Courtney Lee choked. It's as simple as that.
Game 2 was one in which the Lakers gave the magic every conceivable opportunity to win: open three point shots in abundance, stagnant 4th Q offense culminating with Kobe getting blocked by Hedo-ruin-my-HD-TV-Turkey-glue while being triple teamed leaving three teammates scratching their head wide open. And the Magic kept looking happy to be in the finals.
There's really nothing else to say here, except this: the Magic choked, the Lakers figured out how to pull it out in overtime, because say what you want about them, they do have championship-level players. This isn't a dig at Orlando, and the series certainly isn't over, but they look more like early career Kobe - air balls against Utah in an elimination conf finals game, crucial TWO missed free-throws in the conference finals game 1 against San Antonio - and the lakers look like seasoned veterans. Yes seasoned veterans get calls at the ends of games, yes they get lucky sometimes. But they don't choke.
I still pick the Lakers in 5.
what can I say? both teams played hard...goodnight and godbless
ReplyDeleteafter simmons whines for another 10,000 words about nba officiating and the lakers, i am thinking, is it possible that good/smart teams/players pick up what the refs are calling each game and adapt accordingly? yes there are some bailout calls for stars like kobe, ok go cry about it. but somehow we are supposed to just blame the refs when only one team successfully takes advantage of refs ALWAYS calling a loose game in the last few minutes by stepping up their physicality? seems too coincidental to me.
ReplyDeletealso turkish glue is ICE COLD and so is rasherd. d-ho on the other hand is ice cubes. keep losing the series for your team d-ho, you're doing a great job, no really, we do enjoy it, please continue, seriously.
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ReplyDeletealso more nba players need to borrow heDO-ken's weird inappropriate smiling during big moments, it is super entertaining. but, it is hard to imagine who else could pull it off so effectively. maybe LO, he has that same weird energy and simultaneous ability to crush the other team's spirit (like turkopoo if he played on a championship caliber team).
ReplyDeleteI second the point about stars knowing how to take advantage of refs. I also think it's a unique advantage Phil's players have. In Kobe "Doin' Work," Jackson spoke to the players about what he wanted to emphasize w/ the officials, and I imagine he tells them what he perceives is happening at the end of games.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Bill Simmons is a whiny hater. I don't even WANT him to like the Lakers. Keep on hating, Bill, keep on. And keep being the annoying Boston fan everyone knows you are.
And I'm tired of lay people defending Lee's miss. "You try doing that," says Bill Simmons. OK, Bill, I will. And even if I miss, that doesn't tell us anything. Courtney Lee is a PROFESSIONAL basketball player. Professionals make tough shots. Not just wide open jumpers (which Courtney Lee also seems to have missed in this series), but also tricky lay-ups. That you, Bill Simmons, think the shot was difficult is very interesting. I think for any of us, making a wide open NBA 3 pointer is probably difficult. I bet you couldn't do better than 20-25%. Jackass.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for Courtney Lee. I mean he is only a rookie and he has a lot of face mask for someone at this stage of his career. I mean compare him to Rip Hamilton who didn't have nearly as much face mask at this point. Who know what kind of full body condom he will be wearing when he is in his prime?
ReplyDeleteWhat a bunch of fanboys.
ReplyDelete