Sports - Los Angeles Lakers #5-Because they are the best thing about the west coast!

lakers0604 · 05-13-2008, 08:35 PM

The Los Angeles Lakers

From the George Mikan-led Minneapolis Lakers teams of the '40s and '50s to the "Showtime" era Magic Johnson teams of the late 1980s to
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's dynasty of the early 21st century, one thing has been consistent about the Lakers: winning. The franchise
has boasted a host of Hall of Famers and has compiled a string of championships which has scarcely been rivaled in the history of American sports.

Links

Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant 24
Lakersfans on LiveJournal

lakers0604 (sheila)
kingjames23 (cristina)
nessabruin (nessa)
miSStakentriSh (trisha)
lysee (rinaye)

1) What is your favourite laker playoff moment and why?

Damn. Just one? Well, if I had to pick one, it would probably be the 0.4 shot by Derek Fisher against the Spurs in Game 5 in the 2003-2004 playoffs. I remember everything about that particular playoff game. I even remember what I was wearing, where I was and how ecstatic I became when the shot went through. It was better than Horry's three pointers and Kobe's insane performance against the Pistons and Suns because it was improbable. The Lakers were not meant to win that game but they showed heart and their will to win at all costs got them that W.

Let me set the scene. Tim Duncan just came through for the Spurs and hit a fadeway jumpshot over Shaquille O'Neal. When it finally went through the net, there was only 0.4 seconds left. And the Laker fan in me believed that was enough time to get a good shot up. The only questions were who was going to take it and how were they going to shoot it. All through that timeout, I was praying and walking around. Couldn't sit still at all. So, game time. Payton will imbound the ball. Kobe was probably going to get it. They had him covered well. Ball went to Fish, who threw up a prayer. AND BANG! It went in. They went crazy. I went crazy. Seriously. Best part about it was how shocked everyone looked. Not only the players on TV, but my friends who were rooting for the Spurs and thought that they had the game.
cristina.

There are so many great moments to chose from! The Lakers have such a great legacy and to chose only 1 moment it crazy. But if I had to choose 1 moment I would have to say Derek Fisher's 0.3 shot against San Antonio. This was a tough decision because I had it came down this one and Robert Horry's 3 vs. Sacramento. I think this is my favorite playoff moment because it is the one I replay in my head so often. I remember when this shot when it my jaw dropped and I screamed my head off. Turned out I lost my voice due to that shot! Knowing that the Lakers are down and there's only 0.3 seconds on the clock, everyone gave up hope. I must admit that I gave up hope as well, I thought, "Well there goes our season." But next thing you know Derek Fisher is hitting a shot that will last forever in our hearts. Since then I've never gave up hope on the Lakers. It really was a defining moment for me and the Lakers.
sheila.

As hard as it is to choose a favourite moment, there is always one that is going to be extra special. The moment I knew I fell in love with this team and franchise was back in 2000. It was game seven of the Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trailblazers. The Lakers were down by fifteen coming into the fourth quarter, and managed to win the game. It is just one of those moments that is going to be engraved in my memory forever. The sight of the crowd going crazy, the purple and gold colours coming together as one. Shaq pointing to the crowd. Just everything about that game, that moment, was perfect. And that is what epitomizes the Lakers for me.
trisha.

What has been your favourite part(s) of this season?

Andrew Bynum's break out season. Trevor Ariza's dunk on Grant Hill on Christmas Day. The Pau Gasol Trade. Pacific Division title. #1 seed on the Western Conference race. Kobe Bryant winning MVP. Take your pick.
cristina.

This 2007-2008 season has been nothing but amazing! I think my favorite part of the season is right now. Everything the Lakers have worked for this season leads up to this..the playoffs. This is where you separate the men from the boys. This is where the Lakers will really have to prove they are the team to beat..and I enjoy it a lot. This is what us Laker fans have been waiting for. 5 years we've waited and now it's here. The growth of our bench, Andrew Bynun, and the acquisition of Pau Gasol was made for this time. It was great to watch our bench make a name for themselves, and see Andrew become something more than a waste of height, and to see Kobe become the leader we all knew he was. This season has been magical, but it's not over until we bring home the trophy to LA, where it should be!
sheila.

No one in Lakerland would've been able to believe where we are right now. Number one seed in the West, with the possibility of a championship in the future. And that is what I love most about this season, the pleasant surprise of the whole season coming together and being able to watch this group of players perform game in and game out - and do it in a way that has been sincerely missed by the league as a whole. They not only work hard, but entertain. The smiles on all the players' faces just shows how much they enjoy what they do. And it's an absolute privilege to watch them all.
trisha.

Lakers Videos

Believe
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
Until The Day I Die
Making Memories

thanks to NessaBruin for the art!

Icons/Arts

more can be found here

miSStakentriSh · 05-13-2008, 08:39 PM

thanks for the new thread, love.

!

Quote:

Lakers' Kobe Bryant gives his all, but some still want more
It's the story of his career: Bryant finishes a game any ordinary player would have left with a sore back, but his overtime performance draws criticism.
Mark Heisler
NBA
May 13, 2008

Kobe Bryant will play Wednesday, I learned Monday.

Actually, I didn't learn it as much as divine it from years of watching Bryant, who would play if they had to wrap him from head to foot like a mummy.

Two things are certain with Bryant: 1) he's the gamer of gamers and 2) he'll never take a breath without creating a controversy, as he did once more Sunday.

Only one thing kept Bryant's performance in Game 4 from rising to the mythic level of Willis Reed limping out for Game 7 in 1970 and the flu-ridden Michael Jordan beating the Jazz in 1997 . . .

The Lakers didn't win.

Otherwise, it would have been one for the ages: Bryant looking like Charlton Heston in "El Cid" whose body was tied to his horse and sent back into battle, leading them back from a 12-point deficit in the last 3:59 of regulation.

If Lamar Odom had made his three-pointer to put them ahead with :13 left and they'd gone on to win, people would have talked about this game as long as there was an NBA.

Instead, the Lakers lost in overtime . . . and Bryant was critiqued for all the shots he took in overtime?

We're not getting a little hard-boiled, are we?

An ordinary player wouldn't have even seen the fourth quarter, much less found a way to lead the rally that forced the overtime.

Gee, haven't we been at this point before . . . annually? Or to put it another way, welcome to Bryant's career.

After all the soap operas he has starred in, he's perceived more as a cartoon character than a person.

The all-timer was last week's most-valuable-player ceremony when ESPNews anchor David Lloyd was apparently surprised to learn Bryant actually knew his teammates.

"I don't think I knew that Kobe was a well-liked guy on that team until this press conference," said Lloyd after watching him joke with the other Lakers.

"He's become a part of that team. I'm not sure he was before."

He's become a part of that team?

Who do people think the Lakers are, some crew out of a video game such as "Grand Theft Auto"?

Their soap opera notwithstanding, Bryant turned the corner playing alongside Shaquille O'Neal years ago, with his assist totals rising annually until he set his career-best of 481 in 2002-03.

Of course, being Kobe Bryant meant he could also go back and turn that corner heading the other way. Nevertheless, since Phil Jackson's return in 2005, Bryant's leadership of, and involvement with, his teammates has been unquestionable.

Actually, since Bryant tried to trade this set of teammates for another in Chicago last fall, I should say since Kobe's return in 2007, his leadership has been unquestionable.

Here's the part that's taking a while to sink in: This isn't the old Bryant or the Bryant of last fall. These aren't the Shaq-Kobe Lakers or any of the overmatched little teams that followed.

This is Kobe on Top of His Game, not only willing to play with teammates but be brilliant at it and as excited as anyone in the Lakers' organization at their future.

These aren't the precariously balanced Shaq-Kobe Lakers. This team isn't as dominating, for one thing, but for harmony and cohesion, it's day-and-night better.

So if the offense broke down and/or Bryant took too many shots, he was still great Sunday, playing 46 minutes with a back that seized up on three separate occasions.

On the last, Bryant charged into Andrei Kirilenko and sank to his knees in pain, looking as if he couldn't stay in, although, of course, he did.

Someone asked Monday whether he knew he could continue.

"I don't know how I made it through the game to begin with, to be honest with you," Bryant said.

He was even trouper enough to go to the interview room after the game although he couldn't sit down, and conducted the interview standing up, talking into a hand-held microphone.

"I'm Don Cornelius," he said, laughing.

Bryant was also wearing a portable stimulation unit -- which he brushed by accident, turning it up all the way and sending another jolt up his beleaguered spine.

So even if it was memorable, Sunday definitely didn't go down as a good day for him.

Officially, Bryant is listed as day-to-day. Unofficially, it's only a matter of what he'll bring because he'll be there.

"Even talking about him possibly not playing," said Derek Fisher, "I mean, I'll entertain questions, but it's not an option, really. I mean for him."

Who cares what anyone else would do in this situation?

This is Kobe Bryant and there's only one of him.

**kingjames23** · 05-14-2008, 12:35 AM

thanks for starting. and a hell yes to this title.

miSStakentriSh · 05-14-2008, 09:24 AM

i had a dream of game five. and i was watching the game at yogurtland of all places. XD and when the lakers walked out of the tunnel, kobe was wearing an american flag around his waist. yeah... do not know.

NessaBruin · 05-14-2008, 01:58 PM

Game 5 today!

S tftnt!

Trish I'll be looking out for that...did they win? I have confidence today, got some rest, a massage

miSStakentriSh · 05-14-2008, 04:08 PM

my dream didn't even finish the game. all i remember is that in the beginning of the game, utah had like 3 offensive rebounds, but didn't come out with a point, and then sasha turned the ball over. but that would mean that either fisher or kobe wasn't starting, so my dream is on crack.

i am pretty confident too!

as long as we play good defense for the whole game and make our shots. whoo!

lakers0604 · 05-14-2008, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miSStakentriSh (View Post)

i had a dream of game five. and i was watching the game at yogurtland of all places. XD and when the lakers walked out of the tunnel, kobe was wearing an american flag around his waist. yeah... do not know.

Yogurtland!

I'll see you there T!

No prob on the thread guys!

I'm ready for tonight..I think.

I think our players are! I have confidence! We can do this!

NessaBruin · 05-14-2008, 09:05 PM

TURNOVERS!

the good thing is we're winning

miSStakentriSh · 05-14-2008, 09:10 PM

LOL. we should watch a game there, no? (even if they don't... have tvs there. or wait. at least, i dont think they do)

turnovers are killing us. we should be up by double digits.

NessaBruin · 05-14-2008, 09:46 PM

gah! I feel so much for Jordy!

you can just tell he's not himself...I wanna give him a

and yeah this game is sooooooooo sloppy

eeek! Jordy!

he felt so good and Kobe giving him a love tap on the head

and Sasha's hair is bugging me like Nash's

miSStakentriSh · 05-14-2008, 10:40 PM

OMG THE LOVE TAP. and in the third quarter was it? (when kobe tugged at his jersey to tell him something - that was hot.

)

dude, how exasperating was that game? utah seemed like the lakers of the last game. where they had so many chances to take the lead, but they couldn't and didn't. thank freaking goodness. because we were so sloppy today. it was unbelievable. too many turnovers, too many missed shots. thankfully, came out with the win. and, and... one win away from the western conference finals.

NessaBruin · 05-14-2008, 11:00 PM

very glad we got the game and hey if they wanna play winning by who's at home then that's fine bc we'll win again but i'd rather the lakers tough it up and win on friday

T I do think it was 3rd quarter but seriously the turnovers! and I hate Deron Williams, did he even miss a shot until the end the whole game? I swear I was like dieing!

anyone want to go

NBA.com NBA Nation Schedule 2008
Fish will be there, I can get there fairly quickly but T and S you all should try to go

miSStakentriSh · 05-14-2008, 11:54 PM

I WANNA GO. FISHY IS GONNA BE THERE? but crap, i have a final the next day, so my parents would be like, 'negatory.' but N, you should def. go and tell fisher how much we love him. KNSDFKNSDGKLNSDG. wonder if there would be any surprise visits, ya know. maybe like kobe randomly showing up. that'd be awesome. omg.

the turnovers for both teams was so awful. i don't think i've ever seen such a sloppy performance in the TO department between two playoffs teams. LOL. luckily, near the end, utah didn't capitalize on our missed chances and what not. and i agree, i'd much rather finish it off on friday - and hope that the SA/NO series goes to seven games so at least we can get a little rest. especially kobe and that back.

deron williams was such a freakin' beast there. my goodness. and as always on the road, boozer was pretty quiet. as the rest of the squad. except for kirilenko and brewer (who shouldn't have had three slam dunks in the first few minutes of that game. terrible defense). also: was a bit worried when sasha got that technical foul (then deron getting the three too). although i don't agree with the call, since sasha wasn't yabbering at the ref, per se. it looked more like he was talking to korver - but none the less, he shouldn't put himself in that position, especially around that time at the game. because what if ... that technical foul free throw cost us the game or something? you know? so yeah. upset with that. but other than that, really glad that kobe got his team mates going, despite the fact that some times they couldn't get the ball in the rim. he just kept doing what he did. and to have 26 points on 10 field goal attempts? now that's efficient.

NessaBruin · 05-15-2008, 12:21 AM

I so want to go but i'd have to get stuff done for sure the day before, damn school being tough that week

but i can do it! I so want to meet Fishy! tell him we all love him!

damn I don't really have Laker's stuff w/ me here, I left my lakers K at home...how I love that K, made it in good times. I hope I get to meet him, I guess it depends on school for me

sorry you wouldn't be able to go

Luke should go so we can get another Life w/ Luke

the thing is it'd be better if they finished on friday too since if not the next game would be on monday

**kingjames23** · 05-15-2008, 02:39 AM

Quote:

kobe was wearing an american flag around his waist.

It doesn't matter if they won the game. the bigger is question is was he only wearing an american flag and nothing else....cause YUM.

Glad to have you back, Jordy. Amazing game as usual, LO. Be more aggressive [like in the end of the 4th], Pau. Kobe is well...Kobe. 1 out 11 shots, really, Sasha. Come on, boy!

Like you guys said, fewer TOs. Freakin' GAH. I can deal with Deron getting all the shots, tbh. What bugged is the fact that they didn't shut down the other guys - Brewer & Andre. 'Cause Deron is not Kobe - he's not going to get a W all by himself.