I would be curious to see how many folks that aren't rooting for LA didn't think they got the ref benefit tonight. Go to lakersground...even they admit they were getting the calls...except for the one where Kobe got hacked when he drove (and arguably traveled), and the Smith violation. If you seriously watched this whole game and didn't think LA was getting serious ref benefit....then we will just have to agree to disagree.
That's an interesting take considering there is no chance the Nuggets can win in 4, but they have a decent chance of winning in 6.
I think Laker fans are upset about the missed jump ball violation on JR Smith, but in my opinion that was entirely on Ariza. Smith ran across but was not involved in the actual scrum following Ariza's fumble. One could argue that perhaps he obstructed at least one Laker player from getting to the ball, but Ariza still had the ball and fumbled it away.
You know, out of all the coaches I've heard in the timeout huddles, the one who has impressed me the most is George Karl, and I've never been a Karl fan. He seems to blend the positive with the "words of caution" extremely well. I don't know, he just seems to say the right things.
Also gotta give props to Melo. Five straight games over 30. Most importantly, he seems to want to take it to Kobe. Not backing down like other "superstars" that we know of...
No, it doesn't really make me feel better. It wouldn't be as bad if you had something against their opponent, and it was a lesser of two evils thing. It would still be awful, just not as bad. That's actually what I assumed was the case. But to know that you're actually rooting for them b/c you LIKE them - man, that doesn't make me feel better at all. Quite the opposite.
Nuggets showed a lot of resilience tonight. I felt they had that ability, but wasn't sure if they could pull it out. I think this could develop into a really good series if Denver plays smart basketball on both ends of the floor.
It's great to see players evolving into stars in front of your guys. I like it when Carmelo posts up and finishes around the basket. His mid range jumper and handle makes him an all round attacker who is very hard to stop. He has the potential to become a very good defender as well.
I didn't think Melo was this good, when he first came into the league his name would be mentioned with Wade and Lebron...he kinda fell off the radar since then, don't know what it was that was holding him back, but it seems he's back. I would love to see him in a Rockets jersey, he'd be a great fit with Yao.
The only thing that held him back as far as team success was not having Chauncey Billups. The guy has always been a phenomenal scorer.
As I said many times before, Carmelo has more moves and options than anyone in the league. The problem for him was that he didn't care about defense and he had to share the ball with Iverson. Remember Melo was leading the league in scoring up until Iverson came to the nuggets. He also led the National team in scoring.
It is quiet obvious that Lakers are getting calls. A whining Kobe + a manipulative Phil Jackson + LA Forum = favorable calls for Lakers. History has shown this to be true and it still holds. One has to have some serious homer Lakers glasses on to claim otherwise. That is why the opponent has to be mentally tough to fight thru the calls when playing against LA. Or at least built enough of a lead so that you give yourself a buffer against blown calls.
lakers are undefeated in the playoffs when they score over 100 points. they are also undefeated in the playoffs when leading after the 1st quarter. they scored over 100 points and lead after the first quarter yet they still lost. that my friends is called a rude awakening. seeing how the lakers have been pretty bad on the road this post season i expect denver to get both wins in kobe's favorite state D) and maybe even close it out in LA or lose game 5 and get the W back home. derek fisher is now showing that he is way past his prime and is approaching the end of his career. i really like trevor ariza. he is straight up hustling and making big plays out there for the lakers.
I checked the box score and noticed a total of 76 FTs. That's crazy... were there really that many fouls? I don't recall us getting 20+ FTs too often in our 2 series. 105-103 and 103-106... this is going to be one hard fought series. I am rooting for Nuggets to pull it through though. I like Billups.
This game was solely on PJ, the Zen Master. I don't know why he put in Fisher to stop the whole offensive flow and defensive intensity. Can anyone tell me a single positive thing Fisher did in the fourth quarter on any possession?
I don't think Denver has any reason to complain about the refs. Billups' FTs in the fourth are definitely Wade like, if not more. It wasn't even bailout, rather fully anticipated. I love Chauncey, but that's just too much, especially when his shots aren't falling.
I'm seriously laughing out loud at the "Nugs getting the calls" statements. Holy hell. Yesterday morning, I logged on to NBA.com to see who the refs were for the game. When the first name I saw was Bavetta, I cringed. When the second was Javie, I cried. That was the most inconsistently called game I have seen in a LONG time. Holy hell. Kobe's posting up on Dahntay Jones and somehow Jones is called for a phantom foul. Four times. But we're just going to ignore Kobe openly shoving at LEAST 3 Nuggets during the game with both hands in the back while rebounding. But yeah, the Nugs got away with a lucky one with the JR violation at the end, so it wasn't all Lakers. Just mostly. I was really hoping to see Joey Crawford in Orlando tonight, but no luck. Hopefully he won't be in Denver tomorrow. MELO! What can I say? I've been accused of being a Melo homer here, and he's outplaying even what I hoped for him. I've NEVER seen him play defense this well. His offense is great, but his defense is the most impressive thing for me. Wow. We have to protect home court. I'm going to be doing my part tomorrow night. Luckily, I'm finally off of the painkillers and muscle relaxants from my car accident, so I'll hopefully be able to celebrate after the game!
