TonyVanDam said:

Dude, you're talking to a Laker fan since 1979. Shaq has a HUGE ego. And yeah, Shaq believed in the 1-2 punch - as long as HE was the "1". Shaq didn't like it when Penny started blowing up, especially off his "Lil Penny" commercials. Shaq loves the spotlight and he hates to share it. Shaq is a big kid which is why he's so lovable and playful, which also explains his need to have ALL of the attention. It's all about egos with these guys and neither Kobe nor Shaq could set theirs aside to keep the run going.

MuthaFunka said:

People forget Shaq was no angel during that whole fiasco. Now Magic & Kareem/Bird & McHale didn't see eye-to-eye either. But they understood the big picture.

MuthaFunka said:

All of that is true but Shaq will still out there trying 2 win. Kobe purposely caused the Lakers that Pistons series. He saw that Shaq was KILLING the Pistons down low so what does he do? Start jacking up bad shots all over the place. That was embarrassing.

Graycap23 said:

Didn't the dude refuse to even shoot the rock in one playoff game? That tells me all I need to know about #8.

RodeoSchro said:

Yes.....and tried 2 justify it.

uPtoWnNY said:

Exactly. Both Shaq and Kobe are the blame for that breakup.

Graycap23 said:

Naw, what killed the Lakers was Shaq wasn't in tip-top shape, Malone was basically finished, and Kobe thought he was Boy Wonder but most of all, the Pistons were the better team and probably had the best starting 5 since the 80s Lakers/Celts. It was a bunch of reasons.

RodeoSchro said:

I think that was PHX a couple of years ago. Bush league shit.

MuthaFunka said:

Now see.....why u want 2 dis my Bulls?

Graycap23 said:

C'mon, playa! ALL they had was MJ and Pip.

MuthaFunka said:

lol.....

Graycap23 said:

Dennis Rodman, Ho Grant, Paxson, Armstrong, Cartwright, Hodges, Trent Tucker, Will Perdue (stop laughing), Stacy King, Livingston, John Salley,.....damn, maybe u have a point.

Graycap23 said:

Too bad MJ had to take a "break" fora couple years. The Rockets would have schooled him and the Bulls in 94 and 95. If I recall, the Rockets are the only team against which MJ has a career losing record.

RodeoSchro said:

U sure about that? Jordan NEVER lost a finals series, hell he never played in a game 7 in the finals. The man knew how 2 close out a series. It would have cool 2 see. Hakeem would have killed the Bulls in the post.

Graycap23 said:

The African Dream was DEVASTATING back then. He outplayed my man Ewing in '94(Knicks still would have won if Riley wasn't so f-n stubborn), destroyed the MVP Admiral in '95 and went toe-to-toe with a young, raw Shaq in the '95 Finals.

As for those '96 Bulls, they were great, but not the best ever. They would have lost(in seven games) to the '85 Lakers, '86 Celtics, '67 Sixers & '72 Lakers, IMO.

uPtoWnNY said:

All of those teams were better than the Bulls as a team, but accounting 4 Michael Jordan is no small task. How many teams in any sport has won 6 titles, no losses, and not even made it a single game 7 in the Finals?

Graycap23 said:

Vernon Maxwell was inside MJ's head. Only athlete to ever get there, I think. MJ absolutely hated Maxwell and let that affect his game.

The playoffs might have been different, though. You're right in that there has never been a clutch performer like MJ (except maybe Magic, and possibly Bird). It wouldn've been cool to see if Maxwell could have kept up the pressure for 7 games.

uPtoWnNY said:

Gotta disagree with the '86 Celtics being all that. The Rockets probably could have won that series if not for the fact that Ralph Sampson was an incredible pussy.

RodeoSchro said:

Bringing back good memories. Time 2 peak at my Bulls dvd's.

Graycap23 said:

Oh, ok, Rodman I'll give you but the rest of those players were serviceable scrubs that ALL title teams had.

Graycap23 said:

I'm gonna side with my Houstonian bro here, GCeezy. MJ was fortunate enough to never have to face a dominant center in the NBA Finals. I think Dream & Co., especially in 95, would have beaten MJ & Pip if they faced off in the Finals.

MuthaFunka said:

I know.....now stop laughing.

QUICK BREAK:

- I love the hoop talk, fellas! You cats know your shit! We need to get a core of Orgers that like to talk sports and do this more often -

BACK TO OUR PROGRAM:

Graycap23 said:

My bad, playa! ( - Dammit! I can't stop! )

MuthaFunka said:

Now that I think about all of those Bulls scrubs.....neither can I. Just shows how good Mike and Scottie were.

MuthaFunka said:

Dream and the Glide v. MJ and Pippen would have been classic.

In all honesty, I thought the best team the Rockets ever had was the '97 squad that featured Dream, Drexler and Barkley. They were on a collision course with the Bulls in the Finals until Barkley tore his bicep in the Jazz series.

Dream, Drexler, Barkley, Mario Elie, Eddie Johnson, Kevin Willis - wow, they were loaded. They were weak at the point, though. Matt Maloney and Brent Price were not title-quality, and that might've bit 'em in the butt.

I was at the final two games of the Utah/Rockets series. In Game 5, with the Rockets facing elimination, Eddie Johnson won the game on a last second shot. Pandemonium.

Then, Stockton hit the buzzer-beater/series winner in Game 6, and you could have heard a pin drop.

Graycap23 said:

Why did Pippen suck so bad when he was a Rocket?!?

MuthaFunka said:

I *loved* Dennis Rodman, and it goes to show what a great coach Phillip was that he could get production out of Rodman without Rodman killing team chemistry.

Which just goes to show you how bad a teammate Kobe Bryant is, given that Phillip could not do the same with him.