J.R. Smith clebrates after hitting his second consecutive three in the fourth quarter

Western Conference Semi-Final: Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs. Denver Nuggets (2) Series Tied 2-2

Game 4: Denver 120 – Los Angeles 101

The Nuggets’s balanced attack last night was far too much for L.A. to handle.  The Nuggets had all five of their starters in double figures, with Billups leading the way with 24 points.  On an off night for Anthony the Nuggets needed the rest of their team to step up in a big way in order to tie the series up and that’s exactly what happened.  Denver also received a significant contribution from the bench.  J.R. Smith had 24 points, Linus Kleiza added 10 points and Chris Andersen’s energy off the bench was infectious.

J.R. Smith started bombing from deep last night going 4 for 9 from three point range, though the Nuggets as a team struggled once again from deep.  Kleiza also shot 2 of 3, but the rest of the Nuggets’ roster shot 1 of 12 from deep.  The Nuggets’ two biggest advantages were the extra possessions they got from dominating the boards with a +18 advantage and also they stayed aggressive all night taking it to the lane and shot 49 free throws.

Nene had a particularly good overall offensive game scoring 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting.  More impressive than his scoring numbers was his passing skills that were on display yesterday.  Nene had 6 assists on the night including a pretty dish in the fourth where he drove into the heart of the Lakers defense drawing three defenders to him and then dishing it back to a cutting J.R. Smith for an easy dunk.

The rebounding advantage was stunning because of the Lakers significant height advantage in the frontcourt, but the Nuggets simply outworked them on the boards last night.  Kenyon Martin grabbed 15 rebounds, Nene 13 and Birdman 14.  It’s one thing for the Lakers to get beat if Denever’s shooting well from the field, but they only shot 44.8% from the field and won simply because the Lakers once again failed to work as hard as their opponent, in what has become a consistent trend in the playoffs.

The Lakers got contributions again both from Bryant, 34 points, and Gasol who had 21 points and 10 rebounds.  Outside of these two however scoring was severly lacking for L.A.  Bynum showed some signs in the fourth quarter of waking up hitting on a few nice post moves with the smaller Nene on him.  Odom once again vanished throughout the game as he has done all series making little ot no contribution in his 30 minutes on the floor.

The biggest worry however for the Lakers must be their point guard situation which is becoming more and more of an issue.  Not only are they getting almost no production there offensive, but they are turning the ball over and can’t seem to stay in front of anybody they are matched up against.

With the series shifting back to L.A. for Game 5 the Lakers did regain homecourt advantage by winning Game 3 in Denver.  They cannot get complacent however since the Nuggets have already proved that they can win on the road at the less than intimidating Staples Center.  The Lakers need to watch out for J.R. Smith who may have finally found his stride in this series and can be lethal off the bench, particularly if Carmelo can regain his touch from the field as well.

Phil Jackson needs to get better minutes from Odom, who can present the Nuggets with match-up problems they will struggle to find an answer for.  I would like to see Odom start the game alongside Gasol, where he seems to play much better.  This lineup will also give them a much more athletic team that can run with the Nuggets and Odom’s interior passing ability along with his ball handling skills can be a huge advantage for the Lakers.  Odom is a player that when he gets going early is extremely effective, so the Lakers should look to him early in the game.  I expect the Lakers to win Game 5, but this series should go the distance with L.A. pulling it out in 7.

Western Conference Finals: Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs. Denver Nuggets (2) Los Angeles Leads Series 2-1

Game 3: Los Angeles 103 – Denver 97 F

Have the real L.A. Lakers finally showed up?  I think so, though more out of necessity rather than that they have suddenly become motivated.  This team has shown the ability throughout the season and the playoffs to raise their level of play when it they absolutely need too.  In Denver they have found an opponent that they cannot afford to take games, halves, quarters even possessions off against.

Kobe Bryant was on fire last night showing off his entire offensive repertoire taking advantage of the smaller Dahntay Jones and posting him up.  He was also aggressive particulary in the fourth quarter and got to the line 17 times on the night converting on 15.  Bryant was also effective dishing the ball out last night, particulary in situations where the Nuggets sent double teams or when Bryant’s penetration forced them to rotate.  He had a particularly nice no-look pass to Fisher in the second quarter for a wide open layup.

Bryant got a lot of help from the rest of his crew, specifically Gasol and Ariza.  Gasol and Ariza both came up big in the fourth quarter with Gaosl taking advantage of his size against Chris Andersen and his quickness against Nene who was in constant foul trouble in the second half.  Gasol scored on two consecutive possessions in the post mid-way during the fourth quarter.  Ariza hit two open three pointers in the fourth quarter, making the Nuggets pay for leaving him open on the perimeter.  Ariza also came up with the big steal again at the end of the game much like in Game 1.  This was even more important since Anthony was onlyforced to foul him and in the process fouled out of the game.

The Lakers played excellent defense in the second half, particularly against Anthony who only scored 3 points, all free throws, in the second half after an 18 point first.  They also limited Kenyon Martin and Nene Hilario throughout the game.  The Lakers continue to lay off of K-Mart and unless he can hit that open 16 foot jumper the Lakers will continue to play off of him, closing off penetration into the lane.

The Nuggets actually led the game msot of the way, even though they had an extremely poor shooting night.  They shot only 39.3% from the field and were even worse from deep as they shot 5-27 from three.  Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony were in all regards horrific from the three shooting 2-7 and 1-7 respectively.  Both of them put up a number of questionable forced shots and Anthony even airballed a three.

The Nuggets need Nene to stay out of foul trouble since while he was in the game he was effective.  He shot 5-9 for 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in 31 minutes.  The Nuggets need to get Nene more touches in the post last night, where he operated extremely effective against Gasol in the first quarter.  They also need Billups to not settle for jumpers and drive to the lane more.  This will put the pressure on the Lakers defense and should lead to more free throw attempts or Billups can kick it out for open jump shots.

Carmelo Anthony was shut down in the second half and the Nuggets’ inability to hit jumpers were critical in holding Anthony back.  With the Nuggets missing the Lakers were able to send extra defenders in Anthony’s direction and force him into passing the ball or turn it over.  The good news for the Nuggets is that J.R. Smith looked much better last night, hitting a few perimeter shots and really playing good defense against Bryant, not giving him anything easy down the stretch.

What is inexcusable was the Nuggets’ inability to make a simple inbound pass for the second time in the series.  This falls directly on head coach George Karl who has done more to hurt the Nuggets in this series than help.  His decision to have Kenyon Martin inbound the ball was only made worse by the fact that it looked as if Anthony was the only option on the play on a set play coming out of a timeout they were forced to call after being unable to inbound the ball previously.

Karl should also think about giving the Lakers some different looks.  The Nuggets could try and play some small ball lineups moving Anthony to the 4, allowing for Kleiza to play alongside him J.R. Smith, Billups and Nene or Andersen.  This lineup would give the Nuggets 4 perimter threats on the floor spreading the Lakers defense out and making it easier to get penetration into the lane.  This will also allow the Nuggets to push the tempo and play high pressure defense against the Lakers.  They may also able to make Bynum a non-factor by speeding the game up.

Eastern Conference Finals: Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs. Orlando Magic (2) Orlando Leads Series 2-1

Game 3: Orlando 99 – Cleveland 89 F

Cleveland needs to change their strategy in this series completely in order to win this game.  It’s a testament to how dominant James has been for the Cavaliers in this series that they only lost by 10 points last night and split the games in Cleveland.  The Cavaliers are not athletic enough to rotate out on Orlando’s shooters, are getting killed penetration and have no answer for the Magic’s pick and roll offense, especially when they run it with Dwight Howard against Ilgauskas.

Mike Brown is going to need to make some adjustments to give the Cavaliers enough speed and athleticism to match-up with the Magic.  They should start a lineup with Mo Williams, Delonte West, Sasha Pavlovic, James and Anderson Varejao.  Playing James at the 4 should be fine as he will be matched up with Rashard Lewis who will not be able to post James up, additionally Varejao starting at the 5 will neutralize the pick and roll to an extent because Varejao’s speed will allow him to recover quicker.  They will also be able to recover more effectively in transition when the Magic try to increase the pace of the game where Cleveland has been burned all series long.

This lineup will also create more opportunities for Cleveland to create more penetration into the lane.  If the Magic are forced to rotate the Cavaliers have four players in this lineup that can hit the 3.  Also Varejao is extremely good at moving without the ball and if Howard is forced to rotate he can take advantage.  While this lineup will be giving up size, their speed and ability to rotate faster will make it easier for them to box players out and limit offensive rebounding opportunities.

James was once again a force scoring 41 points, grabbing 7 rebounds and had 9 assists.  James accounted for 63 of Cleveland’s 89 points last night and his ability to create for others was on display throughout.  Even though he dominated the ball for much of the time he only turned the ball over twice.  Cleveland needs to get better production from the trio of Williams, West and Pavlovic specifically in hitting the open jumpers Lebron is creating for them.  Ilgauskas also needs to hit open jumpers to force Howard out of the paint.  One player the Cavaliers should play more is Joe Smith specifically for his ability to hit the open jumper and draw defenders out of the paint.

The Magic were execellent last night and were incredible defensively.  Their rotations were perfect and they closed out well on the Cavaliers’ shooters, forcing misses or extra passes.  Their size, length and speed are proving difficult for the Cavaliers to crack.  The duo of Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat has also been able to effectively control the paint and without having to respect Cleveland’s bigs it is making it nearly impossible for the Cavaliers to get easy baskets in the halfcourt.

Howard was a beast in the fourth quarter and became indefensible when he hit 14 of 19 from the free throw line for the night.  Alston finished 6 of 13 but by hitting 5 of his first 6 he provided Orlando with some early offense while Lewis and Turkoglu were sturggling and Howard saddled on the bench with 2 early fouls.  The biggest contribution throughout this series for the Magic has been Mickael Pietrus however who continues to hit open jumpers, hound James on defense and provide energy plays for the Magic crashing the glass and grabbing loose balls.  So far Cleveland has struggled to find an answer for Pietrus.

The Magic are moving the ball effectively and are executing their offense to perfection either leaking out after the Cavaliers miss or running the pick and roll in the halfcourt.  Orlando needs to change nothing and simply continue to do what they are doing until Cleveland can force them to adjust which has not happened so far through 3 games in this series.

Horrendous Officiating:

I used to believe that officials in the NBA used to rig games and that David Stern was a puppet master controlling teams’ destiny in the playoffs.  At this point it’s hard to believe that anymore with how uneven the officiating has been in all the playoff series.  How can two teams shoot 86 free throws combined in a game as the Magic and Cavaliers did last night?  How do Varejao, Ilgauskas and Dwight Howard foul out last night?

One thing that’s become apparent in the playoffs is that the officials have decided anytime there is contact of any kind a foul must be called.  The NBA should protect its players, but last I checked contact is part of the game and it should be officiated as such.  We do not need to see a foul called everytime James drives to the lane or everytime Howard posts up.  The biggest problem is that these officials are anticipating contact and therefore are anticipating fouls and calling games as such.  Officiating is not about anticipating what is going to happen, but about reacting to what HAS happened.

The worst part of all this has been how the flow of these games continues to get disrupted.  Basketball is best viewed when it is free flowing, because we get to watch the best athletes compete at the highest level and the best part is that that in this case the game is in the players’ hands not at the whims and behest of NBA officiating crews.

The officials need to a significantly better job of doling out flagrant fouls and technicals as well which disrupt the flow of the game more than the personal fouls do and more importantly have more repurcussions for the players.  Once again these are grown men and hard fouls are part of the game.  Let the players determine the game on the court, because fans don’t watch the games to see officials determining the course of playoff games by which team shoots more free throws.

There are often moments in sports that change players, franchises and cities.  These are moments that change the course of expected events and move a team ever closer to an achievement that previously seemed desperate.  Lebron James’ game-winner as time expired on Friday was one of those moments.

THE HISTORY:

Cleveland sports history and the Cavaliers’ history are filled with mostly moments of despair and failure.  This is a city whose last championship came in 1962 when Browns won an NFL Championship, 4 years before the NFL-AFL merger and the inception of the Super Bowl.  The Browns as we are familar with went on to tear the hearts from the city’s fans losing the 1986 AFC Championship game at the hands of John Elway and “The Drive”.  The following year they lost as Earnest Byner fumbled at the goal line en route to a late fourth quarter game-tying touchdown in the title game, again to the Broncos.

The Cleveland Indians lost the 1997 World Series to the Florida Marlins, in the process becoming the first team to have lost a lead while heading into the 9th inning of the seventh game.  Jose Mesa gave up the game tying run and in the 11th inning the Indians lost as Edgar Renteria drove in the game winning run.  Then of course there are the Cleveland Cavaliers and “The Shot”.

MJ celebrates "The Shot"

If ever a franchise was defined by one play it is the Cleveland Cavaliers.  In 1989 the Cavaliers faced Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the first round.  In the deciding game Craig Ehlo, who played on a sprained ankle had 24 points and was defending MJ with the Cavaliers up 1 with three seconds left to play.  The Bulls inbounded the ball and Jordan received the ball on the right wing and immediately dribbled twice to his left.  Jordan picked up his dribble and raised up for the shot as Ehlo came flying across obstructing his view, but only temporarily as Jordan seemed to hang in the air and as well know now, drilled the game-winner.

Has there ever been a city whose most memorable sports moments have not created heroes, but rather individuals who have been inexorably linked and have become symbols of the city’s sports futility.  Earnest Byner, Jose Mesa and Craig Ehlo represent each Cleveland franchise in this respect and until recently has been what nationall the city was known for.

THE SITUATION:

In the history of sports there may not be a player who has managed to infuse a city with as much hope and optimism as Lebron James.  Optimisim is a quality that previous to James’ arrival was absent from the average Cleveland fans’ mindset.  Since his arrival in 2003 the Cavaliers have only gotten better, winning their first Eastern Conference Chamipionship in 2007 over a heavily favored and experienced Pistons team.

This year James and the rest of the Cleveland team reached the NBA’s elite, winning 66 games, 39-2 home record and capping of the season with Lebron’s first MVP Award.  As the playoffs began the team seemed to just get better, sweeping their first two series with eight straight double sigit victories.  Even Cleveland fans seemed to be getting comfortable with being favorites and up 63-48 at halftime in Game 1 of their series against the Magic everything was going according to plan.

Lewis celebrates after he gave Orlando the 107-106 victory in Game 1

That’s when it happened.  Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglue and the rest of the Magic started drilling three pointers as Dwight Howard dominated the paint.  Lebron played what was perhaps his finest game, but down 106-104, Rashard Lewis drained a three pointer that gave the Magic a lead and the final score they would win by 107-106.  As the fans stramed out of Quicken Loans idea the sense of fear and panic was palpable and Cleveland’s supporters wondered if perhaps the curse over this city had not been lifted.

As Game 2 began the Cavaliers once again came out on fire, leading the game 43-20 midway through the second quarter.  Once again the Magic chipped away at the lead and captured the lead during the fourth quarter at 86-84.  The teams traded baskets until Mo Williams drained a three to give the Cavaliers a 93-90 lead.  It seemed that Cleveland was safe, but Turkoglu hit a three to tie and with the Magic having the ball with 13.7 seconds left, Turkoglu got the ball again this time defended by Sasha Pavlovic.  Turkoglue dribbled at the top of the key dribbled to his left and raised up from about 18 feet away hitting a jumper with one second remaining an Pavlovic’s hand right in his face.

Boom.  Cleveland was down 95-93, one second left, facing an 0-2 deficit and once again Cleveland fans faced the likelihood of failure.

THE MOMENT:

In the timeout Cleveland coach, Mike Brown drew up a play for a lob to Lebron James to tie the game.  The Magic however were onto it and were ready preventing the play.  With time running out and needing to get the inbounds pass, James, who was being defended by Turkoglu, checked back to the top of the key behind the three point line.  Mo Williams saw James check back and hit him perfectly in stride for a perfect catch and shoot situation under the circumstance.

James gathered himself, turned and launched a shot over the out stretched arm of Turkoglu.  Make no mistake moving away from the basket, turning and fading, this shot was as tougha s it comes.  As soon as James received the pass there were only three players who moved at all.  James, Turkoglu who was defending him and Rashard Lewis desperately trying to get there to alter James’ shot, everyone were spectators just like the 20,000 plus fans who were deathly silent leading up to the play and during it.

Lebron and 20,000 plus watch as the game winner goes up

James’ shot went up and started to head down.  This seemed like another cruel end though for a Cleveland team the city had embraced as Lebron’s shot seemed destined to miss.  The ball started its path down to the basket as the buzzer finall sounded as the crowd still sat in stunned silence, hoping against hope for the unexpected.  The ball hit the back rim and everyone expected the ball to rim out, teasing all the fans who stayed even after Turkoglu’s seeming game-winner.  Then a funny thing happened.  The ball went through the hoop and the Cavs’ won the game 96-95.

James’ reaction said it all.  It wasn’t the look of a cold-blooded killer like Chauncey Billups or Ben Gordan.  It wasn’t the swagger and arrogance that Kobe walks away with after nailing game-winning strike.  No James’ face conveyed the emotions that all Cleveland fans were experiencing at the same time.  Unbridled joy combined with the sentiment of “did that just happen”?

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN:

This shot may end up, but being a blip in an Orlando series win with the next two games in Orlando where Cleveland has had no success this year.  Something about this seems different though.  This is not Carlton Fisk hitting a home run in Game 6 and creating one of the magical moments in sports only to have his team lose in Game 7 of the World Series.  Something about this seemed different.

This shot has elevated all three parties directly linked by it; player, franchise and city.  Lebron James has been knocked for not being clutch, though he has been the best in the league at the end of games.  With Cleveland blowing a lead, losing Game 1 and the same fate looming at the end of Game 2 the league’s MVP needed to step up and save his team.  As the shot went up and Lebron watched it fall through a weight must have been lifted from his shoulders.

Lebron took over Game 5 against the Pistons in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals

Remember Kobe is clutch now, but he failed several times most notably against the Jazz shooting two airballs at the end of the 4th quarter and overtime in the 1998 Playoffs against Utah.  Sometimes it’s similar to how certain players just need to see the ball go into the hoop once to end a slump.  In fact it’s hard to say James was in a slump at all in clutch moments after two game-winning layups against the Wizards in 2006, his 25 consecutive points against the Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference playoffs or his classic duel with Paul Pierce in Game 7 last year in the playoffs with 46 points.

Something has certainly been missing from his resume and perhaps even his mindset, but this shot could be the turning point for James.  He will now have the confidence of knowing that he can do it and should make him even more dangerous in late game situations from now on.  James looks as if he is developing the ability the legends have of willing their teams to victory and not accepting failure in the process from themselves or anybody else.

Cleveland’s image as a franchise has also been drastically changed.  A franchise long associated with losing and the image of Craig Ehlo collapsing in incredulity after MJ’s game-winner are now replaced by James’ game winner.  Perception is everything and as important as it was to win the game for the Cavaliers it was more important that it be James, the franchise savior to hit it and validate the belief and faith the franchise had in him.

Most importantly is the city.  A city that has had no succes to speak of.  A city that has long been plagued by anti-heroes and its teams’ failures experienced somethind different.  They can now go into the future knowing that nothing is impossible and that they will always have a chance to win with James on the team.  They have finally had their faith rewarded and that by itself will change a city that for too long experienced only the feelings of failure.  After that shot failure seems a distant prospect, because Cleveland fans know that James will do everything in his power to carry this team across the finish line with a championship the perfect ending.

Eastern Conference Semi-Final: Boston Celtics (2) vs. Orlando Magic (3) Series tied 3-3

Game 6: Orlando 83 – Boston 75 F

Dwight Howard backed up his postgame talk following the Magic’s meltdowns in Game 5 in Boston.  Howard was an absolute beast scoring 23 points and adding 22 rebounds.  What was interesting to see was that Howard did most of his damage not by posting up Perkins, who held him to 2-6 shotting from the floor in such situations, but by being active moving around, tipping in missed shots and receiving passes from his teammates while cutting.  As important was Howard’s impact on the game on the defensive end where he blocked 3 shots and altered a number of others through his mere presence.

Howard got help too from Rashard Lewis, who added 20 points and took advantage of the mismatch he had all night with Scalabrine defending him.  The Magic also received a vital contribution from Hedo Turkoglu who only had seven points, but hit a three that extended the Magic’s lead to 81-75 and then put in a layup to give the Magic their final score of the game.

Dwight Howard dunks over Glen Davis in the second half of last night's game

As impressive as these three were for the Magic, perhaps the largest contribution they received in winning this game was from Mickael Pietrus.  His harassing defense limited Pierce and Allen all night, making them ineffective from the floor and significantly limiting the Celtics’ offensive opportunities throughout the game.  Pietrus also added 11 points on the offensive end for the Magic.

The Magic played great team defense last night, making fluid rotations a nd constantly forcing Boston to make the extra pass.  The Magic also smother the Celtics’ ball handlers and forced them into taking a number of low percentage shots on the night.  The Magic did a good job defending the pick and roll by switching in certain situations and in others fighting over the screens.

The Celtics on the other hand were awful all night on offense.  Paul Pierce was limited to 6-14 shooting from the field and missed two critical free throws that would have given Boston the lead when they trailed the Magic in the fourth quarter 75-76.  Ray Allen, as has been the case all series long, was absent.  The Celtics have to be wondering what is going on with Allen, who outside of his big three in Game 5, has been a detriment to Boston’s chances of advancing.  If Boston is to win Game 5, they will need Allen to find his groove if they want to win Game 7 on Sunday.

Rajon Rondo was very effective in this game with 19 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists, but his contributions in the second half of the game were minimal, additionally his 5 turnovers were costly for the Celtics.  Kendrick Perkins was solid, once again, defending Howard and contributing 15 points and 10 rebounds.  Glen Davis cam back down to earth last night after the two most impressive games of his career and played 25 minutes, scoring only 6 points.  Boston’s bench is depleted as it is, but Scalabrine and Eddie House played well in their minutes on the floor adding 13 points together.

Looking forward to Game 7 it will be interesting to see if Ray Allen can get out of this funk and add some offense that Celtics are in desperate need of right now.  If he does the Celtics should clinch the series, but if not, this game could go either way especially if Howard plays inspired basketball as he did last night.  The Magic also need to start hitting their perimeter shots and make the Celtics pay.  I expect this contest to be close throughout, but the Celtics’ championship experience last year should payoff in crunch time, pulling away late in the game and advancing to meet Cleveland.

Western Conference Semi-Final: Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs. Houston Rockets (5) Series Lead 3-3

Game 6: Houston 83 – Los Angeles 75 F

Kudos to the Rockets, but this game is all about how unmotivated the Lakers have played many times in this series.  They came out flat and immediately fell behind 15-1, being dominated defensively by Luis Scola, not exactly the most skilled offensive player.  Scola looked like a Hall-of-famer in the first quarter putting in 14 points and grabbing 7 rebounds.

Aaron Brooks was phenomenal again leading the Rockets with 26 points and 4 assists.  It’s clear at this point that the Lakers have no answers for the speed and quickness that Brooks possesses.  He is simply abusing the Lakers’ point guard trio of Fisher, Farmar and Brown.  Not only is Brooks’ getting point for himself, but the Lakers are being forced to rotate help his way because of their point guards’ inability to keep him out of the paint and the Rockets are burning them with unselfish ball movement finding open shooters and cutters.

Aaron Brooks shoots over Lamar Odom in the second half

Gasol and Bynum spent the entire night taking turns being abused by Scola on offense and while Gasol was able to contribute 14 point and 11 rebounds, Bynum was largely invisible with 0 points and 7 rebounds in his 19 minutes.  Lamar Odom played gutsy off the bench chipping in with 8 points and 14 rebounds, but the Lakers desperately much better play from their frontcourt.  They should be owning the glass against the Rockets but instead only outrebounded the Rockets 45-39.

Artest and Battier took turns yesterday frustrating Bryant who had to work for his 32 points on 11-27 of shooting from the field.  Bryant’s inability as the team’s leader to get this team to compete at a high level night and nighout is alarming.  In the regular season is one thing, but to have these problems continue into the playoffs and allow a Houston team without its top two players to take them to seven is ridiculous.  What is even worse is Phil Jackson’ nonchalant attitude everything simply saying the Lakers are a different team at home.

The Lakers should still win this series in seven aand advance, but the Nuggets’ chances are looking better, though this L.A. team has a tendency to rise to the occasion when absolutely necessary.  Whatever is ailing the Lakers they need to figure it out and soon because they will be playing a motivated Denver team who if they beat, which is a big maybe, they will probably be facing King James’ Cleveland team in the finals, where a lack of effort will be sure to earn the Lakers a 2nd consecutive Finals defeat.