We win FINALLY! But at what cost?

Yes the Lakers 5 game skid has come to an end. After being played by the Jazz I was confused. After being " Blazed" by Portland I was sick. After seeing Golden State play like the Warriors they are at our expense I was lost. Then when it seemed like it couldn't get any worse: it did. You've heard of the phrase " When it rains it pours?" Well Sunday we saw " Thunder". In a game where it looked like the Lakers solved their problems... we lost. We played good ball until the final 3 minutes of the game. We had corrected our turnover woes and committed only one in the 1st three quarters! But committed 9 in the 4th. The cool, calm, and collective Champs lost it down the stretch. The young, gritty, and scrappy Thunder were the ones who remained poised, kept their composure, and brought the game home on our floor. We lost any hope of catching the Spurs for the number one seed, we barely had the 3rd seed and were poised to maybe be 4th. Tuesdays game was a must win in my head, but then so are all of them if you ask me. The Spurs came to town for the final meeting of the season. If you thought this was just another game you were in for a treat. Hours before the game the Lakers find out Steve Blake has the plague, or in 1st grade terms the Chicken Pox. Hes 31 years old. We then found out that Kobe, Bynum, and Artest have never had them, nor have they had the vaccine. ( mental head scratch). Not long after that we learn that Matt Barnes has had some soreness in his knee. The same knee that kept him out for most of the season. He did some light shoot  around the day before, but after practice he didn't feel he could play. So, the Lakers had to activate Derrick Character from the D league and sign guard Trey Johnson who was let go during pre season.  Just before tip off we learn that true to form Popovich will sit Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli. This seemed sort of strange to me because they are tied with Chicago. A win last night would've secured home court throughout the play offs. But, I guess the Spurs are deciding to put all their eggs in the Suns basket. If they loose tonite against Phoenix its all Chicago..
Moving on, tip off started: The Lakers against the Spurs bench. I don't even know who these guys are! This game should have been easy then right??? ( Charlie Murphy voice) WRONG. WRONG. Whenever the Lakers pushed the lead to 7, 8, 9, or even 10. The Spurs JV came right back at them. The Lakers still were making lazy passes, leaving holes in the defense, having slow rotations, defending by fouling, and of course Fisher kept getting caught behind the screens. At two different times the Lakers were out of fouls with 7mins left in the quarter! I must say the game was strangely officiated. It was called fair, but strange. On the day after Kobes 15th tech that he picked up against Perkins was rescinded, he picks up another one to make up for it. I love Kobe probably more than anyone but he needs to keep his mouth shut. True, the refs have gotten very "ticky tac " this season not even allowing players to even smack their hands in frustration. This is an emotional game. These men are passionate, and you have to allow them to express themselves. But, hey who am I? Long story short Kobe was sent to the bench and of course the camera followed him there. Kobe was the maddest Ive seen him in years. He punched the chair and said " Hey Benny ( the ref that slapped him with the T) you faggot!" Fine time for the camera to be watching him and not the game right? Well of course this stirred an uproar in the media and now the NBA is looking at what steps to take against Kobe. he earlier today released a statement saying the words he said were purely out of anger and were not meant tot be taken literally. Back to the game. The pesky Spurs Jr were hanging around,and Willie Green hit an 8 footer to give them a 2 point lead with 7:29 to play. The Lakers actually woke up and held them off after that. FINALLY. Then we created more space with Kobes 3 pointer to put us up by 9 with 2:55 to play. Kobe had 27 points in total, but Lamar Odum stepped up having 12 points in the 4th. Not that he had a choice. Just when it looked like the Lakers had turned a corner, Andrew Bynum went down after stepping on Dajuan Blairs foot. He grabbed his right knee ( the one he had surgically repaired over the summer, I know its hard to tell the difference because they are both made of glass)and sat on the floor for several minutes. As he held his knee Laker fans all over the world held their breaths. I actually thought I heard some fans yelling out " Melo Melo Melo". Yes, Bynum was led to the locker room again. This scene becoming all too familiar. We then get word from John Ireland that he hyper extended it and will not return t the game and will not accompany the team to Sacramento. He will have MRI at 11am on Wed. Welp, there go our 3 peat chances!! That was the buzz around Lakerland. The Lakers actually went on to win the game, but had mixed emotions. We now have lost Bynum, Barnes, Blake, and almost lost Kobe for the Sacramento game. Everyone with a B in their name is on shaky ground right now. I wish Shanons name would've been put on that list because he sucks lately. I swear if he jacks up one more three without running the offense Ima ..whew...wooosah..ok Im back.
The game did have some up points. We ended a 5 game skid and tied with Dallas for the #2 seed. We own the tie breaker if we end up with the same record. We also cant finish worse than 3rd because we own the tie breaker with Oklahoma City as well.
Good news came from the Laker Nation today. After waiting hours for Bynums MRI report to get here by Pony Express, results reveal its only a bone bruise and he will be ready to go for game one of the play offs this weekend. Matt Barnes also had xrays and he will be ready as well. But lets not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
Which brings me to tonites game. If we win tonite we will lock the #2 seed in place. Not that seedings matter...we were #3 overall last season and we know how that ended up. But tonite will be no cakewalk. This could possibly be a very the last game the Kings ever play in the Arco Arena. Its been said that Arco is one of the craziest arenas to play in, and it will be on fire tonite ready to send their royalty out with a bang. Not sure yet if Tyreke will play, but I'm sure that screw up Demarcus Cousins will be there. Hes in the top 5 of guys in the league who commit charges. He steamrolls over everyone in the paint. Whining and crying after every call. Wearing that scowl on his face like hes so big and bad. Being a rookie he has already been fines and suspended more times than I can count. Yeah hes got a long road ahead of him. But tonite, I think the players and their fans will take all of their anger, confusion, hurt, and pain out on our boys. They will remember every time we upset them in the playoffs and bring it to us tonite. They will remember the famous " Horry for the win " shot in the finals. They will remember the triple over time Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals where we went on to hoist up the Larry OBrien trophy. They will remember all of the plastic dummies that were made out of Vlade calling him " Floppy Divac". They will remember Kobe Bryant getting food poisoning after eating from the hotel room service on game day limiting his play on the court. They will remember Shaq at the parade saying "L.A is the capital of California!" Yes those memories are bittersweet, and as they remember them, we need to as well. They would like nothing more than to stick it to us one more time on their beloved royal court. We will have a depleted team, but we still have a winning spirit and we need to have a winning attitude. This last game in a hostile environment will close the door on a season of ups and downs. A weary road to the Ring. But when we send PJax off with his 4th 3Peat,we will look back on this day as but a distant memory. Merely one word in the storybook of our lives. As we limp into the play offs ,don't get nervous just yet Laker fans. Anything worth having is worth fighting for.