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I am astounded by the national medias love of Kobe and the Lakers. Surely, the Lakers are good enough to win, won't dispute that, but has a team the celtics' caliber ever been this underrated?

Take a look at Hollinger's analysis. He picked the Lakers, and now when he breaks it down and THINKS about it, he makes a case for the celtics.

Here are some things that bother me:

Celtics won 66 games this season, with one of the top defenses in the history of the NBA, and a margin of victory of about 10 points. They have two sure fire HOFs in their prime in Paul Pierce (WHO LA CAN't GUARD) and one of the more unique PFs in the history of the game.

Detroit is better than any team in the West other than LA.

I watched the Ric Bucher take on the finals and I don't get it. This guy doesn't watch hoops. Celts don't have a Kobe stopper, so the celts can't win?. Kobe going to average 45 a game or something?

The matchups are in the Lakers' favor? Really?

Who guards Pierce?

Lakers fans keep saying the celts d isn't better than San Antonio's. Umm, yes it is. San Antonio is aging and Duncan doesn't have the range KG does. They don't have physical play or length like the celts when perk is in there. Rondo is much better on the ball than Parker.

More importantly, instead of a hurt manu and a non-scoring threat at the 2 and 3 in Bowen, the celts have two players who can go for 30 any night with ease.

Who guards Pierce and Allen, and who prevents Rondo from getting to the basket? This is a matchup nightmare for the Lakers.

Is this Laker juggernaut the one who trailed by 20 and 17 at home in games 1 and 5 before rallying?

Take a look at KGs career stats against Gasol. YIKES!

This is all because the celts went 7 games with atlanta (though look at the blowouts at home) and cleveland. Boston was impressive against detroit and in point of fact, the celtics haven't been down in a series.

Kobe isn't Michael, and secondly, there is no Scottie Pippen for the Lakers.

Kobe is great, but he is slowly becoming overrated. He isn't an icon. He is a the MVP and best player in the game. But, Pierce an KG belong out on that floor with him.

People are vastly underrating how good KG and Pierce are.

Bulls fan here, it is kind of surprising just how much the media is favoring the Lakeshow..but when u think about it objectively, can u really blame them?

LA has THE most dominant player on the planet and its really not arguable. They blew through the most competitive conference perhaps in NBA history with shocking ease. Say what you want about Denver and Utah's Defense but these were 50 + win teams. They finished off San Antonio which is still a damn good team with the best PF in history and the best on-ball defender in Bowen. They've seen, AI, Melo, D-Will, Boozer,Parker,Duncan and Manu, all all-star players and none of them were even a threat to the lakers

Boston has been great this season and i'm happy as an nba fan that they're back but they have not played up to expectations and you know it. ATL should have been swept, no ifs or buts, the Cavs have a great defense but there's no way that a team with 3 hall of famers should have the kind of offensive struggles the celts went through at certain periods. they seem to have come around during the Detroit series but they have yet to face a team with the kind of firepower the lakers have

That said,I hope Boston brings the trophy to the East but there's no reason to get riled up about what the media thinks , Lakers made quick work of their competition and Boston didnt. its that simple. Now go out and make them eat crow

jfs1000d wrote:Take a look at KGs career stats against Gasol. YIKES!

http://www.basketball-reference.com/fc/ ... =gasolpa01

I like Kobe as a player. I always argued that he was a top player. Back when people were saying he really wasn't very good and he was just a ball hog I argued for his superiority.

But it's swung TOO FAR around now IMHO. He is a LITTLE better then the very top guards in the league. That's it. The margin isn't nearly as great at the media would have you believe.

People are claiming he is as good as Jordan. Well this is the chance to prove it I think. I kind of doubt he can - as he if WAS that good they would have been in contention all those other years he was without Shaq in LA..

I remember Jordan and what people seem to forget is not only was he a great scorer he was flat out THE BEST defensive player in the game. I shudder to think what he would have done to PP defensively.

Truth is though I know PP is relieved not to be covered by Lebron..

Pete

Take a look at the numbers Odom has put up against Garnett:

14.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 4.2 APG, 3.5 TO/G, 41.1% FG

Career:
15.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 4.4 APG, 2.9 TO/G, 46% FG

Pretty sure Garnett bothers Odom quite a bit.

^^Y'all are right on.

Celtics in 6.

Gomes3PC wrote:Take a look at the numbers Odom has put up against Garnett:

14.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 4.2 APG, 3.5 TO/G, 41.1% FG

Career:
15.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 4.4 APG, 2.9 TO/G, 46% FG

Pretty sure Garnett bothers Odom quite a bit.

Just to play the devil's advocate and throw some stats knowledge out there...

I am guessing that the amount of games Odom and Garnett have faced each other is not a significant sample when compared to the number of the games each has played in their careers.

If the sample isnt significant enough then these difference (-1.3 points, -1.6 RPG, -0.2 ASPG, + 0.6 TO/G, and - 4.9% FG%) are not really statistically significant and dont really mean anything.

Is it a good sign that all these stats are lower? Of course, but with a limited amount of times the players have played each other and the generally small differences in these stats it doesnt mean much...

-Dizzy

sdeezy wrote:Bulls fan here, it is kind of surprising just how much the media is favoring the Lakeshow..but when u think about it objectively, can u really blame them?

LA has THE most dominant player on the planet and its really not arguable. They blew through the most competitive conference perhaps in NBA history with shocking ease. Say what you want about Denver and Utah's Defense but these were 50 + win teams. They finished off San Antonio which is still a damn good team with the best PF in history and the best on-ball defender in Bowen. They've seen, AI, Melo, D-Will, Boozer,Parker,Duncan and Manu, all all-star players and none of them were even a threat to the lakers

Boston has been great this season and i'm happy as an nba fan that they're back but they have not played up to expectations and you know it. ATL should have been swept, no ifs or buts, the Cavs have a great defense but there's no way that a team with 3 hall of famers should have the kind of offensive struggles the celts went through at certain periods. they seem to have come around during the Detroit series but they have yet to face a team with the kind of firepower the lakers have

That said,I hope Boston brings the trophy to the East but there's no reason to get riled up about what the media thinks , Lakers made quick work of their competition and Boston didnt. its that simple. Now go out and make them eat crow

I'm sorry, but the Jazz and Nuggets don't have very good defenses. There was one game in particular against Utah where the Jazz were letting Kobe go into the paint at will. I think it was game 2. The Jazz have a lot of talent but they'll never win a Championship as long as their defense doesn't improve. The West didn't have one team that won 60 so I think their "dominance" is over-rated a bit.

KG and Odom have matched up 24 times. It's a bit of a small sample size, but generally after playing each other 24 times I think you can get a pretty good idea of how two players fare against each other.

The most Odom has ever scored on KG is 24 points. KG has dropped 20+ in 14 of those games, and has 10+ rebounds 14 times as well. Odom has outscored KG just 4 times in their matchups, and outrebounded KG just 6 times in 24. I think it's pretty safe to say KG dominates Odom.

Take a look at the coaches....

Exactly

Coaching can't be any more overrated. This isn't college. Celts won with KC Jones while Lakers had Riles.

I mean, Bill Russell won one as a coach too. Players decide the game.

Has Phil ever one when he didn't have the best team? What happened when Shaq was traded...ohh I forgot, they lost.

Phil isn't some bench mastermind. He is a motivator and manager of people. He doesn't x and o anyone to death.

Jerr Sloan and Don Nelson are better basketball minds.

jfs1000d wrote:Coaching can't be any more overrated. This isn't college. Celts won with KC Jones while Lakers had Riles.

I mean, Bill Russell won one as a coach too. Players decide the game.

Has Phil ever one when he didn't have the best team? What happened when Shaq was traded...ohh I forgot, they lost.

Phil isn't some bench mastermind. He is a motivator and manager of people. He doesn't x and o anyone to death.

Jerr Sloan and Don Nelson are better basketball minds.

Name me the last time a mediocre coach won the ship?

CantStop wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



Name me the last time a mediocre coach won the ship?

whenever the Lakers last won

greenbeans wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

whenever the Lakers last won

PJax is considered top 3 best coach in history. No mediocre coach can win 9 rings.

CantStop wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



PJax is considered top 3 best coach in history. No mediocre coach can win 9 rings.

hey, if all your gonna do is offer us ignorance why should i send anything else back at you??

greenbeans wrote:-= original quote snipped =-


hey, if all your gonna do is offer us ignorance why should i send anything else back at you??

You mean you guys spend the last what? 4 seasons hating on Doc but leading the team to 66 wins with 3 HOF will change that. I hate on Doc and I get hated on. Makes sense? No.

CantStop wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



You mean you guys spend the last what? 4 seasons hating on Doc but leading the team to 66 wins with 3 HOF will change that. I hate on Doc and I get hated on. Makes sense? No.

how did LA fans feel about Mitch last September??

greenbeans wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

how did LA fans feel about Mitch last September??

Most hated him and now most like him. But what's your point? Both fan bases don't think logically. I don't think Mitch is the best GM and I don't think he's the worst.

just like we feel about Phil, great players make GMs/coaches look a LOT better than they really are.

greenbeans wrote:just like we feel about Phil, great players make GMs/coaches look a LOT better than they really are.

Read quotes about Phil. Phil is not just a coach, he's a motivator. Trust me, Kobe wouldn't be as great if he didn't have Phil. Both Kobe and MJ praise Phil every chance they get. Just because Red thinks Phil is overrated doesn't mean you should too.