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Teammates
"You have to show them that you're really not scared..."
Michael Jackson - Beat It
When the Rockets took the Lakers to the brink of elimination, two things happened...the so called experts said it was over for LA, and the team clicked, and destroyed Houston in the 7th and deciding game.
Savvy
The well rested Denver Nuggets flew to the City of Angels to matchup against the Lake Show. Carmelo & company played extremely great from the outset...they played well enough to win, however there were a few things that led to a 107-105 Denver loss.
It seemed as if everyone including the Lakers were watching Melo play, instead of assisting/defending him, as he was able to do whatever he wanted to the tune of 39 points. The Lakers need to make someone else beat them, and people like J.R. Smith need to get more involved.
The home team should have lost Game 1, but I honestly believe it was the inexperience of the upstart Nuggets that led to their demise. The Lakers didn't win the game...the Nuggets just lost it. For example the Kenyon Martin foul on Kobe Bryant with 30 seconds remaining...sending him to the line, where Bryant sank 2-free throws for a 101-99 lead...then Trevor Ariza stole the ensuing in-bounds pass that allowed LA to wind the clock down to 10 seconds, before Kobe was fouled again for a 103-99 lead that sealed the victory.
Experience is the best teacher, and between the lessons the Lakers learned last year, and the painful learning curve the Nuggets had last night...the door is wide open for anyone to win Game 2.
As Rasheed Wallace would say..."both teams played hard", but it was the squad that executed the best down the stretch that won the game...well that, and Bryant's 40 points didn't hurt either.
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3 comments:
I feel like that was 40 of the quietest points Kobe's ever scored. I actually didn't even realize he had 40. I was at a dinner party so I wasn't even really paying attention to the ticker and all that good stuff, plus there was no volume. Anyway, the Lakers did what you have to do if you have dreams of a championship. You find a way to win games you probably should have lost. Part of me thinks the Lakers took Denver's best shot. I mean everything fell into place for them last night. They shot a ton of free throws, their front court dominated the Lakers front court, Melo was just insane and Kobe was really the only Laker who showed up. The Lakers can play better. I'm not saying the Nuggets can't play better, but they had a lot of things working in their favor and they lost. That one will hurt. I mean, Karl was so despondent afterward. Okay, sorry for the long-windedness. lol
CoCo, I agree with you...the Lake Show made it happen when they needed to. They weathered the storm, and kept within striking distance. And yeah they can play much better. We will see how it plays out...so far so good.
You also forgot to mention how many free throws Denver missed. Even Mr Big Shot who shoots like 96% missed a few of them. That was a great game though, besides those Bos vs Chi games that went to Overtime, this was the most entertaining game of the Playoffs Thus far. Good one Ant.
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