2008 NBA Finals: Game 3 Recap

I could be tempted to say, "That's more like it" upon seeing the Lakers win in Los Angeles, but that was expected, it was the way they won that has me opposite of proud and relaxed about my teams performance in this win. I'm not at all worried about our team's chances of winning this series, only 3 times has a team come back from 0-2 to win in the Finals and the last time was the 2006 Shaq-Wade Miami Heat when the NBA conspired against Mark Cuban, Avery Johnson and the Mavericks to make sure the Mavericks DIDN'T win, but we can be SURE, that nothing like that will happen in these finals riighht?

Considering the magnitude of the deserved scrutiny the league is getting from the snitching, lying, betting, Tim Donaghy, they may decide to call a fair game in these finals, and the refs will leave whatever player bias they have at home. So, hopefully Joey Crawford doesn't have the same vendetta against Kobe Bryant that he had against Tim Duncan that got him suspended and re-instated in less than a year. the NBA where cheating referees happen again and again. Anyways, how about that Game 3?

Kobe Bryant
36 pts (12-20 FGs 11-18 FTs 1-2 3pt FGs) 7 rebs 1 asts 2 stls

Lamar Odom
4 pts (2-9 FGs 0-0 FTs 0-1 3pt FGs) 9 rebs 4 asts 1 stls 1 blks

Pau Gasol
9 pts (3-9 Fgs 3-8 FTs) 12 rebs 2 asts 0 stls 0 blks

Derek Fisher
6 pts (1-6 FGs 4-4 FTs 0-1 3pt FGs) 3 rebs 1 asts 1 stls

Sasha Vujacic
20 pts (7-10 FGs 3-4 FTs 3-5 3pt FGs) 4 rebs 1 asts

Jordan Farmar
5 pts (2-4 FGs 1-2 3pt FGs) 4 rebs 5 asts


Game 3 was a pretty good performance by Kobe Bryant (11-18 FTs) , a breakout game by Sasha Vujacic (20 pts), and everyone else played like sh*t. This game was a reminder of this little acknowledged fact; this is still the pretty much the SAME TEAM that Kobe hated just season ago for some pretty valid reasons: the inconsistency of Lamar Odom, the lack of any good bench players, and let's not forget the Kwame Brown-Smush Parker Laker Destroyers. Really, the Lakers benefited more from getting RID of Kwame Brown and Smush Parker, then from acquiring Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol.


Its really amazing the relationships between players, fans, coaches, and the referees, its sort of like the relationship between young men, parents, lawyers, and the police. Somebody violates a rule like this: the offensive player drives toward the hoop and fakes a pull-up jumper, the defender jumps, and the offensive player jumps forward into the defender to shoot and to create contact for the foul. *WHISTLE* Offensive Foul. WTF?! BULLSH*T! the Offensive player declares. *WHISTLE* Technical Foul. Now, everyone knows that it should have been a defensive foul, but now the coach is talking to the refs like, hey, chill out on the bullsh*t calls.