How about Trevor Ariza??? THE COBRA!!! In case you forgot, the Lakers obtained Ariza from the Magic in exchange for Brian Cook and Mo Evans. Cook is now with the Rockets and Evans with the Hawks. Both of his steals in games 1 and 3 were terrible inbounds passes, but the reason he gets the steals is because he is able to force the issue versus the guy he's guarding.
The missing production from Fisher, Vujacic and Farmar is coming from Ariza. Without him the Lakers would be hearing, "Somebody gonna get a hurt reeeal bad."
Chris Andersen had a pretty sweet game, though in a losing effort. I'm happy for the guy and hope he gets more playing time and does well. Nobody deserves to be remembered as "the guy who missed like 30 dunk attempts in the slam dunk contest and got kicked out for two years from the league for failing a drug test." Hopefully he'll one day be able to shake that. Maybe he already has because most casual fans probably don't know his past.
Does anyone remember what the old Birdman looked like? Before the tattoos and the gelled mohawk? When he used to actually make a bird motion with his hands like Napoleon Dynamite and the Happy Hands Club? I miss that guy.
If I there was ever a game in this close series that is set up to be a blowout, it's game 4. The Lakers got their road win, the Nuggets have something to prove, and both sides can claim victories (the Lakers a moral victory of getting one of two in Denver; the Nuggets an actual victory) even if the Nuggets win a lopsided game 4. Chauncey has to show up eventually. Game 4 might be the night.
1) How did you know it was a terrible inbound pass. Teach me.
ReplyDelete2) I think Ariza tries hard, which is endearing
3) Ariza for Cook/Evans was such a great idea. I hate Brian Cook.
4)Seriously word to the "missig production from Fisher".. wtf fisher!?
5) So, Birdman made up his OWN nickname?! haha. HIs new tats are curazy
The first one was a bad pass because Anthony Carter put too much air under it and it sorta hung in the air, allowing Ariza to accelerate and pick it off. Not only that, Carter should have passed it right when Billups got open, but instead hesitated and then telegraphed the pass. It's hard to blame Carter entirely though, because he's 6-2 being covered by 6-10 Lamar Odom, so he had to lob it a little bit.
ReplyDeleteFor the second inbound pass in game 3, Denver chose to use 6-9 Kenyon Martin to inbound to get a better angle on the inbound pass, but Martin throws the ball out while Carmelo Anthony is curling around. What he should have done is fake up and come down with a bounce pass low and around Odom. He would have hit Anthony in stride with nobody around him.
Easy for me, sitting on my couch pausing it on youtube, to say huh?