Lakers Game 5: Heart Vs. Logic

 
I’m back after a rough weekend for the Lakers.  It started out with Friday’s game, which was a nail bitter, from start to finish. The Lakers squeezed out a victory by being aggressive, attacking the basket, and having an insane amount of free throw attempts. They were down by five with under three minutes to go, and they won by three. It was a hard fought victory and it was officially a series.  If they went down 3-0, it would have been all over but the crying. 

Game four, however, was similar to game two in the fact that it was a painful, brutal, and horrible loss. They were up by 14 at one point before Russell Westbrook took over and was a one man show.  As has been the problem for most of the year for the Lakers, they couldn’t cover an elite point guard and suffered because of it. The game was tied until Gasol passed up the chance to shoot an open shot and passed the ball which resulted in a terrible turnover. Kevin Durant waited until the shot clock ran down and nailed a cold-blooded three pointer over Metta World Peace. Bryant missed a game tying three, and the game was over. It was another deflating, painful, and tough to swallow loss for Laker fans.

Now, it’s Monday night, and game five is tonight, along with the Lakers season being on the line. If they lose, they pack their bags and go home for good. If they win, they pack their bags back to L.A. for game six. Either way, they are going home. We just aren’t sure if they will go home to play another game or if they will go home for the last time this year.

It’s obvious that the Lakers can compete with the Thunder. They got their doors blown off in game 1, but games 2, 3, and 4 were very competitive, and it easily could have been 3-1 Lakers, if they were able to finish games off. That’s been the problem all year for the Lakers.  They can’t finish games. They have the talent, and they are prepared, but they seem to lose all sense of control in the last two to four minutes of the game. This is something that we experienced as Laker fans in the first game of the year against Chicago.  It’s been the sad and annoying theme all year long.

Everybody and their mother have picked against the Lakers and have said that the series is over, and OKC will play the Spurs. Magic Johnson has blamed it on Mike Brown. He said during halftime of the Heat Vs Pacers game that he is a good coach, but he’s not a great in game coach that can make adjustments. It’s hard to argue with him right now, considering the results of games two and four.

Down 3-1 is a tough task, but it’s not impossible. Eight teams have done it before, most recently the Suns against the Lakers in 2006.  It will not be easy and the odds clearly favor OKC, especially at home. That crowd is going to be loud, proud, and insane, as they want their Thunder to wrap up the series and go to the Western Conference Finals. OKC does not want to go back to Staples Center. If that happens, the series will go to seven games.

Until the end, I’m a fan, no matter what.  I wouldn’t bet money on the Lakers, but my heart, my pride, and my Laker fandom predict the Lakers tonight.  Logic, money, and wisdom say OKC wins and wins big. The Lakers do not have a great history in close out games at their expense, look at the finals against Boston in 2008 and the Mavericks series last year. I know it’s not easy to look at, but history is not on their side.

What will win tonight? Heart or logic?

Go Lakers

-Tony Farinella

Thoughts on the Lakers Game 2 Loss

Last night’s Laker game was as painful and tough of a loss as I can remember. It reminded me of last year’s game three loss to the Mavericks before they got swept out of the playoffs. It was a game they had a chance to win and they crapped the bed in the last two minutes of the game. It happened so quickly, it left me and Amanda speechless. It was as if the air was sucked out of the room. Just minutes ago, we were high fiving, happy, and feeling great about the game. It felt like the series was over, even though it’s not yet.  It just felt like it.

Call me naïve, crazy, or stupid, but I’ve always believed and hoped that this year’s Laker team could win a championship. I like Mike Brown’s defensive strategy, Kobe has at least a few more years left in him of elite play, and Bynum and Gasol are always tough to deal with, thanks to their height. The team is flawed, but when their mind is right, they can beat anybody, which we have seen this year, with big victories over Dallas, Boston, Miami, and OKC in the regular season.

Down 2-0 to a team that is better than you, faster, quicker, and hungrier, that’s a deadly combination and some might say it’s a death wish. People are calling the Lakers dead, old, slow, and that it’s OKC’s time.  It would be hard to argue with them. The Lakers collapsed and gave the game away, and they have no one to blame for that but themselves.  On paper and using logic, it’s easy to say goodbye Lakers, goodbye to their era of winning, and goodbye to them in this particular series against the Thunder.

From my years of watching sports, I have come to learn that it’s not over until it’s over.  Yes, the odds are not in their favor, and yes it’s going to be difficult, but it starts with game three on Friday night.  Nothing sours the pain of a tough loss quite like a victory.  As we have seen with this year’s team, they are a different team at home. They won’t have to listen to the loud, annoying, and insane crowd that is in Oklahoma City. The Lakers play their kind of game at home.  They also play their best when their backs are against the wall.  That’s clearly the case right now.  If they don’t win Game 2, the season is just about over at that point.  No team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit.  I’m a Laker fan, a hopeless fan at times, but I’m not that much of a Laker homer that I would believe that.

The best advice people give you in life, and it applies to sports: take it one day at a time.  That’s what the Lakers have to do, and their fans as well, one game, or one day, at a time. A good night’s sleep has helped erase the pain of last night’s loss a little bit.  The Lakers have to have that same mindset. Don’t let this loss linger or stick in your brain.  Move on and be ready for Friday’s game, like it’s the last game of the year, because if you don’t win, you might be swept out on your home court, and that’s a terribly painful way to end a season.

It’s time to show OKC that the Lakers are not ready to give up their spot as one of the top dogs in the West just yet.

-Tony Farinella