I agree with Pippen that the fans element plays a role in how a player plays but if we want a pure basketball environment, this is it. Everyone in stuck in the bubble and if they aren't practicing their game or taking care of their bodies, it's on them. The Lakers were ready from the get-go. And if the fans attended, they would have flooded the arenas in support of the Lakers. In my opinion, this was actually the toughest road for the Lakers. We should have realistically gone against Blazers>Rockets>Clippers>Bucks but it's not the Lakers fault two of those teams choked.
I thought I read he actually had the Covid (Toe ) and had to quarantine and (no idea if any ill effects) Right Arm!! .... errrr ..... Right On!!
Huge news... Potentially, no Dragic or Adebayo for game 2. Listed as 'doubtful.' Little reason to believe both will be ready since game 2 is pretty much a must-win for them. Lakers are also wearing the Mamba jerseys tomorrow so it should be a 40 point slaughter.
This still cracks me up. Where's @sirronstuff ? We need a slo mo gif of "Bam" launching himself at Dwight and bouncing off and falling to the floor in pain. #please?
Anyone remember earlier in the game when Bam grabbed Lebron around his shoulder as they both fell to the floor, Lebron was clutching his arms in pain right after that. ???? then add that Butler elbowed Green right in the mouth on another play. Even the announcers who are not pro Lakers felt that was a veteran move, made on purpose. I think the Heat were trying to manhandle us and see if they could rattle our cages. Hell, even the play where Bam got injured showed that he was fishing for that foul and initiated the move. He drove his shoulder right into Howard and not the other way around. Apparently that like trying to get a foul called on a brick wall while you are driving your Beetle Van. After all of this, what they got was we dug in and played back tough. They ended out with 3 injuries, making them look like they should have tried more finesse and less brute force.
This is how I see it. Everything is equal and there aren’t in X factors that come into play. It’s strictly about who plays best.
oh yeah, forgot we got screwed out of HCA. again, my point about the bubble was that it was a disservice to the teams that had played well during the regular season grind, with all the distractions pippen mentioned. i'm sure mil and lac feel this way. clips should be mad that they didn't have that game 7 at their house, for example. winning as the 1 seed without HCA is actually more impressive, tbh.
Tough luck for Miami. But this stuff happens. I expect them to come back with even more physical play though in Game 2. A wounded Miami is in some ways a dangerous Miami. As ever, we'll see. I don't count them out with Bam gone and I do expect him to return probably in Game 3 with a few days off to heal up. They aren't going to lay down and die and I hope that our team doesn't relax with this news. Keep up the taking care of business energy!
to me . i think its actually tougher to play on a nuetral court with pretty much no fans other than family. my thinking is this is pretty much a glorified rec league and because of no fans, the so called practice players would shine more often, usually making lower tier teams better than expected.
You know you are gonna get the rat holes to yap about the unfairness or unorthodox set up of this years playoffs. All I have to say about that is look at the banner in Game 1 next year and eat giant elephant turds. I think too many of you keep talking about the Slappers like they were some grand franchise and how fun it was that they failed. Fun how? They have been a joke and a failure their entire existence. Paul George has failed in big games his entire career. Kawhi has titles and Finals MVP, but this is the same guy who bailed on the Spurs who's franchise has done nothing but good things in all of basketball.
The LeBron arm one, I am fairly certain you are referring to Jae Crowder. Super dirty move, and they replayed it too. I remember it clearly yes. Still, despite the injuries, the Lakers cannot take these guys lightly AT ALL.
Hmmm was that Crowder who pulled LeBron's arm? Heat don't have anyone 'tough' on their roster outside of Udonis Haslem so the last team they should want to be tough against is one where we have Dwight and Rondo. Those two alone could take their roster out haha
Olynk should have been banned from the league after that. I'm sure if Love pushed for it enough, they would have looked to at least suspending him for the season. That was so dirty.
What people don't bring up is how this team was just put together in off season. Little to no continuity as compared to these other teams we've faced or were suppose to face in the playoffs. New head coach, new system. 3/4 of the team replaced. Lebron and AD having to figure out how to play together. Figuring out rotations while balancing egos. And then losing Bradley, the team's best perimeter defender. Having to incorporate mid season pick up of Morris who's played big playoff mins. Portland has Lillard and CJ who've played together for forever. Houston has played the same way ever since Pringles became head coach. Denver brought back almost the exact team that went to the second round the previous season. Clippers added two stars to a playoff team. Bucks lost Brogdan but was still the same team. It's a testament to the culture of the team. A big part of it is Lebron's leadership but another part is Vogel's system and ability to get the team to buy in. There are times when the team just synchs up perfectly, it looks like they've been playing together for years.
