Hoops

Game 1 NBA finals. (eventual spoiler)

ELG......why sack the coach when ur team cant play Defence??

Dont talk shit mate

Hey Quagmire,
Looks like I missed the party on Hoops SA today!

Nice assessment of Kobe:
"...his ego is greater than any stadium on earth."

Bad prediction though:
"Look for Boston to get an early leed, playing inspired defence but ultimately get taken over and lose game one to a patient and executing Lakers team."

Celtics did a good job on Kobe today and had decent contributions from everyone bar Perkins, who is surely cursed with a clutz charm.

Coming down on Pierce's foot like that when he was on fire in the 3rd quarter could cost the Celtics the series.

Although Pierce came back to contribute, I saw his post game press conference and he seemed very down.

He said that the injury had been diagnosed as a bruised meniscus or something, but he also said he heard a pop and couldn't move his knee at first!

So I'm feeling a little worried right now. Pierce seems like the one Celtic who is able to consistently make shots when they are really needed.

All I can say is thank the hoop gods for the 3 days before game 2!

If Pierce stays fit, this absolutely has the makings of a classic 7 game cliff hanger. Hope it turns out that way...

Sweet. Cheers hereschenes.

How smashed is Bill Simmons getting at this moment?!

Celtics win...huge effort from pierce in the 3rd...4 point play followed later by back to back treys on the break. HUGE!
Lakers couldn't buy a basket in the 4th. Good defence from the green machine.

Thats all she wrote. Kobe was cold and the Lakers couldn't get it done on the boards. Odom must improve his play. Pierce looming as a huge player, KG doing his thing. Phil Jax will have a bit to do in the next few days. Must win one of the first two and with this game gone, all the pressure on the next one. If Boston win both at home, they go to LA with a mission to win just one and then finish in Boston.

Next game sunday or monday? Either way i ain't missing it coz you bet Kobe will be pissed by this result!

Well done Celts, KG was great with the put-back but Paul Pierce was the one.

I remember back when Kobe and Shaq were fueding in the media, Shaq dubbed Pierce "The Truth" in a veiled swipe at Kobe.... i bet Kobe remembers too...he he he

Sorry- typo, i meant KG, not KF????

Get the feeling that LA will be happy to leave single coverage on KF with Gasol, similar to Duncan, and work on stopping Pierce, Ray et all... Sounds great coz it puts even more pressure on KG in the fourth, plus he'll be even more fatigued... Phil Jax rocks.

Lakers by 5 at the half...playing as a team on offence. Kobe just 3 x FG's. Fisher has stepped up to hit some big shots. Odom dong his job with 8 pts.

It really is a gift i've got. I bag em, they stab me in the back!

PS: Cassell drew an offensive foul from Kobe!!!!

Kobe and Gasol working the pick and roll well...
3 Celtics in foul trouble...Pierce with 3, Allen 2, Posey 2 with 2:55 in 2nd.
Cassell shooting well, and KG doing well.

Sam Cassell. You gotta laugh. Whats the point? He scores, the guy playing on him then scores. You get no-where.

Should of realised scores would be low...do'h!

Killing me being at work right now.

Let me explain it Jules, in the play-offs a lot of time is spent determining the best way to defend an opponent.

With players like KG, Pierce and Ray, single coverage is not always enough, so you gotta cheat a little and double them.

Thats where rondo and Perk come in. If they can finish open looks that these doubles create, then LA will be forced to play the Celts big 3 straight up, man on man. Thats a big win for the Celts.

Conversely if they fail to make LA pay for leaving them open and doubling the stars, the Celts will find it very tough going all series.

This is where LA has a huge advantage. If you double Kobe or Gasol they have a team in which ALL players can shoot the open look. Celts have Rondo who is shaky at best, and Perk who has yet to prove he has the strong hands and ball control to handle offense in the paint.

Hereschenes....15-12 Celtics. Perkins in foul trouble.

Press release from Basketball Australia The Australian mens basketball team, the Boomers, have taken a comfortable win over Angola in their first game of a four-nations tournament in Reggio Calabria, Italy on Friday night 81-74. This is the second time the Boomers have defeated Angola this week, taking the final game of the FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament in Belgrade on Tuesday 70-64. They will play them yet again in the second round of the Olympic tournament on August 17. In what was largely a free-flowing game, the Boomers could not shake the African Champions in the first half and were down by one point at the end of the first term and up by only two points at the major break 40-38. In the third quarter Australia dominated the game and were up by 20 points at three quarter time. They could not maintain this lead however, playing well in patches but then allowing Angola to claw their way back into the match. In the end it was a comfortable 13-point victory to the Boomers. Adelaide guard Brett Maher had the majority of his 12 second half points in the third quarter and stepped up in the absence of Shane Heal who coach Brian Goorjian rested in this game. Goorjian is also resting Sydney forward Matthew Nielsen who is coming off a tough NBA Summer Series tournament where he played with the Denver Nuggets. Nielsen will sit out the entire Italy series. David Andersen and Andrew Bogut shone in Nielsens absence. With these two dominant Australian players missing it allowed others to get some major minutes and all the Boomers played at least 17 minutes in this game. I am happy with how the players came to play the game tonight, Goorjian said. Mentally they prepared well and this showed in the teamwork they produced on the court. There were some very good signs tonight; both offensively and defensively. Brett Maher coming off injury and limited preparation and coming out here and scoring 20 points is really positive. With Shane and Matthew not playing, it gave everyone the opportunity to play more minutes and I was happy with the contribution and enthusiasm of all the players, he said. The Boomers play Brazil on Saturday night and Italy on Sunday before heading to Athens to check into the Olympic Village on August 11. Quarter-by-quarter scores AU AN 15 16 40 38 69 49 81 74 Australian top scorers: Brett Maher 20, Andrew Bogut 15, David Andersen 12 Angolan top scorers: Vitoriano 19, Boukar 10