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Not to be a pessimist...

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DynastyInTheMaking
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Not to be a pessimist... 

Post#1 » by DynastyInTheMaking » Thu Jun 5, 2008 5:06 am

...but this slightly resembles the 2004 NBA Finals.

The Lakers were a team put together in the offseason full of stars with some aging vets in the rotation, while the Pistons were the team with a veteran nucleus that was about to enter their prime together.

The only difference now is the Lakers play the opposite team in these finals. That series didnt fare to well for them...







...and I dont think this one will either! We could very well change the NBA landscape and how teams treat the offseason.


slight side note: Doc Rivers did the ABC commentary that series.
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Post#2 » by greenbeans » Thu Jun 5, 2008 5:12 am

except the lakers were the favorites that year, same as this year. we could go on all day with this stuff
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Post#3 » by pfm » Thu Jun 5, 2008 5:21 am

In 2004 the Lakers had the offensive firepower, while the Pistons were the tough defensive team and a large underdog at that. Celtics sound a lot like those Pistons to me. Also the Lakers had Kobe and Shaq as stars, but their other vets in the rotation were VERY old with Malone and Payton both being in their late 30s...well past their prime. The only players the Celts have like that are Brown and Cassell, but they only have bench roles and not huge ones at that (although PJ is getting some more run), while 2 of those Laker starters were well past their prime. Ray, PP, and KG are all sitting on the back end of their prime, but still their prime at that and stil performing at an extremely high level. Our other two starters are young guys who will bring us a lot of energy and off the bench we have some vets with Posey, House, Brown and Cassell (although I dont think he will be used much) and some young guys who bring energy in Powe, Davis, and hopefully Allen. Thats a really nice mix if you ask me.
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Post#4 » by Bleeding Green » Thu Jun 5, 2008 5:26 am

I don't get the connection. The Lakers were put together during the season and added Derek Fisher in the offseason. The starting lineup is completely different from last year.

Hell, the Celtics have a more similar starting 5 from 2007 to 2008. Rondo, Pierce and Perkins were starting last year. Just Kobe and Odom are the same from last year.
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Post#5 » by DynastyInTheMaking » Thu Jun 5, 2008 7:16 am

Bleeding Green wrote:I don't get the connection. The Lakers were put together during the season and added Derek Fisher in the offseason. The starting lineup is completely different from last year.



We are the Lakers of 04. We were put together in the offseason.
The Pistons in 04 made the trade in season for a big man to give them a veteran nucleus about to enter their prime together - much like the 08 Lakers.




Point was the type of offseason that is done in a video game has never led to a championship in the NBA before, perhaps now it will. The way the teams were assembled is what I was saying was similar. The fact that no NBA team has gone out and remade their team in the offseason and won it that year.




oh well, failure of a thread.
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Post#6 » by RoyHobbs » Thu Jun 5, 2008 10:06 am

I don't really see it. As Bleeding Green alluded to, this Lakers team is very different than last years.

Here are the 10 Lakers who played the most minutes last year:

Kobe - starter
Smush Parker - gone
Odom - starter
Walton - reduced role
Bynum - injured
Mo Evans - gone
Kwame - gone
Farmar - role player
Turiaif - role player
Brian Cook - gone

Of the ten prime components of last year's Laker team, five of them are either not with the team or are out with injury. The Lakers only have two starters in common with those who started last season. The Lakers are not the established, veteran team they're being made out to be.

Both of these teams demonstrated a ton of turnover from last season. Yes, the Celtics probably had more, but the difference as not as pronounced as is suggested.
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Post#7 » by GuyClinch » Thu Jun 5, 2008 12:13 pm

You been reading too much ESPN hype. It's just that simple.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/2004.html

Notice the ages of the "older" playrs we are referring too. Karl Malone was FORTY. Gary Payton was 35. Horace Grant was 38 as well. Shaq was 31.

Our key "older players" are 30, 31, and 32 respectively. Next year when Kobe hits 30 is he going to be called "aging" that's my question. It's hilarious because now he is "only" 29. <g>

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Post#8 » by Tricky Ricky » Thu Jun 5, 2008 12:14 pm

Yes but the Pistons were the better defensive team
The Lakers were heavily favored
Shaq and Kobe were having problems
etc, slight slight comparison from you but not worth a thread of its own
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Post#9 » by Gomes3PC » Thu Jun 5, 2008 12:21 pm

Eh I don't see the matchup. If anything the Celtics are more like the Pistons. Hardnosed defensive team that relies on a number of contributors each night to win, rather than a team that revolves around a superstar. Not to say KG doesn't have a huge singular impact, it's just more on the defensive end by getting his whole team to play phenomenal defense.

As an aside, can Jamal Mashburn please just disappear off the face of the planet? I've never seen someone with a more biased take than this clown. His unabashed Laker verbal BJs are impossible to listen to. He's already called the Lakers to win Game 1 and in Boston and said it would be convincingly. I don't think I've heard one piece of hard evidence other than "Kobe!" and "the ball moves faster than feet!" which is the biggest load of crap on the planet. Defense wins championships Jamal; that's why you never got one.

Can't wait for Thursday to come and shut up the ESPN mediots and their purple & gold panties.
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Post#10 » by spf211 » Thu Jun 5, 2008 12:37 pm

I agree that the Lakers were just as recently constructed as the Celtics.

Besides, the core of the '04 Lakers was still Kobe/Shaq -- a tandem that had been together for years -- Malone and Payton were auxillary portions of that at best. Right now, the Celtics have a Pierce/KG core and if you want to name two players for LA, it's Kobe/Gasol -- neither of those pairings have more than one year of playing together; and much less for the Lakers.

The biggest disparity in the series is at head coach, IMO.
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Re: Not to be a pessimist... 

Post#11 » by MyInsatiableOne » Thu Jun 5, 2008 1:01 pm

DynastyInTheMaking wrote:...but this slightly resembles the 2004 NBA Finals.

The Lakers were a team put together in the offseason full of stars with some aging vets in the rotation, while the Pistons were the team with a veteran nucleus that was about to enter their prime together.

The only difference now is the Lakers play the opposite team in these finals. That series didnt fare to well for them...







...and I dont think this one will either! We could very well change the NBA landscape and how teams treat the offseason.


slight side note: Doc Rivers did the ABC commentary that series.


Really? The Lakers have had Gasol and Fisher and Farmar and Turiaf and Vujacic and VladRad for years and years? :roll:
It's still 17 to 11!!!!
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Post#12 » by celticfan42487 » Thu Jun 5, 2008 1:46 pm

Funny I was thinking the opposite.

LA comes in with a vaunted offense after knocking out the Spurs convincingly and everyone expects them to win in 5 maybe 6 [pistons it was 4 or 5] and they face a team that isn't really vaunted offensively but is a great defensive team.

With a good rebounder and post defender [Sheed'/ Perk] a DPOY shot altering roamer who is also one perhaps the best rebounder in the NBA [Ben Wallace/KG]. A big that can stretch the D [Sheed'/KG] and one that can only dunk [Ben/Perk]

then you got Prince/Pierce defensively both are getting accolades there during the playoff run. You have a scoring SG in Rip/Ray. And the only real diffrence is they had Billups and we have Rondo.

All against a runing through the playoffs, unstopable offense Laker team.
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Post#13 » by DEEP3CL » Thu Jun 5, 2008 4:36 pm

As a Laker fan I can truly say that to compare the 04 Lakers to this edition is at best "reaching" a little bit.

After reading all of the post in this thread it seems to me most of you are trying to say that the situation is the same for the Lakers now as it was in 04 which is just not the case.

Like BleedingGreen and RoyHobbs said it's a totally different team.
I'm not going to get into 04 because like the whole nation knew we had internal problems that dragged the whole season.

Different agendas, contracts, a boat load of free agents to be is like poison waiting to infect something. Bottom line is the media made the Celtics the underdogs it's not like the Laker players said the C's were the underdogs. Hell I'm a Laker fan and even I don't know how or why they made us the favorites.

Your team had the best record, best over all defense and was more consistant in the season then we were, we had 3 different starting centers at several points of the season, injuries to key players and some how stayed afloat.

Bottom line is it's two different Laker teams, it's all good if your fan base want to use that as inspiration but even your comparisons to the Pistons are off, the Celtics are a much better team then that 04 Piston team was. Yes that Piston team was labled the underdog in that series too but it was because the media was so drawn to the whole Laker Big 4.

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