[IrishofNDMan]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

I always find it particularly funny when Laker fans blame the referees. It seems that's the only way they ever lose is when the refs cheat them. The funny part is that I think Laker fans totally overlook how the refs helped them to those three straight titles in the first part of the decade.

Go back to the series with Portland in the 2000 West Finals. The Lakers won game seven of that series 89-84. During the first six games of that series, both teams had shot 188 free throws. In fact, after going down 3-1 in the series, Portland had outshot the Lakers 68-57 in games five and six. So how did game seven play out? The Lakers ended up shooting 37 free throws to 16 for Portland. Yes, 37-16.

Go back to game six of the 2002 West Finals against Sacramento. Sacramento was up 3-2 in the series and up to that point, had outshot the Lakers 149-112 from the line. So what happens in game six? The Lakers get 40 free throws to 25 for Sac. If that's not bad enough, the Lakers shot 27 free throws in the fourth quarter alone. They won that game 106-102.

What do both games have in common? Both were played at Staples with the Lakers on the brink of elimination. So it's always funny when I hear Laker fans complaining about the calls when it's probably the calls that gave them two of their titles in the first place. It's called taking the good with the bad. It all evens out.

Does that have something to do with having Shaq you MORON!