REVISIT:::Heart and team spirit of this team and this board.

[TonyMontana]

This was the thread that for the first time on this board made me feel like this board had givin up on our team and its players (For the time being).
And Im only talking about this game in general.
We have stuck to each other when this team went through all of its changes.
Losses in the playoffs to the Suns, Kobes trade demands, Bynums contract, our defeat in the finals last year............. through out all of these problems WE ALL STUCK TOGEHTER, BUT........ For the very first time I witnessed this board lose its faith and its support for this team, and honestly I think some of you reed my reply, and incase you didnt here it is......
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=863833
will it be a merry xmas?

Na........... I think we will win.
It seem our teams biggest problem is we take weaker teams very lightly.
We need to go after everyteam with respect that they can beat us every night and were not doing that, and its hurting us.
But I thik well do just fine.

Come on guys................ ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
WHERE THE UCK IS YOUR TEAM SPIRIT?
We are playing decent and we still have a good record, but all of you guys on here are posting your "Oh I think were going to blahhhhh blahhhhhh crap"
I cant believe Im reading this, we can beat any team any night, maybe these games we lost is our wakeup call, maybe well have our **** together by Christmas, who knows but were sitting ON OUR BOARD and counting OUR TEAM OUT.
I cant believe this from my brothers............. B.S
It actaully breaks my heart and pisses me off reading this.
I dont give a monkeys ass what happens or we lose every game before we meet these clowns, all I know is WE GOT THIS GAME.
Where is your heart and loyalty at guys.

Dammmmmmmmm .

After this post and seeing how basically everybody including my BOY DEEP, that has my back ALL THE TIME had counted our team out, I mean not even counting them out, but addressing this games final outcome as a MASSACRE it really broke my heart..... Seriously guys.
I only saw two posters on there on an enitre board that actually felt that we are going to win.
All I can say is we've been called soft and heartless and many other names, and we have lost a few games to a few team that are actually good, Magic/Heat.
We couldve won both of these games in the last few seconds, but the shot JUST NEVER WENT IN.
I dont know if you have been watching the Celtics games as well but they have won a few games on last second shots as well, Hawks for one example.

But when the Christmas game came and even before that I had confidence that WE WILL WIN, I KNEW IT and I knew that the Lakers wouldve have stepped up for this game.
Yes I realize its just one game against the champs that beat us badly last year, but for one day and for one christmas, I know that we stopped their streak at 19 and we gave our home crowd a game to remember and to savor on Christmas day and to top it off we gave P.J his 1000 win.

We did it with heart and the need and trust in one and other, and hopefully we can take this win as a fuel to burn our fire to have faith in our team and its players and to believe on our team.

Im not here to prove a point since there is nothing to prove, I already knew we would win, I already knew that Kobe and Pau and the rest of this team is going to prove their critics wrong, look on the G.B all the trolls who sat there day in and day out and wrote worthless baiting threads about how soft we are and how the Cs are the team to beat and that K.G is going to punk out Pau, and Pierce is the best player in the planet.
Well where are they now? What happen to K.Gs tactics where was Ray Allen, and the Best point guard in the east who thought should be in the All Star game?
We lost last years finals to a great team and team is still the best even after their loss, and I think if we come out the West we will have to meet with either them or the Cavs, but all I know is if and when that happens, this game as well as the Feb. game is going to be our source and our game plan to our success for the finals, and again thats if we make it to the finals.
But for the time being Im going to sit here and enjoy MY TEAMS W, and know that no matter how many games we lost or how soft people think we are, ON CHRISTMAS DAY MY TEAM BEAT THE BEST TEAM.
FTW and FTC and if you dont know then let me explain........ Fot the Win and For the Chip.

Go Lakers.

[LAKESHOW]

props. i knew we were going to win yesterdays game. that kinda stuff usually happens. the team that loses the final, usually takes the first game the following year. but again, in a 7 game series, we still have some defensive issues in the trenches.

[Erik Eleven]

When the team sucked smelly arse during their 34-48 season, I was one of the most supportive and optimistic fans here. I stated my faith in Buss, Phil, Bynum, Odom etc over and over again, going against most part of this board. Many old timers here can vouch for the many hard fought battles that Phil 2.0 and I and a few others fought when negativity was rampant on this board. That's when the team needed our loyal, blind support. Not now. This year hasn't been a struggle — it has just been slightly plagued by under achieving due to girly minds.

When the team has the potential to play great and don't, I'm going to be very critical. Lack of mental edge is inexcusable and needs to be pointed out — not for the sake of complaining or whining, but for the sake of the team winning. The coaching staff has practiced the same type of psychology, and it seems to have worked. Aside from four games this season — the first two and the last two — they haven't played up to their potential and needed to hear about it — again, for the sake of more winning. Little of what we post here matters much, but there is no excuse for lack of effort and focus and it needs to be pointed out. In fact, the chip on the shoulder finally became big enough to give us us yesterday's win.

Just like the struggling Buss and Mitch back then needed to hear that we support this franchise in thick and thin, the players needed to hear that they were playing like girls recently. Believe me, supporting Mitch, Buss and Odom when Artest was on the block back then was an uphill battle. Same with Bynum. I take offense to being called a bad fan for whipping them when they need to be whipped, just like I took offense to being called a homer when the team was down and needed our optimistic, homeristic support.

Regardless, we all deal with the team's ups and downs in our own ways and that's fine. I just could never understand fans that take a dump on their team when it's down. This team is far from down, and that's exactly why I've thought they needed a little whipping from us. What they need this season is to hold onto any little edge they can find to motivate them to play harder. That's why I called a massacre — in hopes that one of them would read it.

[DEEP3CL]

Well I never counted the Lakers out Tony it's just that I've been watching NBA ball for 3 decades, and when something is wrong with the teams structure I'm going to call it out period. You know me I don't cut any slack for one minute. Truth be told it's a losers mentality to believe your team is going to lose.

I hate to lose at ANYTHING...........but the bottom line T-Money was it was things that was seriously wrong with the squad. I've stated on many post we won't win a title playing the way we were playing. I can't help it if some here have thin skin and can only see the bright side of things. Pat Riley said it best after the lost to Boston in 84, "You have to be scared once before you can win". What he meant by that was the Lakers who hadn't beaten the Celtics in a Final, had to have a scare much like those Jerry West teams who NEVER got a chance to extract the demons from those losses.

But Riley knew the Laker team he had with that talent, that guard, that center and that forward could not only beat but destroy those Bird led Celtic teams. But it took losing in 84 to get the message across.......and when it got across we won 2 of the 3 Finals we played against them.

Just last weekend I was very stern in my beliefs about our title chances and question why was everybody mentality here was like, " it's OK it's a long season" yeah in reality it is a long season but the team has to strike that cord that is the right cord for playing the right way all the time game in and game out period. A long season won't mean jack sh*t if you don't grasp the concept.

Bottom line is I know we can win games, we are going to win games and I personally go into EVERY game think as much as so. I'll NEVER back down from what I think or know, bottom line is some of what you see here is from the youth of the board when it come to being truculent. It's a reason I made my user name here in bold print rather the lower case, I'm a confident person everyday period. That's why when I post the bold print of my name stands out. And you'll know a Laker fan has encountered you.

Seeing thing like massacre and whatever else was listed prior to the "GAME" just shows the lack of confidence and knowledge of the game, again my displeasure was with the on court performance, the strategy, players in game decisions. See most here just watch the game to watch for the win, myself and others here look at the game inside the game. I could have name names of who carry such beliefs of that mentality and lack of confidence that infected the board during our slug period, but I won't because clearly some aren't thick skinned enough to face the truth.

[TonyMontana]

To the posters that have posted on this thread.
I agree with all of you guys and your inputs, and yes I also think that we have a lot of work ahead of ourselves............ A LOT.
But not one minute went by since our defeat in the finals that I knew we will pay them back (Celtics) one way or another.
The Cs fans down played this game like it ment nothing and it is nothing, but AS I SAW the game thread, I saw that same posters that had downplayed our so called MASSACRE were on there crying and whinning and complaining and at the end some were very professional about it and some were very ignorant about but on our game thread i saw the same posters that had sat there and claimed we would get beat by 20 and 30, cheering and talking their smack as well, and they even had the nerve to go on the Cs board and their game thread as well as other thread talking down on the Cs and their posters........... How funny? You sit on here before the game and you claim we are nothing and that we are going to lose, not only lose but get massacred yet the minute we win you run on the opposing baord and you claim our success by disrespecting the other teams posters.
I saw that posters were giving porps to L.O that we had put down so many times.
The same posters that kept using the term Pau is Soft and he cant play against K.G, posting Pau is the man or giving L.O his props.
And it went back to the term I dispise the most.......... THE FAKERS........ Is that what we are?
Do we go out and buy Laker flags to put on our cars to prove to everyone that we are Laker fans.
Are we like all the Bandwagon jumpers in Sac town or G.S when our local team loses and we jump on the winning teams bandwagon.................. Are we?
I know Im not, I root for the underdog as long as the underdog tries and there is hope.
Not when they have the talent and they dont try. I root for my favorite team when the management/ownership is there trying and working on building a championship teams or even contenders.
I root for my team no matter what the odds are or who we face.
I dont count my team losing or being blown out or getting massacred, not today not ever......... SPECAILLY WHEN ITS THE LAKERS.

[Chubby Chaser]

That was the longest "I told you so" ever. I wasn't posting in the game thread but you got to expect that fans are going to get down on their team when they aren't performing. Passionate fans (especially fans that love their team so much that they post on message boards) will tend to take the highs really high, and jump off cliffs during the lows. It's nothing new. I'm sure no one is denouncing their Laker affinity they just get upset when their team doesn't perform to that high standard we hold for our team. Dont' get all Bro-motional man. We won.

[TonyMontana]

That was the longest "I told you so" ever. I wasn't posting in the game thread but you got to expect that fans are going to get down on their team when they aren't performing. Passionate fans (especially fans that love their team so much that they post on message boards) will tend to take the highs really high, and jump off cliffs during the lows. It's nothing new. I'm sure no one is denouncing their Laker affinity they just get upset when their team doesn't perform to that high standard we hold for our team. Dont' get all Bro-motional man. We won.

Oh I know we won and I knew we were going to win, I only addressed the issue that I had a problem with.
Take it for what is worth, this isnt a I TOLD YOU SO thread either.
Its a thread about a fan's loyalty sepcially this team.
So again take it for what its worth.

[snaquille oatmeal]

Tony my man, I still think you are missunderstanding my thread. it was never about giving up on our loyalty to the team. there was another thread asking if we wanted the Lakers to lose big and as you may recall all the replies were harsh on the OP for even suggesting that. that was loyalty. my thread was about how we thought the game would go. the question was asked because we had been playing down to our potential and most of us were not sure if we would snap out of the funk in time.

on the one hand you say you understand the posters that have posted here, on the other hand you are doubting the loyalty of other posters because they express the same opinion as those posters that have posted here.

there is a difference between loyalty and trying to be realistic based on what you see. if we were wrong on our observasions then it mean that we won. no need for an I told you so.

[TonyMontana]

Tony my man, I still think you are missunderstanding my thread. it was never about giving up on our loyalty to the team. there was another thread asking if we wanted the Lakers to lose big and as you may recall all the replies were harsh on the OP for even suggesting that. that was loyalty. my thread was about how we thought the game would go. the question was asked because we had been playing down to our potential and most of us were not sure if we would snap out of the funk in time.

on the one hand you say you understand the posters that have posted here, on the other hand you are doubting the loyalty of other posters because they express the same opinion as those posters that have posted here.

there is a difference between loyalty and trying to be realistic based on what you see. if we were wrong on our observasions then it mean that we won. no need for an I told you so.

NOT AT ALL Snaq...... NOT AT ALL BRAHHHH, and this wasnt ment to you or anyone specifically, it was basically ment to everyone, even to peps that looked at the thread and didnt reply back, by backing up this team.

Snaq just like you Im a Vet from the US army. I think your still active.
So I will use the example that I have learned form my military days and life in general.
Bound by Honor, Courage unber fire, together we stand divide we fall.............
If we go to battle then we fight, we fight as one and we fight together without any doubts in our mind and heart that we will come out victories. Even if we loss or face defeat at least we went down fighting.
I never doubt this team or anything that has to do with our stink or our funk cause your right, we did and we do have some serious issues and problems if this team was to make it to the Finals if we dont make some positive changes and that starts with our P.Gs.
I agree, my problem was that we sat there and openly threw our team under the bus and claiming our defeat not only defeat but a massacre.
That was my problem, its one thing to acknowledge problems, issues that we face or in need of fixing and its another to sit ON OUR BOARD and BASH OUR TEAM and predicte defeat.
I do understand we do, we have and we will have problems, but honestly have you seen any other board sitting there and publically addressing their defeat and their loss so openly as we did?
Not just one thread but a couple.

[doozyj]

Been a Laker fan for 28 years, I never give up on our team.

[ronnymac2]

We played great ball, did everything I hoped we would do (from what I said in that "will it be a merry christmas?" thread stated in the OP^^), and I won my bet that the Lakers would win. haha

Tony- I don't think anybody who said we'd get beat wanted us to get beat. They saw how we were playing before, and logically came to the conclusion that if we played that way vs. Boston, we'd lose. They were hoping we'd play differently and win, but they weren't expecting a miracle. I didn't believe in a miracle really either- I don't believe in luck or anything. I did believe we would change our ways though and play like we cared.

It's just a competitive thing.....in real life, when things are trivial, I take them lightly. When things are important, I go all out. These Lakers are similar. lol They played to their potential (which was far from a guarantee, citing as evidence the way they were playing for about a month prior to the game), and they won.

[Anklebreaker702]

You can go read my post over in the Celtics "Lakers dont scare me 1 bit" thread Tony, I told them if we didn't get out act together they could beat us by 50, but I was not willing to say they would win the game (meaning the Celtics). I was admitting we weren't playing well but that is all! I knew we were going to show up to play, 1 of my dawgs asked me @ tip off was I nervous & I said no, we are getting ready to beat these fools watch!! (Deep can verify that for me if needed)

[TonyMontana]

You can go read my post over in the Celtics "Lakers dont scare me 1 bit" thread Tony, I told them if we didn't get out act together they could beat us by 50, but I was not willing to say they would win the game (meaning the Celtics). I was admitting we weren't playing well but that is all! I knew we were going to show up to play, 1 of my dawgs asked me @ tip off was I nervous & I said no, we are getting ready to beat these fools watch!! (Deep can verify that for me if needed)

No Doubt at all about what you and ronnymac2 had said. Oh I know where you two stood as well as a few others as well, and you guys were on the same page as well as few others\ posters on your support for us to win.
Even though I kept quiet after I posted my post and it was me asking someone to take over xmas game thread I didnt post after that, Yet I still came on here and reed some of your replies.
Again guys this isnt about anyone in general, this is about everybody that didnt have faith or didnt think we could do win whoever it maybe.
The last thing we need to show and allow is weakness and if we sit on our board showing other teams and boards is that, we dont have faith in our team, then who does?
And thats where a lot of people who dispise this team and its fans keep using the term Fakers come up with.

[Anklebreaker702]

You can go read my post over in the Celtics "Lakers dont scare me 1 bit" thread Tony, I told them if we didn't get out act together they could beat us by 50, but I was not willing to say they would win the game (meaning the Celtics). I was admitting we weren't playing well but that is all! I knew we were going to show up to play, 1 of my dawgs asked me @ tip off was I nervous & I said no, we are getting ready to beat these fools watch!! (Deep can verify that for me if needed)

No Doubt at all about what you and ronnymac2 had said. Oh I know where you two stood as well as a few others as well, and you guys were on the same page as well as few others\ posters on your support for us to win.
Even though I kept quiet after I posted my post and it was me asking someone to take over xmas game thread I didnt post after that, Yet I still came on here and reed some of your replies.
Again guys this isnt about anyone in general, this is about everybody that didnt have faith or didnt think we could do win whoever it maybe.
The last thing we need to show and allow is weakness and if we sit on our board showing other teams and boards is that, we dont have faith in our team, then who does?
And thats where a lot of people who dispise this team and its fans keep using the term Fakers come up with.

It's all good Tony, you know we still got each others backs right maaaang!!??

[Erik Eleven]

I think this team is capable of anything. As long as they focus and play disciplined, tough ball. And that has been a monstrous problem in all games but four this season — the first two and the last two.

They needed an earful a week and a half ago and they got it. From Phil, from Fish, Kobe, the media and from people like us on internet message boards. It was well deserved, because they didn't play anywhere near what they have now shown in the last two games that they're capable of. They focused, played hard and executed the game plan with German discipline.

I think we all knew they were capable of beating them if they played at their peak. But, it's not hard to see why some of us would doubt they could turn it on like that so soon after some consistently poor play. When our team is not mentally sharp night in and night out, I get worried. Especially with a sage burning Kumbaya coach to fire them up. I'm glad I was worrying for no reason.

Tony, can you honestly say that you, after the ORL and WAS losses, expected the Lakers to completely change their demeanor and turn it around like this — spanking both the Hornets and the Celtics and looking dominant doing it? Three games ago, they looked like crap. I wasn't worried about them being able to turn it around in a while, but I seriously didn't think they would do it so quickly. I guess that's the beauty of mental issues. The coin just needs to fall sometimes.

I expect them to keep this up now. Consistency, please. Control of tempo, please. Cohesive defense, please. Every night, regardless of opponent.

[TruSkool]

this is a funny thread

[hermes]

i got your back Tony!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ovDAF-VTPg

[TonyMontana]

Tony, can you honestly say that you, after the ORL and WAS losses, expected the Lakers to completely change their demeanor and turn it around like this — spanking both the Hornets and the Celtics and looking dominant doing it? Three games ago, they looked like crap. I wasn't worried about them being able to turn it around in a while, but I seriously didn't think they would do it so quickly. I guess that's the beauty of mental issues. The coin just needs to fall sometimes.

I expect them to keep this up now. Consistency, please. Control of tempo, please. Cohesive defense, please. Every night, regardless of opponent.

Yes I did E,
I know you reed my reply on the xmass wish thread?
I never see it that way, I see problems and hopefully solutions from mistakes.
And I also see that we are the second best team in the league, I see it as we are a domintating team and we have the best player in the league and the best coach leading this team.
I have faith in them and my team, even if we had some issues and problems.
Thats why these guys get paid so much to be in this game, and that why they need to sort out all the gliches and issues.
But at times I am wrong I know that, but the last thing I will do is not have faith and heart.
I was only upset that we actually posted these remarks on our board and allowed others to see how we felt about our team.
I knew that this was a redemtion game for us a statement to the everyone specailly the Cs, and Im proud to say that they did let us down.
Thats all, but overall yes I did have faith in our team.

[Erik Eleven]

Being honest about the Lakers current on-court problems does not equate to not having heart or faith.

[TonyMontana]

Being honest about the Lakers current on-court problems does not equate to not having heart or faith.

I agree but that same faith and trust in our team became a reality on xmass day.
I believe we could win and fotunatly we won.
If for exmaple I didnt think we would win and we won, then I had no faith in my team.
Me personally would rather have faith and believe in good things than sit there and have an empty feeling of not having faith in anything, No matter what it is.
Also the current on court problems, I agree but we are the third best team in the league, like I said before With Kobe P.J Pau I think we need to believe in our team, its not like the old days when we had Smush, Cake boy etc.
We are the defending W/C Champs and we are in first place in the W/C and we just beat the best team in the League, so if we combine those things togehter I think we'll be okay for now.
Yes Im not going to sit here and kid myself think we dont have a lot of work ahead of ourselves we do, but I also have faith on our F.O and this Org.
But again I was only addressing the posts on our board of us publicaly posting our defeat to the Cs that never did happen.