So today Kobe did the team thing and it paid off. Not without being a “gamble” in his eyes, which he admitted after the game, but rarely has such a huge gamble paid off. Not just because of the win, but because of what it means. Kobe had his second lowest shot-total of the entire playoffs with only 13 attempts, yet the Lakers were able to prevail over a talented Denver team that lead most of the game. This was completely different to the facilitating Kobe in Game 7 of the Rockets series where the clear advantage for the Lakers was with their bigs, and Gasol seemed destined to finish them off. This is a lot bigger, mainly because Gasol himself only took 8 shots. When Kobe and Gasol combine for only 21 shots and the Lakers win, you know you have some serious team balance going on.

Odom brought aggression despite a sore back, owning the boards all night and throwing down a nasty dunk on the Birdman (here’s a good read on LO). Shannon Brown was an Energizer Bunny off the bench and also threw one down on the Birdman off a fast break (common theme here?). Bynum got several touches early, no doubt disrupting the Nuggets defensive plans a little, and seems to be gaining his confidence more and more with every game. Ariza stuffed the stat sheet with 12-5-4-2-1 and a crucial and-1 that stopped a late Denver run. D-Fish had his best shooting outing since Game 1, and even Sasha managed to shoot a respectable percentage today (hey, 1/2 ain’t bad) hitting a big three at the end of the third quarter.

There has been a striking pattern to the Lakers wins in this series, that being they crystallize in the fourth quarter. That is the sign of a great team. They will hang with their opponents, no matter how bad they are playing through 80% of the game, but they can turn it on when the game is on the line. What’s more, is their turning it on primarily through defense, something you couldn’t confidently claim one year ago. When Denver were making their charge over the final three minutes today, the Lakers stopped them on three huge consecutive plays: Gasol blocked Melo’s drive, Odom blocked K-Mart, and Ariza blocked Melo again. Think about what will be the signature plays from this series? So far, for me, it’s been the two Ariza steals that essentially sealed Games 1 and 3. For a team who’s toughness and defense has been questioned, the Lakers are certainly responding at the perfect time, against a physically tough team no less.

I expect Game 6 to be another close struggle. The Lakers know that letting this team have another crack at them in Game 7 is risky – they simply haven’t dominated enough at home to be that comfortable. I’m guessing it will come down to the final few plays again, who makes the big shots, who makes the big stops. We always knew Kobe and Co. could make the big shots. Now it appears they’ve mastered the art of getting big stops too, and that to me, looks like an NBA Finals team.

1. RoBloG Playoff Diary
2. Breaking down the Lakers v Pistons
3. Lakers vs Nuggets and the Day I Met Machine
4. And then there were four
5. Game Ones

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