Like all decent people, I hate the Los Angeles Lakers. I particularly despise their current rent-a-team incarnation. Adding Gary Payton and Karl Malone made them champions on paper. But basketball games are played on the hardwood and not the stat sheet.
The Detroit Pistons embodied two basketball cliches: "No Rebounds, No Rings" and "Defense Wins Championships." By outrebounding, outhustling, outdefending, and outplaying their opponents, Detroit won its first NBA title since the days of Laimbeer, Isiah, Mahorn, Rodman, the Microwave, Joe Dumars, and an assortment of other colorful characters.
A few thoughts on this year's NBA Finals: Ben Wallace is a stud. The Lakers brilliantly played through distractions and injuries this year, but just collapsed in the Finals--it was as though twelve dead men donned the purple and gold. Piston fans put the "advantage" in home court advantage. Laker fans are better suited for a yacht race. Rip Hamilton confirms something we all knew: Michael Jordan wasn't the Michael Jordan of NBA GMs; he was more like the Chuck Nevitt of NBA GMs. If fans were allowed to storm the court, would they burn down cities in celebration? Has a change of scenery ever benefitted a player more than Rashid Wallace, who went from posterchild of what's wrong with the NBA to the final piece in the puzzle for a championship team? And finally, I predicted a Pistons' championship despite only watching a handful of NBA games each season since the Larry Joe Bird era.
hey flynny by the way you have to make a series prediction BEFORE the series starts not after! Its obvious that no Boston boy would even be thinkin about the Lakers winning the championship anyway but then again who was watchin the N.B.A this year anyway? Maybe you can start a segment on your pre-season predictions in each sport and post them on your site? Although you have predicted what, the past three or four superbowls? Seems to me it could be better suited for a 900# hahaha. My prediction= Buck Rock&Roll Zoomhauf will be the next WWE champeen!
You got it, Morris. When the NFL season starts, maybe we could have weekly picks. Perhaps it will be a reader oriented program--you can take the lead. Anyhow, the NFL--a sport league that everybody watches, unlike the NBA and NHL--is a few months away.
Sounds good to me my man! Whats better than audience participation?haha At least now we are in the sporting season that sports fans truely care about baseball and the upcoming football year! Man i have been looking forward to coming home everynight so i could read the Warrior interview, and i have not been disappointed!! Great work and Ill keep spreadin the word!
