First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate our Los Angeles Lakers for winning their first series since 2004, and I also want to commend the Denver Nuggets for a game well played. Game 4, unlike the previous three, felt like an actual NBA playoff game mainly due to the fact that it was much closer at the end. We could all tell that the Nuggets came to play in the fourth game, but guess who decided playtime was over in the fourth quarter? Yessir, Kobe Bryant. But we’ll get to that later.
After a Game 3 meltdown on Saturday afternoon, and all of the discouraging clubhouse comments from Denver players and coaches that ensued, I assumed that the towel had been thrown in well before tip-off; but au contraire mon frere. The Nuggets made a game of it and held a lead over Los Angeles deep into the fourth quarter. Rallying back from a 10-point halftime deficit, Denver decided to play defense while their relentless offense exceeded already-high expectations. With these conditions in order, and Kobe going ice cold in one of his “I’ll-shoot-the-ball-from-halfcourt” modes, the Lakers found their backs against the wall for the entire second half.
The Lakers stars and roleplayers coasted the team along while Kobe was trying to work the kinks out of his shot mechanics. Lamar Odom finished with a solid 14 points and 12 boards; Pau Gasol contributed with 21 points and 4 much needed blocks; and Walton, Radmanovic, Sasha Vujacic, and Farmar all chipped in with timely buckets during Kobe’s sabbatical.
The Nuggets’ bench was primarily responsible for their outburst of scoring. Young stars like J.R. Smith, Linas Kleiza, and Nene had the L.A. on their heels, and defensively, perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Marcus Camby, led a block party that Dave Chappelle would’ve been proud of.
But let’s get real…
If Denver couldn’t slam the door on the Lakers when King Kobe was firing blanks, they had NO SHOT when he started to heat up. KB24 scored 14 points in the final 5:31 of the game, almost single-handedly terminating the 2007-2008 Nuggets. He ended the game with 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks; a well-timed, well-rounded effort from the game’s deadliest clutch performer. Well…I don’t quite know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but Kobe was all show Monday night. Half of his baskets included a double-axle of some sort, or highlighted him driving past 4 Denver defenders (if such a thing exists) on his way to an equally dazzling finish. See, now, I don’t normally have a problem with Bryant flexin’ his repertoire, but then he turned around and MISSED 5 out of 8 free throws. His shot was off, but his game was on (if that makes sense) but I’ll take a Lakers win regardless of how it’s packaged.
Game 4 was, by far, the most exciting game of the series. These teams must read Werewolf Bar Mitzvah, because they did exactly what I asked of them in my previous entry: made it a close game worth paying attention to. Kobe really wanted to make it interesting, so he missed more than half of his free throws and fouled J.R. Smith twice while Smith was shooting 3-pointers. At least I know I have one loyal reader.
After a Game 3 meltdown on Saturday afternoon, and all of the discouraging clubhouse comments from Denver players and coaches that ensued, I assumed that the towel had been thrown in well before tip-off; but au contraire mon frere. The Nuggets made a game of it and held a lead over Los Angeles deep into the fourth quarter. Rallying back from a 10-point halftime deficit, Denver decided to play defense while their relentless offense exceeded already-high expectations. With these conditions in order, and Kobe going ice cold in one of his “I’ll-shoot-the-ball-from-halfcourt” modes, the Lakers found their backs against the wall for the entire second half.
The Lakers stars and roleplayers coasted the team along while Kobe was trying to work the kinks out of his shot mechanics. Lamar Odom finished with a solid 14 points and 12 boards; Pau Gasol contributed with 21 points and 4 much needed blocks; and Walton, Radmanovic, Sasha Vujacic, and Farmar all chipped in with timely buckets during Kobe’s sabbatical.
The Nuggets’ bench was primarily responsible for their outburst of scoring. Young stars like J.R. Smith, Linas Kleiza, and Nene had the L.A. on their heels, and defensively, perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Marcus Camby, led a block party that Dave Chappelle would’ve been proud of.
But let’s get real…
If Denver couldn’t slam the door on the Lakers when King Kobe was firing blanks, they had NO SHOT when he started to heat up. KB24 scored 14 points in the final 5:31 of the game, almost single-handedly terminating the 2007-2008 Nuggets. He ended the game with 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks; a well-timed, well-rounded effort from the game’s deadliest clutch performer. Well…I don’t quite know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but Kobe was all show Monday night. Half of his baskets included a double-axle of some sort, or highlighted him driving past 4 Denver defenders (if such a thing exists) on his way to an equally dazzling finish. See, now, I don’t normally have a problem with Bryant flexin’ his repertoire, but then he turned around and MISSED 5 out of 8 free throws. His shot was off, but his game was on (if that makes sense) but I’ll take a Lakers win regardless of how it’s packaged.
Game 4 was, by far, the most exciting game of the series. These teams must read Werewolf Bar Mitzvah, because they did exactly what I asked of them in my previous entry: made it a close game worth paying attention to. Kobe really wanted to make it interesting, so he missed more than half of his free throws and fouled J.R. Smith twice while Smith was shooting 3-pointers. At least I know I have one loyal reader.
Midway through the 3rd quarter, I watched a play that seemed to be a microcosm of the Nuggets’ season. Denver gets a quick steal, everyone runs down the court, Anthony Carter tosses Carmelo a perfect alleyoop, and then Melo clangs it off the back iron and the ball flies out of bounds. Denver did everything right this season…up until the end. I bid them farewell, and wish them good luck in the off-season.
Next up for your Los Angeles Lakers: The Houston Rockets or the Utah Jazz. I’m hoping their series drags on (all the way up until the Democratic National Convention) so the Lakers have a little time to tend to some injuries and nurse some key factors back to health. I see Andrew Bynum, Trevor Ariza, and Rony Turiaf just beyond the horizon…
Until next time: Stay humble, stay hungry. Handsome battle, Los Angeles. Back to the underground for now.
check out the box score from NBA.com
2 comments:
LAKERS ARE THEE BOMB!!!
I AM TODAY WEARING THEIR COLOR!!!
LAKER PRIDE!!!!!!!!
DON'T YOU ALL LOVE LAKERS?!
I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GUYS ARE'NT POSTING COMMENTS!!!
i wonder if they might happen to play celtics again in the NBA finals
like the champoinship and all...
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