While everybody is spending Valentine's Day with the love of their life today, the only date that basketball fans have is NBA All-Star weekend. The break couldn't have come at a better time, but teams were not out of the woods yet. That bodes true for the Lakers. There was still business to take care of before LeBron, AD, and Dwight Howard head to All-Star weekend. Let's see how the team fared in this week's special Weekly Roundup.
02/10: vs. Phoenix 100-125 [W] (40-12)
Oh, the poor Suns. They showed a lot of promise early on this season when it looked like the franchise was turning the corner. Heading into the break, they find themselves under .500 again. To make matters worst, while AD dominated with 25 points and 10 rebounds, it was Rajon Rondo doing the most damage. Playoff Rondo came to play this game, dropping 23 points and connecting on four 3-pointers. Literally, the Suns' defense was daring him to shoot and they paid for it big time. On another side of note, Dwight Howard had 14 points and 15 rebounds off the bench. He's outplayed McGee during this stretch at Center. As for the Suns, at least Devin Booker is an All-Star after Damian Lillard strained his groin.
02/12: @ Denver 120-116 (OT) [W] (41-12)
What a way to close out the 1st half of the regular season! It doesn't get any better than this. The two best teams in the West going head to head. LeBron and AD going up against Jamal Murray and the Joker, Nikola Jokic. It was a game of momentum swings as the Nuggets jumped on the Lakers to a fast start. Then, the Lakers went on a massive run spearheaded by LeBron and AD, the energy of Alex Caruso, and the hustle and defense from Dwight Howard. Dwight again has proven his worth. He and AD were frustrating Jokic all game long. Jokic this game was relying on drawing contact, hoping the refs would blow their whistle. They weren't having it this game. The 4th quarter and OT presented a classic finish to this game and the Lakers behind the clutch 3-point shooting from AD. This game showed the Lakers aren't waiting on "Playoff Mode" to be activated this year. They've been sloppy. They've been emotionally strained during this stretch of the season. But this gutsy victory in Denver to go up 2-1 against a team that is a legitimate threat is a great game to build off of heading into a much-needed All-Star break.
No comments:
Post a Comment