The agony and the ecstasy

Aloha,

After witnessing one of the worst first quarters of the year I asked myself why am I watching this? Then the Lakers would do a little something then fall back again and I continued to ask that question well into the 4th quarter. Then a funny thing happened. We won.

This was one of the most impressive wins of the year. Holding the Bucks to 13 points in the 4th was one of our best defensive efforts of the year. Just a few thoughts.

Austin is a gamer. To be a gamer one must not be afraid of the moment and Austin never is an afraid of the moment. His triple double was perhaps his best game as a Laker, on both sides of the ball. His two clutch 3’s were huge game saving shots. Austin always seems to rise to the occasion when LeBron is out.

Never sit Dlo because he isn’t shooting well. Darvin would do that earlier in the year. Elite shooters can explode at any time. Dlo hit 5 3’s in the 2nd half and hit big free throws and dished 12 assists.

Speaking of free throws, the game never should have went to OT. Dlo got hammered on that layup with 6 seconds left in regulation.

AD is a warrior and the soft label should be retired forever. Not his best shooting night but he played through pain and dominated the game in the second half. Amazing performance.

Lost in all of this was Rui’s great game. 16 points and 14 boards along with some solid defense. Defense is the area of his game that gets little attention but he is developing into a very good defender.

Spencer needs the ball in his hands. He hasn’t been nearly as effective off the ball. Darvin needs to play him when DLO sits as much as possible. Although he was great defensively again.

I think the reason the team rises to the occasion when LeBron sits is because the players are free to be themselves. They have a tendency to LeBron watch. We won without LeBron last year down the stretch and we have won this year. AD is the guy we can’t win without.

The Grizzlies will be tough. They are playing a lot of young guys and will run. After this exhausting game the Lakers will need to dig deep to win. I’m hoping that AD’s knee is sound because we will need him. Losing to the Griz would diminish the Bucks win. The 7/8 seed is still within reach but we can’t let up against anyone.