BDG: Moving Into Mile High

So the Lakers did what they were supposed to do — take care of business at home.

After leaving the Nuggets looking somewhat disoriented (particularly on defense), the series shifts to Colorado.

The opener was full of playoff jitters, namely for Kobe Bryant. His shot wasn’t falling in the first game. Here’s what made it change …

A smart opponent would count their blessings that Kobe was shooting cold, stay quiet about it and hope it continued. But Kenyon Martin decided to rub it in. Talking trash to Kobe is not smart. Martin decided to start mouthing off at Bryant when he was 2-10 through the first half of the game or so. That didn’t work out so well. More on that in a bit.

Meanwhile, Pau Gasol picked up the slack with a memorable 36 point, 16 rebound, 8 assist, 3 block performance. Talk about filling up a box score. That’s Pau’s first playoff win … ever.

What was so impressive about Pau’s showcase was that almost all his buckets were dunks or layups. Credit for that goes to Pau himself … and a porous Nuggets’ defense. Either way, the Lakers did a good job of moving the ball and found him in deadly scoring positions. As Don from With Malice writes, you’re (finally) going to have to pick your poison with this current Lakers team:

Denver decided early on they weren’t going to let Kobe beat them (and they did stop him from scoring much in the first 3 quarters), but with these Lakers that just means you’re going to die by the rest of the roster. LA’s now well-equipped to beat teams without Kobe having a big night, especially with Odom playing so well as a third option.

So while the Lakers got out of Game 1 with an important victory, Kobe had a full three days until the next meeting to let the Nuggets’ trash talk marinate and enhance his competitive juices.

What took place was a 49-point, 10 assist performance from Mamba. And what would it be without some jersey poppin’ from Bryant?

Kobe did a spectacular job of picking his spots. When the Lakers needed him to pick up a tentative offense, he was right there, as evidenced by scoring 20 of the Lakers’ 33 points in the opening quarter. Kobe laid low on the scoring front and got his teammates (notably Gasol, who struggled in the first half) involved in the later stages of the game. It is really hard to find much wrong with the game he played on Wednesday night.

As Johnny Ludden states, Denver should have known better.

Apparently though, the Nuggets haven’t learned from their mistakes. Although J.R. Smith tried jawing with Kobe in the fourth quarter (and got scored on), he kept talking after the game. And the latest has K-Mart running his mouth at Nuggets’ practice (props to LABallTalk).

To cap off a great performance, Kenny Smith debuted his own version of the Aston Martin video (props to Odenized). The best part of this is watching Ernie Johnson’s eyes light up in the slo-mo replay.

Ludden goes on to talk about Kobe finally getting some help:

In previous seasons, Bryant would have been more inclined to keep firing. Passing never seemed like such a great option when Smush Parker was on the receiving end. These Lakers, however, have earned Bryant’s trust.

“It’s just that my guys knock down shots now,” Bryant said. “We’ve upgraded.”

I, for one am glad that the Lakers finally brought (back) a professional at the PG spot. Having to cringe every time Smush was on defense and constantly pray that he wouldn’t blow coverage was both frustrating and nerve-racking, particularly come post-season time.

Christopher Thell of Empty The Bench shares this (not uncommon) point of view on Parker:

Let me preface this postseason journey by saying just how gosh darn nice it is that Smush Parker no longer plays point guard for the Lakers. How sweet and truly wonderful. Regardless of what happens, whether the Lakers choke and lose to the Nuggets in the first round – or whether they summon all of their collective courage and acumen to win the title – I don’t have to watch Smush Parker anymore. The fact that he ended this season with the Clippers is not only fitting, but seems to point toward an unmistakable order in the universe.

How about Luke Walton? The guy has been almost non-existent this entire regular season and has been playing like his life depends on it in these first couple of games. Sure, some of that might be because of George Karl’s unorthodox strategy of playing Kenyon Martin on Kobe, but Walton has been pretty crafty about getting his points and making plays so far. To top it off, his defense has been decent as well.

Maybe Luke’s just one of those guys that shows up in the Playoffs. While Walton is the anti-clutch, his best games have come in the Playoffs. If you’re a Lakers fan, you have to hope that’s the case.

In any case, the Lakers go into Game 3 with the chance to take that feared 3-0 series lead. They won’t have to

Apryl DeLancey’s blog thinks the Lakers have maintained level-headed-ness even after a couple of solid victories:

Post game interviews with Kobe Bryant and the gang all sounded very focused and determined to finish what they have started. In addition, the team is acutely aware of the obstacles they will face playing in the altitude, with fan taunting, and being away from Staples.

Will the Lakers make that all-important push to take Game 3? The game tips off Saturday at 2:30 PM PST. Check out our ClubLakers Gameday discussion in the forums for more.

Sound off in the Los Angeles Lakers Forums!