I've got to get this off my chest. Alll year long I have advised to be very careful about playing anything LAL is involved in. I've watched them throw the better in the well for years and have got caught a few times myself. Yesterday, I had no doubt they would win. Now how do you win and not cover a 2 point line? If the line had been 3, I would have passed. Well, we got a lesson on how it can be done. First, nobody can hit anything until they blow a 9 point lead and get behind. Not even a dunk. Once behind, they can shoot again. If Horry misses the 3 I'm convinced they would have got the rebound and sent the game into ot. Now Horry gets fouled with almost nothing on the clock (that wasn't supposed to happen) and you know he will miss the second on purpose and the game will be over. He misses both on purpose and the Laker bets are down the tubes. One year with the line at 10' I needed 1 point to cover and 2 for the over with a min to go. No way to lose this one. Right? No, wrong again. Horry missed 4 fouls in a row and Fisher 2 and the other team couldn't score and they ran the final 19 seconds off the clock. Both players were shooting over 80% that year. Since that time I can count almost 100 times that similar shit has happened including the last two games. Oh well, now that that is out of the way, let's get down to today.
The Sac game is going to be a pass for me because if there is anyone out there that has a clue as to what will happen they are a lot smarter than I am.
The Det/Tor game appears a little easier. I believe the line dropping a point is not to get Det players but to give Tor players more confidence. In order to understand this game we have to know what went on in the last game. Antonio Davis got 30. Folks I have watched him for 10 years and assure you he won't get anywhere near that tonight. But, I'll be generous and give him 20. He shot 14-19 but the stat to look at is that he only went to the foul line once. Det was giving him his shot and he hit them. Won't happen tonight. Tor shot a blistering 49 point something (almost 50%) for the game and won't do that tonight either. Looking closer at that stat you have to realize that Davis shot over 25% of their shots and hit almost 75%. The rest of the team was below their ave. They won't shoot 95% from the line either. Deduct 10 points from Tor (might even be a few more). The refs weren't calling fouls. Stackhouse went to the line only 3 times and that was the most for any player on either side. Stackhouse only got 10 shots and led the team in assists (4) while going to the line more than anyone in the game. This tells me that Tor was keeping the ball away from him and doubling him as soon as he touched it. Turnovers killed Det sinced their shooting % was above ave. Since I didn't get a chance to see the game, I'll bet there were some no-calls connected with those turn-overs. Stackhouse won't go 2-10 tonight and it seems reasonable to assume he will get over 20. Give Det an extra 10 (should be more). Now, as I've said the last two games, Tor has to have 85 or more to have a chance to win. Look for another controled up-tempo game from Tor. I think Det and over can be no worse than a push.
The Sac game is going to be a pass for me because if there is anyone out there that has a clue as to what will happen they are a lot smarter than I am.
The Det/Tor game appears a little easier. I believe the line dropping a point is not to get Det players but to give Tor players more confidence. In order to understand this game we have to know what went on in the last game. Antonio Davis got 30. Folks I have watched him for 10 years and assure you he won't get anywhere near that tonight. But, I'll be generous and give him 20. He shot 14-19 but the stat to look at is that he only went to the foul line once. Det was giving him his shot and he hit them. Won't happen tonight. Tor shot a blistering 49 point something (almost 50%) for the game and won't do that tonight either. Looking closer at that stat you have to realize that Davis shot over 25% of their shots and hit almost 75%. The rest of the team was below their ave. They won't shoot 95% from the line either. Deduct 10 points from Tor (might even be a few more). The refs weren't calling fouls. Stackhouse went to the line only 3 times and that was the most for any player on either side. Stackhouse only got 10 shots and led the team in assists (4) while going to the line more than anyone in the game. This tells me that Tor was keeping the ball away from him and doubling him as soon as he touched it. Turnovers killed Det sinced their shooting % was above ave. Since I didn't get a chance to see the game, I'll bet there were some no-calls connected with those turn-overs. Stackhouse won't go 2-10 tonight and it seems reasonable to assume he will get over 20. Give Det an extra 10 (should be more). Now, as I've said the last two games, Tor has to have 85 or more to have a chance to win. Look for another controled up-tempo game from Tor. I think Det and over can be no worse than a push.
