Every Los Angeles Lakers fan celebrated a small triumph on Sunday after the Lakers averted the ignominy of a second straight sweep debacle to the Denver Nuggets. That 119-108 win, no matter how miniscule it may be, is still a win.
And for every Lakers fan bleeding after losing eleven straight to the Nuggets will take that miniscule victory like a shot in the arm. A tank of oxygen. A long-sought vaccine to a dreaded virus.
In Kobe times, the string of futility is unimaginable. Bryant had a record of 42-24 versus the Nuggets in his career. 12-5 in the playoffs. Michael Jordan went 18-8 against the Nuggets in his career.
Just for kicks, Lebron James has a 20-23 record against the Nuggets.
If the Lakers become the first team to resurrect from a virtually dead state of 0-3 in the playoffs, Lebron can level that record to 23-23.
We will know if that is possible depending on today’s Game 5.
But going back to the Lakers and their Game 4 win, does it give them the blueprint on winning over the Nuggets?
Again, the answer will be known today in Game 6 at the Lakers homecourt.
A 0-3 deficit has never been overcome in the history of the NBA Playoffs and as delusional as it can get, the Lakers are hoping to become the first team to do that.
I am a Lakers fan but I must admit I cannot be as delusional.
I can be a prayerful man where spirituality counts over the forces of nature and humanity and I will not hesitate rolling my fingers on rosary beads over and over again just for the purple and gold to live one game at a time.
Denver is a silent beast. An assassin too cold to even feel pressure.
The Nuggets of old were whipping boys of the league. But these Nuggets of the present times have translated wins into a boring occurrence. Too easy that it lulls you to sleep.
How can you explain a lumbering, slow-footed giant in Nikola Jokic being so efficient. He has eyes everywhere and thinks five seconds advance over an ordinary human brain. His speed is not physical, it’s mental.
Around him are nameless. ego-less individuals who feed on one’s lapses.
The Lakers, in contrast, live according to the typical Laker lifestyle. It’s all about the image and the tradition.
The Lakers need a miracle.
Denver? They just had to be their usual, boring, lackadaisical, but efficient selves.
The badder (if that’s even a word) they look, the better they are.
