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.

Lakers Crush the Heat in NBA Finals Opener

Final Score: MIA 98 LAL 116 - Lakers Lead 1-0

Welcome in to the full recap of Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Finals. The Lakers overcome an early 13-point deficit and never looked back. LeBron, AD, and the rest of the supporting cast helped the Lakers cruise past the Heat to a 98-116 shellacking to take Game 1 in this series.

One down, three more to go. Miami showed no fear at the start of the game. The 2-3 zone was effective early on. It got the Lakers off rhythm and they got off to a good start offensively to take the early 23-10 lead in the first quarter. The Lakers had to take two timeouts during that quarter to get things settled. They get a much needed spark from KCP. KCP knocked down back-to-back threes to get the Lakers within 7 points. From then on, they went on a 19-3 run to close at the quarter. The impressive part is that most of the points they've accumulated on that spurt, LeBron was taking his normal rest on the bench. Miami last saw the lead at the 7:33 mark of the 2nd quarter off a 3-point bucket from Tyler Herro. After that, it was all Lakers with AD and LeBron doing most of the damage.

Big ups to the supporting cast for showing up tonight. I said it in my preview, they must step up if the Lakers want to beat the 2-3 zone, which is the staple of the Heat defense. Which means they gotta be active, get to their spots, and also knock down their threes. They did that tonight. They started shooting an efficient 11-17 from threes. KCP as I mentioned started that with the back-to-back threes to let the Lakers shake off some Game 1 Finals jitters. He finished with 13 points, 2 steals, and 1 block. Danny Green was also big on both ends with 11 points, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. Kyle Kuzma may have struggled in scoring, but he crashed the boards with 8 points. What won't show up on the stats sheet is how good of a job he did defending the rookie stud, Tyler Herro. Every time those two matched up, Kuz got the better of Herro with his size and length. Dwight Howard, also didn't have a lot of eye-opening numbers, but he did his job in crashing the boards for 2nd chance points and playing unselfish basketball finding a cutting AD twice for easy dunks. Alex Caruso lead the bench in scoring with 10 points. Markieff Morris followed with 8 points. And Rajon Rondo added with 7 points and 4 assists. We're gonna need this group to be consistent if the Lakers are serious on taking home the title.

It was not a bad debut for Anthony Davis in his first NBA Finals game. He might've been jittery at the start, but he overcame those same jitters by piling up 34 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. As I said, he's going to have to come up big once again. Outside of Bam Adebayo, the Heat have nobody else to check him because they are notorious for playing small ball. Once Bam went out of the game, the Heat simply just had no answer for a very aggressive and active AD. As for LeBron, he got the better of his former team on this one. He finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists. He was 1 assist shy of yet another triple-double in the finals. And he took the assignment of shadowing Jimmy Butler early on, which is to be expected. You always want to see a team's best player defend the opposition's best, especially in the biggest stage like these NBA Finals.

Despite the dominant win, I have one negative I want to call out and it's been a habit all season long. When the Lakers build up a big lead, they let their foot off the gas and make the scoreboard as respectable than indicated. The 4th quarter this game was supposed to be garbage time. Unfortunately, LeBron and AD have to keep playing until 1:23 left in the 4th when it's all said and done. If you're Frank Vogel, you don't want your two superstars to play unnecessary minutes when the opposition has been thoroughly outplayed up to the 4th. The Heat had the injury bug bite them tonight with Jimmy Butler sustaining ankle injury, Goran Dragic with a foot, and Bam Adebayo with a shoulder. Yet in some spurts, the Heat have cut the deficit and LeBron and AD have to play extended minutes to restore order and completely seal this game. I don't want to see LeBron and AD continue to play until the 1:23 mark of the 4th quarter when the Lakers already got this one in the bag. The last thing we want to see is an unnecessary injury in garbage time. Or if you can call it that because they let their guard down for a bit. I would call that the only blemish for this game and the supporting cast involved even though the entire team played great.

Overall, great win tonight. The Lakers were active and moving around, blowing up the Heat's zone defense. It's unfortunate on the injuries concerning Butler, Dragic, and Adebayo. As a fan, you don't want injuries on the opposition to be a blemish on your team's championship. But, then again they're part of the game and it's a "next man up" mentality. The Lakers flexed tonight under the LeBron's leadership. That man has been through the ups and downs in all 10 of his NBA Finals appearances and the Lakers have answered the call tonight. There's no question Erik Spoelstra and the Heat will make adjustments for next game. That tends to be the pattern in every series the Lakers have been in thus far throughout this postseason. 

I remember in 2009 when the Lakers dominated the Magic, Kobe Bryant said in his postgame regarding how the Magic would respond after one game in the finals: "this is nothing to them. We just gotta forget about this game and move on to the next one." That has to be the Lakers' mentality. They bullied the Heat this game. But it's only one game and you have to anticipate that they'll bounce back in a big way. Enjoy the win now. Forget it tomorrow and move onto Game 2. They have three more to go to capture that 17th title. I'll see you guys later.

2020 NBA Finals Preview: Lakers vs. Miami Heat

Welcome in to the 2020 NBA Finals preview. And then there were two! The Lakers are close to the finish line. But, they have one more obstacle standing in their way for championship #17. The Miami Heat have punched their ticket to the NBA Finals after defeating the Boston Celtics in 6. They too, are looking to add another championship banner in their franchise history.

The Miami Heat are better than what their record and seeding shows. They were the backend pick to emerge out of the Eastern Conference. The obvious front runners were the Milwaukee Bucks. Everybody penciled the Bucks in as the favorites. But, they were eliminated early on by this very same Heat team. 

The Heat are a team that plays hard on both ends of the floor. Given Coach Erik Spoelstra's pedigree on the defensive end, they defend at a high level, which is a testament to that hard-nosed culture that Pat Riley established down in South Beach. They are a team with young rising stars and a mix of battle-hardened veterans. Bam Adebayo has emerged as one of the best big men in the league. Tyler Herro is only a rookie, but he has blossomed into a superstar during this postseason run. Then, you add on one of the best two-way players in the league in Jimmy Butler and the veteran presence of Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder, and Andre Iguodala. This team has a healthy balance of young and old that could score and defend. To top it all off, they played criminally underrated, unselfish team basketball throughout this season.

As I mentioned, this team is a backend pick to represent the Eastern Conference. Still, they have put together an improbable playoff run to the NBA Finals. They dispatched the Indiana Pacers easily in the first round. But from there, their playoff resume becomes more impressive. The Milwaukee Bucks were an odds-on favorite to possibly win it all with Giannis Antetokounmpo winning DPOY and MVP. The Heat absolutely broke their spirits in a gentlemen's sweep. It took the Bucks an OT win to stave off a complete 4-0 sweep, but it wasn't enough to stop the inevitable. In the Conference Finals, they made life tough on a decent, well-coached Celtics team. Their zone defense gave Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and the rest of those guys all kinds of trouble.  

The Lakers may have swept the regular season series, but to notch wins against this very same Miami Heat was no easy task. Now, there are some different parts added / lost, which makes this matchup even more intriguing. The 2-3 zone defense is the longtime staple defense of the Heat. How the Lakers exploited that was that they had LeBron, AD, McGee, and Dwight attack the paint quickly before that zone defense could get set. To beat this zone, players have to be constantly on the move. The Lakers have LeBron and AD, but ball watching them should be held to a minimum. We need to see Laker players actively cutting and getting to their spots for an easy basket. Teams struggle with 2-3 zone if they don't have consistent knockdown shooters, which the Lakers obviously fall under. It's essential that guys like Caruso, KCP, Kuzma, and Markieff Morris are in the right spots at the right time, making LeBron and Rondo's job easy as the initiators on offense and to take some of the scoring load off Anthony Davis.

Regarding Bam Adebayo, the Lakers already faced a similar big man who can score and facilitate. I'm talking about Nikola Jokic in the most recent series with the Nuggets. Obviously Bam is much more athletic than Joker is and a much better defender. Throughout this postseason, Bam is the only true Center for the Heat. They do have Meyers Leonard and Kelly Olynyk, but they've committed to "small ball," which has worked for them to this point. The Lakers as they did with Jokic need to take Bam out of the game early. And it starts with the Lakers' big man trio of Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, and Javale McGee using their size and length to disrupt him.

As I mentioned before, AD is the jack-of-all-trades that can counter any skilled big man. He has the luxury of Dwight and Javale who could spare him as they're both solid rim protectors in their own right. I think the biggest factor is how healthy AD's ankle is. It could be a deciding factor in this series. Like in the Nuggets series, AD is going to have to be big here, especially since LeBron will have Jimmy Butler and Andre Iguodala checking him. Iggy may be getting up there in age, but he's one of the few that could defend LeBron, especially in these finals, dating back to the four consecutive Cavs-Warriors finals. But we know LeBron will be up for the challenge and still put up amazing numbers. AD must follow suit and take his game to a higher level on the NBA's biggest stage.

Tyler Herro, Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder, and Duncan Robinson could blow up the Lakers' gameplans in smoke. We've raved about "Herro-ball" in the playoffs. But the savvy veteran Dragic has come on in the postseason as well. The Lakers facing him again is giving me PTSD on when they faced the Suns in 2010 Western Conference Finals. Dragic was a handful in those series and you don't want to wake up "the Dragon" like Sasha Vujacic did. He surprisingly leads this team in scoring this postseason with 21 a game. Overall, this is what is lowkey scary about this Heat team is that they have six different players scoring double digit points on a consistent basis. We mentioned Herro, Dragic, Butler, and Bam. But Jae Crowder and Duncan Robinson, they are knockdown shooters and have consistently connected on their 3-pointers throughout the postseason. For the Lakers, they've had their supporting options show up, but on a game-by-game basis. First, it would be KCP. Then Rondo. Then Caruso. Then Morris. No matter how you look at it, the supporting cast is going to need to show up consistently throughout these series for the Lakers to pull it out. Especially when canceling out six different double-digit scorers on one team.

This finals matchup does not have the prestige that a Lakers-Celtics matchup does, but there's a lot of legacy storylines to explore. This finals matchup is pretty much full circle for LeBron James. Ten years ago, "the Decision" happened. LeBron infamously announced that he was teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to a form a prime Big 3 with the Miami Heat. They won two championships out of four finals appearances. Pat Riley and the Heat culture helped LeBron get over that hump and turned him into an NBA champion. The Decision. The Homecoming. This is another challenge for LeBron's legacy. He has the chance to win the championship with one of the NBA's historic franchises against a team that turned him into a champion in the first place.

Erik Spoelstra has a lot riding on this matchup as well. He is a 2x NBA champion as head coach of the Miami Heat. But, many have questioned the legitimacy of those championships given that he inherited a team with 3 All-Stars in their prime. Since the end of the Miami "Big 3" era, Coach Spo has not gotten over that hump or rekindled that championship pedigree. He has a chance to prove that his championship coaching is not a product of that Miami superteam that was formed 10 years ago. And he'll prove that against the player that was the catalyst of that team coming together. 

Frank Vogel had a lot of interesting "chess matches" with Erik Spoelstra during those epic Heat-Pacers playoff series from 2012-2014. But, he always ended up on the short end of the stick. Vogel outcoaching Spo in the biggest stage would erase all those bitter losses especially now that he has LeBron this time around. This is the matchup that everybody will overlook. Both coaches implore their teams to play hard and defend at the highest level. 

Those are the legacy storylines thus far and there will be more surrounding this matchup. We've overexaggerated on the matchups against Portland, Houston, and Denver. But, I feel that the Heat give the Lakers a legitimate challenge in this postseason: an emerging big man, a fearless rookie, one of the best two-way players in the league, knockdown shooters, a veteran with championship experience, and a coach with championship experience. Not to mention, AD is a bit hobbled. We'll see how that ankle holds up. But, this should be a great finals matchup. Many have wanted a Lakers-Heat finals matchup for some time, especially when the Heat Big 3 formed and Kobe, Gasol, Phil Jackson, and the late 2000s Lakers still ruled the league with back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. It's an obscure matchup nowadays, but it still will be interesting to watch. The Lakers have a lot of finals experience with a superstar and four key veterans who've been there before. The Heat don't have that luxury. But, we gotta look back at the 2004 Detroit Pistons to prove that finals experience don't matter. This Heat team is young and they are hungry. They actually do remind me of those '04 Pistons. They defend at a high level and play unselfish basketball to give their teammates high percentage looks. As long as the Lakers stay locked in, things should be fine. I'd say this series goes six games and I'm confident that the Lakers will walk out of the NBA Bubble with the Larry O'Brien trophy in hand. Four more for Kobe! That's all that needs to be said. I'll see you guys on Wednesday.

Raiders Come Crashing Down vs. Pats

Final Score: LV 20 NE 36 (2-1)

Happy days are here again. The Raiders were handed their first loss of the season as they get walloped by the Patriots 20-36 in Foxborough.

Some things just never change. This team just can't get over the hump against the Pats for some reason. They are 1-6 all-time since that dreaded Tuck Rule game. This is getting old at this point.

The injuries were definitely a big factor this game. No Henry Ruggs to take the top off, which made the Patriots' defense job a lot easier. All they had to do was double Darren Waller and Derek Carr had to distribute the ball elsewhere. Despite that, the offense left a lot of points out there on the table. The untimely turnovers and a missed field goal by Carlson doomed this offense. They had good drives in spurts. But, they couldn't capitalize with points.

I wouldn't put too much blame on the defense this game. They got off to a solid start, containing the run game of the Pats and forced a turnover. But they were on the field too long. The time of possession (TOP) speaks for itself. The Pats' offense controlled the clock for 34 minutes compared to the Raiders' 25. They switched it up with some play action. J.J. Taylor provided some spark to the New England run game as a change-of-pace back. Then, it was ground and pound from there with Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead.

Some individual positives: Hunter Renfrow and Maxx Crosby. Renfrow especially came to play today with 6 receptions, 84 yards, and 1 TD. Gruden moved him around the field a bit. He could've had 2 TDs this game if he wasn't down by contact with 9 seconds to go in 2nd quarter. But, the drive still capped off with a Foster Moreau TD. Maxx Crosby got that pass rush going with 2 sacks on Cam Newton. We were harping on that defense to get more pass rush going and Mad Maxx delivered that.

When I looked at the first five weeks on the schedule, I felt like Carolina was the only sure-fire win for these Raiders. After a 2-0 start, the Raiders are in their toughest stretch before the bye. They crashed this week against the Pats and it doesn't get easier from there. They have a tough draw back home against the Bills next. Josh Allen is a stud and the defense is going to have their hands full on them. Buffalo's defense hasn't showed up yet, but they are solid on paper and the Raider offense will be tested once again unlesss Henry Ruggs and Trent Brown return from injury. I'll see you guys later.

Back to the NBA Finals! Lakers Close Out Resilient Nuggets in 5

Final Score: DEN 107 LAL 117 - Lakers Advance 4-1

WE ARE GOING TO THE NBA FINALS BABY! Gosh, it's been awhile since I was able to exhuberate this much energy as a Laker fan. The Lakers showed the Jazz and little brother Clippers how it's done. They close out the Denver Nuggets with a 107-117 win to complete a third gentlemen's sweep to advance to the NBA Finals, their 32nd overall in franchise history.

First, hats off to the Denver Nuggets for a great series and an amazing postseason run. They have been resilient throughout these playoffs. Two consecutive 3-1 playoff series comebacks speak for themselves. They will be a dangerous team for years to come as Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic hit their primes. Michael Porter Jr. is a solid young piece to the core. Bol Bol has a lot of untapped potential. Will Barton should be back. And Mike Malone is a great coach. Full credit to them. They gave the Lakers all they can handle.

But right now, it's just not their time. The Lakers' veteran experience engineered by LeBron James took over. It was "winning time" as LeBron would say in Game 4 regarding his closeout assignment on Jamal Murray. Without question, he was the MVP of this game with a triple-double of 38 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists and barely turned the ball over this game. 

Nikola Jokic being in foul trouble early on was big factor for 'Bron going off. He smelled "blood in the water" and just imposed his will into the paint as soon as Jokic was subbed off the floor. Not only that, but he recognized a hobbled Jamal Murray and forced that switch to have Murray guard him and it was a lot for Murray handle. LeBron was vintage especially in that 4th quarter with back-to-back and 1s. He completely took over in the final three minutes and sealed up this game.

As I said, this Nuggets team was not easy to take down. The Lakers did a good job defensively on them in the first half. Nobody on that Denver squad reached double digits in the first half! But in 3rd quarter, the Nuggets' role players stepped up. Jerami Grant struggled early, but caught fire that quarter. Dwight Howard's flagrant foul on Paul Millsap gave Denver even more momentum. Markieff Morris made a dumb turnover attempting to throw an outlet pass to AD. That allowed Denver to tie it up at 84 a piece.

But the Nuggets never saw the lead since starting 12-7 in the first quarter. After they rallied in the 3rd quarter, Anthony Davis made a last second three to allow the Lakers to regain a little bit of the momentum that was lost there. AD finished with 27 points to go with 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. It was a frustrating first half for AD. But like he occasionally does through these playoffs, he shows up big in the 2nd half on both ends of the floor. Hobbled ankle and all, he still put up numbers.

The supporting cast overall stepped up even if they don't have gaudy numbers. Alex Caruso definitely stood out with 11 points off the bench. He was stagnant the last two games. But, he was much more active to score, cutting to the lane and converting defense to offense in transition. Despite the foul trouble and the flagrant foul, Dwight Howard gave a solid 9 points and 2 blocks in big minutes and he shot well from the free throw line. We harped on Danny Green too much. Even though he didn't erupt this game, he did all the little things, giving a pair of backbreaking 3s over the Nuggets and notching one of his two blocks on Jokic. The cast did all the little things that needed to be done.

Nothing more needs to be said. But bring on either Boston or Miami! Could you imagine if the NBA Bubble Restart to the 2019-20 season ended with a Lakers-Celtics Finals matchup? Think about it. It's the NBA's historic rivalry. It'll be a rematch 10 years in the making. The Celtics are the last team that the late great Kobe Bryant beat in the finals. Winning against them for championship #17 would be poetic justice as the Lakers would tie them for the most championships in NBA history.

But the reality is, Boston has their work cut out against a very unselfish Miami Heat team. Despite being the 5th seed, they have outclassed every team in the East, especially knocking off the mighty Milwaukee Bucks. Bam Adebayo is cementing himself as one of the league's best big man. Tyler Herro looks like a seasoned vet than a rookie. Goran Dragic has been big in this postseason. Jimmy gets buckets. They made a huge move to add Andre Iguodala for championship pedigree. That team is lowkey deep.

Regardless, either team is an interesting matchup for the Lakers. One matchup is prestigious in the league's history. The other doesn't have as much prestige, but there are legacy storylines that will be explored. Especially the same 10 years ago, LeBron ushered in a new era of super teams by "taking his talents to South Beach." The Heat groomed him into a champion. It might potentially come full circle. But for now, the Lakers are back where they belong and are four wins away from regaining basketball immortality. Let's get it! Let's go! 

Lakers Edge Out Nuggets to Take 3-1 Lead

Final Score: LAL 114 DEN 108 - Lakers Lead 3-1

Welcome in to the full recap of Game 4. The Lakers bounce back after being punched in the mouth in Game 3. The Nuggets remained resilient behind a strong performance from Jamal Murray. But, it wasn't enough as the Lakers hold on to a 114-108 victory to take a commanding 3-1 lead.

This is familiar territory for the Denver Nuggets. But, I'll get to that later in a bit. This is a great bounceback win to regain some momentum. Like I said, in the last game, the Lakers looked lethargic and showed no energy until late in the 4th. Tonight, whatever the adjustments were late in that Game 3, they carried it over and it worked for the most part.

If you followed the game, Frank Vogel made the biggest adjustment by inserting Dwight Howard in the starting lineup. Second chance opportunities proved to be the difference maker as the Lakers dominated the Nuggets 25-4 in second chance points. Dwight was at the epicenter of that, leading the Lakers in the rebounding category with 11 boards to go with 12 points. I liked his activity, especially on the offensive glass and it made Anthony Davis' lack of rebounding this game reasonable. Dwight's energy coupled by AD's hot start set the tone for the Lakers.

Speaking of AD, I've mentioned it before, he has to be big for the Lakers in this series. Last game was a mixed perfoemance totaling up points, but lacking rebounds. Tonight, it was more of the same, but with Dwight playing well in the boards, there was not a lot of pressure for AD to crash the glass. Nonetheless, I liked that he was aggressive early on in this game, scoring the Lakers first 10 points. He went a perfect 7/7 before missing his first shot at 3:28 in Q2. He went on a mini cold streak, but picked it back up getting to the line and getting the Nuggets into foul trouble. Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap getting into foul trouble was another key for the Lakers to get this win.

As sensational as Jamal Murray was this game, the Lakers remained level-headed with the veteran leadership they have. We mentioned Dwight Howard's activity early on. Playoff Rondo came alive in the 3rd quarter and finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. LeBron, I thought looked a little too passive tonight with his shot. But in the waning seconds of the game, he was in attack mode and drew the assignment on defending Jamal Murray, shutting him down in crunch time. The funny thing is, after Game 3, the Lakers sent a memo to the NBA about LeBron's lack of free throw attempts. He went to the line 7 times and shot 11/14 from the stripe.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the unsung hero of the game and arguably this entire series. Last game, he missed a wide open game-tying three and pretty much sapped all of the Lakers' momentum at a rally. Tonight, he redeemed himself with a big bucket in the 4th to give the Lakers a 103-96 lead at the 5:13 mark. As much flak as we give KCP, he's been the most consistent role player in this series. It's just in the clutch, can the Lakers trust him to take that big shot? Nonetheless, KCP finished with 13 points. He's averaging a solid 14 PPG this series.

Some concerning parts of the game: does anybody know when Danny Green is going to show up? He's been underwhelming in these series and the Lakers could use 20+ point eruption from him. Just a thought. Secondly, I'm sure we've all been paying attention to the lowkey Kyle Kuzma vs. Michael Porter Jr. matchup. As solid as Kuz has been, I have to take the blinders off at the fact that MPJ is a really bad matchup for him. You have a rookie bench player outplaying a 3rd-year bench player. Not to take away from Kuz, he was okay offensively with 10 points. But on the defensive end? Not good, especially tonight with MPJ faking him out twice.

Lastly, we gotta be concerned about AD's ankle this game. He landed awkwardly on Paul Millsap in the 2nd half and clutched his right ankle (or is it his left). He was able to finish the game strong, but definitely it is something to monitor until Saturday for Game 5.

The good news, the Lakers are up 3-1. The bad news? When the Nuggets are down 3-1 in these playoffs, they turn it up a notch and come back to win the series. Perhaps, this is the notion why the Lakers going up 3-1 is somewhat bipolar for some of us fans because Denver has the tendency to come back from these deficits, especially in the last two series. The Lakers can't get carried away because for this Nuggets team, they will fight to the bitter end. This series is far from over as long as they have a chance. For the Lakers, all they need to think about is just one more win. As Kobe would say: "job's not finished." To bring up a boxing analogy, the Lakers must go for the knockout blow and not let this go to a full 12-round judges' decision. To translate, take care of business in Game 5 and don't let this Nuggets go the distance again. I'll see you guys on Saturday for Game 5.