NBA

[Guest DOVAHKIIN]

Yes, only 14.4 points and 6 boards. Psh, not much of a contributing factor. Then again, Pippen's one of the best to ever play the game, and it's not because of his stats.

See, I actually have professional resources other than NBA.com:

And from a professional point of view, this might clarify what a real average player is:

I'm pretty sure Shaq wanted to leave, it wasn't Kobe or the fans primarily but Jerry Buss. The fault was also on Shaq's part too for being out of shape. Even the Laker fans know that by now, it was posted BY A LAKER FAN a while back in this thread, something like this:

Shaq fires back at Buss for weight-loss remark

MIAMI (AP) — Nearly a year after the trade, the verbal jousting between Shaquille O'Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers is still going strong.

One day after Lakers owner Jerry Buss said O'Neal found motivation for losing weight only after being traded by Los Angeles to Miami, the Heat's All-Star center took issue with the remark.

"I didn't need motivation," O'Neal said. "I needed a real owner. ... I needed a real owner like Micky Arison. You can quote me on it."

Buss also said he doesn't regret trading O'Neal to Miami.

"And I don't regret him losing money and his not making the playoffs," O'Neal said.

On Wednesday, Buss said O'Neal was not willing to get into shape when he played for the Lakers. O'Neal, who played at an estimated 370 pounds during his final season in Los Angeles, is down to about 325 in Miami.

"It seems that the motivation for him to lose weight was to trade him," Buss said Wednesday. "I suspect if I knew he was going to lose 60 pounds, I might have made a different decision."

- http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/...shaq-buss_x.htm

[Guest Unseen Choice]

To bring this thread back to the finals, the Celtics are out of whack on the floor offensively at the moment. Lakers are looking good offensively & defensively, one thing that's bothering me is the crowd. It's like they aren't even into it, I can hear the cheerleaders chanting while if it were in the Garden it would be impossible to hear them.

Laker fans should be blowing the roof of the Staples Center since their team is down 2 in the championship run.

[Guest kuku]

I'm watching the game right now and I really think Celtics are having some really stupid turnovers.

WTF are up with those ref calls...

KG's having some bad shots as well.

[Guest mojomunkeez]

The officiating is fair right now, which, to an objective standpoint it very good. The fouls have been called fairly evenly on both teams. However, from a Laker fan's perspective, we want vengeance, which means we want the same one-sidedness that reared its ugly head in Game 2.

But even with all the free throws, the Lakers still need to hit their shots, shooting only 37% right now. Then again, Boston is barely shooting 30%.

[Guest Krn_Track_Star]

i wuz speaking of the 88-89 season when jordan actually took the team to a playoff win. i know jordan needed cast roles i said that before. pippen didnt actually get better in until the 90's late 80's wuz when he learned from mj.

yeah the refs are playing fair like i said before look at them now driving to the basket on almost every play and look at the results as of right now before the half.

[Guest mojomunkeez]

14 points a game and tenacious defense is a huge factor in any situation, you know.

[Guest Krn_Track_Star]

great first half both teams espeically the lakers are going inside the paint. celtics still in this despite kobe going off only at 6 point game. now as for the celtics they pierce needs to stay out of foul trouble until the 4th so he can work with a little room and get more aggressive on defense now as for the lakers keep being agressive.

[Guest res0nate]

omg guys, free throw disparity, conspiracy!!!!

[Guest mojomunkeez]

Now that the free throws have come, the Lakers have to do a better job of hitting them. They're shooting themselves in the foot by not capitalizing on the free points.

And Pau really needs to get into rhythm with the game. Lamar needs to come out strong this second half and play hard and smart and make up for the time he's missed.

[Guest Krn_Track_Star]

omg guys, free throw disparity, conspiracy!!!!

lolz nice come back. lakers are just being more aggressive unlike boston. a reverse of game 2 on the terms of play kg is like 1-10 pierce is 1-7.

[Guest kuku]

Traveling?! Seriously. Albeit the first traveling call was legitimate. I thought the second call was bs.

[Guest Unseen Choice]

If Celts are going to take it, Pierce and KG really need to check into the game.

[Guest ZWD]

close game...ray allen is the reason why the Celtics are winning.

[Guest DOVAHKIIN]

That's some ugly fourth quarter shooting by both teams. No plays, random shots jacked up.

Free throws missed... holy.

Error on the Celtics part for not fouling, considering the atrocious FT shooting tonight.

[Guest mojomunkeez]

The Lakers will definitely shoot better from the line in the games to come, that was the only reason the game was even close. Some very surprising misses by all the Lakers not named Derek Fisher from the line tonight.

[Guest Krn_Track_Star]

great game. boston lost not cuz of the ref like alot of ppl are gonna say but to there lack of knocking down shots. open looks n couldnt make them. KG is having a awful series cant make any good shoots n i havent seen a team miss that many free throws. man both teams shot like in the 50's o_O.

rondo needs to step up his game and start knocking down shots. kobe played him well off and he didnt even take the open shot.

[Guest Unseen Choice]

Error on the Celtics part for not fouling, considering the atrocious FT shooting tonight.

There was a lot of errors on Celtics side, Rondo wasn't on his game, they knew he preferred passing and played him perfectly. Doc should have stayed with House while the Celts had that lead but instead put Rondo in giving the Lakers the chance to take the lead by being able to double team one of the big 3 and exploiting Rondo on the defense. Atrocious FTs & trying to force the ball into the basket made me facepalm every other shot that they took.

Not sure why Doc didn't start the big 3 at the beginning of the 4th to try and close out the game either, I get a headache on trying to figure out why the guy does some of his stuff.

Lakers played a great game, the crowd really needs to get behind their team more and not just the closing mins of the game.

[Guest mofo]

great game. boston lost not cuz of the ref like alot of ppl are gonna say but to there lack of knocking down shots. open looks n couldnt make them. KG is having a awful series cant make any good shoots n i havent seen a team miss that many free throws. man both teams shot like in the 50's o_O.

rondo needs to step up his game and start knocking down shots. kobe played him well off and he didnt even take the open shot.

i think i heard the commentators say that rondo had a sprained ankle or somethin..there was also a close up shot of his foot during a timeout..

but van gundy did say it would be better if ray allen, paul pierce and james posey play at the same time with ray allen as the pg..his ball-handling skills are ok.

speaking of boston's point guards,

i cringe whenever i see sam cassell or eddie house bring up the ball..i have no idea why those two are on the team..both are one-dimensional..and not even that great offensively if they are being guarded well..sam...cot damn..just retire already u stupid alien...u can't play defense, ur slower than a turtle..i think regular joes at the ymca can play better than sam at this point.

i wish kg would just score at least 30 in a game..he plays like a scared lion king sometimes.

rajon rondo should develop an outside game lol..boston needs it so bad.

and..i always knew the refs were biased against the sacramento kings in the 2002 playoffs

[Guest mojomunkeez]

Phil Jackson outcoached Doc Rivers in this game. He made the proper adjustments and his team came out on top, although the execution was a bit lacking.

[Guest Krn_Track_Star]

i think i heard the commentators say that rondo had a sprained ankle or somethin..there was also a close up shot of his foot during a timeout..

but van gundy did say it would be better if ray allen, paul pierce and james posey play at the same time with ray allen as the pg..his ball-handling skills are ok.

speaking of boston's point guards,

i cringe whenever i see sam cassell or eddie house bring up the ball..i have no idea why those two are on the team..both are one-dimensional..and not even that great offensively if they are being guarded well..sam...cot damn..just retire already u stupid alien...u can't play defense, ur slower than a turtle..i think regular joes at the ymca can play better than sam at this point.

i wish kg would just score at least 30 in a game..he plays like a scared lion king sometimes.

rajon rondo should develop an outside game lol..boston needs it so bad.

and..i always knew the refs were biased against the sacramento kings in the 2002 playoffs

if they put all those players in at the same time den they wouldnt have a bench to work with. u need some key players to come off the bench just in case a starter gets injured or needs rest.

as for kg yes he plays like he is scared to take it hard. all i see him doing is shooting the outside shot or doing that spin move to a jump shot never a strong move to the bastket wen he is a 6'11 with long arms.

i think eddie house is good because he is fast and can shoot lights out. u take away the 3 and he will drive and make the open pass.