Just how good are Riles, Phil J?

[Reality]

Riles is getting zippo from pg position of J-Will and Gary Payton.
Shraq is contributing, along with Zo is making a formidable Center position combo.
DWade is doing okay, but with his injury he is no where near 2006s title run performance.
You Riles honks think Pat is gonna pull this one out?

Phil J I'm concerned for his health.  Looks as bad as I've seen him since the pre heart condition days.
Worst reg season ever.
Phil now 3-6 with Kobe in the playoffs, 1st time ever sub .500 in playoffs.
Kobe sure can be compared to MJ.
Will Phil pull this one out?  No way.  Will the Lakers be swept?

[WayOutWest]

Dam, good topic to discuss, I'm a huge Riles fan....

You Riles honks think Pat is gonna pull this one out?

Kobe sure can be compared to MJ.

....but then I lost interest.

[Reality]

Dam, good topic to discuss, I'm a huge Riles fan....

You Riles honks think Pat is gonna pull this one out?

Kobe sure can be compared to MJ.

....but then I lost interest.

It's okay.  I think he will parlay his sprained ankle into an exodus from the rest of the Phx series.  Thereby letting the myth of Kobadiah live on.  How he *would have* led them back from 0-2 etc.

Otherwise operators are standing by.  (Que music Jim Taylors "you just call, out my name....")

[rickortreat]

They are very good, their track record proves it.

But in the case of LA, Phil doesn't have the talent to compete against the Suns.  They need to play a perfect game to win, while the Suns have a much greater margin for error.

Miami is also in trouble, because of a talent deficiency.  Payton and Williams just can't cut it anymore, and Wade, Shaq, Zo and Walker aren't enough to get it done by themselves.  They need someone else to step up or Chicago is going to beat them.  They are now in a situation where they have to win the next two, or there defense of their title will end.

[westkoast]

They are very good, their track record proves it.

But in the case of LA, Phil doesn't have the talent to compete against the Suns.  They need to play a perfect game to win, while the Suns have a much greater margin for error.

Miami is also in trouble, because of a talent deficiency.  Payton and Williams just can't cut it anymore, and Wade, Shaq, Zo and Walker aren't enough to get it done by themselves.  They need someone else to step up or Chicago is going to beat them.  They are now in a situation where they have to win the next two, or there defense of their title will end.

Both good points.  The Lakers are overmatched in many spots and they have to play flawless basketball to edge out a win.  The Suns can play like crap for 1/2 the game and still be able to win it (see game 1).  The margin of error is much larger as they have more talent and are a more cohesive team.

Ditto about Miami.  Not only are they lacking in talent the guys they have that are talented are either injured or older.  Wade is far from his usual self so he cannot stay with the quicker guards and score.  Shaq cannot score like he was able to before because he is not as quick and he is not quite the anchor he was.  Zo was tough in the paint last night in the first half but you cannot expect him to play heavy minutes patrolling the paint when he has to bang with PJ Brown and Ben Wallace.  Walker is one dimensional, Payton  is ineffective, and Jason Williams still makes bad decisions with the ball.

[Reality]

They are very good, their track record proves it.

But in the case of LA, Phil doesn't have the talent to compete against the Suns.  They need to play a perfect game to win, while the Suns have a much greater margin for error.

83-81 4th qtr 7 minutes left in Gm 1.
Just sayin they've been close.
But yeah, close doesn't count.  If Phil could get them to squeak out a win in Gm 3.
Perhaps Kobester will go off on one of his 50+ games.

[WayOutWest]

Perhaps Kobester will go off on one of his 50+ games.

Even that wouldn't guarantee a win for the Lakers, the rest of the Lakers have to play a decent game for the Lakers to win, and so far they haven't.  Bynum, or another Laker big, needs to become a consistent presence in the paint on both sides of the court for the Lakers to have some playoff success.

[Reality]

Could Phil or Riles have done anything differently this year?

Shaquille O'Neal has been on the short end of six playoff series sweeps during his NBA career: three with the Magic (1994, 1995 and 1996), two with the Lakers (1998 and 1999) and now one with the Heat.

The only other player to be swept out of the NBA playoffs six times was Darwin Cook, with New Jersey (1982, 1983, 1985 and 1986), Detroit (1987) and Denver (1989).

The Kobester meanwhile with the Gm 3 win over Phx has improved to something like 111-129 since the Shaq attack left L.A.