Originally posted by Darth Martin
The Lakers still didn't play that well. Kobe was in attack mode the whole game and Sasha bailed them out. Lamar was 2/7 and Gasol was like 3/9. Gasol and Kobe missed a bunch of free-throws. We have to do better.
This series will be tied on thursday. Doubt Lamar and Pau will be cold. Lamar especially if the fracking refs will leave him alone
Im obviously pleased we pulled out a win in game 3, but we have to get more from our impact players. Lamar and Pau have to play big (literally), Pau needs to finish with authority around the hoop or even pump fake to get KG off his feet and then take it to his body (make the refs call a foul). Its times like these when i cant wait for Bynum to get back, he doesnt have a problem going up strong and with the looks Kobe gets him i have to think the series would be very different. Lamar just has to get back to the basics, he is our best rebounder so thats a great place to start. Grab 15+ boards and defend with intensity, his offense has been so poor that i would settle for big numbers in rebounds, solid defense and finding the open man for assists (any points would be gravy). Lamar just hasnt played very smart, he continues to barrel into the lane even when they are waiting for him. If he cant get all the way to the rim then either take a little jump hook or look for the open man, no more charges please Lamar (we need every possession).
No words left for Kobe, he just carried us and willed us to win. Even the haters need to just sit back and enjoy watching one the the greatest, when their gone you dont get them back. Sasha has proved me wrong this year (i love being wrong when it benefits my team), i used to want him off the team but he has been awesome all year and his biggest strength is his lack of fear. He doesnt fear the big moments and in do-or-die games like this, thats exactly the mentality you have to have.
We need to win this one big, obviously a win is a win but we need to get our offense clicking again. There are holes in the Boston defense but you cant find them with 1on1 play. The Kobe/Gasol pick and roll has worked brilliantly and keeps getting us good looks, we need to stick with that and space the floor with shooters. Boston likes to pack it in so if you have to shoot some jumpers then make sure you have the people on the court who can stick em.
Gotta take this game Laker fans, this game will show us alot about our team.
GO LAKERS !!!!
Damn, that was a choke job for the ages. Why do we have to make it so difficult for ourselves? We dont deserve the title if we play like that, no killer instinct at all. We went away from everything that was working in the first half, Lamar was rolling, our defense was active and our intensity was exactly where it needed to be.
Now we have to hope that Boston chokes this away like we did against the Suns in 06, winning three straight is a huge mountain to climb.
No complaints from me though, if we lose the series (which looks very likely) the better team won. Sure it hurts because its the Celtics but we controlled our own destiny in this game and gave it away.
28 other teams didnt make the finals so im happy with our season considering how it started, just gotta come back stronger next year. Magic, MJ, Shaq and Kobe had to all go through this, the great players use it as fuel for next season.
Originally posted by koolruningz
Damn, that was a choke job for the ages. Why do we have to make it so difficult for ourselves? We dont deserve the title if we play like that, no killer instinct at all. We went away from everything that was working in the first half, Lamar was rolling, our defense was active and our intensity was exactly where it needed to be.
Now we have to hope that Boston chokes this away like we did against the Suns in 06, winning three straight is a huge mountain to climb.
The problem for the Lakers is that a great offense can choke but a great defense doesn't.
Originally posted by Dr. Strangelove
The problem for the Lakers is that a great offense can choke but a great defense doesn't.
Thats our main problem, we let our defense be determined by how well we are playing offense. Defense has to be constant, i've been saying that all season with regards to our regular season defense. Bynum coming back will help shore up the middle but we have to make defense a team wide priority.