Postcards From LA, Vol. 11: One Lakers Fan Tracks His Team Through the NBA Playoffs

- The Season's Over -

Postcards From LA, Vol. 11: One Lakers Fan Tracks His Team Through the NBA Playoffs

May 22, 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: after a lackluster first half The Lake Show comes alive with a special performance by Black Mamba.

Fireworks are like profanity. It’s best to utilize both only on special occasions that truly warrant such exclamations, lest they become drained of their value.

Bearing that in mind, allow me to state the following:

M-V-FUCKING-P!

Wow.

This is why we watch. When Tim Duncan made a 7-foot hook shot to put the defending champions up by 20 (65-45) with just under 6 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, all looked lost: the game, the series, and the Lakers season.

I felt sick to my stomach.

I mean, these are the Spurs, known for their veteran toughness, excellent execution, and clutch shooting. There was no way, no way, that they could possibly squander such a commanding advantage, right?

Simply impossible.

But when you have the greatest player in the universe on your team, the impossible becomes possible.

How Kobe overcame a 20-point deficit, with highlights, after the jump…

After taking that seemingly overwhelming 65-45 lead, San Antonio was outscored 44-20 to end the game. Kobe Bryant personally tallied more points than the entire Spurs team during the final 18 minutes, scoring a spectacular 25 after notching only 2 in the first half.

Pau Gasol chipped in with 8 of his 19 points during that stretch and a feisty Sasha Vujacic added 5 points and stellar defense on Manu Ginobili (10 points, 3-13 from the field), but it was the reigning MVP who picked up his team, strapped them to his broad back, and carried them to an improbable 89-85 triumph after a horrible beginning.

Like the rest of his teammates, Kobe looked rusty and tentative in the first half, playing with a noticeable lack of energy, almost as if the entire team was under the weather with a bad cold. Kobe only attempted 3 shots and his teammates missed a handful of easy ones (I’m talking to you, Lamar Odom). Meanwhile, Tony Parker was penetrating at will, and Tim Duncan was a monster inside with 16 points and 9 boards, helping San Antonio take a 51-43 halftime lead.

And the Lakers were lucky they weren’t down more.

Things only got worse after the break, as the Spurs outscored the Lakers 14-2 to start the 3rd quarter.

Lakers fans even began booing. Call them fair weather if you like, but it was that ugly of a performance.

Cue Kobe Bean Bryant.

Over the next three minutes, Kobe made a 20-footer, found Gasol for an easy lay-up, nailed a 25-foot 3-pointer, hit a pair of free throws, watched Sasha drain a deep 3-pointer and then fed Gasol again for an easy basket to cap a 14-0 run that made it 65-59 with 2:28 left in the 3rd quarter.

The Lakers struggled to catch the Spurs in the 4th, finally taking their first lead 83-81 on two Kobe free throws with 2:42 left. Tim Duncan tied the score at 85 with two free throws of his own and then, as he’s done so many times before, Kobe calmly rose up over Bruce Bowen and drilled a ten-foot jumper for the win with 23.9 seconds left, finishing with 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists.

Of course, the Spurs didn’t do themselves any favors by shooting a putrid 3-21 from the field in the 4th quarter (1-9 from beyond the arc). But when the Black Mamba is putting on such a show, who can blame the Spurs if they got caught up watching, their sphincters undoubtedly getting tighter with each point and assist Kobe dropped?

The question is: can the Spurs recover from such a heartbreaking defeat?

If any team is capable of it, it’s San Antonio, as they proved by overcoming a 2-0 series hole to the Hornets.

The Lakers, however, can take great comfort in knowing that not only does the team that wins Game 1 take the series 80% of the time, but Phil Jackson is an incredible 40-0 in series in which his team triumphs in the opening contest.

Going forward, the Lakers will need to tighten their defense and get much better production from an anemic Lamar Odom (8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 3-12 from the field) and an ice cold Derek Fisher (4 points, 0 assists, 1-9 from the field).

But on a night when they absolutely had to have it, Kobe Bryant shot off enough fireworks for everyone, putting on a dazzling display that, if the Lakers advance to the Finals, will be shown on ESPN Classic for myriad years to come.

He was that fucking good.