By Craig Kwasniewski
Whew! As series go, one chapter down and this feels like the makings of an epic series. The Lakers overcame their now typical lackluster start and some very questionable officiating to pull out a 105-103 victory over a very confident Denver Nuggets team in Los Angeles. Here are a few thoughts from my seat high up in Section 316 of Le Stade de Staples:
Carmelo Anthony wanted to send a clear message... LeBron, Dwight Howard and Kobe aren't the only superstars left in the playoffs. Remember last year when Melo called out the Nuggets for quitting? That player is long gone... Melo was straight up ballin' on BOTH ends of the floor. He held his own down the stretch, hitting clutch hoops and holding his own defensively.
Kobe v. Melo... The never told story. These two superstars really haven't had the famous one-on-one battles like Wade-LeBron or Kobe-Wade. Both guys went at it at both ends of the floor tonight combining for 79 and despite the high scoring, playing impressive defense down the stretch. Melo was able to keep Kobe on the outside forcing him into difficult and deep fadeaways late in the game (see the photo below). Kobe was only able to close it out on the freethrow line after an ill-advised reach in foul by K-Mart... Melo really didn't need help on the play. Anyway, rivalries and made in the playoffs and hopefully this series brings us more of Kobe vs. Melo.
The "only so many points to go around" theory applies to Melo and Chauncey. Unless you're completely giving up on your head coach like New Orleans, the scoring ceiling the playoffs is usually around 110 points. So people can always argue "well... just wait until (these several guys) get hot" but no matter what, they still won't exceed 110 points... Simply there's only so many shots to go around. Anyway, this is why we'll never see a game where both Chauncey and Melo get 30 a night. It's either one or the other. Tonight Melo dominated on offense but Chauncey was held in check... Well except for those sick threes late in the game. Denver seems more dangerous when Chauncey is hot, I think the Lakers are willing to accept the occasional Melo scoring outburst as long as it's not late in the game.
The Lakers stole this one. Denver dominted the first quarter right from the tip, taking advantage of the Lakers now typical slow start. (BTW - these slow starts are VERY disturbing! How hard is it to get motivated for the playoffs? CLEARLY the Lakers started off like this game's on a Sunday in November, this whole "let the game come to you" crap is getting old. It wouldn't hurt to put a mentally weak team down in the early stages instead waiting 12 minutes to finally show up.)
But I digress...
Denver blew their chances at blowing this game wide open by missing early freethrows and not riding Melo's hot hand for the rest of the first half. Clearly the Ariza/Walton tandem were being dominated by Melo, so why not play him most of the first half and grab a big halftime lead? (BTW - Luke Walton on Carmelo Anthony? REALLY???? Did Phil bet on Denver?) Anyway, George Karl needed to get a feel for the game and adjust his rotations accordingly.
The Lakers bench circa November finally showed up in the second quarter and rallied the Lakers back into the game. Early in the season, the Lakers earned the reputation of having one of the deeper teams in the NBA from the stellar and enegertic efforts of their bench in the 2nd and late 3rd quarters. Several times this year the Lakers starting 5 didn't open with the right energy and they relied on the bench to change the pace of the game, which happened again tonight.
The starting five showed up in the second half and the Laker rode a heroic effort by Kobe to steal the W.
Moving on to Game 2. A big if still falls on the Lakers. If the Lakers starters open with the same effort they did against Houston in game 7, they win easily on Thurdsay. The Nuggets feasted on weak opponents this postseason and have yet to ever show resilience when trailing. They know they lost a great chance at stealing game 1 and I'm curious how they bounce back. One thing I do know is that you won't get a game where Bynum, Gasol and Odom all don't show up offensively. I see a better effort from Gasol in game 2.
But if the Lakers follow their 2009 postseason pattern, they'll take Denver lightly and lose Game 2. And like everyone else familiar with these Lakers anything is possible...
Melo got the best of Kobe on this one. He was right in his face and forces Kobe to come up short.
But I digress...
Denver blew their chances at blowing this game wide open by missing early freethrows and not riding Melo's hot hand for the rest of the first half. Clearly the Ariza/Walton tandem were being dominated by Melo, so why not play him most of the first half and grab a big halftime lead? (BTW - Luke Walton on Carmelo Anthony? REALLY???? Did Phil bet on Denver?) Anyway, George Karl needed to get a feel for the game and adjust his rotations accordingly.
The Lakers bench circa November finally showed up in the second quarter and rallied the Lakers back into the game. Early in the season, the Lakers earned the reputation of having one of the deeper teams in the NBA from the stellar and enegertic efforts of their bench in the 2nd and late 3rd quarters. Several times this year the Lakers starting 5 didn't open with the right energy and they relied on the bench to change the pace of the game, which happened again tonight.
The starting five showed up in the second half and the Laker rode a heroic effort by Kobe to steal the W.
Moving on to Game 2. A big if still falls on the Lakers. If the Lakers starters open with the same effort they did against Houston in game 7, they win easily on Thurdsay. The Nuggets feasted on weak opponents this postseason and have yet to ever show resilience when trailing. They know they lost a great chance at stealing game 1 and I'm curious how they bounce back. One thing I do know is that you won't get a game where Bynum, Gasol and Odom all don't show up offensively. I see a better effort from Gasol in game 2.
But if the Lakers follow their 2009 postseason pattern, they'll take Denver lightly and lose Game 2. And like everyone else familiar with these Lakers anything is possible...
Melo got the best of Kobe on this one. He was right in his face and forces Kobe to come up short.
they are just trying to regulate.
Now Kobe needs to figure out(along with Phil Jackson) a way to bully the Thunder, I say the answer is LO, he is always the game breaker, but as lasts year Kobe has to be confident in his teammates to make shots and plays. i dont think Kobe is seeing that at the moment, for some reason, so if im in the Lakers team, im practicing my shots and if Im Gasol or bynum I want the ball more, bring in the hi-lo set in every variety
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