This sereis will not be a cakewalk for Kobe and the Lakers and I believe they know it. AI and Carmella will not go down easy, however they will go down, in 6 games...............
Re: Lakers/Nuggets series Why do we have to call Carmelo Anthony that horrible nickname?It's so degrading, not that funny and what did this kid ever do to us Piston fans? Back to Topic: I think the Nuggets might go down pretty easy actually. I've watched every Nuggets game this season as I really like this team, but I don't see them playing both sides of the floor against the Lakers. I've seen so many games where they just could not get a stop to save their life. Sometimes they play desperately effective D in the last two minutes. I haven't watched the Lakers this year at all, but my first thought is: who are they going to put on Kobe? Camby, who doesn't really play man to man? (Maybe Najera could do it. I don't know.) Man, I'd LOVE it if they could get even two games from the Lakers but I'm not holding my breath. But just that some of you guys think they might win one is highly encouraging to me.
Re: Lakers/Nuggets series Well...I'm trying to watch the first game in this series. It's a shame the pre-game show was ruined by the insane hype by ABC (Wilbon should have just stayed on PTI, he's horrible as a commentator...boring and predictable) about guess what... LAKERS vs. CELTICS....unreal...why should I be surprised at the way the national sports media hypes everything up way too soon? It's the first game of the first round, PEOPLE! We've got archival footage, statistics of the results between Celtics and Lakers so many years in a row, predictions, grown men professionals practically hyperventilating at the possiblity of a matchup that is what six weeks away. I swear to God. In the midst of all this, the Nuggets are doing what they can against what looks like a formidable team. And I'm kind of watching and recording and hoping against hope that the Nuggets can steal at least one game from this series. I'd rather it be with their home fans though.
Re: Lakers/Nuggets series This is pathetic. The Denver Nuggets' defensive strategy employs the latest in "hope they miss" technology.
Re: Lakers/Nuggets series With everyone so busy tripping over themselves to put the Lakers and Celtics in the finals, it seems they've forgotten that Andrew Bynum still isn't ready to play after missing more than 3 months with a knee injury. Given how much improvement he was showing this season, it was reasonable for people to talk about the Lakers as a real contender once they got Gasol: a core of Kobe, Odom, Bynum, and Gasol is clearly a legitimate title contender. But they still don't have all those pieces on the court, and it's expecting quite a lot for someone to recover from missing nearly 4 months and immediately make a difference in a playoff series (they're not expecting him back until the next round at the earliest). Without him in there, I don't think they'll make it out of the West.
Re: Lakers/Nuggets series They might need Bynum to beat the Spurs. They certainly won't need him to beat the Nuggets or the Jazz, and the Spurs series is more than a month away, giving Bynum more recovery time. (Plus, the Hornets or Mavs might make it instead of San Antonio, and all of them have such weak frontcourts that Gasol and Odom will be more than enough)
Re: Lakers/Nuggets series OOOh the precious Laker Celt rivalry. I'm gonna hurl...................and hurl some more....... What does the media want ? Which is the sexy match up? And hurl some more.......
Re: Lakers/Nuggets series Watching the highlights from the game, it seemed like Gasol dunked about 10 times. That trade is working out pretty nicely for them.
Re: Lakers/Nuggets series everybody seems to forget how young bynum is.... yes he was coming into his own.. but he is young which means he hasn't done it before in the playoffs... so not only does he have to get un rusty fast to try to get back to where he was 4 months ago, but he also has to up the anti as its now playoff basketball... hope there not really depending on him in the playoffs, if they are.... there in trouble and gasol yesterday? lets see what he does against a team that plays ANY defense.
Re: Lakers/Nuggets series If the Nuggets could play any D they could have won one of these games. The Lakers are playing no defense tonight but enough mistakes by Denver will probably give the game to the Fakers. They are up 71-65 now as I type this.. The lakers can be beaten by the Jazz in the second round if they play ltheir lack of D like this. I don't think Bynum will be back at all and if he does, it would take him 8 games to get acclimated to playing with his teammates and may be too late then.
I heard Phil say on the radio the other day that he probably wouldn't but if they limp into the WCF or the get into the finals and are hurting somewhere else, he may pop up in a uniform just in case. Bynum is the heir apparent to Kobe, and the Lakers don't want any setbacks as they think they that they have at least 4-5 more rings to pull out of Kobe with the nucleus of he, Gasol, Bynum, Odom, Farmar and Walton.
When have the Lakers become the darlings of the NBA? They are getting every possible call in this game. Given that Denver plays like garbage, but still...
You ain't lying Mik...what should have been no calls are being charged as offensive calls on the Nuggets. You would think that Stern would want at least one more game at the Staples center. But alas, as you say the Nuggets are losing this game by them selves and Kobe even though quiet in the second half, did make his presence known in the crunch time. If anybody gave up here it was George Karl, who showed no emotion during this game. He was thinking about vacation all weekend. Carmella tried to rally the troops with "quit" talk, but he missed a bunch a bunnies. Feel bad for AI though...still I would have taken Jr Smith over Jarvis Hayes anyday Now I got to hear the local talk of how good the Lakers are for the rest of the week because of this No D sweep.
You know, Dre, I was thinking just the same thing. We seem to be doing that quite a bit. But three clowns reffing this game? You foul out 3 players on a team during the playoffs in the regulation? And Forte has to be one of the worst officials in the entire NBA.
Dang I would've lost my 50 cent. Lakers with the broom. OK I have 50 cent says Lakers lose in the second round.
