2/16/11: Lakers Lose To… Cavaliers?

I know, I know… they’re in cruise control, they’ll turn it on come playoff time, it’s no different than any other loss… I usually support that side of the arguement after the Lakers fail to show up in these midseason matchups.  I’m still not hitting the panic button if I’m a Laker fan, but this one has to concern you just a little bit.  Coming off of two losses–one to the Magic and a bad one to the ‘Cats–one would think they would’ve shown up with energy and made an effort to put an inferior team away early.  I mean, sh!t, this Cleveland squad is the same one the Lakers beat by 55 points just over a month ago.  Andrew Bynum, who complained about his role in the 20-point loss in Charlotte, went 2-12.  Kobe Bryant went 8-24 and turned the ball over seven times, and at the end of the game he appeared to be absolutely livid.  I caught a glimpse of him screaming like a madman at somebody–I think it was a teammate–as time was about to expire.  Derek Fisher’s lack of defensive ability was totally exposed by former D-Leaguer Ramon Sessions, who scored a season-high 32 points.  Ramon is a solid player, don’t get me wrong, but he shouldn’t he dropping 32 on the defending champs.  I guess my point is that this stuff simply can’t be good for the team’s chemistry, which is already their biggest flaw as far as I’m concerned.  Bad losses like this one will have the coach pissed, the players pissed, the fans pissed, the local media pissed… everybody pissed.  Everyone understands that sh!t happens from time to time… even the best of teams have nights where they just can’t seem to do anything right.  My concern is that those types of games are starting to pile up for LA… and eventually they could cause players to get into disagreements with each other or with the coach.  I don’t see it happening, but too many bad losses could even lead to management making a move that may end up being the wrong one.  I do believe that some regular-season struggles should be overlooked when it comes to teams veteran teams like LA, Boston, San Antonio, etc… but I’m starting to wonder how these losses are effecting players’ attitudes, confidence, energy levels, and stuff like that.

Random Observations:

• Highlight Recap, JJ Redick Gets Crossed Up Edition:

• Highlight Recap, Blake Griffin Edition:

• Highlight Recap, Everything Else Edition: Dwight Howard drops the hammer.  Mario Chalmers does the right thing.  D-Wade catches a lob and throws it down.  Paul Pierce can still get up from time to time.  Nice dunk, but was it necessary to hit Hump with that half-assed shove?  DeMaR DeRoZaN putback slammer.  JJ Hickson blows the roof off of the Q.  Ray Felton hits Ronny T with a lob.  Melo toasts Delfino and throws it down.  Delfino had a rough night.  Jermaine Taylor throws it down.  Top 10.
• As discouraging a loss as it was for the Lakers, it may have been an even more encouraging win for the Cavaliers.  This one has to be right up there with the streak-breaker over the Clippers, because like I said, their previous meeting with the Lakers resulted in a historical 55-point loss.  I tuned in for the second half when I noticed that the Cavs were up five at the break, and let me tell you, the atmosphere in the Q was incredible.  It almost reminded me of the Oracle Arena during Golden State’s 2007 “We Believe” playoff run.  The building was full, and it didn’t seem to be because a bunch of Kobe’s road warriors showed up to cheer for their hero, either.  The noise was being made exclusively for the Cavs all night long, and I didn’t notice an abundance of purple and gold jerseys like I normally see when the Lakers play a bad team on the road (not that I have a problem with Kobe fans showing up at road games, I just feel like it’s more exciting to watch a game when the crowd actually wants the home team to win, no matter who I’m rooting for.)  Basically, I think the fans were dying for something to get fired up about, and the Cavs gave it to ‘em from the start.  Cleveland’s energy level was simply much higher than LA’s–they clearly wanted it more–which is why they got the 104-99 victory.  As I mentioned in the intro, Ramon Sessions was excellent with 32 points and eight assists.  Mo Williams ended up sitting all but three minutes of the game because Ramon was so effective.  JJ Hickson struggled offensively at times, but he made a few big dunks (including one late in the fourth) that helped his team keep the momentum, and he grabbed nine offensive rebounds (15 boards total).  Christian Eyenga had the game’s biggest bucket with 30 seconds left in the third.  Cleveland’s lead had been between seven and nine points for much of the period, but a jumper by Kobe Bryant closed the gap to just one at the :44 second mark.  Eyenga responded by toasting Kobe on the baseline and throwing down this monster slam:

•  That dunk was as close to a game winner as a basket can get with 12:30 remaining in the game.  This slam really swung the momentum in the Cavs favor for good.  The Lakers never led in the fourth quarter.  I was impressed with Cleveland’s composure… they’re a team that’s been prone to choking, but they never appeared to be on the verge of self-destruction last night.  This goofy-sounding dude sums the game up pretty effectively:

• How long ago did Vince Carter make his escape from Canada?  I can’t remember exactly, but he’s played for three teams since, and he still gets it worse than Chris Bosh did in his first return visit…

• I’m not hearing the difference.  It was a disappointingly tame atmosphere indeed, which was probably in Toronto’s best interest, actually.  No need to wake the sleeping giant… the Craptors lost by eight as it was.  Bosh scored 25, Wade had 28, LBJ had 23, and the scrubs even had a decent night with 29.  No one could stop Andrea Bargnani, though.  Bargs dropped 38 on 15-26 (5-6 from three-point land), 17 of which came in the fourth quarter.  Unfortunately, the rest of the Craps only scored six in the final period, and they were unable to get any closer than four. 
• Coming off a one-point game against Miami, Paul Pierce got himself back on track with a 30-point improvement against the Nets.  His 31 came in a come-from-behind effort:  the Cs trailed by nine about midway through the third quarter, but lucky for them, it was about time for the Nets to get to choking.  New Jersey scored just 15 points in the final 18 and a half minutes of the game… the Cs scored 40, resulting in a 94-80 victory.  The Nets scored two points in the final six minutes of this game.  Both of ‘em came at the freethrow line… they bricked 12 shots in a row.
• Said Amare Stoudemire prior to last night’s game against Atlanta: “Al Horford doesn’t want to see me.”  Responded Horford: “Ain’t no one afraid of Stoudemire.”  The stage was set for a battle… and in case you forgot how the last matchup ended, here’s a reminder.  Unfortunately, this one didn’t live up to it’s billing.  The Knicks jumped out to an early seven-point lead, never trailed, and won pretty easily (102-90).  Amare backed up his trash talk with a game-high 23 points.  Al Horford wasn’t bad with 12/11/4 on 6-12… but this round definitely goes to Stoudemire in a unanimous decision.  As for the battle of the Williams’, Marvin won that one with 17/8.  Shawne was kept on the bench for all but 10 minutes, in which he scored five points.
• The Other Games: Sorry, I’m throwing most of the games into this section today.  Dwight Howard dropped 32/10 on the Wizards in a 101-76 Magic victory.  Gilbert Arenas had a typical 1-6 outing against his former squad.  Roy Hibbert had 28/9, but the Pacers fell to the Pistons 109-115 in OT.  Tayshaun Prince did 25/11.  Kevin Love set an NBA record with his 51st pre-All-Star-break double-double, but the Wolves lost to the Clipps 90-98.  Blake Griffin dunked like a zillion times on his way to 29 points.  The bad news?  Chris Kaveman is back.  Kyle Lowry exploded for 36 points, but he and the Rockets took a nine-point L as the Sixers beat ‘em 114-105.  Andre Iguodala triple-dipped (13/12/10) for the first time since 2007.  Jason Kidd made six of seven threes in a 116-100 Mavs win over the Kings.  The Jazz are still winless in the post Jerry Sloan era… they lost to the Warriors 107-100.  Monta Ellis scored 35… the Dubs shot 55 percent as a team.  Carmelo Anthony scored 38 in a game that ESPN probably regrets nationally televising.  It was a 94-87 Denver win over the Bucks, who tend to cause fans to reach for the remote control.  My main man Kenyon Martin had a sick fantasy line with 11/9/7/5 BLK on 4-8 FG and 3-3 FT.  Chris Paul had just eight points and five dimes as the up-and-down Hornets lost to the Blazers 96-103.  LaMarcus Aldridge did what LaMarcus Aldridge does (34/7).

Quote of the Day: Kurt Rambis on his tired T-Wolves…

“I hate to say it, but if there has ever been a team I have been around that needs the break, this is the team.”

Photo of the Day: