Shawn Kemp's Offspring

Another group joint by the Furious Five. Should be a great series, so let's see what we're thinking.

Eboy:

I know, I know....."we can't be subjected to another boring ass Finals involving the Spurs" or "This Lakers squad is so much better than the threepeat squad I can't contain myself" or "If you have the MVP, you can't be beat." Ugh....please, SHUT THE F*CK UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The two best teams in the West made it this far, the team most equipped for this moment will somehow find a way. San Antonio may not win a title this season, but you can bet they will find a way to neutralize Mr. Bryant as well as nullifying the Lakers bench with well timed sub patterns by Grep Popovich. I doubt it goes 7, because I think the Spurs, like the Celtics in the East, will wake up to meet their biggest challenge of the season, and sh*t on all the naysayers that give them very little hope to do just that. Remember when they were down 2-0 to the Hornets? Yeah, I don't either.

Don't get me wrong. The Lakers are right there at the moment. They dug themselves out of a tough spot in Game 1 and should be feeling great about themselves. Kobe came alive, and the refs acted like they died. The problem is, the Spurs really won't dwell on the loss. If anything, as history has shown, they will reload like Rambo and be ready for Game 2. The Spurs X-factor, Manu Ginobili, looked more like ex-crement last night, but as long as he's not full of sangria and ceviche in the next game, the Spurs should even it up. Plus Parker's drive game seemed to have gone the way of his manhood upon his marriage in the second half, so if he can address that, it would be a plus too.

AR:

Personally, I couldn't give half a sh*t whether or not Joe Possom-Eater in Middle America enjoys watching the Spurs or not.I don't care about ratings. This isn't American Gladiators, this is basketball and the Spurs happen to play it pretty perfectly. IF you're a basketball fan and don't enjoy the Spur's inch perfect system, then there isn't much else that can be done for you. The key match up here is Duncan-Gasol. It seems to be the only guaranteed one on one. Everything else is subject to change like how will the Lakers deal with Parker and Ginobili? How will the Spurs deal with Kobe? I don't want to upset the people who scream boring when whenever the Spurs are mentioned, I think this series will be won on the defense end, hardly a new thought I know but it is true. I think that the Spurs will find a way of neutralizing with a combination of long defenders and horse tranquilizers and I also think that the Lakers will stop either Parker or Ginobili, so this series will come down to the Spurs' depth and Lamar Odom. I think this will be as tight as hell and will definitely go to 7.This may upset the casual NBA fan, but I see the Spurs grinding this out in 7.

TADOne:

Much like the Boston/Detroit ECF, most fans and critics predicted this Western Conference Finals matchup months ago. The funny thing is, now that we have it, the "Spurs-are-the-most-boring-team-in-the-Western-Hemisphere" and the "Kobe-Bryant-didn't-deserve-the-MVP-over-Paul-and-he-is-a-despicable-human-being" haters are coming out of the woodwork. I can understand it, but I can't relate. And yes, there is a difference. Bottom line, KB is the MVP and the Spurs are the defending champs, and there is absolutely nothing to hate about that. I may not love the Spurs grind-it-out style of play or Bryant's penchant to shoot too much or smirk into the damn camera after making a contested 20-foot jumper, but I love basketball, so I respect them. Hence, I respect this 7 game war. On the flip side of this argument, I have heard Laker fans calling for a sweep or a 5 game series, and have also heard Spurs fans saying the Lakers aren't ready and don't have a chance, regardless of Kobe. Idiots, all of them. This series is going 7 games, no doubt in my mind. You have the regular cast of characters, but everyone knows about them. I'll give you one name: Robert Horry. He is the human rabbit fur. His team always wins, regardless of the uniform. No analysis needed, the Spurs have luck on their side. Horry will hit the game winning three in game 7.

Tariq:

First of all, I don't know why defense in basketball is considered boring. It's not like soccer, where some players almost exclusively defend and others attack. In soccer, you can clog your area with a bunch of scrubs and make it difficult for the other team to score. But in basketball it's always five defenders against five offensive players, so you can't outnumber the other guys, you have to actually play good defense. I really enjoyed the Pistons championship run in 2004, even when everyone was whining about how boring they were.

Secondly, I don't think the Spurs are boring, but I always want them to lose. They are a conglomerate. They execute their gameplan to perfection, no doubt. They have two of the most explosive players in the league in Manu and TP. They have a coach you can't help but admire.

I still hope Kobe smashes that "perfection" to smithereens.

But I say the Spurs win it in 6 or 7. I think they win the whole thing, unfortunately. You know, they didn't broadcast the Spurs-Hornets Game 7 over here, so I woke up the next day and the first thought that popped into my head was: "Man, the Spurs could be eliminated RIGHT NOW! Wouldn't that be glorious?" And the second thought I had was "But they almost definitely have NOT been eliminated."

ASPOV:

Funny thing is (to me), both these series are similar in what you're referring to, AR and Eboy. Both are series of matchups, coaching strategies, and fairly evenly matched teams. In both, the team that can effectively and consistently get defensive stops when needed will win. I like the Spurs and I like the Lakers. Both play the game at an
exceedingly high level. I will enjoy immensely watching these two teams battle for the right to rep the West.

But, after watching as much of last night's game as I could stomach, I just don't think I'm going to enjoy, even a little bit, watching the Celtics/Pistons series. This series has similar ingredients, but they are annoyingly flawed. Their basketball isn't beautiful. See, I think that's it for me. The Spurs may play what the masses consider boring basketball, but I find it as close to perfection as it can get. I can't help but be glued to the T.V. watching these games. Do you get what I'm saying? Or is it just me???


Thoughts:

Again, if you are looking to gamble on this series, completely disregard the babble you just read. We are not experts, we just play some online.