Not only did the Magic get 17 FTs in the fourth quarter and the Lakers 0, the Magic were only called for 1 foul. The blocking foul with a minute left by Nelson. Wow.
I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like that before.
They say if you give a man enough rope, they'll hang themselves. I thought game 3, Magic vs Cavs was as low as the refs would go and that they nearly hung themselves there. But this was a new low in officiating.
Sometimes, you can see the writing on the wall. You aren't meant to win a game. Sometimes you push through and overcome it. The Lakers did just that.
Sometimes you hit a wall (zebras) and as Kobe says, "So what if we do? We just run through it." _________________ Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
After Dwight missed tow free throws; Gramps said oh no... they are taking it at full cuort. Gramps leand back in his chair and was sad. Then the game started agian and the Lakers were running downcuort and Fish made his shot.
Great stuff as always DB. I just wanted to highlight a few things about each of our guys:
Kobe – Didn’t have the best shooting night (partly because of the lack of calls) but showed true heart and character out there. He got caught in the post against Lewis several times and REFUSED to let Rashard back him down. Ripping the ball from Howard was simply EPIC. Having the strength to keep Howard from being able to get a shot off AND taking him down in the process, which resulted in 2 missed FTs, was an outward manifestation of his will to win. Finally, let’s not forget how instrumental Kobe was in getting Fish open for both of those 3s.
Fish – What can you say about what Fish did last night? He’s a guy I want shooting the ball at the end of games, and he came through for us again. If this is Fish’s final season as a major contributor, I’m glad he’s been able to pick his game up over these last two series and really feel like an integral part of this championship team. Despite his rough stretches this season (especially to end the season and at the start of the playoffs), there’s no denying that we wouldn’t be here without him.
Ariza – It says a lot about his mental toughness that he was able to bounce back from a horrible first half and have a Kobe-esque 3rd quarter. That scramble 3 that he made in the 4th was huge when it seemed like Orlando was going to run away with the game (due to help from the refs).
Pau – From now on, anyone that calls Pau soft should be banned. The guy still plays his game despite the fact that Dwight is allowed to WHATEVER he wants to him in the paint. Pau has been a true warrior for us and has played great defense on Dwight despite having to play with a huge handicap.
Drew – I don’t want anyone to say crap about Drew either. The guy is battling out there despite not being 100%, but it’s obvious the refs won’t let him play. If they did, then this series would be over by now because Drew can hold his own against Dwight, which would require the Lakers to trap less and reduce the amount of looks that the shooters get.
LO – This was probably LO’s worst game of the Finals from a statistical standpoint, but I’ll take it considering the fact that Lewis was pretty much MIA for the entire game. Just quit biting on Hedo’s fakes Lamar.
maybe now, after witnessing that farce of a first half and then, after the lakers somehow took the lead into the 4th, watching the refs perform another officiating travesty in the 4th, maybe now people will realize that the bias many of us have pointed out is real.
The refs did everything they could to giftwrap the game to the magic, but the Magic still couldn't put it to sleep. Ironically, the lakers pulled it out in much the same way that the Magic survived Lebron and the refs. Memo to league: you are degrading the product by trying to assure certain outcomes.
These games, for the knowledgable fan, are a joke. One team was simply not alowed to play on a level field. That "foul" called on Fish for "pushing" Howard under the hoop, when Howard, on that very same play, pushed gasol to the ground ... one of the worst calls ever. Only Mark Jackson had the nads to point out the absurdity, and even then did so mildly. The lakers were apoplectic, but to their credit never allowed the hose job to take them out of the game mentally.
Had this series been reffed fairly, the lakers would already be scheduling the parade.
As it stands, it will be all the sweeter when they get their rings despite the obvious attempted fix.
Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 29999 Location: Likely nowhere near you
Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:08 am Post subject:
Ariza's clutch shots were great, but I don't think enough is being said about his great offensive board in the 4th to reset the offense which, I think, led to a three. Or it led to something good.
Kudos to Trevor! Glad to see you showing Otis Smith what a great find you were for the Lakers.
And thank you, SVG, for playing with your PGs in a fashion that benefits the Lakers. Alston had a big Game 3, but he sits most of the 2nd half and all of OT? AJ is not great, but he helped the Magic make it to the Finals, and he has not played one minute? Nelson, I have no beef against him and wish him the best, but he makes a few good plays but shouldn't be out there for the entire game. _________________ Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'
5 on 8. Against all odds. Hostile environment. Big Brother influencing the game.
And the still Lakers prevailed. Truly epic.
Kobe displayed some championship mettle. Offensively, he set the table and made timely shots even though he didn't shoot well for the game. To me, those two sequences - one, denying the bigger Lewis, and then out-quicking him to a long rebound; the other, on the last play of regulation, having Pau switch out on Lewis and wrestling Howard himself - showed great determination and grit. We all are in awe of his offensive skills (that spinning, over-the-shoulder pass to Pau for the dunk? Whoa!) so much that his fundamentally sound, pure desire efforts go unnoticed. Those were inspiring. And that play that he ripped the ball out of Howard's hands should serve as the ultimate clip of will and determination.
Pau steady as usual, but this time in the face of adversity. Mighty, mighty minutes in the 2nd half and OT. He capped off the night perfectly by jawing with Pietrus. I agree with a previous poster - anyone who says Pau is soft should be banned from LG.
Fish = trust rewarded. We've all had complaints about him, been negative about him from time to time, but is there anyone else aside from Kobe, you want taking the last shot? A true pro, classy guy and cold hearted clutch player.
Props to LO for bottling up Lewis, to Ariza for entering the moment in the 2nd half.
Finally, props to Phil who had to jerryrig a lineup in the 1st half. I thought Phil had lost it when he elected to take the ball in from backcourt on the final regulation possession. If you go frontcourt and the Magic foul perhaps you could get off a 3 pt shot and con your way to 3 FTs. If you go backcourt and get fouled, it's hard to even throw up a shot. I think the decision surprised SVG and that's why he pressed. Why not allow the inbounds and just meet the players at midcourt with a wall of defenders? Instead, the Magic got scrambled and Fish happened. I don't know if it was great, insightful coaching by Phil or flat out "stupidness" by SVG? How could Phil have known SVG would press? For SVG to say that experience didn't matter is just plain ignorance. He basically lost the series with that move because he didn't know better. Add that to his playing Nelson so much in game 1 and last night's game and you see where experience matters.
This was about as satisfying a win as the Lakers ever had. 1 more to go!
Finally, props to Phil who had to jerryrig a lineup in the 1st half. I thought Phil had lost it when he elected to take the ball in from backcourt on the final regulation possession. If you go frontcourt and the Magic foul perhaps you could get off a 3 pt shot and con your way to 3 FTs. If you go backcourt and get fouled, it's hard to even throw up a shot. I think the decision surprised SVG and that's why he pressed. Why not allow the inbounds and just meet the players at midcourt with a wall of defenders? Instead, the Magic got scrambled and Fish happened. I don't know if it was great, insightful coaching by Phil or flat out "stupidness" by SVG? How could Phil have known SVG would press? For SVG to say that experience didn't matter is just plain ignorance. He basically lost the series with that move because he didn't know better. Add that to his playing Nelson so much in game 1 and last night's game and you see where experience matters.
This was about as satisfying a win as the Lakers ever had. 1 more to go!
That was hilarious. Stan Van says experience doesn't matter, then immediately says the difference in the game was turnovers, missed free throws, and poor execution. Wow. Makes you appreciate Phil that much more. _________________ It was reminiscent of one of those Most Interesting Man in the World advertisements: "I don't always shoot 6-for-28 from the field, but when I do, I become the youngest player in league history to score 28,000 career points."
Joined: 22 Aug 2001 Posts: 1061 Location: Portugal
Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 9:44 am Post subject:
Great post, DB, thanks. It captured the feel of this incredible game.
There's so much to say:
- Refs hell bent on kicking all our bigs out of the game. They understand that that is the best way to help Orlando. Remove obstacles to Howard to operate freely and the Magic will be in a much better position to win.
- This was an epic win indeed, I don't know if we ever won a game, as important as this, with the refs determined to gift-wrap a win to the opposition? I know we won but remember it only happened because the Magic choked big time, especially at the free throw line. Had they shot reasonably well, there would be no way for us to get the W.
- This team has come a long way. Given all the adversity they faced, the most normal behaviour, as seen in previous occasions, would have been for them to give up. Instead, they showed, especially with that awesome 3rd quarter, that, if the Magic and refs wanted to take the win away from them they would have to do it over their sweaty dead bodies.
- I know it has already been said but... it was truly incredible the way this game was officiated, notably the way Howard was allowed to do pretty much what he wanted, constantly shoving, pushing, elbowing people, especially Pau, and no whistle. Our bigs, especially Bynum, would get whistled whenever the refs decided it was time to whistle, not that he committed a foul. INCREDIBLE! Poor Andrew must be really frustrated with all this.
- What about Howard's constant camping in the paint? Notice how, during the last regulation imbounds play, with 4 something remaining, he camped there the whole time. Where's the whistle?
- Some people are complaining that Kobe elbowed Nelson and that should have been a foul. What do you guys think? It looked like Jameer just run into his elbow while he was moving, i.e. Kobe didn't elbow him, he just crashed onto Kobe's body, in this case his elbow.
- So much more to say but the best of all this is that when, hopefully, we win it, this title will taste a lot sweeter, knowing that the team earned what they got, it was not an easy walk.
Go Lakers, go DB and I can't wait for your final post, hopefully this Sunday.
This win was so much sweeter considering the refs/Stern seemed to be doing everything they could to keep us from winning. There were just some blatantly mindblowing calls in this game. The refs weren't even trying to be subtle. I didn't know what the numbers were at the time, but having them shoot 17 freethrows to our 0 doesn't surprise me because you could feel us getting submarined the whole game. I am so incredibly proud of this team for pushing through all that adversity and gutting out an incredibly difficult win on the road. They certainly deserved it. Big props to Trev and Fish, the heroes of the night, and for Kobe and Pau who pushed through when they were clearly exhausted. Some of the fouls called on LO, Drew and even Kobe were absolutely ridiculous. Just goes to show you can win playing 5 on 8 if you stick together and are mentally tough. I've never been prouder to be a Laker fan.
THIS! _________________ Only this time, the Lakers fought back for Bryant. They fought with him. And when he wasn’t his best, they had Bryant’s back. Enough is enough, Kobe Bryant finally witnessed his teammates tell the Boston Celtics.
Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 6405 Location: Past left field
Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 12:10 pm Post subject:
Great games by some of our "role players". Ariza and Fish for sure but Luke holding down the PF position. DJ playing in the FIRST FREAKING QUARTER and not letting Howard go nuts. Powell playing under control. Gotta love the team effort. _________________ Darvin Ham is an idiot!
I thinks that this match was a awesome, the team play regular in first half but in 3Q, the team play very very good, in the 4Q, similar, and 2 three pointer by derek sentence the game 4 , and LA up 3/1, GOOOO , GOOO, this year is the year, LET'S GO LAKERS!
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