Comments on Smacchat NBA Basketball Blog: Celtics stand the Lakers up for second date as Mag...

Nuggets run alot.. Ariza will have to be the X-fac...

2009-05-18T18:48:44.861-07:00

Nuggets run alot.. Ariza will have to be the X-factor for the Lakers i believe to win the series.. Kobe will check Billups as we all seen D-Fish cant guard nobody these days.. Ariza be on Melo and he'll need to contribute on the offensive side as well.. Nene will be the X-factor along with J.R Smith.. if Nene can have his way dl, itll be a long series.. and Smith will need to stay hot for them to win.. everyone else will get theres..book that

Flaker fans are insignificant little pests that wi...

2009-05-18T18:48:09.027-07:00

Flaker fans are insignificant little pests that will be put in their place once the Denver Nuggets squash your Flaker team to a pulp in 6 games. Then, you all will just sit there and cry that Kobe had a bad series, or Pau and Bynum just couldn't produce in the paint. Most of the Flaker fans know nothing about basketball and only hop on the bandwagon when they make the playoffs....Just figures. The education in Southern Cal is terrible...some of the worst schools in the country. Get ready Flaker fans! You're all in for a VERY rude awakening!

Houston was a much better match up against the Lak...

2009-05-18T18:47:23.445-07:00

Houston was a much better match up against the Lakes because they actually PLAY D. If i remember correctly, Houston beat Denver in the regular season as well. Denver plays passable D at best, Horrendous at worse. The Lakers dont remind anyone of Cleveland or the SPurs but the CAN TURN IT ON and play some of the best Defense in the League. When the Lakers are hungry and energetic, they get in the passing lanes and force teams into bad shots. Also PAU ABSOLUTELY OWNS KENYON MARTIN. With Bynum and Gasol clogging up the middle, Denver will have to rely on jump shots and quick transition. Playing an uptempo offensive style suits LA just fine as they will easily outscore Denver in an offensive contest

I love how Laker fans keep bringing up history to ...

2009-05-18T18:46:46.254-07:00

I love how Laker fans keep bringing up history to support how they will supposedly dominate the Nuggets.

This Nuggets team is completely different than the one that got swept last year.
This Nuggets team is different than the one that even lost at home to LA in the regular season (We still had AI)
This Nuggets team is also different than any Nugget team that has lost at staples center (even recently).
This Nuggets team is well rested- facing a Laker team that just got out of a slugfest while we've had for all intents and purposes a first round bye.

Boston fans, Laker fan here. Not what you think: I...

2009-05-18T18:44:07.754-07:00

Boston fans, Laker fan here. Not what you think: I sympathize with you! I feel if Kevin Garnett was healthy, it would have been a different story. But one thing you have to remember: Fans who experience something for the first time don't want to hear "what ifs" - Case in point: In 1989, my Lakers had the MVP of the league Magic Johnson and 21 PPG Byron Scott go down in the Finals from hamstring pulls, Scott playing ZERO minutes and Magic only a game and a half - The Pistons swept us and didn't want to hear any excuses, even the MVP and a 21 ppg scorer going down - Did I mention the Lakers were 11-0 leading to the Finals? Pistons fans said they STILL would've swept us! So yes, I know how you all feel right now.

Well if the Lakers lose we'll be guaranteed a firs...

2009-05-18T18:43:08.742-07:00

Well if the Lakers lose we'll be guaranteed a first-time winner in either Orlando,Cleveland or Denver. It would be good to see a different team win this year.

Personally I am tired of the NBA Title Carousel:
Since 1984
Detroit 3 titles, 2 losses
Boston 3 titles, 2 losses
Lakers 6 titles, 5 losses
Spurs 4 titles
Chicago 6 titles
Houston 2 titles, 1 loss

Over the past 25 years only Miami has been able to break through and win a title. The 6 teams I listed have dominated the Finals.

As an example out of 50 possible teams playing in the Finals, the 6 teams I listed had 34 Finals appearances

Celts definitely have some more gas in the tank. T...

2009-05-18T18:38:28.501-07:00

Celts definitely have some more gas in the tank. The Spurs always said the reason they couldn't win back to back is b/c of the injuries. They always regrouped the next year. If Garnett can come back, C's should be in good shape. I'd try to keep Big Baby. He's developed into a solid 6th man. I don't see how anyone could want to keep Marbury after watching him. He looks like a shell of his old self. He was playing "hot potato" with the ball out there. I'd hand Mikki Moore his walking papers as well--worthless unless you want him to "hack-a-Howard."

The window is closing, but we have one more run in...

2009-05-18T18:37:52.252-07:00

The window is closing, but we have one more run in us. Rivers needs to limit minutes for the big three during the regular season, if and when he can pull them out HE MUST!! We need a big man who can play defense as well as a shooter of the bench.

I believe that Ray Allen may be in the last year o...

2009-05-18T18:37:03.670-07:00

I believe that Ray Allen may be in the last year of his contract. If that is so, he may be of interest to some team that want to off-load a big contract after one year. He has been very inconsistent the last two years, especially in the play-offs. The Celts need a wing player who can shoot consistently, a big man or two and a #2 PG. Walker, Giddensand Pruitt have to show more or they will be gone. Baby and/or Powe will be resigned. Scalabrine will be in the last year of his contract, thank goodness. Maybe someone will take him off our hands. Mikki Moore should be long gone along with Stephon Marbury. I wouldn't be surprised to see at least 5 new players on the team next year, and w/o a 1st round draft choice, these new players will have to come in deals.

I have a lot of faith in Danny-Boy's ability to re...

2009-05-18T18:36:38.333-07:00

I have a lot of faith in Danny-Boy's ability to rebuild this bench. I'd love to see Davis return but I fear that he just made himself a lot of money. That said, if Ainge was able to add a guy like R.Wallace, as Brady mentioned, then I think we would be ok up front. Personally, I'd welcome Starbury back as he is as good of an option at back-up PG as Danny can expect. And with a off-season and the return of KG I believe Starbury would be fine.

Pierce played more games than any other player in ...

2009-05-18T18:36:07.780-07:00

Pierce played more games than any other player in the history of the NBA over the past two seasons. He could use the rest. Allen's getting older, but how many big shots did he make in the playoffs? Since you're posing all these questions, let me ask you one: Is there a point guard in the NBA outside of Chris Paul that has more upside than Rajon Rondo? The Celtics still have pieces. Boy do they have pieces. Take LeBron off the Cavs, or Kobe off the Lakers, and we're having this talk about those teams, too. Do the Cavs or Lakers even have a player outside of LeBron that you could compare to a Rajon Rondo? Does Kobe have an NBA Finals MVP like Paul Pierce to be his wingman like KG does? Bring KG back, all is fixed, the whiners stop whining, the haters stop hating.

ya know what? if the Lakers played Dallas and No T...

2009-05-18T11:48:31.869-07:00

ya know what? if the Lakers played Dallas and No Town they would have rolled in at 8-0, with double digit victories, and everyone would be screaming that they couldn't be beat! this is a simple story of matchups where Denver got two teams that play no D and give up a boatload of points. The Lakers would have scored over 110 per game against both those teams. Denver will be exposed in the WCF. Lakers 4-1

Man I just dont see Gasol or Bynum being a factor ...

2009-05-18T11:46:00.188-07:00

Man I just dont see Gasol or Bynum being a factor because I think if Gasol gets hot on Nene then Kenyon Martin will guard Gasol and then throw Gasol off his game and Bynum is sorry every time his 7 foot #### gets a block or a dunk everybody acts like he just did something good if you ask me he is under achieving

The Lakers played a horrible road team in Utah and...

2009-05-18T11:45:33.065-07:00

The Lakers played a horrible road team in Utah and a delepted rockets team.. I think Dallas/NO is still overall better

Lets see if bynum can step up next round.The excus...

2009-05-18T11:44:53.936-07:00

Lets see if bynum can step up next round.The excuse was he is injured well if he is then do not play him. Nene is not going to let bynum over power him

its funny all of the sudden ne ne is shaq or somet...

2009-05-18T11:44:42.106-07:00

its funny all of the sudden ne ne is shaq or something in the playoffs.this guy at best has been average his whole career and he has a few good games against dallas and all of the sudden hes a big factor please. hes never been in big game situations and it will show next round.

I think the Cleveland series would be tough becaus...

2009-05-18T11:43:43.607-07:00

I think the Cleveland series would be tough because they are playing better basketball every day. They played bad teams in the playoffs but have won every game by 10 or more. never any letdown, only letting one big lead ever get close. If LA plays to their potential they are fine but too often they race to big leads and then stop playing. They lose too many games they should win.

When you get in the playoffs you either step in to...

2009-05-18T11:42:58.767-07:00

When you get in the playoffs you either step in to the spot light or step away and this post season Denver is playing the best I have ever seen and I have been watching them sense Melo was drafted and I will tell you know that Gasol and the rest of the Lakers better take Kobes advice and get tougher

Let's just get this straight once and for all; all...

2009-05-18T11:42:14.738-07:00

Let's just get this straight once and for all; all this Kobe can't win without Shaq MESS is just crazy. First, you have see that the only reason Shaq did with another title was cuz Dewayne Wade, A.Mourning - coming off the bench, A. Walker, who has a jumper for crunch time, and Posey, who was dangerous on the boards and defensively, and then role players that contributed to keeping a lead or working the offense that Riley had in place. So, it wasn't that Shaq did so much to win it all just had key ppl around him to make it work.
Same with Kobe, he hasn't or just yet had ppl around him - selfish or not - that can prepell him to that next level for a title. Most of the arsenal he has had are offensive minded and that didnt' cut it as we saw with Boston last year. Now, that he had tried to apply defensive skills with the players of old since those years things are hoping to get better or even challenge to getting that next ring. So, it is very very overrated about Shaq winning another title without somebody on his team and kobe not getting another ring without having the right personel around him also.

Zo3313 (5/18/2009 at 11:39 AM) Report Violation U ...

2009-05-18T11:41:17.719-07:00

Zo3313 (5/18/2009 at 11:39 AM) Report Violation U win with what u have. Every center needs a closer. Shaq was the setup Kobe was his closer. Now Kobe is the setup guy and he needs a closer. Or he has to setup one of his teamates then he is the closer. Jordan and Isiah are the only guards who were the setup guys and closers. So if Kobe can do that then he will be on that level of Jordan. Yes Jordan and Isiah did have help but they carried those teams through thick and thin. the Pippen's the Rodman's the Microwave's the Lambeer's were great pieces of those puzzles but Jordan and Isiah were even Larger pieces and thats why they are considered GREAT

bfb, I kinda have a problem with that statement, c...

2009-05-18T11:40:41.828-07:00

bfb, I kinda have a problem with that statement, cuz I keep hearing that a lot. I mean im a lakers fan, but i think it sounds silly saying the cavs havent played anyone yet and the east is weak when the lakers at the same time havent played anyone either. I mean are gonna spin it to make it sounds like a jazz team that has been bad all year is a tough challenge or that a very and i mean very undermanned Rox team is actually a very tough and underrated team? I think both cavs and lakers will make the finals and be on the same type of path.

The west when it comes to the playoffs no longer dominates the east. Yes the east has worse 6-8 teams but those seeds in the west dont make any difference in the playoffs. the east the past 4-5 years haave shown that their top teams can compete and actually beat the wests top teams.

I just think u can say that both cavs and lakers are the favorites to meet in the finals and evaluating them against both less talented teams, u can say the cavs have sustained the defensive energy they have had for years now whiile the lakers still have that big question mark about their inconsistent D and toughness. The cavs big question is still who will show up big offensively to help lebron in the big series.

Also Cleveland playing against weeker opponents in...

2009-05-18T11:39:11.127-07:00

Also Cleveland playing against weeker opponents in the weak east help beta make most of orlando, cuz here com the lakers

When and if the Lakers win the championship this y...

2009-05-18T11:38:14.368-07:00

When and if the Lakers win the championship this year, they should still look to move Lamar Odom in the off season. They need an Artest or Battier type of player to bring in some toughness. Odom is extremely talented and versatile and when he plays well it is a thing of beauty. But he loses focus and disappears, on a team that loses focus and disappears. The time to make changes are when you are on top, not when you are losing and desperate. Remember Tiger Woods changed his golf clubs and golf swing when he was #1.

even with double digit wins in their 1st two round...

2009-05-18T11:37:15.938-07:00

even with double digit wins in their 1st two rounds

this series will not be a sweep for the Cavs.

they will be battle tested.

two dominant teams in east Cavs Magic up and comin...

2009-05-18T11:36:51.624-07:00

two dominant teams in east Cavs Magic
up and coming in east with in next 3yrs Chicago Philly? maybe
West Jazz not a good team? maybe not as good as the lakers
Houston surprising! much heart though
Yeah East in finals has been good, although West has more rings
I hope orlando beats the cavs, and den plays good against L.A.
Lake show pulls ahead vs cavs in nba finals dun!