momentum
to be peaking at the right time
unity
youthful exuberance
experience and leadership


these are things that every nba team coming into the playoffs yearns
to have
needs to have
they are the essential ingredients for winning


well for the lakers it is all happening
despite the losses of andrew bynum and trevor ariza
the lakers are playing great ball
kobe is unifying the brotherhood and comradery on the floor more than
ever and playing at his usual(bad word choice!) astronomical level of
stellar play
lamar is playing the best ball of his career, driving to the hole
with style and grace and power, outwitting his defenders, scoring
consistently , and eating up the boards like they're corn chips at a
super bowl party
if he can find the confidence in his jumshot he will really be over
the top
pau gasol is doing it all, scoring, blocking shots, passing like a
suave genius, playing hard d, running the floor like a guard
and so on.......
even luke walton who has a a sub par season, is coming out and
finding his stroke...


so after this first game against the nuggets
kobe has an off shooting game, and the lakers still prevail
behind crisp ball movement
especially inside, they were moving the ball so effectively in the
paint it was so FUN to watch
and the awesome game of pau gasol
all those 36 points 16 boards and 8 assists and most of them coming
in the first 3 quarters
and that most unusual and exotic gait he has with his arms and wrists
and legs all going in harmony and counterpoint to each other, i dont
know if any of you are familiar with the andre kertesz photo 'satiric
dancer' (you could google it) but that is what he looks like except
he's playing basketball with great gusto, that dude has such a sweet
shot
but for me, one of the most telling parts of the game
was when the lakers got down by 8 or 10 or so in the second quarter
and their was no panic at all, no feeling of desperation or anger
just focus and resolve and making the adjustments and doing what it
took to get back in to it and wax the nuggets
that is a huge difference between this laker team and those of the
last few years


one concern i have is
after the lakers practice and figure out how they are gonna readjust
and surprise the nuggets on wednesday
is geroge karl gonna call is son, laker coby karl at wheedle the
secret info from him
surreptitious calls at 3 am????
can coby manage to squirrel away information from his own dad?
could be be a spy for his dad?
is this a concern?
should he be locked away for the duration of the playoffs?
this must be considered


lamar odom is cool as hell
he has been playing with awesome focus and smoothness
i think he is my favorite laker
kind of like michael cooper was my favorite laker during the showtime
years
he's just a loveable rapscallion