2003-2004 NBA Season (1 Viewer)

[Dan Hine]

Yeah...they didn't pull it off but damn, not bad for a team missing their point guard and MVP. That doesn't mean the Spurs would have won if they were at full strength but I think it does put to sleep the notion that the Lakers can just cruise through the playoffs to the championship.

 

[Jan H]

Agreed. I don't expect to see a more exciting game all year. The Spurs deserved to win that game. Manu is definitely a player to watch. If he can perform like that consistently, the Spurs will be right there with the Lakers. Right now, the Lakers' defense is mediocre, at best. There's no way they should have allowed that many points to an undermanned Spurs team that was having enough trouble scoring with Duncan. But give 'em credit, the Spurs played with great heart and showed why they're the champs.

 

[MickeS]

I don't think this game was a good measurement of the Lakers. They didn't have to win this game, they already have a good record, and they seemed to underestimate the Spurs at first. IMO, Lakers almost DID cruise through it... even though it took 2 OTs to win. It was mostly the Spurs who lost the game rather than Lakers winning, so I don't think that's any real indication of where the Lakers are.

Good game though, a nice change from seeing Cavs vs Nuggets the night before.

 

[Hunter P]

Very entertaining game of what I thought was going to be a blowout.

Manu is the man. I'm a convert. He was totally out of gas by the fourth. They should have put in my man Hedo at the end to help him out. I would have taken out that PG who kept making mental mistakes in crunch time and ran Hedo at point forward. That PG came up big in the first half but he was hurting the team at the end. Just one man's opinion.

The point production from the Lakers looked like the same from years past. 66% Shaq/Kobe and 33% rest of the team. (I'll give the extra 1% to the refs for all the do-overs they gave Shaq when he missed a free throw.) Did Karl even play last night? I can't remember.

Shaq looked very good and it's still early in the season. He was moving well and hit some good 10 footers.

 

[Carlo_M]

Hunter, so far in the very young season, last night's game was the anomaly wrt Kobe/Shaq = 60%. That first game the Lakers scored 109 w/ Shaq getting 16pts and Kobe DNP. the three other games (#2-4) six Lakers scored in double figures (as they did in Game 1). So last night's was the first time this season that the Lakers box score resembled last year's.

 

[Chris Farmer]

Wish I'd been able to watch that game, looks like it was one hell of a show. And Micke, it might not have been representative of LA due to lack of pressure, but it also wasn't representative of the Spurs either. The point still stands that the Spurs were able to play the Lakers' Dream Team to a near standstill WITHOUT their top two scorers, not to mention all the other intangibles both Duncan and Parker bring (Duncan with his all-around savvy, Parker with his flat out speed). I can't say the Lakers would have lost last night had Duncan and Parker been in, they probably would have taken the game more seriously and worked a lot harder as opposed to underestimating the Spurs, but I can guarantee that the Lakers' monstrous edges in rebounding and points in the paint would have been significantly reduced or eliminated.

Oh, and does anyone else doubt me anymore when I say that while Kobe has a substantial edge over Manu, it's not an overwhelming one? And unlike Bowen's 27 point explosion in the playoffs last year, I think Manu can maintain that level of play (even if the numers will drop when Duncan and parker return), he's been doing that kind of stuff for years in Europe.

 

[Steve_Tk]

Obviously if you live in Texas then the spurs rule all, and lakers fans say the lakers rule all. Bottom line is the Lakers won last night. Sure you can play the "what if" game all you want with saying "if" duncan and parker had been back then this would have happened. Well, they were not back. If the Lakers had a 25 year old Michael Jordan then they would have kicked ass, see how that what if game works?

It's stupid to argue about.

 

[Dan Hine]

They didn't have to win this game

I doubt the players look at it that way. You need to strive to win EVERY game. Personally, I wouldn't want someone that didn't worry about this game or that game on my team. Oh, and I don't call a game with two overtimes a cruise at all. Ya gotta win by at least 10 during regulation before I'd even consider calling it that...maybe it's just me.

 

[Jan H]

Yes, I do. He showed us all something last night, no question about it. But lets see him maintain that high level of play game in, game out. Only then can you start mentioning him with Kobe, Garnett, etc. But he's definitely got skills.

 

[MickeS]

But fun.

 

[Hunter P]

Carlo,
I play a little fantasy BBall so I know that they have had mostly balanced scoring. I fact, I had to pick up Payton for a while since he was doing too good. Karl still isn't doing much to impress this year although you know he'll have his days. Just don't count on him to hit important shots. He hasn't done it in Utah and last night he showed that he still can't do it.

BTW, the fantasy site that I use is SportingNews.com Fantasy Basketball. I used to play it all the time when it was called SmallWorld Basketball. The cool thing about this site (besides the fact that you can play for free) is that the players are treated like stocks. You are given $35mil to buy six players for your team (2 guards, 2 forwards, 1 center, 1 6th man). The "pay" version is slightly different on this than the "free" version. The stocks come into play based on daily trading. A player's value rises or falls based on how many people buy or sell them for their team. Buy using the buy low, sell high method you could build your team budget to several million dollars over the $35mil you start with.

It's a very fun way to play fantasy basketball. I recommend it to everyone. It's still early in the season so go ahead and join. They also have football, baseball and hockey.

 

[Carlo_M]

Totally agree about Malone. He's fine for his "double double" but he ain't the guy I want with the ball at the end of games. Same with Bryon "Jordan's Bitch" Russell.

At the end of the games the ball needs to be in GP's or Kobe's hands.

 

[Henry Carmona]

A local guy got lucky and pulled a 1 of 1 Lebron James rookie card here in town.

He put the card on Ebay

CLICK

What a great Dad, he says hes gonna take his son on a vacation with the money.

 

[Steve_Tk]

What is that card? It looks like someone made it on their computer but did a really bad job.

 

[Henry Carmona]

Oh its real.
Its a Fleer brand card, only one in the world.

But your right, it doesnt look too good.

Im quite surprised actually, Fleer's "Flair" brand are some amazing cards.

I also like SkyBox.

 

[Shane Martin]

The card is being sold by "Collector's Authority" which sounds like a card shop to me. I didn't see where he was taking his son on vacation with the money either. It sounds like a dealer. Still if he can get $5,000 for a Lebron card, more power to him.

 

[Henry Carmona]

There was a big story on the local news, i didnt get that info off ebay

Heres some INFO from their website.

 

[Henry Carmona]

Go Grizzlies

"Gary Payton had just six points and four assists in 27 minutes"

Well, Tony didnt do too great either, his return to the game netted him 9 points in 29 minutes.

But Manu is really stepping up, i love watching him play
18 points for Manu.

Oh yeah, welcome back Tim

PS-It was great seeing Davids jersey retired. Like Sean Elliot said, Davids success in life just cant be confined to what he did on the court. David has done so much for San Antonio, especially his dedication to the children here.



David Quick Facts

 

[Hunter P]

Ugh, the Kings are playing ugly. Luckily the other top teams are in the same boat.

What is up with McGrady? Is he pouting or is he hurt or what? That "I hate the zone" argument is a bunch of bull since they had the zone last year and he lead the league in scoring. I watched the game where he scored 4 pts and it looked like he was half-assing it. He barely drove to the hole and would often take some casual jumper as if he was still in pre-game warm-ups.

 

[Neil M]

That "I hate the zone" argument is a bunch of bull since they had the zone last year and he lead the league in scoring.

Most teams didn't use the zone much last year if at all. My analysis of McGrady though is that he wants to leave Orlando but he doesn't want to say it publicly. He knows the team is going nowhere. That might be why he plays half assed some days and excellent on others. That's just how I obseve it though.

In other news, the east has some solid teams in the Pacers, Pistons, and Hornets. We'll see how they hold up but they all look good. I'd expect the Pacers and Pistons to be the top two teams unless Ron Atrest becomes his good old self again. I really think that the Nets will bust this season. I know they're hurt right now but they don't match up well IMO with the new Pacers and new Pistons. New Jersey shot pretty well against the Pistons and still lost. The Pistons depth is amazing so far. We'll see how they last on their west coast trip starting tonight.