NBA

[Guest showgunz]

Were you referring to the altercation between KG and Quentin Richardson? I just brought up Howard because he's delivered some blows (although unintentional) to Paul Pierce (across the face), KG (back of the head), and Glen Davis (to the face). I don't think he's dirty, but he clears a lot of space with force. More of a compliment and comment on how much more physical he's been on the glass. I appreciate guys who play great defense.

The second technical should have been rescinded because it also led to an ejection. If that specific incident where Perkins walks away acted in place as his first technical, I don't think people would have been as mad because it would have been a warning (still kind of bogus), but it didn't merit an ejection. Referees need to be in better mind of how many technical fouls a player has, and an event like that shouldn't be the tipping point to where you toss a player out of the game.

i wasn't responding to you

i had just come off the espn boards lol

and it wasn't one particular incident

garnett has a history of swinging his elbows while securing a rebound

if it's just clearing space..that's fine

if it's directed at somebody's head...that's dirty

garnett and howard are both just clearing space

it was just hypocritical for celtic fans to call howard "dirty"

i don't really agree with refs having to keep track of who has how many techs

if they did, and perkins had argued right in their faces?

then they wouldn't give him a tech because it would've meant an ejection?

i agree, perkins didn't deserve either one

but they were called. not the first time it happened in the playoffs. not the first player for it to happen to.

he should've known after the first one...they're quick with the techs that night

Are you $#*@#ing serious? DESERVED THEM? What player would put up with some BSed calls? What are you supposed to do when there's a bad call, stand around like an idiot? The fouls were dumb, especially the one in which Perkins walked away (the one that led to his ejection which is VERY CRUCIAL since he watches Dwight Howard, who had like 32 points that night).. Even the oh so biased commentators said, "That is not a foul" which surprised me A LOT.

by rule..if you extend your arms on someone in the post position, it's a foul

i know it's ticky-tack...but by rule, it's a foul

and he has a history of disputing every foul called against him

i'm pretty sure that played a role in him getting a tech

the guy just never feels that he commits a foul

most players do it...but perkins is always so demonstrative of it

---------------

go lakers.

[Guest a-o]

i wasn't responding to you

i had just come off the espn boards lol

and it wasn't one particular incident

garnett has a history of swinging his elbows while securing a rebound

if it's just clearing space..that's fine

if it's directed at somebody's head...that's dirty

garnett and howard are both just clearing space

it was just hypocritical for celtic fans to call howard "dirty"

More than anything, I think Boston fans were mad about Howard's hard fouls and the contact going on after the whistle. Howard is such a big guy that it's understandable he's going to make some additional/incidental contact after the initial play, but it were the blows to the face and the stuff going on afterward that some fans thought were unnecessary. Although, I can see the argument where many would just attest that to being playoff basketball.

i don't really agree with refs having to keep track of who has how many techs

I think referees should at least know many technical technical fouls a player has, even personal fouls to some extent, especially in playoff games. With the whole suspension rule based on how many technical fouls a player accumulates during the postseason, that could potentially decide a series right there, not just a single game.

if they did, and perkins had argued right in their faces?

then they wouldn't give him a tech because it would've meant an ejection?

More often that not, referees will give players more leeway and show more restraint before dishing out a second technical foul and ejecting a player out of the game, even more so in the bigger games.

But in this particular case, there wasn't even a direct exchange between Perkins and the referee. Perkins' back was facing the referee as he was headed toward the opposite direction of the referee. That's why it was such a bad call.

[Guest Clu3less]

Are you $#*@#ing serious? DESERVED THEM? What player would put up with some BSed calls? What are you supposed to do when there's a bad call, stand around like an idiot? The fouls were dumb, especially the one in which Perkins walked away (the one that led to his ejection which is VERY CRUCIAL since he watches Dwight Howard, who had like 32 points that night).. Even the oh so biased commentators said, "That is not a foul" which surprised me A LOT.

Suns had numerous opportunities but they weren't aggressive enough. They have to actually play man-on-man defense.. They broke down in the paint plus the Lakers were hitting their perimeter shots and jumpers. I feel for Nash man... It hurt to see him in that state..

The actions of KG did surprise me a lot.. He should have been ejected for that.. I have no idea what he's thinking right now. I just hope Rondo is OK from his back spasms.. He's crucial.

Go Celtics! Why is this thread always bombarded with Laker fans? Where my Celtics fans at? Instead of buying a new BEAT LA shirt I whipped out my old one... yeeeeahhhhhhh

celtics fan here! lol i think this thread's majority lakers fans because there are a lot more soompiers who are from the west coast than from the east.

i agree that perkins didnt deserve those two technicals. i'm glad that at least one of them got rescinded. this is gonna be an interesting finals. i need to get myself one of those beat LA shirts.

[velvet01]

No disrespect intended to Lakers fans, but i think Boston is gonna win this series due to the following reasons:

1. Individuals win games but teams win championships - Boston has proven time and again this postseason that they have the talent and determination to will themselves to a victory. Haven't Wade, Lebron and Howard proven that the hard way? and now, its Kobe's turn to fall.

2. Defence win championships, plain and simple - the Celtics are the superior defensive team in this match-up and has a deeper bench to boot.

And guys, Kobe and Rondo are the 2 players to watch out for in this series. Its gonna be verrry interesting...

[Ayame]

Go Celtics! Why is this thread always bombarded with Laker fans? Where my Celtics fans at? Instead of buying a new BEAT LA shirt I whipped out my old one... yeeeeahhhhhhh

Right here! lol. I was born & raised in Hawaii, but I grew up as a Celtics fan. When I was watching the game on TV, I was pretty much going nuts when Perk got those techs. He definitely didn't deserve them. Rondo is crucial, like you said. Hopefully the days/rest off the team is getting now helps a lot.

[Guest sofly23]

I got LA this year.

Let's start from the positions 5 to 1.

5. Bynum vs Perkins. Perkins will have a tough time guarding Bynum. Bynum is too big for him, I will say though that Bynum might not score much against Perkins because of his length. But Bynum has the advantage.

4. Gasol vs Garnett. I think this will be the biggest match up. When Lakers played Boston two years ago, Gasol just came to the Lakers and wasn't really familiar with the triangle offense, now he's been with them for a few years now and they built their chemistry. Gasol has toughen up and Garnett has just wore down. But still, Garnett will play physical and will try to make it hard on Gasol to score.

3. Artest vs Pierce. Now we all know who's the better offensive player here, Pierce. With Ron Artest's physical defense, Paul Pierce will have some trouble scoring. The Lakers don't need Artest to score, they got him to toughen up the team and add a defensive/physical presence.

2. Bryant vs Allen. Can't let Allen make those 3's consistent, or else it's going to be trouble.

1. Fisher vs Rondo. Rondo is quicker and more athletic, but Fisher is a better jump shooter and tougher. Rondo can blow by Fisher.

Anyways, this will most likely happen. Kobe will be guarding Rondo and Fisher will be guarding Allen. This is what they did during the regular season also. Fisher will be chasing Allen around those screen and contest shots by Allen. And we know how great of an on-ball defender Bryant is. Bryant will do what he did on Westbrook to Rondo.

And who is to stop Kobe? Celtics only defender to guard Bryant is Tony Allen. Ray is too old now and can barely keep up with him.

Let's talk about the 6th man now.. Either it's Big Baby chasing Lamar out to the perimeter or Rasheed, the Celtics will lose their inside presence and will leave the lane open. Odom is so versatile for his size and everyone knows that. That will create some trouble for the Celtics.

Now for the whole bench, Nate Robinson sucks.. he's just all hype. That one game was just lucky for him. He is too short and won't be able to do anything if you stick to him =P. And Tony Allen is a little inconsistent with his scoring. But his defense is what the Celtics will want from him on Kobe. Now Shannon Brown is an all around type player that has many weapons, such as driving in or shooting outside. Celtics bench don't have many guys that can do that. And Vujacic and Morrison... I don't know what happened to them. Vujacic played so well until he got that extension. And Morrison...I don't know what to say about him.

Good series ahead of us but I got Lakers in game 6 or 7.

[Guest ooBah]

^I'm not going to agree on the center match up. Bynum with his bum knees and tendency to get into foul trouble are his downfalls.

[Guest kuku]

The thing about Laker fans is that they are wayy too homer-ish. They are too used to winning. This is why you get a CRAP load of nonlaker fans rooting for the other team and cheer when Lakers lose. Of all my friends, the Celtic fans are more down to earth and not like super in your face.

Hopefully you guys are ONE year older and ONE year mature. I've been on this forum too long and have seen so much homer comments.

Be non-biased guys!

Lakers vs Celtics!

[xkrndreamer]

fans should be biased.

that's why they're fans.

i admit i'm used to the lakers winning

that's why the lakers are considered one of the best sports franchises

the bar is set high and a lot of special memories are created

unlike the clippers, when they look good on paper every season but can't produce any wins

lakers in 7!

[Guest showgunz]

More than anything, I think Boston fans were mad about Howard's hard fouls and the contact going on after the whistle. Howard is such a big guy that it's understandable he's going to make some additional/incidental contact after the initial play, but it were the blows to the face and the stuff going on afterward that some fans thought were unnecessary. Although, I can see the argument where many would just attest that to being playoff basketball.

i admit..howard committed some hard fouls

but only one could even be considered flagrant

and the celtics committed more hard fouls on howard

just the hypocrisy of some of the fans is ridiculous

I think referees should at least know many technical technical fouls a player has, even personal fouls to some extent, especially in playoff games. With the whole suspension rule based on how many technical fouls a player accumulates during the postseason, that could potentially decide a series right there, not just a single game.

More often that not, referees will give players more leeway and show more restraint before dishing out a second technical foul and ejecting a player out of the game, even more so in the bigger games.

But in this particular case, there wasn't even a direct exchange between Perkins and the referee. Perkins' back was facing the referee as he was headed toward the opposite direction of the referee. That's why it was such a bad call.

but the player is the one who got himself five techs prior to that game

he should know he can't give the refs any reason to tech him

and after getting his first for the game, and sixth overall, he should be even more careful

i'm all for giving players more leeway, especially during the playoffs

but the players themselves have to know how many techs they have, more so than the refs do

yes..perkins walked away. but he did it very demonstratively, which he has a history of doing

2. Defence win championships, plain and simple - the Celtics are the superior defensive team in this match-up and has a deeper bench to boot

by that logic, orlando should've beat the celtics

they're on par with their team defense, and had a deeper bench than the celts

1. Fisher vs Rondo. Rondo is quicker and more athletic, but Fisher is a better jump shooter and tougher. Rondo can blow by Fisher.

i absolutely do not agree with the toughness comparison

Of all my friends, the Celtic fans are more down to earth and not like super in your face.

100% disagree with this

i go to rays games and sit next to red sox fans, who are also celtic fans

convos will turn to other sports, like basketball

but no matter the sport..boston fans will talk dirty about your family, friends, teams, etc...

just to say how great their boston teams are

--------------------------------

i agree..all true fans should be biased for their home team

so long as there's a limit, like not being disrespectful and such

and don't ignore facts

cheer for the nets, and talk them up, all you want

but don't try to say they're better than the lakers or celtics lol

[Guest a-o]

It's going to be fun to see how LA stacks up against Boston after two years with Artest and Bynum now playing. Looking forward to see how the whole Pierce/Artest match-up plays out. Historically, Artest has done a pretty good job defending Pierce. This should help Artest get more involved since their opening series against OKC where he had to guard Durant.

I don't think Bynum has to be necessarily great for LA to win, as long as he's just making his presence felt to some extent and controlling the paint. He and Odom have pretty much been splitting playing time 50/50 anyway up to this point in the postseason. Bynum just has to make the most of his minutes, hit the boards, and let his offense come to him instead of forcing the issue.

For Boston, I think Sheed needs to have some good games and play more by not getting into foul trouble so early. I don't really know about Glen Davis in this series against the Lakers' frontline. He's done a great job up to this point, but he's been mostly playing against smaller 4's up to this point. On the other hand, I wouldn't put it past him to still find a way to be effective with his energy and hustle plays.

Ray Allen's turned into a pretty solid defender over these past two years, but Posey will surely be missed. It'll be a collective effort to defend Kobe, but he'll have his share of one-on-one opportunities. I expect when the games get close, Pierce will want the assignment of guarding Kobe for a possession here and there.

Nate Robinson could also very well possibly be an X-factor again like in the Orlando series. The Lakers' second unit has been susceptible in letting some opposing reserves get off.

I'll take Boston in 6.

[Guest ooBah]

It's going to be fun to see how LA stacks up against Boston after two years with Artest and Bynum now playing. Looking forward to see how the whole Pierce/Artest match-up plays out. Historically, Artest has done a pretty good job defending Pierce. This should help Artest get more involved since their opening series against OKC where he had to guard Durant.

I don't think Bynum has to be necessarily great for LA to win, as long as he's just making his presence felt to some extent and controlling the paint. He and Odom have pretty much been splitting playing time 50/50 anyway up to this point in the postseason. Bynum just has to make the most of his minutes, hit the boards, and let his offense come to him instead of forcing the issue.

For Boston, I think Sheed needs to have some good games and play more by not getting into foul trouble so early. I don't really know about Glen Davis in this series against the Lakers' frontline. He's done a great job up to this point, but he's been mostly playing against smaller 4's up to this point. On the other hand, I wouldn't put it past him to still find a way to be effective with his energy and hustle plays.

Ray Allen's turned into a pretty solid defender over these past two years, but Posey will surely be missed. It'll be a collective effort to defend Kobe, but he'll have his share of one-on-one opportunities. I expect when the games get close, Pierce will want the assignment of guarding Kobe for a possession here and there.

Nate Robinson could also very well possibly be an X-factor again like in the Orlando series. The Lakers' second unit has been susceptible in letting some opposing reserves get off.

I'll take Boston in 6.

Not to say Kobe is worse than Ray, but Ray has his share of battles against Kobe back during the Sonic days. Sure Ray is getting old but I doubt Kobe doesn't feel the fatigue as well. Basically what I'm saying is Ray can definitely hold his own for part of the game 1v1 against Kobe. But Posey will definitely be missed.

To me, it's not possible to defend well against all the positions when you are playing D against LA. Gotta pick your poison.. and boston definitely have the size and skill level to match up against LA's front line. If boston's front line can hold their own, it'll make things a lot easier.

[Guest PB&Banana]

It all depends on who wants it more, who makes the stops, and who makes the big plays in the end. The teams are different for sure and both teams have there ups and downs but of course I want Lakers to win. Can someone tell me what homerish implies?

[Guest melo.breeze]

^^^

homer-ish basically implies a fan who brags and boasts about his team with no evidence what so ever. e.g. lakers will win in 4, boston has no chance against the laker frontline, lakers world champions !! that's a homer-like comment. with that said, i don't think there have been any comments to the extent of homer-ism here in the forum, all i see is some good fandom supported with feedback. i mean, you can't really expect fans to turn against their teams now.

as for the boston/lakers series, if lakers want to win it, they need better production from gasol. gasol's production in the past few games has been horrid and that's playing against a frontcourt of amare/frye/lopez. we need gasol to be that 20/12 monster he was the two series before, not the gasol who grabbed an equal amount of boards as kobe in the entire phoenix series.

kobe will probably guard rondo, rondo the way he's playing can't be stopped, but he can be slowed down, as you recall, the passed two series it was mo (lol) and jameer (if you look at the stat averages of this series, jameer in ways has actually outplayed rondo) who had the defensive assignment of guarding him, so i think it's safe to say kobe is the better defender and will do a better job slowing down rondo. the problem with jameer and mo was that they sagged off rondo and dared him to shoot the jumper, which backfired because when you sag off of him you give him a better view of the court, hence the astronomical assist numbers in a couple games. kobe has enough length to body rondo so there'll be no sagging there and even if kobe from time to time does sag off his man, the lakers length is so superior they can disrupt the passing lanes, it's not just their length as well, the lakers have two elite perimeter defenders in kobe and ron, they basically make a living of those sorts of things. allen will probably take the defensive assignment of guarding kobe, but kobe's always gotten the better of him. boston will miss posey's man to man defense on kobe for posey's length was what bothered most of kobe's shots.

bynum doesn't necessarily need to play well this series, he just needs to make his presence known and keep up with the boston frontline. fisher on allen, advantage allen, but a positive side for fish is he may be able to punish the celtics defense from time to time as he did with phoenix by running and flopping through defensive screens and drawing the offensive foul.

and lets just say i'm glad lakers have artest this time around to check paul instead of walton/radmanovic.

[xkrndreamer]

the finals are finally here.

rivalry renewed again

[xkrndreamer]

haha this was too funny during the laker game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQwWEDu1z9o...player_embedded

^ for those of you who missed it

[Guest melo.breeze]

i wish the refs weren't so quick to blow their whistles in game 1. i mean, 18 fouls in the first quarter ? really now ... ? allen getting 5 fouls ? fisher 2 quick fouls in the opening minutes ? you don't see that everyday.

anyway, apart from the quick whistles, the game was pretty well played, celtics d could've been better, but the lakers just out hustled them.

question ... what's the status on kg's health ? i swear to god, when he missed those two point blank lay ups he was limping his way back to the other end of the court.

[Guest OhGeezeAnhthu]

i wish the refs weren't so quick to blow their whistles in game 1. i mean, 18 fouls in the first quarter ? really now ... ? allen getting 5 fouls ? fisher 2 quick fouls in the opening minutes ? you don't see that everyday.

anyway, apart from the quick whistles, the game was pretty well played, celtics d could've been better, but the lakers just out hustled them.

question ... what's the status on kg's health ? i swear to god, when he missed those two point blank lay ups he was limping his way back to the other end of the court.

I KNOW. The amount of freethrow attempts of LA compared to Boston are ridiculous. When does Ray Allen ever get fouls?! I'm glad this game is much closer. It's a lot more entertaining to watch.

On another note. Ray Allen is literally on fire. 8/10 3 pointers. Amaazing.

[Guest res0nate]

Justice.

Where's Joey Crawford now.

[1love]

41-26 FT and still lost, wow.