I guess we all know which Lakers team showed up.
No, it wasn't the team that was down 17-1 in the first quarter vs. Houston. No, it wasn't the team that gave up 20-pt leads to the Utah Jazz. No, it wasn't the team that was out hustled in Game 4 against Denver.
Yes, it was the team that Lakers fans thought were going to win 70 plus games.
They were efficient offensively (five players scoring in double figures, and 57% shooting).
They were selfless (28 team assists).
They controlled the boards (outrebounding Denver 38-27).
They played some tenacious D (limiting the Nuggets to 43% shooting, and holding Carmelo Anthony to another bad shooting night, 6-17 FG).
I mean you could really tell this was going to be the Lakers night when Luke Walton dunked over Carmelo Anthony. Everybody might hate him on this site, but he was fantastic when he spelled Ariza (10 points, three assists).As good as Walton played, it was Trevor Ariza's coming out party. Ariza led all Lakers with 10 points in the 1st quarter. The Denver Nuggets foolishly left him open beyond the arc, and he made them pay, as he's shooting 48% from three in these playoffs.
He also had to guard the Nuggets best player Carmelo Anthony and helped limit him to a horrendous 22-of-79 shooting or only 27.8% his last four games.
The Lakers small forwards played great, but their superstars showed up as well.
Kobe Bryant controlled the game by orchestrating the triangle offense to a tee. Players were constantly moving off cuts and screens, which means a lot of assists to go around. The Black Mamba finished with 35 points (12-20 FG), and 10 assists.
Pau Gasol was simply the excellence of execution. Gasol finished with 20 points (8-12 FG), 12 rebounds, and six assists. He played like he wanted that "Gasoft" label off his wide shoulders, and he's got one more round to prove the naysayers wrong.
Also, the bench showed up with 40 points, and they actually hit their free throws...how about perfection on 24 of 24 shooting.
The Lakers defeat the Nuggets in back-to-back games, and took two out of three on the road to do it.
Lakers fans have waited one long excruciating year to come back to the NBA's promised land. Now is the time to rise up and unleash this inner Lakers beast on the East.
2 comments:
haha "Gasoft"...
The Lakers winning the confrence is great but there goal has not been achieved yet. You can tell they are focused. They didnt even celebrate when they presented the trophy to them.
Kobe is still KING of the NBA. All thanks to the Magic.
The Lakers played really good in game six , thanks to all the veterans who have been there before that led the way .The Magic have a very young team and might be overwhelmed by being in the finals.At the end the Laker players who have been there before will lead them to the promised land. Lakers in six.
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