...Game 2, Los Angeles v. Denver...

Vujacic...what good is he doing on the court? He missed a wide open shot to end the first, he misses and misses and misses and misses, and he cannot play defense. So, therefore, the answer must be that his sole purpose is to annoy 98% of the country. Shannon Brown needs to play all of his minutes, and then some.


The Nuggets are not playing a real defense through the first half of this game. They are weird. I don't get it, because Billups will not stand for this. I wonder if something happened like a fire alarm was pulled during pregame practice - its certainly how Karl is reacting. But mostly, I think that it looks like if Bynum shows any promise of an offensive game, the Nuggets are willing to just allow him to do so. They can't be shocked by his flashes of "okay"-ness, they have to handle it and squash it, fast. Wow, the Lakers are a strong team.

Leads don't exist in Playoff Basketball. You are never in the lead. The term has to be changed to something else. Your odds of winning may be slightly increased, but all a "lead" means in NBA playoff basketball at this point is that more things have fallen your way than the other team - that goes without saying. However, I think teams that are in the lead are actually under the impression, in this year's playoffs specifically, that they are inherently more effective in this particular game.

That cannot be further than the truth. Every team is so fantastic at this point, that just because you have a 5-8 basket advantage over your opponent, that doesn't mean you have the luxury of assuming anything.

Nene is doing a fantastic job tonight against Pau Gasol. Plain and simple, the Lakers are better when Gasol is in the key, scoring. He isn't doing that tonight. Kobe has been the Lakers most effective low post player tonight, and that's not a good thing for LA. And I want to say bad things about Dahntay Jones, but its almost like tonight that Coach K's minute exposure to Jones may have made an effect, because he is one of Van Gundy's "pitbulls", I think. He should be on the Rockets, he'd be a better fit there. He also played in the D-League, and I respect guys who do that.


Kobe Bryant is getting away with anything he wants tonight, and that's mildly frustrating, but completely expected. He is manhandling Dahntay - you could see some of it in the little "Kobe is frustrated" montage, which I think they have to show us once a game. I find it interesting that Jordan's frustration with his teammates actions resulted in the taming of Dennis Rodman to the tune of 3 championships, while Kobe's frustration results in an ongoing feud with Shaq, a provocation of his head coach to say horrible things about him in book form, and, as mentioned, a :30 montage in every nationally televised game about how Kobe's teammates are letting him down.

It should be noted, however, in the interest of fairness, the entire 3rd quarter has been dedicated to making sure Carmelo gets to the line at every possible opportunity. Kobe is just outrageous when a foul is called on him, I can't figure it out. He is beneficiary of so many horrible calls, and he must know when he wasn't fouled and when he was, yet he expects 100% accuracy when things don't go his way. A few months ago on the Stern Show, Dr. Drew gave the crew a Narcissism test, in which Robin Quivers scored a 34, which is over twice the average for most Americans. There is something about listening to her that you can clearly hear how narcissistic is, how everything, literally everything, has some kind of relation to her. This is exactly, precisely, how Kobe acts. Entitlement and narcissism are siblings and Kobe seems to have a fantastic family with both.

In general I don't like to blame refs for much of anything, when it all comes down to it, they blow a lot of calls, but the Nuggets, Lakers, Cavs and Magic are the 4 best teams in the league, and they are the 4 teams left. It's a long series, and I don't think a blown call here and there effects too much - Dallas v. Denver was a big missed call, but at the same time, I have my doubts that it was as bad as people make it seem...

But anyway, the biggest complaint I have about NBA refs, and all refs in all sports who do this, is the overacting. They do all this crazy dancing crap when people commit fouls, and to me it looks like they are showing up players.

FINAL SCORE: Nuggets 106, Lakers 103
I love how the jump ball was a controversial moment in the game. "A clear missed call," Mark Jackson and Van Gundy said...wait a second. Is someone here implying that there is any rhyme or reason to a jump ball, at any point in the season. Its a complete free for all, starting with the second the ref throws the ball up in the air, which, on TV, is always clearly off to one side or another. Deal with it, LA.

Gasol being pushed out of the key at all times in this game was the key, in my mind. If you watch a replay or have the chance to see this again, he didn't move for the first 18 seconds of the shot clock b/c he knew he couldn't outwork Kenyon or Nene. That guy needs to find a way to become a "big man". ESPN announcers were marveling at Pau's ability to play huge minutes, but the dude doesn't bang up against a big except when he is attacking the hoop, he doesn't set big screens, he doesn't fight his way to great post positions. He isn't a real Center, he is a Euro-center.