so…the lakers won…dodged a bullet, or a nugget, if you will…
but again, it’s hard to be proud about it, though i think the second unit played better than they have all playoffs. i sure can’t wait until andrew bynum gets some more playoff experience under his belt. he’s a nice guy…smart, well-spoken, thoughtful…but he’s got, i think, a bit of nasty in him too, and once he learns how to channel his energy, where to be, how to play, he’s gonna be a beast…and the lakers need that…
anyhow, tonight’s game may be just what the lakers need to wake them up…given tonight, i think this series could go 5 or 7 games…we’ll see…
still…hard to be proud of it…
and one thing struck me…the laker crowd, the fans, are partly to blame…they’re front-runners…if the lakers don’t come out of the box fast, they sit quietly, nervously…as in, hey, is this supposed to be happening? they seem to come to cheer dominance, but they don’t urge their team on…if the team isn’t doing well, laker fans don’t get behind them…
which is way different than how it used to be in the showtime days…back then, we loved the lakers, no matter what was happening…but then, those showtime teams, they were some of the best of all time…it was incredible watching those guys…and, from top to bottom, those teams had swagger and they backed it up…they expected to overwhelm teams, and they rarely came out looking like wilted flowers…seems to me ariza is a throwback to those days…kobe and fish could run with those guys…and farmar, on his good days has the confidence that comes from being a stud. i really want to see gasol get that vibe…and bynum…then we’ll see…
Talkin' Pro Hoops 