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John Denver is rolling over in his grave right now

I have no idea whether the folk icon was an NBA hoops fan, much less a supporter of Johndenver that squad the Lakers beat down 102-84.  But anyone affiliated with Colorado on some level would be embarrassed by the horrific effort put forth by the hosting squad.  Not to downplay the excellence of the purple and gold, who played an extremely disciplined and efficient game on both sides of the ball.  After weathering a tight first half of Kobe Bryant foul trouble -- Pau Gasol's 13 points were key-- the Lakers blew the doors off in no time flat, quickly turning a must-win game for Denver into a laugher along the lines of Must-See TV.  The box score shows five Lakers in double figures, often the result of crisp ball movement that created 26 assists.  The Lakers also contested any and every ball put up by Denver, often forcing their opponent to take bad shots from a sizable distance.  They even limited Allen Iverson and Carmelo  Anthony to a combined 10-38 from the field.

-- Image courtesy of Rolling Stone

Even more striking, however, was the complete lack of corazon scraped together by Denver with their backs against the wall.  Once things started going bad (and even when fairly well), the Nuggets were lifeless and lacking passion, playing like guys with a hankering from some early May Cancun.  I predicted this would be the one game Denver pulled out, which I was clearly -- and thankfully -- wrong about (although I did get the part about upped physicality right).  But I'm still willing to stand by my other take on the series.  One more game and the series is done.  Call me crazy, but these Nuggets ain't the kind of team that will pull themselves up by the bootstraps and go out tough with the chips down.  If they had any pride, they'd have played with it today.  I expect more of the unfocused same from Denver, with the biggest threat being a Laker getting injured by with an overzealous hard foul (assuming Denver will even bother at this point).  Hopefully, everyone will get out in one piece to prep for Utah or Houston.

AK      

Comments

Hey those cats in Denver will do what ever they can to stop us from sweeping them.

It ain't going to be easy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYt_gnGogSI

I have to admit I was way off in my prediction of this series.I really thought with all the talent the Nuggets have they would put up a better fight.If I was a Nugget fan I think I would be going crazy with the way the Nuggets have played in this series.Denver would probably be a better team right now if they never made that AI-Andre Miller trade and had JR Smith starting at the two.I would imagine the next series against Utah won't be this easy.

Big up to all those fans chanting "MVP" for KB24 near the end of the game ... that must have felt like redemption for Kobe.

I might be wrong but I felt like the Kobe and the Lakers eviscerated the Nugs, just ripped the heart right out of them. This Lakers team is better than I thought and that's a good thing.

The Funs and and the Big Cactus won't sleep easy and rest well tonight, and the Lakers performance will be added misery.

Ha! My cup runneth over!

Yep, I agree. The major danger in Game 4 won't be losing the game but losing a player due to a frustrated Nugget hard foul.

Knowing that at some point we're going to be be forced to play better defense, I sometimes wonder if it wouldn't have been better to have someone push us in round one so that we turn that corner early rather than when it's to late.

But, the more I think about it, the more I think that we're never going to be great defensively with our current injuries. If we're going to win, we must do so with great offense, basically consistent and occasionally great defense and Kobe. During the three-peat we were dominant offensively and, well better on defense during the playoffs than we were before them.

I believe that the most important thing with Phil's teams is to create a culture of winning, the belief that we're winners and to ride that for all it's worth. The great rhythm, the cockiness and the belief in our own greatness may not be enough to win it all this year, but it certainly may, and its our best shot.

And for those things, there only one sure fire recipe: the Denver Nuggets (apparently).

Anywho,

GO LAKERS!

Any thought on if the league might change some of those fouls to Flagrant 1 after the fact.

They've done it to Kobe before including a suspension.

There were 3 from Denver today that to me were clearly flagrant and worthy of more than just the foul that was called. The punch to Sasha, almost breaking Lamar's arm, and knocking Luke out of the air.

Cheap and dirty all of them, and I hope it's not a sign of what's to come in game 4.

I'd rather see Houston as our next opponent. I think the Lakers can beat either team, but Houston will be an easier route.

Then, I'm hoping for New Orleans. I can see the Lakers beating NO in 6 games.

Hey, I like John Denver and he died in California.

GO LAKERS!

As for Luke Walton, well, I guess I've been wrong all season. He's doing great. Vlad seems more confused than usual.

I never thought I would be saying this...but I am so proud of Luke Walton...I hope his play continues throughout the rest of the playoffs...he is finally playing like he did at the beginning of last year.

I am like a proud mama watching her child grow up and leave home for good...(My daughter is 17 and I am anticipating how happy I am going to be when she leaves next year for college so this is good practice!)...LOL

I hope the Lakers close out the series on Monday. As much as it would be nice to do it in Los Angeles, injuries as previously mentioned, can occur.

p.s. Where's Bynum?

One thing that disturbed me about this game was not the physical play of the Nouguts, but the injury generating play of the Nouguts.

Several times in the game, they were trying to hurt our players.

Najera's elbow to the throat of Sasha could literally have killed Sasha if delivered properly.

I mean, I shout out "Punch him in the throat!!" all the time, but it is purely rhetoric. You can seriously hurt/kill somebody that way. Najera elbowing Sasha in the throat deserves not only a flagrant two, but a multi-game suspension, if not worse. (Like being barred from the NBA. He could have killed Sasha.)

Sasha's lucky.

The Nouguts know they can't win, but they want to bring the Lakers down with them... and that disturbs me... greatly.

GO LAKERS!

LOL - AK grasping at straws to come up with some new opener for the new thread!!! JOHN DENVER???!!!! LOL!!!!

Anyhoo......GREAT WIN!!!! I'm so excited and can't wait for game 4. I, like the rest of you, are more worried about someong getting hurt than about losing. I originally thought we'd do it in 5, but 4 is looking good! I'm thinking the Muggets will play much like they did today - chippy but not enough to do serious damage. At least that's what I'm hoping - you never know with some of these guys, but hopefully some good sportmanship will prevail.

LakerTom - your posts are right on! I'm impressed - especiallly by your modesty & humility - LOL! Just kidding - you should be writing for the papers instead of some of the tools they've got now!

The "Championship Bandwagon" is burning it up baby! Break out the squeegee's - there are a ton of trolls getting run over & we don't want anything to slow us down!!

I wonder how the Funs & their fans will sleep tonight? They're down 0-3, we're up 3-0 - they must be dying inside!!!! It's a great time to be a Lakers fan!! This is SWEET!!!

GO LAKERS!

The BEAN for MVP and FINALS MVP or NO PEACE!

NO CHAMPIONSHIP - NO PEACE!!!!!!!

Hey, I like John Denver and he died in California.

GO LAKERS!

Posted by: Jon K.
--------------------------------------------------
Not to sound morbid, but I think he died just OFF California.....................lol.

This nuggets squad should be suspended from the league. They were trying to hurt our guys, Nene tried to rip LO's arm out of socket, LO should have kneed him in his good testicle. KMart is an idiot. Did u guys hear Melo said that the team from coaches on down quit in the 4th? I think this is Karl's last yr as thier coach. and I wont be surprise if AI ask to be traded.

I hope the refs don;t let them get to out of hand in gm 4. How bout that kid Luke, man he is playing like an allstar these days. I am beaming with pride and joy.
GO LAKERS

One more, boys, one more.

Props to Luke for 3 very good games. Taking a page out of Shaq's old book. Hope Luke can continue to do this against teams that actually play D.

Go for the jugular on Monday!

What a great game! After all of the game 3 dissapointments around the league I was a little afraid the altitude and home-court shift would hurt us a little bit but we managed to man handled Enver and now we should be chanting...

SSSWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP!

So,

During Game 4, whether you are in a recliner, on a couch or at your local pub watching with other Laker buds, everyone should think that 'something good' will happen when Luke has the ball instead of cringing when he has it.

Channel those positive vibes in his direction.
MVP for first series???

Cameron,

I have to disagree with you about the Laker defense. I think they are playing good to very good defense. We are holding the Nuggets to 101.7 ppg. That is 9 ppg below their average. George Karl gave the Lakers props in his post game interview and said he could count on one hand the number of time his team was defended like that.

JMO

Here's a few things the Denver fans are saying!!

Quote:
Made the playoffs in a tough conference = good season.

Quote:
All I have to say is thank goodness the Nuggets just squeezed into the playoffs. Better to get exposed this year, then with the same team next year.

Quote:
seeing them lose like this... 0-3 ... losing every game by 10+ ... is like being cheated by your girlfriend

Quote:
There is a game left. Nothing to play for really might as well end your run while we are at it. Kinda sorta like the cheap foot Kobe slid under Melo earlier in the year. It wouldn't bother me to see that payback happen.


Quote:
Bring JR in and ride him and his fantasy land shots.

Quote:
i hope they get swept.......... i dont even want them to win 1 game

Id rather they all stay in denver and lose in front of a crowd that should be booing them

Quote:
Quote:
fans should be booing this gutless team-

Why would all those Laker fans be booing the Nuggets? They should be cheering them.

Quote:
lol ai miss again

Quote:
The Nuggets are so funny. Down by 18 so they start shoving people around like they are badasses

Quote:
remember guys, it is written in the Nuggets handbook that they can only play decent bball for a few minutes a game lol

Quote:
the whole team is smiling - stupid

Quote:
They're pumped for their vacation fellas.

Quote:
They're pumped for their vacation fellas.They're pumped for their vacation fellas.

Quote:
Thanks for doing your dumbness, Melo.
We're done.

Quote:
melo turnover

moron

Quote:
i wish we had darko

Quote:
i hope they fight in the locker room and all the staters get suspended lol


Quote:
I hope we flame out so bad that AI opts out on us.

Quote:

Even if LA tried to lose, the Nuggets wouldn't let it happen.


Atlanta should be as proud of their Hawks as Denver is ashamed of their Nuggs.

Up on Boston by 12 with a minute left in the third.
GO ATLANTA!!!!!!!!

Boston down 10 at end of 3

If Kobe keeps playing the style of ball that he has the last two games, and doesn't revert to his game 1 game, the Lakers will be very hard to beat.

I agree w/pslakerfan. Although we don't look overly intense on D, we seem to be playing very smart. We force them into a lot of bad shots and get hands on the ball all the time. While it would be nice to have AB back there blocking those easy shots that they get sometimes, I think we're playing very solid D and it's frustrating a dangerous 50 win team. I think we're making them look bad and them giving up is due to this frustration.

why did PJ put KB back in the 4th? gameover. risk of injury too great

To quote BK:

"The defense has been spotty, but overall I don't think it's been particularly bad, overall. Denver is going to score. A lot. The "keep them under 100 points" concept is admirable, but not particularly realistic."

To which the Lakers can only respond "84 points".

It's good to be a Laker's fan...

as i said before in the begining of the playoffs, 4-0 all the way baby!!!!

cant believe you guys are still second doubting bout us meeting whoever in the next rounds!!!! were the *ucking lakers man. we can face anyone! wheres your sprits dudes???

4-0 all the way baby!!!

anyhow, the ENVER THUGGETS really showed class. ENK NOT!!!

PURPLE & GOLD BABY!!!

CELTICS LOSING...

Hawks by 15 with 7 minutes to go in fourth quarter.

Tom

I didn't particularly mean to disparage the Lakers' defense as much as I may have done in my previous comment. I should perhaps have emphasized that we will have to win knock-down drag-out wars with tough, interior minded teams that rebound well and score in the paint with their big men and their backs to the basket. That's a different kind of physicality and requires and different type of play than the jump-shooting, lane slashing, occasionally hard fouling, and generally unprofessional Denver team requires.

We can win those games, we just haven't had to yet. That could be a bad thing or a good thing. Our of pure homer-ism and optimism, I argued above that it was a good thing. We'll see.

GO LAKERS

ATL is kicking the celts azz right now. 100-88 with 1:19 to go. Please let hawks hold on to this win. The celts need to be slapoed back to reality. Bibby is shooting them out of the game. Send his azz back to the queens. Josh Smith is a stud. That kid Hordford is a stud, and he knows how to win.

I have my broom ready for our sweep
DIrector or win #8. I have scouted and ready for my report.

Speaking of John Denver there's a song that I think fits for us laker fans...

"Country road
Take me home
To the place (NBA Finals)
I belong
Figueroa, Larry O'Mama
Take me home
Country road..."

The Lakers and Kobe have played very good ball, and improved each game.

Offensive effeciencey has been excellent.

Now it looks like the D is starting to catch up. Yikes

Lakers are acting like they are in school and applying themselves.

They are focused, the glasses are on and they are intent on getting better.

Its exams baby, and they are acing the test!

CELTICS LOSE TO HAWKS...

Atlanta 102 - Boston 93.

Tom

I have to admit I was way off in my prediction of this series.I really thought with all the talent the Nuggets have they would put up a better fight.If I was a Nugget fan I think I would be going crazy with the way the Nuggets have played in this series.Denver would probably be a better team right now if they never made that AI-Andre Miller trade and had JR Smith starting at the two.I would imagine the next series against Utah won't be this easy.

Posted by: jf | April 26, 2008 at 06:20 PM

jf,

Great post mate. I didn't think Denver had a chance at all in this series because they're too undisciplined on offense and play NO defense.

As far as the Jazz are concerned, we won the season series 3-1 with all our wins being blowouts(Jazz blew us out in their one win at Utah) and Pau didn't play in any of those games. If we execute and run our offense and play defense the way we're capable of playing defense I wouldn't be surprise if we beat the Jazz in 4 or 5. Let me qualify my statement by saying it could be done if the Lakers play their game.

Atlanta shocks the Celtics tonight!!! Hortford was a beast tonight. Things are getting really interesting now. Go Lakers!!!

that guy looks like an older version of zac efron.

I've gotta call you guys out on that particular photo of JD. It's kind of sexed up and about as disturbing as the Meatloaf GoPhone commercial with his family.

The split-screen "There Can Be Only One" commercials are played out already.

I need Houston to win at least one more game so I'll be guaranteed to be back in LA for the start of Round 2.

Josh Smith had a couple pretty sick dunks in their win over Boston. I love that "extend the arm out to the side" type of dunk he threw down twice. Only he and LeBron have that in their arsenal. Unfortunately, Kobe doesn't have the size to pull off something like that.

Ex,

You hate Kobe SO much!

Yes, A.I. and Carmelo both bought new fishing lures this weekend in preparation of their early playoff exit, but the funniest thing of all was Shaq and Steve Nash chartering a boat for the entire group. They're all going fishing while the Lakers make a run at the championship.

It'll be very interesting to see what both the Suns and Nuggets try to do during the off season. Karl is definitely gone as Nuggets coach. He simply doesn't have control of the team. Also, either Mike D'Antoni or Steve Kerr is out in Phoenix. I suspect it'll be Mike D'Antoni since this is Kerr's 1st year. Kerr made the trade for Shaq and now they're stuck with Shaq for two more years. Shaq doesn't fit the Mike D'Antoni scheme of offense so look for D'Antoni to be gone. Maybe the Nuggets and the Suns trade coaches, LOL.

LEAGUE SET TO DISCUSS PLAYOFF FORMAT
by Chris McCosky for The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080426/SPORTS0102/804260350/1127/SPORTS0102

"Though I think it is unlikely anything will happen, we will explore it fully," commissioner David Stern said in an informal press briefing before the game Friday.

Tom

Know what I love?

The focus, the determination, the DEMORALIZATION.

I love that Kobe smells blood and he isnt going to let up.

This team will come ready for game 4 and play off of Kobe.

Let's not let them off the hook. Let's kill them and then get guys like Turiaf, Ariza, and Bynum more time to heal.

Then, let's get our mind focused and beat the heck out of Houston/Utah.

Those teams actually play D, so we might be in for a game 1 barnburner as we adjust ourselves...

we would have held the nuggets to a season low offensive performance in that game if we had to. They scored like 6 points in the last minute because the lakers played 0 defense at the end (which is fine).

May the Lakers put the Nuggets out of their misery on Monday.

May the Lakers put the Nuggets out of their misery on Monday.

Posted by: Myrhaf | April 26, 2008 at 08:36 PM

You forgot to say Amen lol

Korey,

That's why they call him the Mamba. What's great is it's seeming like every person in our team is embracing that same mentality. Pedal to the medal commander lol.

Luke is balling like he deserves to be in the NBA! Make me a believer Luke!!! Go Lakers! 4-0

Xodus,
I try to hide it, but every once in a while it sneaks out.

kenyon martion is a slugger not a basketball player. he tried dirty tactics against our players. i hate him.

"Najera's elbow to the throat of Sasha could literally have killed Sasha if delivered properly.
Sasha's lucky." (Posted by Jon K)

Jon K,

Sasha's defense is quite often, literally, in your face, if you know what I mean. It is good defense but is also very risky, since his neck usually is at the level of a swinging elbow. Most defensive players will allow a bit more space to his opponent than Sasha.
Having said that, I know Sasha does anticipate those elbows coming at him and would often sell the faul to the referee. He also knows how to annoy his opponent just a little and get under their skin.
I like Sasha and I believe he can become very valuable down the stretch deep into the playoffs!

the nuggets are dirty.

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