2008 NBA Playoffs Thread (1 Viewer)

[Brian Perry]

The NBA is really puzzling...24-point comebacks are pretty rare and we've seen two in three games here (okay, in Game 2 the Lakers came within 2 after being down 24 with 7 minutes to go).

A team with a huge lead will often be criticized for nursing that lead when they "should" be continuing to do what built the lead in the first place. Last night, it seems as though the Lakers didn't try to nurse the lead and they got burned when the shots stopped falling.

Game 5 prediction: Kobe will take things into his own hands, score 60, and the Lakers will lose.

 

[Steve_Tk]

Lakers certainly deserve to lose the series after last night. I can't understand how they just sit back after the half and assume it's a win. I'm thinking they are going to lose sunday in LA.

 

[Bob Graham]

Celtics fans insufferable? Ever tried talking to a Yankees Fan?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Yankess fans are uniformly cheerful, polite, brave and thrifty. When not rooting (decorously) for their team they are working in soup kitchens or helping little old ladies across the street. You must have us confused with Mets fans.

If you want truly obnoxious sports fans, I offer you the Red Sox nation - who were insufferable even when they were deservedly losing year, after year, after year...

Personally, I was delighted when the Red Sox finally won a World Series (so I wouldn't have to listen to the incessant whining for another year) and magnanimously welcomed all of my Red Sox fan friends to the winners club. I also pointed out that if they won a bunch more, we'd let them sit at the grown-ups table at meetings. Right before the last Super Bowl, I even offered to do some research for a co-worker who roots for the Patriots. He sent me an e-mail asking, "How many consecutive championships do you have to win before you're a dynasty?" I told him I'd check with the Yankees and get back to him.



Regards,

Joe

 

[Bob Graham]

My dear Joe,

Yankee fans decorous? For Exhibit A I offer this YouTube video of an average, upstanding fan of the World Champion Red Sox taking a stroll through the Yankee Stadium bleachers (warning: not safe for work)

YouTube - Red Sox fan ventures though Yankee Stadium bleachers

When you checked with the Yankees about how many consecutive wins make a dynasty did you conduct a seance? Of course, if you wanted to talk about what constitutes the Biggest Choke in the History of Sports, you could certainly contact Messrs A-Rod, Jeter, Rivera & Co.

In your honor, I will call the Oldies Station in St Louis and ask them to play "Living in the Past" by Jethro Tull.

Anyway, back to basketball. Go Celtics! (and draft Gary Forbes!)

Best regards,

Bob

 

[Jan H]

Debating who are the bigger jerks, Red Sox fans or Yankee fans, is akin to debating which dictator did the most damage, Hitler or Stalin. All of the above are egotistical, arrogant a-holes, so it really is 6 of 1, half-dozen of the other.

It'll be interesting to see if the Lakers have enough pride tonight to not let the Celtics win the title on their home court. Not counting on it, though.

 

[Jan H]

The Lakers survive Game 5, and will probably lose Game 6. It's only a matter of time before Red Sox fans who didn't have the balls to post in this thread come playoff time declare themselves Celtics fans and claim that they predicted a Celtics win all along. I have a lot of respect tonight for fans of the Pistons, Spurs, Rockets, and Lakers. We've all chimed in, we've responded as objectively as possible given our fandom, and we've all had our share of disappointments. We are true fans. We know the game. We are not bullshitters like the Celtics fans on this board. And why anyone from the greater New York Metro area is even posting in a basketball thread is beyond me. Shouldn't you be a little more concerned with the Tampa Bay Rays (!) ?

 

[Walter C]

The Lakers saving themselves the embarrassment of losing on their home floor. A part of me wanted me to see that happen, but another part is hoping the Lakers will rally and win the whole thing, because I can't stand the Celtics.

 

[Bob Graham]

Well, jan, since you know the game I'm sure you can tell us which team has won more Basketball World Championships than any other franchise (no BS!). It was not a lack of cahones, as you sagest, that kept me from posting, it's just that as a fan of the Boston teams, I've come to learn not to take anything for granted (a lesson some fans had to re-learn last February). C'mon, admit it. You yourself said up above that the Celtics were the better team this year. Just because I didn't get on and say it myself doesn't mean I don't have the stones.

As for the Red Sox fans being "egotistical, arrogant assholes", you do realize that I'm not the only member of Red Sox Nation on the HTF, right? I'm sure they will also take exception to your remark.

Anyway, Go Celtics! Win or lose, it's good to have them in the national spotlight!

 

[Steve_Tk]

Lakers lost.....huge. This ended my argument with a co-worker who said Kobe Bryant was just as good as Michael Jordan (not as far as skill, as far as impact player that was effective in winning).

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Congrats to the Celtics. I did not see any of the Finals games, but it sounds like they won rather handily last night.

 

[Kirk Tsai]

Random thoughts:

Game 4 is one of the most devastating Laker games ever. I don't know when I'll get over it.

Sportswriters, TV personalities, and other "journalists" are the ones who always make the comparison between Kobe and MJ, and now we have to see/hear a barrage of "he ain't no MJ" comments. Build them up, tear them down. Take some damn responsibility.

The Lakers were ahead of schedule to get to the Finals this year. They got embarrassed by the Celtics, but it's common for young contending teams to get beat down before they figure things out. It just so happens that this time it was on the biggest stage.

But, anything except for a Lakers championship next year will be a disappointment.

The Celtics played magnificently this year. I had a some doubts about them early in the playoffs, but they were the best team throughout the season, by far.

The Celtics tanked last season, got KG and Allen, and won it all. There is no such thing as karma.

Bring on Celtics-Lakers 09, and let's (Jan) hope we get to pull a 1985 on them.

 

[Andy Sheets]

With all due respect to the man, I doubt Jordan could have dragged the Lakers to a victory either. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't God. Just a really damn good basketball player

The Lakers might come back next year and win it all but right now they're still young, they're missing Bynum, and despite their talents Gasol and Odom aren't the most mentally strong players out there. And then there's the fact that the Celtics play outrageously good defense against dominant swingmen - it's hard for guys like Kobe to go off on them because the Celtics make sure they don't even get good shot attempts.

 

[Robert_Z]

Well I watched game 6 last night. zzzzzzzzzzz Someone tell me how that was any better than watching the Spurs in any of their previous Finals?

I still find it hard to believe that the Spurs lost to those Lakers. But at 4 games to 1, there's no debate. The Lakers were better, but it's hard to accept that Tim, Tony and Manu did not have the hunger, stamina, endurance, etc. to repeat.

Many co-workers were laughing it up, enjoying the Lakers' meltdown. Not me. The Celtics did what the Spurs failed to do. How is that supposed to make me feel better?

One final observation:

The Spurs had a monster comeback to take the life out of Phoenix.
The Lakers had a monster comeback to take the life out of the Spurs.
The Celtics had a monster comeback to take the life out of the Lakers.

So it goes ...

 

[Andy Sheets]

Does anyone know what the tv ratings have been for this series? I'm also curious to know if the "dream finals" turned out to be what the NBA was hoping for.

 

[Robert_Z]

To my knowledge (although I only watched game 6), there was little to no coverage or discussion about TV ratings. This goes back to one of my points. The media and bitter fans bring this up about San Antonio only because that's the only thing they have to cling to. Ratings are only an issue when the Spurs play, so the media can have something negative to say.

It made me feel better to read that Ginobili might miss the olympics because of his ankle. I feel better because it shows that he really wasn't himself down the stretch. The thought of him "running out of gas" on the way to a repeat was more than I could swallow. Thankfully, it was not that, but a bad ankle that stood between the Spurs and the elusive repeat.

 

[Andy Sheets]

I did a quick look around and from what I saw, while the ratings were up compared to the past couple of years, it wasn't the nuclear explosion of national interest the NBA and networks were clearly hoping for. Of course the spin is all positive - "Hallelujah! The ratings were the sixth best since the last Bulls championship. We're back, baby!!!" - but I tend to think that what made Lakers/Celtics so intriguing to 80s viewers was Magic vs. Larry and their supporting casts. Compared to them the current Celtics are a pretty bland bunch, and the Lakers are all no-names except for Kobe, who is one of the most firmly disliked athletes active right now.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I still believe the late start times for the Finals has to be hurting the TV ratings in the Eastern time zone. Since tip-off for each game was well after 9pm, I didn't even bother to turn any of the games on, knowing I would be shutting it off before halftime. I had no rooting interest for either team, so I wasn't going to lose sleep watching.

 

[Kirk Tsai]

The 08 Finals were 50% higher rated than last year's.
Finals' Game 6 earns best TV ratings since '00 - SI.com - 2008 NBA Playoffs

It's wikipedia, so it could be wrong, but the 07 Finals rating being the worst since recorded is correct IIRC.
National Basketball Association Nielsen ratings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia