PHX/LAL Game 4

Luke wonders where the ball is. Nash remembers a joke from Super Troopers (Meow!).

Well at least Nash didn't break Magic's/Stockton's record for most assists in a playoff game (24). You know why? Because no one, and I mean no one, puts up 25 assists in a game against our Lakers. No, siree.

So as one annoying house guest dropped in to say yesterday, the Lakers are "just delaying the inevitable." A few other people then entered the room so of course, he repeated it so that they too may bask in the glory that was his astute basketball observation, laced with wit, and placed with impeccable comedic timing...again. He then went on to refer to Kwame as "Mitts Brown." And then applauded several beautiful Steve Nash passes with an orgasmic, "Ohh, nice pass." What did I do about it? Well, being that he was my parents' friend and I was in my parents' house (I don't have HD, they do), I farted in his direction and left it at that.

As for the actual game, what can you say? The Suns made the right adjustments. They flukenized the Lakers' game 3 victory by proving that yes, they were just caught off guard by the Laker's trap and that they would be ready for it by game 4. Bad news for the Lakers.

That said, Lamar did us proud in this game. Broke knee. Broke elbow. Broke shoulder. It don't matter. There came a point in the third quarter where he was revving up the crowd on the defensive end and then ramming it down Phoenix's throat on the other end causing the seed of doubt to germinate in the Suns. The crowd was getting into it. Kobe was likewise having a good game. And that, my friends, may have been the closest we were getting to the title this year: cutting the lead to 6 in game 4, trying to tie the series 2-2. In the first round.

Because in the end, it just seems like these Lakers cannot/will not bring a consistent defensive effort from game to game. And this is a problem especially if you are down 3-1 in a seven game series. So that now puts the Lakers in the business of extending the series any way they can. Think: last 35 seconds of a game, down 5. You know you're pretty much done, yet you foul the other team every time they touch the ball. Maybe they'll miss their free throws. Maybe they won't call the foul and you'll come away with the steal. Maybe you'll catch fire from three and trade 3 for 2 with them. Nonetheless, your chances are slim. But that's besides the point. Stalling is your all consuming task as you savor the last few moments before your unofficial loss crystalizes and the defeat's agony sets in. It gives that homer inside of you one last hurrah. Before he's hosed down by reality of a final score.

Delaying the inevitable.

PHX/LAL Game 3

Fuckin finally.

I am holding back the urge to gush about the way the Lakers played tough, focused basketball last night. How Lamar and Kwame did their best Shaq impression (37 pts, 22 rebs, 4 blocks). Or about how Shammond Williams and Smush Parker turned in inspiring defensive efforts against one of the league's best back courts. But, for now, I will refrain. In my mind, I want to believe that this is the start of a series victory, not just a moral one.

But seriously, there ain't nothing wrong with moral victories.

PHX/LAL Game 2

Damn.

More later.

Actually, no. That's it.

PHX/LAL Game 1

Laker Killer.

Overall, the game was encouraging. The Lakers proved to themselves that if they control the tempo, they can control the game. And that's exactly what they did for 3 quarters. The fast breaks were rare. The Lakers kept the Suns off of the three point line and away from the rim (they can't shoot midrange for shit) and more importantly deeper into the shot clock. True, it did require the white hot shooting of Kobe Bryant to maintain their lead. But still, now they know it's possible.

That said, there was still something very methodical about the way the Suns dismantled the Lakers lead in the second half. Especially on the defensive end. They tried to force the ball out of Kobe's hands. Kobe gave it up, literally, a couple of times. The others did not come through and their short leash was pulled. It was Kobe keepers from there on out, double teams be damned. We all know the rest. The horrible, frustrating rest.

But the other component to the Suns' second half surge was Barbosa. That guy is basically Tony Parker, but less French. And faster. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was like when you're playing pickup ball at the park against a soccer player. The only difference is Barbosa can finish; the soccer player at the park tends to just drive, full speed parallel to the sideline, but instead of angling toward the basket for a layup, he keeps going straight and then he lobs some hook shot toward the basket before going over the baseline, hoping one of the other dudes will head the ball in or some shit. Anyway, Barbosa single handedly negated the Lakers' attempt at slowing the game down.

As you can see, those two adjustments at halftime (get the ball out of Kobe's hands and push the tempo with Barbosa, the fastest man in the building) paid well for the Suns.

Now it's Phil's move. I say we go something like this:
1) More Lamar in the post.
2) Be ready for Barbosa. (That is, don't have Smush guarding him)
3) Tell the bench guys to start making some shots.

And can you believe it? The Nuggets beat the Spurs and the Warriors beat the Mavs in stunning game 1 upsets leaving us with the old that-was-supposed-to-be-us look on our face. That's what I get for saying that the Lakers are the only 6/7/8 team that has a shot of taking out one of PHX/SAS/DAL. But you know what, I stand by my statement.

Phoenix It Is.

There are so many things I am curious to see in this series.

How will Farmar hold up against Nash?
Honestly, Farmar appears to have the quickest feet in terms of on-the-ball defense. He keeps the dribbler in front of him and he seems to make sound decisions while negotiating the high screen. He may not pick Nash's pocket as often as Smush would but over the course of the game, Jordan's D will take its toll on the Canadian.

[Random note on the Smush v. Farmar debate: In the last game of the regular season against the Kings, after Farmar dunked from the hash line on a 3 on 2 point guard keeper, the telecast showed the entire bench (especially Bynum and Sasha) ECSTATICLY cheering and hooting as the Lakers returned on defense. But there was one sober face in the midst of the jubilee: Smush's. Smush had that "yeah, yeah, yeah, let's just all calm down" face on. Smiling, yes. But obviously conflicted and definitely not as excited as the other guys. And that right there, is my problem with Smush. Although Kobe may receive everyone else's vote, in my opinion, Smush Parker is the most selfish player on the Lakers.]

Will we see Lamar in the post again?
What the hell happened to this play over the last few weeks after Lamar returned from injury? The guy is a beast in the post yet I can only remember him shooting threes and occasional forays into the lane. Setting lamar up in the post (especially when Marion was guarding him) was a huge component of the Lakers' success in last year's playoffs. I hope Phil was just saving it for the playoffs.

Which Laker team will show up?
During the Sacramento game, there were stretches where the Lakers started to look a lot like the team from the first two weeks of the season. And I hope that's the team that shows because that team can win. However, I do believe that we will see the team that looks so bad that Kobe has to score 50+ to stay in the game. At least the latter will be fun to watch.

How much has each team has grown (or regressed) from last year?
The biggest difference for the Suns is Amare. No doubt about it, he makes them better. But other than that, the only other significant difference in the Suns from last year to this is the time. And trust me, this is not good news for the Lakers. More time means more cohesion and more teammates reading each other's minds. For a team like the Suns, this is very important.

As for the Lakers, there is a great deal of improvement personnel wise. The bench is deeper with additions like Mo Evans and Vlad Radmanovich and the continued improvement of Brian Cook. The front court is stronger with Turiaf and Bynum now making solid contributions. Luke has shown great strides this year. But to me, this series is riding on the growth of Kwame. Kwame proved this year that he is an indispensible piece of this team. And if he can be a presence on both ends, as he did in spurts last year, the Lakers will have a chance.

Is it just me, or are you other Laker fans out there starting to feel quite a bit of confidence in Kwame?

Professor Roland Lazenby, Journalism -- Virginia Tech University

(Passed on from TrueHoop and FB&G)

For a personal, detailed account of the Virginia Tech tragedy, go check out Planet Blacksburg. Planet Blackburg is a student run media organization started by one of our favorite Laker writers/historians Roland Lazenby, who is also a Journalism professor at Virginia Tech.

Some of the content (especially the comments) is downright chilling. And it is definitely stuff that the mainstream media will not and cannot present. This point of view is not from people who flew in yesterday with a camera crew. This is from the people who were there and will be there and will be most affected by it.

It Was A Good Day

The Lakers are IN.

The Lakers finally suited up their entire roster. They made a starting line up change, inserting Farmar at PG instead of Smush. And they finally secured a playoff spot. Game 81 was big.

But those are the side orders. The main course was once again Kobe Bryant. He dropped at least 50 points for the 10th time this season on 18-25 shooting. Two of those fifty came on a graceful aerial spin that would make a ballet dancer blush both because the form was flawless and because he thinks Kobe's hot.

Back to the sides, having Kwame back seemed to really solidify the Laker D. He was blocking shots and taking charges. It's becoming clear that Kwame is a good basketball player. As for Farmar starting at the one, he played well, not great (9 pts, 3 assists). But most importantly, he handled the ball well and made good decisions. That's all you really want from a point guard. Everything else is just a bonus. I wish Smush could see that. But to Smush's credit, he handled his demotion with class:

"Just got to play through it, take advantage of the time I get and work hard."

Now, as long as he didn't say that while making jack-off motions, I'd say that was a mature attitude.

Most importantly, the Lakers are going to the play-offs and don't have to worry about going into Sacramento needing to win to get in. Because you know that the Kings would love to spoil the Laker season. And of course, that Arco Arena crowd would be ready to boo the Lakers lustily. I have a feeling that the only thing Sacramentoans do lustily is boo the Lakers.

***

James Worthy Day Jackie Robinson Day, a great success at Dodger Stadium.

Beating the Padres in a series is cause enough for celebration. Especially the way the Padres handed the Dodgers their asses last year (well, except for one game...). But last night also featured a great deal of fanfare and ceremony as the Dodgers and MLB as a whole celebrated the great Jackie Robinson and the 60th anniversary of his appearance in the Majors. Players league wide were given the opportunity and priviledge to sport the sacred jersey number 42. I missed most of the pregame ceremony but from all accounts, it was emotional and classy. Say what you want about McCourt and his ownership regime. But they did a great job honoring Jackie Robinson. For more on Jackie Robinson and the anniversary, head over to the Broken Cowboy. They have lots of good stuff.

As for the game, Russel Martin, Andre Ethier, and Wilson Valdez (the 6-7-8 of the Dodger lineup) combined for 9 hits and 7 RBI. Randy Wolf gave up the three runs over 6 strong innings. And the Beimel-Broxton-Saito combo shut the door on the Pads in the 7th, 8th, and 9th. A good win all around.

***

Cube messes around and gets a triple double.

He had the brew, she had the chronic, the Lakers beat the SuperSonics (see above).

Fanny. Jammy. Punanny.

Fat burger.

No AK.

I gotta say it was a good day.

Don't Hate

I hate the way the Lakers are playing.

I hate the fact that they are now "fighting" to make the playoffs.

I hate the fact that I had to quote the word fighting because it really is a stretch to consider the effort they put forth night to night as fighting.

I hate their defense.

I hate how Lamar Odom insists on shooting threes even though his shoulder injury has left him with little to no shooting touch.

I hate how Kobe is so frustrated that he complains about no-calls now instead of getting back on defense.

I hate thinking about how good this team looked earlier this season.

I hate injuries.

I hate how Clipper fans think they have a better team than us.

I hate how correct they appear to be right now.

I hate that this blog post makes me sound like Bill Plashke.

I hate how this team is constantly compared to Phil's past teams.

I hate that we have gone 2-7 in what was supposed to be a soft schedule for the final 10 games.

I hate that we have only beaten Sacramento and Seattle, both well below .500 teams, for those 2 wins mentioned above.

I hate that the playoffs are about to start and I still don't have HD yet.

I hate how Andrew Bynum gets no love from the officials.

I hate how Andrew Bynum makes the above phenomena worse by bitching about every call.

I hate that Luke might be banging bald, crazy Britney Spears.

I hate how they keep blowing late leads.

I hate that I feel like Kobe lost us that game last night.

I hate realizing that there are deeper issues at hand than Kobe missing late jumpers.

I hate taking steps backward.

Alright, I'm done. Here's to victory tonight against Phoenix. Go Lakers.

Opening Day Grades

It was my first trip to Dodger stadium in about 8 months. Much had changed since last season. And of course, much stayed the same. For better or for worse.

+ For better: Parking at the stadium
I went from ticket gate to parking spot in about 3 minutes. The florescent green clad attendants formed human road barriers funneling me to my singular destiny. I was actually quite impressed. One thing to note: you should figure out which entry gate will funnel you to a parking lot that is close to your seat and enter through that gate; we had to walk a ways to our seats.

- For worse: Cops in unmarked Suburbans breaking up tailgating parties
They showed up out of nowhere. In short black shorts. But they left. And the drinking of the beers ensued. But still, I hate no tailgating policies, especially ones that are even half-assedly enforced.

+ For better: The exterior stadium posters of the players are now paintings, not photos
A nice touch, really.

+ For better: The ceremony
It gave me the chills. And made me want to fight the British.

- For worse: The game. We lost and Matt Kemp and Jason Schmidt were injured

Note: Jason Schmidt was not injured in the collision pictured above.

- For worse: The beer stand
The concession stand was either out of beer or was not selling it by design. So we got our Dodger dogs (for better, always) and headed over the beer stand and got in line. We ate our dogs. We caught a glimpse of Jason Schmidt's homerun clear the fence. My friend Mike used the bathroom and came back. We talked to some random old guy in front of us. All in all, we were in line for 2 full innings. Why? They had to pour the beers. Seriously. I'll write more about this over the course of the season. But to sum it up: the reason why lines at Dodger Stadium concession stands are so fucking long is the pouring of beer. Plain and simple.

+ For better: The Dodger fans

Don't start shit with Dodger fans.

Especially this one.

I think people would generally leave this guy alone, though.

- For worse: Leaving Dodger Stadium
And not in some cheesy sentimental way. It's the fact that an hour after a game, the lot was still packed. They still have some work to do.

Frustrating, Yes. But I Wonder.

These last few games were hard to watch as a Laker fan because it seemed like in each game they could not seem to get that pivotal, get-over-the-hump basket. For example, last night against the Clippers, they fought back from down 19 but everytime they got the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, the would screw it up. Or down three, late against Denver, the Lakers came up scoreless after getting two shots and the ball following (a somewhat questionable) flagrant foul. Or a few nights ago against Houston, Kobe travelled on a crucial overtime possession. And to top it all off, the last two losses -- DEN (7th in the west) and LAC (8th in the west) -- have put the Lakers perilously close to the very edge of even making the playoffs.

What's so frustrating in games like these, is that the team does enough to earn the victory yet they end up with a loss. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It's losses like these wear down the mind as well as the body. And to have them happening this late in the season, when the team would like to be collecting momentum for a playoff push, it is especially disheartening.

But here's a thought: Maybe the Lakers want the 8 spot.

It's clear that the teams in the 6, 7, and 8 spots in the West are more or less sacrificial lambs to the NBA deities. "Pick your poison," they say. Dallas (v. 8), Phoenix (v. 7), or San Antonio (v. 6)? To me, the answer to that question is inconsequential; I don't see one of those opponents as being a more favorable matchup than the others. All three are bad ass teams. All three can win the title this year. And all three present matchup problems in some way shape or form. All three are, well, poison.

The real question is what happens if you actually take one of the big three down and pull of a first round upset? Well, say you're in the 6 spot. You beat San Antonio. Then guess what? Odds are you're going to get Phoenix in round two. And similarly, if you're the 7 spot and you beat Phoenix in round 1, then you get San Antonio in round 2. Shitty, I know. However. If you are in the 8 spot, and you somehow beat Dallas in the first round, then you get the winner of Utah/Houston in the next round. And as an added bonus, San Antonio and Phoenix will have to play each other in round 2 as well.

So basically, if you're one of the 6,7, or 8 teams and you have title aspirations, then the 8 spot is where you want to be because you will only have to play 2 out of the big 3 rather than all of them. And honestly, the only 6/7/8 team who has even a chance at pulling of a first round upset is the Lakers.

Hmm, maybe these losses weren't so bad after all.

CG'd

Ben Sheets shattatatted on the Dodger lineup yesterday. Complete game, 2 hitter. Not how you want to open the season.

The really troublesome part was how it took approximately 20 minutes for someone to expose Juan Pierre's defensive limitations. In the first inning, Rickie Weeks went from first to third on a bloop single that landed in front of Pierre, drawing a weak throw that allowed the batter, J.J. Hardy, to take second. So instead of runners at first and third (or maybe just one at second), the Dodgers were looking at second and third and thus the hard one hopper to Jeff Kent (two batters later, after Fielder had struck out) scored a run instead of being the inning ending double play.

However, the shittiest Dodger news came before the game when I learned that the Dodgers had optioned James Loney to AAA and instead put Matt Kemp on the opening day roster. Not only did James Loney hit .414 in the spring, but Matt Kemp has yet to show any consistency at the plate. He's like Pedro Cerrano. Straight ball he hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. Sounds like he could use more time in AAA, rather than sitting on his ass in the bigs. And besides, Big Lone-Lone is the sleeper on my fantasy team.

"Hats for bats. Gracias."

Lazenby Strikes Again

Roland Lazenby talks about Smush Parker and the unique element that he adds to this Laker squad. The toughness. The desperation and fervor. The sink or swim mentality. These all describe Smush.

Lazenby begins by describing where he first saw Smush: the D League.

I always referred to D League as “Hardwood Survivor.” It’s a unique blend of the college and the pro game. The players are trying to catch a basketball lifeline, so they often play with the kind of heart-on-the-line abandon that could light the gleam in Jerry Sloan’s steely eyes. The games are played in the classic pro style (lots of high screen and roll, etc.), but, fueled by desperation, they often resemble a college pace and fervor.

He then goes on to make the observation that although he is in his second season as an NBA starter, about to lace them up for onehundredandsomethingeth consecutive game, "without a guaranteed contract, Smush remains in the D League. He can’t afford to sit down, can’t afford to let go of the lifeline."

I never thought of it like that. I always thought that Smush's play-with-something-to-prove style was the result of an inferiority complex because of his history in the NBA. I seemed to have forgotten that until he nails down a guaranteed contract, he can't rest. Basically, it's not so much his personality that makes him carry that insecurity to the court. It's his situation.

The sad thing about it is, if his toughness and desperation are key factors to his success in this league, what happens if he does achieve the stability of a guaranteed contract?