As I sit at the “sports bar” in the A Terminal of the Bob Hope Airport waiting for my flight, I have the opportunity to watch the Lakers take on the Dallas Mavericks. I’ve been thinking about this game all day today because I know how important it is. The Lakers have opened this four game road trip 0-2 and are taking on Dallas tonight and Utah on Thursday. Unfortunately, Utah holds the best home winning record and Dallas is sitting pretty at #2.

I joined in at the end of the 1^st quarter with the Lakers up 28-21. Kobe had a few baskets, Lamar had a few baskets, but the recaps seem to be nothing but Ronny Turiaf. Ronny has had a few big blocks, a few dunks, and is looking very good. With the absence of both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, Ronny has no choice but to step up and be the leader in the middle. DJ Mbenga is available off the bench, and will definitely get some playing time, but he is more of a defensive minded player than an offensive weapon. Luckily, we have enough offensive weapons in Kobe, Lamar, Sasha, Luke, Fisher, Farmar, and Radman.

The Lakers seem to realize that they are desperate for a win because they are playing with a great intensity. Rotations are excellent on both ends of the floor but one thing I still wish to see more of, is intensity on the offensive boards. Against Houston, it seemed like the Rockets had a second and third opportunity every play down court, the Lakers however were stuck with one attempt.

Quick side note: make every attempt to fly any airline besides Southwest. This is only my 2^nd experience but it’s already a pain in the ass. Due to mechanical issues, the plane has been taken out of service and another plane is on its way. A 6:15PM flight has now turned into a 7:40PM flight. But hey, at least I get to write this article and watch the first three plus quarters of the Laker game!

Since I am stuck in this airport with nothing but my laptop and a 50+ inch screen on which the game is playing, I figure why not point out some key plays throughout the game and break down some interesting points. So here it goes:

7:40 2^nd quarter: Sasha picks up an offensive foul against Josh Howard when he gets hit in the chest, grabs his mouth, and runs away from the play. The referee assumes he was hit in the face and calls the offensive foul. Sasha’s flops have evolved into a superior acting career. Perhaps some European soccer is in order after he retires from the NBA.

5:38 2^nd quarter: Mbenga attempted block from behind on the fake, recovery, block from in front. Whoever is working with the Lakers big men on the defensive end is doing a superior job. Mbenga and Ronny have both learned to time the block great and the team’s recovery and transition has been impressive as well. Another area that the team has excelled in is the running game. They have really picked up their ability to take over with easy baskets by blocking or rebounding and moving the ball ahead quickly.

4:55 2^nd quarter: Mark Cuban drinks only the finest water as he watches the Mavs game, “Déjà Vu”

0:50 2^nd quarter: Ronny Turiaf blocks another shot attempt by Josh Howard about five feet from the basket. He blocks the shot, catches the ball, and passes it the full length of the court. Luckily it was the athletic and talented Kobe that was running down court ahead of every other player on either team. The pass was too long but Kobe managed to chase it down, stop right at the baseline, run under the basket, and put the ball up with a reverse layup good for two points. The play was made possible by great recognition by Ronny and an even better break away by Kobe. This is the type silent communication that the team has been lacking in the past few years. Now that they have been playing together for a long enough period of time, the guys are coming together great and have learned to recognize where everyone is at every time.

HALF TIME NOTES:

The Lakers have done a great job in pushing the mavericks around. The teams defense has been superb and everyone has done their part to chip into making good things happen. The scored at the half shows the Lakers leading the Mavs by twenty-one, but more importantly, they held Dallas to only 38 points in the half. The Celtics, Spurs, Pistons and even the Rockets as of late, have been getting plenty of recognition for their defense rather than their offense. The scores are low in every game and the wins are big. It is impressive to beat a team by twenty points, but it is more impressive if the other team was outscored by twenty because of your defense rather than you offense. I would be much more proud of a final score of 95-75 rather than 135-115.

Hopefully the guys can come out just as strong in the second half of this game. There was a time earlier in the season that the Lakers had a 17 point lead, if I recall correctly, against the Spurs at the half, and allowed San Antonio to work them in the third quarter making a full recovery. The third quarter is pivotal in every game and generally dictates the outcome of the game.

Also, just from watching one full quarter, Jason Kidd doesn’t seem to be doing what Dallas brought him in for. He hasn’t had any superior passes, he hasn’t had any easy baskets, and he hasn’t even had much time with the ball in his hands. It seems like Dirk and Josh Howard have taken over the offense. I’ll have to bet that Kidd will take over in the second half because it’s obvious that the current strategy isn’t working.

9:00 3^rd quarter: Radmanovic gambled on the defensive end trying to pick off a pass intended for Josh Howard. Radman misses the steal, but luckily he was in the vision of Howard who didn’t pick up the ball either. Kobe grabbed the ball turned around and it looked as though the pass was going down court to a wide open Radman who was running as fast as he possibly can. Kobe pulled it back, allowed the defense to collapse on Vlad, and found the wide open Fisher just inside the three point line on the left wing. Fisher nails the shot. Although the play turned out successful, I’m not sure that I want guys like Radmanovic going for those steals. I’m okay with Kobe leaving his guy occasionally because he has proven himself time and time again on the defensive end.

5:40 3^rd quarter: Another great block by DJ Mbenga leads to an easy/lucky 2 point layup for the Lakers. Dirk was looking for a foul call but while he countinue to hassle the refs, Derek Fisher took the break away into the offensive zone, passed it off to the trailing Kobe, and Kobe performed a beautiful looking spin move (on which he got fouled, clearly) and threw up a prayer that managed to find its way home. The play seemed to be more like a theory of “ball doesn’t lie” because the refs should’ve called a foul on the play. Mavs timeout, Lakers up 76-51.

3:57 3^rd quarter: WOW is all I can say. What a great defensive effort by every guy wearing purple and gold. The Mavs stop the Lakers, Lue falls to the ground right around half court and passes the ball from his butt up ahead. Kobe performs an acrobatic Superman/Tyrell Owens like dive for the ball, misses and lands on his chest. The next pass comes cross court about a second later and Luke Walton dives ahead of the pass, picks it off and runs the offense. Unfortunately, no points came from the possession but the effort was superior.

2: 52 3^rd quarter: Mark Cuban has put his water down and now just holds his chin in his hands and wonders if he will ever win a title.

1:18 3^rd quarter: Lakers finally score a point on Ronny Turiaf free throws ending a Mavs 9-0 run. The defense has been strong throughout the game but just a few bad breaks and a few non calls lat ein the quarter allow the Mavs to make a small run and cut the lead to 17. Lakers have done a great job not panicking though and fighting hard for every loose ball.

0:16 3^rd quarter: the same theme continues as we’ve seen in the last 4-5 minutes of the game. The Mavs make similar plays to the Lakers and come away with the calls that the lakers aren’t getting. You have to wonder but you can’t blame it all on the refs. It’s time to get back in this game and get a bigger lead.

0:00 3^rd quarter: Jason Terry comes away with a lucky bank shot at the buzzer (that he didn’t call) and brings the Lakers lead down to a mere 12 points. I’m not going to lie, I’m quite upset to see the game slip this way so late in the third, hopefully the Lakers can pick it up a bit and not allow the Mavs to carry any momentum into the final quarter.

Unfortunately/fortunately, the plane is finally ready to board. I’m off to Sacramento but I’ll be posting daily. I’ll have to wait until I land to find out what happened with this 4^th quarter, please feel free to leave a play by play for the rest of the game so I can feel as though I’ve watched it myself!

Lakers managed to pull this one out but the momentum going into the 4th was obviously quite strong. Let’s hope this team learns something from this close call and keeps its 20 point leads in the future.

FINAL SCORE: LAKERS 102 – MAVERICKS 100