Today the Los Angeles Lakers played the second to last game before the first round of the NBA playoffs. And might I add, they did phenomenally well.
The Lakers have been continuing to prove themselves after a long and grueling recovery from a team that fell apart. After the three-peat ending in 2002, the Lakers have had a less than successful record, season after season.
Despite all the negativity from other teams and the outside world, the Lakers have pushed through many obstacles that they have faced, one of them including the on-going rivalry of the San Antonio Spurs and the battle for a high-quality spot in the play-off round in the 2007-2008 season.
All major sports broadcasting networks said that this was going to be a good game to watch, that the Spurs and the Lakers are neck and neck in trying to get the number two spot for the play-offs; the New Orleans Hornets are in first. Many fans of both teams were in for a great surprise.
The game started and the Lakers had a hard time putting in a basket. The Spurs got up to seven points before the Lakers finally got their first basket in. The remainder of the first quarter was back and forth, ending the quarter at 25-23, Lakers lead. The second quarter was quite similar to the first and the score at half time was tied 53-53.
With both teams knowing what they had to do, the third quarter began. This is when it seemed as if the Lakers took flight and the Spurs were still on the ground watching. Laker, Pau Gasol did an exceptional job of shutting down Power Forward, Tim Duncan. Duncan went to the bench with six minutes still remaining in the game. Forward, Ronny Turiaf provided the usual surge of power and energized stamina to the court, specifically in the fourth quarter.
At this point the Lakers starting line-up was then on the bench cheering on their fellow teammates. Guard, Kobe Bryant rumored to be up for the NBA MVP award this 2007-2008 season was especially excited for his team to be doing so exceptionally well, he was one of the many smiles across the faces of the bench, including starter and Laker veteran Derek Fisher.
The final score ended being 106-85, Lakers. Not only did this put smiles on faces, this enabled the Lakers to have a better chance for having the number two spot for the play-off round, maybe even boosting themselves to first; they currently have a two game lead.
After the game, Derek Fisher said, “We’re built to play as a team and not rely on the individual talents of other guys, hopefully that can carry us a long way.”
Overall, the Lakers have had a hard four seasons in a row, being eliminated from the play-offs after the first round, two of the times by the well-rounded Phoenix Suns. It’s looking a lot better for the Lakers this year, but the question is, can they make it?
-Jess
The next time you can watch the Lakers play is on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 7:30 at home versus the Sacramento Kings.
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