WCF Lakers/Spurs

Weekly coverage is going to be TNT for this series.

For real?

Sigh.

Some of the Laker radio guys are nervous around here because everyone is favoring the Lakers and I can tell you there would be a panic if they were beaten in game one.

But believe me they feel right now that lakers can blow out the Spurs in 5

Save this link to listen to their overconfidence either now or if we meet for the rematch.

AM 570 KLAC K-Los Angeles California/Orange County (http://www.xtrasportsradio.com/pages/streaming.html)

This is a great matchup. I think it's Kobe time. He'll step up and slobberknock the Spurs. The battle between Sasquatch and Timma should be decent, too.

Lake Show in 7.

We'll see if Gasol is soft or not.

We'll see if Gasol is soft or not.

You mean Gasolft :caked:

You mean Gasolft :caked:

I haven't heard that, but that's pretty good.

OMG, Spurs are so good. 57-43 SA, 3rd Q

OMG, Spurs are so good. 57-43 SA, 3rd Q

Talk about an old team being tired, and they slept on a plane the other night!

NOW!! The next idiot that tries to give me 'goodygoody' vibes about these sorry Pistons, i'm going to choke them til 'I' pass out!!!!

I HEART THE SPURS!!!!...EVA U CAN GO HOME NOW!:MusicBigGrin:

Lakers are back

73-65 Spurs

Twenty point lead trimmed by the Laker bench to single digits.....plus they know how to put a man under the hoop to drop buckets in point blank....if only we....

Twenty point lead trimmed by the Laker bench to single digits.....plus they know how to put a man under the hoop to drop buckets in point blank....if only we....

Unfortunately we don't have a Kobe, and Sheed's only Gasol, what, 25% of the time if we're lucky?

The sad part is we don't even have a Lamar Odom.

That's why we can't do what they do.

Unfortunately we don't have a Kobe, and Sheed's only Gasol, what, 25% of the time if we're lucky?

The sad part is we don't even have a Lamar Odom.

That's why we can't do what they do.


I know sad isn't .That means ifffff we get there we may be better off facing the Spurs. Right now I would take a Sasha Voulachic over Hayes

What a game.

I HEART THE SPURS!!!!...EVA U CAN GO HOME NOW!:MusicBigGrin:
Yeah, those PURRS sure showed them.... :D

This series is over now....Phil Jackson is 40-0 when his teams win the first game of a playoffs. I am not sure if the Spurs can recover, but they have six more chances...

There is no way the Spurs or any defending champs should blow an 18 point lead in the middle of the third qtr??? Stern was rolling in his grave on his big couch when the Spurs had that big lead. But per his directive to all refs, the home team won again and the number 1 seeds will meet in the finals.

The Spurs panicked ..Manu choked with bad passes and bad shots. I won't be able to listen to the local radio as they will falling all over themselves as if they played...

Not sure who was more upset tonight, the people in San Antonio or the people in Salt Lake City....home of David Archaletta :)

Yeah, those PURRS sure showed them.... :D
and the PISSSSStons showed what? Did we even have a lead of 5 pts or more...I'll see u after game 2...but out of respect 4 u , i'll stay out the chat.




and u didnt answer my email..says a lot

I didn't get an email. PM me.

Spurs are an experience(frickin' old) team. After the grueling 7 games with the Hornets and with the 2 days off (including a day where they have sleep on the plane), fatigue has caught up with them in the 2nd half, esp the last quarter. Lakers who are well rested, hang around with them almost the whole game and finally hit them with jabs, hook and uppercuts and finish the Spurs off in the last 5 minutes of the game.

This is the luxury that the Pistons had over the Celtics in game 1. But what did we do? Instead of hammering the Celtics, we got hammered instead. Well, blame it on being rusty in Game 1. As for Game 2, no more excuses. SHOW SOME HEART & PLAY DETROIT BASKETBALL!

Spurs are fine. Almost had the game. Manu played the worst game of his PO career, and Pop made an idiotic coaching move by taking out Bowen with 3 fouls when they were up 20. It let Kobe get into a rythm, and then whoever you put on him was useless (Kinda like the way the Pistons let the opposing team get into a rythm, and then wonder why they can't stop them later)

Defense is a whole game thing not a when you feel like it thing.

Great adjustments by Jackson on the pick and roll, and Parker specifically.

Gasol is still soft.

Spurs will still most likely win the series, unless that was a serious case of rust by the Lakeshow.

Spurs didn't look overmatched. Sad thing is, the Pistons (and Flip) do.

Interesting that Kobe took three shots in the first half. He waited for the right time and then got it going. The bench unit for L.A. is good. When they had the four bench players out there with Odom it reminded me of our bench unit in the regular season. Now we don't have a well defined bench unit.

That 40-0 record is pretty shocking (when a Phil Jackson team wins game 1, they have never failed to close out a series).

Spurs are fine. Almost had the game. Manu played the worst game of his PO career, and Pop made an idiotic coaching move by taking out Bowen with 3 fouls when they were up 20. It let Kobe get into a rhythm, and then whoever you put on him was useless (Kinda like the way the Pistons let the opposing team get into a rhythm, and then wonder why they can't stop them later)

Defense is a whole game thing not a when you feel like it thing.

Great adjustments by Jackson on the pick and roll, and Parker specifically.

Gasol is still soft.

Spurs will still most likely win the series, unless that was a serious case of rust by the Lakeshow.

Spurs didn't look overmatched. Sad thing is, the Pistons (and Flip) do.
Agree LP, Manu was out of control tossing cross court passes to the Lakers and once Bowen sat down Kobe found his groove. Once the Laker got back within single digits I knew they had it.

In today's LA Times, Odom admitted that he tackled Manu on that last play going for that loose ball that eventually went to Sasha who hit the last fT's. But who was going to blow the whistle on that play.

In today's LA Times, Odom admitted that he tackled Manu on that last play going for that loose ball that eventually went to Sasha who hit the last fT's.

I would bet the ref saw it and couldn't call it because there was a 50/50 chance that Manu was flopping. Better to not call it than get bamboozled by an actor.

That is one of those plays where crying wolf really comes back to haunt you.

I would bet the ref saw it and couldn't call it because there was a 50/50 chance that Manu was flopping. Better to not call it than get bamboozled by an actor.

That is one of those plays where crying wolf really comes back to haunt you.

Come on, I saw that rugby-like tackle live, I didn't even need a repetition for it. In fact, I wasn't listening to the guys talking on the game, and I thought it was a pf by Odom over Manu, not by Finley over Vujavic (Barkley said his name like that after the game, and I lol'd). No way the ref didn't see that, but the thing is that also no-one would have called that fault.

---

The Spurs were on their tracks all the game, there is a high possibility of them winning the 2nd game, that is if their real heart (Manu) plays like he knows to.

Come on, I saw that rugby-like tackle live, I didn't even need a repetition for it. In fact, I wasn't listening to the guys talking on the game, and I thought it was a pf by Odom over Manu, not by Finley over Vujavic (Barkley said his name like that after the game, and I lol'd). No way the ref didn't see that, but the thing is that also no-one would have called that fault.


When I watched that play, I thought to myself, how did they miss that call? Then I rewound it and played it in super slow-mo and it wasn't really obvious what happened. To me it looked like his arm was held and then he sold it as hard as he could.

I was rooting for the Spurs, but I never mind seeing a no-call on a notorious flopper.

Pop has allowed opponents back into games too many times. Last series it happened during games 1,2, and 5. Let's see, this last game he has a 20 point lead in the middle of the third quarter and then he lets his team lose. His team shot 3-21 in the 4th quarter..... Not very good coaching in my book. He must have been sitting on the bench just eating rolaids. When is this guy gonna get it. He has too much talent on his team to allow them to falter without making some appropriate moves. Too many comebacks needed to consider this guy to still be a good coach. We'll have to see if he can match Flip and make it to the finals. probably not...........

Everybody send your positive karma to the Spurs tonight. We need them to win. (Sorry aurora LOL)

Man, what a butt-whipping this is. I haven't even been watching the second half. I guess the Spurs are really going to regret blowing that lead in Game 1. Winning 4 in a row, or Game 7 in LA, is going to be a very tall order.

"lights off" indeed

BTW, Duncan looks retard holding the free throw ball for 6 seconds on his hands before launching it.

Omg... I guess that happens when no one of your star players step up in the game.

Yep, that happens. Luckily we are the only team to have 4 star players (almost 5). Yay. ^_^.

NOW!! The next idiot that tries to give me 'goodygoody' vibes about these sorry Pistons, i'm going to choke them til 'I' pass out!!!!

I HEART THE SPURS!!!!...EVA U CAN GO HOME NOW!:MusicBigGrin:

You know, your old avatar was the best I have seen on any forum. A nice combination of playfulness, combined with a serious, creative intent. I miss it.

Spurs are fine. Almost had the game. Manu played the worst game of his PO career, and Pop made an idiotic coaching move by taking out Bowen with 3 fouls when they were up 20. It let Kobe get into a rythm, and then whoever you put on him was useless (Kinda like the way the Pistons let the opposing team get into a rythm, and then wonder why they can't stop them later)

Defense is a whole game thing not a when you feel like it thing.

Great adjustments by Jackson on the pick and roll, and Parker specifically.

Gasol is still soft.

Spurs will still most likely win the series, unless that was a serious case of rust by the Lakeshow.

Spurs didn't look overmatched. Sad thing is, the Pistons (and Flip) do.

Original intent comes out strong and perceptive, then all that is solid melts into air. You just can't help yourself, can you?

Spurs down 0-2. I guess there's plenty of blame to go around. Score of 101-71 sounds like a whupping to me. Let's look at the stats. Spurs lose by 30 points but take 16 MORE shots....Good job coach. Nice shot selection. Let's give him credit though, he played his bench. 10 of his players played 14 minutes or more and the next two got 9 minutes each. How's playing all those different players working out for you? Top scorer only gets 13 points and only 2 players score in double figures...I guess if we compare the shooting percentages we may find out something. Let's see .545 to .341.....I wonder which team shot better? I wonder which team played DEFENSE? There's a team out there that needs a new coach and it's not the Pistons (bye-bye Pop). And I actually picked the Spurs this series. Musta been my dislike for Kobe speaking versus looking at the two coaches abilities..

Man, what a butt-whipping this is. I haven't even been watching the second half. I guess the Spurs are really going to regret blowing that lead in Game 1. Winning 4 in a row, or Game 7 in LA, is going to be a very tall order.

I believe the Lakers will win this series, (I picked the Lakers in 7) however, don`t think the Spurs are going to just roll over and die.

Remember what Barkley says, "they are like roaches, they will not die, you have to kill them".

I must say, they have been sprayed with some cheap roach spray that has them dazed and confused at the moment!!!!!!!!!

Coming into the playoffs I thought the Spurs looked slow, old, and unable to score. It wasn't clear to me that they could put enough points up to beat anyone. So I picked them to lose to Phoenix.

Then the Spurs of old showed up against Phoenix. And at least part of the time against NO. And now, old, slow, and unable to score again. Must be pretty frustrating to be a Spurs fan right now.

Original intent comes out strong and perceptive, then all that is solid melts into air. You just can't help yourself, can you?

Unless that was a serious case of rust by the Lakeshow.

Manu's ankle is worse that previously thought, and unfortunately Jackson still owns Pop.

But i wasn't aware that series are over after Game 2. Someone should have told the NO Hornets that in their series. They can file a protest against the league.

Thanks for your opinion on my opinion. Appreciated.

Spurs down 0-2. I guess there's plenty of blame to go around. Score of 101-71 sounds like a whupping to me. Let's look at the stats. Spurs lose by 30 points but take 16 MORE shots....Good job coach. Nice shot selection. Let's give him credit though, he played his bench. 10 of his players played 14 minutes or more and the next two got 9 minutes each. How's playing all those different players working out for you? Top scorer only gets 13 points and only 2 players score in double figures...I guess if we compare the shooting percentages we may find out something. Let's see .545 to .341.....I wonder which team shot better? I wonder which team played DEFENSE? There's a team out there that needs a new coach and it's not the Pistons (bye-bye Pop). And I actually picked the Spurs this series. Musta been my dislike for Kobe speaking versus looking at the two coaches abilities..

Seemed to worked out fine on their way to 4 championships.

Yes, that makes sense.

Spurs aren't dead yet.

2-1.

Pop played 11 guys.

If what you were doing before was not getting the results you wanted; try something different. I hope Flip looks at this game and box score.

Thank you Spurs for making this a series!

Oldest team in the NBA, played 7 games before this series. Came back to their homecourt and give the Lakers a good spanking. I don't care bout the outcome of the series but my point here is, THIS IS THE WAY YOU SHOULD PLAY AFTER COMING BACK!!! THIS IS THE WAY YOU SHOULD PROTECT THE HOMECOURT ESP THE 1ST GAME BACK HOME IN A SERIES!!! A BLOWOUT!!! Not a NO ENERGY, NO INTENSITY, NO HEART GAME!!!

The Spurs are facing the same challenge as us. They have to win 3 out of 4.

The Spurs are facing the same challenge as us. They have to win 3 out of 4.

And the outcome will be the same.

We will not do it and neither will they!

And the outcome will be the same.

We will not do it and neither will they!


The question is, who do you have more faith in? And why? I won't even bother to ask why.

The question is, who do you have more faith in? And why? I won't even bother to ask why.

If you mean who between SA and the Pistons, I would have to say SA.

You know why................:MusicBigGrin:

And the outcome will be the same.

We will not do it and neither will they!

I take it you will not be watching the Pistons-Celtics series?:yield:

I take it you will not be watching the Pistons-Celtics series?:yield:

Oh yeah, I`ll watch

Pop better play Amir or they are going to lose this game.

Pop better play Amir or they are going to lose this game.

I lol'd.

Manu is the little Pistons spot in the spurs. Inconsistent.

Barry just got ripped off. Joe Crawford should be out of the league, he's total trash.

What a screw job on the Spurs by the refs.

Too many three point attempts by the Spurs trying to go take the lead instead of just short jumpers by anyone other than Duncan. Duncan forced so many shots in the paint, as the refs swallowed their whistles. Why Stern assigned Joe Crawford to this game only the conspirators know for sure. Barry was definitely fouled in the end but....

Tony Parker disappeared in the 4th qtr and Manu disappeared for the whole game. Robert Horry was a waste and only Brent Barry showed up off the bench.

Wow, the Spurs really choked that one away. The Lakers kept giving them chances in the 4th, but they couldn't take advantage. The one no-call at the end might have been a tough break, but the Spurs had a big edge from the FT line for most of the game, so I don't think an honest assessment can chalk up this loss for them to the officiating. Lakers will probably wrap this one up on Thursday and get a week off before the finals start.

Pretty amazing that Barry was +24 in 27 minutes. Finley might have had the worst +/- rating I've ever seen for such a small amount of playing time: he was -18 in only 9 minutes!

The questions is if we get to the finals, are our guys to old to keep up with the young Lakers??

Barry just got ripped off. Joe Crawford should be out of the league, he's total trash.

What a screw job on the Spurs by the refs.

why is he assigned to ref back to back games? with his history? doesn't this league want to remain above reproach? just insane.....

The questions is if we get to the finals, are our guys to old to keep up with the young Lakers??

I am sure Kobe and Gasol won't be fighting over shots like he and Shaq did.

I would rule the Spurs out yet though, if they get game 5 then game 6 will be a lot easier.

They ended Sportscenter by asking if that play happened to Kobe in LA, would he have got the call? The other guy just made a whistle sound.

It was definitely a foul. Not a shooting foul though, but a 2-shotter.

And yeah, this is exactly why they shouldn't have had Crawford in this game. Why does the NBA want to be in this situation? A lot of calls are 50/50, so you don't need an official with a possible bias being forced to make that call.

Also, the layup by Parker was cleanly blocked by Odom and it was called a goaltend. It was very close, but on the replay, you can clearly see that Odom touched it into the glass.

So, 2 missed calls in the final minute of a playoff game.

Without a doubt, Crawford missed it (if it was his assignment area), but the Spurs didn't deserve to win this game. There was poor play all around and Duncan looked bad with very little spark.

Age is starting to show.

It seems that the core elements of all the playoff teams revolves around how the trinity base provides enough stability to keep them in the game. Variables include depth of bench, guard and wing flow, early lead-half time psychology and how the trio components can over-come one or more of their base not having a strong and consistent showing. The stable point (by this I mean having at least a 1.5 showing) is a must to have a potential win. With the latter, it should give the opportunity for elements of the bench to make the deciding difference.

i kind of agreed with the TNT guys...if you get a guy off his feet, you put your body into him, force the contact, and force the foul call. barry cowered from it.

it still was a foul though (before the shot) and should've given the spurs 2 FTs.

They ended Sportscenter by asking if that play happened to Kobe in LA, would he have got the call? The other guy just made a whistle sound.

It was definitely a foul. Not a shooting foul though, but a 2-shotter.

And yeah, this is exactly why they shouldn't have had Crawford in this game. Why does the NBA want to be in this situation? A lot of calls are 50/50, so you don't need an official with a possible bias being forced to make that call.

Also, the layup by Parker was cleanly blocked by Odom and it was called a goaltend. It was very close, but on the replay, you can clearly see that Odom touched it into the glass.

So, 2 missed calls in the final minute of a playoff game.

Well if you are counting those 2 you can add the call that was made with 5.2 seconds left in the game where the shot by Fisher hit the rim before bouncing out of bounds off a Spur so the clock should have reset instead giving the Lakers on 2 seconds to shoot. Can't really blame it on the officials if none of the three were paying attention to angle of the way the ball bounced. Still why would you assign Crawford to a Spurs game? What's next assign> Donahy to the finals? :sssh:

Both players arrived at the same space at the same time. The LA player wasn't trying to go through Barry on the play. Right non-call by Crawford. I picked the Spurs to win this series, but they're not whining about this call. Pop says he didn't want the call made, and Barry said that you don't get that call in the WCF. Spurs started out the game playin sloppy and they never recovered. 40% shooting and no defense against the Lakers. They jacked up too many 3's. Lakers tried to give them the game in the 4th but they wouldn't take it. With 13 home playoff victories in a row, playing a team that was well below .500 on the road, the Spurs COACH blew this one big time.....:gun1:

The part that bothers me about the play is that it seemed like Barry wanted to get closer to the 3-point line. So I don't think that he was trying to draw the foul, but rather get past the defender. The contact prevented him from getting to a better spot and he knew that he'd have to launch from there. I hate rewarding players who are trying to get fouled, but I would have called that one for the reason above.

The Spurs did a good job of controlling their response to the media. Even if you think you got hosed, you're probably better off manning up and not whining. You're not going to win the game on a protest.

The part that bothers me about the play is that it seemed like Barry wanted to get closer to the 3-point line. So I don't think that he was trying to draw the foul, but rather get past the defender. The contact prevented him from getting to a better spot and he knew that he'd have to launch from there. I hate rewarding players who are trying to get fouled, but I would have called that one for the reason above.

The Spurs did a good job of controlling their response to the media. Even if you think you got hosed, you're probably better off manning up and not whining. You're not going to win the game on a protest.



Good points TaShawn. I think if Barry continues his shot during the contact, then he draws the foul. Since he reloaded and stopped forward movement and took the shot after the contact, they decided not to call the foul.

I agree never let the refs decide the game.. but a foul is a foul is a foul... he wasn't in the shooting motion... Let him go to the line and shoot the 2 free throws and see if he can take the game to overtime where the players then can decide the game...

and just thinking aloud.... why does it always seem that certain teams get this sort of "benefit"

The reload was the difficult part. I can imagine being the ref and thinking about calling it, then seeing him put up a clean look and swallowing the whistle.

All in all, I don't think the game was rigged, but they probably didn't do a great job. As much as I don't root for Kobe, I do find it unbelievable that he got 0 free throws in this game. Also, Ginobili with 2. So, the two players who can draw fouls the best played for 70+ minutes with 1 trip to the line.

I keep coming back to the unfortunate reality that this sport is too difficult to referee and requires too much subjectivity. It's not Olympic gymnastics, but it is close. There's no way around this problem, it is just the way that it is structured. Baseball is the opposite. If you installed the electronic strike zone and allowed instant replay, you could probably get through an entire season without a missed call. There is nothing you can do in basketball to even get to a 90% success rate.

I think Dre had a valid point that the Spurs may not have deserved to win.

But without a doubt in my mind, that was a foul. It would be called as a foul 99 times out of 100 if it wasn't in the last minute of a game.

A foul has to be a foul. Barry is a great FT shooter, and that game should have gone to OT on his FTs. He was robbed by the refs, plain and simple, and the Smug Mug of Kobe in the postgame sideline interview where he said no foul, made me want attack some furniture.

Kobe would have flipped out if the situations were reversed, and his team went down 3-2.

Did that shot actually hit the rim? It looked like it missed to me, but I didn't really scrutinize it.

The thing that blew me away was how long it took Doug Collins (the announcer) to figure out what was going on. He kept talking about how the Lakers need to inbound and get fouled to ice the game. He didn't realize that the airball meant that there was a difference b/t the shot and game clock. It wasn't until after the play happened that he figure it out. Pretty amazing for a former NBA coach to be that lost.

I agree never let the refs decide the game.. but a foul is a foul is a foul... he wasn't in the shooting motion... Let him go to the line and shoot the 2 free throws and see if he can take the game to overtime where the players then can decide the game...

and just thinking aloud.... why does it always seem that certain teams get this sort of "benefit"

It doesn't just "seem" like it Round. It's reality. The NBA won't "rig" a series but they do everything in their power to see that the teams they want in the Finals end up there. I'd say it's 50/50. Fifty percent player performance, fifty percent officiating. Maybe a little give or take in either direction.:detective:

I think Dre had a valid point that the Spurs may not have deserved to win.

But without a doubt in my mind, that was a foul. It would be called as a foul 99 times out of 100 if it wasn't in the last minute of a game.

A foul has to be a foul. Barry is a great FT shooter, and that game should have gone to OT on his FTs. He was robbed by the refs, plain and simple, and the Smug Mug of Kobe in the postgame sideline interview where he said no foul, made me want attack some furniture.

Kobe would have flipped out if the situations were reversed, and his team went down 3-2.

If it had been Kobe in that situation with the ball, he would have gotten that call and been at the FT line....shooting 3 FT's . It if had been Manu, he would have sold it with a big ole fashion flopp!:fear:

Pop better play Amir or they are going to lose this game.

You know if Pop had Amir he would've 100% played in that game esp how they were getting abused on the O glass.

That non-call was atrocious. Yes, Barry should have jumped into him, and i don't buy that whole TNT well they don't want to decide the game. They could have called a foul on the floor.

Also Duncan was fouled by Gasol all game. JC strikes again.

The questions is if we get to the finals, are our guys to old to keep up with the young Lakers??

No but our young guys can.

You know what is a little strange?

Kobe Bryant has shot 6 free throws in 4 WCF games this year. 1.5 per game.

In 2 games in San Antonio, he is 0 for 1 from the line.

Is it possible that the refs are stiffing him?


That would be great news if we can somehow get through this round.

You know what is a little strange?

Kobe Bryant has shot 6 free throws in 4 WCF games this year. 1.5 per game.

In 2 games in San Antonio, he is 0 for 1 from the line.

Is it possible that the refs are stiffing him?


That would be great news if we can somehow get through this round.

SAS has taken the strategy that they are not going to foul him. They would rather let him attempt the lay-up then foul.

They did something similar in 04'. I remember Kobe had a 0 FT game then as well. Besides it helps that Bowen doesn't get called for the same type of fouls other defenders do so technically i guess you can make a case of Bowen fouling him, but he isn't getting fouled at the rim. If anything it's off the ball stuff that only DET gets called for.

Imagine if KG got called for all his moving screens . . .

Imagine if KG got called for all his moving screens . . .
That could only happen in...:rapture:

It's almost over. Spurs are done. The officials, the previous series and the Lakers were too much for them. The curse of the even year lives on . . .

We need to play our young guns, play balls out, and go down swinging. I thought it would be better if we lost in 6 instead of 7, but eff the Celtics, and NBA politicking. Make them sweat.

20 more seconds untill "sayonara spurs"

Oh boy. Jerry West is rambling.

And he tells the young kids to emulate Kobe? Yucko.

stern: 1 down, 1 to go
:hoops:

I guess some Spurs fans might still be complaining about that no-call at the end of Game 5, but how about not blowing a 20 point lead AND a 17 point lead in two different road games in the same series?

Well, the Spurs extended the series to 5 games. I guess that's all they had. Spurs Up 13 points after the 1st quarter. Then slowly lose.....I guess Pop had nothin. No answers for Kobe and the Gang. Better luck next time. Maybe time for Pop to retire.

Well, the Spurs extended the series to 5 games. I guess that's all they had. Spurs Up 13 points after the 1st quarter. Then slowly lose.....I guess Pop had nothin. No answers for Kobe and the Gang. Better luck next time. Maybe time for Pop to retire.
They were up 17 at one point. Pop just re-upped his contract, so I don't think he's going anywhere.

Half of Stern's plan is now in place ("...sorry Spurs fans and everyone else, it was a bad call...") and he's done a great job setting up the other half. The Pistons would have to play two consecutive A++ games to make that not happen...and with Rip a likely scratch, there ain't no way that's gonna happen.

reporter: "Congratulations David Stern! The Lakers & Celtics are reuniting in the NBA Finals! What are you going to do now?"
Stern: "I'm going to Disneyland!...[cough-cough] and then I'm going to focus on bringing a BRAND NEW basketball to the NBA next season...it's made of something called unobtainium...it's REALLY cool and everyone is going to LOVE it!"

The only way the Spurs win this is if they got a 30 point lead. I am not sure anyone will stop the lakers Kobes this year, he /they are on a mission.

Their bench were unknowns last year, but Phil was not afraid to play them during the regular season or the PLAYOFFS...Sasha, Walton, Farmarr, and Turiaf are reliable enough in Phil's eyes to come off the bench and cause havoc with their quickness and 3 three point shooting. if only Joe and Flip had enough confidence in our guys to play them in real time situations instead of garbage time....

The Spurs were a tad to old to keep up with the Lakers and I think the Pistons and Celtics will run into the same issue. If Bowen could not stop Kobe, who in the east can??? We did it when we were young, but h is focused and Tay may be burned out or already knocked before getting that chance this year.....

I guess some Spurs fans might still be complaining about that no-call at the end of Game 5, but how about not blowing a 20 point lead AND a 17 point lead in two different road games in the same series?

Its hard when kobe takes five steps after changing pivot foots 4 times. The Spurs always get the short end of the stick from the officials when plaing the darling lakers. Detroit fans should know this... Lebron can take 30 steps and dunk and then get a whistle.