Roaring start - Lakers come out firing, hold off Nets in Game 1

CNN ^ | 06/05/2002 | AP

[diamond6]

Ping!

[A CA Guy]

I was in LA last year near Staples Center when the celebration parade was going on, so I went to say I went once.

Many of OJ's relatives behaving badly there. Hope they have the class to not loot their neighborhoods again in a riot if they win.

[SoCal Pubbie]

Did you hear the stories about the great Sacramento fans after game seven? It seems some took to physically attacking Lakers fans. There's dopes enough to go around.

[gubamyster]

Quick! Call Ralph Nader & ask him if you can borrow his tin foil hat.

[diamond6]

This shouldn't surprise you. After all, they poisoned Kobe, didn't they?

[ChasingFletch]

This series is over.

[diamond6]

It's going to be fun until the end of the final game though.

[diamond6]

Honestly, I think these conspiracy theorists are really secretly members of Ralph Nader's party.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Haha, don't push it! I'm still a Laker hater.

But your 1/4 of the way there now. But does the tightening of the score worry you? I didn't(and won't) watch, so don't know what the feel and flow was like, but the thread sounds like the Lakers blew a big lead.

[RabidBartender]

New Jersey came out and showed NBA fans how a real basketball team should ask after the embarassing performance by the whiny Kings.

1. After every missed shot, instead of yelling or whining at the referees (like the Kings did), the Nets got back on defense. Wow!

2. New Jersey's defense actually played defense instead of falling down every time Shaq looked at them (like Vlade "no-talent" Divac does). This shows a team that actually cares about the game instead of trying to make a mockery of it.

3. After the game, Jason Kidd accepted the loss. He didn't blame the refs, David Stern, the Laker Girls, or anything else for the loss. Unlike the Kings, who whined, cried, and blamed their loss on everything from the hardness of the floor to Jupiter not aligning with Saturn properly.

New Jersey is a classy team. On several occasions when players on either team were fouled, the fouler would try to grab a hold of the foulee to prevent them from falling down. Think we would have seen that in the Kings series? Ha.

[mrustow]

I just loved those two offensive fouls the refs didn't call on Rick Fox in the final minutes, and the way they didn't call Shaq for elbowing the Nets' Jason Collins, but called Collins for touching Shaq -- all of which you would no doubt count as "good, clean basketball," eh, Laker Fanatic?

[mrustow]

Don't forget that the baskets were imperceptibly shaking as well when the Nets missed 15 freethrows out of 26.

That another of your "indisputable facts"? I hate to break it to you, but they MADE 15 out of 26.

[mrustow]

See also:

NBA Voodoo: David Stern Fixes the Playoffs

[diamond6]

I hate to break it to you, but they MADE 15 out of 26.

I'm sorry, you're right. That's a much better percentage than I thought!

[diamond6]

I just loved those two offensive fouls the refs didn't call on Rick Fox in the final minutes, and the way they didn't call Shaq for elbowing the Nets' Jason Collins, but called Collins for touching Shaq -- all of which you would no doubt count as "good, clean basketball," eh, Laker Fanatic?

You counted two? I thought I counted six. You must have better eyesight than me. I'm so glad that Shaq was only "touching" Shaq. I thought he was trying to get underneath Shaq's skin. Maybe he was pretending we was Shaq's wetsuit!

[diamond6]

Great points. I noticed that as I was watching as well. I was amazed how much differently the game went than the ones with the Queens. The Gnats are not nearly as irritating as the Queens.

[diamond6]

But does the tightening of the score worry you? I didn't(and won't) watch, so don't know what the feel and flow was like, but the thread sounds like the Lakers blew a big lead.

Yes, you are correct. I wasn't really pleased with that. The Lakers had a 23 point lead, and then let the Gnats back in it. I think Jackson made a mistake in clearing his bench too early and too Shaq out of the game. If Jackson had allowed the game to go on the way it was for probably 5 more minutes, I think the Lakers would have had a lead of 30. There were several wild missed shots by both teams when Shaq went out, and the game got very sloppy. The Lakers got out of the rhythm of their offense, and struggled thereafter. However, I don't believe the Gnats really solved Shaq. I also don't believe the game was really seriously in doubt. I'm sure the Lakers gave the Gnats confidence, but I don't know if that's going to translate to more than one win.

[SoCal Pubbie]

Laker fans don't celebrate too soon! First of all, this Laker team can't do anything the easy way. They bore quickly when they have a big lead, and always try to put the game in cruise control. Both teams were probing for weaknesses last night, so the second game will be a better indicator of how the series will go. Also, the Nets will undoubtedly play better at home, and they get three straight games there starting Sunday.

That being said, the Nets just don' t have the horses to get it done. They have no answer for Shaq, unlike the Kings who caused a lot of problems in the middle early in that series. The Lakers seem to be regaining a shooting touch, and that's bad news for New Jersey. Kobe still seems to be pressing a bit, and forcing some things that get him into trouble. I was disturbed that L.A. failed to score 100 points. That's the key barometer to look at- when the Lakers score they usually win. Check the last series, the four games they won they scored 100 or more and the three they lost they were under 100.

All in all I expect the Lakers to win with less than inspired efforts, and take the series in five games.

[diamond6]

I agree with your analysis. I'm picking the Lakers in 5 also, keeping in mind the way they play down to the opponent. If they somehow starting playing to their full potential for four quarters, however, this series will be done in 4.

[diamond6]

There aren't many Gnat fans are there?