Laker fans, when was the last time you were this excited about the team? For me, 2001, the second title. While they made it to the finals in 2004, in the later years of the Shaq/Kobe era, I started to fear opening the paper to read about the soap opera, I grew weary of the […]
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Open Thread – game 4
Rather than me providing more comments on game three, look for a comment this morning from Gatinho, who was in Staples Center Friday night. Today may not be a classic must win but it can define this series – win and we can almost start printing “hallway series†tickets. The last two wins certainly have […]
Open Thread – game 3
The playoffs are about adjustments. In the regular season, the daily grind and travel makes altering your basic strategy from night-to-night difficult, the changes you do make tend to be minor tweaks. That gives a team like Phoenix, with it’s very different style than everyone else, and advantage. Then, add to it that three of […]
It’s a best-of-five
If before the first two games in this series you had offered me, or just about any other Laker fan, a split on the road we would have taken it. What’s more, after the win last night, the template is there. It’s all about tempo, about imposing your style on the other team. Before last […]
Open Thread — Game 2
Trying something new to this blog, although I bet most of you are familiar with the concept. During tonight’s game, I (and hopefully some of you) will be watching and logging in with comments. (For the record, I had wanted to do some liveblogging during the playoffs, but the changes in my home make that […]
Sleeping Well
There are a lot of things keeping me up at night right now – from my new daughter’s crying to thoughts of the cost of college when she is old enough to go – but the Laker loss in game one of the first-round playoff series against the Suns isn’t one of them. Here’s the […]
Eaten by the Slow Start Monster
101-97, 22 seconds left, Bryant should be exchanging an Easter egg on his dome for a trip to the charity stripe, but… As the title of the post suggests, the pivotal moments in the game occurred in the opening stanza with Nash getting the bulk of his points there. Because of the slow start, the […]
We’ll see who blinks first
“Something has gotten into himâ€: Phil has anointed Kwame as the Golden Child in this series. A “featured playerâ€, if you will. This could have a couple of corollary effects. One making Kwame aware that Phil values him. The master manipulator has by this time learned to nurture Kwame’s fragile self perception. Phil wants confident […]
Thoughts on the Lakers and Suns
(This was going to be a longer, several part preview with some new research, but circumstances change. So here are my notes and thoughts put together over the last few weeks, and we’ll all be watching Sunday). Traditionally, I’d like to separate out the offense and defensive ends of the floor when looking at a […]
Good for two
Thanks for the warm wishes everyone, our newest baby daughter was born at 11:32 Thursday morning and was healthy. Mom and baby are doing well, as am I, or as well as can be expected without much sleep. But I should get used to that. Again. As was mentioned in the comments, I still did […]