The Other PP

A lot has been made recently about the fact that the Lakers now have Ron Artest and
that fact will take away the match up advantage the the Celtics had in 2008. That is a point well taken.
It may very well be the case that Pierce will not be the prolific scorer that he has been in the past.
Anybody remember the point total he had in the game 6 blowout 2 years ago? Yes, it was 17...not bad but still the fourth leading scorer that night. He was much more Birdlike that night, doing the little things that make a big difference that may not show up in the box score. We knew he had a major hand in the success and yet he did a lot of it out of the limelight. He was helping to make everyone around him better.
That's the Paul Pierce that I hope shows up for this series. He can still be a scorer, he will get his opportunities but this Pierce is more of a pain in the Lakers side. This Pierce can still cause the Lakers a lot of problems with or without Artest.

Good observation. No great observation. Lakers focusing on logic and match-ups. We'll focus on the intangibles. See my further rants on this under The Match-up thread. It's why history has it 9-2 and why it will be 10-2 after next week. Magic's teams, with the emphasis on teams, were the only two to figure out how to finally beat the Celtics. Huge missed opportunity for current Lakers team. Looking down the wrong rabbit hole.

Those are the teams that should be compared: 80's Lakers v. 2008,10 Lakers.

If you were to ask Magic Johnson why and how did the Lakers finally beat the Celtics twice in the 80's after decades of blowing it head-to-head, (and LAL actually snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in 1984) what would he say? What happened between 1984 and 1985 to LA? Were they worried about "getting tougher" and "playing better defense (with Ron A)" per Kobe for this upcoming series? The 1984 line-ups v. 1985 line ups for the Lakers were virtually identical sans great role players in 1984 of Calvin Garrett, Eddie Jordan and Swen Nater vs. 1985's Earl Jones, Ronnie Lester and Chuck Nevitt. So, adding Artest can't and isn't going to be the answer.

Kobe's going to miss #5 this time for pretty much the same reason(s) LeBron dropped the ball this past playoffs.

dbrown4 wrote:Good observation. No great observation. Lakers focusing on logic and match-ups. We'll focus on the intangibles. See my further rants on this under The Match-up thread. It's why history has it 9-2 and why it will be 10-2 after next week. Magic's teams, with the emphasis on teams, were the only two to figure out how to finally beat the Celtics. Huge missed opportunity for current Lakers team. Looking down the wrong rabbit hole.

Those are the teams that should be compared: 80's Lakers v. 2008,10 Lakers.

If you were to ask Magic Johnson why and how did the Lakers finally beat the Celtics twice in the 80's after decades of blowing it head-to-head, (and LAL actually snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in 1984) what would he say? What happened between 1984 and 1985 to LA? Were they worried about "getting tougher" and "playing better defense (with Ron A)" per Kobe for this upcoming series? The 1984 line-ups v. 1985 line ups for the Lakers were virtually identical sans great role players in 1984 of Calvin Garrett, Eddie Jordan and Swen Nater vs. 1985's Earl Jones, Ronnie Lester and Chuck Nevitt. So, adding Artest can't and isn't going to be the answer.

Kobe's going to miss #5 this time for pretty much the same reason(s) LeBron dropped the ball this past playoffs.

I think where you and I differ is in "intangibles"...What PP did in 08 was very tangible just not as visible....All the hoopla will take a back seat to basic basketball on the court...A rebound here, picking up a lose ball there, a steal over there...boxing out, getting in the way...making a great pass, setting up your teammates. Make the other guy work harder to score than you do....that kind of thing...I love the Celtic aura as well as the next guy but it doesn't put points on the board....same for Laker revenge, it's hogwash...30 seconds into the first game all that crap is meaningless...Who is outplaying who...right now...is what I think matters...