NBA: A recap of last night’s California games featuring the Lakers, Clippers and Kings

Chris Kaman laying down on the Lakers bench because he’s the only player on it.

By Ryan Rodriguez

Well, with three of the four California teams in action last night, I decided I’d do a little blurb/roundup on the games. The two bottom feeders, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, came out with wins while the Los Angeles Clippers engaged in a great duel with the Miami Heat, before ultimately falling to the defending champs. Each game featured it’s own unique story line and we start in Cleveland, where the Lakers ended the game in probably the most weird and bizarre way you have ever seen.

Los Angeles Lakers 119 – 108 Cleveland Cavaliers

I only picked this game up in the second half, as I didn’t realize that Cleveland was in the Eastern time zone and the game would be starting at 4 PM West Coast time. By the time I tuned in, the Lakers were up by 21 points, but I knew that this game was far from over. If you have watched the Lakers at all the last few years, you know that no lead is ever safe, and this game was no different as the Cavs closed the gap multiple times in the fourth quarter, getting the game to as close as eight multiple times. However, Big Game Blake (as my housemate likes to call Steve Blake) truly went big game on the Cavs, dropping a triple-double despite only having three points halfway through the fourth quarter. All 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists were needed, as the Lakers finished the game with only four eligible players.

That’s right. You heard me. The great Los Angeles Lakers, the best franchise in the NBA, somehow has fallen so far that they finished the game with only four eligible players. They started the game with only eight active players, only getting even that many because Blake decided to play even though he ruptured his ear drum the night before (he’s tough). As the game developed, Nick Young tweaked his knee and Jordan Farmar left the game with a cramp in his calf. This dropped the Lakers to six healthy, active players (are they playing in the rec league or the NBA?), only to watch Chris Kaman foul out. Now down to five players (Blake, Kendall Marshall, Wes Johnson, Ryan Kelly, and Rob Sacre), the Lakers watched as Sacre fouled out on a semi-questionable call with 3:32 left, leaving the Lakers with only four eligible players.

Due to NBA rules, a team has to have five players on the court at all times, so Sacre had to stay in, and any time he committed a foul, the Lakers would be assessed a technical on top of the personal foul. Needless to say, this is one of the weirdest and craziest things I have ever seen happen, and it’s kind of depressing that it had to happen to such a proud franchise like the Lakers.

Despite all of these injuries and disqualifications, the Lakers were still able to stop their seven game losing streak. As mentioned, Big Game showed up hitting two huge threes despite the torn ligament in his shooting elbow (I told you he’s tough), and Ryan Kelly dropped a career-high 26. This game really had it all, plot twists, gutty performances, and something that I had never seen before, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole fourth quarter.

Sacramento Kings 109 – 101 Toronto Raptors

Rudy Gay #8 of the Sacramento Kings dunks against the Toronto Raptors on February 5, 2014 at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California.

This game ended up a lot closer than I ever expected it would. The Kings had steadily built up a 20-point lead by the end of the third quarter, only to see the Raptors fight all the way back and make it a very close game. With the score at 105-99 with 25 seconds left, Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry came off a down screen, launched a 3, and swished it while Ben McLemore ran into his leg, drawing a foul on Lowry. The rarely called offensive foul where a jump shooter kicks his legs out, drawing contact was called and with that Lowry lost his opportunity at a 4-point play that could have brought the game within two points. It was a pretty weak call in my eyes, I was watching without sound and I fully thought the refs were going over to review if Lowry was behind the three point line, only to be surprised when I realized what the call actually was. To make matters worse for the Raptors, Lowry got called for a tech after he ran away from the refs so he wouldn’t start arguing with them. Clearly a dumb foul call deserved a dumb “T” as well. If you ask me, it should have been a no call since no defender can really prepare for how Lowry’s feet swung out.

I want to touch on Ben McLemore a little, as I thought the rookie played pretty well yesterday. I know he only had 6 points and 3 boards, only shot 40%, and almost made a bonehead play (the non foul on Lowry), but he gave me a little confidence yesterday. I think it really helped that he drilled his first shot, a three from the right corner (Amazingly, I expected the shot to go in), and I think it gave him some confidence the rest of the game. He followed this up with a nice layup in transition and seemed to have a confident bounce in his step the rest of the way. He also contributed 2 steals, a testament to the effort he puts in on the defensive end, and came up with a huge rebound with 35 seconds left that led to two Isaiah free throws that pushed the lead to seven. Right now this is all I want to see from Ben, hustle all over the floor and knocking down open jumpers, anything else is just icing on the cake.

Quick update on the Boogie effect on the Kings. They shot 51 free throws last night, more than double the Raptors total. When Boogie plays, it rubs off on Isaiah (15 free throws) and Rudy (11 free throws) so much because now the team is getting into the bonus so much earlier. This spikes the offensive efficiency greatly, especially when you only shoot 39% like last night.

Los Angeles Clippers 112 – 116 Miami Heat

LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat and Blake Griffin #32 of the Los Angeles Clippers look on at Staples Center on February 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

Dunks, on dunks, on dunks. This was certainly the theme of last night’s game, as two of the most athletic teams in the association got together for a highly entertaining battle. In the first quarter alone, Sportscenter’s Top 10 plays could have been filled as Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Blake Griffin took turns making players scurry away from the basket as they threw down thunderous slams. The Clips however had to fight an uphill battle all game, as they let the Heat score 36 points in the first on 16-23 shooting (15 assists), and the theme of ball movement and the open shots it generates were what ultimately brought the Clips down. They just weren’t able to slow down the finely tuned offensive machine that is the Heat offense, maybe because they have no faith in their backup bigs as Blake and DeAndre Jordan had to play 40+ intense minutes each.

Speaking of Blake, that guy has been a straight beast since Chris Paul went out, and yesterday was no different, as he dropped 43 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists. What has defined this great 17-game run for Blake, and really this whole season, is his improved decision making. It’s not so much that he was making bad decisions before, more so that they were made with such calculation on his part, which allowed the defense to get set and negate some of his athleticism. Now, he makes his decisions to shoot, pass, or drive so quickly, he gives himself more space to operate and also attacks a defense that is still in rotation as opposed to already set.

This is especially useful against the Heat who base their defense on scrambling and precise rotations, so in turn, Blake’s quick decision making made it nearly impossible for these rotations to be fully effective after a couple of passes. Hence, we get the Blake superstar game that is becoming more and more prevalent. If only the Clips had some backup bigs on the bench, even just one, I would be fully on the bandwagon because their starting bigs have made noticeable improvements this season.

A couple of notes on the game. First, DeAndre has taken the best pick and roll lob dunker away from Tyson Chandler. This guy has unbelievable body control for a seven footer and if the defense has no one in front of him, the Clips are throwing a lob and he is throwing it down. Yesterday, he had poor Norris Cole follow him down the lane and Darren Collison put up a perfect lob as DJ jumped in the air, did a half turn, and threw it down with his back to the basket. Welcome to his dunk party. The other notes are on Jamal Crawford who put in two shots that only Jamal does consistently. The first was a 28 footer over LeBron at the end of the first half, where he took only 3 dribbles before having to launch it seemingly up to the ceiling just to get it over LeBron’s out stretched arm. The second play was a classic Jamal jumper ending in a foul and 3-point play. He definitely flopped on the play, as there seemed to be no contact made by Ray Allen, and I hate floppers, but he made it look so elegant that I couldn’t help but marvel at his ridiculous tough-shot-making ability.

Look at the arc.