Props to Lakers, curses to Danny Crawford.

[jn]

The Lakeshow didn't play great but that run to start the fourth was clucth and Kobe's two consecutive threes were cold.  They never let the Wolves get over the hump.

What in the world was going on with the no call on Madsen/Shaq?  Is Danny Crawford a closet member of Fight Club and he wanted to see Shaq and Mad Dogs friendship end in a whirlind of fists and blood?  I can forgive a ref for missing a split second call but what Crawford did is beyond belief.  It was like an ump in baseball refusing to award first base to a batter who just took a fastball in the ribs. Unforgiveably stupid.   :fire:  Shaq was right to rip him after the game.  

[westkoast]

I wasn't really sure why Shaq was mad that he didn't get to brick two freethrows but they sure did blow that call.  Although I'd have to say that the Wolves are the ones who got the short end of the stick.   Sure you could say that the Wolves should have played it out or yaddity yaddity yaddity.....this is the playoffs.  The name of the game is strategy.  If you have a player who is shooting 7 for 20 at the stripe you want to put him there and force him to beat you.  You cannot argue that decision by Flip.  Its not up to the refs to decide a play like that.  That was not a judgement call.   Wolves fans have to be furious that Danny didnt blow the whistle.

Big ups to Wally for burning the net up at Staples center.  He really kept them close the whole 2nd half and really knocked the Laker defense back on its heels.  Who needs defense when you are shooting like that from every spot on the floor?  Jn, Im curious if youve heard anything in the local paper about really what is going on with Sam.  I hate to see him not out there competing.  He must be really hurt....Sam and GP havent got into a verbal sparing match all series.

All that being said I still believe the Lakers played below their level in every aspect.  As did the Wolves.    The Lakers to me looked out of it.   Streaky execution, hesitation on shots, poor defensive play time and time again, and alot of minutes spent just going thru the motions.  Sometimes I wonder if some of these guys are too slow to realize that if they play harder they could make the season alot shorter.....meaning less work in the long run.  I am sorry but this Wolves defense is no where near the defense that SA played.

[RolandoBlackman]

Hey jn!

I give the T-Wolves major respect for coming back in the 4th 1/4 to challenge "Our Heroes" for the win - can you imagine the shock that would have occurred if KG & Co.  HAD whupped "Our Heroes" after being down by 17 in the 3rd?  That would have registered in a major way on the Richter scale, you can be sure!

At first I wanted to go along with what wk said about the T-Wolves not really being as competitive with the LAL as SA was...however, one must remember that the T-Ws do not have their starting QB's services available to them for the most part.  No way can Darrick Martin fill Sam Cassell's shoes here - in the 4th, Martin put up a few bricks that I thought Cassell would have stroked if he were healthy.  However, as we all know, "Them's the breaks"...one of the imperatives of "winnin' time" is to have all of a team's players healthy and primed.   wk, if TP were hurt, do you think SA would have done as well as they did vs. the LAL?  Methinks not...

I agree with Flip's Hack-a-Shaq strategy - let's face it, it was effective for the most part!  I'm wondering what the hey Shaq was talking about when he mouthed to Flip, "It won't work" - yeah right.   Pachy, you were 1 for 12 at one point in the game. However, the newest proposal to be presented by LAL reps to the rules committee later this year will eliminate this this pesky problem - the "Designated Free-thrower" (DF).  Think about it...this will extend the careers of some players (Steve Kerr immediately comes to mind) to well into their 50s, or beyond.  I guarantee that the Player's Union will go for it!

Poor Mad Dog...having him guard Shaquille is like having a chihuahua guarding Fat Albert.  Mark never gave up, though - give him credit.   'Our' Mad Dog will never be forgotten by TrueLakers - no matter whose uniform he is wearing!

-RB

Shaq #1

[Laker Fan]

I must concur with you JN, MAdsen did everything but crawl inside Shaq's uniform with him and Crawdord did everything but help him do it, that no call needs to be reviewed by league officials, although long run it wouldn't have affected the outcome of the game IMO.

This game started out very fast, Payton was flat brilliant in the first quarter, and I honestly think it was Phil's plan to redirect the Wolves defense somewhere other than Shaq and Kobe. Despite Marv Albert's comments that Kobe looked out of sorts, I thought he looked like a player that was contributing to his teammates success, he was passing very well and looking for the open man, I believe all 6 of his assists were in the first half.

Second half LA, despite having to withstand the Wolves 4th quarter run played very, very good defense, they caught the Wolves in the trap a couple of times and had them against the shot clock all night long while offensively playing a pretty good game. Mr. Inconsistancy, Deveon George, stepped up big, if he would just do that 75% of the time, even WOW would get comfortable with him. Second half pace seemed strangely lackluster to me, with Kobe providing the only real spark of excitement, it was like after the 3rd LA was just trying to hold serve instead of sticking a dagger in and totally demoralizing Minnesota.

Good win though, never got the sense LA was threatened in the game, everytime Minnesota made a run LA answered and clamped down defensively.

[Laker Fan]

One more thing, LA's post game was made possible by Payton and George's outside accuracy, LA forced the Wolves defense to play honest and it cost them.

Shaq, HIT YOUR BLOODY FREETHROWS!

[WayOutWest]

After last nights game I won't be complaining about the East coast playoffs.  Yes the games in the East are ugly but they're ugly because both teams are giving it their all on defense.

The West coast teams seem to be playing at 60% for 80% of the game then crank it up to 90% for short spurts.  This Lakers/Wolves series STINKS!  The Lakers/Spurs was 100X better, one team was taken out of the game by the OTHER team.  In this series each teams own lazy arses are taking them out of the game.  It's more of a Laker problem than the Wolves because I can excuse game 1 for the Wolves because they just came off of a game 7.  Both teams just walked thru game 3 and it sucked.

I won't get to see game 4 and 5 because I'll be out in the wilderness Thurs-Mon, the board will need to somehow deal with my onmipetent presence.

P.S. With my spelling prowess I probably just called myself a two pump chump!  :eek2:  

[Lurker]

I agree that the Lakers just aren't showing the same intensity and focus that they did against the Spurs.  Maybe it is because as Rick Fox said during the season..."SA is the only team we consider our peers.  They have won it all and knows what it takes to get there."  IMO the Kings would have been a better series just because it would have upped the Lakers emotions to "take out" the Kings again.  

Minnesota is struggling because of the pg position.  It is obvious that Cassell isn't anywhere close to 100% and with his backup (Hudson) out it falls to their 3rd string pg.  And the result is that KG is playing a lot of the point position which takes away from his overall game.

The Wolves are in trouble for game 4....Kobe has a court date.  And after every one this season he has had big games.  Something about sitting in court all day seems to motivate Kobe to take out his frustrations on his opponent.

[jn]

Here's hoping for a spring  storm in the Rockies.  :up:

I agree with everything you guys have stated.  As for westkoast question on the extent of Cassell's injuries my understanding is that he has lower back spasms, a strain in his hip.  In addition he has been playing with a punctured ear drum since the beginning of the Denver series.  
 

[JoMal]

The Wolves are in trouble for game 4....Kobe has a court date.  And after every one this season he has had big games.  Something about sitting in court all day seems to motivate Kobe to take out his frustrations on his opponent.

Kobe Bryant - flies to Denver for a court date involving his rape case; flies back to LA for a big basketball game that night. Then goes out and always has a terrific game.

MY HERO

[WayOutWest]

The Wolves are in trouble for game 4....Kobe has a court date.  And after every one this season he has had big games.  Something about sitting in court all day seems to motivate Kobe to take out his frustrations on his opponent.

Kobe Bryant - flies to Denver for a court date involving his rape case; flies back to LA for a big basketball game that night. Then goes out and always has a terrific game.

MY HERO

I wouldn't put Kobe in the "hero" catagory just yet.  The day Kobe is able to schedule his court dates around his b-ball schedule, get CONVICTED and then FAIL miserably in the playoffs, then MAYBE I could elevate Kobe to the "hero" level.

If only Kobe's family could also be involved in criminal activities he could speed up the "hero" endeavor.

Oh well....they can't all be heros.  :cry:  

[Guest_Randy]

At first I wanted to go along with what wk said about the T-Wolves not really being as competitive with the LAL as SA was...however, one must remember that the T-Ws do not have their starting QB's services available to them for the most part. No way can Darrick Martin fill Sam Cassell's shoes here - in the 4th, Martin put up a few bricks that I thought Cassell would have stroked if he were healthy. However, as we all know, "Them's the breaks"...one of the imperatives of "winnin' time" is to have all of a team's players healthy and primed. wk, if TP were hurt, do you think SA would have done as well as they did vs. the LAL? Methinks not...

I'm not sure that I agree, RB.  I think that the TWolves have done BETTER when Cassell hits the bench -- why?  Because GP can guard Cassell and hold him in check -- he can't do that with the other players like Spree, Wally World and Martin (although don't look for Martin to hit a ton of shots).  The TWolves like to play Martin for defensive purposes which is understandable and it's not like he can't hit anything although he isn't the offensive player that Cassell is but playing Cassell allows the Lakers to go small (GP, Fish and Kobe) which is currently the Lakers best lineup in the backcourt and the Lakers can do that with Cassell on the floor -- they can't do that with Wally, Spree and Martin (which they have proved in the last two games).  

I did like what I saw last night except for the last few minutes when the Lakers allowed the TWolves to go on the scoring binge.  PJ has to be faster to react and, like it or not, he is going to have to put George on the floor when the TWolves go big.

[WayOutWest]

Randy,

Get off the crack.  Martin for Casell is a huge dropoff.  Nobody can guard Casell, not Kobe, not GP and not Micheal Cooper.  Casell's mid-range game combined with the long ball make him an impossible playoff cover.

Not having Casell puts too much of a burden on KG and Spree has been his typical sporatic punk-arse self.  Casell is just one of those guys, like Bibby, that just becomes close to impossible to guard, you just have to hope he misses.

I can only imagine what this series would be like if the Wolves had Troy Hudson comming off the bench to releive Sam or Spree.  This series would be totally different if both teams were healthy but it would still favor the Lakers in the end.

[Guest_Randy]

Randy,

Get off the crack.  Martin for Casell is a huge dropoff.  Nobody can guard Casell, not Kobe, not GP and not Micheal Cooper.  Casell's mid-range game combined with the long ball make him an impossible playoff cover.

Not having Casell puts too much of a burden on KG and Spree has been his typical sporatic punk-arse self.  Casell is just one of those guys, like Bibby, that just becomes close to impossible to guard, you just have to hope he misses.

I can only imagine what this series would be like if the Wolves had Troy Hudson comming off the bench to releive Sam or Spree.  This series would be totally different if both teams were healthy but it would still favor the Lakers in the end.

I don't think I said that GP could STOP Cassell but he CAN hold him in check.  Cassell will NEVER drive around GP -- and that plays right into GP's hands defensively.  GP can handle Cassell (and keep him in check, not stop him) -- he can't handle ANY of the other players -- they are too big for him.  

And YES, the Lakers WOULD have had problems with Troy Hudson -- small quick point guards cause the Lakers a great deal of problems.  Hopefully, Shaq will get on the phone this summer and get ahold of some quick young point guard that wants to come play for the Lakers for free (because we ALL know that Shaq is planning on his salary counting for half of the salary cap).

[jn]

Payton couldn't even hold Sam in check last night.  Cassells line was 7-12 for 16 points, only two less than Payton.  

 

[jn]

Randy as follow, run over to NBA.com and check the results of the season series.  Had one game against GP where he hit for 9, Payton for 7.  Apart from that he absolutely lit up GP with games of 17, 26, and 28.