Lakers Pick Up Game 3
Well, I didn't get to see this game, but I did get to listen to the last six minutes or so on my drive home. Sounded like an odd game - Kobe not scoring in the first half; GP with 18 points. About the only thing that did seem familiar was the outcome - Lakers win 100-89 ; Shaq's free throw shooting - 8 for 22; and the Lakers inconsistent play down the stretch - up by 17 with five minutes left, to up by only 7 two minutes later, with the Wolves in possession of the ball and momentum.
The Wolves implemented what many teams have tried in the past - Hack-A-Shaq - and met with the same results as teams past. I don't get the Hack-A-Shaq approach. Yes, he averages less than 50% at the stripe, but he tends to shoot a tad better down the final stretch, it seems, and even if he shoots 50%, that means he's going to get, on average, 2 points per possession. With the average team shooting well below 50% from the field, it's not hard to see why Hack-A-Shaq rarely works. Add to that the fact that Hack-A-Shaq takes a team out of rhythm, slowing the game down, killing any momentum a team might enjoy from a good couple of trips down the floor. Yes, foul Shaq when he's got the ball down low and is about to posterize you, but don't run and foul him when he's off the ball. That's not a recipe for a W - just ask the Portland Trailblazers.
Game 4 is tomorrow, and Bryant has a court date in Eagle earlier in the day. Bryant has had big games when having to fly to Eagle on game days, so hopefully tomorrow will be no different. The Lakers need to follow up last night's victory with another one, sending a strong message to the Wolves that this series is going to be a short one.
The local media are still expecting the Lakers to steamroll the Wolves. A sports radio personality this morning predicted the Lakers would win Games 4 and 5 to close out the series 4-1. I hope the Lakers can manage that, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see this go six. It all depends on how well the Lakers play, how focused they stay, and whether or not Cassell can be any kind of factor in the remainder of the series.
Over in the East the Pacers and Pistons are still battling it out, with the Pistons taking a 2-1 series lead tonight. That series, I imagine, will go seven, and will do so as unattractively as possible. I checked out the game at Halftime - 35-30! Granted, the teams made it a bit more entertaining in the second half, but for a minute I thought we were going to see a final score of 69-64. Even if you're not a Laker fan, you have to feel good that the Finals aren't going to come down to Spurs v. Pistons, as those games would be lucky to break a combined point total of 125.