General Chat / OFFICIAL 2003-04 NBA Season Thread

Wow great Kobe is back injured. I'm starting to think the teams plans is to injure the Lakers so they can't get passed Round 1 of the playoffs!

Hard loss to the Lakers, great win over Minnesota.  Ill make a bold prediction....

Either the Rockets or the Grizzlies will upset one of the Big 5 in the west in Round 1.

Make it the T-Wolves. That'd be the ultimate irony.

Geez, it took 47 minutes 40 seconds, but we finally put the Sonics away. Grr... we better be prepared to take the 4 game road trip w/o Kobe. Of course, first things first... we gotta take care of business against the Nets.

Make it the T-Wolves.  That'd be the ultimate irony.

Heh, I know you want it to be the Wolves, but lets face it. Your Lakers will see a First Round exit at the hands of Houston or Memphis (Well, Im assuming they get to the top 3 standing in the west).

how bout them Heat, without Wade & EJ had an off game we kicked Sac towns ass, lead by Odem, with a 30 point triple double, and skip to my lou with 20+ and webbers rusty play helped to

all we need now is wade to comeback and chill out, he trys so hard he hurts himself

Time to be serious for once.

I practically never complain about the refs, but WTF? The refs seriously cost the Lakers the game, or at least really deteriorated their chances. Shaq gets two T's because Kirilenko happens to stick his head under Shaq's elbows??? I'm not exagerrating. He got called for "taunting" (after he elbowed AK going up for a shot after being fouled) and then for "elbowing" (after he dunked it and his elbow landed on AK, who was right under the basket. WTF was he supposed to do???

Then, to really complicate matters, Payton an Bell both get T's for friendly trash talking. Even they both looked shocked. If some loon thought the NBA was fixed, this would have been a perfect case for it.

Add to that the fact that Utah had its head stuck up its ass and didn't even bother to introduce Malone so the crowd could give him a standing O. This coupled with the earlier season spoof ripping Kobe and Karl and this proves that Utah has absolutely no class at all.

Suddenly I remember why I've hated the Jazz al these years.

Tonight was absolutely dispicable, and I'm not even joking around. I expect a LOT better from the referees and from the Utah team. What was demonstrated tonight was the pure epitome of exasperating selfishness. You can accuse me of being partial and being just a maniac fan, and I'll tell you to fuck yourself in the dark hole you're in. Tonight was pure bullshit in every sense of the word. The refs and the Jazz management should be ashamed of themselves.

A] I don't know what the deal was with Malone not being introduced but I don't think it was entirely the fault of the Jazz. They said during the game that Malone wasn't on the sidelines during the announcements. Whose fault was that?

B]The Refs are not affiliated with the Jazz in any way. Not liking their calls is no reason to critisize the Jazz.

C]The two Technical fouls on Shaq were not totally without merit. Shaq didn't just bump Kirilenko, he creamed him. Twice. Sure it was unintentional, but contact does not have to be intentional to be a foul. Shaq gets a lot of advantages because his size allows him to overwhelm defenders. If he gets some disadvantages too because he can't control his huge flailing limbs, well thems the breaks. Fouling out of the game on an unintentional foul like that seems horrible because it obviously affects the outcome of the game, but a foul is a foul whether the player already has 5 or not. Offensive fouls can seem unfair sometimes but they are there to prevent physically dominant players from abusing everyone else.

The friendly trash talking thing was a misunderstanding but given the intensity of the game and the number of fouls going back and forth, it was a forgiveable one. I know how frustrating it is when it looks like the refs are ruining the game for you, but the Lakers weren't dominating the game up to that point or anything. A couple of questionable fouls at the end don't excuse the Lakers from playing the other 45 minutes. The Lakers weren't efficient on offense the whole game and the Jazz were forcing turnovers and scrambling for loose balls all over the floor. The Lakers are a better team but they got out hustled out of the game. It happens. This is why the Jazz are a 500 team.

It's alright that you're pissed though. I would be too if I were you. But ultimately it comes down to this - the Lakers didn't do anything to deserve the win even if they were hadicapped by fouls. If anything, you should be frustrated that your Lakers couldn't take control of the game when they had the chance.

I like how Shaq gets portrayed as a villain.

http://www.nba.com/g...LUTA/recap.html


That's the thing, Ed. Shaq didn't foul out. He was EJECTED FOR HIS SECOND TECHNICAL. I could have understood if they'd called it a regular foul, but they didn't. It was a TECHNICAL. That is only warranted when the action is intentional, which in this case definitely was not.

Shaq is bigger, but he's also roughed up a lot more w/o getting called for fouls. Furthermore, countless times I've seen Shaq go for a block, bump the other guy who falls to the ground, and get a flagrant. HE WENT FOR THE BALL AND HE GETS A FLAGRANT. Think I'm just biased? Almost always, the next day the league reviews the play and takes away the flagrant point from Shaq. "Oops we messed up, but we still cost you the game." Meanwhile, an opposing team will intentionally foul Shaq, going obviously NOT for the ball, and receive just a regular foul.

You gotta be consistent. That's all I ask.


And shush about the rest. The refs were definitely influenced by the home court more than usual though. At least in my 15 year experience of watching basketball.

Yeah, there are a lot of problems with the way fouls are called in the NBA. This kind of thing happens all the time - guys not getting called for fouls when they should and getting called when they shouldn't. It annoys me when guys just drive into the lane in traffic and have no chance of making a shot but they expect to get fouled and they do. It's like drawing a foul has become a particular play. I'm no basketball expert or anything, but I think guys should have to score when they drive instead of relying on the refs to bail them out. It's not a conspiracy or anything, it's just the way the game is called now and it's like that for everyone.

And yeah, that article definately misrepresented what happened. Couldn't control his anger? He got called for two accidental fouls. Maybe he mauled one of the refs after that last foul and they didn't show it on TV or something.

Haven't you seen the Laker commercials on KCAL channel 9? The League of Extraordinary Ballers is conspiring against... LAKERMEN!!!!!

Oh cry me a river Cork. The refs gave you infidels a championship, dont complain about them making the RIGHT calls.

Hey Fatha', who's your favorite team today? Hmmm, let's look at the standings. Oh, there we go, must be the Spurs, huh?

^ LMAO! Bee-yoo-ti-ful!

Fatha just got burned. I have no need for a retort.

You punk Laker fans are only excused because you're from Southern California. You could at least extend Fatha' the same courtesy.

Ohh G, dont be bitter that the Spurs annhilated your Lakers last year, and will likely do the same again this year. That is, if the Kings dont get to them first.

Right... the Spurs don't stand a chance against the Lakers this year. All we have to do is stop Parker (actually, I'm serious about that).

Right... the Spurs don't stand a chance against the Lakers this year. All we have to do is stop Parker (actually, I'm serious about that).

Oh please Cork, if you actually believe that Tony Parker will be the person the Lakers need to stop then your insane. Ask Kobe if he can stick with Manu Ginobli...or Karl Malone if he can stop Duncan... The only advantage you all have this year is a good PG that can play D (Fisher was a PG's dream matchup).

Parker runs the team. Stop him and the Spurs become individuals going their own shots. Ginobli has to be stopped too, but you could honestly allow Duncan a good 30 and still win if you stop Parker and disrupt their offense. He's the spark. He makes the team flow, and unless the Spurs just happen to be hot that one night, they're going to be hard pressed to win.

Look at their win against Dallas. They demolished them without Duncan, but Parker had a huge game. That's just one example, of course, but he's the X-Factor, which is not always the same thing as the best player.

Remember, if you can let Shaq and Kobe score 70 but force the others to just give up crap, you can beat the Lakers. Every team has a weakness, and the Spurs are no different.

Parker runs the team. Stop him and the Spurs become individuals going their own shots. Ginobli has to be stopped too, but you could honestly allow Duncan a good 30 and still win if you stop Parker and disrupt their offense. He's the spark. He makes the team flow, and unless the Spurs just happen to be hot that one night, they're going to be hard pressed to win.

Point well taken, but stopping (well, containing is the right word) Duncan and Ginobli are for more pressing matters than not allowing Tony Parker to have a big game. Since Parker is a PG, he doesn't necessarily need to score a lot to run the Spurs offense. His role is more of an assist/control guy, and imo its hard to stop a PG from getting assists and such.

Look at their win against Dallas. They demolished them without Duncan, but Parker had a huge game. That's just one example, of course, but he's the X-Factor, which is not always the same thing as the best player.

Even though I love Dallas, it isnt hard to demolish them if they are: A) shooting poorly, and B: playing little defense (which is normal).

Remember, if you can let Shaq and Kobe score 70 but force the others to just give up crap, you can beat the Lakers. Every team has a weakness, and the Spurs are no different.

Firstly, Shaq and Kobe rarely score 70 points together, especially THIS year. Unfortunately for your big guy Shaquille, hes far less dominant than he use to be (See Yao Ming whippin his ass all three games Houston has played them), so you Laker fans may have to rely on a Kobe (Who has a shoulder problem, but is still the best SG in the West) or a Malone (Who is old and know has knee problems) or a Payton (Who wants to leave). Thats the recipe for championship basketball right there.

Point well taken, but stopping (well, containing is the right word) Duncan and Ginobli are for more pressing matters than not allowing Tony Parker to have a big game. Since Parker is a PG, he doesn't necessarily need to score a lot to run the Spurs offense. His role is more of an assist/control guy, and imo its hard to stop a PG from getting assists and such.

I don't mean just prevent Parker from scoring. I mean you need to really disrupt his flow of the game and harrass him, even when he doesn't have the ball.

Anyway, the least we can agree on is that the playoffs are going to be awesome this year.