Harden elbowed World Peace in the face a few minutes ago. It was an accident, but you almost can’t help hoping it accidentally happens a couple more times. Meanwhile this really is a nightmare series for the Lakers: they had to go seven tough games against Denver and now they’re up against a younger, deeper team that plays intense D. I think the Spurs and Thunder should both more to the Western finals pretty quickly.
I don’t think the refs are controlling this one very well. A few plays ago World Peace knocked down two Thunder defenders by clotheslining one of them into the other as he fought through a screen. It was clever, but definitely a foul - and not called. Shortly after, Gasol shoved Harden in the back and it was called a double foul somehow.
Laker bayer from way back…I think they are simply too slow and not athletic enough…harden just got to the cup at will…
What a final couple of minutes. I guess I should be happy OKC only held homecourt, but damn if that lost game comes back to bite us, which it probably will be
The only thing I’m taking from last night is that even after looking terrible, the Lakers can compete with OKC. Those open shots by Harden or Westbrook aren’t going to fall with the same frequency in LA, so hopefully we take Games 3 and 4. Here’s hoping the Clippers bounce back with an equal effort, but I have less confidence that VDN can coach the team to a win compared to Mike Brown, and Pop is loads better than Scott Brooks. I think the Clippers keep it close in the first half like in Game 1, then the Spurs pull it out in the 4th quarter. I expect Paul to have more than 6 points though
I’m actually excited about a Pacers game! Great win by them in Miami, now if they can take Game 3, the pressure will be completely on Miami. I don’t know if the supposedly tired legs of Lebron was exaggerated. But if he has to expend energy to defend Indiana’s big bodies, even he can wear down. That will be my hope for the series, wear down Lebron and Miami’s no better than the first round exit teams from the years immediately after their championship.
Pacers pulling away. Heat really don’t have much inside. Wade’s having an awful game.
More Haterade, sir?
Why thank you, Jeeves!
Juwan Howard’s in the game. Heat are conceding defeat.
I live in San Antonio, but right now I’m all about the Pacers. 
If the Heat blow this series, I’m going back and writing LOL’s in the margins next to all those “Lebron is the next Jordan” references in Bill Simmons’ The Book of Basketball.
If the Heat can’t make it out of the crippled East that team is bound for a rebuild.
Losing Bosh was huge; Lebron and Wade can’t have any off nights, and Wade was awful tonight. Even with Chalmers putting in 25 they didn’t have nearly enough offense. They have no answer for Hibbert and West. I think the Pacers can take this series.
What I took from it is that even when the Thunder play terrible, they can still beat the Lakers.
Miami’s imploding and Spurs continue to look like the favorites. Have they even had a close game yet? They’ve won 16 games in a row going back to the regular season and don’t look like they’ll lose another game until they face the Thunder
I watched the 2nd half of the Miami game and they looked like a team that totally didn’t want to be there. Wade is obviously hurting, and reports today say that he has some leg ailment he’s been fighting. He got pissed at Spoelstra and had to be kept away by teammates so I really doubt its just some emotional high like Spoelstra claimed it was. Is it too early to say that the Heat are no longer the favorites to win even this series? Indiana’s got too many bigs and too much length for a Miami without Bosh to win, and that Pittman guy’s not going to do much after not playing for weeks. If my Lakers are gone, I can at least take solace in the fact that Lebron’s not going to win either
Spurs are just on another level of defense. Their role players and rotations are so good that they have essentially taken Chris Paul, the best PG in the game, out of the series. For the Clippers to do any damage at all, Blake has to learn more than his one move to the basket, the backing down, pivot one way, then the other and rise up for a jump shot. Duncan may be old, but he’s smart and fundamental and he’ll slap that ball into your face if you try to pull some bush league move like that on him all game
Tonight starts a back to back for the Lakers. Again, fuck you David Stern. They couldn’t have done a Friday-Sunday game? Or just put it on Monday if there’s a conflict! If the Lakers don’t win today and tomorrow, we need both to even have a chance, then they are done.
I’ll stop just short of claiming that the refs intentionally call it the way they do, but the Lakers seem to always get the calls their way. The Denver series was featured some pretty lopsided officiating, too.
It’s not all Stern’s fault. The Staples Center is incredibly busy this time of year between the Clippers, the Lakers and the Kings all in the playoffs. Plus, there’s some big cycling thing going on there Sunday morning as well. Link.
That sucks for the Lakers, good for Staples business I guess. But its not unprecedented to have 3, even 4 days off between games in the playoffs sometimes. I remember a few years ago the knock was that it took way too long to finish the first round. There’s precedent for it, and in a shortened season, they should err on the side of caution and not working these players to exhaustion.
I only caught the last 2 minutes of game 3 (LAL and OKC) and, knowing that the Lakers were down 2-0, was not surprised to find LAL had 42 attempts at the line and OKC had 28.
Of course, OKC might be that dirty, but considering the controversial 2002 Lakers-Kings game 5 had a 40-25 attempt advantage for the Lakers, it appears to be the same ol’ NBA.
As a Thunder fan, with exception to 3 fouls called on Harden for “playing too close to Kobe”, I thought the game was called pretty fairly. There are a lot of superstars out there and the refs are going to give them a lot of leeway.
Except Harden.
It’s the beard. NBA officials are clearly all rabid anti-beardites. Harden’s going to have to either shave or take flopping lessons from Vlade Divac.
Jeebus, SA. 38 pt swing! How? That must have been surreal for the clippers.
You act like the other team doesn’t also have to play a b2b. I doubt this is going to affect them in the next series.