points combined in Games 4 and 5. The rest of the Lakers are not even worth mentioning, besides...
-Ron Artest... Someone said in an earlier post that the Lakers are the same team. I would disagree because they basically traded Trevor Ariza (who wanted more money than the Lakers were willing to give him) to the Rockets for Artest. I have never liked Artest, and he absolutely kills the Lakers offensively. He is a freaking liability. Dude cannot hit a wide-open 3 to save his life, and he slows them down A LOT! Ariza was able to get out in transition, and make plays, hit the open 3 when teams ran a double team at Kobe, and he truly was a defensive stopper. Artest is supposed to be a "defensive stopper" too. That is a joke. Much like Odom, he has had about 4 good games all playoffs, and in my opinion is one of the main reasons the Lakers are down 3-2 in this series.

Kobe and Gasol, with a little of Fisher have gotten them to this point. The rest of the guys better show up Tuesday night, or the Celtics will be celebrating on the Lakers' homecourt. That would make me want to throw up... GO LAKERS!!!

 

[JHHawk]

Celtics have Thibodeau...and his defense. That is the difference so far. Now, the Lakers probably take it to 7 games,and might win,but we got another Celtic-Laker classic on our hands here,boys. This has been a fascinating series...will team ball trump sheer talent? Can defense beat fancy offense? This Celtic team is a bit special,as has been pointed out,when they are intact,they have not lost a series.

I have picked Celtics in 7 from the beginning, and I am sticking to that pick. This Celtic team thrives on the road.

 

[busabus114]

A couple things...

-First of all, all Kobe needed was ONE teammate to have a decent night, and they win the game. He was the only Laker to show up for Game 5 of a 2-2 NBA Finals series. That is frustrating. He has talent around him, but...
-Gasol (the 2nd best player), for some reason, reverted back to the pansy "Euro softy" that he was labeled after the 2008 Finals when he got dominated.
-Lamar Kardashian is soft too. He has had about 4 good games the whole playoffs.
-Bynum is a stud, but he is playing with a torn meniscus, and two torn ligaments in the same knee. I admire his desire to play, but he is extremely limited. He has had horrible luck with the injury bug, including missing the '08 Finals vs Boston. He does not score much, but is a big part of what the Lakers do from a defensive standpoint, and he cleans up the glass to finish the defensive possessions.
-Fisher is usually great when the game is on the line, and single-handedly won Game 3, but he had 15 points combined in Games 4 and 5. The rest of the Lakers are not even worth mentioning, besides...
-Ron Artest... Someone said in an earlier post that the Lakers are the same team. I would disagree because they basically traded Trevor Ariza (who wanted more money than the Lakers were willing to give him) to the Rockets for Artest. I have never liked Artest, and he absolutely kills the Lakers offensively. He is a freaking liability. Dude cannot hit a wide-open 3 to save his life, and he slows them down A LOT! Ariza was able to get out in transition, and make plays, hit the open 3 when teams ran a double team at Kobe, and he truly was a defensive stopper. Artest is supposed to be a "defensive stopper" too. That is a joke. Much like Odom, he has had about 4 good games all playoffs, and in my opinion is one of the main reasons the Lakers are down 3-2 in this series.

Kobe and Gasol, with a little of Fisher have gotten them to this point. The rest of the guys better show up Tuesday night, or the Celtics will be celebrating on the Lakers' homecourt. That would make me want to throw up... GO LAKERS!!!

As usual Hawkeyestate is spot on with his Lakers analysis. I posted this thread in the heat of the game when it was pretty apparent Kobe was the only Laker who wanted to win. My post probably wasnt fair to Bynum who is severely hurt, but at the same time he is hurt every single year.

Gasol needs to come ready in game 6 or somehow the Celtics are going to win another title even though i thought half their players died in February

 

[cibula11]

After watching this game it's evident that Kobe needs a more solid foundation around him; he can't do it all.

Maybe he should try to get his teammates involved. He's got plenty of support.....far more than Jordan ever had with the Bulls.

I loved how Kobe went off in the 3rd to keep the Lakers hanging around and then was MIA in the 4th. This guy is as much of an ego has Lebron. It's a joke.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

If you're the Celtics you've got to like seeing Kobe go into ballhog mode so early in the game. From the begining of the second quarter on he was looking to shoot every time and only pass when he couldn't possibly get a shot off. He took some extremely forced shots especially in the second quarter. His third quarter was amazing to watch and showed just how talented he is, but you've got to make some attempt to get Gasol involved. And Artest has been terrible on offense but he's done a good job on Pierce up until last night.

 

[HAWKEYESTATE4ever]

As usual Hawkeyestate is spot on with his Lakers analysis. I posted this thread in the heat of the game when it was pretty apparent Kobe was the only Laker who wanted to win. My post probably wasnt fair to Bynum who is severely hurt, but at the same time he is hurt every single year.

Gasol needs to come ready in game 6 or somehow the Celtics are going to win another title even though i thought half their players died in February

LOL. Turns out they have been brought back from the dead. Too bad Ron Artest, who died in last year's playoffs against the Lakers, has not been revived. And Gasol and Odom just recently passed away...

 

[busabus114]

If you're the Celtics you've got to like seeing Kobe go into ballhog mode so early in the game. From the begining of the second quarter on he was looking to shoot every time and only pass when he couldn't possibly get a shot off. He took some extremely forced shots especially in the second quarter. His third quarter was amazing to watch and showed just how talented he is, but you've got to make some attempt to get Gasol involved. And Artest has been terrible on offense but he's done a good job on Pierce up until last night.

Did you watch the game? Kobe shooting was the Lakers only chance to score. Gasol got blocked about 75 times it seemed like and Bynum has one leg. The Lakers became one dimensional but it had a lot more to do with Gasol playing like a woman than it did with Kobe being a ballhog

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Did you watch the game? Kobe shooting was the Lakers only chance to score. Gasol got blocked about 75 times it seemed like and Bynum has one leg. The Lakers became one dimensional but it had a lot more to do with Gasol playing like a woman than it did with Kobe being a ballhog

Did you watch the second quarter? Kobe was forcing so many shots, and Gasol had what four shots in the first half? Gasol didn't have a good game but you've got to try to go to him more than a couple times a half, just standing around on the offensive end watching Kobe go 1 on 3 every time isn't going to work for the Lakers. When Kobe gets into his "I'm taking this game over and shooting every time" mode, it almost always works out for the other team. He takes his own teammates out of the game this way. Kobe can have games where he's scoring but still looking for his teammates, like the entire Phoenix series, but last night he was not passing until he absolutely could not get off a shot and that was part of the reason his teammates struggled.

 

[imported_ankle23]

Did you watch the second quarter? Kobe was forcing so many shots, and Gasol had what four shots in the first half? Gasol didn't have a good game but you've got to try to go to him more than a couple times a half, just standing around on the offensive end watching Kobe go 1 on 3 every time isn't going to work for the Lakers. When Kobe gets into his "I'm taking this game over and shooting every time" mode, it almost always works out for the other team. He takes his own teammates out of the game this way. Kobe can have games where he's scoring but still looking for his teammates, like the entire Phoenix series, but last night he was not passing until he absolutely could not get off a shot and that was part of the reason his teammates struggled.

i agree.

yeah, gasol had some blocked shots, but they need to work him into the offense more often. he is too good to be used (not used) in their offense like what we are seeing. Kobe - yeah, he was great in the 3rd quarter, but what ends up happening is he forces too much and their offense becomes one dimensional.

full disclosure: lakers fan here.

 

[busabus114]

Did you watch the second quarter? Kobe was forcing so many shots, and Gasol had what four shots in the first half? Gasol didn't have a good game but you've got to try to go to him more than a couple times a half, just standing around on the offensive end watching Kobe go 1 on 3 every time isn't going to work for the Lakers. When Kobe gets into his "I'm taking this game over and shooting every time" mode, it almost always works out for the other team. He takes his own teammates out of the game this way. Kobe can have games where he's scoring but still looking for his teammates, like the entire Phoenix series, but last night he was not passing until he absolutely could not get off a shot and that was part of the reason his teammates struggled.

i agree.

yeah, gasol had some blocked shots, but they need to work him into the offense more often. he is too good to be used (not used) in their offense like what we are seeing. Kobe - yeah, he was great in the 3rd quarter, but what ends up happening is he forces too much and their offense becomes one dimensional.

full disclosure: lakers fan here.

There is some truth in what you are saying...no doubt about that. But i find it hard to believe that anyone would try and defend Gasol after his effort the last 2 games. He has played so weak its hard to watch. Kobe can be too aggressive which hurts the team, but not as much as their all star center going into a shell because he's sick of people playing physical against him

 

[HAWKEYESTATE4ever]

There is some truth in what you are saying...no doubt about that. But i find it hard to believe that anyone would try and defend Gasol after his effort the last 2 games. He has played so weak its hard to watch. Kobe can be too aggressive which hurts the team, but not as much as their all star center going into a shell because he's sick of people playing physical against him

The worst thing that happens is the rest of his teammates don't even try to be involved in the game when he gets going. Last night during that stretch in the 3rd quarter Kobe was calling plays for Gasol, but Gasol was too busy straitening his skirt, and fixing his hair. I am disappointed in Gasol's defense too. Ever since he ran his mouth about Garnett "losing a step" Garnett has handed his azz to him.

All this being said, the Celtics still have to go into LA, and win one at Staples. That is not going to be easy. These Celtics (over the last 3 years) have only closed out one series on the road. I like to think that the Lakers will enjoy finally being home after spending a week in Boston. That is a long road trip in one city.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

The worst thing that happens is the rest of his teammates don't even try to be involved in the game when he gets going. Last night during that stretch in the 3rd quarter Kobe was calling plays for Gasol, but Gasol was too busy straitening his skirt, and fixing his hair. I am disappointed in Gasol's defense too. Ever since he ran his mouth about Garnett "losing a step" Garnett has handed his azz to him.

All this being said, the Celtics still have to go into LA, and win one at Staples. That is not going to be easy. These Celtics (over the last 3 years) have only closed out one series on the road. I like to think that the Lakers will enjoy finally being home after spending a week in Boston. That is a long road trip in one city.

I think LA still has a great shot to win the series. Boston's bench guys, who have been huge this series, usually don't play as well on the road while LA's bench plays better at home. Also, getting a couple days off here will hopefully help Bynum out. I was surprised the Lakers haven't tried to run more pick and rolls with Odom, especially when their offense is struggling. When Odom gets Garnett on him out by the 3-point line he can usually get by him and get to his left. They just need to get somebody other than Kobe going.

 

[busabus114]

I think LA still has a great shot to win the series. Boston's bench guys, who have been huge this series, usually don't play as well on the road while LA's bench plays better at home. Also, getting a couple days off here will hopefully help Bynum out. I was surprised the Lakers haven't tried to run more pick and rolls with Odom, especially when their offense is struggling. When Odom gets Garnett on him out by the 3-point line he can usually get by him and get to his left. They just need to get somebody other than Kobe going.

Factoid

They cant win the series unless they do. Like Hawkeyestate said all their guys play better at home. They can still win it but as a fan i was hoping they would be a little tougher and be able to get game 4 or 5