SHOUTOUT TO THE GAUNTLET
Gary Payton Jr. was the shortest dude on the court last night, and he had what, three offensive rebounds in less than nine minutes?! I know it was during garbage time, but dude was out there bangin' it on like Lakers (backup) bigs.
And it says a lot that the Warriors didn't really need him nor Poole, two guys they leaned on heavily last postseason (until Payton got hurt), to dismantle LAL. If my previous theory is true, that the NBA wants the Lakers to win this series, then let's just say that the powers that be really have their work cut out for them. Or maybe, concerning Game 1, that was just their way of prolonging the series, making sure that Los Angeles doesn't get swept and therefore allowing the league to generate more revenue.
PASSING THE TORCH TO WHO?
Game 2 also illustrated what I meant a few days ago when I said Lebron isn't passing the torch to anyone. The only way the Lakers can beat the Warriors is by first of all punishing them inside, but this time around, you see that AD was no longer the focal point like in Game 1.
And I'm not blaming it all on Lebron, because it's actually Darvin Ham who's supposed to ensure that the team plays the right way. Also, Davis sometimes sorta looks like he doesn't want to be out there to begin with. But that kinda sh*t can happen when you have a superstar player who isn't getting enough touches. Back in the Pelicans days, AD would at least like touch the ball during every offensive possession. And I remember one postseason the lowly Pelicans, with AD and Jrue Holiday, did give the Dubs a run for their money.
AD + Lebron can potentially work, even against a team like the Warriors, if you have the right type of PG running the show. The thing is tho, Lebron doesn't really let anyone else run the point. But, I'm tired of beating that dead horse. Obviously, you can't count the Lakers out. But secondly, they need to be really focused on defense, and at this point in the season, it's kinda late to be experimenting to see who would be their best starting five defensively. In fact if it were really like that, Lebron may not be starting to begin with.
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