Postcards From LA, Vol. 5: One Lakers Fan Tracks His Team Through the NBA Playoffs
May 5, 2008
As long as the Los Angeles Lakers survive through the 2008 NBA playoffs, Empty the Bench’s West Coast correspondent Christopher Thell will be submitting a local fan’s take on his beloved Lakers postseason trials, tribulations and successes. In this edition: ho-hum, the Lakers won… or did the Jazz just lose?
Sunday was a domestic business day for me – do laundry, pay bills, retrieve groceries, run errands – not the most exciting or enjoyable time, but necessary to my continued survival. The Lakers 109-98 victory over the Utah Jazz was a similar endeavor as The Purple and Gold handled their respective chores and got the Game 1 win.
It was hard to gauge, though, whether the Lakers truly won this game, or if it’s more accurate to say that the Jazz, playing only 38 hours after their closeout victory over the Rockets, lost the game.
Utah shot just 38% from the field, including a combined 11-32 from their dynamic duo of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer (who fouled out with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter). They looked out of sorts in the first half, committing ten turnovers, and the Lakers, behind 24 points from Kobe Bryant, jumped out to a 54-41 halftime advantage.
Their lead ballooned to 19 at one point midway through the 3rd quarter (68-49) and it looked like the Lakers might turn it into a laugher, but the Jazz wouldn’t go away. Utah closed the quarter on a 23-11 run that brought them within seven, 79-72.
The 4th quarter was a seesaw affair and the Jazz came as close as 94-89 with 2:34 to go, but Kyle Korver missed a mid-range jumper and Gasol tipped in a Kobe miss to make it 96-89 and the Lakers hung on for the victory.
Trepidation about the trip to Salt Lake City creeps in after the jump…
Kobe carried the Lakers again (38 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists), Odom was his usual solid self (16 points, 9 rebunds, 2 blocks), and Gasol had another good game (18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists). But instead of Luke Walton stepping up and providing an unforeseen lift as he did in the Denver series, it was Sasha Vujacic who came up big off the bench, notching a play-off career high 15 points. Credit also has to go to Derek Fisher for his tough defense on Williams and the six steals he snared.
It was a good effort. A good win. And Laker fans can take comfort in the fact that the team that wins game one wins the series over 80% of the time.
But like a day spent shuttling back and forth between the laundry room, it was nothing to write home about.
Utah is an extremely tough place to play, with a well-chronicled home court advantage (37-4 during the regular season). The last thing in the world the Lakers want to do is go to Salt Lake City with the series tied 1-1.
But, I fear, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
With Game 2 not until Wednesday night, the Jazz will be better rested and better prepared – and the Lakers had better raise their game to another level if they expect to rustle up their sixth straight playoff victory.
More Postcards From LA:
Tags: Postcards from LA, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher
2 Comments »Posted by ETB Contributor on May. 5, 2008 at 12:17 am in NBA
