Trust me, we really don't want to play the Lakers...
by Andrew Feinstein on Apr 16, 2008 10:54 AM MDT
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I'm still blogging from LA these days, and God bestowed good fortune upon me last night as I received a last-minute invite to Lamar Odom's season-ending party at the Cabana Club in Hollywood. I don't want to over-analyze one party too much (plus, it's not like I ever get to go to these things), but what I observed last night told me a lot about this Lakers team. Trust me when I tell you this: we Nuggets fans should be very, very, very fearful of a matchup with the Lakers.First off, no matter what I say about the quality of the girls at this event (nevermind the healthy girl-to-guy ratio), I won't do them justice. Let's just say that if reincarnation is in fact true, I want to come back as a Laker player. There, I got that out of the way.
Second, let me preface what I'm about to say by stating that I hate the Lakers. I've hated them since they waxed the Nuggets in the 1985 Western Conference Finals and will always hate them.
Now for the observations...
-Even though there were champagne buckets everywhere, I never saw one of the players really drinking. Odom - the host - nursed the same glass of champagne for about an hour or so, and waved people off offering him refills. I never saw Ronny Turiaf, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, DJ Mbenga, Vladimir Radmonovic, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Coby Karl or Jordan Farmar drink anything. Trevor Ariza was a frequent visitor to the bar and drank bottle after bottle after bottle...of water. In light of Carmelo Anthony's potentially pending DUI charge, this was incredible.
-None of the players walked in with an entourage of more than two or three friends. In most cases, they just showed up solo or with another teammate (Gasol with Radmonovic, Turiaf with Ariza). The guy with the biggest entourage was Coby Karl, and believe me - his three friends aren't capable of getting him into any trouble.
-All the Lakers players exhibited real affection for one another. I saw every possible combination of teammates hugging each other, shaking hands, high fiving, swapping stories, etc. Their camaraderie was authentic.
-Most of these guys don't lie about their height, and if anything, they under-list themselves. I'm 6'5" and change, and I felt very short. The only guys whose listed height I'd question were Walton and Ariza, who might be off by an inch from their listed height (it must be a PAC-10 thing).
-Derek Fisher - the veteran and de facto godfather of the team - showed up last and was wearing a suit and tie. Meaning, he clearly had another engagement, but made sure he showed up anyway to support Odom and you could tell Odom was genuinely touched.
-I didn't see any Laker legends or celebrities other than Jimmy Goldstein, and I'll forever regret that I didn't talk to him. I totally pussed out, but I can assure you he had "better company" than me hanging around him.
-The biggest disappointment - and it's a big one - is that Kobe Bryant didn't show up. At least not while I was there, and I stayed until 1:30am. On our way out, we asked someone "in the know" as to why Kobe wasn't there and he said, as if it's well-known in LA, "you can't expect Kobe to show for these things."
Again, it was just one party that I fortunately stumbled into. I'm in no position to say it represents the Lakers or NBA players in general. But from what I gathered and already knew about this year's Laker team, this is a collection of professional basketball players who take their job seriously, genuinely like each other and are primed for a long postseason run. You add the best player and the best coach in the league on top of that, and if you think our beloved Nuggets are beating these guys in a playoff series, you're absolutely nuts.
And one more tidbit from the party. At one point I was hanging out with my friends and I get tapped on the shoulder. I turn around to see a super cute blonde coming by to say hello to me, and it was none other than Masha Kirilenko! Whenever you get two Masha sightings within five days, that's never a bad thing.
You better start praying for the Mavericks to lose tonight!
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Now as far as X's and O's go. The 3 games they played against each other don't say much about both teams chances against each other. Each game had players missing and or geling. The final game they played Melo got hurt and left in the second quarter. As far as Match-ups go...
Camby should be able to slow Gasol down... He's not quick as Dirk or Amare... and doesn stay on the 3 pt line like okur. He's more of a 15 footer shooter and post player.
As good as Kobe is defensively, he cannot guard Iverson or Melo. As a matter of fact nobody on thier team can. On the other hand Nobody on the Nuggets can check Kobe... Kobe averages 28 a game... Melo and AI, 52 a game... Two is better than one.
Kmart should give Odom fits but its not written in stone.
Lastly...
The Bench and roll players are the Keys. If JR can keep up his play he will be a huge +. Klieza also. And If Nene can give us somethingwe look even better. Thier Bench brings a lot of energy and toughness so we have to match that.
Also there is the wild cards... There has always been a hidden rivalry between AI and Kobe. I say hidden because the league kinda ignores it now and prefers to match him with Lebron or wade. Kobe brings the best out of AI. AI edges out in Head to head match up and thier numbers are on Par this season. I see AI torching the Lakers. The nUggets are a true "US AGAINST THE WORLD" Team. Nobody had anything good to say about them all year. Although the Nuggets are only 7 games behind the Lakers AI hasn't been mentioned once for a MVP consideration. And he's meant a lot to his team... This team feels like the black sheep of the playoffs. Outcasts. They can only depend on each other.
With that said I see this series going 7 games.... Lakers win in the end tho.... being as tho it'll be in LA...
by chillz on Apr 16, 2008 12:29 PM MDT reply actions
by Anonymous on Apr 16, 2008 2:10 PM MDT reply actions
by Anonymous on Apr 16, 2008 2:20 PM MDT reply actions
by Anonymous on Apr 16, 2008 2:24 PM MDT reply actions
That is the real problem - the Nuggets can play good D against anyone else - SA runs everything through TD or Manu; CP runs everything on the Hornets and it's all pick'n'roll; Dallas just runs complex isos; Houston doesn't really have offense anymore; Suns do helter-skelter and pick'n'roll - we can hang with any of them, but against the SLoan offense and the Triangle, they execute too well. See the games v Utah, LAL and Pistons this year for evidence of team offense destroying the Nuggets, especially down the stretch when opponents needed a bucket.
Go Hornets tonight, CP3 v AI, West/Chandler v KMart/Camby, all great matchups. Plus it's a series the Nuggets can actually win!
by Eric B on Apr 16, 2008 4:04 PM MDT reply actions
That said, officiating is WAY down the list of reasons the Nuggets would fail in a series vs the Lakers.
Liquid courage, the kind Melo and company like to partake in so much only goes so far against players who need no such crutch.
Its kinda like the theory I hear proposed by so many people: just fake it 'till ya make it. Well, if you don't have to fake it (ie, playing DEFENSE or trusting your teammates) your already that much ahead of your opponent.
Oh, and I really, really feel terrible posting anything, anywhere about the positive nature of these current Lakers. Ugh....ouch.
by GeneralPhysician on Apr 16, 2008 4:09 PM MDT reply actions
by Sigaba on Apr 16, 2008 4:25 PM MDT reply actions
If we were fundamentally sound on defense (or signed Artest) we would have been in a much better situation.
by j2y2k3 on Apr 16, 2008 4:34 PM MDT reply actions
you're dead on right, the nuggets would be favored against the rockets and dogs versus everyone else; but they're odds v lakers and jazz are insurmountable, they CAN take any of the other teams in a series as dogs, especially the hornets. let's just hope the playoffs aren't over before they start for the 5th straight year
by Eric B on Apr 16, 2008 4:39 PM MDT reply actions
Man if Dallas pulls this out.
by Anonymous on Apr 16, 2008 7:31 PM MDT reply actions
by Anonymous on Apr 16, 2008 7:42 PM MDT reply actions
I don't see the Lakers coming out of the West.
j, I agree with your post, too. The Hornets will give us fits because we don't have anyone that can keep up with Chris Paul.
We MIGHT be able to play with the Rockets, whose clock might be ticking close to midnight.
by DeAngelo Starnes on Apr 16, 2008 8:38 PM MDT reply actions
by Anonymous on Apr 16, 2008 9:19 PM MDT reply actions
All you need to get positive! Nugs are gonna win the series in six games. Eggs are ready Andrew!
by Shaun on Apr 16, 2008 9:38 PM MDT reply actions
Go MELO!
by tyrone johnson on Apr 16, 2008 9:59 PM MDT reply actions
I don't know how effective Kobe is gaurding Melo, but I know for a fact he gets in foul trouble everytime gaurding Iverson. Even though the Lakers swept the season series. Both teams have yet to play eachother at full strength. Without Bynum, the Lakers are very soft on the inside. I could go on, but my point is BOTH teams have weaknesses...and there is only 7 games seperating teams 1-8 so please for the love of god stop acting as if the Lakers are so much above everyone else.
I'm not saying that I think the Nuggets can win against them in a 7game series, but i'm not saying they don't have a shot either. I'm not worried about the players on the floor as much as I am worried about the people on the bench (the Coaches). The playoffs are a different situation and in the West this year its anyones game, so lets see what goes down.
Oh and anonymous 6:31...I think everyone watched the Series between Iverson vs Kobe and Shaq and Philly was the only team in the playoffs that year to even take one game from the Lakers (the Lakers went undefeated in the playoffs untill they lost that first game to Philly) and Philly also made it a somewhat competetive series. Add that to the fact that Iverson played out of his mind and I would say that is something to "write home about". You sound like an idiot. And if the Lakers make it past the first round, they aren't going anywhere after that without Bynum, so give it a rest.
And anonymous 6:42 the Lakers lack "diligence" and "respect" as well (they still haven't been out the first round without Shaq) so stop it. The Lakers better hope they show up and noone on that team makes a mistake, otherwise you can count on Kobe jumping up and down crying and yelling at teammates, which is always that teams downfall. LOL!
by Anonymous on Apr 16, 2008 10:02 PM MDT reply actions
by Anonymous on Apr 16, 2008 10:08 PM MDT reply actions
The number 1 & 2 in the west are seperated by 7 games....
In the east the 1 and 8 are separated by 29 games!
would you say the Pistons have no chance vs. the Celtics? They are 7 games behind the Celtics. I think these teams are all on par with each other. Just some have different weaknesses, but the playoffs are a different story entirely...
by chillz on Apr 16, 2008 10:09 PM MDT reply actions
by chillz on Apr 16, 2008 10:14 PM MDT reply actions
Denver won't win.....because they are not a good team. Shocker. The Nuggets are very comparable to the Warriors. They want to run and gun with their fast-break and secondary fast-break. But a disciplined team is not going to run with them. In a half-court setting, it's Iverson, Melo, and Smith taking turns shooting the jumper or going one-on-one.
Offense and Defense are related. Their defense is not going to get it done against a team like the Lakers. They display the same selfishness, poor communication and overall fragmentation that they do on offense.
by Anonymous on Apr 16, 2008 10:16 PM MDT reply actions
Criticize what a person does, but you have no right to judge someone when you don't have a camera on your back every second. Where everything you do is reported to the public.
A thug this? A thug that? A thug is defined as a a cruel or vicious ruffian, robber, or murderer, and this is how you categorize a guy for a DUI.
It's a shame you people are the one raising kids who are being taught that one gains knowledge from what they see, instead of what they experience. It's a got damn shame. It's the cause of discrimination and all things similar including racism.
by Anonymous on Apr 16, 2008 10:20 PM MDT reply actions
Now how many Nuggets have been arrested in the past year? As compared to several Bengals players or Pacman Jones? But here we have someone calling the Nuggets, as a team, thugs.
Asshole.
by DeAngelo Starnes on Apr 16, 2008 10:40 PM MDT reply actions
by mcbias on Apr 16, 2008 11:27 PM MDT reply actions
If he had read what I say right (not would or could) the fact of the matter was that a TRUE fan doesn't come out before a game or series and say their team won't win. PERIOD. Not only have most of these people done that, but all they do is repeat the same facts Andrew has said over the course of his blogging: 1) George is paid a lot 2) We have the third highest payroll 3) We have two all stars 4) Something else that doesn't relate to how the game of basketball actually works.
I may have had a few too many beers tonight so those first three reasons may be a little off*. First off let me say this, I respect Andrews opinion and it seems that he has given me the same respect back which makes me think even higher of him. Off the subject for a second, let me clear this up, I live in Fort Collins and don't actually get a chance to read your comic so my comment about it being "no-so-funny", I know I missed the t, was out of line and I apologize.
Now that is cleared up let me say this once again. No true fan will ever say their team won't win. By that I mean they won't say before a game or series the team has no chance of winning. This is what most of the people who have commented on this site have done and so I say they aren't truly fans of the Nuggets!
Andrew I do respect what you have to say about the game, but at the same time I have to say this blog should have been launched after the season was over. I don't believe you honestly think this blog has done anything to help the Nuggets this season. In fact, I feel that you have convinced a good deal of the Nuggets fans, who don't understand the game, to believe all or even most of the blame for this seasons woos can fall on Georges’ shoulders. Now, it seems, I cannot express my honest opinion without having 10 lemmings dishing out the facts you stated along with two or three personal insults.
As for the Lakers, yea they’re a hell of a team, but at the same time so are 6 other western conference teams. I don’t believe Houston is that great of a team. The Lakers have a lot of young talent on their squad that haven’t proven a thing mix with veteran leadership, but guess what, so do the Nuggets, and that’s why I love this matchup. I mean it’s the playoffs for God sakes! Anything can and probably will happen. I know there are those who don’t believe, but I do. I am a true Nuggets fan and will stand behind this team as long as there is oxygen in my blood! I hear what everyone has to say and then I turn to ESPN and they say the same crap, we have no chance. Yea and my name isn’t Shaun… Better yet, "the Giants won’t win the Superbowl"…
I know we don’t have the best track record over the last few years, but playing San Antonio in the first round wasn’t easy. The Nuggets are healthy, excluding Nene, but great teams will perform no matter what and that’s what will happen in this years playoffs. The Lakers are that great? Yea right, the only reason they are "great" is because there is a #1 by their name. It could have been any of the top 8 this year, but the X’s and O’s fell into place for them a little more often than the rest. They have shown weaknesses and the Nuggets, especially AI, will be capitalizing on them. I like what George Karl said recently, yea I know you don’t like him, "Nobody is going to be betting on the Playoffs this season". I know that’s not true, but I like the way that he looks at this years post-season. 1-8, excluding 5, means nothing except for home court.
I know the Nuggets will be ready to play, defense and all, but do you? If you call yourself a true fan I think you do, including Andrew. I know that at the end of the day he is thinking in the back of his mind how refreshing that egg is going to feel as it runs down his face!
All the best!
by Shaun on Apr 16, 2008 11:27 PM MDT reply actions
by chillz on Apr 16, 2008 11:33 PM MDT reply actions
"The Lakers are that great? Yea right, the only reason they are "great" is because there is a #1 by their name. It could have been any of the top 8 this year, but the X’s and O’s fell into place for them a little more often than the rest. "
Sorry but this wasn't the lottery. The Laker beat the top teams to take #1. They earned it. Stop and think before you type.
by Anonymous on Apr 17, 2008 1:33 AM MDT reply actions
The Lakers better hope they show up and noone on that team makes a mistake, otherwise you can count on Kobe jumping up and down crying and yelling at teammates, which is always that teams downfall. LOL!
I see you've never watched the Lakers and only get your Laker info from sports writers.
by Anonymous on Apr 17, 2008 1:37 AM MDT reply actions
Thanks for serving up another lengthy, thoughtful comment. Be sure to read my latest post where I offer suggestions for how the Nuggets could actually win this series.
Back to your "true fan" argument. Without getting into it too much (as I need to sleep), I think we can all agree that we're genuinely rooting for the Nuggets, whether we "think" they can win or not. Sports fans can often be like a big, dysfunctional family (like the Nuggets organization!). And as far as I'm concerned, from this point forward we're all in this together. We have to root for the Nuggets and root hard for them, or they really won't have a chance to win this series.
Go Nuggets!!
All best,
Andrew
by denverstiffs@gmail.com on Apr 17, 2008 1:37 AM MDT reply actions
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