G08 LAL @ NOP PreGame Thread
I thought the short-handed Lakers (w/o Ellington) was quite impressive last night to compete against the mighty Memphis who hasn’t lost at home since Feb 2014 in a string of 14 games. It was a close loss 102-107 after being down 17pts (84-101) with 6 min to go.
It was a loss but Lakers could have stolen the game had they not been down too many points.
To put things in perspective, Lakers should have lost by 15-17pts but they mounted a comeback to only lose by 5pts.
What about tonight? This is a “scheduled loss” with a back-to-back game on the road when teams are tired. NO Pelicans had 1 day rest after losing to Cavs on Nov 10.
I expect Kobe to shoot more tonight after the botched play last night when he didn’t get the last shot being down 3 to have a chance to tie the game. It was miscommunication but Kobe would still want to prove himself as the alpha leader tonight. So I expect another loss due to the schedule and less teamwork. We just have to be realistic about the possible outcome.
The team would have to endure growing pains when Kobe ISOs or anyone ISOs will not be good enough to win against good teams. NOP is 3-3 but have another great big men in A. Davis and Omer Asik. Jeremy’s drives would be limited so he’d have to rely on PnR or 3pt shots which depend heavily on his teammates. So let’s have the realistic expectations while hoping Lin will find his groove to run his team, stay healthy and perform quite well to grow chemistry as a new team.
ESPN Game Preview: http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/preview?id=400578406 (NOP favored by -10.5 on odds)
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