04/18/24
May 26, 2002
The one they had to win: The Kings blow it in LA
This wasn't a must-win game for the Kings until they took a cartoonishly large first quarter lead. No one would have been surprised if the Lakers had won a close game, or came back strong against the Kings. You don't beat the Lakers three times in a row in the playoffs, and you don't beat them twice in a row on their home court. So, most people would have called this a must-win game for the Lakers, and it was, until the Kings took their giant lead. That changed everything. It gave the Lakers a cop-out: being that far behind, and playing as poorly as they did in the first half, who would have expected them to win? They could have made it respectable and still lost by 10. For the Kings, though, this was the test, and it may have been the test that shows they're good enough to play with the Lakers, but not enough to beat them. A championship team should have won this game, and would have won this game. When a team as good as the Lakers give you an opportunity like this, you have to take it. If you're up that big, you have to put the other team away. (And make your free throws. And, I dunno, maybe cover Robert Horry, not just on the game-winner, but on the other two threes he made in the fourth.) Sure, there will be excuses. The officiating was bad. The Kings got called for fouls when the Lakers ran into them, while the Lakers were knocking Mike Bibby to the ground without getting called. The Lakers ended both halves on three-point buzzer-beaters, except the one at the end of the first half didn't actually beat the buzzer. Well, why was he in position to make an open shot? The Kings should have defended the play better. Well, they still have home court, right? All the Kings have to do is win two out of three, with two of the games at home. Nope. If the Lakers win the next game, they'll go back to LA up 3-2. And if that happens, there's no way the Kings will win.
posted by kirkaracha to commentary at 09:14 PM - 0 comments