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Preview and Chat: The Golden State Warriors

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Records: Lakers 12-14 (11th in the West). Warriors 18-9 (5th in the West)
Offensive ratings: Lakers 106.6 (5th in NBA), Warriors 104.9 (7th in NBA)
Defensive ratings: Lakers 102.2 (15th in NBA), Warriors 102.0 (14th in NBA)
Projected starting lineups: Lakers: Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Devin Ebanks, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard
Warriors: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, David Lee, Festus Ezeli.
Injuries: Lakers: Steve Blake (out), Jordan Hill (questionable); Warriors: Andrew Bogut (out), Brandon Rush (out).

The Lakers Coming in: After surviving a nail-biter earlier in the week at home against the Charlotte Bobcats, the Los Angeles Lakers are owners of a three-game win streak and will be looking to improve on it tonight at Oracle Arena.

The team is still facing questions as it pertains to its rotation mind you, as evidenced by Antawn Jamison’s bagel in the minutes column against the Bobcats.

Devin Ebanks was the nominal starter against Charlotte but only saw five total minutes of playing action while Kobe Bryant (43 minutes), Jodie Meeks (39 minutes) and Darius Morris (29 minutes) played some heavy minutes. In addition, with Metta World Peace now playing power forward off the bench, does this mean the Jamison experiment is over?

The biggest news undoubtedly has to be that Steve Nash is scheduled to play tonight, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles, and this might certainly be the boost of optimism the needs after a fairly slow start this season. But again, this leads to more questions concerning the rotations — let’s not kid ourselves though, it’s Steve Nash that’s coming back here! — as well as the amount of minutes that Nash can play and whom he plays them with.

Tonight’s contest will at least provide some temporary answers.

The Warriors Coming in: The Golden State Warriors have won eight of their past 10 contests and just recently took apart the Bobcats at home by double digits thanks in large part to their 14-of-27 shooting from 3-point range.

Stephen Curry is playing some great basketball this month, but so is David Lee as evidenced by his 23.2 points per game, 11.8 rebounds per game and 3.6 assists per game on 59.6 percent field goal shooting in the month of December.

It’s worth noting that Lee had a triple-double last night against Charlotte; a performance that highlighted all of his skills.

With that said, the Warriors have lost seven of their last eight meetings to the Lakers and will want to finally tilt things back into their favor.

Warriors Blog: Warriors World covers the Golden State Warriors as well as the rest of the league on occasion. A preview of tonight’s contest by me from the Dubs’ vantage point can be found here.

Keys to the game: The one area of the game that absolutely bears paying attention in the contest tonight has to be rebounding. Indeed, the Los Angeles Lakers are second in the NBA in rebounding rate while the Golden State Warriors are third.

Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard will obviously play a huge role on this front, but it’s also important for Metta World Peace to snatch a fair amount of rebounds considering that he will more than likely be matched up against either David Lee or Carl Landry.

The starters should hold their own on this front, but the Warriors’ bench might narrow the gap much like they did the first time both of these teams played on November 9th, as they grabbed 23 of the 47 rebounds the Dubs accumulated.

In addition, the Lakers’ defense will have to make some tough decisions in their pick-and-roll defense, because the Warriors love to use David Lee as a pressure release point at the top of the key when defenses rotate. The end result is that the Florida product can take the open jumper, put the ball on the floor if a slow-footed big man is defending him or simply swing the ball to the open shooter where the Warriors are converting 42.1 percent of their treys in the month of December according to NBA.com’s advanced stats tool.

Golden State will stretch the court by occasionally playing Jarrett Jack, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson all at the same time; which tends to open up the driving lanes and allow the Warriors to create high percentage shots. NBA.com tells us that the Warriors second most used lineup of the season features Curry, Jack, Thompson, Landry and Lee; and that unit produces 110.9 points and 29.3 assists per 48 minutes on 50.6 percent field goal shooting and 42.7 percent 3-point field goal shooting.

This might be one of those instances where D’Antoni is obliged to play MWP on the perimeter a little to ensure there is enough proper ball pressure being applied on ball handlers to ensure the Lakers do not lose containment on the perimeter and allow a multitude of open looks from deep.

With that said, if we get away from the stats, there are two facets that immediately come to mind in this contest:

I. The Lakers have always played well in Golden State. Lakers fans typically show up in every venue, but Oracle Arena usually has a large contingent; but one wonders if the team’s resurgence equates to more Warriors fans showing up; and also whether this new Dubs team rises to the occasion to play a team that’s had their number seemingly forever.

II. With Brandon Rush out for the year, the Warriors do not have one single player on the roster smart and disciplined enough to make life tough for Kobe Bryant other than Draymond Green. Seriously, Kobe has pretty much had his way with all of the Warriors players, but Green’s size and defensive IQ might earn him some minutes covering the Black Mamba; but otherwise it stands to reason that Bryant will have one of those nights where most of his jumpers look easy.

Tonight’s game certainly should prove to be entertaining and high paced, which could potentially produce a lot of fireworks.

Where you can watch: 7:30pm start time on TWC Sportsnet.

Statistical support provided by NBA.com.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Gary says

    Hopefully Nash coming back means the offense doesn’t need to run through Kobe all the time and Kobe can get some rest.

  4. BigCitySid says

    The next two games have suddenly taken on even more meaning. Yes the Lakers tied their longest winning streak of the season, 3, vs Wiz, beat-up 76ers, & Bobcats, and guys like me have been wondering how would they fair in their next two teams against a couple of vastly improved teams from last year in the Warriors and Knicks. And now, throw a returning Steve Nash in the mix and you have must watch TV for any Laker fan.

    I’m getting my popcorn ready.

  5. Tra says

    Love the way we match-up against this squad and it’ll be good to see ‘General’ Nash performing in that FB&G Uniform outside of the Princeton Offense.

  6. clover says

    Jackrabbit nate wolters = a young steve nash and is expected to go in the second round (if the nba doesn’t wake up)–lakers take heed. tonight’s game is going to be tough for us to win. they usually play well against us and they can push it, shoot lights out from range and play inside with Lee. And everyone knows Lakers will lie down if you work hard enough against them.

  7. Robert says

    Kobe Alert: Last game Kobe registered 30 points for the 399th time during a regular season game. He trails only MJ, Wilt, Malone, and Kareem in that category. You gotta love the fact that all these lists are just loaded with Lakers. He is only 30 such games behind Kareem and 36 behind Malone, so at the rate he is going, this year is not impossible : ) All star ballots are of course out, so vote early and vote often. If KB is named an all star, he will tie Shaq for 2nd behind only Kareem (again – all Lakers). He already holds the record for most times named as a starter. And before another debate starts, let me save everyone some time: He is not Magic, but he does Rule ! That summarizes the basic positions of the two sides : )

  9. Robert says

    Thanks Jayz – appreciate it. My posts have been under fire lately, however – just like Kobe – I am planning to keep puttin um up – Enjoy the game.

  10. Ko says

    Looking forward to tonight. In SF it’s important to get off to fast start with Nash out there.

    Which begs the question of do they really need to start Ebanks who is a non-producer on offense. Wish we could see our 5 best starting but it still should be a good test.

  11. Lewis says

    D-fish was waived by the Mavericks I like the idea of him returning to the lakers for a shot at a 6th ring and some added veteran leadership In the locker room what do you guys think?

  13. jerke says

    Good use of Morris in theory – he’s useless running the offense – but putting him out there to harass and make curry work early and often should be interesting. And given his speed, wouldn’t hurt to make curry have to chse him up and down the court intransition instead of nash.

  15. Chearn says

    Here’s to hoping that Darius Morris buys into the role of being a defensive stopper on pg’s for the Lakers. It’s a role that he could excel at because he has the size and quickness. Now if we could only get Ebanks to do the same. More defense by the Lakers will land them in a position of 500 for the season. Let’s go, Lakers!

    Expect turnovers as the Lakers get tuned into playing with Nash.

  17. mindcrime says

    @Clover:

    Wolters plays his home games about fifty miles from me—-he’s good, but not that good—he is going to have to do serious work on his outside shooting to even sniff the floor on the next level

  19. Kevin_ says

    Nieces and nephews driving me insane hopefully lakers bring down my blood pressure. Morris starting means D’Antoni is playing Kobe at sf a lot from now on. We’ll see how it turns out.

  21. Joe says

    With Nash back is there some good reason to go with this Kobe at the 3 and Meeks at the 2 line-up? Meeks is shooting 39% for 3 this year and has an overall FG % of 40%. MWP is shooting 37% from 3 and has an overall FG % of 43%. MWP also gives you boards, steals and much better D.

    Further….what….just saw the starting lineup…you got to be kidding me….sigh….D’Antoni.

    PICK A LINE-UP!

  24. Kobemoney says

    Nash seems to be waiting on his teammates to MOVE on offense. They’re standing around as if Nash is David Blaine the magician.

  32. Joe says

    Great defensive recovery by Hill, got all ball but bodied Landry a little. Could of easily just been a block but Landry really sold it.

  36. Manny says

    What Kobe is going thru right now is what his teammates go thru most games. With Nash back the balls out of Kobe’s hands and it looks like its affecting his shooting. Throwing up a lot of bricks.

  38. joesmith says

    My comment makes no sense considering that the Lakers had no idea during pre-season that D Antoni would became coach, but imagine for a second that they had planned that on advance..

    Just Bynum to Toronto, for Bargniani and Calderon, and gettin a REAL 3pointer (mainly that one you are all thinking about) and imagine

    Nash-X-Kobe-Bargniani(in Marion s role)-Gasol.120 points/game easily

  39. Joe says

    Funny, Dwight and Kobe have been brutal tonight so far but we are still up against a very hot team.

    Good sign.

  41. Joe says

    This ref crew does not like Dwight at all.

    3 fouls, 2 of them pretty cheap. A ‘T’ that didn’t look like much.

  42. Hale says

    There were a whole lot of Lakers standing around while Nash was dribbling. If they don’t move, what does it matter who is playing the point?

  44. Kevin_ says

    Transition defense has been better but the point guard in half court is killing Lakers as did Thomas and Collison do earlier in the year.

  45. Joe says

    Jordan Hill is always ready to play, he has more reason than anyone to sulk and not try and he is always the hardest worker on the floor.

    And we want to trade him….SMH

  46. mindcrime says

    Horrible job by this crew so far…..no consistency on either end for either team on what is or isn’t a foul…can’t imagine what it’s like to play in this one….

    That said, once again Jack is all-world against LA—-why can’t the Lakers ever stop this guy, regardless of what team he plays for? Nash’s return may help the offense, but it is still the defense that isn’t playing well….

  50. Joe says

    Everything criticism about Kobe’s offence is being played out in tonight’s game.

    I defend the dude all the time, but he is intent on ISO after ISO.

  53. inwit says

    Just shows what young legs can do, the Lakers have had 3 days off and the Warriors 4 games in 5 nights, and they look fresh, not us.

  56. Cayucos surfer says

    Believe me I’m the last person in the world complain about Kobe shooting. But 17 shots in one half on pace for 34 shots in the game when you have Steve Nash Dwight Howard and Metta playing well.. its just too much. Unless you’re on fire. Tone it down kobester, we all know you’re the GOAT.

  57. Kevin_ says

    Lakers may need a whole 2nd half of Dwight to win. He has to make some game changing plays on defense.

  58. Joe says

    This is maybe the second game this year I would agree with someone who said Kobe is shooting too much, because unlike almost every other game where his shot is off and he is still jacking, this is not a game where no one else on the team is scoring or looking to score.

    A number of Kobe’s shots have been completely outside the flow of the offence, highlighted by his bizarre 1 on 3 drive with 15 seconds left in the 2nd when D’Antoni and every other person on earth wanted the Lakers to hold for last shot.

  59. Joe M says

    Is this really a surprise? Did we really think this defense would get better with Nash back? If anything, it might just get worse.

  60. Kenny T says

    Kobe has had a lot of point blank shots rim out. And he’s been fouled quite a bit with no calls in his favor.

  61. Joe says

    Actually our problem is not Nash at all on D, it is turnovers and of our 12, Pau and Dwight have 7. Dwight has 3 in 9 mins of play.

    I am puzzled with D’Antoni’s decision to start Morris tonight and equally puzzled by his decision to play Duhon over him for a long stretch there. Morris only played 4 1/2 mins and is a huge defensive upgrade over Duhon. Morris could guard Jack.

  64. Chris J says

    For all Nash adds on offense, he gives up more on the other end. Let’s hope the staff can find a way to hide him better with help on D as time goes on.

    Would really like the team to slow down and work size inside, with Artest and Pau. The more time Kwame Howard spends on the bench, the better.

  68. Joe says

    I am watching this line-up with Pau out there and no Dwight. Would seem like an ideal time to post Pau up, but Pau is not even looking at the post. I can’t think that is anything other than due to coach’s direction on how to run the offence.

    Basically every basketball commentator, ex-players, current players, etc. are all saying that the Lakers are not running an offence that suits the line-up. The result is turnovers and low shooting percentages.

  69. T. Rogers says

    The problem with playing fast against the Warriors is it makes things easy for them. The are better at playing fast than the Lakers. And the Lakers offense looks completely disorganized. Its like they are not sure what they want to do when they have the ball. The indecisiveness and bad shots play into the Warriors hands.

  71. Joe says

    Their own self-destructive tendencies aside, the Lakers are getting absolutely jobbed by the refs tonight. Not even close to calling it consistent or both ways.

  75. jro says

    it seems to me like anybody, literally any single player, can score against pau anytime they want. his one on one defense, which used to be acceptable is now non existant. making things even worse is the fact that he is way too slow on his help rotations, making his help d completely useless. i dont get it. where can we use this guy? he cant protect the paint…he cant help off his man…what can he do? he’s a liability, and it’s really hurting us.

  76. Ko says

    Just a very bad game for Kobe. I guess the theory Steve will help balance the offense may not be true. Kobe has 27 shots.

  77. Joe says

    I say that in part because the refs have made is quite clear they are NOT going to send Kobe to the line no matter what, and make no mistake, they are purposely not making calls for him at this point.

  80. Ludwig says

    I’m the biggest Mamba fan out there, but brat KB8 re-surfaced several times tonight. Rushing a shot with < 24 sec? Not letting Nash bring up the ball a couple times. Idiotic late 3Q play. Wow…

  82. ryan says

    At this point if I was guarding Kobe I would just bear hug him. Its not like your going to get a foul. He’s shooting too much and forcing things, but he has been hacked on quite a few shots and is not getting any calls.

  85. Chearn says

    Truthfully, why is Duhon on the floor tonight? The Lakers preached offense since Nash went down and the Lakers obviously thought that Steve was going to be the magic elixir to cure all ills. This entire team is concerned about putting up shots. Looks like the Lakers did nothing in practice and it looks like not one Laker touched a basketball during the three days away from games.

    D’Antoni’s face reflects pain every game.

    Good job Hill, he’s playing with a purpose.

  86. Ludwig says

    Hill has played with so much energy and heart despite degrading treatment by DA. Yet DA plays him to showcase him. Idiot.

  89. vhanz says

    @Ludwig

    Jordan Hill has back spasms last 3 games. Thats why he didn’t play on those games. Don’t post trash here if you really don’t know whats going on.

  91. jerke says

    Geez – I don’t complain about refs ever but they had their hands all over this game. W Dwight out – GS just went super small and and there was no way Pau can get back in time to cut off the front of the rim. On d, bigs only have one responsibility which is to run to the front of the rim and guards weren’t bad getting back, but hardly ever saw rim protection w Howard out.

    Nash has been nash on offence and relatively decent of defence, but Pau has had some brutal offensive/defensive stretches tonight. W Dwight out – Pau should’ve made an effort tobe aggresive and dominate at least on offense – but so many times down the court he’s done nothing to establish position down low. I get he’s being hacked at times – but when you’re 7ft – you shouldn’t be airballin on a postup against a 610 guy

  92. Kenny T says

    I got it straight now….it’s ok for Festus and Landry to butcher Dwight but it’s a foul if Howard touches them.

  98. Ludwig says

    @vhanz

    D’antoni was quoted in a post-game press conference, explaining the rotation changes, that Hill/Jamsion would be odd men out and he felt especially bad for Hill. Dummy.

  99. jerke says

    Arrrrrrrgh – who is leaving their man – Nash is actually playing reasonable man to man d and has his hand in jacks face – I can live w Jarret jack hitting hard shots – but the f’ing over helping kills and negates any good primary defensive effort.

  104. Jim says

    Kobe’s presence seems to squeeze the life out of the offense. When he is out of the game, there is less of a hierarchy, and energy seems to flow better. It’s kind of like when you play pick up games and there is that one guy who is a black hole. As a teammate, you lose interest.

  116. jerke says

    Damn damn damn – I have no probs w kobe taking last shot but they needed of the ball action to free either kobe or someone else up for a much easier look or pau/howard right at the rim

  118. ryan says

    I don’t understand why the Lakers don’t run a play at the end of games. Got to be better then just letting kobe dribble out the clock and taking a contested jumper.

  120. Joe says

    That last play in the 4th is all on D’Antoni as far as I am concerned. You are the offence-guy, draw up a play.

  121. Zirk says

    Kobe iso is the best they could come up with? Unbelievable. We could have Lebron, Durant, and CP3 on the team and the last play at the end of the game would still end up being a Kobe iso. Even on a night when he’s shooting like 12 for 50. Geez.

  130. Joe says

    This is a win the Lakers can build off. Dwight and Kobe were terrible. Pau was so-so at best. Foul trouble all night. No calls from the refs all night.

    Big, big, big win.

  134. Baldrick says

    Guys, Kobe is the NBA version of Brett Favre. He’ll make the sexy shot/moves that will make you cheer or groan like receiving a sweater for the 20th consecutive year by your Aunt on Christmas. I view him as a necessary evil since he’s on this team. Good or bad.

  136. Fern says

    Huge team building win, the team would had definetly lost this game if Nash was still out his floor generalship during crunch time was masterful. These games are going to get easier with time, huge huge win on the road against a really good and hot GS team coming into the game.

  137. Joe M says

    Lakers outscored a pretty decent team to get a nice win. This team is no where near championship caliber so while its a nice win, you still need to be scared because this team still plays very bad defense. 41 shots for Kobe is ridiculous, even for Kobe.

  139. Scott says

    1) Lakers are CRAZY to think about trading Hill! He was one of the reasons for their 4th quarter comeback.
    2) Nash definitely is difference-maker, as much for his clutch shooting as his passing.
    3) Early on they got into a hole with too many Kobe isos taking on the defense single-handedly. Run the offense through Nash!
    4) I hope Dwight’s still not at 100% health because he looked horrible out there.
    5) Did I mention the Lakers are crazy to trade Hill? Hill was the best big out there tonight.

  140. Jerke says

    41 mins in his return – 12 pts/9 dimes/3 rebs/ 2 for 2 on 3’s – clutch shooting late and play calling. Lakers owe him another 10 assists on back screens that he set to free up everyone else.
    And his d was certainly passable – picked up 2 steals and disrupted a lot of action early and had his hand in curry/klay/jacks face as much as possible. Can’t ask more anything more from the guy.

  142. PeteGunn says

    The Oakland Warriors play hard, so it’s good that the Lakers matched their effort in the 4th and OT
    MDA has to demand this effort every night.

  143. Zirk says

    As I’ve said before, because of where we are in the standings, every win is huge! Loved how we fought back in this game. But make no mistake, we won this game tonight IN SPITE of Kobe. MWP was huge! Jordan Hill was Mr. Hustle, as always. Dwight came alive there a little in the 4th. And of course, Nashty with those clutch shots at the end. Yeah, Kobe made a few key buckets, but taking 41 shots on a night when your shots aren’t falling is inexcusable, IMO. And this coming from one of Kobe’s biggest supporters. I just wish he would eliminate the handful of games like these that he seems to have every season.

    Gutsy win tho. Now let’s hope we all get an extra present on Xmas day! Happy holidays, to Darius, the other contributors, and all of the other fans here on FB&G!

  144. Lil pau says

    Compensation for games like Sac, cleveland, and Indiana. Great win and incredibly entertaining game. Welcome back, Steve Nash. Once Dwight also comes back, this team will–

    What? He did? Are you sure?

  146. T. Rogers says

    Good comeback win for the Lakers. I honestly expected a loss. I figured they would fight their way back from another double digit deficit only to come up short. They absorbed Jack’s performance and still got the W. This was a step in the right direction. The Lakers are now sitting on a four game win streak. A win against the boys from Gotham and the Lakers can be back to .500.

    Side notes.
    I’d hate to see Hill traded. That guy is a work horse. He puts his head down and grinds hard every time he plays. His attitude and approach to the game is rare. I really hope D’Antoni can continue to find a place for him in the rotation. That kind of hustle is exactly what the Lakers need.

    Steve looked good for his first action in 20+ games. That is a really good sign. Hopefully, they can get some kind of offensive consistency going.

  147. Fern says

    Kobe shoot too much thats a given, im not one to complain about the refs much but they purposely tried to get Kobe and Dwight out of the game, they made some horrid calls against the Warriors too but they reserved the really crappy ones for Dwight and Kobe i think Kobe went into machine gun mode because he wasnt getting any calls and he made some huge huge baskets down the stretch, huge comeback on the road.

  149. T. Rogers says

    Joe Atlanta,

    They still could have gotten a better shot off at the end of regulation. Did you see the play out of the timeout that involved a back screen from Nash and a bounce pass from Dwight? That play took all of seven seconds (if that). It got Kobe the ball on the move with his defender already lost. There was plenty of time on the last play. Kobe pounded ball into the floor while the seconds ticked off. Kobe shooting a fall away over two outstretched defenders is not effective anymore.

  151. KenOak says

    I didn’t watch the game and I just took a look at the box score. So, I’m assuming that the one free throw that Kobe took was from a technical foul? He took 41 shots tonight and didn’t get to the line at all aside from that technical freebie? That seems crazy to me. DH12 fouls out and Kobe has 5 fouls.

  153. Tra says

    Gutsy. Good come from behind win. As others have mentioned, the victory should build team comraderie. ‘General’ Nash is a game changer and Dwight continues to get no respect from the refs.

    While Kobe hit some key shots down the stretch, 41 fg attempts should never occur on this particular team. Especially on a night when you’re struggling from the field. He should feel fortunate that we were able to pull this out. A loss, while putting up (and missing) so many shots on the night that The General returned would have caused a media frenzy.

  154. Fern says

    Just on his first game back Nash showed why he is is light years ahead of Morris and Duhon combined and why he was so sorely missed, im completely sure the Lakers would had lost this game if he wasnt played

  155. Formalhault says

    Atlanta you have a phenomal point on Kobe’s shot attempts. Yeah Anonymus Kobe is right, he should have been basically living at the line.

  156. mud says

    fun game. finally.

    keep shooting Kobe. have no conscience. they will fall, one and all. sooner or later…

  157. Barty says

    Most exciting game of the year? Yes.Pau looked more alive and alert. mWP played great. Hill Meeks did some nice. We need more shots for Nash. 41 still too many shots for Kobe, too many fade always, falling out out bounds,hands in the face. But he made some huge clutches. That’s Kobe, take the bad with the good.

  158. YoungBilbo says

    Wow! How do you only have one free throw attempt on 41 FGA? Were the refs calling anything for Kobe?

  159. Kenny T says

    @Joe Atlanta…..

    I agree with your last post 100%. How in the world can a man shoot so many times and not be fouled once? NBA refs really take away the beauty and artistry of the game. Tonight, those two young refs were determined to show that they would not be intimidated by Kobe. So they went overboard and didn’t call the game fairly.

    But, the Lakers won…so it’s all good! This was a signature win. In a hostile environment….overcoming some brutal officiating that took Dwight out of the game completely….incorporating Nash back after such a long layoff….with Metta continuing to be a vital part of the team….this was the type of game the team can build on.

    Tonight, we saw several Lakers make key contributions off the bench. In addition to Metta’s fine play, Jodie Meeks and Jordan Hill also rang the bell. This enabled the Lakers to withstand the onslaught of one Jarett Jack. Does that guy ever miss against the Purple and Gold? Despite Jack’s damn near career game, the Laker bench outscored the Warrior bench 46-41. They picked it up on a night when Kobe struggled and Dwight was invisible because of foul trouble. The bench made the 4th quarter run that enabled the Lakers to eventually win the game.

    Let’s hope that tonight was the start of something good. I do believe that it is. Tonight we saw a Laker team claw its way back from a large deficit, overcome major adversity and TAKE a game away from a hot, aggressive team. I’m loving it.

  163. batman says

    have to keep hill this is the 3rd comeback ive seen him be a catalyst in including last year against okc