Reply With Quote
Thanks for the locker room material, Bill!
Spurs in 6.
I agree with Bill on this one.
From the Los Angeles Times
BILL PLASCHKE
Victory feels like series-clincher for Lakers
After L.A. comes back from a 20-point third-quarter deficit, the result certainly figures to resonate on both sides.
Bill Plaschke
May 22, 2008
In the end, when the unimaginable blinked on the scoreboard, when the unthinkable danced on the hardwood, the cheers even drowned out Randy Newman.
All but three words.
"We love it!" the too-cool Staples Center fans giddily chanted with their victory song. "We love it! We love it! We love it!"
Oh, will the Lakers forever love this one.
Man, will the Spurs forever loathe it.
It was just one game, just Game 1, just a beginning.
It felt like seven games, Game 7, an ending.
The Lakers didn't just come back from a 20-point deficit to steal an 89-85 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals opener Wednesday.
They turned basketball's smartest crunch-time team into dummies.
They turned basketball's toughest veterans into twitching rookies.
They stole a victory from a team that was doing everything right, and they stole it after doing everything wrong.
In the end, after another Spur had bricked and another Laker had dived and wonderful spring chaos had once again returned to 11th and Figueroa, both locker rooms were quiet.
The Spurs, because they were trying to leave.
"We're supposed to be smarter than this," said Robert Horry, rushing into the hallway.
The Lakers, because they were trying not to laugh.
"I would think a loss like this might take a little bit out of their sails," said Jordan Farmar, dressing slowly.
The last time the Lakers pulled off a playoff comeback this large, they needed Horry to win it with that infamous last-second shot against Sacramento in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.
You know what happened next.
The last time the Spurs blew this sort of lead and lost this sort of close game under this sort of pressure was, well, almost never.
You can almost guess what will happen next.
The weary champions have a 20-point lead on the court of the young team, and hold that team to under 90 points . . . and still lose?
The aging champions have a chance to throw a huge first punch on the road against a team that played with rust and dust . . . and they miss?
"Obviously we were up 20 and we hoped to put that one away and put them on their heels, but we didn't," said Tim Duncan, shaking his head. "We have to recover."
Recover? How do you recover from something such as this?
The answer is, you probably can't.
The Lakers may have won this series by winning a game in which their best player and league MVP made one basket in three shots -- three -- in the first half.
"Just tried to read the flow of the game," said Kobe Bryant.
Well, um, Kobe, can you maybe read it a little closer next time? Maybe turn on a light and read the part where it says, "Dude, you have to score for the Lakers to win!"
"I can get it off any time, and in the second half, I did that," said Bryant, who indeed scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and gave the Lakers the lead with two free throws and a hanging jump shot.
The Lakers also may have won this series by winning a game in which their point guard Derek Fisher had zero assists and one basket, and their big man Pau Gasol had no offensive rebounds, and Sasha Vujacic was more clutch than any of them.
"There is no script to an NBA basketball game," said Fisher. "You just go out and play as hard as you can."
Lamar Odom put it another way.
"We scrapped," he said. "We just scrapped."
The Lakers scrapped at the Spurs until they missed 18 of 21 shots in the fourth quarter.
Fisher stopped being beaten by Tony Parker. Gasol stopped being dominated by Duncan. Bryant's arms and legs stopped everyone else.
"We just kind of stopped," acknowledged the Spurs' Manu Ginobili. "I don't know if it was our legs or if it was our heads."
The Lakers then scrapped at their own pride until they stopped doing silly things, committing just one turnover in the final quarter while clearing out for Bryant to be the usual hero.
"It was crazy," said Luke Walton. "Especially to do that against the Spurs, that's impressive."
In the final seconds of the game, there was a pile of Lakers on the floor, Odom grabbing Ginobili and Sasha Vujacic grabbing the ball for the clinching free throws.
"Heart," said Vujacic. "I think we have a big heart."
In the final moments of the night, there were piles of untouched food on a table in the Spurs' locker room, pizza and sandwiches abandoned by a team that had lost its stomach.
To a team that had taken a huge step toward finding its soul.
"Winning a championship is not easy, it doesn't come to those who just wait for it, and tonight was an example," said Fisher. "We went out and we won the game."
You ask me, they won a lot more than that.
Thanks for the locker room material, Bill!
Spurs in 6.
Yea because the Spurs were totally blown out the first two games of the last series and folded up pretty quickly after that
Goddamn that is some premature ejaculation. Take it from a guy who watched his team take a 2.75-0 lead in the Finals.
Thank you. We, Spurs fan, know what over confidence does to your game. So once more Thank you to the LA and National media.
for those of you who are not in the LA area, or bother to read the LA Times, I should fill you in on something:
Bill Plaschke is a moron. He's one of those guys always looking for an angle rather than finding a solid analysis. He should be writing for OMG! about who Lindsay Lohan is dating.
I see Bill is still riding that bandwagon. His article fails.
Last time I checked, you need to win 4 games to win a series, not one game at home.
Apparently, some Laker fans have forgotten 2004.
Spurs up 2-0....
Lakers win 4 straight.
Sweet justice for the reverse to happen this year.
How about we just root for the Spurs not letting it get to 0-2, yea?
That is the ONLY reason I am not confident.
He's also written columns saying L.A. was a "Clipper Town" and a "Bruin Town" recently....
It is OVER.. Thanks Bill we can now begin to plan our summer.. saves me from watching the rest of the series..
1 game only....need 3 more the last time I checked.
Bill is a tool, yesterday we are the last team we wanted to face, now it's over? give it a rest, Bill.
That works too.
Just making a point...
It sounds like if either team is blowing Game 1 out of proportion, it's more likely the Lakers. The Spurs had a 20-point lead, but only because they put on a 14-2 run to start the 3rd quarter. The Lakers came back with a 13-0 run to cut what had been an 8 point halftime lead to a 7 point Spurs' lead; it reminded me a lot of the Hornets' 2nd quarter run at the Spurs in Game 7 to take a brief lead, only to be met by a counter-run that re-established the Spurs' margin. The ultimate difference in the two runs was 1 point.
The Lakers' run obviously gave them momentum and the Spurs' many woes in the 4th just compounded that in terms of the problems it created for the visitors. But, ultimately, I think the 20 point lead was more of an illusion than a signal -- the Lakers overcame an 8 point halftime deficit to win Game 1 at home. That's not a heartbreaking result; and, above all else, the Spurs don't really do the downward spirals from heartbreaking any more, no matter what Jordan Farmar might think.
isn't plaschke the same jackass that wrote we were the last team the lakers wanted?
Good way to put it all in perspective...thanks!
Spurs in 6.
Thanks for putting that in perspective, FWDT.
Looking forward to game 2!
People are making way to big a deal out of last night.
One game.
Rest up, boys, and go hold that 20 point lead next time.
I'd also say that if Game 1 taught the Spurs anything, it's spoke volumes to the importance of Bruce Bowen's defense. While Bowen struggled to contain Kobe late, the Lakers' 13-0 run in the 3rd started upon Bowen's exit from the game. Bowen ended the night +18; Finley ended -21 and Manu ended -19.
Bill is dumb.
Wow, you agree with this homer crap? Boy, that's a surprise.
That's why foul trouble will be key for Bruce. Udoka was descent but not as seasoned. I think a HUGE part of the game last night was when both Udoka AND bruce were on the bench and pop tried to go small ball.
Bottom line is Lakers are up 1-0 and need 3 more to advance.
Spurs must win a game at Staples if they hope to win the series and only get 3 more chances (if the series lasts that long).
Spurs only played one close game on the road last series and were fortunate enough that the Hornets didn't have the firepower to complete a comeback the Lakers DID complete.
only because of fouls.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
