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Damn, I watched the first half of that game then had to go and do stuff. I can't believe the Magic got outscored in the 4th that badly.
 
Ah well, I expected the Lakers to win, but not by that much. Hopefully the Rockets can bounce back from this, but I'm not too concerned at this point really - not much you can do with all the injury crap we keep getting with Yao and Deke.
edit: oh, yeah, Tracy too. At this point I keep forgetting that he's still on our team.
 
NightFalcon said:
I need not say more now Ancien Regime. Not with today's score at least hahahaha.
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To tell the truth, his point still stands on two things - that defense and big men are the necessary components with a championship (and the Rocket's defense becomes massively inferior without Yao and Deke), and that the Lakers are soft. At this point, arguing that Houston will beat LA is laughable, even from my perspective, but while I thought LA would be the champions if they beat us, I don't think that anymore. Cleveland, and heck even Denver have played far better than the Lakers have, who are acting almost Yankee-like in their feelings on a championship. They are soft, they do not play hard defense, and that's why I think after watching this point that they will definitely fall to Cleveland, if not Denver.
 
This really proves my point even more.

The last game they LOST by 30, now they won by 40.

This is a reflection of the inherent mental weakness of the Lakers team. They play 100% when they feel like it, and they lack focus. They will lose to teams with focus.
 
I did not really have a specific topic to put this in, just something hilarious - in the Simmons-Gladwell postings on epsn right now (mostly NBA related), they changed it from Part I/II to 1/2, assumedly because they decided it looked too elitist or something.
 
Orlando vs Cavs would be a much more exciting match-up. Celtics just aren't the same without KG.

Lakers take this series in 6, same with the next series. ^^
 
Ancient regime, i think youre just another random laker hater out there. youre just bashing them and think they suck and that houston is the best. You only focus on the bad things for the lakers and the good thing for rockets. btw, lakers only lost by 12, not 30. learn your facts.

good thing i dont really care for people like you.
 
The_Reaper said:
Ancient regime, i think youre just another random laker hater out there. youre just bashing them and think they suck and that houston is the best. You only focus on the bad things for the lakers and the good thing for rockets. btw, lakers only lost by 12, not 30. learn your facts.

good thing i dont really care for people like you.
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Lakers lost by 30 when it mattered, and denying that this team has been soft and not mentally focused throughout this series against Houston is ridiculous. Ancient's theory is based on the whole concept that defense wins championships, which is the kind of team Houston was, even as like I said, their defense took a huge hit through losing Yao and Deke. As I said, while the Rockets probably won't win at this point, I could easily see Denver defeating LA, and I definitely don't see Cleveland losing to them.
And frankly, I'll admit that LA's seriously pissed me off this series - they're acting like the goddamned Yankees of basketball. I didn't really hate them before this series, but their overblown massive sense of entitlement, lazy play, and cheap shots has made me like them about as much as I like Dallas (and anyone with a brain should know what a Rockets fan thinks about the Mavs)
 
Take off the homer glasses and see what the fuck is wrong with Los Angeles.
Tjhe Lakers have 3 guys who bring it every night - Kobe, Fisher(notice they brought him back and they suddenly started winning even prior to the Gasol trade), and Josh Powell.

Odom is a soft finesse forward who does a lot of things well but can't play playoff basketball. Same with Gasol (obviously that was a total steal but imo he's a duplicate of Odom in terms of skillset). Same with Ariza. Same with Walton. Bynum is a mess right now, I admit if he were at his normal form they'd be a lot better.

Do you understand the concept that playoff basketball is different? It is more physical, more intense, and more about desire, heart and will than the regular season.

The post-Shaq Lakers have consistently FAILED to show what it takes to win in the playoffs.

Remember when Kobe's Lakers were up 3-1 on the Suns? They lost 3 straight games. Sure his supporting cast was absolute shit. But they weren't any worse than Lebron's Finals cast. The difference, of course was that LeBron's team was clutch, tough, experienced, and mentally focused, where Kobe's team was a bunch of finesse softies who couldn't handle it in the big moments.

As great as Kobe is, if his team cannot bring it mentally on a nightly basis, he will not win a title. Period. The games are not played on paper, and paper turns to shit in the playoffs. They have the most "talent" but they are not built to win close, physical, mentally taxing playoff games. Until they get rid of Gasol for a real PF

And do not argue I am some "Laker hater"; Kobe is my second favorite player behind Gilbert Arenas. I've supported him through the Shaq debacle. I've supported him through Eagle, Colorado. I've supported him through the 1st round playoff exits. I wanted him to win so bad last year I shed a tear when they got crushed in game 6. I still feel in my heart he is better than LeBron James.

So that argument is moot.

I am simply saying as currently constructed, the Lakers can't win.

Now, in the future? Yes. Bynum will be a 20/10 guy. They'll find some better role players. But right now? Cleveland beats them easily, and threatens a sweep. Boston makes it interesting, and pushes it to 7. Healthy Houston (with just Yao, forget T-Mac) beats them. Denver will beat them. Orlando beats them.

I'm just being truthful.
 
If T-Mac was 100% like in 2006(or on both legs, really) along with Yao as good as he is now then id say the Rockets are the one or two seed, but the combo never worked out.

So, since your a Houston fan AR, what great wing player do you think would fit your team well? Just askin.

I know what the Spurs need...
 
Houston play a lot better without T-Mac. They really should cut ties with him, and hope to get some decent young talent. T-Mac really hasn't been fitting in well with the team, he goes against the team chemistry. I'm sure a team like the Pistons or 76'ers would love to pick him up, maybe they could get a draft pick or two from them. All I'm really saying is, T-Mac is not the player for Houston. I will admit, if they still had Yao, things would be different right now.

@AR, I'm a laker fan, and I will agree with you on one thing. The lakers are playing like they won the championship already, they had to go down 20 something points, before realizing, "oh shit, these guys can play". And even after realizing that, some of the players just gave up, they really seem to lack the heart that it takes. I do see them beating the Nuggets, just not winning it this year, unless they realize what needs to be done.
 
Apparently the Pistons offered Billups and Rip for T-Mac...Yao/Artest/Battier/Hamilton/Billups goes to the finals no sweat. Even without Yao, something like Scola/Artest/Battier/Hamilton/Billups is still good enough to get to the finals.
 
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