Okay, before we begin, I know that Wesley Matthews, JJ Hickson, and Nicholas Batum all might be out for the game tonight. Having experienced defensive players who can go against Kobe, and bodies to go against Dwight Howard, would help the cause. My hopes are lessened somewhat, but not gone.
The NBA – where weirder things have happened.
***
The Blazers are not going to the playoffs this season, guys. We’ve been mathematically eliminated, and I’m okay with that. Who would have guessed that this team’s early success wouldn’t pan out? Um, me! I would have guessed, along with everyone who saw how many minutes the starters were playing and how short our bench was. That was a pretty good indication that the team’s success wasn’t going to be sustainable, barring any major mid-season moves. You need interior defense and a bench to win a lot of games. We have some nice pieces, but not enough of them.
Are we agreed? Okay, let’s move on.
Despite this, it’s been a fun season to watch. We’ve got an All-Star and probably a Rookie of the Year. We’ve lost some games we shouldn’t have lost, but we won some games we had no business winning. My husband and I were at a sucky game, yeah, but we were also there when Damian got his first buzzer-beater for the win. Guess which one I’ll remember in ten years.
Just as sweet, for much of the year, we were ahead of the Lakers in the standings.
And it felt so good.
The Blazers weren’t so hot, but they weren’t SUPPOSED to be. We’re in a holding pattern, hoping for draft picks and waiting for some cap space to open up for this summer’s free agency market. If you can’t win, you can at least enjoy watching your enemies suffer.
The Lakers were supposed to be good, but they sucked. Kobe complained, and they kept sucking. They had injuries, but who doesn’t? More complaining and finger-pointing. More sucking.
Eventually, their roster caught up to them, too. While we stopped over-performing, the Lakers stopped under-performing. Still, it might be too little too late.
The Lakers might not make the playoffs.
The Blazers could help keep them out of it.
Who says these last games aren’t meaningful?
If the Blazers can get up for this game, and beat the Lakers, I’ll consider this a successful season. I’ll start the slow clap and the standing ovation (in my living room).
If not, life will go on. We’ll get a lottery pick, and maybe it’ll be as good as the last one.
Before that, though, wouldn’t it be great to give Kobe one more thing to complain about?
**
Bonus! Google results for:
“Kobe calls out Dwight Howard”