Dennis rodman is a really good player yeah he won a couple of championship with the pistons but he was merely a role player on that team he was behind rick mahorn, thomas, dumars, the microwave and bill laimbeer. He didn't really showed his rebounding prowess till he left the pistons. He was not the most talented, biggest player but he had uncanny intelligent in the basketball court and a pretty good passer. He's rebounding skill is is one of the best he didn't have the big hops and the dude is only 6'8 - 6'9 and relied alot on positioning, bball smarts and his awesome timing on theball you can make a good argument with his HOF status prior to him joining the bulls and even then that is debatable he avg 13 rebounds per game which is very good but he avg 7ppg/58%ft his whole career. I'm not trying to take away his defensive awards but he only got it because of his insane 16-18 rpg which is very impressive.

With that said the rodman that joined the bulls was a 34 year old version that was a liability on offense avg 5.5/ 5.7/4.7 points per game and had a ft percentage of 50 percent, a fg percentage of 48/44/43 and bpg of .4/.3./.2. He avg about 15 rebounds per game during his stint with the bulls which made him invaluable and because of his passing and great bball smart that he meshed well under the triangle offense but he's role was like of consistent, smarter version of ben wallace that can't block that played with the early 2000 detroit piston. Like i said you can make a good argument with his HOF status but not a LIGITIMATE shoe in HOF compare with the likes of james worthy(top 50) and kareem(top 50) for magic, parrish(top 50)and mchale(top 50) for bird. This is the reason why everyone is on MJ's nuts is because before him the blue print for a dynasty is a dominant/HOF big man and multiple HOFamers on the team. For god sakes the starting center for the bulls was luc longley/bill wennington and bill cartwright.

I'm not downplaying the lakeshow and the celtics of the 80's cause they would definitely give any dynasty including the bulls a run for their money. I actually think that if the 80's lakeshow face the 90's bulls i think the lakers would beat them the matchups jas doesn't favor the bulls kareem would devaste the bulls inside and magic's height will compensate for pippens long arms and not to mention worthy,divac, byron scott I just don't think the bulls can outscore the lakeshow.

I have to agree with you that NBA has turned vanilla have you seen the superstars calls lately holy crap lebron shot 24 ft attempts lol he better score 40 points per game with that many free throws.

stars foul calls are head scratching these days. basketball needs to be fair. but i guess that only happens in the perfect world.

SO....predictions on the finals? I've got Lakers in 7.

Wow to be honest with you man i don't know they match up so good against each other. I got the magic in 6 because of match ups but theres a huge but and that is kobe, kobe aint no lebron he would make shots/ free throws in the end and is the only guy that could single handledly beat you in the fourth quarter and the best closer in the league i don't think the magic can keep doing this lose in the first three quarter and come back on the fourth on a consistent basis against the lakers plus i don't think phil is going to get out coached by van gundy. If the magic can play consistent ball throughout the whole game then i got them by six. If the lakeshow isn't so bipolar then i would pick them.

As long as the lakers loose I dont really care too much haha... But I mean... Magic will definitely win if they can keep a decent spread and nail those 3's ... the magic now are kinda like the warriors from a couple years back - live and die by the three... so if the 3's be clicking - no reason why the magic should loose...

Lol i see that your from sactown no wonder you hate the lakers.

i never liked the finals setup 2-3-2, to me, that's just a bad setup. but i got the lakers in 6.

honestly, i don't think the magic can hit the 3-pt shot as consistently as they have been. something's gotta give...law of averages, right? yes, hedo and rashard will always be the spacers, but i doubt rafer alston is going to tear up the lakers the way jameer did in the regular season. though this talk of jameer returning is definitely intriguing...

with all that said, you can't count out the magic. their rather unique build is matchup hell for the rest of the nba, and knowing the lakers ineptitude at guarding the 3-pt line and containing other point guards, it could be tough for the purple and gold. but depthwise, i think the lakers have the edge, hence they take it in 7.

Wow what can i say the lakers played like their lives depended on it, and what can i say about bryant just DAMMNNNNNN dude shot 50 percent and 90% his shots are well defended perimeter shots and he only had 8 ft attempt now that's impressive well earned 40 points.

that was a good game 2. lakers lead 2-0.

Yeah it was, this game shows how good the lakers is they played so so and the magic had their two stars playing and shooting pretty good but still pulled off a win. kobe is doing pretty good on mixing up his game, this time around he played as a facilitator other than the aggressive kobe but he did have 7 turnovers so he played pretty decent. But wow lol well theres goes my prediction out the window magic in 6 hahahahah. But i did put a big BUT on it like i said kobe is a closer and if you give him a good chance he will kill you it's what seperates him from everyone else on the league. That pass to gasol impressed me cause the old kobe would have put up a shot on that one.

the thing about that is i think kobe knows that he wasn't shooting that well and well like the game plan says if he's doubled he's going to make that extra pass unlike the game plan he was on years ago.

and hedo made a huge play at the end of regulation, a block on kobe, what a play. and it was clean as hell.

gasol was the hero in this game. basically took over in OT to give lakers the W. hats off to lewis for hitting 3s like there is no tomorrow. and even JJ hitting that clutch 3 to tie the game.

andrew has so many problems with dwight that it's not even funny. he needs to play like game 1 in one of the road games. need better defense on howard.

and how about them free throws? lakers i think missed only 4 while the magic missed 7 free throws. i guess when you look at it, you gotta make the free throws but 7 missed free throws is still pretty good. just not better than 4 missed free throws. but gasol and odom were clutch at the charity tonight.

lineup for the lakers should be:

kobe
ariza
bynum
gasol
odom

a big line up and enough to match up with lewis and hedo. kinda want ariza to guard lewis. i think ariza is a lot faster and with his length and quickness he can at least contest lewis beyond the arc.

can't wait till mbenga hits the floor. phil says he's going to have to use all of his 7 footers, i guess that includes mbenga.

Yeah man the magic showed their resiliency this game, they just kept jacking up them threes and they wer just going in. Did you see the press conference after the game lol kobe acts like he just lost the game he was like "why should i happy" the reporter said cause your 2-0 then kobe goes "the job ain't done yet." I used to be a kobe hater but I have to say he is impressing me right now just the way he carries himself on a win show's how much he changed.

yeah man, i watch the press conference. he looked extremely pissed. and he admitted to his flaws in the game which felt like it was all his fault because the game went to OT. what a baller i tell you.

yeah, the "job ain't done yet" part was really good. you can see it in his eyes that this is not just some games. it's not just a basketball game. this is real, a battle, a war, a mission. but same with gasol. up 2-0 and he didn't look all that happy.

the taste of defeat in game 6 of last year's finals is still in their mouths. they know what is up. no more smiles. they can save them when they win the championship. right now, it's game mode all day everyday.

i actually want to see kobe score 50 points in a finals game.

hahahaha i mean they won 2 home games and the 2nd one went to OT - of course he is mad... I just hope the Magic can swing 3 in a row and make the series nice n interesting... lets see.... but def +1 on Kobe - he has changed a lot and a lot for the better... He shares the ball more and helps make plays more often rather than just 1 man showing the whole thing. He finds fisher and gasol a lot more than he used to.. im impressed but he still kinda plays a little dirty for me ... and by dirty i mean - constantly drawing fouls etc etc - I still maintain that he is the best player in the league atleast until king james can get his sh!t together

drawing fouls is the name of the game. jordan did it. wade does it. ginobili doest it. everyone basically flops in the game. i think flops are part of the game. but i don't think kobe flops that much.

Good game overall the magic played almost a perfect basketball. Can't believe bryant was missing all them free throws.

King James this.. King James that... He is a pampered whiner. Kobe is the best player in the league. Lebron has a lot of growing up to do before he gets there; then once there, let's see how long he can sustain that level of play and change his game as his body ages just as Jordan had to do.

Glad to see the Magic got at least one. Hopefully we will have a series now. I would like to see Kobe and the Lakers prevail.

Can't believe Kobe didn't pass the ball to an open teammate, especially Pau Gasol, whom the DPOTY and the entire Orland Magic team can't for the life of them figure out how to stop.

Oh wait, KOBE?! Duh. :shakes head: Black Mamba needs to stop and trust his teammates a little more. Unless people actually LIKE watching another rendition of the '06 Fakers.

Regards,
I Swear I'm Still a Lakers Fan

You've got to be joking. Kobe is 30 now and do you see how he still cries everytime he feels a foul is not called? Even the King doesn't cry that much. I feel like bitchslapping him sometimes for looking like such a girl on the court. It's extremely annoying. If anyone is pampered it's def Kobe and the ridiculous foul calls he gets.

Having said that I still think he is the best player in the game. Once Lebron has a better team around him, he will become the best. His perimeter shot is already much better than it used to be. He's progressing at a faster pace than Kobe did. It's just a matter of time.

I agree 100%. MJ would've found Kerr, Kukoc, Paxon...you name him. Kobe tried to go 1 on 5. I expected him to be more intelligent that night and really show the world how he matured, but instead he chose to do what he normally does. Oh well they still got lucky Lee missed and won the game.

Hmm i saw a diff kobe. After the half time he was passing the ball well, that's why the game was so close he realized that he can't beat the magic if he's the only one scoring. If there's one thing that kobe did wrong that game was he missed alot of free throws and everything else came as a result of a very good magic d not because he didn't pass the ball. At the last couple of minutes he was still passing the ball to gasol and fisher made a couple of clutch baskets coming from a kobe pass. Now i know kobe is such a polarizing figure he's like the AROD of NBA but kobe is not the same guy anymore the old kobe would have been still jacking threes at the start of the halftime and would have definitely have a 50 point game and like 3 assist. Oh and no the lakers didn't get lucky with lee missing a layup i could actually say the same thing to the magic "they got lucky cause kobe missed 5 free throws cause everyone knows kobe don't miss free throws." Those statements is just a way to demean a team effort the lakers won cause the magic gave them a second chance and nothing else. That layup doesn't look as easy at it looks he was way on the other side of the basket and the only way he got a good look was through the other side of the backboard and then you got a 7 footer contesting it at the same time and then he also has to release the ball really fast cause of the time. Now if it was a wide open lay up and he missed it then that would have been lucky.

Now it looks like my predictions is still good cause the magic still got a chance to win this in 6. Did you guys see alston pull some street ball moves in the court lol he made fisher look old a couple of times. The magic was shooting lights out. Howard is still having a hard time under the basket the lakers are just swarming him all the time, but his team was just playing some awesome basketball and did you see the D on the the last minutes of the game the way they played the kobe pick and roll was text book perfect. Now the series is starting to heat up i want this to be like the houston vs lakers series a couple of rounds ago. :eekdance:

it's going to be another good game today. can't wait.

Yes it is going to be a great game. Of course I am for the Magic. Its great seeing the whole city fired up for them. I went to game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals and had a blast.

Magic have to win this game tonight. At this point they cannot afford to lose any of their home games (I HATE the 2-3-2) because even one win in L.A. is going to be tough, two consecutive wins in LA may be impossible. Its scary though when they shoot almost 63% and only win by 4 (should have been 2). But the Magic are a team that gets on rolls, and if their confidence continues to build they can make a series out of this yet. they got shellacked in LA in game 1 and it set them back. Great effort in game 2 but they were still wobbly. Kind of getting the groove back now, I really hope they can keep it up.

I do agree that certain players cry way too much on no-calls. And that was a great block by Dwight in game 3 and a terrible call on the foul.

Go Magic!!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heres some odds and props from sportsbook.com for tonights game:

Magic -2

Over/Under - 201

Lakers O/U - 100

Magic O/U - 102.5

Kobe O/U 31.5

Dwight O/U 23.5

Rashard O/U 23.5

Total 3 pointers made in the game by BOTH teams:

O/U 15.5

Should be a great game!

Yeah it is scary to see your team shoot 63-65 percent and 75 during the first half still barely coming out with a win.

it means that the magic has to play near perfect basketball tonight to come out with another win. rafer hopefully needs to shoot lights out again but he is so streaky that i'm not sure what he's going to do.

Wow a really good game. kobe didn't shoot every well 11-31 but wow he made some nice clutch shots and clutch pass to fisher. Did you see that rebound he stole from howard looks like he stole a candy from a baby, like i said this is a different kobe. This game really shows the difference between kobe and lebron when it comes down to it kobe can just close a game. But the man of the night is derek fisher wow dude wen he made that three to tie whoooo he sucked the gravity out of that stadium. Give props to Ariza they were able to get back in the game because of him. Well there goes magic in 6 lol didn't expect the lakers to be playing this well i thought that if kobe doesn't shoot well that the lakers will lose but i didn't expect the guy to avg 8 assist this series.

it takes a team to win basketball. ariza and fisher didn't have good games during the 1st half of the game but when it matter, they stepped up and drained shots and made plays that counted. big win, an epic win.

Lakers all the way!!

well deserve win, they deserve the championship they played the best teams in both side of the conference.

LAKERS !!!!! now i gotta find out when the parade is going to be. kobe nba finals mvp, i have been dreaming about this day for such a long time and it finally happened. congrats to the lakers and phil jackson for his 10th ring as a coach.

congrats to the magics for playing with all they got. hopefully you guys have a better luck next year. dwight, you need some post moves, now work on that this off season.

Congratulations to the Lakers and to coach Phil Jackson, a class act. Phil is a great coach and I have never bought into the criticism of him having the best talent. Yes, he has coached great teams, but under him they don't win a Title - they win 6 or 4. Great, great coach. Very happy for him.

After game 4 watching game 5 was easy. It felt over after game 4 and all it needed was to be made official. Great season for the Magic. Lots of positives. That team grew alot from the Boston series to the finals. It should serve them well down the road. Just need to keep the core together and keep an effective bench.

Congrats again to the Lakers and their fans. well deserved NBA Champs. They saved their very best for last, like champions do.

Much as I hate kobe and the lakers... it was a good show... the magic were just outclassed by the lakers and credit where credit is due - Kobe played better basketball than I have ever seen him play - much more team oriented

hopefully we can produce a sequel.

If they can sign either odom or ariza back they have a chance. I heard that the lakers are interest on turkoglo if both ariza and odom leaves.

Oh god no, there's no way the Lakers are letting BOTH Ariza and Odom walk. I'd be VERY surprised by the front office if that happens, it's like saying "hey, one and done". I doubt Turkoglu would fit with the Lakers, anyway. Ariza and Odom are complementary to Kobe, but Turkoglu is a player who works with the ball in his hands. Not going to happen as long as No. 24 is around in the purple and gold. Best case scenario - both Ariza and Odom take lower money and play for the dynasty. That'd be sick.

I shudder to think that everybody is deluded by Kobe's new "team first ethos". They just ran an article on ESPN that pretty much summed it up for me: Kobe is still a 'me-first' guy. He tried to stick the daggers in pretty much every game!! Not particularly 'team-oriented' to me. However, Odom, Ariza, and Gasol all stepped up big time, and Fisher is just an old steady hand whose heroics will define his career.

Honestly, though, sometimes I am ashamed to be a Los Angelean. Yes, I was thrilled by the Lakers winning. Yes, they deserve it. But was I thrilled enough to RIOT?! Hell no! What the ****?!!? Real class act, guys; no wonder the rest of the US hates LakerNation, we're bat-sh*t insane. No way I'm going to party it up with people who think a city's basketball team winning the NBA championship is reason enough to steal some shoes and destroy some cars. (Don't kill me arctic, I mean no offense :( )

I raise my frosty mug to you, Lakers.

Regards,
A 'Team Player' Laker Fan

they are not going to let odom or ariza go. luxury tax is not an issue with the lakers. we have one of the biggest markets and doc buss don't let this dynasty in the making just disappear without another try. looking forward to the lakers in june in 2010.

Lakers!
You guys in LA must've had fun that night... :shakes head: