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Originally posted by California Injun
3. I would say Tracy Murray but we never got to see him shoot the ball for 2003.
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Why was that anyway? That was always on my mind. What happened to Murray? Did he get hurt? The guy has always been able to shoot
Quote:
Originally posted by California Injun
Medvedenko just needs to get into the rotation. This guy can spin the twine with his shooting.
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I just caught myself from fainitng. Cal thinks highly of a "Euro"? Has the world gone mad? Since we're complementing Euros, you can put an entire 12 man roster of Euros with 3 more on the injured list before we reach your Euro (Dirk, Tony Parker, Peja, Vlade, Hedo, Gasol, Kukoc, Giricek, Kirilenko, Nesterovic, Okur, Illgauskus with #2 or #3 overall pick this year Darko Milicic, Radmonovic, Tsakalidis, Drobnjak and Knicks PG draftee Milos Vujanic sporting the Mateen Cleaves style throwback warmup jerseys)
Quote:
Originally posted by California Injun
6. And finally, Cal Injun will continue to post, boast and eventually toast the return of the Lakers to the top in 2004. Boldly predicting Championships (36 straight months of smack) versus a 4 month off-season to eat crow is still a 90% propostion.
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When it comes to the Lakers, grace just isn't your style. They lost. I may as well use that logic and call for the Islanders to win the Stanley Cup next year, since by boldly predicting Stanley Cups since 1980 that the Islanders would win the Cup, I would be right 16% of the time, even though I'd have been right 0% of the time over the last 20 years. Your signature remarkably chnaged from "The Quatro" to something else while the playoffs were still going on. Gee, I wonder why?
I refuse to knock the Lakers. They were great champions and it's impossible to imagine Shaq and Kobe being through collecting rings. But even they knew when to quit dishing out the trash....
Now, my boys could very well be joining you later tonight on the beach, on the fishing boat, on the golf course, in the strip clubs... or we could be doing that in 2 weeks after the Spurs get through with us if we advance tonight. But I know you well enough to know you're hoping beyond hope Dallas or San Antonio gets rid of the Kings. In which case, you're no different from me in that we both take pleasure in rooting for another team to defeat the team we love... but that's cool.
As for tonight's game, I won't be by a computer in all likelihood, so my lone commentary. I hope the Kings win, but if my life depended on predicting tonight's winner, I'd say the Mavs have a 7 in 10 chance of winning this game. They have impressed me a lot with their awesome offensive display (BTW, not to knock any Lakers fan here, but how could you let Van Exel go? And what did you get for him?) and really have become beasts at home. This is a very tough spot for the Kings, without Webber.
To win, the Kings must become Laker-like in terms of tempo and poise. Slow the game down, make it the 1st team to 100 wins. Be patient on offense. Absolutely never shoot the 3 early or in transition, even if wide open.... use the clock and shoot the 3 with crisp ball movement that the Kings are great at doing. Go to the FT line and shoot 80% or above for the game and 85-90% in the 4th quarter. Divac must stay out of foul trouble, since he causes problems offensively for Dallas. Chrstie and Peja must also avoid foul problems (can't believe how much better Christie has played sicne Webber's injury... as a matter of fact, I'll take a seaweed bath in tribute to him if the Kings win tonight's game). Bibby doesn't need to be 2002 Bibby but he MUST hold his own vs Nash, for I expect Bobby Jackson to be playing another solid and efficient game. From there, the rest of the Kings cast (Hedo, Clark, Jim Jackson) must all contribute.
The Kings have taken all the learning steps and have suffered all the heartache a team can have before becoming champions. There's no more nice tries. There's no more we''ll get 'em next year, for if they lose tonight's game... I expect Petrie to look at making some tough decisions and do a bit of roster shakeup of his own. Teams have won Game 7's on the road (boy do I know that) before and it's more than the Lakers over Kings last year. See the Knicks over the Heat in 2000 or the Rockets over the Suns in 1995. It doesn't happen a lot, but it can happen.
Poise and tempo. If the Kings have these 2 things, tonight won't be the last game of the Kings season. If they miss either or both, Dallas will deservedly advance to face the Spurs.
And oh yeah, it couldn't hurt to hold Van Exel to under 25 points tonight... (and any of the other Big 4 to under 30)