Is anybody as impressed by this guy as I am in this series? He has outscored the entire Cavaliers bench by himself, knocked down some huge shots, but whats most impressive to me is that he seems to be playing without pressure. He is playing the game like it is practice, he doesn't seem bothered by the attention at all. He is also defending LeBron James pretty darn good! Lets go Magic!!!! Lakers vs. Magic in the finals.... Magic take it in 6
I hate him. With a passion. Well hates a strong word i guess... The thing is, anybody and their brother could hit shots for the Magic. Dwight Howard creates more space then Rosie O'Donnell in line at Burger King. And speaking of Howard, i always loved the guy until these playoffs. SI ran an article on how lovable and nice he is, and i had seen him play during the regular season and i liked him. But since the playoffs started i have watched him get dirtier and dirtier with his play. It started with the suspension for elbowing that guy in the face, but it hasn't stopped him. He's been throwing non-basketball related elbows all series. Pretty shady, even if is it playoof ball.
Thats the most asinine thing ive ever heard. Pietrus covering James well...gimme a break. Lebron was averaging 40 PPG before tonight off night. Congrats to the Magic though
Come on Caleb, James is a joke and it was proved in these playoffs.... MJ vs. James... give me a break. Jordan would have NEVER let him team down and James did just that. As far as Howard goes, thats playoff basketball and its nice to see. I had one major beef with Howard in the regular season and that was he wasn't pyshyical enough. The guy is an absolute freak, and its about time that he uses that to his advantage. The Cavs got away with so many fouls in that series because God knows that Stern didn't want James fouling out of any games. As far as Peitrus goes, its easy to say that about his 3's but that isn't on him, its poor defense by the Cavs. Their are alot of teams out there with great big men, Celtics, Suns, Rockets, TrailBlazers, ect... but the guards still have to make the shot and Peitrus proved that he can do that in the clutch.
BM...sorry about the rant last night...losers defeat, my bad. About James vs MJ, im not going to argue on that. MJ is the GOAT, and nobody will challenge that. But don't forget all those years in the late 80's where Jordan would get to the playoffs and score 60 points and still lose the game. James has plenty of time to mature and win titles (in or outside of Cleveland). About the defense though, that point is mute. If Lebron is hot, not even Ron Artest would be able to guard him. If he's cold, anybody could be in that spot and get some credit. Lebron's not a player who will be "shut down" by a defender, because their isn't anybody in the NBA who could (same could be said about MJ, Magic, Kobe, Bird....you get the picture). Howard is a freak and elbows are part of the game, i still think he's the #1 center in the league, but he was trying to hurt Mo Williams purposely this series because he knows he can get away with it. We all know David Stern favors Lebron, Kobe, Wade, Duncan and Shaq but Howard is now in that club.
I agree with ya BM, its not just this seris either, he's really come out since the beginning of the playoffs. I know some folks might think im going off on a limb here but honestly I think the guy has all of the tools to become a big time NBA player. Size, speed, great skill, and when you see his interviews hes really level headded. I would be surprised to see him lobbying for the starting job over Courtney Lee next season, dudes a stud.
You take that back! Courtney Lee is a man among boys down in Orlando! LOL He played college here locally at WKU, and was a god on campus. I think he has fended his own well enough to earn a starting spot somewhere. btw, Lakers will sweep the series! (hopefully)
Caleb, its all good man, I know what its like to have your team loose and how much it can piss you off. Hell, I am a huge Cowboys fan and I had to hear it from my buddies last year when the Eagles whipped them like little school girls. Trevor, I don't think the Lakers can pull it off, they are just too soft and they definetly don't have the D. Who is gonna try to defend Howard? Gasol or Bynum, Gasol is weak and if Bynum gets in foul trouble they are pretty much screwed. Now, look at the supporting cast trying to defend all of Orlando's shooters, Bryant isn't bad, Ariza is decent, but Fisher is gonna be a liability on the defensive end and the Magic have a much deeper bench.
I think that Lakers can do it. The Cavs had a bunch of geezers inside, and a flop king that did mediocre. The Lakers have Gasol, Odom and Bynum to play on Dwight. It wont be as easy for him as the Cleveland series. And dont forge the Lakers have Kobe, who isnt going to lose his 3rd Finals in the decade. It just wont happen.
I know, I am just hoping.... I like Bryant and Odom, but I just can't stand Gasol, Farmar, and Ariza... I don't know what it is.... I just can't deal with them. I am still pissed that my favorite team didn't make it, the Celtics.... been a fan since before I can remember.... I am kinda worried about them next season though.... Powe, Garrnett, Pierce, Allen, House, ect.... they aren't exactly young and they have hit their peak! Big Baby and especially Rondo have shown that they can be superstars, but I am worried that without the supporting cast they might slack off. On a side note.... for the 2010 free agency.... I hope the Celtics leave LeBron alone and pick up Bosh and Wade.... that would put that team back in the top 2 teams for seveal years to come!
Oh no, you didnt just mention the celtics Like your dislike for the Lakers, i have it for the Celtics. Peirce, Perkins, Garnett, House and especially RONDO... I can respect Garnett for his ability (though he is DONE for the rest of his career now), and i love Ray Allen (GOAT when it comes to 3's).
Yeah, but you gotta respect Rondo.... last year he was the "weak link" for the Celtics, and this year he came out on a mission! I don't hate Kobe.... I think he is the best player in the game today, I just hate the fact that he faces the Celtics :d The only reason I dislike LeBron is because so many people have him hyped up when he hasn't actually proven himself yet. Delonte West (however you spell it) is a whole different game.... I can't stand a dude that is making multi-millions a year that wants to try and proove his "street cred" as much as he can.... he doesn't live in Harlem, NY or Compton, CA..... give me a break :evil: :d
Your right about Delonte, but the man is a baller. He gets overshadowed by Mo, but i believe him to be a better player (still very young too). The sky is the limit for him (too bad he's tiny). West showing his HOPS and athletisizm Rondo played well, but had an "offense" only guard on him during the bulls series where he put up his huge numbers. I would put him at the #4 or #5 best PG in the league, but its a weak position (like center). Lebron has proved himself, just as much as Jordon early in his career. It took Jordon 8 years to win a title, Lebron just ended his 6th, has a Finals run, many deep playoff runs, a scoring title, a MVP and hes an established defender. The chance is their for Lebron, he just needs his Pippen (and Rodman for that matter).
LA vs Orlando makes for a better series than LA vs CLE. Well, maybe not for the casual NBA who wanted to see Kobe vs LeBron, but for a basketball fan, it is a much better series. LA and Orlando are better teams than the Cavs. Cleveland would have been swept by LA. The Cavs are just soooo boring to watch 90% of the time. The only time the Cavs are fun to watch is when LeBron is going off, but then again, they are still somewhat boring b/c it's just LeBron playing 1 vs 5.
I couldn't agree more, everybody was wanting the Kobe vs. LeBron matchup but that would have made for a very boring series. I couldn't have been more happy to see Orlando put such a beatdown on the Cavs simply because Orlando was given no chance in the series. Out of all the playoff teams, there were only two three teams that were truly built for playoff basketball, Orlando, Boston, and Denver.... Denver just couldn't put points up consistantly and Boston had two of there top 3 big men out.... I wouldn't be suprised to see Orlando win the championship... they have Howard in the middle and I don't see any of the Lakers matching up very well with him, and all of Orlando's guards are beasts. Ariza is about the only Laker who has a good 3-point game as well as size. Odom will have to be a beast in the series in order for the Lakers to take it!
