The Empire Strikes Back

KObe on WB was a huge move. The Lakers playing good transition defense was great. Lets just hope they start off where they left off.

BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!!!

Remember, it didn’t start out all that great with the turnover on the wayward entry pass from Fisher to Bynum, forcing an off balance Bynum to throw it from the baseline all the way back to the back court … and Farmars WTF bounce pass to nobody at the three point line … I was thinking “this is the focus they were all talking about re-gaining??”

Just sayin – it all seems perfect in hindsight when the result is a blowout … don’t get me wrong, I’m happy …

Here’s a game where the stats definitely don’t tell the whole story.

I think the biggest reason we looked like a different team tonight was because of the way Mr. 24 played. I’ve always been a firm believer that this team lives and dies by him…they mimick his very body language if you watch closely. Tonight Kobe came out determined and looked better on both ends of the court than he has in a LONG time. The boxscore won’t tell you that, but any self-respecting Laker fan can realize this.

His defense on Westbrook was almost unbelievable. Sometimes I give Kobe flak for leaving his man open, not boxing out, or in general not seeming to “give it his all” on defense but nights like this one remind me that there is a method to his madness. If the NBA was county prison, Kobe just broke Westbrook in as his new cellmate. Highlights for me included the incredible transition defense. First he backpeddled to the rim and essentially STOPPED Westbrook in his tracks (something I’m not sure anyone in the NBA can do) forcing him to turn around right into a steal from S.Brown. Later, he offered one of basketball’s greatest psyche out moments in which he acted like he was going for a transition block on westbrook, but simply flew by him and forced Westbrook to act about as decisively as your girlfriend and pink berry, prompting another turnover.

On offense he was the Kobe of old. Not content to just move the ball around, but getting himself involved and making tons of plays. The Lakers cannot play inside out when there’s no one that can actually get inside to the teeth of the defense. Sometimes it’s not as easy as simply posting up Gasol/Bynum and getting them the ball (as we’ve seen all series long). Kobe was all over the place, racking up hockey assists and energizing the team. He still isn’t healthy and you can tell that his finger and knee still bother him (lack of lift, some seemingly careless dribbles), but it is definitely reassuring to see that Kobe still can make plays off the dribble for himself and his teammates.

So yes. Ron Artest’s resurgence and Pau Gasol’s monster night were very important indeed. What I’m taking away from this game though is that little step towards what the Lakers need to win a title: consistency from Kobe Bryant.

I get the feeling I’m rooting for “the Empire” these days haha. Tons of people root against the Lakers now and you can tell they feel like the “good guys” rooting against “the man”.

So fuck it. Long live the dark side!

Rather than taking a numerous amount of 3 point attempts like in the 1st four games, we gave it to our bigs on a much more consistent basis and it paid off. Also, the decision to put Kobe on Westbrook effectively helped shut down a significant part of the thunder offense. I know Kobe tends to get away with free safety D at times, but when he really wants too, he can shut down an opposing player, though this would obviously consume a lot of energy which is why he doesnt take assignments like this that often. Game 6 is Friday in OKC. Lakers must approach this game with the same type of attitude and end the series there. We cannot get careless because anything can happen in a game 7 and we want to avoid that at all costs and get ready for the next round.

For some random and bizarre reason, this win reminded me of this track. But if you want to get to the good part, skip to 3:39 Most of you probably have already heard it before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Riw7j9b8fM8

Where have these Lakers been hiding? This is the kind of performance we EXPECTED from this team from the beginning of the season, nonetheless GREAT WIN.

this is just one game that we’ve seen from them in a while…remember that utah game towards the end of the season when we blew the jazz out big while they were streaking…only to revert back to our old lethargic, apathetic selves? we still have to close out strong in oklahoma city in game 6. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed watching this game, the offense was Lake Show-esqe, the defense was pestering…but i’m not celebrating until I see some consistency out of this team.

I think that we have to give a lot of credit to the idea of Kobe becoming a facilitator first and a scorer 2nd. offensively that is the part that killed OKC. In a way it was like giving them a taste of their own medicine in the sense that Kobe attacked the basket in the same way that Westbrook has been doing. I just pray to God that they continue to do this and that Kobe isn’t unwilling to be the facilitator for the remainer of this series and any other time that it’s needed. Plus when the Lakers win the title I think that Gasol will win the MVP.

In turnovers.

At home, they turned the ball over something like 8 times per game through games 3 and 4. In LA, they turn the ball over around 15 times per game. That’s one of the differences right there.

Also? Free throws. This time we were up on them. Good to see.

Defense was stellar, drives were nice, the Bynum Dunk Fest was awesome.

It was a truly dominating performance. It was the kind I was hoping to see us deliver to let them know we are the CHAMPS and we DONT take kindly to being embarrassed.

I loved it because I’m sick to death of teams feeling they can go toe to toe and blow for blow with the Lake Show. (I would pay money to see us dismantle Denver in this fashion in the post season)

I’m so happy to be a member of the Empire right now.

I love them with all my heart, and sometimes they break it. But then they just smile, wink, tell me that they love me and I’m right back. Damn you Lakers. Damn you and you’re good looking games, your beautiful passes, your great rotations, your powerful dunks and your smooth strokes (yea, I meant to say stroke).

BUT, The Lakers TEAM D was exponentially better last night. The extra work Westbrook had to go thru to get to the rim gave the help defense enough time to actually “help” protect the paint. Pau and Bynum were running out and hedging the pick n roll with aggressiveness and then getting back to protect the rim. I think one thing that some people fail to mention is that the Lakers transition D was superb last night. We cut out all those easy buckets the Thunder were getting and forced them to try and score against our halfcourt D which is a tall task for any team. On the flipside the Lakers actually pushed the ball and tried to score in transition. When they didnt get a transition score, they forced the action early in the shot clock instead of standing back and trying to force feed the ball in the post against a good Thunder D. I think they figured out the Thunder D by not driving and trying to finish but by driving and dishing to cutters because the Thunder send everybody to help. Great gameplan and great execution by the LakeShow

somebody on yahoo sports (dont give a shit bout his name) wrote that Kobe was 3rd fiddle behind KD?!?!?! Well I likes what i read…..

The Thunder wouldn’t mind if that were true, but Kevin Durant(notes) took offense to the suggestion that his favorite NBA player was slipping.

"You kill me, man," Durant said. "Y’all coming to me with this? Kobe Bryant is the best player in the league, one of the best players in the world. You’re talking to me like playing a phenomenal game is something he doesn’t do. He’s Kobe Bryant. He’s going to come out and lead his team. He’s been doing this for 12, 13 years.

"He’s a guy who really doesn’t have to score against teams to win games now. A couple years ago he had to."

You guys get my drift? LOL!

Has anybody noticed that the Oakies have not blogged on the recent Laker playoff victories? And when the Thunder beat the Lakers they bashed on how there going to win?

Its 1:00pm over here in southern california and the Oakies haven’t set up a recent thread on the Los Angeles Lakers massacre over the thunder.

but I loved looking at the box score at the end of the game and seeing this:

R Westbrook -26
T Sefolosha -24
N Krstic -24
K Durant -25
J Green -27

&

D Fisher +25
K Bryant +27
A Bynum +21
R Artest +24
P Gasol +27

JUST B. E. A. UTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!