I am not feeling this Lakers/Celtics rivalry.

[WayOutWest]

I got a lot more pumped up by the Spurs.  I guess if the Celtics make Kobe cry then I will start to feel the hate.  Seriously, the NBA is trying so hard to sell this years Finals as the Magic/Bird era Lakers/Celtic type rivalry but it's not on that level, at least not for me.

[Derek Bodner]

There's no such thing as a current rivalry when the team's haven't met in the postseason in 21 years.  This is why most true rivals are in the same conference.

[WayOutWest]

Even after the loss I don't feel anything close to what I felt durring the Spurs series.  Celtics played a solid game.  Kobe did not have one of his better nights but what really killed the Lakers was Pau and Odom left their brains and balls back in L.A.  I hope FedEx can make a delivery to those two guy before game 2.  The Lakers had a Spurs-like drought on offense and their defense did not play smart enough nor hard enough to keep it close.

[JoMal]

Even after the loss I don't feel anything close to what I felt durring the Spurs series.  Celtics played a solid game.  Kobe did not have one of his better nights but what really killed the Lakers was Pau and Odom left their brains and balls back in L.A.  I hope FedEx can make a delivery to those two guy before game 2.  The Lakers had a Spurs-like drought on offense and their defense did not play smart enough nor hard enough to keep it close.

What about Paul Pierce doing his Willis Reedish resurrection in the third quarter? What a huge lift for the home town, who even chanted "Reed, Reed, Reed" as he came back on the court, forcing Phil to call a time out to calm the rowdiness down...and......yeah, I can't buy into that crap either.

[Lurker]

I just kept getting confused whether I was watching the 2008 playoffs or a series from the 80s...every other sentence talked about Magic, Kareem, Bird, McHale, Worthy, Parrish, etc.  Are those guys still playing?

[SPURSX3]

I just kept getting confused whether I was watching the 2008 playoffs or a series from the 80s...every other sentence talked about Magic, Kareem, Bird, McHale, Worthy, Parrish, etc.  Are those guys still playing?

They must be on Team USA..   

[Reality]

who was the  brownozer announcer who said Kobe is as good as Jordan?

"There are now two Mohammed Alis blah blah slurp slurp"

[westkoast]

Even after the loss I don't feel anything close to what I felt durring the Spurs series.  Celtics played a solid game.  Kobe did not have one of his better nights but what really killed the Lakers was Pau and Odom left their brains and balls back in L.A.  I hope FedEx can make a delivery to those two guy before game 2.  The Lakers had a Spurs-like drought on offense and their defense did not play smart enough nor hard enough to keep it close.

What about Paul Pierce doing his Willis Reedish resurrection in the third quarter? What a huge lift for the home town, who even chanted "Reed, Reed, Reed" as he came back on the court, forcing Phil to call a time out to calm the rowdiness down...and......yeah, I can't buy into that crap either.

You know if that was Kobe who had to be carried off the court only to come back and look fine it would have been labeled as sand bagging and trying to go for glory.  For PP it's Willis Reed comparisions LOL.

Honestly tho I wonder how much of last night was Paul Pierce feeding on adrenline.  He looked to have sprained his knee but after he came back he was moving just fine.  Even had good lift on his jumper.  That 2 day rest should really help him out a lot

I thought the Celtics defense did a much better job in the second half of closing out on shooters.  I also thought that the Lakers missed a lot of easy looks that should have dropped.  Kobe especially.   That 4th quarter was pretty brutal but I think you have to credit the Celtics with making things tough for the Lakers.  I really don't expect game 2 to go the same way.

[SPURSX3]

who was the  brownozer announcer who said Kobe is as good as Jordan?

"There are now two Mohammed Alis blah blah slurp slurp"

Kobe is Kobe, Jordan is Jordan, Kobe is NO FREAKIN JORDAN!!    The guy is a great baller, and still has some years to get even better.  However right now,IMO, Jordan is still much higher than him as far as NBA greatness goes...People really need to stop looking for the next this or next that, before you know it, the players we have now will be gone and we will be saying where's the Kobe, Tim, Kevin, etc...

[westkoast]

Who do I give props to for the Celtics win last night?   JoMal?  Reality?  I think that is part of the rivalry for me.  Aside from you guys here I have others that I talk basketball with that are Spurs fans.  When the Lakers won and lost we (everyone here and my other Spurs fan friends) would go back and forth so it made it feel more like a real rivalry.  Especially with these two teams matching up so many times over the last 8 years. 

The Celtics thing is getting pushed down peoples throats too much.  I think it is a bad move too.  If these teams stay together then there is a possibility they could meet up more times in the next few years.  Why not wait to see if it develops into a real rivalry and then hype it up?!

[JoMal]

Who do I give props to for the Celtics win last night?   JoMal?  Reality?  I think that is part of the rivalry for me.  Aside from you guys here I have others that I talk basketball with that are Spurs fans.  When the Lakers won and lost we (everyone here and my other Spurs fan friends) would go back and forth so it made it feel more like a real rivalry.  Especially with these two teams matching up so many times over the last 8 years. 

The Celtics thing is getting pushed down peoples throats too much.  I think it is a bad move too.  If these teams stay together then there is a possibility they could meet up more times in the next few years.  Why not wait to see if it develops into a real rivalry and then hype it up?!

Let's give this win to the real people responsible for it - the League/Media collusionists.

To that end, I guarantee a Laker victory in game two - GU-ARAN-TEE!!!

[rickortreat]

I deserve the Props since I called the series. Besides, do you have any idea how hard it is for a Sixers fan to be backing the Celtics!?!?!?.

There is no rivalry, these players were in diapers or not even born yet the last time these teams played in the finals.  It's a joke.  There is no Bird, no Magic no Kareem and no McHale. let alone Russel and Chamberlain.

But we do have a pretty good series, clearly the best two teams, and the team with the home court advantage and the three all-stars has a clear edge over the Lakers.  Bottom line, the Lakers front court cannot handle the Celtics all star in KG.  Although Perkins had a terrible game, the Celtics still had the edge in the paint.  If the Lakers had Bynum this would make a real difference in this series.

The other big thing I noticed was that when Kobe tried to do his thing in the fourth quarter, Paul Pierce was in his way and he actually stopped Kobe from shooting or making a move on at least two different trips down the floor.  That is something I have never seen before, and since a lot of you were pooh-poohing Paul's claim to be a top ten defender, here is some evidence that he really does work on the defensive end.

Last night showed just how tough it will be for the Lakers to pull this out.  When they put other teams under pressure, they all cracked and the Lakers advanced.  When they put the Celtics under pressure Ray Allen comes down the other end and bangs in a three-ball!  The Lakers are going to have to find a higher level of play to beat the Celtics in the series.

Pressure is still on the Celtics to win the next game.  IF they were to loose, they might never get back to Boston, facing three straight in LA. Winning the next game means that the teams have to come back to Boston no matter what happens in LA. 

By the way I am not holding a grudge against LA for anything.  When they beat the Sixers the Lakers were by far the better team, and I expected the Sixers to loose.  How can I hold it agaisnt a team for playing up to their potential?

This year, the Lakers overachived and went from being a non-factor to the best team in the West.  Whether they win this series or not, Lakers fans should be proud of what they've accomplished.  There isn't a team with a brighter future right now.  If they can keep the rest of the team intact, and add Bynum next year along with a better point guard they''' probably be my pick to win it all.

And if these same two teams meet next year, then we can have a rivalry, but not until then.  These players don't even hate each other yet.

[SPURSX3]

I deserve the Props since I called the series. Besides, do you have any idea how hard it is for a Sixers fan to be backing the Celtics!?!?!?.

There is no rivalry, these players were in diapers or not even born yet the last time these teams played in the finals.  It's a joke.  There is no Bird, no Magic no Kareem and no McHale. let alone Russel and Chamberlain.

But we do have a pretty good series, clearly the best two teams, and the team with the home court advantage and the three all-stars has a clear edge over the Lakers.  Bottom line, the Lakers front court cannot handle the Celtics all star in KG.  Although Perkins had a terrible game, the Celtics still had the edge in the paint.  If the Lakers had Bynum this would make a real difference in this series.

The other big thing I noticed was that when Kobe tried to do his thing in the fourth quarter, Paul Pierce was in his way and he actually stopped Kobe from shooting or making a move on at least two different trips down the floor.  That is something I have never seen before, and since a lot of you were pooh-poohing Paul's claim to be a top ten defender, here is some evidence that he really does work on the defensive end.

Last night showed just how tough it will be for the Lakers to pull this out.  When they put other teams under pressure, they all cracked and the Lakers advanced.  When they put the Celtics under pressure Ray Allen comes down the other end and bangs in a three-ball!  The Lakers are going to have to find a higher level of play to beat the Celtics in the series.

Pressure is still on the Celtics to win the next game.  IF they were to loose, they might never get back to Boston, facing three straight in LA. Winning the next game means that the teams have to come back to Boston no matter what happens in LA. 

By the way I am not holding a grudge against LA for anything.  When they beat the Sixers the Lakers were by far the better team, and I expected the Sixers to loose.  How can I hold it agaisnt a team for playing up to their potential?

This year, the Lakers overachived and went from being a non-factor to the best team in the West.  Whether they win this series or not, Lakers fans should be proud of what they've accomplished.  There isn't a team with a brighter future right now.  If they can keep the rest of the team intact, and add Bynum next year along with a better point guard they''' probably be my pick to win it all.

And if these same two teams meet next year, then we can have a rivalry, but not until then.  These players don't even hate each other yet.

There you go Laker fans....Rick is picking the Celts...you got yourself another championship in the bag.   Somebody tell Kobe he has nothing to worry about now...

[westkoast]

I deserve the Props since I called the series. Besides, do you have any idea how hard it is for a Sixers fan to be backing the Celtics!?!?!?.

There is no rivalry, these players were in diapers or not even born yet the last time these teams played in the finals.  It's a joke.  There is no Bird, no Magic no Kareem and no McHale. let alone Russel and Chamberlain.

But we do have a pretty good series, clearly the best two teams, and the team with the home court advantage and the three all-stars has a clear edge over the Lakers.  Bottom line, the Lakers front court cannot handle the Celtics all star in KG.  Although Perkins had a terrible game, the Celtics still had the edge in the paint.  If the Lakers had Bynum this would make a real difference in this series.

The other big thing I noticed was that when Kobe tried to do his thing in the fourth quarter, Paul Pierce was in his way and he actually stopped Kobe from shooting or making a move on at least two different trips down the floor.  That is something I have never seen before, and since a lot of you were pooh-poohing Paul's claim to be a top ten defender, here is some evidence that he really does work on the defensive end.

Last night showed just how tough it will be for the Lakers to pull this out.  When they put other teams under pressure, they all cracked and the Lakers advanced.  When they put the Celtics under pressure Ray Allen comes down the other end and bangs in a three-ball!  The Lakers are going to have to find a higher level of play to beat the Celtics in the series.

Pressure is still on the Celtics to win the next game.  IF they were to loose, they might never get back to Boston, facing three straight in LA. Winning the next game means that the teams have to come back to Boston no matter what happens in LA. 

By the way I am not holding a grudge against LA for anything.  When they beat the Sixers the Lakers were by far the better team, and I expected the Sixers to loose.  How can I hold it agaisnt a team for playing up to their potential?

This year, the Lakers overachived and went from being a non-factor to the best team in the West.  Whether they win this series or not, Lakers fans should be proud of what they've accomplished.  There isn't a team with a brighter future right now.  If they can keep the rest of the team intact, and add Bynum next year along with a better point guard they''' probably be my pick to win it all.

And if these same two teams meet next year, then we can have a rivalry, but not until then.  These players don't even hate each other yet.

There you go Laker fans....Rick is picking the Celts...you got yourself another championship in the bag.   Somebody tell Kobe he has nothing to worry about now...

LOL @ being right about the first game means you called the series.

Talk about laying on the JINX juice.

[rickortreat]

The Celtics appear to be the better team.

This is the first series where the Lakers do not have home court.

This is the first series where the Lakers lost the first game.

The game played as I expected.  The Celtics were a little more consistent scoring, the Lakers had problems with the Celtics superior defense and better rebounding.  Unlike San Antonio, the Celtics big three all played at the top of their game.  Ray Allen was unstoppable. Paul Pierce had a dominating performance. KG was a monster in the fourth quarter. That Slam dunk took the life out of the Lakers- the first time that's happened in this year's playoffs.

Pierce even stopped Kobe a couple of times.  Nobody does that, or at least nobody until these Celtics.

I actually thought the Celtics could have played better.  Rondo had a great game, but Perkins was bad, and Posey didn't seem to have it.

I think the Lakers are a bit out-gunned, but it is possible that Jackson will find some different ways to attack the Celtics defense. Sunday's game is critical for the Celtics to win and would be a huge upset for the Lakers.  This is the first series where the Lakers are the team that has to adjust. Now, we get to see how good a coach Jackson really is.

If he pulls this off, I will agree that he is a better coach then Red Auerbach.

On a more important note:  The Stock market is starting to crash, so it would be wise to sell most stocks at this time, if you haven't already. The one exception to this is stocks that produce raw materials, miners, drillers, etc.  Gold is about to take off for 1200, by the end of this year. I don't bet on basketball. I stay with my strengths.