Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire L.A Lakers: World Champions!!

All right, everyone!<P>Anybody on this board a Laker fan?<P>Let's hear it for the Lakers as they win another NBA championship!!!

<BR>Biiiig Dawg!! - Alan Iverson has more heart than whole NBA. Unfortunatly he doesn't have the help he needs. Yes, L.A. will win again but I'll be cheering for Iverson.

Big Laker fan here.<P>Yeah, Iverson's got heart, but so do Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Robert Horry, and Superman. Since Kobe seems to be not of this Earth, the presence of any organs is still in dispute. And little Lue's coming up big for a scrub guarding the MVP. The Lakers have plenty of heart, and they're showing it.<P>Biggest news all over the radio shows today is the horrendous officiating in the third quarter last night. Shaq went for, count them, ZERO free throws in the second half, ZERO after getting butchered evry time he got the ball, as usual. Meanwhile, Mutumbo flopped his way into three gifts, and the refs fouled the best big man in the game out in crunch time. That's B.S. in the Finals! The unwritten rule has always been that the players, not the refs should decide the outcome. To break that code on B.S. calls against Fisher and Shaq is a discredit. Can you imagine the uproar in Philly if Iverson fouled out on ticky-tack plays? Larry Brown's head would explode!<P>Derek Fisher's fifth foul was a mystery. There was NO contact. Kobe was getting hammered by Mutumbo every time he went to the hole, and no whistle. The Sixers shot 25 free throws to the Lakers 9 in the second half. How does a jump shooting team get 25 free throws in a half? I know it was a tough game to call, but the refs didn't do us any favors. Right or wrong, tainted or not, the refs gave Philly every chance to win, and they couldn't do it.<P>As to heart, heart is overcoming a gritty Philadelphia 76'ers team, a supremely hostile arena, and an unbelievably one-sided officiating crew to win on some clutch shots by Horry. Horry's got more than heart, he's got huevos rancheros.<P>Lakers in six. Watch out downtown.<P>Rick

Clint is right on the money. The Lakers are "loaded" although O'Neil and Bryant get most of the press, there are other guys who step up (as we saw last night). Switch Iverson with any player on the Lakers and you see Custer and the Indians instead of these exciting close games.

RickBin - I agree on the officiating, it seems to get worse every year. Could the dictorial approach of Stern have something to do with it. It seems you give up your right of free speech when you join the NBA, just ask Cuban and several of the players who get fined for being intelligent enough to express there opinions. I still think the NBA is some of the best intertainment on the tube.

Can you spell...The Big Dynasty?<P>Should the Lakers keep the big 3 (Shaq, Kobe and Derek) and continue to tweak their lineup, I see a dynasty growing.<P>In fact, barring injuries and other unforeseen developments, no team on the horizon seems to even have a chance to beat the current Lakers.<P>Last night, they proved their mettle. Again. Last night, they showed the world what a true team could accomplish as long as they followed Phil Jackson and continued to sing off of the same page.<P>The Lakers have learned a valuable lesson this year. Forget about personal accomplishments, focus on the team, pass the ball in to Shaq, wait for his move or pass, listen to Phil and the staff...the result will always be an NBA world championship. <P>The 76ers put up a good fight. They did not quit. HOwever, when a team constantly harps on moral victories rather than actual victories on the hardwood, you can bet that reality has finally set in. <P>My respect for the 76ers would have been greater IF they only had stopped whining about their injuries. <P>My respect for Alan Iverson (The Answer Is WRONG!) would have been greater IF he would have acted like a gentleman and a good sport by sticking around and congratulating the Lakers on their championship.<P>Instead, he acted like the punk and sore loser he is by running into the locker room and out the back door into the cold Philadelphia night. <P>How fitting, though!<P>The Lakers are Baq to Baq champions!<P>Now on to the first 3-peat of this millenium!<P>Go Lakers!

What night is The Championship Riot scheduled for? :o)

dube<P>That would be Monday!<P>When's yours? <P>Rick

Good one, Rick. I figured the Sixers were about 4 players away from giving the Lakers a battle. Ain't my favorite sport anyways, sooner be shooting or hunting than watching millionaires huffin' and puffin' at each other on TV.

WOW I'm glad thats over now we can concentrate on the Mariners.

dube:<P>I must say, AI made a believer out of me. I just wonder how long he can go at that pace and not have a real short career. At the level he plays, if he doesn't get hurt, he's gonna burn out too fast, at least if he's anything like the rest of us mortals. He needs some help to extend his career. I wonder if it's his style to accept it, or if he has to be a gunner to really flourish. He's fun to watch, I'll give him that!<P>Gotta love them 'Sixers. But I agree, they were overmatched. So is everyone else. We got a ringer over here. Better us than you, though! <P>Rick

Rick, AI is a little twerp compared to most of them oafs. He may indeed wear himself out if they don't get the kid some help. <BR>Didn't care much for him until this year, but his attitude and work ethic seems to have changed for the better. <BR>Would like him better if he'd do something different with the hair and didn't look like a #@$%@ billboard for Tattos is Us...but I reckon it's one of them cultural things, eh?<BR>Hey, coming in second is leaps ahead of what they were just a few years ago. Remember when the Sixers had that big skinny white kid that couldn't get out of his own way?<BR>I figure LA needs some more of them big doppy Eastern European guys on the team again...(chuckle).