2008 NBA Playoffs

[AUSTIN316]

Lakers look to close out Spurs in LA

LOS ANGELES (AP)—The youthful Los Angeles Lakers maintain they’re not close to being a finished product.

And yet, they’re one win away from earning their first NBA finals berth in four years, with as many as three shots at it if necessary.

In the process, they just might put an end to the San Antonio Spurs’ era of dominance.

The Lakers lead the Spurs 3-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals, and can put them away Thursday night at Staples Center, where they own a 7-0 record in the postseason and haven’t lost since March 28.

And to think, just last May, after the Lakers failed to win a playoff series for the third straight year, Kobe Bryant was demanding a trade.

“We’re just learning as we go,” Bryant said Wednesday at the team’s practice facility in suburban El Segundo. “We’ve seen some dark days around here.”

Starting guard Derek Fisher and seldom-used reserve Ira Newble are the only players on the roster over 30, and Bryant and Fisher are the only ones with championship rings, earning them with the Lakers from 2000-02.

“We’re a tough bunch,” Bryant said. “I think we’ve grown into a tough team mentally. I think we’ve grown up. Quick learners—we’re all just intelligent idiots.”

Should the Spurs win Game 5, the teams would meet Saturday night in San Antonio. A seventh game, if needed, would be played Monday night at Staples Center.

“Down 3-1, we know it’s really hard to come back,” San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili said. “But we’re going to try. Of course, we still believe in ourselves. We’re going to have a shot. As always the next game is THE game.”

The Spurs, who have won three championships in the last five years and four in the last nine, have all the experience a team could ask for, with Tim Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker leading the way.

“They’re the defending champions, and we’re going to have to play another good 48-minute basketball game in order to beat them,” Fisher said.

“We’ve been through tough games already in this series, and this game is going to be the toughest,” Lakers center Pau Gasol said.

The Lakers put the Spurs in a must-win situation Tuesday night by winning 93-91 for San Antonio’s first homecourt loss in the postseason after seven wins.

San Antonio appeared a step slow at times, with the Lakers’ 26-4 advantage in second-chance points a key to the game.

“We did a pretty decent job of stopping them, and every time we did get a stop, they got another chance at it,” Duncan said. “Even if it wasn’t a score right away, they got an opportunity to pull it back out and run it again. And that takes a lot out of you.”

Parker is the only member of the San Antonio rotation who’s under 30, so perhaps fatigue was a factor. But coach Gregg Popovich bristled last week when the Spurs’ age was brought up after they blew a 20-point lead in Game 1, saying: “When we win, we’re the experienced team. When we lose, we’re older than dirt. That’s just silly.”

Popovich said before Wednesday afternoon’s flight to Los Angeles that the Spurs needed to let go of the Game 4 loss.

“If you don’t let it go, you can’t focus on the game (Thursday night), the task at hand,” he said. “So by the time we land in LA, it will be gone and we’ll be concentrating on just talking about what we can do to win basketball games.

“I’ve always said that you have to have some good fortune. And good fortune means a bad shot might go in, maybe you get a good call, maybe you get a good whistle.”

The Spurs didn’t get a good whistle in the late going Tuesday night, after Fisher made contact with San Antonio’s Brent Barry before Barry unloaded a desperation 3-pointer that didn’t come close.

To a man, the Spurs said they didn’t expect a foul to be called in that situation. But the NBA disagreed with them Wednesday after reviewing the play.

“With the benefit of instant replay, it appears a foul should have been called,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.

Of course, the Lakers didn’t get a good whistle seconds earlier, when a jumper by Fisher appeared to tick the rim, and Los Angeles ultimately lost possession with 2.1 seconds left because of a shot-clock violation.

The Spurs probably need a big effort from Ginobili to extend the series. The NBA’s sixth man of the year shot 9-for-15 and scored 30 points in San Antonio’s 103-84 victory in Game 3, but went a combined 7-for-29 for a total of 24 points in the other three games—all losses.

“Couple of shots didn’t fall in,” Ginobili said. “Of course, I always give (the Lakers) credit—they played good defense.”

Bryant smiled when asked about not attempting a single free throw in Game 4.

“I don’t know about that,” he said. “That’s one of the mysteries of the world.”

Lakers coach Phil Jackson praised San Antonio’s Bruce Bowen for his defensive effort on Bryant when asked about his star’s lack of foul shots.

But the coach couldn’t resist taking a jab.

“The basis is guys getting their hands on players, and that

[AUSTIN316]

Patrick Ewing - the son - aiming to make own name
05/29/2008 | 05:10 PM
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KISSIMMEE, Fla. - More than a few players at this week's NBA predraft camp have looked at the people studying them from the stands and acknowledged getting goosebumps.

Michael Jordan is here, scouting for talent. Larry Bird's seat is in the front row near midcourt. Pat Riley is on his way, too.

Playing in the presence of — and simply being near — some of basketball's all-time biggest names can be intimidating.

Of course, when your name is Patrick Ewing Jr., it's not exactly a big deal anymore.

"I'm used to being around them, but in more of a social setting, not me trying to impress them so they pick me to play on their team," said Ewing, the son of the longtime NBA star center who'll enter the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year. "In that sense, it is like shocking. But if I was to be out there just talking to them, it'd be different."

This week, Ewing's play will do the talking.

He's just like everyone else at the camp going on through Friday at the Disney complex near Orlando, trying to show an arena full of NBA scouts, executives and coaches that he does belong in their league. And that quest got off to a fine start Wednesday, when in his first game of the week, Ewing scored 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting and helped his team win its opener of the three-game mini-league.

"I hope he improves his draft position," said Patrick Ewing Sr., now an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic. "That's what this week is all about, improving his draft position."

So far, so good in that quest.

If nothing else, his play Wednesday might have shown that his chance to vie for an NBA opportunity came on his own merits as a player, not the surname on the back of his jersey.

"I would hope so," Ewing said, when asked if he truly believes he has NBA talent. "They wouldn't have invited me to the camp if I didn't."

Ewing, who transferred from Indiana and finished his collegiate career at Georgetown — again, having to do so in his father's shadow, something the 24-year-old got used to many years ago — had two steals and two rebounds to go with his 14 points in 20 minutes Wednesday.

He looked smooth and poised, and was one of only four players in his game not to be charged with a turnover.

"All he has to do is be himself," the elder Ewing said. "If he just is himself, he'll be fine. Come out, play hard, do the same things that got him to this point and the chips will fall where they may. ... He's been around me long enough to know that."

Some mock drafts suggest that Ewing, who averaged 6.1 points and 4.2 rebounds this past season for the Hoyas, might not hear his name called on draft night.

If that's the case, the Ewing clan might not mind — that will give them the flexibility to sign as a free agent and, perhaps, choose where the son of the NBA legend tries to break into the league.

"I feel like I'm able to help teams win games," said Ewing, a forward who, at 6-foot-8, stands at least four inches shorter than his father and isn't anywhere near big enough to play center. "I'm willing to do whatever. Even if it doesn't involve me being on the court, I still want to win the games."

Father and son have both been asked often this week about the notion of Ewing Jr. perhaps playing with the Knicks, where his dad starred for years, or even teaming up in Orlando.

Naturally, neither would mind if this story ended with them on the same sideline.

"To be honest with you, it wouldn't bother me any," Ewing Jr. said. "I'm sure a lot of people would have a lot to say about it, but I've been dealing with criticism my whole life, so that wouldn't be a big thing for me." - AP

[AUSTIN316]

Lakers a win from 1st NBA finals berth since 2004
05/29/2008 | 04:01 PM
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LOS ANGELES - The youthful Los Angeles Lakers maintain they're not close to being a finished product. And yet, they're one win away from earning their first NBA finals berth in four years, with as many as three shots at it if necessary.

In the process, they just might put an end to the San Antonio Spurs' era of dominance.

The Lakers lead the Spurs 3-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals, and can put them away Thursday night at Staples Center, where they own a 7-0 record in the postseason and haven't lost since March 28.

And to think, just last May, after the Lakers failed to win a playoff series for the third straight year, Kobe Bryant was demanding a trade.

"We're just learning as we go," Bryant said Wednesday at the team's practice facility in suburban El Segundo. "We've seen some dark days around here."

Starting guard Derek Fisher and seldom-used reserve Ira Newble are the only players on the roster over 30, and Bryant and Fisher are the only ones with championship rings, earning them with the Lakers from 2000-02.

"We're a tough bunch," Bryant said. "I think we've grown into a tough team mentally. I think we've grown up. Quick learners — we're all just intelligent idiots."

Should the Spurs win Game 5, the teams would meet Saturday night in San Antonio. A seventh game, if needed, would be played Monday night at Staples Center.

"Down 3-1, we know it's really hard to come back," San Antonio's Manu Ginobili said. "But we're going to try. Of course, we still believe in ourselves. We're going to have a shot. As always the next game is THE game."

The Spurs, who have won three championships in the last five years and four in the last nine, have all the experience a team could ask for, with Tim Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker leading the way.

"They're the defending champions, and we're going to have to play another good 48-minute basketball game in order to beat them," Fisher said.

"We've been through tough games already in this series, and this game is going to be the toughest," Lakers center Pau Gasol said.

The Lakers put the Spurs in a must-win situation Tuesday night by winning 93-91 for San Antonio's first homecourt loss in the postseason after seven wins.

San Antonio appeared a step slow at times, with the Lakers' 26-4 advantage in second-chance points a key to the game.

"We did a pretty decent job of stopping them, and every time we did get a stop, they got another chance at it," Duncan said. "Even if it wasn't a score right away, they got an opportunity to pull it back out and run it again. And that takes a lot out of you."

Parker is the only member of the San Antonio rotation who's under 30, so perhaps fatigue was a factor. But coach Gregg Popovich bristled last week when the Spurs' age was brought up after they blew a 20-point lead in Game 1, saying: "When we win, we're the experienced team. When we lose, we're older than dirt. That's just silly."

Popovich said before Wednesday afternoon's flight to Los Angeles that the Spurs needed to let go of the Game 4 loss.

"If you don't let it go, you can't focus on the game (Thursday night), the task at hand," he said. "So by the time we land in LA, it will be gone and we'll be concentrating on just talking about what we can do to win basketball games.

"I've always said that you have to have some good fortune. And good fortune means a bad shot might go in, maybe you get a good call, maybe you get a good whistle."

The Spurs didn't get a good whistle in the late going Tuesday night, after Fisher made contact with San Antonio's Brent Barry before Barry unloaded a desperation 3-pointer that didn't come close.

To a man, the Spurs said they didn't expect a foul to be called in that situation. But the NBA disagreed with them Wednesday after reviewing the play.

"With the benefit of instant replay, it appears a foul should have been called," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.

Of course, the Lakers didn't get a good whistle seconds earlier, when a jumper by Fisher appeared to tick the rim, and Los Angeles ultimately lost possession with 2.1 seconds left because of a shot-clock violation.

The Spurs probably need a big effort from Ginobili to extend the series. The NBA's sixth man of the year shot 9-for-15 and scored 30 points in San Antonio's 103-84 victory in Game 3, but went a combined 7-for-29 for a total of 24 points in the other three games — all losses.

"Couple of shots didn't fall in," Ginobili said. "Of course, I always give (the Lakers) credit — they played good defense."

Bryant smiled when asked about not attempting a single free throw in Game 4.

"I don't know about that," he said. "That's one of the mysteries of the world."

Lakers coach Phil Jackson praised San Antonio's Bruce Bowen for his defensive effort on Bryant when asked about his star's lack of foul shots.

But the coach couldn't resist taking a jab.

"The basis is guys getting their hands on players, and thats what referees judge," Jackson said. "Two hands particularly, it's a call, and Bowen is faster than the eye in that regard. He's really quick with his hands, so he gets in and bothers but he can back out before the shots are up usually, and so you have to give him credit. He's obviously an illusionist at some level." - AP

[boogirl]

go lakers!!!! go kobe!!!

[quince]

Lakers are in the finals! haha!

[RedHunks½]

Pierce, Celtics Get Jump on Lakers

Paul Pierce, in a role reminiscent of that portrayed years before by Willis Reed, emerged from the lockerroom and proceeded to give Boston a much-needed lift.

The captain posted 15 of his 22 points in a huge third quarter that helped carry the Celtics to a 98-88 victory over the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at the Garden on Thursday.

After being carried off with what appeared to be a serious injury to his right leg with 6:49 left in the third quarter, Pierce, despite a sprained knee, returned to the floor with 5:04 left in the period.

He then rolled off eight of his 15 points in the quarter to help the C’s take a 77-73 lead into the fourth quarter, after being down five at halftime. Boston outscored L.A. 31-22 in the third.

Sam Cassell and James Posey hit back-to-back shots to stretch Boston’s lead to eight with 8:44 left in the fourth quarter before L.A. made a run to pull within four with less than seven minutes remaining.

Pierce's turnaround jumper with 5:23 left made it 88-82 and he later hit a pair of free throws to give Boston an eight-point advantage with 3:43 left to play. The Lakers hung around until late in the game, before Kevin Garnett converted a pair of free throws to essentially ice things with 1:01 remaining.

Garnett finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Ray Allen added 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Rajon Rondo posted 15 points and seven assists.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 24 points, despite going 9-of-26 from the floor. Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher scored 15 apiece, while Lamar Odom added 14 points. Los Angeles trails in a series for the first time in this postseason.

Game 2 is set for Sunday in Boston at 9 p.m. ET.

[RedHunks½]

Lakers Notebook: Game 1
Martin C. Sumners

BOSTON, June 5, 2008 -- Dr. Naismith invented the game of basketball in Springfield, Mass, a mere 90 miles away from where Game 1 of the 2008 NBA tipped off at TD Banknorth Garden; no way he could have predicted an arena filled with pyrotechnics and the playing of a Jay-Z street hymn Roc Boys .

However, it as always seems quite old school to see teams come on to the floor in the traditional lay-up warm-up drill. And when the green and white clad Celtics and purple and gold laced Lakers do it, you can almost see the dusty and dingy gymnasiums that have housed the game for more than a century.

That’s enough of the history lesson and the similar sentimentally of looking back on this great rivalry as most have done all week. Tonight the series started.

A Tale of Two Halves
Phil Jackson like The Wire this season just went thingyensian on us tonight. Alluding to the classic Charles thingyens novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Jackson opened his post-game press conference by quoting the title of that great opus to summarize the game.

“We had some control of the first half, played the kind of game we wanted to play, and in the second half we came out and immediately wiped out the lead we had established in about 20 seconds, a matter of two possessions,” Jackson said.

The Lakers finished the first half up 51-46 with the help of 14 assists. Yet the tide may have turned when Paul Pierce hit an improbable three off the glass from 25 feet drawing contact and a foul from Vladimir Radmanovic. Pierce made the free throw for a lead of 52-51.

Although the Lakers would regain the lead, the landscape of the game had been altered. The difference in the two halves was evidenced by the Lakers would only muster seven assists in the second half – half of what they totaled in the first.

Lakers forward Lamar Odom echoed his coach’s sentiments. “If we played the second half like we did the first half we would have won,” Odom said.

Luke Walton charged it to the Celtics’ defense.

"They play great help defense and our offense counteract that by getting the ball moving to the weak side,” Walton said. “When a team floods the strong side, you get open looks. We were doing that a lot in the first half and we got away from it for some reason in the second half. You got to give their defense credit because they stepped up and made us take tough shots.”

Sasha Vujacic, who finished with eight points, was not so thrilled though even with the play of the Lakers in the first half. “We played just okay in the first half but we found a way to stay in the game,” Vujacic said. “But we’ll be okay.”

R.E.B.O.U.N.D
Anybody who has watched a middle school or high school basketball games has inevitably heard the cheerleaders chant that basketball nursery rhyme: R.E.B.O.U.N.D, Rebound, Rebound.

It’s a simple matter; the team that wins the rebound game usually wins the game. The Celtics constantly crashed the boards resulting in a 46-33 advantage. The stat sheet reads that the Lakers were out rebounded on the offensive glass 10-7, yet it seemed much worse.

Pau Gasol, who ended the night with eight rebounds, thought that the rebounding was the key. “Twelve rebounds (actually 13) is a big difference in a game like this,” Gasol said. “We have to do much better.”

Odom was more specific about the issue. “When we rebound that balances out our defense,” Odom said.

Bright Lights, Big City
Prior to Game 1, Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw was unsure how the Finals first-timers on the team would react on the big stage of the Finals in Boston.

"These players are so removed from the hatred of this rivalry,” Shaw said. “We’ll see how quick they figure out there’s no love lost here.”

Odom and Gasol had decent production but Radmanovic played only 17 minutes shooting 1-4 from the three-point line and was in foul trouble. Jordan Farmar had one bad turnover and finished with just two points. Vujacic finished with eight points but was just 2-7 from the field. And Luke Walton, the only holdover along with Kobe Bryant and Fisher from the 2004 Finals team, who may have been expected to do more, produced zero points in 13 minutes.

Triangulate This
Tex Winter, another Lakers assistant and guru of the triangle offense, may have been playing a little I-spy. Prior to the game, he wandered into the pre-game press conference of Celtics coach Doc Rivers. He sauntered in unassumingly but his ears seem to perk up when Doc began to speak.

[aNdaY1814]

Congratss celtics.. ^^,