that was a great game. on to the Lakers...now they are a different story entirely. im pulling for the Timberwolves, but im ont sure if they can pull it off. they can if they have great preformances from their stars, but Cassell is injured, and if KG has to score 30 a night and pull down 20 boards a game, then he wont last the series, he'll get too fatigued, i mean, he is still human. Spreewell has to be on fire every game. i guess what they should concentrate on is stopping Payton and Malone, maybe even Kobe, but they arent stopping Shaq.
This kinda sucks, as a Laker fan, I always enjoy watching the Lakers beat the crap outta Sacramento. But Minnesota is the better team and they proved it last night. And Webber continued to strengthen my arguement that the Kings will never win a championship with Webber because he can't hit the big shot. Never has.....never will.
As for the Timberwolves, I don't think they stand much of a chance because they don't match up well against the Lakers. Obviously Shaq can have his way on offense, but where he will be clutch is on defense. With no decent offensive force at center (Olawakandi, Ervin Johnson, and Oliver Miller) that leaves Shaq to hang out inside the lane to clog up any of Cassell or Sprewells penetration, while leaving him available to help out Karl on Garnett. Sprewell CAN'T stop Kobe...just isn't happening. Sprewell isn't a good on the ball defender, and Kobe's got the ball all game. Watch Kobe get hot, and this series won't be a long one, but if he's cold it's anyone's game. Karl Malone needs to keep playing a defensive game like he did against Tim Duncan. Obviously Garnett will still score his points and get his rebounds, but I think Karl will be a better defensive stopper than anyone on the Kings. Karl's offense will help too if he can throw the ball into Shaq from the wing, that eliminates his man from giving backside help. This leaves Shaq 1 on 1 against a lesser center. And he can hit that 18" jump shot so Shaq dishing it back out isn't a bad option either.
Not saying this won't be a good series, Minnesota has the best record in the West for a reason. And home court will be key because I'm almost positive they'll get off to a good start and win game 1 maybe even 2, but that's when Phil Jackson gets the opportunity to make adjustments on defense and offense in order to win the remainder of the series.
All great points. i must agree with all of them, though nothing is impossible. i dont remember the year(early 90s definitley), but it was when Shawn Kemp and Kendal Gill were on the sonics, and Mutumbo was on Denver. the Sonics were the favorite and obvously the better team(also having Payton) and the Denver Nuggets pulled out a 5 game series win right out of their asses. the Sonics were actually only one game away from sweeping them. my point is, anything can happen.
yah, but they had McDyce (sp?) and he was wicked bad!
and by all means...nothing is impossible. but throw away the 3-1 record from the season because one of those games there was no Shaq or Karl Malone. They were breaking down footage with Slava and Horace Grant on the court.
The only thing i'll count out is the Eastern Conferences chance at winning it all this year. Sorry all you Detroit, NJ, and Indy fans...but you don't stand a chance.
i am a new jersey fan, and i have to agree. the 3-1 season record for Minnesota is basically meaningless, i mean they are playing a different Lakers team. the east wont have a chance until Shaq retires. What the hell are you waiting for Shaq?!?! get off the court and give the little people a chance to play!
Sorry to be the harbinger of bad news....but the stands NO chance against the west this year. NO CHANCE.
Do the thing where you break it down and try to create a feasible arguement...don't matter. They can't beat the Lakers. They match up pretty good against the Timberwolves...and that series wouldn't go more than 6 games. The Lakers will probably sweep them...if not, then 4-1.
ah, spoken like a true native laker fan, seriouly look at the playoffs this year, the west games have been playing quite low. low scores, some may say good Defence, no its just bad shooting, an east team does have a chance this year, they may not win, but they have a good chance to win this year, even beat the lakers if they can get past the timberwolves
What exactly is it that gives the east a chance...let alone a good chance of beating the west?
True I am a Laker fan because I was born and raised in Southern California, but more important than that...I'm a basketball fan. I just call it how I see it. When the Spurs were 2-0 on LA, I said there was almost no chance of the Lakers pulling it out. I still rooted for them, but I realized their chances had greatly deminished.
or when you say beat them....did you mean like 1 game? because there's atleast a decent chance of that happening.