Yeah. Doug Collins coaching the Bulls; Celtics/Lakers in the Finals. I feel like a kid again too. I'm gonna see if I can find Who's the Boss, The Cosby Show, and Growing Pains reruns on TV.

ESPN gave a pretty amazing stat. There have been 60 NBA champions. Celtics and Lakers have combined for 31 of those champions. That's pretty amazing.

Celtics and Lakers have played 10 times in the Finals. Celtics are 8-2.

I'm gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then I'll take it higher.

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You know me like that.

This is gonna be awesome, although this will be one of the few times they are meeting in the Finals where its pretty clear who's gonna win the series. Boston will need to be 100% every game to even have a chance, but either way its gonna be fun.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Isn't Phil Collins more your speed?

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

I'm rooting for Boston. It would be Kobe's 4th ring. I don't want him to get more than Jordan. I know it's stupid but that's how I feel.

I think Boston has a chance. They have home court advantage.

Ill be surprised if Kobe retires with less than 6 rings. He has a 5-7 year window now to prove he's the GOAT.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I agree. He's gonna challenge Jordan's standard. That's why I was happy that Jordan got 6 titles to beat Magic's 5.

The only thing that can be said against Kobe is that he was the 2nd man for 3 of them. Although he was huge in a couple of those Finals I think Shaq won all 3 Finals MVP's.

Jordan won all 6 Finals MVP's.

I did think in the '96 Finals that Rodman deserved the Finals MVP however. That was against the Sonics if you remember. Rodman was awesome.

Hey guys!!!!!

Top Gun is on one of the HBOs. Channel 554 for Comcast cable.

It really is the '80s for me tonight!!!!!

I don't like you, Beardown, because you're dangerous.

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You know me like that.

That's right. I am Dangerous!!! Dr....Kenneth....Noisewater.

You can be mine.

Now let's play some beach volleyball.

I used to really like Kelly McGillis but she looks pretty man-nish to me these days. I was a big fan of the Witness spongebath scene back in the day.

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You know me like that.

Hey, you changed your "wing man" quote. Cheater.

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You know me like that.

I actually changed it to the apropriate line that follows yours.

Yeah. Kelly was nice.

What happened to her? She never had much of a career.

Here is were Maverick bangs her.

"Can I take a shower?"

Top 5 Chicks from the 80s -

in no particular order -

Phoebe Cates
Emma Samms
Connie Selleca
Elizabeth Shue

I gotta think about my last one.

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You know me like that.

Here is a name nobody remembers from the '80s. She never had much of a career either.

Michelle Johnson. She was in this mid '80s movie Blame it on Rio. I'll see if they have a youtube clip. She is right behind Pheobe Cates in my mind.

My top 5 chicks from the 80's-

Jeanette
Brenda
Carrie
Lisa
Kimberly

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Never heard of her. I'm thinking Jacklyn Smith on my last one but she is more of a 70s gal.

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You know me like that.

Ah Reason, I wasn't old enough to hit up on actual women til the late 80s. I had to watch the likes of a Cybil Sheppard on TV.

And here's what she looks like today...

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You know me like that.

Here she is boys. From the Blame it on Rio movie. 1984.

Michelle Johnson. I think she's perfect.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lVJ17GM9qvk

http://youtube.com/watch?v=64NNWWDrT8Y&feature=related

Just thought of my 5th, so obvious...Meg Ryan.

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You know me like that.

Doc, all I can say is WOW!!!! Cybil looks like Mrs. Naugatuck.
I thought I was aging badly.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Not to derai.... I mean get this thread back on track, but Im not sure thats fair. Tony Parker won Finals MVP last season and clearly TD was the MVP. Kobe was clearly the 2nd best player on the Lakers for the first 44 minutes of the game, but isnt the last 4 minutes what really counts? Where was Shaq to be seen then? I mean, if you cant stay in the game in the closing minutes against Todd McCaullough, how much of an MVP are you?

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I know you picked Meg Ryan, but seriously the movie that basically wrapped it all up was "Shag" back in '88. Phoebe Cates and Bridget Fonda.

I would like the Lakers to win, I think it would be fitting for Phil to break the tie for most championships coached against the Celtics.

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I cant see how Boston is gonna win this series. I think LA wins in 5 games, maybe 6. Kobe is playing better than he ever has before, and thats really saying something. Of course Ray seems to have his stroke back a bit, but I dont think that matters. To me, this series is all about Kobe. He will single handedly win any game thats close. If Boston plays the defense they are capable of for 48 minutes every single game, they might have a chance, but they have too many defensive lapses during games. Also you are telling me Doc Rivers is going to beat Phil Jackson in a 7 game series? I think the world will blow up if that happens.

I hope you are right on this though, I want to see a very competitive series.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

You're all old.

With any luck ESPN Classic will be showing alot of games from the 80's between these teams.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Gasol vs. KG wont be a big deal. Duncan ate Gasol alive and it only resulted in one win. KG likes to play like a 7 foot guard alot of times, Duncan was almost always on the block. Foul trouble will be less of a problem. KG might get his 22-11 in this series, but the majority of it is likely to come in the first 3 quarters as usual. Maybe playing in that uniform in the Finals will light a fire under him, I dont know. Hes not a go-to guy. Perkins might get 10 rpg this series but it likely wont have a significant impact unless he plays like he did in Game 5 of last series, which Im not sure he ever will again.

Kobe will guard Pierce unless they want to save his energy and guard Allen. Im guessing Allen. I dont think Odom will guard Pierce, Im thinking Radmonovic will guard him to start, then flex depending on whos in there. Either way pierce is gonna get his most likely, but he, like this team, has been very inconsistent in the playoffs so far. He does seem to play better in the bigger games, so I guess they have that going for them.

Rondo vs. Fisher is a push. They are very different players, and capable of impacting a game, but overall they are role players. Rondo is gonna need to play very disciplined and stay at home or else Fish will kill them from the 3 line. If the Lakers play as good of team defense as they did last season, its gonna be tough for Rondo to get in the paint and do damage, which is what hes best at.

The Lakers bench is much better. Farmar will kill House or Cassell. If Farmar and Kobe are in the game and Rondo isnt, it should be an automatic full court press since noone else on the Celtics is capable of bringing the ball up the court. Phil will realize this unlike Flip. Turiaf is kinda like the Lakers bench version of Perkins, and much better then Davis, Powe, or Brown right now.

Finally, it comes down to coaching. Besides playing Horry significant minutes over Thomas, Pops coached a very good series, he just didnt have the horses. Doc might be the worst in game coach in the league. He's certainly near the top of the list. Phil is going to destroy him tactically, which will account for about 8-10 points a game alone.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

They have the 83 Finals Game 4 on today. God Bill Russell was a horrible announcer. Dreadful to listen to.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I see some of your points except Ariza. While it makes sense that he would be able to guard PP the best on the team besides Kobe, he hasnt really seen any PT and Phil isnt known for using 10th and 11th players often. The flip side of that coin is who is guarding Kobe? Last series proved it doesnt matter who is, but its still a relevant question. Remember how Joe Johnson looked against Ray? The announcers in the ECF indicated PP would guard him, and while he is a very good defender that would just detract from his energy on offense and most likely not slow Kobe in the least bit. Kobe could easily average 35-8-8 if he wanted to this series.

Perkins will get his on the glass like I said but Im not sure it will impact the series all that much unless, like I said, he is doing it all around like Game 5. If your biggest mismatch in the starting 5 is worrying about Perkins, in the words of Wanny, you'll be fine.

I predicted the Celtics to win the title before the postseason, but I just cant see it happening. The Lakers clearly are the better team I think. They have the best player in the league. I cant see this going more than 6, and Ill be stunned if KG gets the best of Kobe and Doc gets the best of Phil in a 7 game series. The Big Three(Has there ever been a more undeserving nickname in the NBA?) will have to play awesome for them to have a chance.



Besides Kobe isnt that the biggest reason they beat the Spurs? Their bench is very good. They will destroy Bostons bench. Posey is the only bench player on Boston that would regularly crack Phil's rotation.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul