The Lakers 4-Peat Thread!! (1 Viewer)

[Dan Keefe]

OK here we go...it worked last year and was kinda a cool thread.

This years Lakers are going for the 4-Peat. They sleepwalked through the season...Can they do it...DUH! of course they can, They are the Lakers...

Let the flames begin


dan

 

[Bry_DD]

I hope not.. Let is please be someone else...

 

[Chris Farmer]

Not a chance. The Spurs and Kings are too hungry, and the Lakers are vulnerable. Getting swept in the regular season goes a long way towards erasing the mental edge they held over the Spurs the last two seasons. Of course, that assumes the Spurs get past Phoenix (talk about mental edges).

 

[Howard Williams]

Big time Laker fan here. I hope they win it all again and I will be rooting hard for them, but I don't think they will.

I felt the same way last year though, so.....

 

[Michael Ballack]

I hope the Lakers lose so bad. I'm so sick of the arrogant Phil Jackson along with his wanna be Michael Jordan and Big Giant Freak of Nature. Go Kings!!!

 

[Hunter P]

And we wonder why Laker fans have a reputation of being arrogant and narrow minded...:rolleyes

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Wasn't this thread locked yesterday?

Lakers probably will 4-peat since the NBA lets Shaq get away with murder.

 

[teapot2001]

I thought this thread was locked, too.

~T

 

[BrandonM]

Getting swept in the regular season goes a long way towards erasing the mental edge they held over the Spurs the last two seasons.

For one, the Lakers forget the regular season the moment the playoffs start. I believe the Spurs beat the Lakers 3-1 in the 2000-2001 season during the regular season and it didn't seem to affect the Lakers then. Also, two of the games were without Shaq and they were still close. And finally, I think the Lakers 8-1 record in the playoffs vs. the Spurs in the previous two years sticks in their mind more than any Spurs success in the Lakers minds.

 

[Chris Farmer]

Last season the Lakers took the season series 3-1 over the Spurs, and the Spurs still almost beat them, except for those 4th quarter collapses they have down to an art-form. The season before, they split the season series, but the Spurs came in overconfident, believing the only reason they hadn't won it all the year before (and quite possibly accurately) was because of Duncan's minicsus tear. The Lakers then showed the Spurs why overconfidence is a bad thing.

This season though, the Spurs have an athleticism that they've never had before, and as long as he stays out of foul trouble Bruce Bowen can guard Kobe as well as anyone in the league. Kobe may get his 40 points, but it's gonna take 40 shots to get them.

And I won't even go into the Kings, who are out for blood after last season's Game 6 fiasco.

 

[Jeremiah]

Bruce Bowen can guard Kobe as well as anyone in the league. Kobe may get his 40 points, but it's gonna take 40 shots to get them.

I doubt that. Kobe will take over the 4th quarter again just like he did last year against the Spurs. I hope the Lakers lose though.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Wasn't this thread locked yesterday?

Apparently someone decided that a thread focusing on the Lakers and their prospects of a "4-peat" didn't really duplicate the existing general thread on the NBA play-offs. Either that or they figured it would be nice to have a separate "4-peat" thread to siphon off all the arrogant L.A. fans and leave the rest of the folks in the earlier thread to discuss the play-offs in peace.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Brett Hancock]

Lakers probably will 4-peat since the NBA lets Shaq get away with murder.

Patrick Larkin for president!!

 

[KeithH]

Go Lakers! Of course the Lakers will win again! It's a given!

 

[Carlo_M]

The arrogance of Laker fans is matched only by the vitriol of Laker haters...

Having hated the Bulls during their run, I can totally commiserate with those who hate the purple and gold, especially if you're from Sac-town.

----

Now down to analysis. Yes the Lakers sleptwalked through the season. Yes the other teams profess to be hungrier. But in watching so much basketball, I've noticed there is something that I call "the look" that champions have. It is a look that tells your opponent "I am better than you" and that player actually believes it. Kobe and Shaq have that look. Mike Bibby has that look. Chris Webber, however, does not. Especially when he has to guard Shaq because Vlade and Pollard gets into foul trouble. When he had to do that in the past he hung his head down and seemingly disappeared off the court because he was so demoralized by the task at hand. Webber hasn't shown me "the look" yet. Duncan is such a nice guy I wonder if he has "the look" - the absence of The Admiral hurts that team. Parker, I thought might have it, but man Stephon is so in that kid's head it might affect him later even if the Spurs win that series.

The Mavs collectively have no idea what "the look" is.

Are the Lakers beatable? Of course. On paper, one-through-five, there are probably three or four "better" teams in the West than them. But there is something about having "championship mentality" (which is tied in with "the look" that I described) that I can't easily dismiss. The Lakers still believe they can beat anyone in a 7 game series, and until someone does it to them, I give them the mental edge in any series. Talk all you want about other teams being hungry, but when "hunger" meets with "the look" I find that those with the look, the championship mentality and experience, usually win out.

One game over the Wolves does not a four-peat make. And I actually hope the Wolves start showing up because if they don't that would actually hurt the Lakers in the next round. If the Wolves roll over, the Lakers may be unprepared for the intensity that the next round will bring (I think that happened to Kansas this year when they rolled over Marquette so easily).

 

[Jeremiah]

The Mavs collectively have no idea what "the look" is.

LOL.

I agree with pretty much everything you said, especially about Kobe, Shaq, Bibby, and Webber.

 

[Sebastian]

I disagree with Shaq having the "look", the only thing he has is "size"
Over rated and a horrible rapper.
Kobe on the other hand carries that team and willed them into the playoffs this season.
the lakers showed their true colors tonight (I hope). Probably the biggest lopsided play off loss for that team in past few years. The "look" they once had is turning into "been there done that, do I really need a fourth ring?".
Granted if Kobe stays healthy they have the talent to do it again, unfortunately.
I will be happy when they get knocked out of the play offs, until then you have to respect their presence.

 

[Chris Farmer]

Parker's gonna be the player to watch in round 2. Marbury is so much stronger that Parker is completely overwhelmed, but he's young enough that he can hopefulyl bounce back against LA. Round 2 should be very interesting this year. Hopefully the Spurs will put up a better series then they did last year. This year the Spurs have not only "the look" of a team that won their last 4 games against their biggest rivals, but the desire of a team wanting to send off the heart of their franchise with another ring. Can't wait to see how the two combine, especially against LA, vengeance is a strong motivator.

 

[Dick Smyrak]

I thought that after watching game one no one could possibly stop this team. After game two I'm not so sure. being from Minnesota I am extremely snake bit when playoffs are concerned, but hunger dictates a teams ability to rise above.. Go Timberdoodles!!

 

[Dick Smyrak]

They don't call them the Minneapolis Laker's anymore there the Minnesota Timberwolves now!!