I won’t say the series is over, but tonight’s game, a 103-94 victory by the L.A. Lakers over the Denver Nuggets, really hurt.
I’d been nervous all day; I guess as a Broncos fan I don’t remember what deep playoff runs feel like. While Game Four was a game we had to win, it felt coming into tonight that our best shot of taking the series was to win Game Five, too. Surely the Lakers knew this and stepped up with their best effort of the series. It was their one good effort for a few players. It’s annoying how guys like Lamar Odom will get praised for this game.
The start of the fourth quarter is obviously where we lost the game, but the Lakers outplayed the Nuggets for most of the game, even in the tied first half. It was kind of like how some of our games with the Hornets played out: we controlled the tempo, and were clearly dominating, but didn’t have an actual lead yet. Tonight the Lakers did the same to us. They played just hard enough on defense to keep our shooters from developing any kind of rhythm. Why they don’t play like that all the time, I couldn’t tell you, but they clearly went all-out tonight and played well from start to finish. Man, I hate those guys.
The Nuggets’ backs are against the wall. Last time that happened, after Game Three, they responded with a huge home victory. Let’s hope they can unleash the running game at the Pepsi Center Friday night (7 pm Mountain, ESPN).
Comments
It seems like all year J.R. and Billups have been able to hit their open Js but for some reason they just aren't falling in this series. I would credit the Lakers' D, but it seemed like most of shots they missed were good, open looks.
Nene's sixth foul was totally bogus, but really I guess the game was pretty much over by that point. Nene wasn't really doing much for us anyway. He couldn't score (and missed two really easy layups) and he allowed stupid Odom to get 14 freaking rebounds last night.
The other thing that worries me is that the Lakers adopted the game plan I was afraid they would use for the entire series: posting up and making the most of their height advantage inside. I am afraid we don't have a good answer to that strategy on defense.
Lamar Odom was getting way too much credit for finally showing up. At one point in the fourth quarter one of the commentators said something like "this is what Lamar Odom does every night," in direct contradiction of 7.5 ppg in the first 4 games of the series.
The Lakers have a huge edge inside, just like they did last year in the series. It's a shame Nene is our only real post defender. Gasol's shiftiness makes him a bad matchup for the Birdman.
Smith and Billups were getting open looks, I suppose, but they weren't as open as the first two series, and LA closed on shooters with some urgency. I don't know what Smith caught before this series but he hasn't been himself, though of course he's had flashes.
The Lakers' post presence has been a major issue, even in earlier games when it showed up on the glass instead of in the scoring column. To me, it speaks volumes of Phil Jackson's perceptiveness that he benched Andrew Bynum when the game mattered most.
Smith has had a rough series, and unlike unsual, it seems to be in his head now.
I thought that was the Lakers best showing for whole series and unfortunatly we went cold at the wrong time. This whole series has been the worst 3 point shooting I've seen from the Nuggs which hasn't helped at all. Even Billups seemed out of sorts last night.
At this point we have to recover and get our "swagger" back on Friday cause unless we really put them away by ten points or more in the Staples Center we're in big trouble on Game 7.
I have to give Kleiza props, he was playing aggressive he just lacked the exprience of being on the court that late in the game, with some more confidence he could be huge.
LT
Look, if we get seven Nugs in double figure range on offense again, like game 4, what LA's big men do inside won't matter. It shouldn't have mattered last night. Although, I will say that I'm not convinced this double-teaming of Kobe is right when they seem so slow to cover the back door . . .
I think swagger is huge, because we didn't have enough energy or hustle last night, and no momentum whatsoever carried over from Game Four. I think we have to count on more than just making more shots...we weren't always getting the greatest shots, I thought.
Kleiza is pretty talented offensively but I just worry about him being a go-to guy in the fourth. I'd rather lose because Carmelo or Chauncey missed. That said he helped us claw back into it, kind of.
Dave, you're right, and I think it's all about pace. When we're the aggressors, their big men disappear. When we're not, they dominate.