I am SO ready for the game tonight. I think it will be the first game of the series were both teams give it their absolute best shot. Its going to be a war.

Lakers are the best team. Effort, execution, focus on their style, what they want to do and little things (again effort and desire).

http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2010/06/08/nba-finals-game-3-preview-chat/

Any particular reason you would remove my comment and link to the Deadspin article? Is there not validity to those opinions? Or does it have something to do with the misdirection of attention here away from some pretty glaring errors that have occurred going both ways in both games of the Finals thus far? Just curious.

Here’s hoping the Lakers come out with their chins up.

Kobe goes Mamba and LO dips into the candybag for a huge game 3 win tonight!

I’m in agreement with you in post #4 where you mention Jackson getting more criticism after losses than wins, but…

…in post #9 I think you’re slaying major strawmen. Criticizing Jackson for coaching decisions and so forth is NOT the same as fans insisting the Lakers win every game easily, and if they don’t that Jackson isn’t a good coach.

FWIW, I think in the ‘maco’ sense PJ is absolutely fantastic. He’s able to create a very stable framework that allows teams to grow, work through their troubles and develop a greater ability to achieve. In the ‘micro’ sense of making X’s and O’s tactical changes in-game I think PJ is good, but not great. I get the sense he leaves that stuff to his assistants. I would also tend to agree with Funky that PJ’s ‘zen’ style may be at least *partially* responsible for the Lakers not always playing with as much energy as they should.

Anyway, I agree with you that people will almost certainly miss Jackson when he’s gone. I have a hard time seeing his replacement being his equivalent.

On another note, what are people’s thoughts on the fact that since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format, in each of the ten times the series was tied 1-1 the winner of game three went on to win the series?

You don’t overcome superior athleticism, hostile environments, precision offenses, and deadly perimeter shooting by accident.

You don’t get thrown off a mountain in 08, claw your way to the top in 09, and make your way to the summit the year after that by accident.

You know what the Celtic gameplan is? Hope the Lakers don’t show up, and hope the Lakers beat themselves.

There is nothing they can do to beat us.

One merely has to consider the path of destruction Don Nelson leaves in his wake, as one extreme example.

Stan Van Gundy’s record of persistent under achievement is another, lesser, example.