Mr. Chauncey with the thumbs up.
Posted on 06/15/2004 8:41:39 PM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Hadn't heard that back story on Payton and Westphall/Rush. Do you have any more information on that or an old post with more details? Love to know more about that one. Sounds like a great story to treasure forever.
Regarding the Pistons, it's so heartening that they won 4-1 so the choruses of "Lakers blew it" as opposed to "Pistons are a great team" can be crowded out.
Pistons were simply a better "team" and played as a unit in a way that the players on LA had never encountered before. Look at their two superstars: what environment have they ever been in where they had to REALLY play team defense? Shaq was always a colussus at LSU but I don't recall him being at all defensive minded there.
Kobe's entire experience was in high school (who cares) and in the pros (no defense need apply).
They didn't know what hit them.
Then the rest of the team that may have graduated from true basketball program schools like Rick Fox and Derek Fisher must have forgotten how to play defense or are no longer in defensive shape. (Moving side to side with your feet rather than up and down the court. It's a whole another set of muscles/skill groups you have to develop).
With the exception of Rasheed Wallace's background and his temper which he kept in check while a Piston, what a class act the entire organization of the Pistons is.
That was a sweet win for a classy team.
Can't wait to see them welcomed by W in the White House.
Still basking in the glow of kicking those sorry whining Lakers' backsides back to LA or to small cells in Colorado.
She does remind me of a budding monkey playwright though. Her antics are cute for the first three minutes but become increasingly annoying as time wears on.
Personally, I don't think NRO should hire anyone else who was a contributor to an NPR program called "Living On Earth."
Though, that's just one man's opinion.
No Don Nelson.
No Tim Hardaway.
And most importantly,
NO LATRELL SPREWELL!
Why, if ol' Latrell had been there to strangle a few disagreeable refs, then the Lakers would have won in a walk.
That guy was actually my favorite Portland Trailblazer on that particular team. Though he could have used a good anger management program.
The Lakers problem isn't simply defense-though they could definitely use some help in that area-but their entire outside shooting game.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal ain't going to cut it if they want to seize the gold next time around.
Just take a look at some of the vaunted Chicago Bulls teams and who they had in the back court.
-B.J. Armstrong
-Toni Kukoc
-Steve Kerr
-Bill Paxton
and of course,
MJ himself!
The only conceivable reason for Phil Jackson to stay-and I'm not totally ruling this scenario out-is because he wants to shatter Red Auerbach's record for NBA titles.
Even though Phil is a megalomaniac, I don't think that he is so obsessed with basketball that he would stay with the Lakers simply to chalk up another few victories in the win-loss column and bring home another ring.
FIVE game sweep....sweet!
Way To Go Pistons!
Party in Auburn Hills Thurs. 4 pm
George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent
Nope, not a major basketball fan since the last set of strikes.
Strikes ended my watching baseball as well.
Basketball has officiating that is so bad now that it reminds me of boxing.
It's all entertainment, but manipulation and strikes have turned me off.
OVERRATED! OVERRATED!
The only reason this loser won is because of great players and luck. Jordan, Pippen, Rodman etc. Shaq, Kobe, etc.
What do the Pistons got? HEART!
Finally a team that DESERVES to win, wins!
HorseShi*.
The Lakers are lazy can't guard, and the Piston out hustled them, so the the Lakers ended up going over the back on rebounds, hand fouling, and hard fouling their way to infamy.
The only one I heard them talking about saying it was Shaq, but I didn't listen to the pre-game show.
Congratulations Motown ---but we'll be back!
"America Loves the Lakers - Win or Lose."
No, I'd say most of America HATES the Lakers. We're all tired of that fat hippo shoving his shoulder into whoever is guarding him, EVERY time he tries to shoot, and NEVER gets called for it. We're also tired of the fat hippo parking in the paint, and the refs just refuse to count.
In general America loves the underdog, that means dynastic teams like the Lakers are not loved especially when the win. And given the collection of pimps and thugs the Lakers turned out to be, I don't think we'd love them even if they had been underdogs.
"America Loves the Lakers - Win or Lose."
I believe you meant to say: "America loves when the Lakers lose."
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