04/24/24
June 14, 2009
Lakers Win NBA Championship: The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 99-86 Sunday, giving the franchise its 15th NBA championship, Coach Phil Jackson his 10th championship, and star Kobe Bryant his fourth.
posted by rcade to basketball at 10:44 PM - 26 comments
Don't wanna be the guy to kiss the side of the trophy where the booger is at but overall, my congrats to the Lakers!
Kobe can now rest easy since he's finally won a ring and the NBA Finals MVP without Shaq.
posted by BornIcon at 10:56 PM on June 14, 2009
and, I can rest easy now that the NBA and NHL are finally over! It may be just me, but those seasons seem to drag on forever. Both should be done by the end of April.
The booger incident was too funny.
posted by dviking at 11:35 PM on June 14, 2009
When Kobe wins one without Derek Fisher, then he'll be the man.
posted by beaverboard at 07:38 AM on June 15, 2009
The finals were a bit of a letdown after a generally great playoffs. If the Magic had not imploded at the end of regulation in game 4 this could have been a great series. Though, game 4 itself was probably the best game of the series with both teams playing some of their best ball but the ending just left me... unsatisfied. I feel cheated out of a good game and a good series by the Magic's ineptitude at the end of that game.
posted by tron7 at 10:18 AM on June 15, 2009
I feel cheated out of a good game and a good series by the Magic's ineptitude at the end of that game.
Do you get this feeling every single finals? While I would love to see two teams playing at their best for seven games every time...rarely does that actually happen. It's what makes clutch performers so special; they're not the norm.
posted by dfleming at 10:53 AM on June 15, 2009
It's a shame the Magic fell apart, but that's going to happen when you take a team's best player and shave 10 points a game off his average. Dwight Howard scored 30, 10, 24, 27, 24 and 40 points against Cleveland and only 12, 17, 21, 16 and 11 points in the finals. His average dropped from 25.8 points a game to 15.4 points. It seemed like every time he touched the ball there was one Laker keeping him away from the rim and another two trying to grab the ball on the dribble.
Howard was so frustrated that by the fourth quarter of Game 5, when he on the bench for a while it looked like he was happy to be there.
It didn't help that Stan Van Gundy stubbornly stuck with Jamir Nelson when he wasn't playing anywhere close to his pre-injury form. Rafer Alston should have started every one of those games and gotten most of the minutes.
All in all, though, as a Magic fan I can't complain. They overachieved this year and should be back in the hunt next season, though they probably will lose Hedo Turkoglu.
posted by rcade at 11:52 AM on June 15, 2009
When Kobe wins one without Derek Fisher, then he'll be the man
Come on, really? There will always be people that will say things like that. No matter what Kobe does people will always have a reason to doubt him. I would feel more comfortable saying Gosal played a bigger part in this than Fisher. I realize fisher hit that big 3 to go into overtime, but you could argue that Shaq and Kobe both wouldn't have 4 rings to each of them if not for Horry.
How about if the Suns make that trade with the Cavs and the Lakers and Cavs made it to the finals next year. Could you imagine the media frenzy on that on. Wow that would be a fun finals!!!!
posted by sgtcookzane at 01:05 PM on June 15, 2009
When Kobe wins one without Derek Fisher, then he'll be the man Come on, really?
No, not really. I think you forgot your hat of +5 sarcasm detection.
posted by jmd82 at 01:28 PM on June 15, 2009
As a Laker fan, I am saddened by this news. I was looking forward to revenge in the finals. Beating the Cavs will not be nearly as satisfying. I also have a lot of respect for KG and I hope this is not a career ending type of injury, especially considering that it was a non-contact injury. Hopefully, he will recover and be ready to go next season, so that we can get our revenge in 2010 along with our back-to-back t-shirts and hats.
posted by docshredder at 03:32 PM on April 16
I took a lot of crap for that post...but it was worth it. I guess I was wrong about the opponent, but I don't think anyone truthfully thought the Magic would be in the Finals. The thing is, I, along with a lot of people I talked to, were just waiting for the Cavs to lose it. They OVERACHEIVED more than any other team in the league this year and LeBron deserved the regular season MVP by leading that cast to the best record, but I am sure he would trade places with Kobe in a heartbeat. Anyone who participated in one of the ridiculous "Kobe Sucks" chants this postseason should be barred from ever attending another NBA game. All the other teams in the league need to come up with a better chant than "BEAT LA", that shit is so stale... Hopefully the Lakers will be back next year. If Bynum gets back to the way he was playing before his injury and can make it through the whole season, no one will have a chance to stop the back to back.
I get upset watching Phil just sit on his high chair and never call timeouts or make any huge adjustments, but I guess you can't argue with results. I think Van Gundy hurt his team with the whole Jameer Nelson debacle. The guy wasn't ready to play and he hurt Alston's confidence by relegating him to being a 1/2 a game player. The Magic are a scary team for anyone, but just like everyone said all year long and have said for years... "Live by the 3, die by the 3." That's exactly what happened. They need to let Turkgoglu go and pick up a real power forward that can actually bang in the paint and help out Howard. He is the only guy on the Magic that can grab a rebound. Turk is good but they just have way too many soft perimeter guys. It was a great season, at least for this Laker fan. Redemption is sweet.
posted by docshredder at 01:34 PM on June 15, 2009
The Fisher thing was just a joke. I respect Kobe. I like him more than I used to, but there's still not a ton of love there, I must admit.
Can't say I like the Lakers in general much for that matter, but that's just me.
But I do like Derek Fisher. I'm glad he's even up with Kobe in the hardware department.
Horry was deadly. He should have been registered with the authorities as a lethal weapon. But I don't know if the registration should have been with the police department or the American Heart Association. He caused more coronaries than a carload of kielbasa.
posted by beaverboard at 01:41 PM on June 15, 2009
i getcha beaver
posted by sgtcookzane at 01:49 PM on June 15, 2009
I took a lot of crap for that post...but it was worth it. I guess I was wrong about the opponent, but I don't think anyone truthfully thought the Magic would be in the Finals. The thing is, I, along with a lot of people I talked to, were just waiting for the Cavs to lose it.
If you were expecting a pat on the back for quoting yourself, uh, sorry we're all out of that. We have plenty of snark left if you're interested, though.
posted by dfleming at 03:11 PM on June 15, 2009
I get upset watching Phil just sit on his high chair and never call timeouts or make any huge adjustments ...
I think I saw Bryant doing more coaching during timeouts than Jackson.
posted by rcade at 04:05 PM on June 15, 2009
If you were expecting a pat on the back for quoting yourself, uh, sorry we're all out of that. We have plenty of snark left if you're interested, though.
I wouldn't expect anything less from you deuche bags... But, to quote myself again, "Redemption is sweet!"
I respect Kobe. I like him more than I used to, but there's still not a ton of love there, I must admit.
It's hard to like a guy when he's ripping your heart out on a nightly basis. I don't know who your hometown team or favorite team is, but if Kobe was on it, you'd be worshipping the dude on Sundays.
posted by docshredder at 04:28 PM on June 15, 2009
Do you get this feeling every single finals? While I would love to see two teams playing at their best for seven games every time...rarely does that actually happen. It's what makes clutch performers so special; they're not the norm.
With 20 seconds left in that game it looked like a sure Orlando win. All they had to do was make one of two free throws. Nope. Ok, well they just have to defend the three or just foul. Nope. Well, they still have plenty of time to get a good look, right? Fail x3. I don't think it's so hard to say that they gave that game away. So, I was liking the series with 20 seconds left in game 4 but the end of that game soured it for me.
posted by tron7 at 04:49 PM on June 15, 2009
What the fuck am I going to do for the next four months?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:08 PM on June 15, 2009
I wouldn't expect anything less from you deuche bags...
You spelled "douche bags" wrong.
What the fuck am I going to do for the next four months?
You could help doc with his spelling.
Anyway, thank goodness basketball season is over. Did you see what they were wearing?
posted by THX-1138 at 02:22 AM on June 16, 2009
Watching game five with my father. He's in a hospital bed recovering from surgery performed Saturday. Watching the Lakers victory with him made for two great birthday presents.
posted by Newbie Walker at 03:10 AM on June 16, 2009
You spelled "douche bags" wrong.
Maybe he was saying he wants deuce bags...? Maybe he was talking to his dealer at the same time he was on SpoFi and things just went terribly wrong and now he's stuck with 2 bags of douche.
posted by BornIcon at 08:06 AM on June 16, 2009
Maybe he was saying he wants deuce bags...?
As doc is all-seeing, he was probably predicting the two bags under my eyes this morning due to lack of sleep.
Well done sir. Your wisdom is without limits.
posted by dfleming at 09:35 AM on June 16, 2009
I thought he was talking about Deutsche bags.
posted by rcade at 12:32 PM on June 16, 2009
What the fuck am I going to do for the next four months?
The Blue Jays are only five games out of first place.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 04:29 PM on June 16, 2009
The Blue Jays are only five games out of first place.
Unfortunately, they're going to have to lure Dave Steib out of retirement at the rate the pitching is going.
posted by dfleming at 08:17 AM on June 17, 2009
to quote myself again, "Redemption is sweet!"
Stopped clock, twice a day, etc. You've also predicted the Red Sox are in trouble this year and pegged me as a Pistons fan, so perhaps your perspicacity isn't quite all that.
posted by yerfatma at 09:22 AM on June 17, 2009
"You spelled "douche bags" wrong."
That's probably because unlike you, I don't live at still home and run errands for my mom...
posted by docshredder at 08:30 PM on June 17, 2009
You have a booger.