Officially my favorite nickname for the bench! (Blake, Barnes, Brown). I wish I could take credit for it, but I read it on Lakers Nation's facebook feed. Still, it sounds awesome. I do like "the law offices of Blake, Barnes and Brown" haha, but I guess it's a bit too long. Once again, they had an excellent game. The second unit in general is playing so well thus far and will only improve once Lamar moves back to the bench. Even though it's early in the season, it's very encouraging. Even if the stats don't always reflect it, their energy is great and their cohesion is pretty noticeable even already. Matt was great from the 3 point line, going 3 of 4. He's definitely growing on me. And I love that Kobe keeps recruiting enemies for our side haha.
*Edit: According to LakersReporter on Twitter, Phil is referring to his bench as "The Renegades". Interesting. It sounds cool, but I want to know why! haha.
Other notes on last night's game in Phoenix (I was afraid of forgetting what I wanted to write, so I actually jotted some down in my journal LOL):
-another stellar game by Ron Artest. He seems to be settled in, and was hustling all over the court- grabbing boards, getting steals, diving for loose balls. Just putting in the extra effort, which is so important (especially in close games). He also did really well from beyond the arc again... still not totally consistent and he definitely jacks it up a little too often, but it's really 50/50 for me when I see him shoot a 3. Part of me is like, of course he's gonna hit it! And the other part is like, oh shit, Ron's shooting 3's again haha.
-6 Lakers in double figures! I love it! Everyone's sharing the ball and contributing. Much more satisfying to me than Kobe or someone having a monster game. Although I love monster games when they come in the context of team-first ball like this. Pau practically had a triple double (21 pts, 8 rebounds, 9 assists) and LO had a crazy 18 points and 17 rebounds!! Rebounds and defense are what won us the championship, so I like seeing an early season dedication to both. There were some breakdowns on defense, especially on fastbreaks (too many easy layups), but that's always been part of the Lakers' M.O. They can get a little lackadaisical on D where there isn't much on the line.
-Kobe is looking great so far as well. Not as explosive as he used to be, but that comes with age, ridiculous mileage on his body and knee surgery only three months ago. He looks much better than I expected him to at this point in the season. Love the 7 boards- he really does find a way to contribute even when his shot is a little off, and his still managed 25 points! I also love how much support his is giving his teammates when he's on the bench. There are so many great reaction shots caught on camera.
-I love Derek Fisher, but he was predicably driving me a little crazy last night. I felt like he attempted too many shots, even though other guys attempted more, and I really didn't like that weird backwards scoop shot that should have been an easy putback and wasn't. Of course, he's a little like Ron to me: I equally expect him to make 3's and miss 3's. Although if the game was on the line, I'd put money on him making them no matter how bad his shot was falling earlier. He has this crazy innate ability, this incredible sixth sense to know when to make a shot. And of course his leadership and encouragement can't be underestimated. Love that his teammates call him Mr. President btw haha.
-The thing I hated most about the game was that ridiclous technical called on Matt Barnes. He got called for a foul, then turned around and took 3 STEPS towards the official to hand him the ball and got T'd up. REALLY?!?! I know Joey Crawford is a notorious asshole, but Jesus Christ. He didn't make a face, he didn't say anything, throw his hands in the air, react IN ANY WAY except walking towards him. I hate that that can get you a technical foul these days. I understand trying to get rid of the excessive whining and complaining, but not allowing players to show any emotion is really detrimental to the game. And it could potentially change the outcome of very important situations.... if you're only allowed 2 techs before you're ejected and your star player picks up two RIDICULOUS ones in a do-or-die playoff game, the officials have just monumentally changed the tone and outcome of the game. I really hope they ease up on some of the new rules. Maybe by going so extreme so early, they can scale it down to something strict but more manageable. It's not unprecedented; the league tried to change the ball a few years ago and switched back to the original leather halfway through the season because the players hated the new ball so much. But yeah. It made me angry last night lol.
-Other than that, the Lakers did a great job of playing defense and not fouling. Although they didn't get to shoot many free throws themselves.
-Glad that Sasha didn't play so he couldn't stir up more shit with Goran Dragic. (Plus he's just not very good anymore and sulks too much about lack of playing time.) I'm still pissed about Game 6 last year in the Western Conference Finals against the Suns. The Lakers were killing it in Phoenix, until Sasha committed a totally unnecessary flagrant foul on Dragic IN THE FOURTH QUARTER- apparently they developed an intense rivalry practicing for the Slovenian national team before Sasha was cut. But yeah. Sasha fouls, Dragic makes his free throws and the Suns go on a tear fueled by the crowd and by rallying around Dragic and turned the game into a nailbiter that Kobe had to bail them out of once again. I've never seen Kobe so angry!
After the game, Bryant was asked how he felt upon Vujacic's act.
"I wanted to kill him," Bryant said.
After the Lakers held on?
"Still going to kill him."
hahahah funniest thing everrrr! I still love it :)
In closing, I thought the game was a good solid road win, especially in the second half (I missed most of the first half unfortunately, running Halloween errands with Jenelle). I'm going to be a Lakers girl for Halloween (sparkly gold dress, purple sweater with Lakers logo on back, sneakers). Can't wait to wear my costume tomorrow and cheer on my boys against Golden State!
P.S. Also, I'm not sure if each game recap is going to be as long as these past two, but I guess we'll see. haha.
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