Brady, Bucs Continue to Haunt Raiders

Final Score: TB 45 LV 20 [L] (3-3)

I guess you can say this is going to be my "farewell tour" for the next couple of weeks. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers come into town today and score 21 unanswered to finish off the Raiders in a 45-20 rout. This game was initially supposed to be a Sunday Night game until it was flexed out because a certain Raider failed to follow COVID-19 protocol. I will address that later.

Figures this would happen after a bye week and after a big win against the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago. Games after the bye week literally are the Achilles heel for this. For the most part, this game was pretty competitive at the start. The Raiders scored on their opening drive as Derek Carr connected on a 20-yard passing TD to Nelson Agholor. Agholor had a good game today leading the Raiders in receiving with 107 receiving yards and the aforementioned TD. The Raiders were within striking distance down 11 at the half. And then the game just got away from them.

Big plays and the lack of a running game ultimately doomed the Raiders today. The Bucs' leading receiver is Scotty Miller with 109 receiving yards and 1 TD. A lot of Miller's yardage came off of big plays and he caught a big 33-yard grab to help Tampa Bay extend their lead to 10 before the PAT. The Brady-Gronk reconnection is just starting to warm up. They hooked up for a score last week against Green Bay and they followed that up again today. The Bucs have a lot of weapons at their disposal. You talk about Gronk, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, Ronald Jones II, Leonard Fournette. The secondary couldn't account for all of them and Tom Brady just did what he did in spreading the ball around.

Last week, Tampa Bay's run defense proved their legitimacy by holding the Packers' strong rushing attack to under 100 yards. Then again, Aaron Rodgers uncharacteristically threw picks the game. But, today they backed it up. The Raiders racked up a mere 76 yards on the ground and Derek Carr and Henry Ruggs were the only players that were above 5 yards per carry. It simply wasn't there, especially behind a makeshift offensive line. That O-line got thinner as soon as Gabe Jackson was hit with a "BS" unsportsmanlike penalty and ejection after the 3rd quarter drive which capped with a Carr-Waller TD. Jackson didn't even initiate that scrum after the score. But because it's the Raiders and Jackson did have that incident in 2017 when he knocked down a referee against the Broncos, of course he has a big target on his back.

The only silver lining here is that the Raiders got out with a .500 record in their toughest stretch. Going forward, the schedule gets a lot easier and there's plenty of opportunity for the Raiders to rack up some wins. The Browns are an enigma. Chargers are in rebuilding mode. Broncos have some things to work on with Drew Lock. The Jets are pathetic. The Falcons are masters in their craft in blowing leads. The schedule ahead is pretty favorable for Jon Gruden, Derek Carr, and company.

Now, I mentioned I'm calling out one Raider for failing to follow COVID-19 protocol. As if dealing with one "Brown" was enough last year, another is stirring up some trouble this year. Trent Brown, how stupid are you? The Raiders failed to follow COVID-19 protocol yet again because big Trent decided to be negligent and prompt the Raiders to send the entire offensive line home to quarantine. From what I heard, the NFL might take a draft pick away from them. The thing about Trent Brown is that he's good when he's available. But, the guy finds ways to not get on the field. It's frustrating for the Raiders and it's frustrating for Gruden and Mayock. At this pace, he is literally taking the Andrew Bynum route of getting himself out of the league. Super Bowl champion, Pro Bowl, big bucks, no more love for the game and getting injured. Those 2019 offseason additions outside of the draft continue to make a negative impact for this team. That's my rant for the day. I'll see you guys next week. 

Moving On

Hi guys. Hope you all are having a splendid week. I'm pretty sure everybody's still celebrating the Lakers' 2020 Championship run. Or having a relaxing bye week like the Raiders after a huge win over the Kansas City Chiefs and gearing up for Sunday Night against the Buccaneers. It's nice to have a week off and reflect on some things and so on and so forth.

I wanted to make this announcement on Sunday, but I've been super busy wrapping up one half of the Fall Semester of my Masters program. And now that's out of the way, I have time to effectively announce my future and the future of this blog. To say I'm "retiring" is not the word I want to throw out there. It's more like I'll be going into a long-term hiatus. I don't know when I'll come back and post content. It could be a year from now. Two years from now. Five years from now. Or maybe fifteen years from now. That's up for me to decide. But, I have decided after witnessing my Lakers' run to the NBA Championship this season, I am effectively moving on from this blog at the conclusion of the Raiders' 2020 NFL Season. 

To be honest, I contemplated about this for a couple of years now. My endgame was that either the Lakers make it to the NBA Finals, win or lose, or the Raiders make it to the Super Bowl, win or lose. Having both scenarios happen would be a plus. But, once one of those scenarios happened, I was going to move on from this blog. When the Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship, I felt really satisfied and reflected on the 10 years that I've had this blog. I covered what was nearly a decade of mediocrity with both the Raiders and Lakers failing to win championships. Of course, there are a few bright spots like when I recapped the late Kobe Bryant's final game when he dropped 60 points over the Utah Jazz or when the Raiders went 12-4 later in the same year, covering all those come from behind wins. But other than that because the Raiders and Lakers have been terrible through all these years, it has been nothing but pain on this blog. I've been typing out the same regurgitating stuff about what they can do to get better or if certain players or coaches need to get cut or fired. I'm thankful the Lakers got good again with LeBron James and Anthony Davis as I reached my "twilight years" of posting on and managing this blog. And when the Lakers won it all this year, it was right and then and there that this is the decision I wanted to make. 

I made this blog undergo a lot of changes since I first started. I was just beginning my junior year of high school and I lost a lot of writing material because my previous laptop failed and I didn't have a backup drive to save them. I had aspirations to be a writer and the day I lost all of my writing crippled my drive to write again. Starting this blog after that incident in August 2010 was like a haven for me because it was a way to keep my writing style alive. Writing and blogging about my beloved Raiders and Lakers came out of the blue because sports is a consistent topic to blog about.

When I first started, I was actually covering three teams: the then Oakland Raiders, LA Lakers, and the San Jose Sharks. My high school was very religious about Sharks hockey and yes, I do like the Sharks as well. But, I didn't have much knowledge about the NHL or hockey as I did with football and basketball. By the time I transitioned over to college, I dropped the Sharks (still rooted for them though) and stuck to what I knew best and that was Raiders football and Lakers basketball. And that's pretty much when I rebranded this blog as True Raider Laker. By 2013 after doing three years of short recaps and stats highlights, I expanded my posts to share more of my knowledge about the games with the quarter-by-quarter (Q by Q) reactions and full recaps. I just typed what I saw in the games from my perspective. I'm not an expert or anything. It was all subjective on the pluses and minuses after the games.

In 2015, I synergized my YouTube channel, MechG2994, with this blog, starting up TrueRaiderLaker Productions where I simulcasted my hype videos on my channel and on this blog. My 2015 "New Generation" Raiders video caught the eye of a prominent Raiders YouTuber. You may have known him somewhere as "Donkey Lips." But we all know him as Mikey Raider. I was able to drive traffic to my channel, but I missed a big opportunity to drive traffic to my blog. From my 2016 Lakers Hype Video onward, I started watermarking the URL to my blog. I stopped at my 2019 videos because I assumed most of my viewers were annoyed by it. 

2018-2020 was like a "jumbo" era for this blog. I immediately cut off the real-time Q by Q reactions. And as a Raider fan, I pretty much lost my sanity when Jon Gruden infamously dealt Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears before the season started and eventually Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys in the middle of the season. And of course we had the following year with the saga of Antonio Brown the Clown and the Raiders losing their last home game in Oakland against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. Time will tell if Gruden and Mike Mayock rebounded from that mess. There's still a lot of issues, but the Raiders are off to a solid start in their inaugural Las Vegas season. On the Lakers front, it was not as bad, but still bad as the organization couldn't get a plan together and decide if they want championships now or hold onto the young core for long-term sustainability. Rob Pelinka definitely proved naysayers wrong after Magic Johnson resigned, trading for AD and putting a "Plan B" championship team with quality veterans and young players who understood their roles. Like I said, I'm thankful the Lakers got good again to bring some positivity to this blog. By my later years, I started to care less about this blog, but the Lakers' resurgence this past season gave me something to hang onto by a thread.

2020 man, this year has been a year of unpredictability. Kobe Bryant's tragic death sent this world into a tailspin. The following months, all sports have been suspended and we all locked down to contain the spread of COVID-19. And of course on a personal note, I lost my dad overseas and pretty much I have to step up now as the new man of the household. If the NBA continued as planned and the Lakers still won, I would've announced this in June and I wouldn't be around for the first 2020 Las Vegas Raiders season. But life works in mysterious ways. The NBA restarted in July in a bubble setting. The NFL went on as planned with limited to no fans. The Lakers were crowned champions this month, but the Raiders are just getting started. I'll still hang around since football season is current. But like I said, after this season, barring an improbable Super Bowl run by the Raiders, I am moving on to oversee new projects I want to groom and take care of some personal stuff.

I had a great time managing this blog and sharing my fandom for the Silver and Black and the Purple and Gold. But, all good things must come to an end at some point. As I mentioned, I wouldn't say I'm retiring. I won't be around on this blog or post content as much as I used to. However, my TrueRaiderLaker Productions content will hang around as long as I have a visual idea. But, they'll be taking a back seat going forward. I'm thinking about dispersing another niche on my YouTube channel and letting that grow as something new and independent. I'm not gonna close down this blog after this incumbent Raiders season that's for sure. This blog and all of its posts will live on. After all, what happens on the Internet, stays on the Internet. I'll see you guys later.

LAKERS 2020 NBA CHAMPIONS!

Final Score: LAL 106 MIA 93 - LAKERS WIN 4-2!

HOW BOUT THEM LAKERS? HOW...BOUT...THEM...LAKERS??????? I am smiling from ear to ear as I'm typing this post. I'm a couple hours late since the game ended due to a whole lot of celebrating and sharing with my Laker friends and family. After a bitter Game 5 defeat, the Lakers got it done tonight. They put together a defense to offense clinic to close out the scrappy Miami Heat in six in a 106-93 victory to capture the franchise' 17th title in its history. They tie their bitter rivals, Boston Celtics, for the most titles in NBA history.

I just reflect on this. It's been 10 years since I opened up this blog. Between the Raiders and Lakers, I knew it was more of a guarantee to cover a Lakers championship season. But it hasn't worked that way in these past 9 years. I've covered nearly all the NBA Finals in that span, but I was hoping, wishing I'd cover an NBA Finals here on this blog with the Lakers being involved. As much of a horrible year 2020 currently is for us Laker fans and for myself personally, I wanted this moment more than anything. And it feels great. Of all the 100+ recaps on this blog, I'm going to remember this one for a very long time.

First off, Heat Nation, I tip my hat off to you and your team. It wasn't an easy task to face off against this young, scrappy Miami Heat team. You can hold your heads high on this team. They will be a problem in the East for years to come as long as Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra are engineering this organization. With the improbable run they had, they will for sure be a destination for enticing free agents who want to join a championship-contending team. 

But, there could only be one champion and the Lakers took care of business and ended this whole NBA bubble fiasco. It's an old cliché in sports that "defense wins championships." And it was exemplified tonight. Frank Vogel, once again, came up with a big time adjustment by reshuffling the starting lineup. He put AD at the Center position and inserted Alex Caruso in the starting lineup for more defensive pressure. It wasn't until the 2nd quarter where we saw this adjustment as the most ingenious adjustment. 

The Lakers put on a defensive masterpiece that 2nd quarter. They ballooned the lead to as many as 28 points and outscored the Heat 36 to 16. It was then and there that this game was over. They just took the fight out of the Miami Heat. The final score may not be reflection of this game, but Miami was absolutely brutalized as the Lakers constantly imposed their will. I said it last game, they had to come out "pissed off" after losing in those Black Mamba jerseys the last game. And the Lakers had no hesitation of pounding them into submission. To make matters worse, the Heat were missing free throws and absolutely missed so many bad shots. It puts a little blemish on Miami's hard-fought postseason run.

Individual performances, I know this guy hates the "Playoff Rondo" nickname, but he absolutely deserves it. Let's upgrade that to "Championship Rondo." Rajon Rondo was big at the beginning of the series. The last few games, he was solid, but not as much as Games 1 and 2. Tonight, he rekindled and was on the attack: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, three 3s off the bench. MVP of this game and certainly a part of history to win a champion as both a Boston Celtic and LA Laker. Alex Caruso's contribution won't show in the stats, but his insertion into the starting lineup certainly was a game-changer as the Lakers turned up the defensive heat (no pun intended) and played at a really fast pace in transition. Lakers were +20 when he was on the floor. KCP came up big once again with 17 points. Danny Green, way to shake off all the trash we gave you. Not an explosive performance, but Danny Green put up a solid 11 points and nailed three 3s. Anthony Davis bad heel and all was a monster on the boards and on the defensive end. He put up 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Glad to see he was moving well after limping his way to the finish line last game.

LeBron James, no question about it, he deserved Finals MVP of this series. He tied the knot in this series with a triple-double of 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists tonight. There is no question that the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) conversation will reopen up after this. Let's be real here, Michael Jordan's 6-0 finals record will never be duplicated. But, we can't disregard LeBron's path as an all-time great in his own right: the only player to win championships and Finals MVP on three different teams. He's the only player since Bill Russell and 60's Celtics to make the NBA Finals for nearly a whole decade. Lead a team down 3-1 to a championship comeback for his home town against historically, the best regular season team ever. LeBron has a plethora of accomplishments that shouldn't be swept under the rug. And this championship adds on to his legacy. The scary part for all NBA teams outside of the Lakers? He's not done.

I'm not sure how I want to end this recap. It's such a bittersweet moment for this franchise after the tragedy on January 26 when we lost Kobe Bryant in that helicopter crash, a day after LeBron surpassed him on the NBA's all-time scoring list. This championship is dedicated to him, his daughter Gigi, and the other lives that were lost in that accident. This championship is also for Chick Hearn, Wilt Chamberlain, and Dr. Jerry Buss, the greatest owner in all of professional sports. On a personal note, this championship is for my late dad. As I mentioned, he was a Laker fan since the Showtime era and I wish my brother and I were celebrating with him now. This year was terrible all-around, but this is a silver lining.

Offseason-wise, definitely Anthony Davis is a must re-sign. The Lakers must continue to improve the roster in order to successfully defend the title next year. But all that will be decided a little later. The roster decisions made by Rob Pelinka for this year was beautifully orchestrated. After the Kawhi Leonard free agency fiasco, he unveiled a solid Plan B, built around LeBron and AD and, assembled a unit that Frank Vogel can get the best out of. He was the real Executive of the Year. They can take that to the bank. Also special shoutout to Dwight Howard. He has redeemed himself from 2012-13 and was absolutely deserving of this ring. This was full circle for him, becoming a champion in Orlando. I wouldn't be surprised if he retired after this (actually, let's bring him back please). I have nothing else to say. I will not post an annual "Season in Review." This is the cherry on top. All the things I said in the past about being against signing LeBron and trading the young core for AD, I'm going to eat some good crow tonight. Never have I been this happy to be wrong. Thank you LeBron. Please stay AD. Laker Nation, this year has been real. Let's continue to celebrate this win and celebrate responsibly. NBA Champions baby!!!!!!!!

Raiders Pull Off A Major "Stunner" vs. Chiefs; Snap Losing Streak @ Arrowhead

Final Score: LV 40 KC 32 [W] (3-2)

They did it. They absolutely did it! Compelling performance from the Raiders today just a couple of minutes ago. Going on the road at Kansas City to face the Chiefs at a raucous Arrowhead hasn't been kind to them the last couple of years. But today, that nightmare ended as the Raiders beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium 40-32. Derek Carr outduels Patrick Mahomes and gets his first win against Kansas City on the road.

I mentioned this in the last recap, this was a "legacy" game for Derek Carr. One of the blackmarks that he had in his career is that he is 0-6 previously at Arrowhead Stadium against the Chiefs. A lot of those losses came late in the season in cold weather games. This season was his best chance to get a win with the weather being over 80 degrees over there. On the plus side, he got his deep threat Henry Ruggs back and right tackle Trent Brown back. He balled out. I gotta give credit where it's due. He still got ways to go before I can hop back on the Carr train. I want him to regain that 2016 form more than anybody else, which is why I have been harsh on him these past seasons. 

But, this is a stepping stone today. 347 passing yards 3 TDs, 1 INT, and two huge QB sneaks on 4th down. This game is an example of what we always wanted out of Carr. We want him to be aggressive, take shots down field, and give your receivers a chance to make a play. Yes, he threw one pick. But how he responded made that turnover forgettable. He was constantly looking to air it out today. A deep ball to Ruggs for 46 yards on the opening drive. Deep ball to Nelson Agholor for a 59 yard TD. Deep ball to Ruggs again for a 72 yard TD to allow the Raiders to retake a 24-21 lead. And another one to Hunter Renfrow for 42 yards on a critical 3rd and 18 in the 4th. 

How about Henry Ruggs impact today? He only had two receptions, but the numbers I mentioned, he totaled up to 118 receiving yards today and a TD. The Chiefs defense had to be sick to their stomach after letting him loose that first half. They always face someone similar to Ruggs every day in practice. Does Tyreek Hill ring a bell? The Raiders sure gave them a taste of their own medicine for that. Ruggs' presence absolutely opened a lot of opportunities for the offense.

The first half, it was great to see the Raiders scratch and claw back into this game against Patrick Mahomes and a potent Chiefs offense. The 2nd half was even better because they were an absolute no show until late in the 4th. Kudos to the defense and the running game for showing up in that 2nd half. At some point in that half, the Raiders dominated time of possession: 16 minutes to KC's 4 minutes. The offense did a fantastic job keeping Mahomes off the field and kept pushing on the gas with Josh Jacobs securing two more TDs in the ground game. The defense tightened up that 2nd half. The pressure was getting to Mahomes. He was still elusive, but he can only do much. That entire unit hung around and they eventually got a big play with Jeff Heath's INT that helped set up the Raiders to go up by two scores. Holding the Chiefs offense to just 8 points in the 2nd half is a big win and perhaps Paul Guenther lives to coordinate a defense another week. 

This is a monumental win against the defending champs and a great way for the Raiders to head into their Week 6 bye. It was essential to let those Chiefs know that they may be one step ahead in the AFC West, but this Raiders team is on the come up. Raider Nation, we're going to enjoy this win for these next two weeks. We got two weeks to savor this at the expense of Chiefs "King-Dumb." After that, regroup and focus against Tampa Brady and the Bucs on Sunday Night, Week 7. I'll see you guys later. 

Lakers Coronation Denied: Heat Stave Off Elimination

Final Score: MIA 111 LAL 108 - Lakers Lead 3-2

Welcome in to the full recap. The Miami Heat live to fight another day as they scratched and clawed to a 111-108 win. They prevent the Lakers from celebrating a 17th title tonight.

I'm gonna sound like a Debbie downer throughout this post. So bear with me. 

WE WERE SO CLOSE!

The finish of that game really hurt. If you're an NBA fan, definitely this was a game for the ages. Especially when the Lakers rallied, both these teams exchanged bucket after bucket. And it set up a thrilling finish at the end.

But if you're a Laker fan, like I am, I feel like my heart just shattered into a thousand pieces after seeing that final possession. They just needed one bucket. Heat had no timeouts and had to go the length the court. And they came up empty handed.

In all fairness, kudos to the Miami Heat. This has been their M.O. throughout the postseason. They haven't been in a 3-1 hole and as I mentioned last game, I expected them to come out as the more desperate team. And they did just that. Jimmy Butler stepped up when he needed to. 35 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists, 5 steals. He's one of the best two-way players for a reason. But, the main killer this game was Duncan Robinson. He has been a consistent double-figure scorer this postseason, but this kid had the game of his life tonight. 27 points and shot a scorching hot 7-13 from 3s. He made a couple of four-point play opportunities from those. Kendrick Nunn also stepped up with 14 points off the bench. He literally was the bench as Miami went with a 7-man rotation tonight.

Now onto the Lakers, total wasted effort tonight. It's been awhile since I've been this disappointed. LeBron James laid it all on the line out there with 40 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. He was smoking the race for Finals MVP. He played throughout the entire 4th quarter.

Wasted. 

Anthony Davis, bad heel and all, doing it on both ends of the floor with 28 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. He was hobbled during those final seconds and still willed himself in true Mamba Mentality fashion to finish the game.

Wasted.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had another big game. He finished with 16 points on 6-15 shooting. He gave the Lakers back their first lead with a three at the 6:20 mark and had another big bucket to put them up by three.

Wasted. Wasted all because of a botched final possession. LeBron made a play, got the Heat defense to gravitate towards him. Danny Green is all alone at the top, had a wide open look and he missed it. Markieff Morris had the rebound, he had LeBron open at the wing, but opted to force a pass inside to AD. Out of bounds. Heat basketball. The Lakers lose for the first time in the Mamba jerseys.

The supporting cast outside of KCP, Rondo, and Dwight with the limited minutes he had were such a huge letdown. I've defended Kyle Kuzma all postseason long. But, he was garbage tonight. 'Kieff was a non-factor tonight. Alex Caruso also didn't make too much of an impact. Danny Green, I could care less if he was +8 on the floor. As if he can't disappoint us more enough offensively in these playoffs. He had the chance to be the Lakers' John Paxson in 1993 and erase everything we've said about him throughout. But, nope same old Danny Green. Seriously, "how many more" threes are you gonna miss? Huge letdown.

I got nothing more to say. They lost in the Mamba jerseys. Just drop the show now. You only win once with them every round. As I mentioned, I had this series go six, but the way the Lakers dropped the ball tonight, I have never been this disappointed to see my prediction come true. If Miami won by 15, I wouldn't have any problem. But, it was such a close game that met a disappointing finish, especially when LeBron and AD were giving it everything they got. It's a wait and see on Sunday. We'll be refreshing the news feed on AD's aggravated heel injury. But, the Lakers gotta look back at this and come out in Game 6 with a lot of anger. The Heat were more aggressive tonight. It's a must that the Lakers respond in kind, especially after a letdown like this. I'll see you guys later.

Lakers Grind Out W vs. Heat to Take 3-1 Lead

Final Score: LAL 102 MIA 96 - Lakers Lead 3-1

Welcome in to the full recap of Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Lakers rebounded from an ugly Game 3 loss that was marred by turnovers and foul trouble. They pick up the victory tonight in a 102-96 win and take once again a 3-1 lead. They're only one win away from their 17th NBA Championship.

This was not an easy game to close out. The Heat are a very dangerous team when you let them within striking distance, especially in that 4th quarter. This was a slow game to start. But a good defensive one. At the 2nd half though, the Lakers once again did what they did and clamp down on the Miami Heat offense. No Jimmy Butler to go off for another 40-point game. He started a perfect 5-5 in the first quarter, but struggled mightily down the stretch. Frank Vogel made the adjustment of having Anthony Davis guard Butler rather than the returning Bam Adebayo and AD's presence proved to be a huge factor for the Lakers today. Coach Vogel was on top of the adjustments this game with AD checking Butler and making the 2nd half adjustment in putting Markieff Morris in the starting lineup when Dwight Howard was ineffective for the most part this game. 

AD the last game was a non-factor due to early foul trouble. But tonight, he impacted the game all-around. As I mentioned, Vogel assigned AD to guard Butler for the majority game. His size and length did a great job disrupting Jimmy B's line of sight to the basket for the most part. Down the stretch, he was huge on both ends with a dagger three to put the Lakers up 100-91 and a big block on Butler in the final seconds to deny Miami's bid for an improbable run. He bounced back with a solid all-around game with 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

LeBron James struggled early on in this game. He was held in check to single digits in the first half. But the second half is when he really got going. The turnovers were still prevalent as James committed 6 turnovers, leading the Lakers in that category. He did take some questionable shot selections from behind the arc. The Lakers were in a close game and he just continued to chuck up 3s in that third quarter. Luckily enough, Rajon Rondo was in position to block out and get the offensive rebounds during those sequences for the Lakers.

The supporting cast showed up for this game. As I mentioned, Rondo didn't score much with 2 points, but was impactful on the offensive boards with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma had a dip in scoring that we expected on game-by-game basis, but each contributed with 9 points. Alex Caruso added 7 points and sacrificed his body like usual to draw charges. Danny Green got off to a hot start with 10 points, but cooled off since then. The main headline though, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, had 15 points. KCP was huge tonight with 8 points to start. He cooled down a little bit. But in the big moment, he went on a mini 5-0 run with a clutch 3 in the corner and a driving layup to put the Lakers up 95-88 in the final seconds of the 4th. He can be hard to trust in those situations, but the poise was evident out there. You can say Klutch Sports took over this game for the Lakers. LeBron, AD, and KCP are a part of that agency with agent, Rich Paul. They are the top three leading scorers for the Lakers tonight. 

The free throw disparity was the main reason that this game was close for the most part. I think I remember on the ESPN graphic, the Lakers only had 3 free throw attempts while the Heat had 16 of them. You could tell all the calls were favoring the Heat for the most part. Miami got away with a whole lot of contact in some spurts of the game. By the end of the game though, the Lakers were starting to get calls in their favor and the fact that they put Miami in the penalty early on was huge. By the end of the game, the free throws were a lot closer with the Heat attempting 26 while the Lakers finished with 21 free throw attempts.

Well, the Lakers have been here before if the last three series were any indication. Miami has not been in this situation throughout this postseason. The Lakers are one win away from another title. The job is not finished though as Kobe Bryant would mutter out. Especially with two extra days, the Heat have ample time to be at full strength. We don't know how serious Goran Dragic's foot is or whether he can return to the court. Regardless, you can expect the Heat to come out with more desperation than they have all postseason long. For the Lakers, this is it. The message for Game 5 is simple: leave nothing out there on the court! LeBron and AD have to kick it into high gear. The supporting cast, we're going to need you to step your game up once more. Just for this one more game, leave nothing behind and give it your all. Get this 'ship! For Kobe! For Gigi! For Chick Hearn! And for Dr. Jerry Buss! Just one more baby! Let's wrap this up on Friday! I'll see you guys later.

Raiders Handed First Las Vegas Home Loss vs. Bills

Final Score: BUF 30 LV 23 [L] (2-2)

Okay. Time to drive this double time on the blog home with this. The Raiders returned home after an ugly loss in New England last week. Still, it was the same old story as the Raiders couldn't rebound in a 30-23 loss to the Buffalo Bills who are riding high to a 4-0 start.

This was pretty much a repeat theme from the Patriots loss last week. A lot of points left out there on the field, but you can only do so much with so many injuries. I mentioned last week, that I wouldn't put too much blame on the defense. This week, yes they are a negative this game. They were disappointing to start. No push, no pressure whatsoever. I'm pretty sure the gameplan was not to let Josh Allen run out of the pocket because he's prone to do that when he feels pressure. But it backfired in a hurry as Allen was able to sit in the pocket and find targets with ease. 

It didn't help that the secondary was dropping like flies and coming in and out of the game to create a lot of inconsistencies. That showed on the first TD of the game for Buffalo. Amik Robertson filled in with injuries to LaMarcus Joyner and Nevin Lawson. He gets burned for a 26-yard TD to Gabriel Davis. 

The defense overall didn't play well this game. I'm not surprised that Paul Guenther is on the hot seat. What bothers me more is that I'm not seeing the impact play from Clelin Ferrell on the D-line. Four weeks into the season, I just don't see it. The fact that the Raiders reached him that high last year is still a headscratcher to me. He was a decent prospect, but definitely not top 5 pick material.

For the offense, it was the same story this game. I won't put the blame too much on Derek Carr. Although, he did fumble the ball late in the 4th to deny the Raiders a bid for a comeback. There was a lot of points left out there on the table. Untimely penatlies, drops, and a crucial fumble by Darren Waller in a one-score game cost the offense so many positive drives this game. Going back to Carr, it's not completely his fault today. He put the ball where it needed and Waller and Nelson Agholor, as solid of a game they had in the receiving game, didn't put enough effort to make a play in critical situations. Like last week, the offense was most effective in scoring during the 2-minute drill in the first half and in garbage time when the game is well out of reach.

The injuries to the offensive side of the ball is catching up to the running game, which is the Raiders' strength. This is where the extended absences of Henry Ruggs, Trent Brown, and Richie Incognito make an impact. The Raiders rushed for only 86 yards. Josh Jacobs certainly struggled to find holes to the open field with 48 rushing yards on 12 carries. He only had 2 big 10+ yards this game, but that's not saying much. It's frustrating to watch that run game struggle without Brown and Incognito on the O-line and Ruggs out there to stretch the field. As I said, these injuries are hindering on what is the biggest strength of the Raiders' offense.

As I mentioned, the Raiders get the toughest 5-week stretch to open up the season before their bye week. The only surprise was the win against New Orleans, but everything else has been expected. The last two losses, Buffalo and New England are expected go neck-and-neck in the race for the AFC East. Next week, the Raiders visit Patty Mahomes earlier than expected in Arrowhead. And judging by these recent losses, they are still far away from catching up to the Chiefs in terms of talent. But, the Raiders have to show us they can hang around for 60 minutes. Last year's matchups against these Chiefs were brutal with the blowouts. 

Most of all, next week is probably Derek Carr's legacy game. There are two black marks on Carr's career with the Raiders: his Win-Loss ratio and the fact that he's 0-6 at Arrowhead. Mahomes is everything that we expected out of Carr and more. As devoid of talent he has on the offense, Derek Carr has to elevate what he currently has around him. This week is not his fault entirely. But next week, he has to play like a franchise quarterback. No exceptions. No garbage time stats. I'll see you guys next week.

"The Butler Did It" - Lakers Couldn't Contain Jimmy Buckets in Game 3 Loss

Final Score: LAL 104 MIA 115 - Lakers Lead 2-1

Welcome in to the full recap of Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The shorthanded Miami Heat pulled off an inspiring performance, behind Jimmy Butler's 40-point triple-double as they beat the heavily-favored Lakers 104-115.

Despite the loss, the Lakers hung around  throughout the game, eventually recapturing the lead at 91-89 at the 9:01 mark in the 4th. It was just a couple of things that were eventually magnified down the stretch. For the good parts of the game: Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma stepped up with the scoring off the bench. They combined for 38 points, 19 each, both on 6-13 shooting. They brought the scoring and 3-point spark while the rest were a non-factor in that category. 

The offense got off to a very slow start with turnovers and early foul trouble from AD. Kuz and Kieff's timely buckets kept the Lakers hanging around when it looked like the Heat were pulling away. LeBron James had to pick up the slack when the Heat completely took out Anthony Davis this game. It was a mixed bag game for LeBron with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 blocks but 8 turnovers and he did struggle from the free throw line.

I already hinted at the games, so I'll go in-depth on them. The turnovers and AD in foul trouble are two big negatives that kept the Lakers out of reach this game. They started off the game with 10 turnovers in the first quarter! They totaled 19 turnovers throughout the game. The ball movement was so sloppy tonight. While there was more activity on Miami's defensive end than the last two games, it was more so of a series of mental errors on the Lakers' part tonight. 

Anthony Davis is off to hot start in these finals. This game? Not so much. The big reason? Foul trouble. AD committed 3 fouls in the 1st half and it pretty took him off his game and forced the Lakers to play small ball. The Heat cashed in on that opportunity big time. The Lakers' loss of rim protection is the Heat's gain of spacing the floor. That lack up of rim protection opened huge lanes for them to attack the basket and the Lakers were caught rotating late because of the miscommunication on defense. It also allowed them to just zone in on LeBron, despite the fact he still dominated found ways to attack the paint.

We gotta give where credit is due, Jimmy Butler put the team on his back tonight with 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. The Laker defense had no answer for him. It didn't matter who was on him. He looked like Michael Jordan out there, automatic with his midrange jumper. He did most of his damage when smaller guys like KCP and Caruso guarded him off a switch. He was as aggressive as a facilitator as well. Jae Crowder, Duncan Robinson, and Kelly Olynyk were each in double figures. Tyler Herro struggled for most of the game, but finished strong with clutch scoring to put the game on ice. All of them got the benefit off of Jimmy Buckets' unselfish play.

We shouldn't be surprised. The Lakers tend to drop a game throughout this postseason. But really, it was such an uncharacteristic game with the early turnovers and AD in foul trouble. Solid performances by Kuz and Kieff off the bench were definitely wasted tonight. It's difficult to ask for consistency from them. We'll see what happens. The Lakers are expected to still take the championship. But, the Heat will be rewarded for this inspiring performance with Bam Adebayo getting healthy for Game 4 to bolster their frontcourt. It was fun while it lasted, but the Lakers have to rebound and stay locked in. These NBA Finals are far from done based on how this game went. I'mma have to jump in to the Raiders-Bills recap now. It's not a good feeling when both these teams lose on the same day. I'll see you guys later.

Raiders-Bills Recap Will Follow After the Recap of Game 3 of the NBA Finals

AD, LeBron, Rondo Dominate Shorthanded Heat to Take 2-0 Series Lead

Final Score: MIA 114 LAL 124 - Lakers Lead 2-0

Welcome in to the full recap of Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Despite being shorthanded, the Heat did all they can. But, they were overmatched at the end of the day as the Lakers dominate them again 114-124 to take a 2-0 series lead.

We're halfway there. Miami came in absolutely overmatched with Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic out. We expected the Lakers to take advantage of this mismatch. For the most part, they did. They did what needed to be done. Against LeBron and AD when they're roaming in the paint, the Heat's zone defense were sitting ducks. They were just absolutely void of size and length to counter the dynamic duo for the purple and gold.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Rajon Rondo carried this team to this win. AD just brutalized the Heat, especially in that 3rd quarter. Nobody on Miami's roster was able to box him out or put a body on him. It didn't matter because the Brow barely missed from the field and was a machine on the offensive boards. He finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds on 15-20 shooting. As I keep saying throughout when he puts up these kinds of numbers: he's a man among boys.

LeBron James lead the team with 33 points. He almost recorded a triple-double with 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Pretty much, if you're the shorthanded Heat playing your typical zone defense, you have AD manhandling your entire roster. Once you put more attention on him, that frees up LeBron to attack. There's no sugarcoating it, the Heat defense have no answer in slowing down LeBron and AD. They are in a no-win situation when they have to account for both, especially missing key guys on the floor.

Rajon Rondo was huge off the bench with 16 points and 10 assists and connected on three 3-pointers. I'll get to the atrocious 3-point shooting shortly, but Rondo was the only one who was consistently knocking them down tonight. The Heat dared him to shoot and they paid the price for that. Against the zone, he picked Miami apart. He picked his spots and scored or found AD or LeBron roaming in the paint. He may not like the "Playoff Rondo" nickname. But time and time throughout this postseason he has came up big.

The only reasons that this game was close than it should've been was the high number of 3-point attempts and the Lakers gifting them free throws. Especially, when they have AD dominating like he did in the 3rd quarter, they let the Heat hang around with foul trouble. They are a great free throw shooting team and had 34 attempts and connected on 31 of those free throws. Not to mention, Heat players who barely played stepped up, especially Kelly Olynyk. I wouldn't know what to say if the Heat came back thanks to a 24-point performance from Olynyk off the bench. 

The 3-point shooting was the most frustrating part of the game. The Lakers set a finals record for 3-pointers attempted with 47 shots from behind the arc. But they only connected on 16 of them. This game should've been a 30-point win against this hapless, injury-ridden Miami Heat squad if the Lakers connected on 50% of those attempts! The open shots missed by Danny Green and KCP on the wings pissed me off. It's amazingly bad when Rondo shoots more efficiently than them when he's not even a good 3-point shooter himself. It should never come to that. Overall, the supporting cast outside of Rondo and Dwight Howard who got off to a hot start with 6 points and 2 blocks, was underwhelming compared to Game 1. As I said, the Lakers made this game close than it should've been because they were hideous on the 3-point game. You miss those, you let a good 3-point shooting team and a good free throw shooting team to hang around.

Whether it's a 10-point win or should've been a 30-point win, what's constant is that the Lakers handled their business tonight. They stay perfect with a 4-0 record when donning the Mamba jerseys in this postseason. As for Miami, they may be overmatched, but they have some fight left in them. It's not going to be easy to put away this team. The only difference is that this Heat team is not used to being down 0-2. Throughout these playoffs, they've gone 2-0 and they're confidence soared. The tables have turned. We don't know how long Dragic is out. We don't know how long Bam is out. The Lakers must stay the course and put Miami out of their misery for these next two games. I'll see you guys on Sunday for Game 3.