A Welcome to Lakers fans from The Dream Shake
by UofTOrange on May 1, 2009 5:27 PM CDT
in Random Commentary
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PrintHmmm, I've been thinking about this and don't really know how to go about it. I know a lot of Lakers fans, everyone does. You guys and gals love your team, that is for sure. Now, you may not be from LA, or have ever even been to California, but that's what happens when a team has been this successful over all these years.
Like it or not Houston fans, Los Angeles fans have a reason to be cocky.
14 chamionships
29 conference titles
30 division titles
Wilt Chamberlin, Gail Goodrich, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kobe Bryant Heck, freaking Chick Hearn
So, with that background, I have a lot of repect for their organization. They just about always make the right moves. And yes, letting Shaq go instead of Kobe was clearly the right move. It helps that they are in a beautiful state and have Hollywood.
On to the good stuff, a few rules for Lakers fans AND for DreamShakers:
1. In my experience Lakers fans that have come in droves to my blog and to Clutchfans have been trolls that don't know anything about basketball other than their team is good. My experience with Lakers fans in person is that they know a plethora of basketball information and are good people and good fans.
2. Dave, Tom and I will control the trolling. We appreciate the help, but in this particular instance, just flag the post if you have a problem with it. No reason to feed trolls. That goes for Lakers fans too if they think things are getting out of hand on our end. There is a pretty long leash here as we like spirited back and forths, sometimes even if they are stupid. But don't push it, the imaginary line is pretty obvious.
3. Anyone that asks who "Hakeem Olajuwon is" is getting insta banned.
4. Do not, under any circumstances write "first". If you have ever done this, at any point in your life, you are lame, it's plain and simple. I love all of God's people, but I like the people that do this the least
5. I appreciate anyone's enthusiasm about their team, however, anyone writing "Rockets/Houston sucks" or "LA/Lakers suck" is a moron and I will call you out for it.
6. We allow cussing here. Don't cuss to just cuss. Have a reason or at least an emotion behind it. There is not cussing allowed directly at someone. If it happens and I don't see it, flag it, or email me. On the previous note, I cuss, I will continue to do so. I'm a man (though not 40 yet, sorry Coach Gundy), I can do that as I wish. This site isn't for everyone and we know that, but we think as long as everyone know's this, it is for almost anyone.
7. Dave (grungedave) is a Kobe fanboy. He would never shout rape if Kobe came knocking, not in Denver or Houston or anywhere. (Yes that was in poor taste, no I don't care. You know why? Because it was a joke, and a funny one). I also like Kobe, a good deal. He's the best player in the NBA. We also both think that the Lakers are the best team in the league this year (I'm not sure what Tom thinks on this). So, don't give us crap about hating the Lakers or Kobe, it's stupid and uneducated. You have now been educated and know better.
8. The top 5 centers of all time are, in absolute inarguable order: 1. Wilt 2. Kareem 3. Hakeem 4. Shaq 5. Bill. I have absolutely no respect for anyone's basketball knowledge that thinks Shaq was better. He had more potential but he refused to stay in shape to reach it. Seriously, Shaq is the most physically gifted player (not name Lebron) of all time and couldn't put down the cheeseburgers. He's also a trash talking bridge burner that ruined a great thing in LA because 1. He couldn't stay unfat (for a basketball player) and 2. Couldn't stand that Kobe was the better player
9. I truly believe this series is going 7. That's my prediction. You probably don't agree, heck, most Rockets fans don't agree. I don't know who wins game 7, probably the Lakers. I do know that if you are expecting a series sweep like happened in the season, you are going to be in for a rude awakening. Ron Artest said it best the Rockets are not satisfied with just getting out of the first round.
10. Let's have some fun. Talk trash, get upset, enjoy yourself but most of all, being a fan of your team isn't wrong. (Being a bandwaggon jumping troll is though). Let's Go Rockets!
There are a lot of great Lakers sites out there. SBNation has one such site in Silver Screen and Roll, go check it out Rockets fans
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Before I even read this I will just say...............this should be interesting.
OK, now I will read it. :-)
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
Damn.....If I had just read the post first I could have said........
first!!! LOL Damn.
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
OK, done reading now......
Good post. No bullshit. I like it. (see how the cussing had a point) :-)
Rule #3. Good rule. That Trent guy is a tool.
Rule #4 Also agree with this one. My (humorous) post above notwithstanding.
Rule #5 Another good rule. However I saw quite a lot from the Bl*zer fans during their exits. This brings up another point. How about enough of the * thing. Seriously it comes off as so childish. JMO.
Rule #8 3 out of 5 aint bad. And no I don’t think Shaq was better. Most Laker fans loved his production, but not his attitude. By the way is #5 Bill Russell or Walton? :-)
- 7 games or a sweep…….hmmm. Well obviously there is a middle ground and I personally think 5, however if I had to put my life on one or the other I would go with sweep over 7. Sorry, not trying to be a homer or “overconfident”, but I just think we matchup really, really, well with Houston.
Thanks for the SilverScreen and Roll shoutout. I think you may find you are getting better Laker “non-trolls” here now with the addition of SSandR. The leash over there is fairly tight and so far most of the posters there have been pretty cool.
Good luck , look forward to sparring (but not fighting).
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
Wow
Best of luck to the Rockets. I admire your team and how they defend like madmen. With that said, I want to agree with the #8 point (but you will find lots of arguments from 95% of the population) and wholeheartedly hope that the series does go 7 (only because if it does go game 7, I’m going to Staples to watch the game).
One question that’s been bothering me since last night: what is the overall opinion of Tracy McGrady now from Rockets fans?
And I’m pretty sure #5 is Bill Russell and not Bill Walton. If it is Bill Walton, then I the “inarguable” goes out the door.
Most "Real" Rockets fans in my opinion
dont hate T-Mac. I know he didnt show up last night but what the big deal about that?? He didnt show up to many games when he was injured so why does he have to show up to last nights? I personally feel that he didnt show because he didnt want to see the jubilation by the rockets and have to deal with still not getting out of the first round. And if he did show up and the Rockets lost, people probably would have blamed him for cursing the team.
We also feel that the Rockets are a better team with a HEALTHY T-Mac than w/o him, or with the Tracy we saw this season.
Rockets Win Series 4-2
Up Next: The Kobe's
adding to that...
I agree. Most of us don’t ‘hate’ T-Mac, and I understand why he wasn’t at the game tonight. At the same time, I don’t believe he had the fight and tenacity to lead a team full of fighters. I think part (a small part, I’ll admit) that the team came together after he left is because the leaders of the team reflected the rest of the players. Yao and Ron Artest, though hes nowhere near as talented a ballplayer as T-Mac, are absolute warriors and the rest of our supporting cast fit that mold (Scola, Landry, Lowry, Hayes, Deke (even though hes a leader in his own right)).
But, even though I don’t hate the man, I don’t think he belongs on this team. I honestly don’t see him as part of this team. I’m not trying to make a statement, but when I visualize the Rockets now, hes not a part of it. At this point he strikes me more as a ghost of a frustrating past then a player on our current roster.
Since the Orlando days
I’ve always thought that the only thing preventing T-Mac from really reaching the upper echelon of superstars were injuries. I agree with your point that T-Mac is the most talented player on the team and also am intrigued that Rocket fans mention the mental edge. I know from the people I speak with that follow the league religiously (and not the fair weather fans), a majority of us agree that if T-Mac had the same mental wiring that Kobe had, T-Mac would most definitely be better than Kobe.
Oh, Luis Scola is awesome. I love watching him play.
hmmmmmmm.........
“that if T-Mac had the same mental wiring that Kobe had, T-Mac would most definitely be better than Kobe”.
LOL. I don’t know if that is offensive to Kobe, T-Mac, or both…..
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
Before this goes into a flame war...
In my mind, the only things stopping T-Mac from reaching that upper echelon status that Kobe has are the mental wiring and the injuries.
That was not meant as an insult to either player, but more of a testament to how mentally driven Kobe is to be the best. After all, it is eerie how T-Mac can be considered the Bizzaro Kobe.
I didn't say it was meant to be offensive to either..........
I meant it may be offensive to either. (whispering) it was a joke. :-)
As for a flame war……we are about 9 levels from a flame war. At least we were until you mentioned it.
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
When we first traded for T-Mac
I was ecstatic. Francis was all star talent, but he couldn’t coexist with JVG. In return we got the guy who recently led the league in scoring (30% of his team’s offense), it sounded way too good to be true – and in hindsight it was. Of course I still feel that we got the better end of that deal considering how Francis did in Orlando, but T-Mac and Yao never gave that feeling of mutual chemistry. As much as T-Mac would publicly say that it was Yao’s team, his actions on the court seemed to contradict it.
Then his back injuries started piling up, and he became a completely different player. It was like Penny Hardaway after his microfracture. The only problem was, T-Mac didn’t realize he couldn’t just shoot over people as well as he used to. In his mind, he was still on Kobe’s level. He very well may have been for a period in his career, but that was long past, and his ego and injury issues prevented the Rockets from building that team chemistry.
When T-Mac proclaimed his season ending injury on his own, I think Battier summed it up the best, by saying that the news was also relieving, because the team felt more defined in terms of everyone’s roles without McGrady, and the results of this first round series was proof. I don’t hate T-Mac since he did give us a good run, and every player has their faults. But it has not worked for both sides, and the Rockets will move on with success, and T-Mac will leave with nothing more/less than he deserves.
"Hip-Thrust!" - Hard Gay
In case you're wondering, Hard Gay is married.
Thanks for the welcome
I’ve been reading (and occasionally posting in) this site all year and you guys have a great thing going on here. A few things:
1. I think Bynum is going to have a semi-bounce back series. He was really struggling with Utah’s smaller, quicker big men and kept get stripped while trying to get into an offensive groove. That eventually affected his play on the defensive end as well. Yao is a great post defender but he’s slow and methodical, and Andrew should be able to get some of his rhythm back. NOTE: I’m NOT saying that Bynum will outplay Yao, I just think he’ll bounce back into more of his pre-injury form.
2. Kobe Bryant should give White Pills (that’s what you guys call Shane + Artest right?) fits. Ever since that Lewis article, Kobe has been extremely efficient against the Rockets. Lakers fan can’t thank him enough. Just think of Kobe as a better, much more experienced Roy with far better footwork and a more diverse skill set.
3. Wafer and Brooks have to be Laker killers for the Rockets to stand a chance. We have trouble recovering when ultra quick players penetrate our defense. If Wafer + Brooks average 30 points a game for the series, things will get VERY interesting.
4. Odom and Artest are probably the two biggest wildcards in the series in terms of potential vs. IQ. Artest played great for you guys last game but Odom’s been absolutely phenomenal the entire series against Utah and most of the games Bynum has been out. If Artest keeps up his play from game 6 and Odom reverts back to Odumb though, things look bad for the Lakers.
5. Rockets Offense vs. Lakers Defense. The Lakers have one of the league’s best offenses and the Rockets have one of the league’s best defenses. The series hinges on whether or not the Lakers can keep the Rockets from putting the ball into the basket. I’m confident that the Lakers will score mid-high 90 even against the Rocket’s defense. Can the Rocket’s offense keep up?
Should be an interesting series. I have the Lakers in 6 after some decidely mediocre play against Utah but if we can get our heads on straight, 5 is definitely possible. That being said, a game 7 is a possibilty but I just don’t see the Lakers losing in LA in game 7. Not with one Kobe Bean Bryant on our team.
hello rocket fans
we are in for a hell of a series. i got the lakers in 5 or 6. i hope it doesn’t go to 7 because the lakers don’t have a real homecourt advantage. i think that’s why we are so good on the road. we can’t tell the difference between home and the road. many laker fans like me have to go to clipper games to see live basketball because they are WAY cheaper. laker games are filled with rich/lucky people who don’t like to yell
Question
Whats with the “first” rule?? Does that mean we cant say first quarter??? Just lookin for some clarification.
pslakersfan already said it, but the lakers matchup really really really well with the Rockets. This series is where the Rockets will really miss Deke because of the size and depth of LA’s front line. They have three 7 footers while houston has 1. I feel like the rockets have the overall advantage in the PG, SG, SF positions, but the lakers have a bigger advantage in the PF, C spots.
My prediction is undecided yet, but i dont think the Lakers will win a Game 6 elimination game in Houston. Right now i would have to say lakers in 5, but that might change before Monday at 9:30 CST.
Rockets Win Series 4-2
Up Next: The Kobe's
Um
Rockets have advantage at SG? O_O
I realize you said depth but still. Really? Come on.
i was comparing PG, SG, and SF as a whole
vs. PF and C and trying to show that PF and C are a bigger advantage for the Lakers than PG, SG, and SF all together are for the Rockets. I know that the Lakers have the SG advantage, but those three as a whole go to the Rockets in my mind.
Rockets Win Series 4-2
Up Next: The Kobe's
I just don't see
how Bynum and Mbenga has any advantage over Yao. I mean it doesn’t matter how many 7 footers they have as long as they’re on the court one at a time.
I agree with the Lakers having the advantage at PF and SF, but LA’s backcourt is much stronger imo.
"Hip-Thrust!" - Hard Gay
In case you're wondering, Hard Gay is married.
I don't want to put words in his mouth, but what he may be saying is......
that the 2 out of 3 of Bynum, Pau, and Odom. Is better than whatever 2 Houston has on the floor at the time. Not sure if that is what he means, but that is my opinion.
Phil Jackson almost always has 2 of those 3 out at all times. I don’t think Mbenga is an issue.
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
That is exactly what i was trying to say
I dont really think Mbenga is an issue as i dont think he will play much. I think Phil wil rotate Bynum and Pau guarding Yao. Pau had good minutes guarding Yao in the last game played between these two teams and Bynum didnt play in that one.
Rockets Win Series 4-2
Up Next: The Kobe's
Hi Rocket’s fans,
I am a die hard laker fan but I am an even bigger fan of great basketball. I congratulate your team for beating a VERY tough portland team. I am not sure many other teams could have beaten them. They were a young team that was full of confidence…and you know that confidence is always one of the biggest X factors when it comes to basketball.
That being said, I think the Lakers winning 4-0 against you guys does given them the mental/confidence edge. Even if the Lakers are NOT the better team ( and to some extent, I don’t think they are much better than the Rockets), they have that mental edge.
This “mental edge” however, can quickly be erased (through strong play by the Rockets).
May the best team win and once again, congratulations.
thanks for the kind words
Lamar Odom will play a key in this series. He’s a nightmare matchup for us. As I discussed with pslakerfan yesterday, I hope his tendency to be MIA will come back in this series but I doubt it.
Nice ground rules!
Would love to see an addendum that addresses the flopping debates. Enjoy the spirit of a good debate, but when it deteriorates to a “my guy doesn’t flop and your guy does” pissing contest, getting back to work is depressingly inviting… Not saying the debate always goes there, but it’s been known to happen. Plus, we all love Scola and we’ll never willingly admit that he’s a flopper – Argentinian or not.
As an H-towner stuck in Dallas, I have to say that I’m pumped we’re in the 2nd round where there are fewer games for the Rockets to compete with for TNT love (missed a lot of the Portland series) and we’re up against the mighty Lakers – who always get theirs when it comes to national coverage. Seriously looking forward to seeing if the Rockets can put the regular season series behind them and give LA a run for their money.
I agree about the flopping debate thing. However how about a clarification?
What do you consider flopping? Seriously. People call Derek Fisher a “flopper” and I honestly can’t remember seeing him “flop” once. At least not by my definition. He jumps in and attempts to take A LOT of charges (usually successfully). I don’t see him do the phantom fall down thing (Ginobili) or the exaggerated fall thing, but maybe that’s my Purple colored glasses. Just wondering what your definition is.
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
That right there IS the flopping debate.
There is no definition of flopping because if there was then it wouldnt be in the league. I personally dont know about Fisher, but trying to decide if one player is a flopper and another isnt is the flopping debate.
Rockets Win Series 4-2
Up Next: The Kobe's
ah, definition debates
my favorite part of high school debates.
Personally (and this is what so many Blazers fans and I got into), I take a pretty conservative of flopping: it’s only “flopping” if little or no contact was made. I think taking a charge is an important part of any defense (and, despite the stereotype of players like Scola or Battier “flopping”, it hurts to take a good charge). The problem is with players like Ginobili just falling down next to an offensive player and trying to get the call. That’s not good basketball, and it’s not fun to watch.
Honestly, very few on the Lakers and Rockets really strike me as floppers. Vujacic does, but it’s not like I watch a lot of Lakers games, either.
Vujacic is a serious exaggerator and actor, I don't know if that is flopping or not.
In my opinion it is. He acts like he just got shot every time someone bumps him. Ginobili is the worst though, he just fakes contact altogether. I just find it interesting that everyone says Fisher is a flopper though as I don’t think I have ever personally seen it and I have never seen a photo or video of it.
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
Im glad you can admit Vujacic is a flopper.
Exaggeration and acting is flopping by my definition. If it wasnt acting than it would be a charge.
Rockets Win Series 4-2
Up Next: Lakers
by TexasHoosier on May 2, 2009 11:19 PM CDT up reply actions
People that complain about floppers
Should be insta-banned.
Unless you can admit that Battier is a flopper as well.
I'm just glad Trent's been banned.
Dude was a tool.
"Adelman sitting on the bench looks like a beat poet ready to blow your mind. And then he screams at the refs, and it’s a poetry slam." - LicketyBrindle
I was just about to ask if Trent ever got banned.
All of Portland apologizes for that dipshit. I’m sure his parents would too.
One of the top 15 cities in the whole wide world.
"Adelman sitting on the bench looks like a beat poet ready to blow your mind. And then he screams at the refs, and it’s a poetry slam." - LicketyBrindle
by chrisjay84 on May 1, 2009 9:34 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
We never clarified Top 15 in what?
Hypothermia?
Losing Super Bowls?
Being in Northern New York State?
Less than 3 hours from a major Canadian city?
as a lost angel from angelino....
i respectfully look forward to seeing my team take your team apart. Lakers in 5. Artest will need to score more, how much will that take away from his D? And if he just focuses on D, I don’t think you guys have enough points.
We shall see but I look forward to reading this blog while it happens, on top of all the others, of course.
:0)
I Fully Expect the Lakers to Beat Us
But just want to point out that we went 0-4 in the regular season vs. San Antonio in 1995-96. Didn’t stop us in the playoffs then either. Though I think we were a six seed that year. Close enough.
by seanbergmanrules on May 1, 2009 8:07 PM CDT reply actions
I also expect the Lakers to beat us.
My brain – Lakers in 6 or even 5.
My heart – Rockets in 7.
“Never underestimate the heart of a champion”, depending on whom the champion is in this series.
By the way, is Rudy T still working for the Lakers right now. I heard after he had resigned as coach, he still worked as a consultant or something.
And I wish to offer Mr. Tex Winter a speedy recovery. The man deserves to be in the Hall.
There's no way the Rockets win game 7 on the road
Rockets in 6 if anything
But I also expect us to lose
by Carlos_HoustonSportsFanatic on May 2, 2009 2:38 PM CDT up reply actions
I’m a Lakers fan who understands the bad rep that Lakers fans have. Some of these guys act like little kids that type in rap speak(not saying some aren’t little kids, but sadly they’re probably adults). I once commented on a Laker forum about Kobe jacking up deep threes and got jems like ’He’s paid all that money to shoot dem shots I bet u can’t makem scrub’ and ‘When he nails em you’ll be all up on hiz jock HAHA’. Very intelligent basketball conversation, as you can see.
There are great Laker fans out there, like at Forum Blue & Gold, but yeah, you’ll see the rifraff here periodically. Feel free to ban/demeen/trash talk them into their Tommy Hilfiger jeans.
btw, watched all the Rockets 1st round games and was rooting for them to get to the 2nd. I think they will surprise any Lakers fans expecting them to get steamrolled. This could be a good series(not as good as Bulls/Celtics. Holy Jesus); the Rocket’s playoff D vs. the Lakers great offense.
Ooooo
Nice addendum.
If you can’t form a sentence in at least semi-proper English, don’t hit the Post button.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Hakeem was as good or better than Wilt IMO
Dream played against a lot more centers his size or bigger in a much slower paced era. Also won back to back titles with one future HOFer (Glide) for one year.
My greatest enemy is my inner me
Wilt is the best
The man averaged 30 points and 23 rebounds OVER HIS CAREER
He had a season where he averaged 50 points and 25 rebounds for goodness sake. I love Hakeem enough to have his babies, but no one is as good as Wilt at the 5. He’s the second greatest player in NBA history.
And I used to think Hakeem was 2, but clearly looking at KAJ’s career, it’s just better as a whole. Yes, he played with better players, but that’s not the point.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Oh, and in his entire career
He never fouled out in any game (averaged only 2 a game for his career)
He was also a freak of nature athletically and cardiovascularly as he played 46 minutes a game. That’s right 2 freaking minutes of rest
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
And then there was his luck with the ladies...
As he claimed to have slept with over 20k women.
Now that’s what I call scoring!
Ba dum bah!
Thank you, I’ll be here all series. Don’t forget to tip your waitress!
I think Kareem was clearly better than Dream.
I have 1. Kareem 2. Wilt/Hakeem 3. Hakeem/Wilt 4. Shaq 5. Russell
You have to remember that for the most part, Wilt and Russell played most of their careers against 6-7 centers in extremely fast paced games. There was little to no defense being played back then.
My greatest enemy is my inner me
Not much faith in the home crowds, eh???
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
Agree with the whole "first" BS.
Now go get the L@kers!
My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.
Yeah the whole "first" thing is kinda childish..............
kinda like putting an * or @ in the word Lakers. Or Fakers. Or LA Kobe’s. Or Kobeyatch. Or Vujabitch.
The good thing is it makes it easier to know which comments to skip over.
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
KKK?
Oops!! Anyway, whatever makes you feel better. You can type whatever you want (even KKK), but it’s still childish (even if you don’t want to admit it.
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
But Vujabitch seems fitting somehow, doesn't it?
Isn’t he the one who nicknamed HIMSELF “the machine”?
Oh it's very fitting, he is a little bitch.
But that doesn’t make it any less childish. I don’t care that you hate the Lakers or their players, or coaches, or the city of LA (I don’t like it either), I just think it sounds a lot like “I know you are, but what am I”, etc…. And he didn’t name himself the machine. Actually all Laker fans know this and all non-Laker fans seem to not know this. The reason for this is that the Laker announcers (Joel Meyers and Stu Lantz) gave him the nickname and that is the channel that people in LA watch. Out of market fans watch only network games or road announcers and don’t know the story. Doug Collins is actually the one who keeps saying that he named himself the machine over and over and over again. Apparently no one thought to tell him.
"Don't I know you from somewhere"?. "Nah, that ain't me, I'm from Buffalo" - Axel Foley
Thanks for clearing that up for the non-Lakers fans
I was about to do it, until I saw you did it.
The whole “Sasha gave himself the nickname ‘The Machine’” thing is a total myth.
Now Kobe did give himself the nickname “Black Mamba” so if you think that’s lame, fine. At least you have your facts straight.
How about spelling K0be with a zero (0) instead of an o?
On BE Lakers is looked upon as a swear word. So most of us spell it with an @ or *. Force of habit.
My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.
What is the whole "first" thing??
Rockets Win Series 4-2
Up Next: The Kobe's
by TexasHoosier on May 1, 2009 11:48 PM CDT up reply actions
We've never had this here, so I'll explain.
As soon as a new post goes up from our hosts, people would rush to post the first comment on the thread.
Usually they’ll post something like “First!!!!!!!!”
And usually you’ll get about 8 of those “F i R s T !!!!” posts.
And then the follow up posts laughing at the posters who thought they were first, but weren’t.
This can eat up a good 30 posts before its done and is one of the bigger wastes of time on the biggest waste of time ever invented.
Hakeem Rules
Olajuwon was amazing in his time. Those were definitley the days. Back to back World Champions!!! Trent is a douche bag. I can beleive I live in the same state as him. Fortunately I am on the other side. Go Rockets!!! I would love to see Kobe get what’s coming too him. While he is cleary an exceptional player, he is too full of himself for my taste. Don’t like him.
He is too full of himself for your taste?
Assuming I agree that he is (which I don’t), I hope you are consistent and don’t like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Shaq, Wilt Chamberlain, or Bill Russell, either. Yeah, I went there.
The answer to your question is ....
No. I guess I am not that consistent then, because I just don’t like Kobe. Really all of the Lakers. Just my opinion.
At least you're honest about your inconsistency
And I’m never going to convince you that Kobe is a decent person.
But I might just be able to convince you that he is a human being, not some villain in a fairy tale.
In the same way that people dismiss Artest as “crazy”, Kobe is dismissed as “egotistical” and “selfish”. There’s always more to the story. And I could list all the charitable work Kobe has done, and the personal accounts of his positive treatment of strangers, but I’m sure that would not matter.
Just know that you are simplifying things. Or don’t. I’m just throwing my opinion out there, too.
top 5
how is wilt that far ahead of bill?
wilt was a freak of nature and a stat machine, but he could never figure out how to blend his unique skills with the rest of the team to reach the next level.
like some other center in the list said, excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. you are what you repeatedly do. 11 championships speaks for itself.
Because sometimes who you play with is not under your control
And championships are won by teams. No player ever won by suiting up by himself one on five.
And yes, Hakeem is better than Shaq, no arguments here.
I have to say, that is wrong on a lot of levels
Bill Russell played with 5 other Hall of Famers for goodness sake. Wilt didn’t have that early and they couldn’t beat the Celtics. That wasn’t Wilt’s fault
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
And those championships are a team accomplishment
And Russell’s team was infinitely better than anything Wilt had at the same time
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
thing is
just like wilt can’t control who his team mates are, you can’t penalize russell for winning so many championships because of his hall of fame team mates.
‘infinitely’ is an overstatement, wilt actually had a MUCH better supporting cast than people gave them credit for. i can’t think of that many names from the back of my head but he had chet walker, luke jackson, wally jones and billy cunningham. in fact, russell actually addressed this fact in one of his speeches in a university, after being annoyed by the repeated comments people made regarding wilt having mediocre team mates throughout his career.
That's the beauty of team sports
The near impossible task of separating the individual’s ability from the team’s accomplishments. And arguing about it.
I don’t even think the currently used advanced statistics do the job of evaluating individual worth and performance very well. Maybe because the question is absurd. It’s like trying to take data to determine: What’s more important, your heart or your brain? But what about your stomach, surely you need that to survive? Without your legs you can’t walk, and what about your kidneys, those play a vital role! And then someone in the bar will start telling you that the liver, that’s the key player, if the liver doesn’t function, the whole team is in trouble!
by Gils_Keloids on May 2, 2009 10:32 AM CDT up reply actions
Bill Russell is overrated.
Yes, I went there.
So what? He won all those Championships in a 6-8 team NBA. Granted, it’s not his fault, but it’s also the same reason Wilt can’t be the best ever. The fact is that Wilt could never carry a team to the Top. He only won it once, and he had Jerry West and Elgin Baylor?
Kareem is #1 All time in my book. 6 Chips, 6 MVP’s. All time leading scorer. All Defense 5 times.
I will agree that Shaq should’ve been better.
I agree
I don’t think it’s possible to compare Russell/Wilt to later centers because the era they played in was just so wholly different (different tempos, smaller league, much fewer big men, etc.).
Among ‘modern’ centers, I have Kareem as #1, Hakeem as #2. Shaq at his best rivaled both of them, but just didn’t stay on top long enough to merit knocking one of those two titans off their pedestals.
The most amazing thing to me about the Dream was that he did his best work against the best opponents, in a Golden Era of big men. Who did Shaq win his titles against? Jeff Foster? Jason Collins? Hakeem annihilated MVP-Robinson and Ewing and did great work against a young Shaq. That, to me, is the measure of a great player (more than regular season stats) – he plays his best against top-notch opponents.
I think that's a valid point
That Shaq didn’t have the competition some of the other centers did. I believe if he’d stayed in shape and not worried about music and Kazaam he could have averaged 30 points and 20 boards a game like Wilt did.
Thanks for the welcome.
I think the Lakers take it in five. Although, earlier in the season when McGrady was healthy, your team caught my attention. If your team would ever be healthy they’d be really dangerous. I don’t think they’ll roll over in this series and the Lakers had better finish games better than they did last series or it could be a real struggle.
I agree with your top five centers, except I think Russell goes in front of Shaq. And that pains me to ever put a Celtic in front of a Laker in any way.
Glad to see blogs for fans of opposing teams that can speak intelligently about sports.
honestly
I think the Lakers win in 5… Kobe is that good.
But if the Rockets are able to steal one of the first two games, that all changes.
I’m torn. I want Kobe to get a non-Shaq ring just to stick it to people. But I can’t root for him to beat my team. Maybe next year, Kobe.
Lakers in 7
If we can defend our Home games
and even
Rockets in 6, just gotta believe
by Carlos_HoustonSportsFanatic on May 2, 2009 2:43 PM CDT up reply actions
Thanks for the welcome
And let me just say that as a lifelong Lakers fan, Hakeem > Shaq. There should be absolutely no argument from any intelligent basketball fan on that regard (of course, Hakeem IS my favorite player of all time, but let’s pretend I’m unbiased).
This should be a fun series, looking forward to intelligent debate/discussion between the two fan bases. The Rockets are one of the few teams (along with the Magic) that I casually root for if not playing for the Lakers. Good luck DreamShakers!
Is "Bill" Bill Walton? :)
"The playoffs now are my grind. My grind for a championship,'' Roy said. "Whatever needs to be done to get there I'm gonna do it.''
I gotta question...
Who is Akeem Olajuwon? Did Hakeem have an older brother or cousin? ;)
"I don’t have the first clue who he is talking about, because all I worry about is Jerome." – Jerome James, on comments by coach Nate McMillan about Seattle SuperSonics players being selfish.
That was the original (incorrect) spelling used in the 80s (maybe early 90s, too)
They later corrected it to add the silent “H”
by Gils_Keloids on May 2, 2009 11:13 PM CDT up reply actions
Really?
I thought people mispronounced the Akeem spelling, so he legally changed the spelling to Hakeem to help people get it right.
And yeah, that was some sarcasm right there ;)
"I don’t have the first clue who he is talking about, because all I worry about is Jerome." – Jerome James, on comments by coach Nate McMillan about Seattle SuperSonics players being selfish.
From wikepedia:
On March 9, 1991, he altered his name from Akeem to the proper Arabic spelling Hakeem, saying, “I’m not changing the spelling of my name, I’m correcting it”
"I don’t have the first clue who he is talking about, because all I worry about is Jerome." – Jerome James, on comments by coach Nate McMillan about Seattle SuperSonics players being selfish.
Yeah, Hakeem is the proper pronounciation
The H isn’t silent
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