Lakers vs. Mavericks “Live” Blog powered by nomuskles

2008-2009’s first nomuskles powered live blog is here!

Am I the only one surprised at how well Odom has tolerated his move to the bench?

1^st Quarter

Annoying detail of no importance whatsover. The Lakers and Clippers have changed from Porter brand stanchions to Spalding brand stanchions. The Mavs have changed to Spalding this year as well. Is there a spalding conspiracy?

11:18 – Bynum shows what the Lakers were missing last year with his block on Jason Terry. Terry thought he had a clear lane to the basket and Bynum erased his attempt.

10:47 – J Kidd dusts of his jump shot over Bynum’s arm.

10:02 – Dirk is caught not guarding anyone in some zone defense and as a result, Pau gets the offensive rebound. Lakers convert the putback. Lack of concentration on Dirk’s part?

9:45 – Dirk gets called for a moving screen. More lack of concentration. I almost didn’t recognize the German without the Olympic rings shaved in his head.

9:28 – Pau shoots a high rainbow from the free throw line that somehow finds bottom.

9:02 – The Harlem Globetrotters are out there with all these turnovers and slipping on the court.

8:20 – the ref decides Kobe failed to establish his verticality as Dirk runs him over.

7:56 – Gerald Green takes a great three point set shot. Cupcake man seems to be working on his all-around game. Honestly it brings a tear to my eye.

6:41 – Bynum is really getting frustrated by the ugly defense of Dampier. Every time Bynum goes up for a shot under the bucket, Damp is pushing him down low and it’s really starting to get under Bynum’s (sizable amount of) skin.

6:01 – Cupcake man steam rolls fisher and somehow gets the foul call. Dubious.

5:35 – The Spaniard vs. the German. Pau looks a little rushed and throws up a premature jump hook. Brick city.

5:27 – Bynum picks up a phantom foul against Terry. The young buck is upset. He’ll go straight to the bench with his anger.

4:53 – Kobe finishes the break with the left hand and Kidd picks up a boneheaded foul. Three point play.

4:03 – Kobe is trying to teach Cupcake Man a lesson. The lesson would be, “you can’t guard me.” So far, it’s not really working out how Kobe hoped, but he’s going to get his tonight. Kurt’s right. 17-23 Dallas is leading after two Mamba free throws.

Ariza and Odom have checked in. Look for awesomeness to follow.

3:09 – Ariza’s tough defense leads to a bad Stackhouse three but Cupcake man comes up with the long rebound. That young man is trying to get paid. His epidermal integrity has apparently failed him though as his bleeding has caused the need for a stoppage in play.

2:56 – The Mavs are a little confused on offense. Three guys were hanging out by the weak-side elbow. Spacing was, shall we say, lacking. Ariza gets the baseline dribble.

1:59 – Kobe finishes a lob play with a quick layup. Great display of balance and strength by the Mamba.

1:24 – Kidd still drinking the fountain of splash. He gets a three to fall.

1:00 – terry finishes a fast break layup against the long arms of Odom. 31-23 Dallas.

0:46 – Terry gets a deep the corner two.

0:26 – Lakers give up a fast break layup. 35 – 23 Mavs. It might be time to re-examine that commitment to defense we’ve been hearing about.

0:09 – the Giraffe-like Spaniard gets a couple freebies and then Ariza picks Kidd’s pocket at halfcourt for the easy slam. The kid with the mop scampers out of his way with a quickness Chris Mihm would be hard-pressed to match. Ariza = good things happening. Brian Cook, it’s like we never knew ye. 35-26 Mavs up. That’s how the quarter will end.

 

2^nd Quarter

Sasha’s sporting a leg sleeve on his southpaw leg.

10:27 – Great pick and roll for Lamar and Bynum results in an acrobatic layup.

10:13 – Bynum started putting down roots in the key and got caught. It gives us a chance to admire Phil Jackson’s flowing mane of silver hair.

10:10 – Stackhouse wants no part of Bynum’s shot blocking activity. He passes it to the German who throws up a contested 15 footer.

9:33 – The German gets bumped by Odom and somehow throws it in. Guys in the L will always amaze. No foul called.

9:01 – Ariza dusts off his “you can’t guard me” lesson for Gerald green. Must have been a pretty decent powerpoint presentation because the jump hook counts for two.

8:52 – Odom will have the chance to shoot two free throws after a great defensive sequence for Sasha who stole the ball and threw it to Farmar in one motion while falling out of bounds. HAHAHA. The coaches are showed on the bench with their knees in their chests. They look like they are sitting in chairs built for kindergarten kids. I’m not even sure what happened to those free throws.

8:15 – Lamar backs The German down in the post and gets the bucket.

7:46 – Lamar tries his lefty scoop and actually misses it. That’s usually money.

7:42 – Ariza draws a charge on Cupcake Man. Green does not like the call but he’ll have to not like the call on the bench for a bit.

7:01 – Diop roofs Farmar’s ill-advised interior shot but Vujacic picks up the rebound and drills the 17 footer.

6:11 – 44-39 Mavs still up. Just a score update. I keep meaning to update the score and falling behind. Timeout happens somewhere around here. This game is wild and entertaining. I’m not sure high level of skill is one of the adjectives I’d use, however.

5:43 – Kobe shoots the long jumper.

5:09 – Awesome. Kobe spots the secondary defender cheating and lasers a pass to Bynum underneath for the slam. Great great great vision.

4:29 – It might be an asset to be 7’0”. This thought occurs to me as Bynum doesn’t jump and still throws the ball downward into the hoop.

4;07 – Jason Terry is the recipient of a beautiful bounce pass backdoor from Kidd. 50-45 Mavs.

3:11 – How is that not a travel? The German practically packed his bags and cleared customs with that hop and skip! And then he holds his nose because the Spaniard decided his face needed a slight rearrangement during the middle of that ridiculous bucket. At the other end, the Big German returns the favor. Apparently the two big marshmallow men are unaware about the rich history of cooperation their two nations have dating back to the time of the Hapsburgs.

2:10 – Kidd busts out the 6-inch windmill layup with contact. He misses the free throw. 48-56 Mavs still up.

1:40 – I’m not sure if that was an alley-oop but it worked out that way. Lamar to Pau is a beautiful thing. 50-56 Mavs leading by a half dozen.

0:58 – Pau shows off some man sauce against Dampier and muscles his way into the middle of the paint for a three point play opportunity. At this point I should also note that the Space Cadet has not contributed much tonight in the way of anything. 56-53 Mavs after the free throw.

0:38 – Derek “point4” Fisher fouls terry on the sideline trap. Doh! With 5 seconds left on the shot clock and such little time left in the half, that’s not the play the coaching staff was looking for. On the plus side, this break in the action allows the writer to admire the circularity of JET’s dome.

0:30 – Kobe tries to go two for one taking some unknown Maverick off the dribble earning a shooting foul. He’ll get two free throws and blow one of them. 58-54 Mavs still up. Lakers should get one more shot.

0:10 – Dirk drills the two with Lamar’s paw in his grill. Kobe can’t convert at the other end. Lakers still trail by a half dozen. 60-54.

 

Halftime

I would donate a lot of blood to see James Worthy do the halftime show in his goggles.

 

3^rd Quarter

11:50 – Kobe is guarding Kidd at the point and Kidd decides that Radman is the weak spot. He’s right. Cupcake Man gets up to blow out the candle and finish the alley-oop. Radman asks Pau if that was his man. Pau says, “obvi”

10:37 – The Space Cadet plays hot potato and throws it away. Kobe slumps over.

10:12 – The Lakers turned it over again and Dirk drills the three. 64-55 Mavs leading.

9:52 – The Mavs, not to be outdone, rifle a pass off the stanchion support. Dampier was the intended receiver. Intentional grounding was not called.

9:00 – After finding his athleticism matched by cupcake man, Kobe decides to find a much easier target. Kidd watches Kobe blow by him and has no choice but to grab his jersey.

8:22 – I wish I had voted for Ariza for President.

8:13 – Radman throws up a three pointer that goes about 14 inches too far. Air ball. Definitely a space cadet game.

Kobe is a little bit tired of this. He’s just going to take it to the rim and score. Then jack up a three but this one misses. Then Radman will try his luck and miss his three as well.

6:54 – Joel Myers is begging his producer to find him a thesaurus so he can find synonyms for “ugly.” At least I imagine him doing so. It’s so bad Luke is going to check in for the space cadet. Probably because it’s not second unit time and Phil doesn’t want to waste Ariza’s energy with this lax group.

6:17 – That decision immediately pays off when Luke Walton gets beat off the dribble and his man goes all the way to the bucket which misses but Dampier is left alone to get the putback slam. 61-70 Dallas leads. Tough spot for the son of bill to come in there; you know, against someone who can dribble and run at the same time. Phil has decided to not let the young team hang themselves yet. Time out called.

5:53 – Dallas whips out a tightly packed zone out of the timeout. Luke misses the three. I’m shocked.

4:45 – I [heart] Gasol. He gets a beastly putback slam. I’m just going to pretend the three-chance possession by the Mavs didn’t just happen before that.

4:37 – 63-72 Mavs up. score check.

3:35 – Cupcake man is not going to back down from the mamba. He takes Kobe to his left and hits the nice pull up bank shot. Well played cupcake man. Well played.

3:08 – 65-74 Mavs still holding that nine point lead.

2:55 – Cupcake man’s activity leads to a second chance and Diop is the beneficiary. He earns two free throws and converts one of them. 65-75.

2:19 – Ariza’s mishandle causes a turnover on offense but he hustles at the other end, causing a turnover by cupcake man. He then lays himself out to get the loose ball. Timeout called and Lakers retain possession.  Out of the timeout Sasha has a nice curl screen jumper. 67-75.

1:48 – Jason Kidd hits another shot. He’s definitely hooked up to the rejuvenation machine this year.

1:06 – Bynum grabs a rebound. The Lakers are battling. Lamar is putting up some effort to get the boards. This leads to a bucket. Then Farmar catches Kidd sleeping and gets a layup. Green answers at the other end.

0:03 – Farmar usually gets the green light at the end of the third. But as time winds down he penetrates and kicks to Lamar for a right corner three. Money! Lakers are only down 3. I was watching this and can’t tell you how they got that close.  They got a couple cheap ones and cut the lead down with some intensity. These are the garbage games they’ve got to win. It’s not pretty but if they can pull it out, it counts all the same. 76-79 Mavs.

 

4^th Quarter

11:25 – Green puts those boosties to use. He posterizes Lamar on the break. That was sick. It’ll be on sports center. I promise.

10:42 – Sasha takes a quick three from the top of the key and drills it in transition. Stu calls it a bad shot. I’m okay with it.

10:14 – Lamar dribble drive to his right! Oh. But he finishes with his left. Diop’s gotta know that lamar has no right hand. Count the bucket. (sidenote, Stackhouse does not look spry.) Lamar misses. Ariza homes in on the rebound which squirts out to the corner. He Barry Sanders the German into next week and gets a two-handed slam. A huge fist pump while he’s about twelve feet off the ground. Timeout bad guys. 83-81 Lakers take the lead for now. I’m going to get a tattoo on my forehead dedicated to Ariza.

9:39 – The Mavs come out of the timeout with a rushed three pointer as the clock winds down. Cupcake man might want to stick with dunking.  Dirk crushes a photographer. In hockey, you’d say that guy was “rubbed out of the play.” I hope his skull was reinforced with adamantium.

8:46 – Kobe saw Ariza get it done and he can’t be outdone. He gets a one handed putback slam to go.  Cupcake Man was taking notes. That one will probably be on sportscenter as well.

7:57 – the Mavs need to fire the gimpy Stackhou…. I mean, Stackhouse nails a threeball. And then Stack gets a steal and converts the two point layup on the break against Lamar. I hate it when I eat my words.

6:56 – the game is finally starting to come together. Kobe nails a jumper. Lakers up by three. 89-86.

6:34 – redonkulous! Kobe is just a whirling dervish. Fake spin. Fake spin the other way. Rise up over Kidd (nailed to the floor). Cash money. Maybe two other guys in the league would try that shot. 91-86.

6:18 – Fisher hunts down the long rebound and it seems at this moment, the Lakers have the legs and energy to explode towards loose balls and rebounds. That’s going to be the difference; Who has the mental and physical energy to get to the loose balls and secure rebounds?

6:08 – Kobe just leaves Kidd at the three point line. Dirk’s help is late and Kobe gets the finger roll to fall while getting the favorable whistle. Personal foul: German. Highlight play: Mamba. Hypertension: Yours truly. 93-86 Lakers before the and free throw. Kobe converts.

5:53 – Pau plays some Jack Black and Kyle Gass (Tenacious D) which forces the German to throw it to the ref who is standing out of bounds.

5:00 – Jason Kidd doesn’t commit to the quarterback role just yet. He takes it all the way to the bucket without being stopped and draws the foul on LO7. He converts the three point play.

4:46 – Ariza spots a hole. And like Mashall Faulk in his heyday, Trevor knows what to do. Run through it. Two points and the foul. Converts the freebie. 97-89.

3:48 – Terry is fouled on the break. Trevor, who doesn’t quit, ran all the way back to block the shot as the secondary defender, even after the whistle had blown. He won’t get a blocked shot for that, but it’s just as good. He made sure that JET had to shoot two free throws. He makes both.

3:27 – Pau is determined to take it to the bucket. He gets hacked on his first attempt. No call. Gets it back. And in his wild way, he goes for another one. He draws the foul. And Dampier, for his trouble, rejects the Spaniard’s shot with quite a bit of menace. 99-94 after Pau’s free throws. lakers still up.

3:04 – No one touched the ball except Kobe on that possession. And Kobe didn’t go anywhere. Brick.

2:50 – This game is curiously reffed. Lots of phantom foul calls. Damp is the beneficiary this time around. He gets one of his free throws. Lakers up by 2. 99-97.

2:38 – Jump ball after the officials can’t tell what happened.

2:18 – Kobe is smashed on the arms and loses the ball. No call. Strange game folks. Refs are humans too.

1:41 – Is Kobe going to take too long here too? Nope. Ariza gets the pass on the wing. Can’t hit the three.

1:17 – The German pokes away the touchdown pass before it can get to gasol.

1:06 – this game is high on stress. Low on actual scoring in the past 10 minutes. On the bright side of things, the good people of Dallas will have no problem building houses with all the bricks these two teams have laid. Still 99-97 Lakers leading. Timeout Mavs.

0:45 – Ariza plays with fire and comes out a hero. He challenges Stackhouse’s corner three. As the shot clock winds down. Guess what? Ariza stuffs it out of bounds with one second left. On the inbounds, The German heaves it up left-handed. Not a positive sequence for the John Mccains.

0:23 – Pau gobbles up Fisher’s airball and throws it into the bucket as Dirk is called for a push in the back. The German fouls out with that one and the Spaniard and his glorious mane convert the three point play. 102-97 Lakers still positive.

0:15 – JET is too good. Floater in the lane over Gasol is silky smooth. 103-99.

0:12 – fisher sinks his two free throws on the intentional foul in the backcourt. Lakers would have to really stick their heads in the sand to lose this one as the John McCains just ran out of timeouts.

0:10 – How about Ariza? He stole the ball on the first inbounds try. And then his activity leads to a Lakers rebound on the Cupcake Man miss. Game over. I take it back about a team needing to get to the loose balls. The Lakers only needed Ariza to get to all the loose balls. Perhaps I’ve said loose balls one too many times in succession. I’ll stop now.

Final score is 106-99. Lawler’s Law holds up. More importantly, my ulcer will now have a full 21 hours to heal before the game tomorrow. What say you FB&G community? Was this a quality win?