Let me first say that OKC has been my 2nd favorite team all year. It ing sucks that they had to play the Lakers and I couldn't root for them. Energy, hustle, athleticism...soooo fun to watch.
Now...
Why is everyone so surprised?
-The Lakers finished the year 3-7
-The Lakers played .500 ball for what - the last month and a half?
-OKC only finished 7 games behind the Lakers
Is this really such a HUGE upset? Maybe if Kobe was healthy (not using this as an excuse) but with this Laker team right now, OKC is RIGHT THERE with them.
They have won 10 of the 16 quarters vs. the Lakers this series.
They are HUNGRIER.
Their strengths play to the Lakers weaknesses to a T.
I don't get why this is such a big deal. I made bets with a few friends of mine that OKC will win this series.
OKC can't win on the road? They were a shot or a break away from winning game 2. Scott Brooks press conference? "All we gotta do is win ONE in LA." These guys have a swagger and confidence that they are winning game 6 no matter what. The Lakers cannot beat them in OKC in their minds.
Before the series started I honestly thought thats what would have been missing. I didn't think OKC would truly BELIEVE they could beat the Lakers. Looks like the Lakers let them have that belief....
***For the people saying Kobe is trying to prove a point...PLEASE. Stop with the nonsense. Guy is EXTREMELY COMPE IVE. Would never do that.
IMO he ing has NO CLUE how to balance his game. It is ing INSANITY. Its shoot everytime down the floor or don't shoot at all. He use to do this perfectly with Shaq...now he ing UGHHH can't do it. its frustrating as .
-I was all about Artest last offseason. I was wrong. The guy is shooting 10% from 3pt land. TEN PERCENT. Durant isn't even guarding him. OKC has 4 guys just CAMPED in the paint. We RARELY get easy buckets. And whatever Artest has given us on defense, his value is immediately erased on the otherside of the floor.
Without a doubt IMO Ariza woul be shooting 45-50% from 3pt land in these playoffs. He worked with Craig Hodges and REALLY improved his shot. + he was athletic enough to fill a lane and get a BUNCH of easy baskets for us last year. Did you guys see Artest's layup all by his lonesome today? He ing almost missed it.
When we lose, Phil go take it your $12 mil and stick up your ing asshole you lazy piece of . Refusing to take a paycut IN SPARE ME. Getting ABSOLUTELY OUTCLASSED by scotty brooks ABO ELY getting ted on by the rookie playoff coach. Unbelievable...
Final thought:
Fans who think this is another Houston situation where Lakers will just crush them at home got a WHOLE other thing coming to em....just wait until game 5....
Question for Lakers fans: Which is the better team between last year's Rockets and this year's Thunder?
that rocket team would run circles around the thunder
Yes, this would be perhaps the biggest upset in NBA playoff history:
Phil Jackson, the all-time NBA le king is 44-0 when his team wins game one of any playoff series.
Only three of 52 eighth-seeded teams have ever pulled an upset against a No. 1 seed
Lakers are the defending champs, thought by many to be the league's premier franchise
Kobe is widely recognized to be the best player in the league, PJ the best coach
Thunder are the youngest team in the league
Looking to the next game, Lakers are 17-0 all time in game 5's after a series is tied 2-2
Put all of this together, and the Thunder is facing a monumental amount of history.
Overcoming all that history and beating the Lakers would be the greatest upset in NBA playoff history IMO.
Please. Not with Yao out. This Thunder team is GOOD. DEEP. Harden/Collison/Ibaka/Maynor off the bench.
With all of that...the Thunder are in just as good as the Lakers. Maybe not AS good bu RIGHT THERE.
What's with the rollseyes? His take is pretty accurate.
Can't believe the indomitable confidence of some Lakers fans. This is isn't a turn it off, turn it on kind of team. The don't have the talent for such a luxury. They look slow, tired, and out of sync.
Too bad no one else in the West has a frontline that can match-up with the Lakers (maybe that's why you guys are so confident?), or this team would be a super long shot to make it to the Finals.
Let's dispel this myth. Players who rank 15th overall in PER (insert joke here, but it's pretty damn accurate when listing the best players) shouldn't be in the conversation for best player in the league. With the way Kobe's been playing the last two months, he doesn't deserve the fear he once commanded, regardless of his pedigree or reputation.
The Thunder have the best player in this series and they need to realize it and quit playing lip service about Kobe "being the best in the league." He isn't. Not even close. Durant needs to know and have the confidence that he can take whatever scoring tear Kobe might potentially go on and match or surpass it.
For a team to know they have the best player in the series is a huge boon to their confidence. If they're still in awe of Kobe and fear him to an irrational degree, they're going home in 6.
Last edited by midnightpulp; 04-25-2010 at 01:45 AM.
tee, hee.
man wasnt aware of all those stats...if OKC wins game 5 it would be HUGE....
He is too stupid do add anything meaningful, so he relies entirely on rote catchphrases and empty symbols.
LOL
By whom? Honest question. Not even Lakers fans consider him the best player in the league any more. Not even the LA press. Where are you getting those things from? How many Lakers games have you watched this season or in the last one? Kobe isn't even a top-4 player.
And this teams are too close in terms of quality to consider an hypothetical OKC win a big upset, let alone one of the biggest in the history of the NBA. Especially considering how the Lakers finished the season, as the OP points out. Point differential 1st, w/l record 2nd, matchup advantages 3rd are way more important than seeding.
Good for them they're just playing the Lakers and not their history. There's no way this would be a bigger upset than 07. The Thunder are a genuinely good team who can play with anyone in the conference, as opposed to the Warriors who were a typical 8-seed that got destroyed by an average Utah team the next round. The 07 Mavs had 10 more wins than this Lakers team and the 07 Warriors had 8 fewer wins than this far superior Thunder team. As far as I can remember, the 07 Mavs weren't battling any injuries either, while Kobe is braving the worst finger injury in the history of this league.
you can't forget Sasha's ankle injury
Sasha...hahaha. can you imagine? this guy is a worthless shmoe by any definition...yet he still is making Millions of dollars and can go out into the LA nightlife and say 'i play for the Lakers' and get tons of top shelf pussy...its just not fair.
Though O & 41 is pretty full.
tee, hee.
I disagree. When considering which would be a bigger upset, it seems reasonable and unavoidable to look at a broader context. LOL, how could you claim x is or is not the greatest upset in NBA playoff history...without considering NBA history?
So the Lakers history (especially their recent history as champs) is relevant. Knocking out the Champion Lakers, Kobe and PJ is a much greater accomplishment than slaying the lowly Mavs IMO. Yes, the Warriors were just a 8th seed flameout, but they were not playoff rookies as the Thunder are. SJAX played an integral part on a Championship team, remember?
Last edited by Capt Bringdown; 04-25-2010 at 10:22 AM.
It is one thing to lose in a close game, but someone should have gone to jail for the slapping, booty taking rape, and won't even kiss you that took place in Oklahoma City last night.
+1 If there is such a thing as getting curbstomped behind the woodshed, last night's game was it.
03 the spurs and lakers were tied 2-2 with spurs coming out in top in game 5
the rockets series was wierd. It was like a blow out in every game. Other than game 4 with the thunder, its all been pretty close.
Hard to compare both series imo
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