Lakers: Don't count your chickens 'til your eggs have hatched

on 04 24, 2009

Wow, what a game last night at the Energy Solutions Arena. Three (3) things stuck out to me in last night’s game between the LA Lakers and Utah Jazz; Carlos Boozer is back to his normal self, Deron Williams is a clutch baller, and Kobe Bryant is OVERHYPED and is going downhill.

Carlos Boozer had his coming out party tonight, going for 23 pts. and 22 boards. Boozer looked like he did before his injury, and I have a feeling he might do some serious damage from here on out. The former Blue Devil let it be known that he is back, and put an exclamation point on it by booming on Pau Gasol. Get that weak Euro style ball out of here you with your Ostrich/Emu-looking self!

Lakers: don’t count your chickens ‘til your eggs have hatched. The road to the Finals might not be such a cakewalk for LA, like so many fans and analysts think. To be frank, it looks like Kobe has lost a step this year. I understand players have poor games, but 5 of 24 shooting in a loss isn’t acceptable for a superstar. To top off Bryant’s solid night, he got his chance to win the game and failed. To his credit, it was a tough shot. The Lakers have a playoff winning percentage of .167 in Utah, having won only 2 of 12 games. My guess is this series goes 7 games, given Utah is tough to beat at home. The Jazz aren’t your typical 8 seed either, they are an extremely talented team. If Boozer and Okur hadn’t gotten injured, they most likely would’ve finished around the top of the West. Deron Williams is a stud, and proved tonight he can hit the big shot. With D Will running the offense and Boozer playing like he should, you can never count the Jazz out.

Analogous to me, most are predicting (and hoping) for a Cleveland VS Los Angeles matchup in the Finals. Let’s be real, a LeBron and Kobe duel would be an instant classic, similar to the infamous Magic Johnson VS Larry Bird matchup. Let’s hope LA gets it together so we can watch history unfold. It would truly be a great thing to witness; the former top gun of the league passing the torch to The King.

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