Hoops

Game 5 predictions (eventual spoiler)

Yeah- no love shown for Bird's efforts or Magic playing centre.

What about the Dream and the way he carried the Rockets back 2 back????

Sub out Wade for prime Jordan... with shaq in the paint Michael would of scored like 30-40 with assists of 10-15 for the three quarters he played. (he would rest each fourth coz they would of been up by 30.)

That article is a joke.

Lakers are definitely gonna have to find some defence to close out any games in Boston. Pierce made it look so easy goin to the hoop off some of those picks.

Lakers definitely looked better when moving the ball, when trying to take them on one on one (eg Gasol and Bryant) the Boston team defence crushed them. Love to see a close game 7 but cant see it gettin past 6.

I'd love to see this go down to a game 7...the Lakers supporting cast helped get it done today. Odom starting to make an impact.

Good close game. Lakers took advantage of Celtics weakness today with Perkins out. Able to get Celtics in foul trouble which meant they could not lock down on defence late like they needed to.

Perkins needs to give the Celtics some minutes in game 6 and the big 3 need to stay out of foul trouble.

That was damn close with House's 3 and then almost the steal!

Big play by Kobe with the steal. Looked like a foul on the replay, but not certain. Ah well, thems the breaks. Not the Celtics day today

Doc Rivers with balls of steel, subs in Tony "you never know what you're gonna get" Allen

Bounce of the ball going Lakers way and they are making their FT's... looks bad for C's

Awww come on KG...

Should a been 3 secs on Gasol in the paint. Lucky he missed. KG then plays it smart and forces the over the back foul. shooting two

I reckon Pierce was hesitant to drive on that TO. Instead of taking it to the basket, he tried the upfake and it didn't work. Smarter play next time down. Damn the torpedoes, Pierce, full speed ahead!

With Pierce and KG on 5 fouls each the Lakers really should close this out. Gasol should have been posting up KG all quarter. If the Lakers are smart, the next two plays Kobe or Gasol will try to foul out Pierce and then KG in succession and it will be game over.

Foul trouble eh....

C'mon Quagmire you're killing me. Everytime Cassell does something I'm fearing the worst! It drives me crazy cos he scores and pulls off important plays, but he also takes away from everyone else on the court. If we're going to iso every play I sure as hell don't want Cassell doing it!

AND KG, for F###K's SAKE, when you get the ball in the paint don't kick it out to Cassell FOR ANOTHER LONG BOMB! AAAAAARRGHGH

Here comes the story of the finals, Sam Cassell scores 16 un-answered points in the fourth!

(sorry Beantown, massive reverse mocker imployed)

Foul trouble eh....

Foul trouble is really hurting the Celtics tonight. PJ is not going to be able to hold the fort by himself. I think Perk being out could cost the Celtics this game.

You really have to give a tone of credit to the Celts.
They have a team that works so hard.

If the Lakers lose, i'd hate to be Kobes wife, no-way he is hearing "NO" tonight... (she's probably out with Karl Malone anyway..)

after much stuffing around I found this one:
http://www.justin.tv/luisquiroz

I wish I had seen more of the 1st quarter, but going by the 2nd this has been a great game to watch. Real end to end stuff with both teams going right at each other. Some excellent shooting and good skills by both teams.

Ironically, the teams have switched in this game, with Boston going for a small run and gun team and the Lakers now crashing the boards and going into the paint successfully.

I'm a little concerned though, because this small lineup is allowing Gasol and Odom to contribute and gain confidence. I prefer it when its Kobe versus the world. He isn't going to beat the Celtics by himself.

My question for the 2nd half:
Will the real slim K-G please stand up?

Seriously though, is LA going to win when Kobe has scored 13 of his 15pts from the 3pt and free throw line? I would only say yes if it was because they are running everything through Gasol and swinging it to Kobe for these looks.. Hard to tell on a box-score update...

LOL Quagmire... you're trying really hard to employ that reverse mocker again aren't you?!?!

What's the opposite of Sam Cassell rejecting Kobe like Josh Smith? Answer: not sure yet but it can't be good for the Celtics!

Been a rough morning trying to get a decent feed for this game! Looks like C's back in it though. Kobe and Pierce both having dominant offensive games.

So who's going to get the support they need? Does Gasol dominate with Perkins out and KG in foul trouble? Or does KG come out in the 2nd half and find his offensive game?

I'm surprised Ray has been out so long. Maybe Doc is trying to rest his legs as long as possible? This is a chance to close the series out tho, I think I'd have him go close to 48 again if necessary.

So from what i can see, LA got the jump with Kobe hitting treys, now the inevitable, claw back through hard work and the celts will be celebrating on the laker hardwood. Hey, if Sam-I-am is passing and not shooting, LA is in trouble. Next he'll reject a Kobe break away dunk Josh Smith style...

Nice one Doc. Sam Cassell, the Yinka Dare of point guards...

I'm guessing that with about 9 min left in the first half...T. Allen makes 2-pt layup (P. Pierce assists)

Okay, I'm cheating slightly, because the game has just started, but I think LA will play hard tonight and odds are they will get the W.

Celtics are banged up and that last game must have taken a lot out of them. If they can hang tough in the first half though, thats when the Lakers may start to doubt and we will see of the pressure gets to them.

But I think the Lakers may stumble home after a couple of scares in this one.

how are Woodville going to cope next season with no inside threats and no-one to rebound. Who can fill this role and who will they be targetting