[rozwado1]

Originally posted by tavilach:
I'm going to be a freshman at college...As I said, I hate sports...I just think the Lakers are fun to watch.

Fair enough. --You're still young though.

[tavilach]

Originally posted by rozwado1:
Fair enough. --You're still young though.

Yeah, well .

[scottiB]

1 more...

Nothing like watching the Lakers implode.

[OldManMac]

Tuesday may well be the night! Outplayed 'em again tonight. A real team is always better than a couple of "superstars".

[zigzag]

The Lakers got most of the calls/non-calls yesterday (which is OK - they tend to even out), but the Pistons still outplayed them. The fat lady is warming up.

[nredman]

Go Pistons!!! i hope malone and payton both retire after this season, after they lose on tuesday sorry but i don't really like either of them, even before they went to LA to win a ring, i think it will be pretty freaking funny if they don't win one

[d0ubled0wn]

The Lakers could be dismantled after this season. Kobe is a free agent and Jackson's contract expires. If they both leave what are the chances of Karl and Gary being back next year?

[slimshady023]

Originally posted by tavilach:
The Pistons just seem like creeps...especially with Billups just standing under the basket, waiting for Kobe...like an absolute parasite.

Tavilach, you're younger than me by two years - so we're about on the same level. I don't mean to be harsh, but your comments about the Pistons were ignorant. Blocking lanes in basketball is good defense, not creepiness. Billups is doing everything that you hope Fisher and Payton will do for the Lakers. I can understand why you like the Lakers, but don't diss the Pistons in the process.

My prediction for Tuesday: Pistons clean up by 15. The Wallace brothers get their first trophy, and Kobe Bryant finds a new home at Madison Square Gardens playing for the Knicks.

[zigzag]

Originally posted by nredman:
Go Pistons!!! i hope malone and payton both retire after this season, after they lose on tuesday sorry but i don't really like either of them, even before they went to LA to win a ring, i think it will be pretty freaking funny if they don't win one

IMHO, one reason neither Malone nor Patrick Ewing won rings is because they were creampuffs - they wouldn't sacrifice their bodies (Ewing was also too selfish). I'm not one to talk - I couldn't carry their lunch pails - but if you want to win in the NBA, you have to be willing to absorb punishment.

That said, I would like to have seen Malone and Stockton win one.

[tavilach]

Originally posted by slimshady023:
Tavilach, you're younger than me by two years - so we're about on the same level. I don't mean to be harsh, but your comments about the Pistons were ignorant. Blocking lanes in basketball is good defense, not creepiness. Billups is doing everything that you hope Fisher and Payton will do for the Lakers. I can understand why you like the Lakers, but don't diss the Pistons in the process.

My prediction for Tuesday: Pistons clean up by 15. The Wallace brothers get their first trophy, and Kobe Bryant finds a new home at Madison Square Gardens playing for the Knicks.

Point taken. As I said, I hate sports...I really don't know crap .

You're comment wasn't harsh, it was insightful.

[vmpaul]

Originally posted by zigzag:
IMHO, one reason neither Malone nor Patrick Ewing won rings is because they were creampuffs - they wouldn't sacrifice their bodies (Ewing was also too selfish). I'm not one to talk - I couldn't carry their lunch pails - but if you want to win in the NBA, you have to be willing to absorb punishment.

Have you ever seen Malone in person? I've gone to many a Warrior game out here and watched him dominate. That dude is one of the biggest, most solid guys I've ever seen. Doesn't look that big on TV but, man, in person he's huge. It shocked me the first time. You wouldn't call him a creampuff to his face. Well, maybe if you had a deathwish.

But I do agree with you, he played soft. Effective, but soft. That pick and roll him and Stockton ran was deadly. They'd do it time after time and the Warriors could never stop it.

[Sealobo]

go Pistons~

[nredman]

Originally posted by Sealobo:
go Pistons~

i'll 2nd that, at the moment i am not watching it because the wife is playing ps2 and i am too lazy to go to the other room.

[slimshady023]

Originally posted by tavilach:
Point taken. As I said, I hate sports...I really don't know crap .

You're comment wasn't harsh, it was insightful.

heh heh, you have a good attitude about things. I actually know quite a few people who don't like sports. I have personally loved basketball ever since the age of 10, when I realized that baseball is a really boring 1-person sport.

That said, I'm loving this game now (Det 39-32). I was at a wedding and couldn't see the last one, but was lucky to have a friend giving regular updates.

[gorickey]

Originally posted by slimshady023:
...I realized that baseball is a really boring 1-person sport.

Out of curiosity, who do you see being the 1-person in baseball on each team?

[rozwado1]

Originally posted by gorickey:
Out of curiosity, who do you see being the 1-person in baseball on each team?

Peanut Guy v. Beer Man

[gorickey]

Originally posted by rozwado1:
Peanut Guy v. Beer Man

v.

[gorickey]

[In Before Pistons win by 20 or more.�]

Congrats to the 2004 NBA World Champion Detroit Pistons!

[/In Before Pistons win by 20 or more.�]

[Sealobo]

The game concluded in just 3 quarters~ wala~

[zigzag]

OK - MVP predictions. I'm thinkin' Ben Wallace, with Rip Hamilton second.

[Sealobo]

Originally posted by zigzag:
OK - MVP predictions. I'm thinkin' Ben Wallace, with Rip Hamilton second.

What about da Sheed?

[Captain Obvious]

Put Shaq back in. I want him on the court when they lose.

[zigzag]

Originally posted by Sealobo:
What about da Sheed?

True dat, and Chauncey Billups. Tough call. I guess I just notice Ben and Rip more. Make it a 4-way MVP.

[Sealobo]

Originally posted by Captain Obvious:
Put Shaq back in. I want him on the court when they lose.

Kobe is gonna take over... LOL~

[gorickey]

gorickey just heard that the Lakers indeed suck badly...

Spead the word!

[rozwado1]

The last 2 mins were the worst I've seen in a while. Darko couldn't make a shot if his life was on the line. Maybe next year Darko...

[soul searching]

Congrats to the Pistons. They played great team basketball.

It's too bad Malone didn't get his ring. I hope he (along with Kobe and Shaq) stays next year for another try with the Lakers. Having said that, I just hope that I recognize the Lakers of 2004-2005.

[swiz]

[Mason]
D-TROIT
Basketball
[/Mason]

Way to go stones!!!!!

[vmpaul]

Great to see a real team win. I'm tired of this cult of personality in the NBA. It's been going on for so long I can't remember the last time a non-superstar led team won. This was probably an exception to the rule but it was great to watch.

Congrats to the World Champs. Congrats to the Detroit Pistons.

[dillerX]

congrats.

[OldManMac]

What a great series! It is indeed refreshing to see a true team dominate! Congratulations Pistons!

[tavilach]

Enough Laker bashing. The Lakers are a true team. Yes, they have two dominant players, but they lost the series because the rest of the team was not up to par: Malone would have shut down Rasheed, Fox was injured, Fisher was injured, etc. Normally they are more of a team, you know?

[TheMosco]

Yeah Pistons!!

I didn't want to see Jackson pass Auerbach in titles won. Jackson isn't half as good as Auerbach.

Auerbach was pretty much the entire staff of the celtics. Jackson couldn't last one day doing Auerbach's job.

[Eriamjh]

Pistons win 5 games to zip (since the Laker's really didn't win game 2, Kobe did).

[slimshady023]

Wow, what a blowout. I'm glad that the announcers were starting to talk about the Pistons game, and how they were playing (as opposed to how the Lakers weren't). Ben Wallace dominated Shaq to rebounds, tips, and second-chance opportunities. Rasheed Wallace is an all-around great player. And Chauncey Billups, man, what a playmaker. These guys are in good shape for years to come.

I predicted a win by 15 points (heh heh) and it was darn close to that. The Pistons played like the champs that they are! w00t w00t!

Rock city... rock on!

[Steve]

The game last night was great. Total and complete rape !

Originally posted by tavilach:
Enough Laker bashing. The Lakers are a true team. Yes, they have two dominant players, but they lost the series because the rest of the team was not up to par: Malone would have shut down Rasheed, Fox was injured, Fisher was injured, etc. Normally they are more of a team, you know?

Hardly. The Pistons completely DOMINATED the entire series. It wasn't as if the Lakers were "so close" to winning and just needed one of their "injured" players to come in and help out with a match-up. The Pistons are a better team, period, and bringing home the trophy in 5 games proves this.

[d0ubled0wn]

I started watching b-ball about 5 years ago prior to when Carlisle and LB came on board. What a great 5 years it's been to follow this team, watching them improve from a piss-poor sub .500 team to culminate into a championship team. Congrats Pistons!

I'm hoping Izzo and his boys at MSU will use that as inspiration and get to the NCAA championship next year. Go State!

[vmpaul]

...and as far as I've heard, the city of Detroit is STILL standing. Good for them.

Best Line: Lakers are the first team to be swept 5-0.

[soul searching]

Originally posted by Steve:
....Hardly. The Pistons completely DOMINATED the entire series. It wasn't as if the Lakers were "so close" to winning and just needed one of their "injured" players to come in and help out with a match-up. The Pistons are a better team, period, and bringing home the trophy in 5 games proves this.

I don't want to take anything away from what the Pistons did, but you cannot argue that Malone's health was not a major factor from the Lakers point of view. The guy contained last year's MVP (Duncan) and this year's MVP (Garnett). His rebounding was great throughout the playoffs until he reinjured his knee. I'm not saying the Lakers would have won with him healthy, but they would have had a better chance. Think about it, the rebounding alone would have done wonders for the Lakers' cause, not to mention his offense.

All in all, injuries are a part of the game, just don't say it didn't have anything to do with the way the series went. Nonetheless, kudos to the Pistons for taking advantage of everything they could and winning it the way they did.

[thunderous_funker]

Hey, you really got to hand to those Lakers. They really dug deep and prevented being swept. That really took a lot of heart.

BWAAAAHAAAAHAAAAHHAAAAAA!!

Once upon a time Shaq played on both ends and was dominate because of his quickness and footwork, NOT merely because of his sheer mass.

Once upon a time Kobe was superb player who outworked everyone because he had something to prove, not some whining prima donna who blames everyone else when things don't go his way.

As soon as the Lakers won that first championship, they started down the road to their own self-destruction. Not developing new talent but relying on retired all-stars from around the league. Letting Shaq show up in worse shape every year. Resigning useless wastes of space like Rick Fox while cutting high-energy, role players.

And most hateful of all: how can anyone respect a team that honestly only plays hard one month a year?

Detriot not only deserves to win but maybe this will mark a return to *REAL* basketball where officials will require players to go *around* their defenders not through them and where passing, defense, hustle and hard work are rewarded above celebrity.

Thank you Detroit. Not just for putting the Lakers out of our collective misery, but for winning THE RIGHT WAY!

[tavilach]

Originally posted by soul searching:
I don't want to take anything away from what the Pistons did, but you cannot argue that Malone's health was not a major factor from the Lakers point of view. The guy contained last year's MVP (Duncan) and this year's MVP (Garnett). His rebounding was great throughout the playoffs until he reinjured his knee. I'm not saying the Lakers would have won with him healthy, but they would have had a better chance. Think about it, the rebounding alone would have done wonders for the Lakers' cause, not to mention his offense.

All in all, injuries are a part of the game, just don't say it didn't have anything to do with the way the series went. Nonetheless, kudos to the Pistons for taking advantage of everything they could and winning it the way they did.

Thank you! That's exactly what I was trying to say. Without Malone, the Lakers would not have beaten the Timbervolves, and definitely would not have beaten the Spurs. How, then, could they have beaten the Pistons, without such a crucial player? It's impossible. Sure, they would not have won because of Malone, but they could have had a great chance.

You guys need to stop bashing the Lakers. Really...it's ridiculous. The Lakers are/were a team, and you cannot deny that. Moreover, I don't like teams that are infested with creeps, and come on...as the announcers said, Rasheed is a "walking technical foul." In other words, a...well, you know.

People like seeing teams fall? Why, I'm not sure, but they do. People resented the dominance of the Lakers. Why, I'm not sure, but they did.

I'm biased towards the Lakers, but the rest of the you are biased towards any team that is not the Lakers. Give it a rest.

[Steve]

Originally posted by tavilach:
I'm biased towards the Lakers, but the rest of the you are biased towards any team that is not the Lakers. Give it a rest.

Exactly. I despise the current Laker team. They were lazy, and depended on 2 key players for the past few years to win their championships. Sure, they had other talent on the team, but the fact of the matter is Shaq and Kobe carried the team on their shoulders.

I'm just happy that my team was the team that whooped on the Lakers .

[vmpaul]

Originally posted by tavilach:
Thank you! That's exactly what I was trying to say. Without Malone, the Lakers would not have beaten the Timbervolves, and definitely would not have beaten the Spurs. How, then, could they have beaten the Pistons, without such a crucial player? It's impossible. Sure, they would not have won because of Malone, but they could have had a great chance.

It's a cliche but it's true - injuries are part of the game.

It happens on all teams so you can't use it as an excuse. That's part of the problem with having a 40-year old on your team. He brings maturity and experience but they break down and don't recover as fast. If management is smart they make amends for that with the bench players. The Lakers didn't. Nobody could fill the gap left by Malone's injury. Look at the bench contributions from the Lakers vs. the Pistons bench. There's no comparison. Not that I think it would have made much difference anyway. Maybe Detroit would win in 6 games.

Detroit was a younger, deeper, hungrier and better coached team. Give the Lakers their due. They had a great run but they are NOT better than the Pistons this year. It's been proven. To keep saying otherwise is delusional and pathetic.

[tavilach]

Originally posted by vmpaul:
It's a cliche but it's true - injuries are part of the game.

It happens on all teams so you can't use it as an excuse. That's part of the problem with having a 40-year old on your team. He brings maturity and experience but they break down and don't recover as fast. If management is smart they make amends for that with the bench players. The Lakers didn't. Nobody could fill the gap left by Malone's injury. Look at the bench contributions from the Lakers vs. the Pistons bench. There's no comparison. Not that I think it would have made much difference anyway. Maybe Detroit would win in 6 games.

Detroit was a younger, deeper, hungrier and better coached team. Give the Lakers their due. They had a great run but they are NOT better than the Pistons this year. It's been proven. To keep saying otherwise is delusional and pathetic.

Never did I say that the Lakers were better than the Pistons this year. I only said that they would have stould a greater chance with Malone. Yes, injuries are part of the game, but I'm using Malone as an example to show that the Lakers, the championship Lakers, did not just depend on two key players. You see my point? Detroit definitely deserved their championship, and injuries are part of the game, but the Lakers are not just two players, as Malone's absence clearly demonstrates.

You follow? Don't call me pathetic.

[vmpaul]

Originally posted by tavilach:
Never did I say that the Lakers were better than the Pistons this year. I only said that they would have stould a greater chance with Malone. Yes, injuries are part of the game, but I'm using Malone as an example to show that the Lakers, the championship Lakers, did not just depend on two key players. You see my point? Detroit definitely deserved their championship, and injuries are part of the game, but the Lakers are not just two players, as Malone's absence clearly demonstrates.

You follow? Don't call me pathetic.

Ok, you're just delusional then. I'm only kidding. No offense meant.

The Lakers would've been better with a healthy Malone but still not good enough. The Pistons bench was much deeper as evidenced by all the time Rasheed had to ride the pine. He barely played in the 2nd & 3rd quarters. The Pistons bench made up for that.

One correction though. Spurs are the defending Champions.

[tavilach]

Originally posted by vmpaul:
Ok, you're just delusional then. I'm only kidding. No offense meant.

The Lakers would've been better with a healthy Malone but still not good enough. The Pistons bench was much deeper as evidenced by all the time Rasheed had to ride the pine. He barely played in the 2nd & 3rd quarters. The Pistons bench made up for that.

One correction though. Spurs are the defending Champions.

None taken . I do agree that they would not have been good enough, but they wouldn't have been put under the guillotine, either .