It was a very unusually cold,rainy night in Los Angeles where the rainfall pounded a normally sunny metropolis. In fact, it's been an above normal rainfall in just five days with more to come. Yet, no one could have forseen it as a thematic backdrop for what was to happen between the Lakers and Bucks.
The Lakers were flying high after five straight wins on the road and they had oft-injured Andrew Bynum back. They were at home against a lowly Bucks team without Carlos Delfino and Brandon Jennings. A Bucks team that the night before got absolutely destroyed in Portland. No highlight exemplifying the game than Lamarcus Aldridge alley-oop slam over Mbah Moute that you can see below. It would seem a relatively easy win for the Lakers. Right?
Unfortunately, it was not the case as the Bucks defense and their shot came to life under the bright lights of Staples Center. While the Lakers shot, disappeared like the sunshine that Los Angeles bathes in nearly year round. The Bucks defense did a few things:
- Denied the pass to the post to Pau Gasol during the 4th Quarter.
- Make Gasol work for his points and deny him from being a playmaker.
- Made Kobe work for his shot.
- Convert points into Turnovers.
-31 points off 16 Lakers turnovers.
-Make the Lakers work for their points
-45.5% field goal percentage
-79 points for the Lakers
Offense:
-Shoot 50% from the field along with 8-14 three point shooting
-Out-rebound the Lakers 39-35.
-Convert their free throws 16-18 (88.9%).
-Limit the impact of the Lakers bench: Bucks 32-25 (Boykins scored 22 pts.)
The Bucks played with energy and passion while the Lakers played like a team that just came back from a long road trip. Oh wait, they did. In addition, the Lakers were playing like a little child who was peaking at their wrapped Christmas present (Miami Heat) while forgetting to lock the gate so that the dog does not run away (Milwaukee Bucks).
They played tough Bucks defense that has been a philosophy of Scott Skiles. Andrew Bogut disrupted Gasol's flow and made him a jump shooter. Bogut dominated and outplayed Gasol. He held Gasol to 11 pts. on a deceptive 6-12 shooting.
John Salmons and Earl Boykins picked up the scoring slack as they scored 42 points combined. Salmons made timely buckets as the Lakers made their runs. He made a big 3 on a five point swing after the Lakers got too cute on the fast break to turn a 59-58 Laker lead into 61-59 Bucks advantage. He had another big shot as he converted an end of 3rd Quarter buzzer beater to give the Bucks a six point lead heading into the fourth. The bucket set the tone in the next quarter. Salmons shot was clicking and for one night he showed the same fire that he had in Chicago that had been lacking this season.
Earl Boykins was the closer in this game as he knocked timely 3pt. buckets that put a game that the Lakers could have easily taken if they had one big quarter out of reach. He was instrumental in his 22 points along with Luc Richard Mbah Moute's lockdown D that bottled up Kobe and sent him to the showers with 2 techs.
In the fourth quarter, it was the Bucks not the Lakers that closed the game out. They outscored the Lakers with a game deciding 26-13 in the final quarter. Milwaukee discombobulated the Lakers offense, which to begin with, was not clicking on all cylinders. It was evident when the Lakers passes and timing were significantly off. For example, Gasol bobbled a pass from Fisher and was out of position for behind the back Kobe pass early in the game. The Lakers offense was off despite flashes of brilliance in some parts prior to the 4th Quarter.
Overall, it was a great win for the Bucks. They won a nearly impossible game without Brandon Jennings and Carlos Delfino. It's another great win and Christmas present to go along with ending Dallas' 13 game winning streak.
For Los Angeles, it's a head scratching loss heading into a tough three game stretch (Miami, @San Antonio and @New Orleans on a back to back). It may take the luster off the Lakers/Heat Christmas Day bash but it is a lesson to the Lakers that the road to the Finals will be just as hard as it has been in Christmas Past, Present and Future.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Miami's Big 3 soars while Cleveland burns
Since the day Lebron James made the biggest decision that created more heartbreak for Cleveland to go along with numerous others such as The Shot, The Fumble, The Drive, etc. December 2nd, 2010, was the so-called day of reckoning where Cleveland would get their say on what they felt after Lebron took his talents to Miami to play with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade.
Tonight, it was Lebron, Wade and Bosh who put the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers to bed before the 4th Quarter. Their defense was smothering, which led to easy points and baskets. They were forcing the Cavaliers to shoot jumpers and throw wild shots at the basket hoping for it to fall. Alas, it would not fall and the Heat's lead would continue to balloon.
Collectively, the Heat rebounded the ball with passion that seemed lacking the last few games. They out-rebounded the Cavaliers 43-34. Miami's defense was able to produce 28 points off 13 Cavalier turnovers.
In addition, their shooting was excellent for the majority of the game. Lebron's jumpers fell in the formerly friendly confines of the Quicken Loans Arena, which he called home for the past seven years. He went 13-18 from 2 pt. land but a pedestrian 2-7 from the three. Lebron's athleticism and game were humming as he scored 38 points, 8 assists but only five rebounds after three quarters. One such example, was when he took on Joey Graham along the baseline and scored on a reverse lay-in that was almost a Julius Ervingesque type move that reminded me of the 1980 NBA Finals. Pardon me, for my hyperboles as you will see in this video below:
D-Wade was the Flash as he scored 22 pts. 9 rebounds and 9 assists for a near-triple double. It was vintage Wade as he drove to the lane for pretty dunks and lay-ins. He was the distributor and scorer, which made me wonder if he should be the guy who feeds Lebron and Bosh for 3 quarters. Then in the crunch time, he takes over a la Michael Jordan to close the game out.
Bosh had a decent game where he lived off jumpers and kick-outs. Yet, was nonexistent in terms of rebounding. At some point, the Heat will need to find a frontline center who will do the following: rebound, bang and do the dirty work to get his points. In a sense, they need a Dennis Rodman/Joakim Noah type player to protect Bosh and Lebron.
The Cavs were just awful tonight as they could not buy a bucket during the Miami onslaught. Mo Williams shots stopped falling and as a team they shot 35.5%. It just confirms the fact that Lebron was their offense A-D for seven years. Right now, the Cavaliers will be lucky to make it as an eighth seed in the East and they might considering how moribund it is right now.
That might be an accomplishment for the fans who put up various signs and shirts expressing their anger for Lebron's departure. They booed him every time he touched the ball but were silenced by the end of the 3rd Quarter as the Cavs were down by thirty points. Aside from that, it's sadly going to take a long time before Cleveland will have another winning team that can bring joy to a city that has gone 46 years and counting without a championship.
As a whole, the Heat basically pummeled a reprehensibly bad team tonight in front of a hostile crowd. They showed up and did not have the glazed terrified look they had in Boston. For now, they took care of business but there will always be critics who say they need to beat teams like the Celtics, Lakers, Spurs and Bulls. Yet, it's still a long season and they have a lot of chances to prove their worth when they play at Utah on Dec. 8th and the sputtering Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day. Until then, enjoy the Roller Coaster ride that is the NBA season.
Tonight, it was Lebron, Wade and Bosh who put the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers to bed before the 4th Quarter. Their defense was smothering, which led to easy points and baskets. They were forcing the Cavaliers to shoot jumpers and throw wild shots at the basket hoping for it to fall. Alas, it would not fall and the Heat's lead would continue to balloon.
Collectively, the Heat rebounded the ball with passion that seemed lacking the last few games. They out-rebounded the Cavaliers 43-34. Miami's defense was able to produce 28 points off 13 Cavalier turnovers.
In addition, their shooting was excellent for the majority of the game. Lebron's jumpers fell in the formerly friendly confines of the Quicken Loans Arena, which he called home for the past seven years. He went 13-18 from 2 pt. land but a pedestrian 2-7 from the three. Lebron's athleticism and game were humming as he scored 38 points, 8 assists but only five rebounds after three quarters. One such example, was when he took on Joey Graham along the baseline and scored on a reverse lay-in that was almost a Julius Ervingesque type move that reminded me of the 1980 NBA Finals. Pardon me, for my hyperboles as you will see in this video below:
D-Wade was the Flash as he scored 22 pts. 9 rebounds and 9 assists for a near-triple double. It was vintage Wade as he drove to the lane for pretty dunks and lay-ins. He was the distributor and scorer, which made me wonder if he should be the guy who feeds Lebron and Bosh for 3 quarters. Then in the crunch time, he takes over a la Michael Jordan to close the game out.
Bosh had a decent game where he lived off jumpers and kick-outs. Yet, was nonexistent in terms of rebounding. At some point, the Heat will need to find a frontline center who will do the following: rebound, bang and do the dirty work to get his points. In a sense, they need a Dennis Rodman/Joakim Noah type player to protect Bosh and Lebron.
The Cavs were just awful tonight as they could not buy a bucket during the Miami onslaught. Mo Williams shots stopped falling and as a team they shot 35.5%. It just confirms the fact that Lebron was their offense A-D for seven years. Right now, the Cavaliers will be lucky to make it as an eighth seed in the East and they might considering how moribund it is right now.
That might be an accomplishment for the fans who put up various signs and shirts expressing their anger for Lebron's departure. They booed him every time he touched the ball but were silenced by the end of the 3rd Quarter as the Cavs were down by thirty points. Aside from that, it's sadly going to take a long time before Cleveland will have another winning team that can bring joy to a city that has gone 46 years and counting without a championship.
As a whole, the Heat basically pummeled a reprehensibly bad team tonight in front of a hostile crowd. They showed up and did not have the glazed terrified look they had in Boston. For now, they took care of business but there will always be critics who say they need to beat teams like the Celtics, Lakers, Spurs and Bulls. Yet, it's still a long season and they have a lot of chances to prove their worth when they play at Utah on Dec. 8th and the sputtering Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day. Until then, enjoy the Roller Coaster ride that is the NBA season.
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