2011 Playoffs: (2) Lakers Vs. (3) Mavericks

dare is hating on me right now.

Lean, You don't want to be near me when I'm angry

That's what you get for letting your wife break up your teams most important players' relationship right before the playoffs, Kobe.

In other words, an opportunity to shut up the haters by forcing and winning game seven on a fadeaway.

Truly the greatest basketball mind and player to have ever lived.

My original prediction of 4-2 series win for Mavs isn't looking so good now

j/k, this is great so far I'd love to see Mavs come down from 0-2 down to beat Heat in Finals on some dodgy officiating

What a great game! I couldn't believe Peja's 4th quarter performance; he was airballing open threes

I wonder if "Sweep LA" will be the new chant

In my opinion, it came down to Dirk hitting that three when the Mavs were down by like 7 and then, when the game was tied, he went left for a tough layup/hook to give Dallas the lead.

I am a goddam fanboy, but Dirk really played very very well this game.

For the Lakers, I really felt like they are better on offense without Artest, but you can't say that on the defensive end where their rotation on three point shooters and pick & roll defense wasn't very good at all.

Bynum played great. When he gets the ball down low, he has a nice repertoire of putting it into the basket. The good thing however was, that Chandler always rolled hard after setting the pick and thus went to the line 8 times hitting 7 shots. He's been quite valuable on offense.

I think there was a bit of a blindside on the Mavericks. Chandler and Haywood, are, as I've praised the Mavericks forever, one of those ideal rotation situations. Two-bigs you can play tons of minutes if you have to, but take nothing away from your actual scorers, like Dampier and Diop used to be. And they're incredible with Dirk next to them. Same as Bynum next to Pau/Odom. In the current case you can actually sit Dirk and play Chandler at PF which is fun.

This is honestly something that should have been historically obvious, but it only recently seems like teams are making obvious attempts to set this up. Look at how Chicago rotates bigs, the Thunder, etc.

I have always been a critic of Dampier although you kind of convinced me that he was one of the better role centers out there with his offensive rebounding and his effective "shooting".

Still, Chandler has added a new dimension to this team as he is simply a better basketball player than Dampier. I'm surprised by his good free throw shooting, he does not have problems to control the ball, sets good screens and definitely knows how to roll into the lane. He's quicker and has longer arms than Dampier & he also does not take shots away from Dirk as he usually dunks the ball which are good shots.

Haywood is getting better with more games in the Playoffs. He's a better helpside defender than Chandler and has a big body to guard guys like Bynum and also Gasol. I hate his offense though as he is not the best in setting screens and takes somewhat questionable shots inside.

So imho it's obvious that Chandler, Haywood are >>> Dampier, Diop. (I don't want to back it up with stats because I'm quite bleary-eyed right now.

Nobody stats wise is going to argue with you that Chandler/Haywood is better, Dampier/Diop is taking advantage of a situation, Chandler/Haywood is employing two centers who could easily start 30 minutes for most teams. It's an extra step.

Dampier/Diop was fantastic as a platoon, Chandler/Haywood gives you so many more options.

They're basically all the same type of player though. Scoring around the basket and setting screens on one end. Defense and shot blocking.

Chandler/Haywood are absolutely upgrades, even thought Haywood fell this year, Chandler did better than Dampier ever did because he's really the more perfect version in terms of easy buckets than Dampier was. While compared to Diop, Haywood is someone you can start since you can run him one or two plays a quarter if must be.

But yeah, the key point about the possessions stands.

Dirk high arcing shot always amazed one way or the other. The way he shoot over Gasol in the 4h is unbelievable

dei., I was more impressed by his left-handed layup. Those are the plays that get kind of ignored by many who say that Dirk is soft and not going to the hole enough (which is maybe right - but a bit exaggerated).

With the game tied at 91 he goes left and lays it over two defenders. Imho the key possession of the game.

dei., I was more impressed by his left-handed layup. Those are the plays that get kind of ignored by many who say that Dirk is soft and not going to the hole enough (which is maybe right - but a bit exaggerated).

With the game tied at 91 he goes left and lays it over two defenders. Imho the key possession of the game.

It's more like a hook shot if you ask me, and it was impressive as well. Dirk has been pretty much aggressive since the Blazers series.

Bahahahaha! next up? Down goes Kobe! Down goes Kobe!

I have to admit that Dirk has been great this series. He's just been great. Lakers don't have an answer for him. He was brilliant in Game 3.

But all is not lost. Lakers can win 4 straight and advance.

What a great game! I couldn't believe Peja's 4th quarter performance; he was airballing open threes

He did that all game. I cringed after the first couple.

Great win.

DOWN GOES LA!!!

Peja has been incredible, Barea had some nice games too

Mavs to the Finals.

Sweep! I love how the Mavs are proving all the 'experts' wrong, who had Lakers in 4-6.

Really Sorry to the L.A.Lakers-Fans

Really Sorry to the L.A.Lakers-Fans

Why should you be sorry? They get what they deserve!

Sweep. So long Lakers....

Really Sorry to the L.A.Lakers-Fans

Why should you be sorry? They get what they deserve!

Because they have more expected of the championship, but what it looks like not yet

The Lakers will wake up from boredom and Dallas starts to choke as seen before, then we have a series. Otherwise a sweep or 4-2 at best.

I'm happy for the Mavs and can't wait to see OKC vs DAL. This should be a good one if it happens.

So many haters in here doubting the GOAT.

I remember after the Kwame trade, there was a sign a fan made that said "problem: gasolved"
now it's more like "problem: gasoft"

It seems like the same shit every year. I remember when Dirk was struggling against the Warriors, he was ultimately called a choker and guys still talk like that.

It's the same for Gasol now. Is it the Euro-label? The funny thing is, play overseas here in Europe is much more physical and harder than in the NBA. You don't get those silly off ball foul calls or stuff like that. Only because Euros cannot lift 400 lbs. and do not have muscles like Dwight Howard or Ben Wallace, they are labeled soft.

Gasol is playing weak, but I don't see him playing softly. He's trying to get it going but his shots simply don't fall and if you ask me he also did not get some foul calls that I'd have given him (although I'm a Mavs fan).

Gasol was the key for two Championships and three Finals appearances. The guy was the Finals MVP last year (but the "determined" Kobe Bryant stole him the trophy because if Kobe Bryant wants a trophy, the league give it to him because they fear that the almighty Kobe will leave the NBA and will build is own professional basketball league).

When I look at the numbers, I see Gasol putting up 13/10 which is still okay for a big man. He only hits .42%, but L.A. has like four other All-Star calibre players who should be able to pick up the slack.

--> don't make one player responsible if a complete team seems to struggle.