Lakers and Celtics (3 Viewers)

[VIRIATO]

Saw the game last night (late, late night here really...) and loved the show! Poor shooting from the Lakers, at least till the 4th quarter, but a lot of offensive rebounds for the Lakers, that (and the great Artest) probably kept them in the game till the 4th... And when the 4th came, when crunch time came, suddenly Kobe and Gasol upped their game even if it meant solid shooting from the line (especially for Kobe). The final minutes were really explosive, suddenly three pointers both from the Lakers (tremendous Artest) and from the Celtics, a great one by Rajon Rondo (what a player!). And then «ironman» Sacha Vujacic! Perfect 2 out of 2 from the line, to decide the Championship!
Not very good offensive playing, especially from the Lakers (defence was another story, check Kobe's rebound numbers by the way), an ugly fight. But, if you want high voltage and uncertainty till the end, it doesn't get any better than this, does it?
Now waiting for the World Championships, who will make team USA?


Paulo

 

[Warrior]

Congrats to all of you Laker fans out there, they scored more points in the game, so they won.

53-40 rebound advantage, 37-17 free throw advantage.

Celtics had them down by 9, then 13 and blew it.

With a capital B.

The Lakers stunk out the joint for 40 minutes, then pulled it out, a miracle win to reward all of those gritty, blue collar fans of theirs.

The Zen Master was right, Celtics have blown more 4th quarter leads than any other team and they did again last night.

Would Perkins have made a difference? Who knows, he was out, that was that.

Allen was terrible, kept missing open looks, could have buried the Lakers all the way to China.

Rondo looked like a ball in tall grass, ie, lost.

Fisher gets carted off the court on stretcher, then comes back and hits a three.

Artist, a total thug/goon right out of central casting, hits a game clinching three point bomb, they blows kisses to the crowd.

He's not right in the head.

The Celtics big three never were on the same page in any of these games; KG goes off one night, then Allen, then Pierce, thought for sure they'd all go off last night, not meant to be.

A real shame, a kick in the kitchen for sure.

This is the end of the big three, Allen is gone, so are the Celtics from the NBA finals for awhile.

And the Lakers, well the Lakers naturally will be right back in the finals next year, will win it again, tie the Celtics with 17 championships.

Makes me want to lose my lunch.

Them and the Yankees.

A Boston sports fans worst nightmare.

Instead of going out like the Wild Bunch, the Celtics went out like the Brady Bunch.

 

[kreddy]

...Makes me want to lose my lunch.

Them and the Yankees.

A Boston sports fans worst nightmare.

Instead of going out like the Wild Bunch, the Celtics went out like the Brady Bunch.

Hey, don't talk smack about the Yankees!

(And at least you have teams that do somewhat well . . . look at NYC-area NBA teams: The Knicks and . . . the useless Nets! Thankfully, I'm anti-*ets... hate the Mets, Jets, and the Nets!)

- a Yankees fan; son of a Brooklyn Dodgers fan

 

[Warrior]

Hey, don't talk smack about the Yankees!

(And at least you have teams that do somewhat well . . . look at NYC-area NBA teams: The Knicks and . . . the useless Nets! Thankfully, I'm anti-*ets... hate the Mets, Jets, and the Nets!)

- a Yankees fan; son of a Brooklyn Dodgers fan

A sad state of affairs with the Nets, were in the NBA finals afew years ago, have really bottomed out.

And the NBA is not right without a very good Knicks team, something is missing with New York being a disaster, loved those Knick/Celtic wars in the 70's.

Speaking of the Knicks, can somone explain to me what that fraud Spike Lee is doing wearing Laker gear; he has an anti Boston complex to say the least, him and his "27th World Series title" $5.00 Yankee hat.

What a fraud.

I love the Dodgers, they have the classiest manager in all of sports, Mr Joe Torre, met the man several times, he is THE classiest manager on the planet, how can you not root for the man.........................

 

[Louis Badolato]

I love the Dodgers, they have the classiest manager in all of sports, Mr Joe Torre, met the man several times, he is THE classiest manager on the planet, how can you not root for the man.........................

Uh, George . . . as I recall you rooted against him for a lot of years when he managed the Yankees . . .

 

[Warrior]

Uh, George . . . as I recall you rooted against him for a lot of years when he managed the Yankees . . .

Yes I did, but I always respected the man, class act all the way; you can root against somebody and still respect them, take Phil Jackson for example...............well, bad example, let me think about this one.

Did not look at a newspaper, sports broadcast or listen to one second of sports talk radio today, but my Dad told me that loss last night is already right up there with the 1986 World Series and 2007 Super Bowl as the top three losses in Boston sports history, pretty hard to argue with that, this was a disaster like those two were.

Wonderful.

 

[jazzeum]

I don't follow hoops as much as I used to although I did watch parts, but not all, of the Series and I understand obviously why 1986 and 2007 are infamous but I don't see last night in there. They didn't lose at home or close it out in game 6, which I thought they had to do, and I never thought they would win last night, not to mention they've lost to the Lakers before. I'm not saying losing to the Lakers doesn't get under you skin but among the worst losses ever, I just don't see it.

 

[Warrior]

I don't follow hoops as much as I used to although I did watch parts, but not all, of the Series and I understand obviously why 1986 and 2007 are infamous but I don't see last night in there. They didn't lose at home or close it out in game 6, which I thought they had to do, and I never thought they would win last night, not to mention they've lost to the Lakers before. I'm not saying losing to the Lakers doesn't get under you skin but among the worst losses ever, I just don't see it.

Not sure who made the comparison; like I said, I have zero interest in listening to talk radio right now or worse yet, picking up a newspaper so I can read the local sportswriters fetch and moan about how they blew it, aka, Bob Ryan and Dan Shaunessy, two chicken littles if ever there were.

If I had to guess why, here goes; they were up 3-2, needing only one win to sew up banner #18. The Lakers were flat as pancakes last night, which as Combat predicted, a team that blows another out comes out flat in the next game most of the time. They were terrible for 40 minutes last night, yet the Celtics could not put them away. It was RIGHT THERE for the taking and they blew it.

This was not some bunch of young pups wet behind the ears, it was a veteran group that should have smelled blood in the water and put the hammer down on the Lakers and just buried them. The Bird teams of the 80's would have ran the Lakers out of the building last night, not blown first quarter, halftime, third quarter and fourth quarter leads like the Celtics did.

It's also the opponent, the Lakers, who are the Yankees, Canadiens and Colts to the Red Sox, Bruins and Patriots respectively, ie, the teams all Boston fans love to hate.

Again, just a guess, but you get the picture and this is what you and I talked about regarding sports; the wins feel great, last a while and fade away, the losses hurt forever, plain and simple, end of story.

Lastly, this was the last hurrah for this team in many peoples eyes, Ainge built this team for the short team, loaded up with Allen, KG and Wallace and hoped to grab one or two titles in the process.

 

[jazzeum]

As a matter of fact, I can think of much worse Boston losses in championship games:

1946 - The infamous "Pesky held the ball" game.

1975 - Losing to the Reds after being up in the last game.

Not championship games but how about 1949: Going into the last weekend of the season they had a two game lead, with three to play and the Yankees sweep them.

or 1978.

These seem far worse to me.

 

[Warrior]

As a matter of fact, I can think of much worse Boston losses in championship games:

1946 - The infamous "Pesky held the ball" game.

1975 - Losing to the Reds after being up in the last game.

Not championship games but how about 1949: Going into the last weekend of the season they had a two game lead, with three to play and the Yankees sweep them.

or 1978.

These seem far worse to me.

Thanks for the stroll down Boston sports memory lane..........

We've had more than our share of sports related disasters around here, I will say that.

I'll also say this; in the past ten years, between the Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics, there have been 11 trips to the league/conference championship game/series, 8 trips to the world series/Super Bowl/NBA finals, a perfect regular season and 6 championships.

Not bad.

 

[mikemiller1955]

George...

I don't understand your...or the city of Boston's displeasure in this team as producing a lose that you claim ranks as one of the most maximum disappointments in Boston's sports history...the Lakers were favored by Las Vegas in every single home game...last night and Tuesday night they were 6 1/2 and 7 point favorites...this was the nationwide sports line and Vegas does this for a living...

I know there are a lot of savvy sports fans in Boston...but realistically...LA was the favorite by the experts...they were expected to win...being an underdog and losing is not that extrodinairy...LA was expected to win by the guys that do this for a living...the Vegas line makers...these guys are responsible for posting an accurate line by experts that millions of dollars are wagered on...

if anything...the hurt that Boston feels is the same hurt LA fans feel when we lose to ya'll...it's the rivalry...this surely can't rank as one of the all time let downs for Boston fans...

it wasn't a week ago that even you commented...that as far as you were concerned...Boston already had a stellar season...even you said they were not expected to beat Lebron or Howard...you said...this was the proudest you felt of any Celtic team ever...to have gotten this far in the playoffs...

Boston had a great year...they may be facing a rebuilding season...maybe even a coaching replacement...but to take this series to a Game 7...and almost pull it off on the road...I would have guessed the Boston faithful would have met them at the airport with banners...

they were not expected to beat the Cavs or the Magic...they were underdogs in both series...it's pretty amazing to me that Boston fans are not elated with this season...I think the Boston fans are too critical and in this case just unrealistic...

the Lakers might have been flat on offense last night...in fact...Kobe looked overwhelmed and lost at time...but they played defense for a full 48 minutes...if they had made the 12 free throws they missed...the Lakers would have won by 16...when you win shooting 32 % and making 67% from the Charity and still win...then you played some pretty good D...

I don't think the city of Boston has any right to be on a downer over this season...

they finished the regular season with 50 wins...the same as Oklahoma City, Portland or San Antonio...I bet any of those cities would have been happy to get to a Game 7 in the Championship and considered it a successful year...

 

[Louis Badolato]

George...

I don't understand your...or the city of Boston's displeasure in this team as producing a lose that you claim ranks as one of the most maximum disappointments in Boston's sports history...the Lakers were favored by Las Vegas in every single home game...last night and Tuesday night they were 6 1/2 and 7 point favorites...this was the nationwide sports line and Vegas does this for a living...

I know there are a lot of savvy sports fans in Boston...but realistically...LA was the favorite by the experts...they were expected to win...being an underdog and losing is not that extrodinairy...LA was expected to win by the guys that do this for a living...the Vegas line makers...these guys are responsible for posting an accurate line by experts that millions of dollars are wagered on...

if anything...the hurt that Boston feels is the same hurt LA fans feel when we lose to ya'll...it's the rivalry...this surely can't rank as one of the all time let downs for Boston fans...

it wasn't a week ago that even you commented...that as far as you were concerned...Boston already had a stellar season...even you said they were not expected to beat Lebron or Howard...you said...this was the proudest you felt of any Celtic team ever...to have gotten this far in the playoffs...

Boston had a great year...they may be facing a rebuilding season...maybe even a coaching replacement...but to take this series to a Game 7...and almost pull it off on the road...I would have guessed the Boston faithful would have met them at the airport with banners...

they were not expected to beat the Cavs or the Magic...they were underdogs in both series...it's pretty amazing to me that Boston fans are not elated with this season...I think the Boston fans are too critical and in this case just unrealistic...

the Lakers might have been flat on offense last night...in fact...Kobe looked overwhelmed and lost at time...but they played defense for a full 48 minutes...if they had made the 12 free throws they missed...the Lakers would have won by 16...when you win shooting 32 % and making 67% from the Charity and still win...then you played some pretty good D...

I don't think the city of Boston has any right to be on a downer over this season...

they finished the regular season with 50 wins...the same as Oklahoma City, Portland or San Antonio...I bet any of those cities would have been happy to get to a Game 7 in the Championship and considered it a successful year...

Michael,

I certainly see your point, but as a Yankee fan, I understand George's position. The Boston Celtics are the New York Yankees of the NBA . . . for them the only successfull season is a championship season. The Yankees went into the bottom of the 9th of game 7 of the Series in 2001 with the lead but lost thanks to a bloop, an error on a double play ball and another bloop over the drawn in infield, and believe me, it was an enormous disappointment. I'm sure the Celtics, who had big leads in the second half of both games, felt the same way.

Additionally, the officiating in the NBA is probably the worst officiating in sports, which is why I gave up my season tickets 10 years ago and haven't watched a minute of the NBA basketball since. I was looking at the number of free throws the Lakers shot compared to the number of free throws the Celtics shot in the series, and it was pretty clear that the Refs were pulling their usual "if the big namer player (i.e. Koby or Gasal) misses a shot, call a foul" trick.

 

[Warrior]

Michael,

I certainly see your point, but as a Yankee fan, I understand George's position. The Boston Celtics are the New York Yankees of the NBA . . . for them the only successfull season is a championship season. The Yankees went into the bottom of the 9th of game 7 of the Series in 2001 with the lead but lost thanks to a bloop, an error on a double play ball and another bloop over the drawn in infield, and believe me, it was an enormous disappointment. I'm sure the Celtics, who had big leads in the second half of both games, felt the same way.

Additionally, the officiating in the NBA is probably the worst officiating in sports, which is why I gave up my season tickets 10 years ago and haven't watched a minute of the NBA basketball since. I was looking at the number of free throws the Lakers shot compared to the number of free throws the Celtics shot in the series, and it was pretty clear that the Refs were pulling their usual "if the big namer player (i.e. Koby or Gasal) misses a shot, call a foul" trick.

Michael,
I fully understand what you are saying, but Louis pretty much sums it up for me.

This is not Oklahoma City, Portland or San Antonio, it's Boston.

Not even going to start with the refs, for 40 minutes they kept their whistles in their pockets and let the teams play, then in the last 8 minutes, foul after foul after foul. Not to mention Gasol walked on one of his putbacks and on one of the 4,456,879 times in the series he was flopping around on the floor, his bulbous head and upper body were out of bounds, the ball hit his 9 foot long leg, CLEARLY Celtic ball, no, they gave it to the Lakers. And he hacked Garnett on one of KG's faking him out of his underwear drives to the basket, no call, that nitwit Van Gundy called it a great block, replay clearly showed Garnett got hacked, Jackson even said so.

Further, Boston fans know this team was built for the short haul, ie, three aging veterans on the wrong side of 30 and they brought us a championship in 2008, they got this far and not to win it is a kick in the kitchen.

They were UP 3-2, only needing one win, not down 3-2 needing to get two, BIG difference. They were the best road team in the NBA this year and had already won once in La La land in game two.

Someone today said this group reminded them of the 1986-87 Celtics, one last shot at the brass ring and they did not get it and everyone knew Bird, McHale and Parish were on the wrong side of 30 and look what happened; 20 years until the next trip to the finals.

Ok, sure, the Lakers played defense the other night, but how many wide open looks did Allen have and as Matt said, clang, clang, clang, same for Pierce.

The thing that really frustrates Boston fans is all 5 starters never clicked in one game, the Lakers got that twice, won both games, we never did and lost the series as a result.

The feeling around town today is that was this groups last gasp, time to rebuild and it will be awhile before they get back to the finals.

Not to mention it was vs the Lakers, Phil Jackson, Kobe (loved all the facial expressions and the huffing and puffing he was doing towards the end, wow, what a gallant warrior he is, truly a legend, he gets the nod for best actress in a suporting role from me), that thug Artest, etc, etc, etc.

You and I both know the Lakers will be right back there next year, might as well start planning the parade now.

I can hardly @#$%ing wait.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Hey guys the Australia V Ghana game is starting !!

 

[jazzeum]

With all due respect, Michael's position is what I would expect from a LA Laker fan (and I have no love for the Lakers): you guys should have been happy to be here, playing the might Lakers

That's just baloney dude. Celtics were leading towards the end and to say "oh, you should have been happy to be here that we allowed you the honor to play against us" is just nonsense. Losing a seventh game when leading towards the end doesn't make it less irritating if you are a fan-atic.

 

[mikemiller1955]

Michael,

I certainly see your point, but as a Yankee fan, I understand George's position. The Boston Celtics are the New York Yankees of the NBA . . . for them the only successfull season is a championship season. The Yankees went into the bottom of the 9th of game 7 of the Series in 2001 with the lead but lost thanks to a bloop, an error on a double play ball and another bloop over the drawn in infield, and believe me, it was an enormous disappointment. I'm sure the Celtics, who had big leads in the second half of both games, felt the same way.

Additionally, the officiating in the NBA is probably the worst officiating in sports, which is why I gave up my season tickets 10 years ago and haven't watched a minute of the NBA basketball since. I was looking at the number of free throws the Lakers shot compared to the number of free throws the Celtics shot in the series, and it was pretty clear that the Refs were pulling their usual "if the big namer player (i.e. Koby or Gasal) misses a shot, call a foul" trick.

Louis...the comment I made...that you addressed in this post that was...

"I think the Boston fans are too critical and in this case just unrealistic"...

I stand by that...if they are not happy with Boston's overall performance in the playoffs this year...then I still say they are too critical and too demanding...

Boston has an educated sports community...

they are not...

"fair weather friends"..."what have you done for me lately"..."we only like you when you're winning"..."jumping on the band wagon"...

some of these Boston fans "bleed green"...

I'm sure a lot of Boston fans are dissappointed in the loss...but even George who is a knowledgeable Boston fan...admitted weeks ago..."win or lose...he was already happy with this season so far...any other wins are just gravy"...

so any Boston fan that can't support this team and what they did this season...isn't a true fan to me...

George will tell you right now...Boston had a great season...far more than he expected...

that's a "tough" audience...one that only loves you when you win...

you said..."you have not even watched a minute of a game in 10 years"...so I guess you didn't watch a minute of this game either...

but your opinion of the referee's (pulling their usual superstar favoritism) foul calls in Game 7...was from reading the box score...I'm sorry...but that sounds kind of shallow, biased and uninformed...the fact is... Boston has more Superstars than the Lakers...

if you didn't even watch the game...how could you even make a comment on the quality of the fouls...I'm not saying they were all correct...in my opinion they were not...but my opinion is actually based on watching the game...

you admitted you have not watched a game in 10 years but your box score interpertation was that their was a rigged game...a tainted victory for the Lakers...

Boston plays a very physical brand of defense...that's unrealistic that you can critique the fouls when you admit you didn't even watch the game...you want to place blame on the referees for Boston's loss...

I haven't heard Rivers, the league or any of the players try to blame bad officiating...bad fouls go both ways...

how could you possibly know if the game wasn't called "perfectly" if you didn't even watch it...

the Boston Celtics may have been the Yankees of basketball in the 1960's (the Red Auerbach Dynasty)...but since 1969 (41 years ago) they have only won 6 Championships...

the Lakers have won 11 Championships in the same time period...

Boston has a proud tradition of winning...but there's a "new sheriff" in town that more resembles the Yankees dominance in baseball...

 

[mikemiller1955]

Michael,
I fully understand what you are saying, but Louis pretty much sums it up for me.

This is not Oklahoma City, Portland or San Antonio, it's Boston.

Not even going to start with the refs, for 40 minutes they kept their whistles in their pockets and let the teams play, then in the last 8 minutes, foul after foul after foul. Not to mention Gasol walked on one of his putbacks and on one of the 4,456,879 times in the series he was flopping around on the floor, his bulbous head and upper body were out of bounds, the ball hit his 9 foot long leg, CLEARLY Celtic ball, no, they gave it to the Lakers. And he hacked Garnett on one of KG's faking him out of his underwear drives to the basket, no call, that nitwit Van Gundy called it a great block, replay clearly showed Garnett got hacked, Jackson even said so.

Further, Boston fans know this team was built for the short haul, ie, three aging veterans on the wrong side of 30 and they brought us a championship in 2008, they got this far and not to win it is a kick in the kitchen.

They were UP 3-2, only needing one win, not down 3-2 needing to get two, BIG difference. They were the best road team in the NBA this year and had already won once in La La land in game two.

Someone today said this group reminded them of the 1986-87 Celtics, one last shot at the brass ring and they did not get it and everyone knew Bird, McHale and Parish were on the wrong side of 30 and look what happened; 20 years until the next trip to the finals.

Ok, sure, the Lakers played defense the other night, but how many wide open looks did Allen have and as Matt said, clang, clang, clang, same for Pierce.

The thing that really frustrates Boston fans is all 5 starters never clicked in one game, the Lakers got that twice, won both games, we never did and lost the series as a result.

The feeling around town today is that was this groups last gasp, time to rebuild and it will be awhile before they get back to the finals.

Not to mention it was vs the Lakers, Phil Jackson, Kobe (loved all the facial expressions and the huffing and puffing he was doing towards the end, wow, what a gallant warrior he is, truly a legend, he gets the nod for best actress in a suporting role from me), that thug Artest, etc, etc, etc.

You and I both know the Lakers will be right back there next year, might as well start planning the parade now.

I can hardly @#$%ing wait.

Well George...you sure changed your tune from a week ago about being happy with advancing as far as they did...I'm not gonna argue fouls...all those scrathces on Gasol's neck...look under Rondo's fingernails and you will find the Spaniard's DNA...

 

[mikemiller1955]

With all due respect, Michael's position is what I would expect from a LA Laker fan (and I have no love for the Lakers): you guys should have been happy to be here, playing the might Lakers

That's just baloney dude. Celtics were leading towards the end and to say "oh, you should have been happy to be here that we allowed you the honor to play against us" is just nonsense. Losing a seventh game when leading towards the end doesn't make it less irritating if you are a fan-atic.

Brad...actually that was George, not me...

that said he was happy that the Celts performance and expected nothing more...

I was paraphrasing him...read back a few posts to confirm these quotes from George...

"It is right there for the Celtics to win, I am so proud of this group, perhaps my favorite Celtics team of all time, and that's saying something considering all of the great teams they've had".

"Win or lose, they've impressed the Hell out of me".

"And lastly, you are right in that this season is a gimme as nobody in Boston gave them a chance vs the Cadavors, winning that series was a shocker, getting to the finals a bonus".

"Sometimes, winning it all is not the true measure of a successful season".

"Lakers in six, maybe five; remember, they were SUPPOZED to be here, we weren't getting by King James according to the experts, so it's all good, a trip to the finals is always a nice thing, keeps the season going until just about the start of NFL camp, so I'm happy with that............."

 

[Warrior]

With all due respect, Michael's position is what I would expect from a LA Laker fan (and I have no love for the Lakers): you guys should have been happy to be here, playing the might Lakers

That's just baloney dude. Celtics were leading towards the end and to say "oh, you should have been happy to be here that we allowed you the honor to play against us" is just nonsense. Losing a seventh game when leading towards the end doesn't make it less irritating if you are a fan-atic.

This is my last word on this, I can literally feel my blood pressure going up; Brad is correct.

Great, yahoo, we got to the finals when we weren't supposed to and the Lakers were the favorites.

Game 7; Celtics were leading after the first quarter, the half, the third quarter and with about eight and a half minutes to go before the wheels fell off (and one of our group who were watching the game said "eight and a half minutes till a championship", will never forget those fatefull words) and they lost.

When you get that close and lose, people are angry around here and they should be.

If the Lakers were up at the end of the first quarter, halftime, end of the third quarter and the Celtics in the end lost by 4, we'd all be saying great effort, way to go, close but no cigar.

Not sure why you don't understand that Michael; you tell me as a Lakers fan you weren't sitting there ready to blow a head gasket at the way the Lakers played until the refs took the whistles out of their pockets and started calling the fouls.

Ok, I'm done, it's 85 degrees here, the pool and my girlfriend are calling, then off to a BBQ tonight, enough basketball talk for me.

The Lakers are the champs, the greatest team in the past 41 years in the NBA, shoe ins for another championship next year too, might as well crown them now, no reason to even bother playing out the season, we all know how it's going to end.................

 

[tdubel]

DIsclaimer, I am a Lakers fan and a happy one.

That said, the difference in fouls was the fault of a "weary and tired", refusing to play defense and not rebounding. I take those words from the Coach Doc Rivers in an interview. The Celts just plain wore out, end of story, the refs did a decent job, there were no phantom fouls in there.

Also, the Lakers on paper and during the regular season were stellar, they had enough misfires and miscues in this series that they almost blew it to a team that was playing great basketball, cannot take that away from the Celtics one bit.

We all have emotions in this series, I will admit it that the Lakers had me so irked, I turned the game off after the 1st qtr for about an hour. Any time your team loses, it stinks.

All in all, it was what the NBA is all about, Lakers vs Celtics, 7 games, exciting to the end. This was all about the guys on the court, the playoff overachievers ran out of gas and the Lakers were fortunate enough to play well enough to win.

I hope this post is coming through sincere, as it is very much meant to be, I have and always will respect the Celts, hate to lose to them, love to beat them, but playing against them for all the marbles is what I grew up on, it is just awesome for both teams.

TD