# Game 1: Los Angeles Lakers (0) vs Denver Nuggets (0) - 4/20



## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

<img src="http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/8286/lalden1ug1.png">​


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

*Re: Game 1: Lakers vs Nuggets - Series Tied 0-0*

Awesome graphics.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

*Re: Game 1: Lakers vs Nuggets - Series Tied 0-0*

Thank you

I hope the Lakers start out fast in the game and set the tone for the series.


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

*Re: Game 1: Lakers vs Nuggets - Series Tied 0-0*

Let's get this started right..


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

Playoffs are here baby!!


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## Rentaponcho (Jun 30, 2006)

Sunday at noon, oh that will be lovely


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

ugh...I have an open house (real estate)to do. Have to tivo it until 4pm without anyone telling me the outcome....wish me luck on that


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

We've got to get thing started on a high note. We can't underestimate the Nuggets, who are probably going to come out firing, trying to steal the home court advantage. We've just got to keep playing like we have been, and we shouldn't have a problem. Denver plays zero defense, so scoring shouldn't be an issue; however, I'm worried about our own defense which exists in some games, and disappears in others. But I think when it comes down to it, Phil's going to have this team playing some very good defense. There's no way Kobe and company let this team lose in the 1st round for the third straight year. 

Sunday can't get here any sooner! Let's go Lakers!


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

I hope Gasol doesn't get in foul trouble. Having Radmanovic on Anthony makes that a strong possibility.


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

*Re: Game 1: Lakers vs Nuggets - Series Tied 0-0*

Iverson is ready:



> "Everybody knows how big that stage is," Iverson said. "I relish the moment. This is what I play basketball for. This is why I love it so much. The competitive part of me is going to definitely come out. It would have come out regardless who we played or who we played against, but definitely under the bright lights, those are the moments I cherish."
> 
> Just like his matchup with Kobe Bryant.
> 
> ...


http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280416007


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

what if you're scared of dogs?


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

Some bulletin board material for Kobe? Should be fun!


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

AI is a big kobe fan, so i dont know if it really helps fire kobe up.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

I actually think we could lose this game or have a bad 1st half. Its been quite awhile since we've played them so getting a feel for how we can attack may take a half maybe the whole game. 

2 things are clear to me that we need to prevent. Turnovers,if we turn it over they will fast break us to death gotta be very careful throwing passes and dribbling into credit. PG's need to be careful throwing that little side post pass to Kobe thats gets stolen quite a bit and throwing the ball to whoever AI is guarding.

And Kobe needs to start fast and be agressivehe he has a huge advantage this series I mean an exaggerated advantage. Force the Nuggets to go big with Kleiza or Kmart switched off. 

Carter can't even think about guarding Kobe so there's no need for Kobe to ease into the game attack early then pull back. 

Gasol should score easily against Camby's defense, and Lamar needs to just continue slashing weakside. 

Camby's lack of bulk should enable Gasol to get deep postion and swing into the lane, his movss and hooks with either hand should work.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

camby lacks bulk, but so does gasol... remember how dampier manhandled him? i think twice too. in the two games dampier has played against gasol combined, he score 27 points on him (13.5 a game) and grabbed 28 rebounds (14 per game). he muscled his way in against a soft gasol.

gasol has good footwork and fundamentals... camby may be able to overcome that with his food footwrk on defense.


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## Ghiman (May 19, 2003)

Lakers got this in five. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and give the Nugs one game


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Dammit Eternal... Screw your Eastern time!


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Lakers win Games: 1,2,4,5...

Nuggets win Game 3.


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## Sliccat (Oct 16, 2004)

Hey Eternal, would you mind putting a duplicate of this in the nuggets' forum? We don't really have a mod.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

Sliccat said:


> Hey Eternal, would you mind putting a duplicate of this in the nuggets' forum? We don't really have a mod.


I'll go ahead and post it in your forum and give credit to Eternal for the layout.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

afobisme said:


> camby lacks bulk, but so does gasol... remember how dampier manhandled him? i think twice too. in the two games dampier has played against gasol combined, he score 27 points on him (13.5 a game) and grabbed 28 rebounds (14 per game). he muscled his way in against a soft gasol.
> 
> gasol has good footwork and fundamentals... camby may be able to overcome that with his food footwrk on defense.


I don't quite get this post. 

Dampier is much bigger than Gasol muscle wise Camby isn't. Gasol was still able to score on Dampier, and he'll score on the thin Camby as well. Camby isn't a post player offensively while Damp is capable of catching and getting deep postion and finishing. 

I think other than weakside shot blocking Gasol should have an advantage in the match up. Camby is solid post defense wise man up but not stellar.


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## Plastic Man (Nov 8, 2004)

Well, I don't feel like typing much. Time to show our worth in the Playoffs after the spectacular season!

Go Lakers!!!


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

jazzy1 said:


> I don't quite get this post.
> 
> Dampier is much bigger than Gasol muscle wise Camby isn't. Gasol was still able to score on Dampier, and he'll score on the thin Camby as well. Camby isn't a post player offensively while Damp is capable of catching and getting deep postion and finishing.
> 
> I think other than weakside shot blocking Gasol should have an advantage in the match up. Camby is solid post defense wise man up but not stellar.


the point of my post is to say that gasol is not strong. he's definitely not stronger than camby, so there's no way he can back him down for good positioning. he gets manhandled by a strong big, so there's no way he can push camby around. i don't know where you got the idea where pau gasol was strong, but it's not true.. that's probably why he's not a great rebounder.

i think a guy like camby would defend gasol better than a guy like dampier (but i think dampier might be better with rebounds, since he can push pau around so easily).. camby has good footwork/athleticism/length to contest pau's shots, and he's strong enough to hold his ground.


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## Plastic Man (Nov 8, 2004)

To set your debate to rest, here how Gasol performs against Camby (since he wears the Nuggets uniform):
In 10 games (I excluded one where Camby came off the bench and played only 10 minutes and one when Gasol played only 15 minutes because the starters rested before the playoffs), Pau averages 17,7 points per game on 50,4% shooting. I'm guessing playing in a lot more potent offense and being the beneficiary of Bryant's double teaming should help him get the otherwise already solid numbers up. But I could be wrong . I'm hoping for the latter of course.

And some research I posted in the General Board thread that makes me feel a bit better going into this series. The record of both of the teams against the other top 7 seeds in the West:

Denver: 
10-15 against the other 7 seeds. They've only won one road game; it was on the 6th of December @ Dallas. So whil they're 9-3 at home against the rest of the West's best, they're a dismal 1-12 against those teams on the road. Playing at +5000 feet must have it's benefits, eh? 

Los Angeles:
16-9 against the other 7 seeds. Splitting the series with the Hornets (1 home and 1 away loss), Spurs (2 away losses) and losing 1-2 against the Rockets (1 away victory); 3-1 against Dallas (1 away loss), Phoenix (1 home loss) and Utah (1 away loss) and 3-0 against Denver.

peace


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## DANNY (Aug 9, 2005)

man it feels like a month passed by without a laker game


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## Dominate24/7 (Oct 15, 2006)

DANNY said:


> man it feels like a month passed by without a laker game


I know! We still got 48 hours!


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

Plastic Man said:


> To set your debate to rest, here how Gasol performs against Camby (since he wears the Nuggets uniform):
> In 10 games (I excluded one where Camby came off the bench and played only 10 minutes and one when Gasol played only 15 minutes because the starters rested before the playoffs), Pau averages 17,7 points per game on 50,4% shooting. I'm guessing playing in a lot more potent offense and being the beneficiary of Bryant's double teaming should help him get the otherwise already solid numbers up. But I could be wrong . I'm hoping for the latter of course.
> 
> And some research I posted in the General Board thread that makes me feel a bit better going into this series. The record of both of the teams against the other top 7 seeds in the West:
> ...


i don't think anything you posted really settles the debate. 

assuming that pau would score more with the lakers is an assumption. no absolute truth to it. im not saying youre wrong as it may be true, but not necessarily. pau gets more easy baskets, but he also shoots less. 

here are the facts 

before the trade, pau averaged 18.9ppg/8.8rbg/3.0apg
after the trade, pau averaged 18.8ppg/7.8rbg/3.5 apg

going by your numbers, if he's average 17.4ppg and 50% fg, then that's about par. with his career average.

oh and everything we've discussed doesn't prove or disprove pau's inability to back camby down in the post for good positioning - the closest thing we have is just observation. camby is probably similar to pau in appearence, but camby is just plain stronger than pau.


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## Wilt_The_Stilt (Jun 7, 2002)

A lot of players Pau goes up against are stronger than him but he always seem to do fine on the offensive end. I don't think that will change against Camby.


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## ceejaynj (Oct 9, 2005)

I'm too lazy to check the records this morning...but is this Pau's first playoff appearance in the NBA???


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## Plastic Man (Nov 8, 2004)

No. 3 appearances, 3 sweeps (0-12 record for the lazy ).


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Plastic Man said:


> No. 3 appearances, 3 sweeps (0-12 record for the lazy ).


Yeah he has yet to win a playoff game.


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## ceejaynj (Oct 9, 2005)

Plastic Man said:


> No. 3 appearances, 3 sweeps (0-12 record for the lazy ).


Thanks PM! :cheers:


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

> Nene is doubtful for the Nuggets game against the Lakers on Sunday afternoon, according to the Denver Post.
> 
> He is suffering from a strained right groin, with the team opening their playoff series against Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon.
> 
> ...


...


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

Well that's good news for us if he is out.


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## knicksfan89 (Jan 6, 2005)

Eternal said:


> Well that's good news for us if he is out.


certainly is and now he is DEFIETNELY out of game one so that is great for us 
GO LAKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

> *No players injured as Nuggets team bus catches fire*
> 
> 
> The Denver Nuggets bus caught on fire en route to their game with the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
> ...


...


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## thaKEAF (Mar 8, 2004)

Damn you Nene.


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

Damn! You serious??! It caught fire? Good thing no one was injured. Now with that said...thats a bad omen for the Nuggets.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Is that James Earl Jones doing ABC's voice overs? That is ****ing awesome!

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RaZyxCAYuoc&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RaZyxCAYuoc&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

JVG! NOOOOOOo


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Wow. What the **** are we doing?


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Vlad picks up his second foul. 

Jesus, two ****ty calls already.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

And now a foul on kobe.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Where the **** is everyone?


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Offensive looks pretty good early. Too many fouls


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Can we maybe play some transition d?


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## Dominate24/7 (Oct 15, 2006)

Cris said:


> Can we maybe play some transition d?


Yeah, that would be cool. I guess they just want to keep things interesting.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

that would probably be asking too much


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Why is kobe hucking so much?


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Kobe needs to stop shooting.


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

I would've never expected Kenyon to hold Kobe down like this. J.R. is killing us.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

kobe just needs to pass, or drive to the hoop.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Kinda sad Luke is the second leading scorer.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

I sure hope we take at least ten more three point shots before the end of the half.. I mean.. We haven't taken enough already thats for sure.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Kobe gets his 3rd on a ****ty call


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Radman has played 4 minutes and also has 3 fouls.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Odom always steps up for the playoffs.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

Gasol is hitting everything it seems. Just amazing game from him.

Same can't be said for Kobe.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

I love the two man game Odom and Gasol run. They have such a chemistry together.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

odom and gasol and dishing


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

Wow Odom is great... 9 rebounds in first half!


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

Sasha with the block!


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Eternal said:


> Gasol is hitting everything it seems. Just amazing game from him.
> 
> Same can't be said for Kobe.


Give Odom some love.. He's setup Gasol for almost every shot attempt. As well as getting the boards. If Odom wasn't out there, we would be in trouble.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

CDRacingZX6R said:


> Give Odom some love.. He's setup Gasol for almost every shot attempt. As well as getting the boards. If Odom wasn't out there, we would be in trouble.


Look at my post before yours.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

You know you're screwed when Kobe goes 2/10 and you're still losing.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Cris said:


> You know you're screwed when Kobe goes 2/10 and you're still losing.


No doubt about it... We played bad defense for most of the half and Kobe's shooting poorly and we walk away with the lead. Can't find much to argue about in there.

I suspect Kobes shooting wont be so bad in the next half.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

Yeah hopefully Kobe can catch fire. Game will be over if he does.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Eternal said:


> Look at my post before yours.


You probably used mod powers and changed it last second to not look like your biased towards Gasol. I'm on to your games. :raised_ey


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Odom is having his way


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

4 on Kobe. Jesus.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

What a shot by Kobe!


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

I hate JVG


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

3 for Radman!


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

God.. Who here doesn't get chills watching Gasol and Odom run the two man game? You got a legit seven footer, and Odom who is almost a seven footer running the floor together in a two man game. It's a beautiful thing to watch. It almost gets me chocked up.


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## Eternal (Sep 7, 2005)

Imagine if Bynum was here.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

that was not a flagrant foul..


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## Dominate24/7 (Oct 15, 2006)

Great 3rd quarter! Then Kobe tries to shoot the Nuggets back in the game.


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## Dominate24/7 (Oct 15, 2006)

It is definitely not his shooting night.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

Machine


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## Dean the Master (Feb 19, 2006)

Kobe has not been shooting well. It's cool though, the Lakers still got the lead. I am sure he will have his shooting back. 

Oh, what a move by AI.


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## Dean the Master (Feb 19, 2006)

The Lakers got this game. AI just got thrown out of the game for double technical fouls. That was a nice ally dunk from Bryant.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

Kobe played a bad game but we still got the W. This series shouldn't be to tough as long as we keep passing the ball he's not gonna shoot that ball that badly every game.

One concern is guarding JR Smith and Kleiza but I think we can cut them up with our passing.


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## sonicFLAME6 (Dec 19, 2006)

Lamar for POTG!


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Undefeated82 said:


> Lamar for POTG!


Gasol had the stats.. But it's hard to deny the hustle, intellegence and ability Lamar showed out there tonight. He's my POTG.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

I thought Lamar was the key as well he rebounded, passed ball handled defended, I mean he was outstanding. Gasol's success today was built largely on Odom's ability to pass and slice the lane.

Odom was the man.


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

Naw man! POTG for Pau! He finally got his 1st playoff win. Lamar will have another chance soon enough. 

Kobe's jumper was off today. That finger must still be affecting him. I just wish hed realize earlier that his jumper is off and just drive to the basket. He came through in the end but still not a pretty game.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

Yeah Kobe played an awful game, not just that he was missing but was taking bad shots and making stupid fouls. 

He just seemed out of sync. The zone really bothered us for a short stint. 

Gasol was terrific he or Odom is cool for POTG.


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## sonicFLAME6 (Dec 19, 2006)

I still can't believe Luke had a better game then Kobe lol. Our offense with Odom in the game was running so efficient, that's why I chose Lamar over Pau. Lamar was creating for everyone.


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## The One (Jul 10, 2005)

CubanLaker said:


> Kobe's jumper was off today. That finger must still be affecting him. I just wish hed realize earlier that his jumper is off and just drive to the basket. He came through in the end but still not a pretty game.


From what I saw, kobe really wanted badly to drive to the basket but both Martin and Smith played kobe far and did not bite on any drbbles daring him to shoot. Either kobe has to shoot or pass, which will literaly take him out of the offense sense kobe would not have drawn any double teams or broke down his defender.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

As much as I loved what Odom did, I've got to give POTG to Pau. I'll have a new thread created for the Playoffs tonight and get things rolling on that once again.

And, as I posted in the thread in the Playoffs forum:

Gasol and Odom were absolutely terrific in this game. They were not going to let the Lakers lose, even when Kobe was having a horrid game. While he did end up with 32 points, he took 26 shots to get there, which can't happen. Not sure what he was doing out there, but I expect that he'll fix what he did wrong today. Maybe he wasn't expecting Martin to guard him, so he was caught off guard. I don't expect Kobe to have as bad a game as this for the rest of the entire playoffs, but I do expect Gasol and Odom to play like that more often. They were the MVPs of this game for sure.

I love the fact that we can still win by double digits even when Melo and AI score 30 each and Kobe has a terrible game. Denver had a good shot at stealing home-court today, and still couldn't get the job done, which is why I continue to think this series goes no more than 5 games.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

Basel57 said:


> As much as I loved what Odom did, I've got to give POTG to Pau. I'll have a new thread created for the Playoffs tonight and get things rolling on that once again.
> 
> And, as I posted in the thread in the Playoffs forum:
> 
> ...


I agree series shouldn't go longer than 5 games.

UNLESS Karl changes his teams hameplan. Play zone keep a big on the outside where Kobe is and play Kleiza and JR Smith big minutes and hope they're hitting. 

Because if they play man to man they're dead maybe sweapt. Our passing game is just too much against anything they're doing man up.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

i liked lamar's intensity, especially early out. pau played a great game no doubt, but a lot of his baskets were from someone else's creation on offense (usually kobe or lamar). he caught the ball and layed it in or dunked it today.

lamar's intensity and rebounding is what got us off to the early start.



CubanLaker said:


> *Naw man! POTG for Pau! He finally got his 1st playoff win.* Lamar will have another chance soon enough.
> 
> Kobe's jumper was off today. That finger must still be affecting him. I just wish hed realize earlier that his jumper is off and just drive to the basket. He came through in the end but still not a pretty game.


i don't know why he should get potg for his first playoff win. it's like giving someone an MVP award for a lifetime achievement.


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

afobisme said:


> i don't know why he should get potg for his first playoff win. it's like giving someone an MVP award for a lifetime achievement.


Well hes got the numbers to take it too. I figure 36 pts 16 reb 8 asst and 3 blocks *and* getting your 1st playoff win is worthy of POTG.


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## 77AJ (Feb 16, 2005)

Great win for the Lakers. 

Also Pau just owned through out the game. And Odom was also great!


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## Dominate24/7 (Oct 15, 2006)

Lamar played with intensity, but it didn't seemed forced. The guy was smooth and a big reason why we came out on top. Welcome to the winning side of the playoffs, Pau!


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## Wilt_The_Stilt (Jun 7, 2002)

Kobe played a terrible game. He didn't just have an off-night, he was taking terrible shots and making bad decisions.

Thankfully Odom and Pau played great games. They work off each other so well. The Nugget big men aren't very physical so Pau and Odom can dominate the paint.

I'd imagine we won't see very much of Carter and we will see a lot more zone defense and Kenyon v Kobe when they go man. Hopefully we (and Kobe in particular)can adjust.


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

Kobe has got to play better. It wasn't so much the amount of shots he missed as it was the shot selection. With our capability of getting easy looks by working the ball around, there is absolutely no need to chuck up stupid jump shots. Yes, we scored 126 points. But go back and look at how many of Kobe's jumpers resulted in easy fast break opportunities. That plays right into Denver's hands and in essence, played a big role in allowing them to hang around like they did. The positive? Kobe played like **** and we won by double digits. Odom was excellent! When Bynum returns, we have got to find a way to keep him working on the weakside. I'm pleased with this game 1. Touch up the obvious points and this should be a quick series.


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## Dominate24/7 (Oct 15, 2006)

Bartholomew Hunt said:


> Kobe has got to play better. It wasn't so much the amount of shots he missed as it was the shot selection. With our capability of getting easy looks by working the ball around, there is absolutely no need to chuck up stupid jump shots. Yes, we scored 126 points. But go back and look at how many of Kobe's jumpers resulted in easy fast break opportunities. That plays right into Denver's hands and in essence, played a big role in allowing them to hang around like they did. The positive? Kobe played like **** and we won by double digits. Odom was excellent! When Bynum returns, we have got to find a way to keep him working on the weakside. I'm pleased with this game 1. Touch up the obvious points and this should be a quick series.


Exactly. That was my perspective when I wrote that post about Kobe shooting the Nuggets back in the game. The Lakers were moving the ball really well. Then Kobe starting running isos for himself on like 3 straight possessions early in the fourth quarter, which cut the lead down in half. That was really frustrating.


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## ceejaynj (Oct 9, 2005)

I agree. Despite his stats, not one of Kobe's better games...especially his shot selection. As a team, we kept on letting them back in the game...due mostly to bad transition defense. We still gave up way too many layups, and we still did not have the total "killer instinct" today. We will be fine after looking at the film and making the proper adjustments.


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