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| | Wednesday, June 21 User comments: Refs deserve credit for win | |||||
| ESPN.com Well, the Lakers are the champs. But many of our users aren't quite ready to say that this championship signals the beginning of a dynasty. Further, a good number of the e-mails we received didn't even give L.A. credit for winning the title, and instead said the Lakers got gifts from Portland (Game 7 of the Western Conference finals) and the referees.
This series came down to one shot -- that belonging to Travis Best. If he makes a play in Game 4, the series goes to 2-2, and there's no way the Lakers would have won Game 5 after that. With the Pacers up 3-2, I think the Lakers would have buckled under the pressure and lost one of the last two games. Just a few bounces of the ball or a few foul calls separated the teams in this series, and yet, all the media can say is they knew it all along -- the better team was clear from the start. How pathetic, disgraceful and predictable. I continue to hate the media for thinking their job is to create stories rather than report on reality. Jeremy Jaskunas Indianapolis The Pacers had to win one of the close ones and didn't. If they made more clutch shots, they would have come away with at least one of the three games which were up for grabs, and there would be a Game 7. But I AM disgusted by the two phantom calls down the stretch. Why must it seem to come down to a couple of bad calls against the Pacers? To answer my own question, I believe there is a subliminal pressure on refs to help the next dynasty along. This is because NBC and the NBA believe that, as the Yankees, Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan seem to prove, most TV viewing, merchandise-buying consumers prefer lopsided domination over true competition. Oh yeah, can somebody fire Bill Walton and Bob Costas? These two idiots are the reason people aren't tuning into this year's playoffs. Bill is pompous and Bob couldn't announce his way out of a paper bag. Did you ever notice how in the old Marv Albert days the sound bites were always his, and in today's finals, they take the sound bites from Chick Hearn's radio broadcast? Chris Zeller Los Angeles Props to L.A. The Lakers were the better team. But they aren't a dynasty. Who knows what would have happened this year if Duncan had been healthy. And if he stays in San Antonio, both the Spurs and Blazers will give L.A. problems next year. And the East will be better next year. Even if Duncan doesn't come to Orlando, they'll still get great players. Rice may come to Miami, where he would flourish, and Hill in N.Y. is very scary to this Pacer fan. Lenny Wilkens is worth 10 more wins than Butch Carter for Toronto, with or without McGrady. Milwaukee and Philly are both one player away from being really good. And then you have Chicago .... Nah, they'll still suck, but they're still better than the Clips, Warriors and Grizz. And mark my words, the Pacers aren't done yet. Tom Indianapolis The Lakers' season sure has been a fun ride. We saw a team labeled "over-rated," "over-hyped," "underachieving," and "a team with two incompatible and selfish stars" become NBA champs. We went from NBA/NBC/Officiating conspiracy theories (which had already gotten old before the playoffs, by the way) to sports columns that one day talked about the Lakers' dominance, leadership, and possible dynasty and two days later talked about their lack of dominance, "killer instinct," and not even being close to a dynasty. In the end, the Lakers accomplished the one goal they strived for all season. Congrats to the Lakers, you've earned it. Paul Allen Champaign, Ill. From day one, we all knew that the Lakers were the team to beat. And they knew it, too. That is a lot of pressure to hold up. But the Lakers did it behind the sheer dominance of Shaq and brilliance of Kobe. And of course, Jackson's ability to get them to play together. Throw in an overlooked bench and Rice finally playing like RICE. I look forward to them to not only become the team of this decade but also the next and best NBA dynasty -- including Jackson's old team. Shaq has a chance to go down as the best player ever. No doubt. Michael Kinney Seattle After watching Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, I couldn't help but leave with a sour taste in my mouth. Two things were really bothering me: One was how late in the fourth quarter, security officials started lining the arena while the Pacers were still very much in the game. (I believe they were down by 3). How nerve-racking that must have been to them! That is something that should not be allowed in games of this caliber. The other thing that bothered me was the late open-ball foul called on Austin Croshere underneath the Pacers' net. There was clearly no foul (even the announcers mentioned it) and that foul I believe could have made a difference in how the game might have ended. It reminded me of Game 7 in the Portland series where Shaquille O'Neal completely ran over Brian Grant late in the fourth quarter and there was a foul called on Grant. Again, the announcers commented that they didn't see a foul. Calls like these should not be botched by officials. Maybe the NBA needs to adopt instant replay like the NFL so these mistakes can be avoided. I know the Pacers and the Blazers must have a sour taste in their mouth to watch that game film. Was L.A. getting some home cooking? Jason Hart Lakeland, Fla. The Lakers got just enough "homecourt calls" from the referees to win Game 6. I'm not a fan of the Lakers or the Pacers. I am a former fan of the NBA. Former? I could beat Shaq in any game of HORSE from outside of 10 feet. The NBA's MVP has a baby hook, a dunk shot and is allowed to shuffle his feet at will. Further, the refs let him drop his shoulder and push all defenders without a charging call. He mugs Steve Smith in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, but the refs call a clean play. That's not basketball. That's absurd favoritism. The NBA is fixed. Any league whose MVP can't hit a free throw gets no respect from me. Bring back the high-flying, high-scoring games of the 1980s. Dana Knee Richmond, Va. Being a Lakers' season-ticket holder, I'm glad I did not sell my ticket (it was tempting at five-to-seven times value). This victory brought a sense of closure. I was at the Forum when MJ and the cast with coach PJ clinched their first championship, and celebrated in our house, in our faces. Last night was our time to celebrate. The Lakers hung in there just close enough to overcome a very good Pacers team (I emphasize team) in the fourth quarter. Glen Rice shot well, Shaq did his normal awesome thing, Kobe came through with the free throws, Foxy and Robby H. hit key 3s, and Derek Fisher added a couple, too. The key, however, was excellent defense down the stretch, and the inability of Reggie Miller, an otherwise great player, to produce when it really counted. This is indeed what separates the champs from the .... CONGRATULATIONS, L.A.! I wish us many more. Robert Greene Los Angeles My thoughts on Kobe after Game 5: He is simply the best player in the NBA below Shaq. For reasons beyond normal logic, he had to let this game go. We're talking about a man who can literally take over a game at will, who thrives on pressure and looks challenges straight in the eye with no fear. He has years to be perfect, why show the world everything now? Show a gradual progression to perfection. Jordan didn't win his first championship until he was 28. Kobe is 21! Kobe is highly intelligent and wants to keep things globally interesting. Game over, championship at age 21. Kevin San Mateo, Calif. I would just like to know if the refs are going to get rings, too? I felt like I was watching my San Antonio Spurs in the last moments of the game. Foul calls from thin air, clean blocked shots sending people to the line, balls slam dunked while still in the cylinder. I thought Michael Jordan was going to show up, shove Reggie Miller out of the way and sink the game winner. I figured L.A. was going to pull out the win, I just didn't think the Lakers would need help from the refs. Maybe there should be an asterisk placed by Phil's seventh championship. Gabriel Cortinas San Antonio I have a lot of mixed feeling about the Lakers' win. First, I was not fan of the Lakers for years, especially with Magic and Kareem. I do, however, think highly of Shaq and have watched him from the time he first came to the NBA. I wanted to see him get a ring. Kobe grew on me. He has matured. I call he and Shaq "Batman & Robin." They are still learning but I found myself rooting for them the past couple of years. For them I am happy, but as for the L.A fans ... all of that nonsense after the game with the cars and all shows me those guys didn't deserve Shaq & Kobe. Sure fans gets rowdy, but for a city that has so much, the fans there have no class. Joe Townley Jr. Harrisburg, Pa. Thank you, Phil Jackson. Your teaching, patience and leadership brought the maturity to this team to make them the best. To Shaq and Kobe, congrats and we look forward to seeing this all the time! GO LAKERS! Rick Gross Buena Park, Calif. Like Game 4, a great nail-biting basketball game. The Lakers showed in the fourth quarter what a championship team has to do to win a game. Shaq is most deserving of the MVP award. Unfortunately, the championship is a bit tarnished by the morons who trashed the area around the Staples Center. Very embarrassing. Mike Torrance, Calif. First of all, give the NBA and NBC credit -- any kid (or adult, for that matter) who wanted to watch the finals missed out on some serious sack time. But also give credit where it's due -- game and league officials. Indiana had no chance at all. A late foul where Rice gets a gift -- NBA's get-out-of-jail-free card. Shaq in Game 7 of the Portland series -- a great WWF impersonation. And any wonder why intelligent people see wrestling as more legitimate than the NBA? The credibility of the league after Jordan is nonexistent, and I'm a Celtics fan -- couldn't care less who won. Just glad I had other things like sewing to do during the finals. Reruns of What's Happening are far better than this debacle, as is watching Tiger breeze through the Open. Maybe Vince McMahon can come up with a basketball league, too! Boyd Childress Auburn, Ala. Today, it hurts to be a Pacers fan. But hats off to the Lakers, who showed that they were not going to be denied, and to the Pacers, who conceded nothing in the game or series. It just wasn't meant to be ... this time. The Lakers are the better team, and as much heart as the Pacers had, it couldn't answer the dominance of Shaq and the clutch fourth-quarter bench shooting. And to everyone who had written off the Pacers before the series and said that the real finals had already been played, shame on you. This was great basketball, and the Pacers proved to the world what we already knew: They belonged in this series and made the Lakers earn their championship. Richard Hildebrand Jacksonville, Fla. I believe that the Lakers needed to be pushed like they were pushed in these playoffs to become what a lot of people are already looking for them to be -- a DYNASTY. In the next few years, they will use this experience and grow with it, and that is what will make them great! Ray Toledo, Ohio | ALSO SEE Jackson creates great Lakers Led by Shaq, Lakers now NBA champs Frozen moment: Rice cooks at the end X factor: Shaq Diesel steamrolls Indiana L.A. celebration marred by bonfires, vandalism | |||||
