Lakers Can't Close, Lose Game Five (5.8.12)

Although Andrew Bynum thought it would be "easy" to close out the Nuggets in game five, no one besides Kobe actually stepped up to the challenge. Bynum provided the Nuggets some bulletin board material before the game, stating, "Close out games are kind of easy. Teams tend to fold if you come out and play hard in the beginning, so we want to come out and establish an early lead and protect it." Bynum's comment is actually pretty spot on, but the execution of the Lakers to start the game would make him eat crow. The Nuggets won the first three quarters, and they were able to keep the Lakers at an arm's length until the final minutes when Kobe took over with a flurry of 3's that almost led to a victory. The Nuggets eked out the victory after Kobe missed a contested 3 from the far wing and Sessions missed a second chance opportunity with a wide open 3 at the near wing as the buzzer went off. The Nuggets won 102-99 and have now forced a game six in Denver. With the score ending up so close, the Lakers will watch the film and be disappointed by the amount of miscues and unforced errors they committed.

Kobe came out of the gate very aggressive and looked to put Denver away early. However, Kobe could not connect on his jumper and he ended up finishing the first quarter 3-10 for 7 points, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Kobe forced two 3's and could not connect on his mid range jumper. However, Kobe did attack the basket hard on four different occasions, and he finished on three of them. Kobe also set up his teammates for open looks, but the shots weren't falling. Pau and Barnes missed multiple wide open looks off of drive and kicks from Kobe. With Bynum doubled off of the ball on almost every possession, the Lakers really struggled to establish an inside presence. Bynum actually had a very active quarter, especially on the glass, Drew went 2-4 for 6 points and 7 rebounds. Unfortunately, Drew would only gather 4 more rebounds for the rest of the game. Pau finished the quarter 1-4 for 3 points and 2 rebounds. The Lakers did gather 6 offensive rebounds to start, but those second chance opportunities only led to 5 points. The Nuggets finished the quarter up 26-23. It was evident from the beginning that the Nuggets were not going to be steamrolled.

In the second quarter, the Nuggets extended their lead, winning the quarter 23-20 and entering the half up by 6. The second quarter started very ugly as the second unit struggled to score. The second unit only scored 7 points in the opening five minutes of the quarter. The first possession yielded a shot clock violation as Ramon Sessions made an ill-advised decision to pass up an open jumper and instead dump the ball off to Jordan Hill as the shot clock expired. The next possession, Sessions pounded the ball the entire possession and ended up shooting an air ball contested jumper to beat the shot clock. Following a Barnes 3, Denver called timeout and Kobe and Bynum checked in at the 7:11 mark.

Although Bynum completely disappeared in the quarter, Kobe kept the Lakers within striking distance. Following an open jumper brick from Barnes, the Lakers looked to establish Bynum. Kobe dribbled at the near top and he fed Bynum the ball at the near block. Bynum took one dribble to back down, but as he backed down, Al Harrington pulled off the classic veteran move of pulling the chair. Bynum immediately fell over and landed on his butt as he lost the ball for a turnover. The Lakers went right back into Bynum. He caught it at the far block, held the ball, was tripled, and kicked it to an open Barnes at the near wing. Barnes swung to Blake at the far wing, and Blake drove middle and hit Barnes at the near wing. Barnes swung to Kobe at the near side 3, and Kobe used a pick from Hill to attack middle. As Kobe went middle, Barnes dove from the top of the 3 into the lane. Kobe hit him on the dive and Barnes finished. Although Barnes struggled mightily with his jumper on the night, his activity was great. A little later, the Lakers went back into Bynum. Bynum was in an iso at the far mid block. The defense sagged on him, so he kicked it out to an open Kobe at the far top 3. Kobe attacked to his right and went to the rim hard with both hands on the ball. Kobe took the foul and sank the free throws. Kobe later attacked in transition and was fouled on his layup. He sank the free throws. The next possession, he took another foul in transition and sank both his free throws. Kobe followed this with a nice baseline drive from the far side. Kobe went up strong for a two handed dunk. JaVale McGee swatted the dunk, but only because he stuck his hand through the rim for a goaltend violation.

Kobe capitalized on numerous aggressive plays that led to trips to the line. Kobe finished the quarter 2-3 with 11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 2 turnovers. Bynum, by Denver's design, finished 0-1 for 1 point, and 1 turnover. Bynum had limited opportunities because Denver doubled and tripled him on and off the ball. Denver's defense routinely sagged in like a shell around the lane. Although negated offensively, Bynum could have made it up on the glass. He did this well in the first quarter, but in the second quarter he had zero rebounds. Bynum had plenty of misses to gather as the Lakers finished the half shooting just 33%, and 0-6 from deep. Pau also struggled offensively, 0-3 for 0 points and 1 turnover, but he made an impact with his 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

The third quarter consisted of more Kobe, plenty of defensive breakdowns, and jumpers from Matt Barnes, missed 3's to be precise.

Kobe started the quarter with a long 2 by curling to the far wing and sinking a 22ft jumper. Kobe missed his next three jumpers. On one of them, he caught the ball at the far top 3 with 4 on the shot clock. Kobe attacked left, kept dribbling to the far mid corner, and fired off a running-jump-off-one-foot floating jumper as he headed toward the baseline. It turned into an air ball, and Ty Lawson capitalized with a floater in the lane. The fans in Staples Center began to boo the home team with the score standing at 59-47. Mike Brown took a timeout, and Matt Barnes made his only jumper of the quarter. Pau spun off the near block toward the baseline. As he spun, Pau lost his balance and fell to his knees. Pau then rifled a pass to Barnes at the far wing. Barnes sank the open 3. Two minutes later, Kobe and Pau ran a high pick and roll. Pau slipped the pick and Kobe hit him at the free throw line. Pau caught it and kicked to the wide open Barnes at the near wing 3. Barnes bricked it. Barnes followed that with an air ball finger-roll layup in the lane on the fast break.

JaVale McGee and Andrew Bynum followed Barnes with a nice mini dunk contest. McGee pulled off a nice reverse dunk past Bynum. Bynum followed with an alley oop slam. Sessions and Bynum ran the pick and roll from the near top 3. Sessions got to the near elbow, stopped, and lobbed the ball to the rim. Bynum went up, caught it with two hands, and cocked it back for a nice one handed throw down.

Then Kobe pulled off a Jordanesque layup. Kobe brought the ball up the far side, got to the far top 3, and used a pick from Pau. Coming off the pick, Kobe went middle, crossed from right to left at the top of the key, and shook Faried. Kobe attacked to the rim, jumped from the dotted line, and held the ball with both hands above his head. Kobe then decided to hang around a while, as he ball faked to Bynum at the top of his jump. Then Kobe had to adjust his shot as JaVale McGee rotated to swat it away. On his way down, Kobe brought the ball to his hip and released a lefty scoop shot high off the glass and out of JaVale's reach. Bynum followed Kobe's amazing play with a technical, but Afflalo missed the free throw. Kobe responded to an Andre Miller 3 with a floater and a 3 of his own, both coming in transition.

Then came the defensive breakdowns. Following Kobe's 3, the Nuggets led 66-63. Denver came out and used Miller in an iso at the far mid wing. Kobe stuck with him and would have forced a tough shot in the lane, but Jordan Hill rotated and bailed out Miller. Hill allowed Miller to do what he does best by dumping the ball off to JaVale McGee for a nice dunk on the near side. Kobe yelled at Hill, "No! I don't need that help!" Following another brick from Barnes, Miller schooled Barnes in an iso at the near wing. Miller took a dribble in, crossed left to right between his legs, and then spun baseline to finish an uncontested layup at the rim. No help side, no on ball defense.

Barnes finished his contributions in the quarter by flaming out with an air ball on a wide open 3. Blake brought the ball up to the top and hit Barnes at the far wing 3. Andre Miller sagged off Barnes and stuck to Bynum. Wide open, and with no close out in sight, Barnes fired up an air ball. Barnes finished the quarter 1-5, 1-4 from deep, for 3 points, 1 assist, and 1 steal. The Nuggets won the quarter 27-22 and went into the fourth up 76-65. At this point, the bench of the Nuggets had 29 points, compared to LA's 13. Kobe finished the quarter 4-7 for 11 points, 1 steal, and 1 turnover. Bynum went 1-1 for 4 points and 2 rebounds. Pau went 1-1 for 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 block.

The fourth quarter contained "A Tale of Two Kobe's," more mental lapses, and a a huge hill to climb.

Kobe started the fourth aggressive. Kobe took a pass at the far corner and attacked middle into the lane. Kobe shot up a floater, missed, and got his offensive rebound in the lane. Kobe pumped, took a dribble left, and hit the fading 12ft jumper. Kobe would miss his next three shots.

Following Kobe's make, Ramon Sessions fumbled away a sure two points. Following a turnover from Miller, Sessions pushed up the court, avoided Miller with a behind the back dribble, and lengthened his dribble to get some more speed. As Sessions approached the rim, he lost his handle and ruined a two-on-one transition opportunity with Kobe as the ball bounced out of bounds. Not to be outdone, Pau decided to give away two points by not getting back on defense. Pau got stripped as he turned middle from the far mid block. Instead of getting back on defense, Pau argued with the sideline referee. JaVale McGee got a step on Jordan Hill and began sprinting. Andre Miller sent the alley oop lob from half court and JaVale slammed it home. If Pau had hustled back, he would have been at the rim waiting instead of allowing JaVale to speed past everyone and finish with his athletic talents. Andre Miller then capitalized on a sleeping Bynum. Miller brought the ball up and noticed Bynum staring at him and not putting his body on JaVale. Miller lobbed the ball to the rim and JaVale sprung from the near block and threw it down. Two minutes later, McGee gave Denver their biggest lead of the game. Following a missed floater by Brewer, McGee ran down the ball to the far mid wing. McGee gathered it, attacked baseline, and threw down a thunderous one handed slam as Pau softly fouled him on the waist. McGee didn't make the free throw but the score swelled to 90-75 with 6:35 remaining.

Then the Lakers got going. Kobe hit Pau for an assist. Then Kobe forced Arron Afflalo into a tough contested turnaround jumper. Bynum followed with a nice putback after a Sessions miss. Kobe then sank his first of four straight 3's. Kobe passed out of a double at the far wing to Pau at the far top 3. Pau swung it to Sessions at the near top 3. Kobe circled from the far wing to the top 3 as Pau set a pick for him. Sessions hit Kobe at the top and he sank the catch and shoot 3, making the score 92-82. McGee followed with a putback finish. Bynum came back and attacked McGee for a trip to the line. Bynum made one of two. Following a Gallinari miss, Kobe pushed up the near side in transition, got to the near block, and threw an over the shoulder no look pass into the lane. Pau caught it at the dotted lines and hit the easy shot in the lane. Bynum followed with momentum shifting plays. He swatted McGee's lefty scoop in the lane, and he hustled down the court for a nice putback layin following a Sessions' miss in transition. That put the score at 94-87.

Then the game got real interesting. Following an Afflalo miss, Kobe curled to the far top 3 and took the pass from Sessions. Kobe caught it and shot it in rhythm for a 27ft bomb. This put the score at 94-90 and the crowd went crazy. Andre Miller quickly responded with an isolation move from the near top and a finish at the rim over Blake. JaVale McGee followed with a huge block. Kobe curled and caught the ball at the top 3. Since Kobe had just hit the 3, two Nuggets stayed with Kobe and left the screen man, Pau. Pau rolled to the far block, and Kobe hit him in stride. Pau went up for the two handed dunk, but JaVale McGee swatted the dunk away. Bynum followed with his own good defense, forcing Lawson into a contested jumper from the top of the key. Sessions gathered the miss and pushed up the near side. With a numbers advantage, Kobe began desperately waiving his arms calling for the ball. Sessions hit the wide open Kobe at the far wing and Kobe caught the pass and drilled the 26ft 3 in transition. The crowd erupted, but Andre Miller quickly silenced everyone as he came down and hit a leaner from the far mid wing off the glass.

Then, Kobe went "unconscious!" Sessions dribbled the ball at the near wing. Kobe used a back pick to circle from the near top 3 to the near corner. Sessions hit Kobe in the corner. Kobe jabbed right, swung the ball back and forth, and went up for the impossible 3 over Gallinari. Kobe sank the shot with Gallo in his grill. The building shook. Kobe had just hit his third 3 in 90 seconds.

However, sanity would return. The Lakers forced Miller to miss a tough far mid wing pull up jumper. Kobe brought the ball up and probably felt immortal. He got to the top of the key, danced a bit, crossed from right to left, and exploded to the rim. Kobe made contact with Gallo in the lane and used the space to get off a clean 4ft jumper. The ball went too high off the glass and just missed. Kobe then just missed a catch and shoot 3 from the near wing. The shot looked good, but it went off the front rim and bounced off the board.

The Nuggets left the door open by missing free throws. Utilizing an inbounds play from the sideline, Ramon Sessions hit a wide open 3 with 19 seconds left to play. This put the score at 100-99. Andre Miller then made one of two, to give the Lakers one last chance at a 3. Blake inbounded from the far sideline. He hit Pau at the far top 3. Pau sent it back to Blake at the far wing. Blake then hit Kobe at the far wing and cut to the near top 3. Kobe held the ball to kill the time. Then he swung through from right to left, pulled up for the 3 with Miller in his face, and hit back iron. Blake crashed and caught the ball at the near elbow. While in the air, Blake sent the pass out to Sessions at the near wing. Sessions fired the wide open 3 and hit front iron, missing short.

The Nuggets escaped LA, 102-99, and stole a game on the road. Kobe started the fourth 1-5 for 2 points and 3 rebounds in his first six minutes of the quarter. He finished 4-7, with four straight 3's, for 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. Bynum went 2-2 for 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. Pau went 2-3 for 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 turnover. The struggles of the team to start the fourth quarter doomed the comeback attempt. Kobe came so close to pushing the Lakers over the hump, but he could not remain perfect to the end. After making those four 3's in a row, he missed his next three shots, all decent looks.

Once again, the Lakers struggled to shoot as a whole. LA shot 38.9%, while Denver shot 45.9%. Kobe went 14-32, 5-11 from deep, for 43 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers. Kobe tried his best to will the team to victory, and he came damn close, but in the end he just didn't have enough help. Kobe actually played into the hands of Denver's strategy. They packed the paint and forced jumpers. Kobe did go 10-11 from the line, but he also shot a lot of jumpers. Bynum went 5-8 for 16 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 turnover. Pau went 4-11 for 9 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks, and 2 turnovers. Kobe's attempts may have limited Bynum and Pau production wise, but he also kept the Lakers in the game. Denver played great defense on the inside and made it tough for Bynum or Pau to do much from the inside. Double and triple teams were prevalent. Sessions and Barnes struggled mightily to hurt Denver from the outside, shooting a combined 8-26 for 20 points.

Overall, the Lakers could not punish Denver on the inside. Denver outscored LA 58-44 in the paint. JaVale McGee once again outplayed Bynum, dropping 9-12 for 21 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks. Most of McGee's points came off of dunks and offensive putbacks. His activity put Bynum to shame. Andre Miller was also huge off the bench going 8-11 for 24 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, and 1 turnover. Miller made 5 of his 8 buckets in the paint.

The Lakers gave away an extra day of rest and will now have to fly to Denver for game 6 on Thursday. The only positive to gain from the loss is that Metta World Peace will be available for game one against the Thunder once the Lakers advance. The Lakers need to come out focused and ready to play from the start. Let's see if this team has it in them to close on the road. 

Lakers Great Team Effort, Win Game Four (5.6.12)

In the end, it wasn't Bryant, it wasn't Bynum, and it wasn't Gasol. The two biggest plays of the game came from Ramon Sessions and Steve Blake in the final minute of the game. The Lakers scored 28 points off of second chance opportunities, as the Lakers grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, with Jordan Hill pulling down 7 and Pau Gasol gobbling up 5. Bill Macdonald, play-by-play voice of the Lakers, said it best, "You know Stu, it's a cliche that's used a lot in sports, but really, it pertains to tonight. It was a team win. A lot of guys did a lot of wonderful things tonight for the Lakers to secure this victory." In what may be the final broadcast ever on KCAL 9, the Lakers sent the station out with a team victory. What a way to end 35 years of great coverage.

The Lakers began the game with a putback for their first bucket of the night. Kobe missed a layup, and missed the tip in, but he continued battling on the boards, and the ball bounced right to Pau at the near block. Pau went up and finished the putback. This activity on the glass would foreshadow the effort of the Lakers for the rest of the game. It seemed that the Lakers might be tentative on the glass due to the numerous leakouts the Nuggets capitalized on during the previous games. After Pau missed an isolation fade from the near elbow, no one crashed the glass, causing Stu Lantz to state, "Because the Lakers are so concerned about getting back, nobody is even close to getting an offensive rebound." Mike Brown must have addressed this situation. Following that, the Lakers had very few possessions where they failed to have at least one guy in the paint going for an offensive rebound. 

Andrew Bynum also lived up to his promise to come out ready for game four. Although he turned it over on his first possession, Bynum showed an aggressive side that was clearly lacking in game three. Bynum caught the ball at the near mid block in an isolation set. Gallinari came from the far side to double Bynum. Bynum kept his elbows up and was strong with the ball. Bynum attacked baseline and spun back to the middle. Although he stepped out of bounds for a turnover, Bynum's aggressiveness against the double and on his step through was great to see. Following that, Bynum switched onto Ty Lawson and contested his 3 from the far wing. Bynum leaked out and Kobe hit him with a half court alley oop lob for the layup on the break. Following that, Sessions ran a pick and roll with Pau from the top. Sessions attacked, hit Pau at the near elbow, and Pau attacked the rim. As he drew the defender, Pau sent a perfect bounce pass to Bynum for the open dunk. 

Then Kobe got involved. He hit Sessions on a drive and kick for an open long 2. Then he went inside-out with Pau to sink an open 3. Following that, he pulled off his signature spin fadeaway. Following a Bynum offensive rebound, Kobe caught the ball at the far mid wing. As he jabbed right, Kobe continued his jab with one dribble to the middle, then he reverse pivoted to spin back and shoot the fading 17ft jumper over Gallinari, swish.

Following Kobe's fade, Andre Miller took over. Miller abused Ramon Sessions with numerous back downs and finishes at the rim. First, Miller posted Sessions at the far mid block. He attacked the middle and finished with his left on the near side. Bynum followed with a nice seal on McGee and open dunk at the rim. Miller came right back. He used a pick at the far wing to get to the far elbow and hit the jumper. Miller followed that with another post on Sessions. Miller caught it at the far mid wing. He backed down Sessions to the far mid block, turned middle, and hit the jumper in the lane over Sessions. 

The Lakers responded with great effort on the glass. Kobe missed a catch and shoot jumper at the far wing, but he gathered his miss at the far mid wing and attacked the basket. Kobe went strong to the rim, made contact with McGee in the air, and missed the layup. Hill followed Kobe's miss, but missed the tip. Hill got his offensive rebound and missed the putback. Hill gathered the fourth offensive rebound of the possession, went up for the putback, and McGee spiked the ball away for a goaltend violation. Miller followed by schooling Steve Blake. Miller used a pick from McGee to get to the far mid wing. He picked up his dribble, pumped, looked to hit the rolling McGee in the lane, then looked to hit Lawson at the far wing. Blake finally recovered, but Miller sent him flying with another pump fake. As Blake flew by, Miller hit the shot off the glass. Then Miller followed a transition layup miss from Lawson for the putback. 

Bynum finished the quarter strong. Utilizing an iso at the far block, Bynum took one dribble, turned baseline, went through McGee, and hit the lefty bank. Bynum made sure to prove in the opening quarter that he could destroy McGee. To end the quarter, McGee was called for his second goaltend violation. Bynum finished the quarter, 4-4 for 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 turnover. Kobe finished 3-9 for 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 turnover. Although Kobe had a lot of misses, 4 of them came right at the rim when he was either attacking the basket hard or going for a putback. Miller went a perfect 5-5 for 10 points and 2 rebounds in 4:30 of play. Just like game three, the Nuggets had someone catch fire in a limited stretch (Lawson in game three) to start the game. The Nuggets finished up 26-28. 

The Lakers opened the second quarter with some more great effort. On the first play, Jordan Hill gathered an offensive rebound at the near mid block after battling both Al Harrington and JaVale McGee. Hill attacked middle, and then drop stepped baseline for the righty turnaround hook. Two possessions later, Steve Blake showed his inner Derek Fisher by coming up with a scrappy, feisty play. Blake passed up an open 3 from the far wing to attack middle and get into the lane. Brewer caught up to Blake and swatted his shot from behind in the lane. As the ball bounced up in the air, Brewer got his hands on it first, however, Blake ripped the ball out with a forceful swipe at the near mid wing. Blake immediately hit Pau in the lane with a bounce pass for an open layup. Blake then set up a wide open jumper for Matt Barnes at the near top 3. Barnes missed, but Pau gave some great effort to tap the ball out. Barnes tracked the ball down to the near side. Barnes dribbled in to the near top 3, no one closed on him, so he decided to attack the middle. Barnes went straight to the rim and threw down the nice two handed slam in traffic. Andrew Bynum also made a great effort play and showed off some high basketball IQ. Kobe used a pick at the near wing to go right and come back left. As he came back to the near wing, Kobe hit the flashing Barnes in the lane. Barnes' shot was blocked in the lane. Bynum ran it down and recovered it at the near mid block. As he chased it down, Bynum made sure to look at the far shot clock. Bynum snuck a peak, noticed there was 2 on the clock, gathered the ball, and shot the fading jumper in the lane. He hit the 9ft jumper to beat the buzzer.

Kobe followed with some great plays. In an iso on the far block, Kobe was doubled. He spun baseline, pumped, watched Afflalo fly by, and stepped through to split the double. With McGee rotating to swat the shot, Kobe shot the ball high off the glass to get it just over McGee and sink it. Then Kobe was involved in the comedic high point of the game. Kobe caught the ball at the far mid wing in an isolation set as Andre Miller was forced to switch onto him. With 7 on the shot clock, Andre Miller decided to take the foul instead of allowing Kobe to get off a good look against him. Miller began slapping Kobe's waist with both hands. The move could have been a nice boxing combo if his fists were closed. Kobe followed this by taking a handoff after inbounding the ball and hitting a 27ft 3 from the near top. 

With Kobe getting into a nice flow, Bynum robbed him from getting hot. Kobe stood at the near wing in an iso. He attacked baseline, and once he got to the near block, he spun back to the middle. The double came, so Kobe hit Bynum at the near high post. Kobe immediately reposted just outside the parabola in the lane to establish good position. Kobe demanded the ball, but Bynum didn't send it. Instead Bynum attacked left to get into the middle. Bynum threw up an ugly contested running jumper that came nowhere close. It was pretty funny to see the role reversal. Usually, Bynum is the one with good position and Kobe goes away from him. This time, Kobe got to feel how frustrating it is to have great position and not be rewarded. Bynum followed this up with consecutive mistakes. As Sessions pushed the floor in transition, he got under the rim and dumped the ball off to the trailing Bynum. With JaVale McGee loading up for the jump at the rim, Bynum shuffled his feet as he caught the ball in the lane. Bynum pumped, and JaVale flew over him and landed with his whole body parallel to the ground, face first. Bynum was whistled for traveling. Then in an iso on the far block, Bynum turned baseline to spin away from the double. McGee was able to get his hands in on the ball and was awarded the jump. Bynum lost the jump and Lawson hit a jumper on the way down the court to give the Lakers their biggest deficit of the game, down 42-49. 

Then crazy happened. Kobe pushed up the near side and hit Ramon at the near wing. Ramon attacked the basket and finished with a layup. As Lawson dribbled up the near side on his way back down the court, a woman stepped onto the court on the near side. It has been reported that she used to stalk Kenyon Martin. Supposedly the woman was yelling to the Nuggets bench, "Where is Kenyon?" just before she stepped onto the court. The woman walked on the court for a good 6 seconds before she was escorted off. Although quite crazy, it's pretty funny that a stalker didn't even know that Kenyon Martin now plays for the Clippers. Hopefully the woman has her wits about her. She will surely face some sort of punishment, including an arrest. 

Following the delay, the Nuggets finished the half ahead 45-51. In the second, Kobe went 2-4, 1-3 from deep, for 5 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist. After an aggressive first quarter, Kobe settled for jumpers in the second. Bynum went 1-2 for 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 turnovers. The Lakers committed 8 turnovers in the half, and the Nuggets capitalized by scoring 15 points off of those turnovers.

To start the third, Kobe provided a glimpse to later in the game. Kobe caught a drive and kick at the far top 3. Kobe attacked left to get into the middle. Kobe could have pulled up, but he hit an open Sessions at the near wing 3. Sessions missed. Kobe then showed off his impressive fundamentals. Kobe curled to the near elbow and caught the entry while sealing Afflalo on his back. Kobe never took a dribble. Instead he hesitated, anchored his left foot and swung his right foot through to step in and hit the leaning jumper in the lane. Two possessions later, Kobe executed a perfect jump stop. Kobe attacked from the near wing into the middle of the lane. Kobe jump stopped as his man flew by, and he spun back to hit the turnaround 8ft jumper. 

Bynum followed with another aware play, his second of the game. After Sessions avoided his pick, and essentially denied Bynum the opportunity for the ball, Drew looked pretty disappointed as he threw his arms down at the far elbow. Sessions instead ran a high pick and roll with Pau. Sessions attacked to his left and hit Pau at the far top of the key. Pau drove left into the lane, but he was stripped. Bynum then hustled to battle Kenneth Faried for the loose ball. As Bynum gathered the ball at the top 3, Bynum looked at the far shot clock, noticed 3 on the clock, and turned and went up to shoot a 3. Faried swatted the shot from behind, but Bynum stuck with it. With 2.1 on the shot clock, Bynum regathered the ball, took a dribble in to his left and made contact with Mozgov at the near elbow. As he bumped Mozgov, Bynum instinctively shot the ball and drew the foul. Bynum sank the free throws.

Kobe followed this with a mirror image of his previous leaner. Pau came from the free throw line to set a down screen for Kobe at the near mid wing. Kobe curled to the far elbow, caught the entry, and pumped. Afflalo bit, Kobe took a dribble to his left and stepped back. Kobe pumped again, causing Afflalo to fly by again. With his right foot as his anchor, Kobe swung his left leg through to square up and hit the lean in 14ft jumper from the near elbow. 

To end the third quarter, Kobe showed some more trust in his teammates. Kobe stood at the near wing, used a Bynum pick, and attacked to the top of the key. Kobe elevated to take the good look, but instead Kobe sent a pass to a wide open Blake in the near corner. Blake missed. On the next possession, Kobe stood at the far wing. Once again, Kobe used a Bynum pick, attacked middle and got to the top of the key. He elevated with an opportunity for another good look. The defense got caught staring, and Kobe rifled a pass to a wide open Barnes in the near corner. Barnes' shot went in and out. Jordan Hill followed it up with a great offensive rebound and was fouled on the putback. He sank both free throws. Kobe's trust in the role players in the third quarter failed him on three different occasions. First to start the quarter, two times at the end. However, Kobe would keep looking for them in the fourth. The Lakers won the third, 25-20, and entered the fourth down by one, 70-71. Kobe went 4-7 for 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 turnover. Bynum went 2-5 for 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block. 

In the fourth quarter, the Lakers came up with numerous clutch plays. To start the quarter, Sessions used a pick from Pau, and with 7 on the shot clock, he got to the far block. Sessions' floater missed the rim. Pau got the offensive rebound, went up, and had his shot blocked. Pau recovered the ball, kicked it out to Blake at the near wing, and Blake swished the 3. The shot left Blake's fingertips with .2 left on the shot clock. The Lakers capitalized on another huge break just under the six minute mark. Kobe backed down from the near mid wing, drew the double, and kicked to Sessions at the top 3. Sessions attacked straight down the lane. Sessions elevated in the lane and tried to dump the ball off to Jordan Hill at the far block. The ball had too much speed and flew right off of Hill's hands. Luckily the ball took a crazy bounce and went straight to Blake in the far corner. Blake swished the long 2. After contesting a Kobe shot clock beater from the far wing 3, Gallinari leaked out as Kobe held his form. Lawson pushed up the near side and hit Gallo under the rim. Gallo pumped, getting Kobe to fly by. However, as Kobe flew by, it bought just enough time for Blake to recover. Gallo went up for the layup, and Blake came from behind to swat the shot out of bounds. The Nuggets came up dry on the possession.

Following a Gallinari jumper that was just millimeters away from being a corner 3, Gallo's long 2 made the score 86-86 with 1:06 remaining in the game. Kobe brought the ball up to the near wing. Pau came to set a pick on Kobe's man (Gallinari). As Pau set the pick, Gallo dropped to the floor and writhed. Kobe slowly dribbled to the far wing in order to assess the situation and capitalize on the 5-on-4 situation. The Nuggets should have fouled, but maybe they didn't even notice Gallo was down. Kobe got to the far wing and hit Pau at the dotted line on the far side of the lane. Pau caught the pass and noticed Ty Lawson coming over to help on him. Lawson left Sessions at the far corner, so Pau immediately kicked it to Sessions. Sessions hit the wide open 3 to make the score 89-86, Lakers lead. The screen was completely legal, but it looked like Gallo took incidental contact to his throat, causing his windpipe to get hit. 

The Nuggets took a timeout to give Gallo a breather and advance the ball. Al Harrington caught a drive and kick from Lawson at the far wing 3. Ramon Sessions closed out hard at the three point line, forcing Al to put the ball on the floor. Al attacked the basket, and the Lakers seemed intent on giving up the basket instead of fouling for an and one opportunity. Al went up for a layup, and just about made it. However, the ball rested on the lip of the rim, and Andre Miller couldn't resist the temptation to tap it in. Miller tapped it and was called for offensive interference. He knew he messed up and he did not argue the call.

Miller's offensive interference set up the most important play of the game, and highlighted Kobe's unwavering trust in his teammates. Up by three and a basket away from sealing the game, Kobe brought the ball up with 40 seconds to go. Kobe got to the near side, waved off a pick from Pau, and instead called for a pick from Bynum. Kobe used Bynum's pick with 10 on the shot clock. Nothing materialized as Kobe came off of it, so he dribbled out to the far top 3. As Kobe went to the far top, Blake slid up from the near corner to the near wing. With 7 on the clock, Kobe crossed right to left, hesitated with the ball in his left hand for just a moment, and then attacked to the middle. As Kobe got to the middle, Blake slid back down to the far corner. Blake's IQ here was impeccable. Kobe got to the near elbow, and Blake's man, Lawson, got caught staring. Lawson stood right at the elbow and helped on the drive. Kobe jumped in the air to get a better angle and he kicked it to Blake in the near corner. Blake caught the ball with 4 on the shot clock and he went up with confidence. Blake swished the wide open 3 as Ty Lawson furiously attempted to close out on him. As the Nuggets called timeout, Blake jogged back down the court and Kobe embraced him with a man hug. Pau followed with a hug from behind. Blake stated after the game, "It's always good when you get a hug from Kobe. It means you did something right." Blake's 3 affirmed Kobe's trust and sealed the game, putting the Lakers up 92-86 with 18 seconds left in the game. The Lakers gave up a gimme layup to Lawson and won the game 92-88.

Kobe shed some light on his key pass during his on-court post game interview. Mike Trudell asked Kobe, "You kicked it out to Steve Blake, what were you thinking when the shot went up?" Kobe replied, "Well defensively, they just wanted to see if I was going to trust them. They had missed some shots earlier in the game, and they wanted to see if I was still going to believe in them, and they stepped up and knocked it down." When Blake hit shots against OKC to close out that great comeback at the end of the season, I wrote, "It was nice to see Kobe trust someone who hasn't been by his side for 13 seasons." My sentiment refers to Derek Fisher. Well, Kobe did it again, and once again, his teammates rewarded him. Blake knocked down a shot that the likes of Derek Fisher and Robert Horry used to hit. We've all seen Kobe drive and kick to Fish and Big Shot Rob for a huge playoff shot. We've never seen him do it in the playoffs with any of the current guards on the roster, until now.

Kobe needed every ounce of help from his teammates in the fourth quarter. Kobe went 1-5, 0-2 from deep, for 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 turnovers (his final one coming off of an obvious foul during the final seconds of the game that the refs decided not to call). Bynum went 1-1 for 2 points. Pau went 1-3 for 2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 turnover. Jordan Hill had a nice fourth quarter, going 1-1 for 3 points, with 4 rebounds (2 offensive), and 1 steal. Steve Blake went 3-4, 2-3 from deep, for 8 points, with 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 block. Ramon Sessions went 2-5 for 5 points, with 1 rebound, and 1 steal. Those five players scored every point of the quarter.

Overall, Kobe struggled with his jumper. When he attacked the basket, Kobe was very efficient, but when he settled, Kobe struggled. Kobe went 10-25, 2-7 from deep, for 22 points, with 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 5 turnovers. Kobe's consecutive games with shooting struggles and turnovers is troubling. Kobe will need to be on his A-game in order to deal with OKC. However, Kobe wisely chose to be the set up man on the two biggest plays of the game. Kobe needs to step inside that three point line and continue attacking the basket. Kobe did attack the rim to begin the game, but once he noticed he wasn't going to be getting the calls, Kobe shied away and settled. The refs allowed the game to be physical, and Kobe didn't seem intent on getting hammered for a trip to the charity stripe.

The Lakers as a whole shot 45.3% and were very solid. Bynum went 8-12 for 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, and 3 turnovers. Pau went 6-12 for 13 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, and 1 turnover. Sessions went 5-11, 1-3 from deep, for 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers. Blake and Hill were great off the bench. Blake went 4-9, 2-5 from deep, for 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block. Hill went 4-9 for 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 1 steal.

The victory was truly a team effort. Contributions came from all around at different points throughout the game. Going up 3-1 with a trip back to LA, the Lakers should close out the series in five and move on to the Thunder.

If the Lakers close out the series in LA in game five, this game will serve as the final KCAL 9 broadcast of a Lakers game. I have watched almost every KCAL 9 road game since I was six years old. The voices of Chick Hearn and Stu Lantz will forever be a part of my Lakers' consciousness. Memorable moments such as the battles with the Sonics and Gary Payton in the late 90's, young Kobe battling MJ in Chicago, the playoff games against Stockton and Malone, Kobe always getting booed in Philly, the foursome of Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal running teams out of the gym, Shaq's 61 on his birthday against the Clippers, the trips to Sacramento in the early 2000's, Horry's playoff game winner in Portland in '02, Kobe's two buzzer beating 3's against Portland in '04, the 0.4 DFish shot in San Antonio, Kobe's 61 against the Knicks, and the recent trips to Boston, they all happened on KCAL 9. Don't forget James Worthy in the studio with "The Worthy Spin," and Lawrence Tanter with his post game stool in the studio and his booming voice before the commercial break. For those older than myself, I'm sure images of Magic, Kareem, and the "Showtime" Lakers jump to the forefront. Throughout it all, KCAL 9 has been there on the road to bring the Lakers into our homes.

With all the wins, and all the losses, thank you KCAL 9 for all of the memories. It just won't be the same seeing the purple uniforms on a different station. Who wants to watch a Lakers broadcast where live news updates don't pop up on the screen? Or when the power ball numbers don't roll across the screen? KCAL 9 will forever be appreciated in my heart, and in the heart of Lakers' fans everywhere. KCAL 9 closed the broadcast with a wonderful video to celebrate their 35 years of broadcasting the Lakers. Click the link and enjoy the nostalgia.

Bynum Disappears, Kobe Misfires, Lakers Lose (5.4.12)

Game three was ugly and came down to effort, plain and simple. The Denver Nuggets won game three 99-84 despite shooting just 39.8% from the field, compared to the Lakers' underwhelming 37.2%. With bricks aplenty, the Nuggets dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Lakers 54-44, with 19 offensive rebounds compared to just 13 from LA. The Nuggets killed the Lakers with numerous offensive rebounds and putbacks. Their effort on the glass gave them extra possessions and allowed them to win the points in the paint battle for the first time in the series with a surprising 52-32 advantage. Add in the 20 points the Nuggets scored off of LA's 15 turnovers and you can easily understand why the Lakers lost. However, after a disastrous first quarter, where the Lakers were outscored 30-14, the Lakers continually fought back and were always hanging around, with the deficit anywhere from 6 to 12 points. In the end, the Lakers could not get over the hump and close out the game, despite plenty of opportunities.

The Lakers also seemed to get robbed on quite a few calls. On quite a few occasions LA would make a push and a call would go against them and thwart their momentum. In order to not be a full fledged homer, I have plenty of visual evidence gathered for you to watch. Home teams always have an advantage when it comes to the officials, but some of these calls were highly questionable.

The first quarter started out the way the Lakers wanted. The Lakers controlled the pace and made sure the Nuggets didn't turn the game into a track meet. The Lakers went into Bynum early, forcing the Nuggets to double team, and received some good looks off of the kick out and swing. The Lakers ran consecutive plays that were beautiful. Sessions dribbled up to the far wing as Kobe circled down from the far wing and up to the near elbow. Kobe set a nice backdoor pick on Pau's man at the near elbow, allowing Pau a free release to the rim. Sessions immediately noticed Pau running free and sent the lob for the alley oop dunk. They followed this with the same exact set, but with a wrinkle due to the reaction of the defense. Sessions dribbled to the far wing. Kobe circled down from the far mid block up to the near elbow to set the backpick on Pau's man. The Nuggets covered Pau, rotating behind the pick, so Kobe continued upward and popped up to the top of the key as Bynum set a downscreen for him. Bynum annihilated Afflalo on the screen, and Mozgov didn't switch, leaving Kobe wide open to catch and shoot the open 18ft jumper. Kobe swished it. That put the score at 12-12 with just over five minutes to go.

Following Kobe's jumper, Ty Lawson burst onto the scene. Lawson used a pick from Faried on the far wing to attack the baseline and finish at the rim for a layup. He then stole a bad pass in the lane from Pau to a cutting Ebanks, and he took it the distance to throw down a nice dunk. Two possessions later, Lawson gathered a McGee block, pushed up the court to the far elbow, and kicked out to Arron Afflalo for the open far wing 3, swish. The next possession Lawson was at the near wing. He avoided the pick and attacked baseline. He blew by his man and got fouled on the layup, sinking both free throws. Following that, Lawson dribbled up to the near wing, attacked baseline, got to the mid block and hit a stepback 13ft jumper. The next possession Lawson ran a high pick and roll from the top. Jordan Hill was forced to switched onto him. Lawson blew by Hill as he drove left to the near side and finished with a tough lefty layup over Hill's outstretched arms. A couple possessions later, Lawson was at the far wing. He attacked baseline, blowing by Blake, and ended up hitting a tough runner as he was fouled. He sank the free throw. Lawson's massive impact swelled the Lakers deficit to 14 points. From the 4:35 mark on, Lawson went 5-6 for 13 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 0 turnovers. In the first 7:25, Lawson went 0-1 and did nothing else as the Lakers controlled the tempo. The Nuggets finished the quarter +11 on rebounds, +7 on fast break points, and +10 on points in the paint. Their activity was tremendous.

The final seconds of the first quarter provided one of the numerous dubious calls against the Lakers. Hoping to end the quarter on a high note, Kobe caught the ball at the far top key. Kobe stood at an angle with his back facing the camera. With Brewer crowding him, Kobe waited for Brewer to reach in. As Brewer reached across his arms, Kobe immediately went up for the jumper through Brewer's reach. The refs called the foul, but they ruled it a foul on the floor. The reach-in-swing-through-jumper almost always gets rewarded free throws, but not this time. Instead of a trip to the line, Kobe ended up getting doubled and turning the ball over to end the quarter down 30-14. Kobe went 3-5 for 6 points, 1 assist, and 2 turnovers. Bynum went 0-2 for 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. Pau went 2-5 for 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 turnover.

To start the second quarter, Andre Miller did something I have never seen before in an NBA game. Miller brought the ball up to the far top and used a McGee pick to drive the lane on the far side. Once Miller got to the far mid block, he threw a pass high off the glass to the rolling McGee. McGee gathered the ball at the near block, attacked baseline, and kicked the ball out to an open Brewer at the far wing 3, swish. Many guys have thrown the ball off the glass for their trailing teammate to dunk during fast breaks. Some guys have thrown the ball off the glass to pass to themselves, notably Kobe. But I have never seen someone throw it off the glass while running a pick and roll. Simply put, the play was impressive.

Early in the second, the lead swelled to 24 points, with LA down 41-17. Kobe checked in at the 7:33 mark and was able to cut the lead down from 17 to 11 within two minutes. Blake attacked baseline from the far wing, circled under the basket like a hockey player, and kicked out to Kobe at the near top 3. Kobe swished the open look. Then Pau and Blake made a nice defensive play to tip a pass from Andre Miller down to Gallinari at the rim. Kobe gathered the ball, went behind his back from right to left in order to avoid Miller, who tried to take the foul and prevent the break, and then pushed up the far side. Once Kobe got to the far wing, he started sizing up Al Harrington, who was pedaling back towards the rim. Kobe attacked the rim with aggression, as he jumped off of two feet and went up with both hands on the ball. Al hammered Kobe in the air with a hard foul, but Kobe was able to land safely due to his strong take off. Kobe sank the free throws. Two possessions later, Kobe caught the inbound pass at the far corner. With 6 on the shot clock, Kobe jabbed right to create just enough space to launch a 3. Kobe swished the 3 in Gallinari's face.

With the momentum going their way, the Lakers looked to get the deficit down to single digits. With Al Harrington in the game, LA looked to get Bynum the ball in the post. However, Bynum was passive with the ball and seemed more interested in kicking the ball out rather than abusing the much smaller defender. Barnes sent the entry from the far corner to Bynum at the far block. Bynum could have quickly turned baseline and attacked the rim, but instead he waited and allowed Barnes' man to come down and double him. Bynum promptly kicked the ball out to Blake at the far wing as Barnes curled to the top 3. Blake immediately sent the re-entry and cut through. Bynum once again passively worked with the ball, as he stood up straight and allowed Barnes' man to come down and double him. Bynum kicked the ball out to Barnes at the top, and Barnes bricked the 3. Following this, JaVale McGee pulled off an All-Star caliber move. JaVale caught the ball at the far block in an iso set. McGee took one dribble with his back to the basket, turned middle, and finished with a lefty scoop shot under Bynum's arms on the near side.

Following JaVale's scoop shot, which put the Nuggets up 13, and moved JaVale's mom into an adrenaline rush, the refs made another interesting call. With Blake at the far wing, Bynum set a nice downscreen on Gallinari at the near elbow. As Kobe popped up to the near wing and caught the pass, Gallinari fought through the screen and recovered. Kobe then sent the entry pass to Bynum at the near mid block. After hitting Bynum, Kobe cut into the lane, bumped Gallinari, and watched as Gallinari flew back, fell down, and slid on his butt. Gallo pulled off a perfect flop, and the refs rewarded him for it by calling an offensive foul on Kobe. Kobe glared and talked to the refs the entire way down the court. The incredulous call really ticked him off. The fact that Gallo fought through the tough Bynum screen, and then flew back like he was shot out of a cannon, provided an annoying, yet hilarious, disparity.

A couple possessions later, JaVale unleashed the scoop shot again. McGee caught the ball at the near mid wing. He attacked middle, and finished with a righty scoop under Bynum's arm on the far side. The next possession, Lawson dribbled at the top 3 and used a McGee pick to attack right. Bynum didn't hedge the screen, Sessions could only recover to ride the back of Lawson's left hip, and Lawson finished with an uncontested layup at the rim to put the Nuggets up 55-38. Sessions sank one free throw after getting fouled on a dive to the rim, and the Lakers finished the half down 55-39. Kobe went 2-7, 2-4 from deep, for 8 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and another turnover. All of Kobe's misses in the quarter came from the perimeter, 19, 16, 26, 13, and 26ft. After struggling with his shot in game one, Kobe decided to attack the rim. In game three, this did not happen. Bynum finished 0-1 for 0 points and 3 rebounds. Pau went 2-2 for 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist. Lawson went 2-4 for 5 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists. With Lawson bottled up, the Lakers played the Nuggets even in the quarter, as both teams scored 25 points. The Nuggets finished the half +10 on points in the paint, +13 on rebounds, and +7 on points off of turnovers.

Entering the third quarter, Ric Bucher reported, "I talked to coach Mike Brown coming out of the locker room about how do they get Andrew Bynum going, and he said, 'You know what, he's gotta get himself going. He has the ability to effect the game at both ends of the floor, and right now he's not doing it at either end.' He said, 'You know what, we talked to him specifically about making JaVale McGee shoot over the top.'" Bynum finished the first half 0-3 for 0 points, with just 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. His disappearance was clearly felt. Kobe attempted to compensate, but his jumper wasn't falling. Bynum's lack of attempts can be attributed to the hard double teams sent to him nearly every time he touched the ball, however, Bynum was passive. An aggressive Bynum should have no problem splitting any double team the Nuggets throw at him. Bynum seemed much more intent on kicking the ball out and watching brick after brick. The fact that the coaching staff had to remind Bynum to make McGee actually shoot the ball instead of relying on his greatest strength, athleticism, is troubling. McGee's scoop shot and activity on the glass burned Drew on numerous occasions. Mike Brown recognized Bynum's lack of activity and he essentially blasted him publicly. Brown's disappointment was clearly expressed in that statement.

In the third quarter, Bynum finally got going. Kobe force fed him the ball and tried to get the big fella involved. On the first play, Kobe was at the near wing. He sent the entry to Bynum at the near block. Bynum kicked the ball back out to Kobe at the near wing once Afflalo left Kobe to double down. Kobe immediately sent the re-entry. Then Gallinari came over from the far side to double Bynum. Bynum kicked the ball out to Kobe at the top 3. With little time left on the clock, Kobe jabbed right, pumped, which got Afflalo in the air, and drove left to attack the basket. Kobe missed the layup, but he got his offensive rebound and got fouled on the putback. Kobe sank both free throws. The next possession, Bynum was put in an iso on the far block with 6 on the clock. As he attempted to turn middle, Bynum dribbled into Mozgov's chest and went up with a fading jumper. Bynum air balled the shot. Two possession later, Bynum scored his first basket of the game. Kobe stood at the near wing and sent the entry to Bynum at the near mid block. Bynum backed down with two dribbles and turned baseline to hit the lefty turnaround from 7ft. This put the score at 55-43 with 9:00 left in the third. Following an explosive Ramon Sesssions dunk, Kobe pulled off a play that only Kobe pulls off. Sessions stood at the far top and swung the ball to Kobe at the near wing. Kobe avoided a pick from Pau to attack the baseline. Kobe geared up for the rim and went up strong with two hands. Kobe took a lot of contact from Mozgov on the body and he also took a hit on the arms. The refs called a jump ball. Kobe then won the jump ball versus the 7'1" Mozgov and tapped the ball out toward the near side half court. Sessions tracked down the ball and hit Kobe at the far wing. Kobe nailed the deep 27ft 3 to put the score at 59-50 with 7:20 left. Following that, Bynum utilized another iso set at the near block to turn baseline and hit an 11ft turnaround jumper.

With Bynum reengaged, Kobe then directed traffic on the next possession to get Bynum the ball. Kobe swung his arms and pointed his finger to direct the other Lakers where to go. Kobe then began hollering at Bynum, pretty much telling him to do work in the post. Kobe swung the ball to Ebanks at the far wing and Ebanks sent a perfect entry to Bynum toward the baseline. McGee overplayed Bynum's top side, giving Bynum space toward the baseline. Instead of finishing with a strong dunk or reverse, Bynum inexplicably spun back to the middle and shot a turnaround contested fade. Bynum missed and Ty Lawson raced down the far side for a reverse layup in transition. Not to be discouraged, Kobe went right back to Bynum on the next possession. Kobe held the ball at the top 3, jabbed right, and attacked right. As he dribbled into Afflallo's chest, Kobe hesitated for a second and then spun back to the middle. Kobe picked up his dribble and took two steps. As he elevated, Kobe thought about shooting the floater, but instead he doubled clutched and dumped the ball off to Bynum at the near block. Bynum went up strong and finished an and one as he threw the ball over his shoulder and off the glass. Bynum sank the free throw to put the score at 63-55. Three possessions later, Bynum finished another and one. Kobe gathered his own miss, dribbled out to the far corner, and hit Bynum in good position at the far block. Bynum caught the ball, took one dribble, shook middle and turned baseline. As he turned, McGee came down on Bynum's shoulders to wrap him up. Bynum went up strong and finished with a righty bank off the glass. Bynum sank the free throw, 67-60, with 3:53 remaining in the third.

Following a Barnes turnover, Andrew Bynum had a moment that should serve as a lesson for later on. Sessions pushed up the far side and got into the lane. He elevated and then hit a trailing Bynum in the lane. Bynum went up for the shot, and JaVale McGee swatted it. The call should have been a goaltend. As the ball flew out to the far mid wing, Bynum threw a tantrum. He began barking at the refs and throwing his arms down in disgust. All this happened as Sessions gathered the ball and hit the jumper. Doris Burke, ESPN color analyst, commented, "Kobe, coming up the floor, is barking at Andrew Bynum to stop worrying about it, next play." After Lawson got fouled on a reach from Sessions, Mike Brown called timeout. As the teams went to their benches, Bynum began walking over to the ref and yelling at him. Kobe and Barnes intervened and restrained Bynum. Bynum let his emotions get the best of him and he was very fortunate not to receive a technical. His emotional outburst took him completely out of the frame of the game, as Ramon gathered the ball and Bynum turned to yell at the ref. Following that, Bynum finished a putback off of an offensive rebound on the near block to put the Lakers the closest they would get, 68-64.

With the Lakers gaining momentum, the refs once again made a questionable call. After Kobe saved a pass on the near sideline, Hill was able to catch it at the free throw line. Hill quickly hit Barnes at the far block. Barnes went up strong and banged bodies with JaVale McGee. Barnes did not get a foul called, and instead he threw up a contested heave that got nowhere close to the rim. Barnes immediately jumped to gather the ball and he regained possession. The refs called him for passing to himself, a traveling violation. Barnes immediately went to complain to a ref, only to be passed off to the ref that made the call. Mike Brown and Barnes were steamed. If anything, Barnes deserved free throws. Following an open Faried jumper, the Lakers went into the fourth down 72-65. Kobe struggled, shooting 1-7 for 5 points, 4 rebounds (3 offensive), 3 assists, and 2 turnovers. However, he did succeed in getting Bynum back in the flow. Bynum went 5-8 for 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist. Pau went 2-3 for 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks. Lawson was once again held in check, going 2-6 for 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal. The Lakers rode an assertive Bynum to win the quarter 26-17.

With the score in striking distance, the Lakers did not come out strong. The deficit swelled to 11 by the 8:57 mark. Sessions had an open 3 go in and out. Bynum gave up an offensive rebound and putback to McGee. Faried hustled down the court after Bynum free throws to beat everyone for an open reverse layup. Faried hustled from the far block during the free throw to under his own rim. Miller sent the outlet, and Faried finished. Following that, Bynum was doubled at the near block and ended up turning the ball over as McGee and Gallinari trapped him. Bynum pivoted toward the near corner, turned his back on any available teammates, and fell over as Miller crashed into him and knocked the ball out. Then the refs blew another call that would have favored the Lakers. After robbing Kobe of free throws on the swing through move to end the first, the refs robbed Sessions. Sessions used a Bynum pick at the far top to attack to his right. Sessions got to the far block and shot a floater. As the ball was in the air, the whistle blew. Sessions missed the shot, but he figured he had a trip to the line coming. Instead the refs insisted the foul was on the ground. Contact was made on the body as Sessions shot the floater, and the whistle blew after he released the ball. For the call to have been on the ground, that sure was a real late whistle. Faried followed this with an awesome two handed slam down the lane as the red sea parted for him. Then Bynum had an iso on the near block. Bynum backed down with two dribbles, but McGee was able to use his hand to poke the ball away, and Miller finished a layup in transition. LA called timeout to stop the bleeding at 11.

Coming out of the timeout, Kobe hit Pau for a corner 3. Pau swished it, but Andre Miller answered with a floating 12ft bank shot from the near mid block. Following a forced 3 from Kobe that missed, Bynum established great position on the far block for an early offense opportunity. With Faried on his back and almost under the rim, Blake sent the entry to Bynum. However, Bynum failed to seal Faried as the ball was in the air, and Faried slipped around and poked the ball away for a steal. McGee followed this with a nice reverse over Pau on the near side to put the score at 84-74 with 5:52 remaining. Bynum once again established good post position in an early offense opportunity. With Lawson fronting him, Kobe wisely lobbed a pass nice and high over the top. Bynum caught the ball and was fouled on the shot. He sank both free throws. With the deficit closing, the refs once again made another momentum swinging call. Gallinari got away with a push off to catch an inbound pass at the top. He then attacked to his left, and with Kobe hounding him, he went behind his back to move the ball to his right hand. Then the refs bailed him out as he threw up an ugly shot that didn't draw iron from the far elbow with under 2 seconds on the shot clock. Kobe went and talked to the ref, shook his head, made numerous faces, and just stood there appalled with the call. Gallo sank both and put the deficit back to 10.

Following bricks from both teams for the next two minutes, Kobe made one of two free throws to put the score at 86-79. This was Kobe's first point since the 7:22 mark of the third. With a 7 point deficit, and just under two minutes remaining, the refs made their final back breaking call. Gallinari caught the ball at the far wing and drove baseline past Blake. Blake reached in from behind and poked the ball away as Gallo got into the paint. The ball popped up and Gallo flailed his arms up to the rim. While there probably was a foul on the reach, the call should have been called on the floor, especially considering what happened to Kobe and Sessions. Instead, Gallo was awarded a shooting foul, and he sank both of the free throws to put the score at 90-81 with 1:45 left. Following this, Kobe hit Pau on a roll to the rim. Pau went strong but Faried went into beast mode and swatted Pau at the rim. Miller then hit an open 3 as Blake sagged off him to help on Lawson and that was that. The Lakers fired up some desperation 3's and bricked them all.

After a Miller free throw, the Lakers provided a play to serve as the microcosm of the game. Kobe looked to inbound the ball. Sessions and Blake failed to come back and receive the pass, so Kobe inbounded to Pau at the free throw line. Instead of moving toward the ball to secure the pass, Pau kept fading away, looking to move up the court. Gallinari came from nowhere, stepped in front of Pau, and finished the layup over Kobe. Then Kobe took the ball up the court and hit the toughest shot of the game. On a night where he struggled to make just about everything, Kobe was able to drive baseline from the far wing, split the defense, attack the rim, and elevate while holding the ball up high in his right hand. While elevating with the ball up high, McGee rotated from the near block and jumped to block the shot. Kobe then did a 180 spin while in the air, and he brought the ball down to throw the no look shot over his shoulder and off the glass. The shot was ridiculously impressive, the consequence was meaningless. Kobe shot 1-4 for 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 turnover. Bynum went 0-0 for 6 points, 3 rebounds, and had 3 (only 2 were official because Blake was assessed the turnover on the entry pass) turnovers in a two minute span to start the fourth. Pau went 1-3 for 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, and also had 1 turnover during the Bynum turnover stretch. The Lakers contained Lawson, as he went 0-2 for 2 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist, but Andre Miller stepped up and went 3-4 for 9 points, and 3 assists. The Lakers lost the quarter 27-19.

Overall, Bynum's no show in the first half, and Kobe's misfires from the perimeter, doomed the Lakers. If either one had played well for the entire game, it wouldn't have mattered what calls the refs made. The Lakers failed to take care of business. No Laker shot particularly well other than Pau and Bynum. Kobe went 7-23, 3-10 from deep, for only 22 points, along with 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and an unforgivable 6 turnovers. Kobe has not had a high turnover game like this in a long time. Kobe's infatuation with the three ball was also disappointing. He shot many in hopes of cutting into the deficit, but on a night where he really struggled with his jumper, shooting from deep, even when open, may have been a bad decision. I expect Kobe to come back in game four and live in the paint with just about everything coming from 15ft and in. Kobe stated after the game, "I wasn't on my sweet spots. They tried to keep me more on the perimeter. I wasn't in the post a lot. I lived at the elbow the first two games and we got away from that a little bit." Pau went 7-13 for 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, and only 1 turnover. Bynum went 5-11 for 18 points, with all 18 coming in the second half, along with 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 (2 official) turnovers. The rest of the Lakers combined to shoot 10-31 for 28 points.

Following the game, Bynum admitted that he wasn't ready for the game. He stated, "I got there a little late. So I probably didn't have as much time as I needed." He continued, "I took myself out [of it]. I was just not, I guess I don't know, maybe just not ready to play." Bynum's transparency may be admirable, but I'm sure Lakers nation, and more importantly, the organization, is not too excited to hear that their starting center was not ready for a playoff game! Kobe commended Bynum for his honesty, stating, "The first step to improving as a player is admitting to yourself you've done something wrong and how to correct that. I do the same thing too, I just don't tell." Mike Brown was not as supportive of Bynum, stating, "You hope at this time of the season everybody who steps on the floor is ready." Kobe and Brown are both correct. Bynum needs to realize his mistakes and improve, but those mistakes should come from effort and in game performance, not from a lack of effort and stepping on the court unprepared. Kobe may make mistakes on the court, but he is always prepared come game time. There is no excuse for stepping on the court, for a playoff game no less, and not being prepared to play hard and do work.

As long as the Lakers come out and play hard in game four, they should steal Denver's home court advantage. I'm sure Bynum won't allow JaVale McGee to look like the better player. JaVale shot 8-12 for 16 points, along with 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks, and only 1 turnover. Yes, the same JaVale McGee who is infamous for plays featured in TNT's segment, Shaqtin' a Fool. Bynum finished his statements with this, "For what it's worth, I'll be ready for the next game."

We sure hope you are Andrew.

Maybe dropping one game against the Nuggets, and cutting down one more suspension game that Metta World Peace won't be able to play against the Thunder in round two isn't such a bad thing anyways.

The End of the NFL (5.3.12)

Following Junior Seau's apparent suicide, I can't help but wonder how long it will be until the National Football League no longer dominates American culture.

The NFL rules the ratings right now, and with that comes endless revenue from marketing, licensing, and broadcast rights. Networks understand that the NFL is akin to the "Midas touch." NBC, CBS, and FOX renewed their contracts with the NFL that will generate the NFL an extra billion per year in revenue, jumping up to $3 billion annually through 2022. ESPN also renewed its contract for the "Monday Night Football" broadcast, upping the annual payment from $1.1 billion to $1.9 billion through 2021. But what if the NFL no longer dominates American culture by the end of these ten year contracts?

While some may think the NFL is untouchable, the most logical argument to propose its decline is the state of boxing.

It is clear that boxing does not have the infrastructure of the NFL, but boxing was once the ruler of the ratings. Boxing broke all the records in its heyday. The Dempsey-Carpentier fight in 1921 was one of the biggest events of the time period. It produced the first ever million dollar gate in boxing history, and over 91,000 people watched it live in person. This event was truly a landmark moment in sporting history.

Boxing's popularity boomed during the Muhammad Ali era of the 60's and 70's. The Ali-Frazier bouts were some of the biggest events in American sports history. Then "Iron" Mike Tyson rose to stardom in the mid 80's and ruled the sport until 1997 when he bit Evander Holyfield's ear. From that point on, boxing fell out of the public consciousness. Great fighters continued to emerge, such as Oscar De La Hoya, Lennox Lewis, Floyd Mayweather, Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley, and Manny Pacquiao, but the overall impact on American consciousness severely lessened. Some critics point to a lack of great fighters from the mid 90's to the present. Others point to the rise of MMA fighting. I point to the bloodsport.

The MMA explicitly contradicts my stance, as its popularity is definitely on the rise, but the MMA is relatively new. Wait another ten years. Wait until you see the true impact that fighting has on a person's life. Everyone has seen Muhammad Ali and his battles with Parkinson's disease. Repeated blunt force head trauma has taken over his life. Everyone has seen Mike Tyson go crazy with face tattoos, ear biting, and even a rape conviction. The effects of the sport are tangible. MMA will see its biggest star fade out in a couple years and struggle to walk.

The bloodsport nature of boxing eventually lost its appeal.

That appeal surged to the NFL.

With pads, helmets, and uniforms to hide behind, NFL players have become modern day gladiators. The bloodsport of the NFL is masked and camouflaged. While boxing embraced the open visual aspect, the NFL has hidden the violence. Casual viewers see a huge hit to someone's head and they go "Ohhh!" Rarely does someone think, "Man that guy is going to have some problems." When someone sees a guy's face contort ten different ways due to a punch, everyone immediately understands that pain. The visual representation of violence in boxing no longer matches the ethos of American society. The visual representation of violence in the NFL is supported with much greater enthusiasm due to its ability to feed the violence America craves, but in a masked form. When that NFL receiver gets knocked out running across the middle, no one sees his face. No one sees the pain. No one sees the eyes roll back. No one sees the life sweep away. 

But now, the NFL has a new face to deal with regarding its bloodsport nature. Retired players. Retired players no longer have a uniform and helmet to shield them. Retired players become mortal. Retired players become open. After years of denying the correlation between concussions and brain damage, the NFL has finally switched its stance in the past couple years by enforcing rule changes regarding hitting, kickoffs, and sideline evaluations for those possibly concussed. Make sure to click that link, and watch part two, they provide the biggest hypocrisy the NFL will ever have to battle. The NFL has gone on a safety crusade in the past couple years, but it is too little, too late.

CTE is chronic traumatic encephalopathy and it has been linked to numerous professional athletes in football, wrestling, hockey, and boxing. CTE is a disease of the brain caused by repeated head trauma. CTE results include large accumulations of tau proteins, the killing of cells responsible for mood, emotions, and executive functioning. None of these results are promising for a long life or happiness. 

Currently, it is unknown as to what exactly happened to Junior Seau. The only facts are that he sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and died. If Seau did commit suicide, it is interesting to note that he left his brain intact. Seau may have purposely shot his own chest in order to allow his brain to be tested. Such things are completely speculative, but it is a reasonable possibility. If Seau did actually do this, it will be interesting to note what results come back.

Junior Seau was awarded the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 1991. By all accounts, Junior was an outstanding man and citizen. For Junior to reach the depths of depression, mental illness, and eventually supposed suicide, something had to have changed.

Well, twenty years of an NFL career may have been that change. The man played linebacker for twenty years! Imagine how many times he suffered blunt force trauma to his head. Then imagine the fact that Junior and all NFL players did not understand the true ramifications of concussions up until just recently. These gladiators got hurt, and they were told to go back in the game. The NFL mantra is "Be available." Every NFL player will tell you, the biggest thing you can do for your career is to be available. If you aren't playing, someone else is, and that someone else may take your job. With the average NFL career standing at 3.3 years, being available is the biggest way to lengthen that career. 

It is important to understand that the symptoms of CTE do not affect just the health of older retirees. Junior Seau passed at the young age of 43. David Duerson passed at 51. Kendrick McKinley passed at 23. Each man took his life. So far twelve relatively well-known former NFL players have committed suicide in the past 25 years.

Seau's shot to the chest also mirrors Duerson's case. Before he shot himself in the chest, Duerson texted his family members that he wanted his brain to be used for research at the Boston University School of Medicine. Neurologists at Boston University confirmed that Duerson suffered from a neurodegenerative disease linked to concussions. The sad thing about CTE is that it is only officially diagnosed post-mortem. The symptoms of dementia, memory loss, aggression, confusion, and depression can plague the individual with no official diagnosis. 

With Seau's passing, and the eventual next passing, the NFL may be headed toward a lawsuit that will cripple the league. In today's age, incoming players understand the ramifications of their choice to play football. For the previous 90 years of existence, players did not understand the ramifications of football. As sad as it is to say, there will be another Junior Seau. Another player will miserably suffer and end the suffering through his own means. 

The consequences of football are not going away. Concussions are a part of the game. How can the NFL eradicate concussions? They can't, and they know it. Hitting is rooted in the foundation of football. How can you play football without tackling someone? How can you play football without rushing the passer and trying to move through linemen? How can you play football, run with the ball, and expect to land safely every single time? 

The only way to prevent hitting in football is to turn it into flag football or two hand touch. Even then, men are still going to run into each other at full speed, whether rushing the passer, trying to grab a flag, or reaching for that two hand touch that turns into a push. Eliminating hitting is impossible. Hitting sells. Violence sells. Without hits, the public won't watch. Without hits, the NFL will lose its appeal on American consciousness. 

So what is the NFL to do? They are caught in a catch-22. Either eliminate hits and lose the biggest fan base in American society, or allow football to remain a bloodsport and watch former players struggle in life after football. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation. So what is football going to be like in ten years? Will it still reign supreme? Will the networks still pump out billions for the rights to broadcast it? Or will it fade away, just like boxing once did? Maybe it will become a pay per view event. Maybe it will no longer look like football and instead turn into something different altogether. 

Maybe there will be no more football.

With concussions on the rise and their devastating impacts seeping into the American consciousness, football may die at the entry level. Will you let your child play Pop Warner football? Will you allow your child to graduate from Pop Warner and move onto the high school stage of football? Will you allow your eighteen year old son to then play college football? If so, you just let your son suffer repeated hits to the head for at least ten years. Is it worth it? It's hard to argue with a $30 million dollar signing bonus in the NFL, but it's also a deal with the devil. At some point, the collection will come. For some, that collection is the end of life. 

I repeat, maybe there will be no more football. 

The end of the NFL is well on its way. 

Kobe and Bynum, 1-2 Punch (5.1.12)

Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum carried the Lakers to victory Tuesday night against the Denver Nuggets. The present and future cornerstones of the franchise combined for 65 points on an efficient 27-49 shooting. The one-two punch was too much for the Nuggets to handle and the Lakers won 104-100.

However, the Nuggets were able to chip away at a 13 point deficit with just under seven minutes remaining in the game. They made the game closer than it needed to be and if not for some timely plays by Kobe, the Nuggets may have stolen game two. The Nuggets continually exposed the Lakers lack of proper shot selection and spacing by leaking out after contesting jumpers and getting easy transition buckets.

The Lakers opened the game strong and won the first quarter 32-25. This quarter would prove instrumental in the victory, as the Nuggets would play the Lakers even in the second and third. The Lakers established the inside out combination right off the bat, and Bynum and Kobe started off hot. On the first possession of the game, Bynum took advantage of an isolation play on the near block. Bynum took two dribbles and turned middle for the right hook. The very next play, the Nuggets decided to double Bynum as soon as he caught it at the near mid block. Bynum immediately kicked out to Pau at the far top of the key, and Pau swished the open jumper. Two minutes later, Bynum caught the ball at the near mid block. He was immediately doubled, so he kicked it out to Barnes at the near corner. Barnes quickly swung the ball to an open Kobe at the far side 3. Kobe then blew by the closeout and attacked baseline to finish with a two handed dunk. The execution of the ball movement from strong side to weak side was excellent, causing Steve Kerr to proclaim, "Great execution from the Lakers. Barnes making himself available on that double team, and Bynum doing the right thing, just pass to the first open guy, let him make the next pass." Often times Bynum has struggled to kick out from the double teams, but on this occasion he was perfect.

Following some Gallinari free throws, George Karl decided to have his team full court press. Teams will usually only use a press following a free throw. The Lakers were prepared and they burned the press. The Nuggets imprudently brought up four guys to only cover three players. Faried and Lawson doubled Sessions at the far elbow, Afflalo covered Kobe at the near elbow, and Gallinari covered the inbounder, Matt Barnes. Barnes wisely noticed the mistake, and he slung a pass to Pau Gasol at the far side half court. Pau instinctively pushed the ball up the court, like a point guard, and he attacked into the paint. As soon as Koufos moved up to stop the ball, Pau threw the lob to Bynum for the easy two on one alley oop dunk. Bynum followed this possession by switching onto Lawson at the free throw line following a pick and roll. Bynum contested Lawson's step back jumper and he leaked out. Barnes took the rebound and sent the outlet to Bynum for an easy two handed dunk. This put the Lakers up 12-3 within the first three minutes of the game.

After Bynum's nice opening, Kobe decided to kick it into high gear. Kobe held the ball at the top 3, took a dribble inside the line, crossed over from right to left, leaving Gallinari shook, and swished the pull up 20ft jumper from the near top of the key. He followed this with a curl to the free throw line. Kobe caught the pass, faced up, took one dribble to his left, pumped to get Afflalo in the air, and hit the 14ft jumper from the near elbow. Bynum then made another great pass out of a double team to feed Matt Barnes an easy layup on the near block. Kobe followed with a beautiful and one. Kobe used a Bynum down screen to pop up to the far top key. Kobe caught the pass and swung through to his right to use another pick from Bynum. Bynum rolled as Kobe went right, Kobe took three probing dribbles and pulled up for the 14ft jumper with Afflalo on his back. Kobe swished the jumper and knocked down the free throw. Kobe then caught the ball at the far mid wing for an isolation set. Kobe faced up, jabbed right twice, swung through from left to right, took one dribble for the pull up fading jumper in the far mid corner, and swished it. Kobe finished the quarter with a nice 3. He caught the ball at the far wing, faced up, jabbed right to rock Brewer baseline, and shot the 3 for a swish. Kobe finished the opening quarter with 14 points on 6-8 shooting. Bynum finished 4-6 for 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block.

In the second quarter, the Nuggets kicked it into overdrive and capitalized on easy transition buckets. Ramon Sessions got a little caught up in the run and gun tempo and allowed the Nuggets to pick up the tempo. Sessions went from the near top and used a pick from Hill to probe the lane. He missed the floater, Hill missed the putback, and Barnes was swatted on the putback dunk. Gallinari leaked out after Sessions missed the floater and he took the outlet for an easy dunk in transition. A couple possessions later, Sessions used a pick from Pau at the top to attack right. Sessions went all the way to the rim, missed the tough layup and fell to the ground. Andre Miller gobbled up the rebound and immediately sent the outlet to the streaking Corey Brewer for a dunk in transition.

With Metta suspended, I wondered if the wings of the Nuggets would expose the Lakers. To my surprise, Matt Barnes has played these past two games despite a pretty sore ankle. I thought Gallinari, Harrington, and Wilson Chandler would really expose Devin Ebanks, however, Matt's presence, along with Ebanks' excellent play, has made the depth of the Nuggets less of a problem. Also, Wilson Chandler has decided to have season ending surgery on his hip, opening the door for Corey Brewer. Brewer had an excellent game, shooting 5-7 for 14 points, along with 2 assists, 1 rebound, and 3 steals. Brewer's activity was excellent and he may pose a serious problem off the bench on Denver's home floor.

However, Brewer should never match up with Kobe Bryant. Kobe used some serious veteran experience to school the kid on three straight possessions. Kobe caught the ball at the far mid wing. While jabbing right, Kobe closed the gap between him and Brewer and used his shoulder to bump Brewer back. Kobe promptly hit the 20ft jumper. Kobe followed this by taking an isolation set at the top of the 3. He faced up, jabbed right, swung the ball through from left to right and attacked to the far top of the key. While taking his two dribbles to the far top, Kobe, once again, created space using his left shoulder to bump the slender Brewer off balance. Kobe gathered enough space and promptly squared up to hit the 21ft pull up jumper. Kobe then used a down screen to catch the ball at the top of the 3. He surveyed the floor with the ball over his head before he decided to attack. He took one dribble to his left, dribbled between his legs at an angle, sending the ball in a backwards crossover to his right hand, and then he quickly sent the ball back through his legs for a reverse crossover from his right to his left. He used a little shuffle rock move and pulled up for the 23ft jumper, swish.

Despite a strong second quarter from Kobe and Drew, the Nuggets played the Lakers even, as both teams scored 23 points in the quarter. The third leak out layup of the quarter came with just over two minutes left in the half. Blake missed a contested 3 from the near top and Ty Lawson leaked out. Andre Miller took the rebound and hit Lawson with an outlet pass for an easy layup. These leak outs would continue to be a problem. Kobe went 3-4 for 7 points, and Drew went 3-3 for 6 points and 1 rebound, yet the Lakers could not expand upon the lead.

As the second half started, the TNT broadcast showed a clip of both coaches speaking to their team in the huddle. George Karl stated, "Why is this so hard? We can't let them score at the basket. We gotta make them make jump shots." Karl was obviously frustrated with Bynum's strong performance. His plea to make the Lakers take jumpers actually happened, but Kobe went 3-4 in the second, and 9-12 in the first half. Kobe made the Nuggets pay for leaving him single covered. Mike Brown stated, "You gotta do one of two things. You gotta rebound, or you gotta get back. Because that's the one way they can hurt us, in transition. And if we relax, that's what they want to do, and that's what they're gonna do the whole game." Brown was obviously tired of seeing the Nuggets leak out and get easy buckets in transition. Both coaches were dead on with their points.

In the third quarter, the Lakers stretched the lead to as many as 19 points, but the Nuggets would not go away. To start the quarter, Kobe pulled out the amazing "Dirk shot." After getting blocked from behind on a reverse layup, Kobe recovered the ball and dribbled out to the near mid corner. He kicked the ball out to Ebanks at the near top key, and Ebanks sent it right back to him at the near mid wing. With just seconds left on the shot clock, Kobe caught the ball and immediately went into the "Dirk shot," swishing the one foot step back jumper without even taking a dribble. Kobe then pulled off a fundamental move to seal his man. With Pau surveying the floor from the near wing, Kobe curled from the far corner right into the lane. Kobe sealed Afflalo on his back and Pau sent the entry right at the rim. Kobe caught the pass just in front of the rim and went up with two hands to easily dunk the ball. Following this, Bynum had his one mistake of the night. With 8 seconds on the shot clock, Bynum caught the ball at the far mid block. Bynum was immediately doubled by Gallinari. Bynum pivoted to the baseline and ended up dribbling out to the far corner. With Faried and Gallinari hounding him, Bynum got stuck in the corner and couldn't get up a shot or get rid of the ball, yielding a shot clock violation. Bynum tends to struggle when the double man is a bigger guy. The aggressiveness and length involved in that double team may become a blueprint for the Nuggets later on in the series.

Following the violation, both Kobe and Bynum made great plays. Kobe gathered and offensive rebound at the far mid corner. He faced up and took one dribble to the middle. He then spun back to the baseline and pumped, waited for the contact from Afflalo, and hit the fading jumper as the ball bounced off the front of the rim and softly off the backboard to fall through the net. Kobe missed the free throw, but Pau was able to tap the ball out to Sessions at the top. Sessions used a Pau pick to attack to the near elbow. Sessions hit Pau in the lane and Pau immediately sent a lob to Bynum at the near block. Bynum went up and missed the lob layup. He then worked to get his offensive rebound, but he missed the putback. He then corralled his miss with another offensive rebound and was able to finish with a two handed putback at the rim. Bynum smiled and laughed on his way back down the court. Once again, his size was just tremendous. His laughter showed a glimpse of his inner playfulness and served as a reminder as to how much Bynum expects to reign over Denver's frontline. In this series, Bynum is like the biggest kid on the court in middle school, the one who knows he can tower over everyone and get his shot off at any time. Watch the tallest kid on any court, you can usually tell that it is amusing to him when he can just hold the ball over his head and finish whenever he wants. Bynum's bucket was followed by an open Ebanks jumper that put the Lakers up by 19, the biggest margin of the game. After the Nuggets ran off a little run, the Lakers went back to Pau at the near elbow. Pau surveyed the floor, and hit a flashing Kobe in the lane. Kobe flashed from the far corner and sealed Brewer on his back, again. Kobe went up right at the rim and laid the ball in to put the Lakers back up by 13.

Kobe then decided to heed the advice of Mike Brown regarding getting back on defense. Kobe stood at the far wing and sent the entry to Bynum at the far mid block. Bynum was quickly doubled and he kicked it back out to Kobe. Kobe swung the ball to the open man, Blake, at the near side 3. Harrington contested Blake's 3 and leaked out. Andre Miller gathered the ball at the far block and sent the full court outlet to Harrington. This time, Kobe sprinted from the far wing and was able to chase down Harrington and block his dunk attempt from behind. However, just after this, the Lakers snoozed again. Kobe missed a turnaround jumper in the lane, and Corey Brewer immediately leaked out after contesting the jumper. Miller once again sent the outlet ahead. Brewer caught the outlet on the nearside and capitalized on the two on one situation by hitting Lawson for an easy layup. Miller followed this with a steal and outlet that led to another Brewer dunk to put the score at 75-70.

The Lakers wisely went into Bynum on the next play. Drew caught it at the far mid block, took two dribbles to back down, and spun baseline for the lefty bank shot. Kobe followed with his own flashy spin. Kobe caught it at the far wing, attacked middle and then spun back to his left. His beautiful footwork gave him enough room to step through the bigs in the lane and finish with a righty layup on the near side. The Lakers entered the fourth ahead 81-74. Kobe went 5-10 for 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block. Bynum went 4-8 for 8 points, with 3 rebounds and 1 block. Pau had a nice quarter too, shooting 2-3 for 4 points, along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.

The fourth quarter was not the Lakers strongest. George Karl got his wish, as his Nuggets were able to force the Lakers into numerous jumpers. The Lakers shot 7-19 in the quarter, with Kobe going 1-7, Bynum 1-3, and Pau 0-2. Fortunately, Ramon Sessions had his strongest quarter of the series. Sessions had two layups blocked by JaVale McGee early in the quarter, but he didn't let McGee deter his aggressiveness. After Jordan Hill swatted Andre Miller in the lane, Sessions corralled the ball and sped ahead of everyone to dunk the ball. Sessions then dribbled up the near side and decided to probe the lane. Sessions pulled up for a 7ft floater. Following this, Sessions dribbled up the far side and hit Kobe at the far wing. Sessions exploded to the wing and took the handoff full speed as he attacked the baseline and finished with a layup at the rim. Afflalo never hedged on the handoff because he was too worried about leaving Kobe. This bolstered the lead to 91-77 with 7:47 remaining.

Then Pau provided the comic highpoint of the game as he was robbed of two straight assists by Bynum. Pau was in an iso at the far mid block. He turned baseline, dribbled under the rim, and sent a slick ball fake, spin back, no look bounce pass to Bynum at the near block. Bynum wasn't really ready for the pass and he ended up attacking middle, turning baseline, and having his hook shot blocked by McGee out of bounds. Then, Kobe caught the inbounds at the near wing. Pau came up to set the pick, but his man doubled early on Kobe, so Pau slipped the pick. Kobe hit Pau in the lane, and Pau sent a beautiful no look pass to Bynum at the far block. The ball was tipped in the lane and bounced off of Bynum's hands, but Sessions recovered it at the far mid corner. Sessions shot a floater and missed, but Pau established good position and gathered the offensive rebound. Pau went up and got fouled. If you've ever played basketball, you know how disappointing it is to have a great pass spoiled by someone who can't finish the play. Fortunately, Pau was able to take care of business on the possession.

Pau made one out of two and the Nuggets rattled off another mini spurt, cutting the deficit to just 5 points. Following a Kobe miss that allowed Lawson to pull up and hit a shot in transition, Steve Kerr wisely stated, "This is where the Lakers have to go inside, and I know Kobe has been hot, but that's a tough shot, and a bad shot leads to a fast break for Denver. Pound it inside to your big fella." So what happened? Kobe curled up to the far mid wing. He used a pick from Pau to attack to the middle. He then sent a bounce pass to Pau on the roll at the far elbow. Pau was quickly doubled by Kobe's man, Afflalo. Pau kicked it back out to Kobe at the far top 3 with 6 on the shot clock. Kobe caught the pass, jabbed right twice and shot the 3. Kobe swished the shot in Afflalo's face for his 36th point of the game, to which Kerr humorously replied, "Like I said, you gotta go to Kobe in this situation Marv, hahaha, 36, unbelievable." This shot put the Lakers up by 8 with 4:05 remaining. Faried followed with an attack to the rim that yielded free throws. Following another shot clock beating jumper, Kobe missed, and Faried once again got to the line to cut the score to 95-91 with 3:00 left.

Then Kobe provided the play of the game and most likely saved the Lakers from defeat. Kobe was at the near wing and he was doubled, so he hit Sessions at the top 3. Sessions drove to the rim and kicked out to Blake at the far wing. Blake missed the wide open 3. With Sessions in the lane, and Blake's man, Faried, leaking out, Lawson grabbed the ball and sent the outlet to Faried at the near block just under the rim. Kobe and Blake were able to track down Faried as he bobbled the pass. They trapped Faried, Blake tapped the ball, and Kobe ended up stealing the ball and pushing up the court. Old man Kobe looked like a young buck again as he pushed up the court full speed for the three on two advantage. Kobe made contact with the diminutive Lawson in the lane, creating some space and forcing the big man to rotate. Kobe then sent an awesome wrap around pass to Bynum at the far block. Bynum went up and dunked the ball as he was fouled, and one. Bynum sank the free throw and put the lead back to 7 with 2:15 to go. This five point swing was the biggest moment of the game. Instead of cutting the lead to two and putting immense pressure on the Lakers, the Nuggets came up short on a definite momentum swinger.

Gallinari followed with a huge 3. Then Sessions closed the game. After Kobe missed another late shot clock jumper, Pau was able to tip the ball out. Blake recovered at the near wing and sent the ball to Sessions at the top. Kobe came over to set the pick, but Sessions avoided the pick and attacked to his left. Once he got to the far mid block, Sessions executed a perfect jump stop and hit the 9ft floater for a 100-94 lead with 1:14 remaining. Following some free throws from Sessions and Kobe, the Lakers won 104-100.

After game one, I wondered what adjustments George Karl would make and how Mike Brown would counteract those adjustments. Well, Karl obviously instructed his team to leak out after closing out on jumpers. The Nuggets effectively leaked out in order to get easy transition points. By doing this, they were able to combat the Lakers' size with their own speed. After Bynum got 10 blocks in game one, all in half court sets, Karl made sure Bynum wouldn't be able to be in the lane to swat anymore shots by having the Nuggets race ahead of the Lakers and get easy buckets. Mike Brown attempted to counteract this with continual reminders of correct floor spacing and getting back on defense. Proper tempo will surely thwart the transition game of the Nuggets. Kobe listened to his coach on two such occasions, once for the swat from behind, and the other coming as the play of the game.

Kobe finished the game 15-29, 2-6 from deep, for 38 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, and 1 turnover. Although Kobe shot the ball very well, the floor spacing on some of his attempts led to easy buckets for the Nuggets. His dry fourth quarter also allowed the Nuggets to make the game closer than it needed to be, but he did come through with that steal and assist. However, most of his fourth quarter attempts were forced on him with a shot clock disadvantage. Mike Brown needs to urge his guys to keep running the offense and not always look for Kobe to bail them out, even on a night when Kobe is hot. Bynum and Pau also disappeared in the fourth. Fortunately, Ramon had a big fourth quarter. However, Ramon was not innocent in this game either. Ramon shot 6-16, 0-3 from deep, for 14 points, along with 1 rebound, 4 assists, and 2 steals. It seemed like every time Ramon drove to the rim, he ended up on the floor and the Nuggets ended up having a numbers advantage in transition. Mike Brown needs to address proper floor spacing. If Ramon drives, both wings need to get back.

With game three coming in Denver, I expect Gallinari, Afflalo, and Harrington to get their jumpers back on track. They shot a combined 13-43 in game two. If the Nuggets get as many easy buckets and dunks in transition in Denver, the crowd will go nuts and the Nuggets may ride that momentum to a win. The Lakers really need to make sure to slow them down and not let Denver control the tempo.

The Nuggets can't stop Andrew Bynum and they know it. Bynum finished 12-20 for 27 points, along with 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. When they double Bynum, Kobe should be able to capitalize with good looks on the weak side. Pau also turned in another stat-stuffing performance, shooting 5-10 for 13 points, along with 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and an uncharacteristic 2 turnovers. Overall, if the big three keep playing well, and Sessions controls the tempo, the Lakers should be fine.