That was a helluva fun game to watch. Gritty, tough, bruising basketball like we’ll soon see in the playoffs. The Knicks did everything they could but some unheralded stars came through and helped push us over the finish line to bring home the win. Good stuff.
- Thanks Spike. Mr. Lee made the journey to Los Angeles to catch the game and proceeded to heckle the Lakers right into a win. Spike did the right thing. But in all reality the resurgence of the Knicks is great for the NBA. Julius Randle has turned into a dark horse MVP candidate, certainly the front runner for Most Improved. Thibbs could easily win Coach of the Year. They have a collection of good to great players that play with a lot of fire. Hats of to the Knickerbockers and welcome back. Should have gotten something for Randle…
- THT and his one-man rodeo show. This easily could have ended a lot worse for Talen. His 7 turnovers were astounding both in their volume and the manner in which they came about and I’m sure his film session will be interesting. The man has no quit, though and he kept his head up in spite of the turnovers and an inability to stay in front of Rose. His three pointer to push the Lakers ahead for the final margin in OT was ridiculously clutch, especially when you consider that he had to make it a step-back based on when he caught the ball. A huge shot. I love this guy and have high hopes we keep him. Has a learning curve to max out his potential but there is a lot to admire in THT’s game. Like the rest of the team I would say feel free to cut down on your turnovers.
- Health still proving elusive. LeBron coming back, Caruso and AD might be out, Schroder still in H & SP… The one thing about this team is that we just cannot catch a break where injuries are concerned. This is the one thing that can derail the Lakers repeat ability more than anything else. We’re not winning anything without major contributions from Davis and James. We’re not winning anything without a semi-consistent rotation. Those things just don’t exist for the Lakers right now. Hopefully we can get some nagging injuries right before the playoffs.
- The Frank Vogel roulette wheel. A week or so ago Frank insisted he wasn’t experimenting with the rotation. I begged to differ then and I beg to differ now. Look no further than the Gasol/Trezz experiment or the inexplicable 5 minutes of nothing we got from Markieff Morris. Injuries and inconsistent play has forced Frank to tinker far beyond he ever did last season. We’re looking at 25 different potential starting line ups this season. That is astounding. Don’t hide from it, Frank, we can all see the reasons why this situation has come about. Injuries have decimated the rotation and that’s the end of it. Nothing to be ashamed of.
- Ad got beat up last night and should have shot more than 5 free throws. He got walked under, pushed off his shot and generally manhandled by the Knicks. It’s a credit to him that he doesn’t flop for fouls but sometimes I wish he would. The man should average double-digit free throws based on the NBA rules for contact on jump shots. Call it the same for AD that you do for James Harden.
Hanging a banner tonight, tune in early. No trap, either, Lakers gonna roll the Rockets and cruise to an easy one. So sayeth the Admiral.
Perfect title for the fiver, Jamie. This was a GRITTY win over a GRITTY team.
1. Loved watching AD cup his hand around his ear looking at Spike Lee and asking what you say now, Spike. The perfect example of dropping the mike on Spike.
2. THT trying to support why the Lakers refused to include him in the trade for Lowry. Game winner tonight. Game sealer against the Nuggets. No way, Frank cannot include the kid in the rotation.
3. Health. May, we be injury cursed this year. AD feeling great and then gets mugged over and over by Knicks. Never appreciated how 82 games regular season allows time to heal and recover that this compact 72 game season doesn’t.
4. The rotation. Every time Frank tries to narrow the rotation, something happens and a player left out gets a chance and plays his way back into the rotation. Ergo THT, Wes Matthews. Tonight, Dre makes a case for why he should still start. I think we’re going to see everybody get their moments this playoffs.
5. Loved how AD competed. Defending Julius and then Derrick on the same play. This is what separates him from the traditional DPOY, which is usually a shot blocker who does little else. Ef the DPOY award. AD is the best defensive player in the league.