Orlando has been playing some of the most god awful basketball I've ever seen.
I can't even watch them anymore.
The best I can describe their game is baffling, frustrating and pathetic.
How the hell they managed to get 58 wins and turn into this is beyond me.
Oh and Turk twisted his ankle. His status is unknown for now.
Originally posted by Darth Martin
Not if Lakers see Utah in First Round. The fact still remains that no East team can beat Cleveland at home.It will be Lakers-Cavs.
I'd say Orlando definitely could, but they've been hit with the injury bug at the worst time.
Their playoff picture looks murky.
Lewis has always had bad knees and it just seems to be getting worse.
Damn refs in the Spurs game may have ruined the Blazers chance at home court advantage. The Spurs were handed the game by allowing a 3 that was shot after a 24 second violation against the Kings. Blazers should be a game ahead, but that combined with the tie breaker situation make knock the Blazers to 5th where we'll face the Rockets who we don't match up well with. Before it was more likely that we'd face the banged up Spurs AND we would have had home court advantage. BOO THOSE REFS!
Great end to the regular season, now the fun really starts. With all the bitching and moaning about the Lakers inconsistent defense i am prone to do we still ended up with the 3rd best record of any Laker team. That just shows how talented this team is, now its time to focus on the prize and ramp up the intensity.
Bynum is looking great on the offensive end, he still needs to get his timing back with rotations and shotblocking but that can be fixed with minutes. His presence alone makes us a much better defensive team and on offense he is working hard to get deep position and high percentage shots.
I love what Shannon Brown has brought to the team, he is the prototypical triangle PG and he has a great team orientated attitude. Too many of our bench players (especially the guards) only worry about getting their shots, Brown starts with defense and he is just the type of physical guard that can hold his own against Williams, Kidd, Roy, Billups, Paul, Rondo or Mo Will. I hope we keep him around and if he continues to work on his game i could see him stepping into our starting PG job when Fish steps down. Imagine the defense if we start Brown, Kobe, Ariza, Pau and Drew (with Lamar off the bench). That is a big and athletic lineup that can switch all over the floor and cover a lot of ground.
Great to see Lamar stabilising the bench again, he is the glue that holds them together. He gets them playing team ball and has been our best help defender this year. I really hope we can resign him in the offseason, every team needs a guy like Lamar (as long as he's not asked to score a lot). He does all the dirty work that doesnt show in the box score and even though i dont put much into the + / - stat, he is +14 off the bench (the highest on the team).
Kobe wont get the MVP but his incredible season will probably be forgotten with all the deserved hype on LeBron and Wade. Remember Kobe has been playing with a dislocated and fractured finger on his shooting hand since last season. He dislocated another finger against the Cavs and was straight back in the game after a timeout. He has had exactly 3 weeks off since the start of last season and he still manages to lead us to the 2nd best record in the league, break the MSG scoring record and put up 27/5/5. He may frustrate me sometimes with his shot selection but any fan should want to have a competitor like that to lead your team.
Gasol has been so solid the whole season, he played his longest season ever last year and had to log heavy minutes when Bynum went down. He is so skilled and the perfect big man for the triangle, his passing skills put a lot of PG's to shame and he makes them look easy. His passing out of the low and high post make our offense look so smooth, he and Bynum are a scary combo once they get on the same page.
For the first round we have to come out early and stomp the life out of Utah, they are low on confidence right now and we must keep it that way. They cant handle us down low so thats where we must focus our gameplan. Bynum, Pau, Kobe and Lamar are all post options and even Bill's son can work the post. Bynum will struggle with Okur considering his range but he can also dominate him on the block and get him in foul trouble. Shannon must log heavy minutes on D-Will, that will be the key matchup imo. If you slow down Williams the Jazz have no playmakers left and cant get into their sets. I see this one going 5.
Orlando win, 98-73.
Feels like a fresh breath of air to win this one after those ugly games preceding it.
Turk and Lewis did not play.
Dwight played for 24 mins, yet still got a double double. 10 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and a steal.
The Defense was much more in sync and a had a lot more energy.
Bench was awesome. Solid production.
Tony Battie had 21 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals. Gortat had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. Pietrus had 19. Alston had 15.
A big win in a lot of ways. A little momentum going into the playoffs and a little more faith placed in the bench.
Hopefully Turk and Lewis will ready for the playoffs.
Orlando faces the Sixers in the playoffs. A good match up for the Magic. I'm looking forward to it.
GO MAGIC!
Originally posted by koolruningz
Great end to the regular season, now the fun really starts. With all the bitching and moaning about the Lakers inconsistent defense i am prone to do we still ended up with the 3rd best record of any Laker team. That just shows how talented this team is, now its time to focus on the prize and ramp up the intensity.
Bynum is looking great on the offensive end, he still needs to get his timing back with rotations and shotblocking but that can be fixed with minutes. His presence alone makes us a much better defensive team and on offense he is working hard to get deep position and high percentage shots.
I love what Shannon Brown has brought to the team, he is the prototypical triangle PG and he has a great team orientated attitude. Too many of our bench players (especially the guards) only worry about getting their shots, Brown starts with defense and he is just the type of physical guard that can hold his own against Williams, Kidd, Roy, Billups, Paul, Rondo or Mo Will. I hope we keep him around and if he continues to work on his game i could see him stepping into our starting PG job when Fish steps down. Imagine the defense if we start Brown, Kobe, Ariza, Pau and Drew (with Lamar off the bench). That is a big and athletic lineup that can switch all over the floor and cover a lot of ground.
Great to see Lamar stabilising the bench again, he is the glue that holds them together. He gets them playing team ball and has been our best help defender this year. I really hope we can resign him in the offseason, every team needs a guy like Lamar (as long as he's not asked to score a lot). He does all the dirty work that doesnt show in the box score and even though i dont put much into the + / - stat, he is +14 off the bench (the highest on the team).
Kobe wont get the MVP but his incredible season will probably be forgotten with all the deserved hype on LeBron and Wade. Remember Kobe has been playing with a dislocated and fractured finger on his shooting hand since last season. He dislocated another finger against the Cavs and was straight back in the game after a timeout. He has had exactly 3 weeks off since the start of last season and he still manages to lead us to the 2nd best record in the league, break the MSG scoring record and put up 27/5/5. He may frustrate me sometimes with his shot selection but any fan should want to have a competitor like that to lead your team.
Gasol has been so solid the whole season, he played his longest season ever last year and had to log heavy minutes when Bynum went down. He is so skilled and the perfect big man for the triangle, his passing skills put a lot of PG's to shame and he makes them look easy. His passing out of the low and high post make our offense look so smooth, he and Bynum are a scary combo once they get on the same page.For the first round we have to come out early and stomp the life out of Utah, they are low on confidence right now and we must keep it that way. They cant handle us down low so thats where we must focus our gameplan. Bynum, Pau, Kobe and Lamar are all post options and even Bill's son can work the post. Bynum will struggle with Okur considering his range but he can also dominate him on the block and get him in foul trouble. Shannon must log heavy minutes on D-Will, that will be the key matchup imo. If you slow down Williams the Jazz have no playmakers left and cant get into their sets. I see this one going 5.
Go Lakers
Agreed on so many points
Don't see the Jazz giving the Lakers too many problems. They have F no size
Pound it inside, let the bigs get established early. Kobe can do his thing at anytime. Good to see D-Fish hit some shots. Need his shots in the post season
Shannon has been a plus
Jazz will win 1 because of D-Will alone and 1 because of their homecourt alone, and I pray they can somehow get two other wins.
And since the Jazz got the 8th seed, and the Magic play the Sixers, I change my Jazz vs. Magic too......
Well let's just say Portland is winning it all. You heard it here first.