it's one or the other.
Enjoy, Lakers. Another hard *earned* victory.
Personally, I think Jameer simply made a mistake and don't believe either of your options apply.
He's not stupid and I question the sanity and intelligence of anyone who truly believes he was "paid off".
Jameer should have fouled him way earlier, OR at the very least he should have been so far up on Fish that he invites him to run around him for the layup and they're still up 1 with the ball.
I can't believe I'm chomping on your predictable, lame, boring, bait, but it's a slow day at the office for me. That said, I 100% disagree with you that this game was not *earned* by the Lakers. In fact, I'd argue that this was one of the most *earned* games the Lakers have ever won in their franchise history. They overcame Lord Sternfish and his minion officials, a 12 point halftime deficit, and a 5 point deficit with 37 seconds remaining. If one chooses to look at the last 11 seconds of the game as a microcosm of the entire game, then yes, Orlando blew it. I choose to look at the entire course of a game and this was a hard fought, *earned*, victory by the Lakers.
When the Lakers get their butts kicked the media and fans rip them for being soft, lazy, unfocused, arrogant, etc. We heard Kenny Smith call them arrogant and an embarrassment to the game and Mark Jackson skewer them for having no heart. Certainly, the way they've played at times this season and in these playoffs deserves criticism. I've been very critical of them as well and so have many of the other Laker posters here, who BTW, are some of the most objective Laker fans anywhere on the planet. We're very tough on our team and rightfully so.
Now, I have a bone to pick with the media and anyone else who doesn't give the Lakers credit for last nights victory. I like Charles Barkley and find him entertaining albeit full of manure half the time. Last night the first thing he says is "The Lakers didn't win that game, Orlando lost it". BS, Sir Charles! The Lakers showed us last night that they have gotten mentally and physically tougher. They didn't let the horribly one sided officiating that got all of their bigs in foul trouble in the 1st quarter and ultimately spotted the Magic a 12 point halftime lead deter them. They came out of half time swinging and being aggressive. When Turkoglu hit those two amazing shots down the stretch to put the Magic up 5, the Lakers never lost focus or composure. They proved that they have developed the mental toughness and physical toughness that they clearly lacked in last seasons Finals. As a fan of this team, I was exceptionally proud of their heart and moxie last night and I haven't always been. So let's give some credit where credit is due. The Lakers *earned* that game and took it from the Magic just like Kobe took that rebound from Dwight Howard, with toughness, energy and sheer determination.