No recap today - just a bunch of random tidbits from the Mother's Day Miracle.
How did we pull it off in such abusive fashion?
- Aaron Brooks showed what he could do when allowed to do it. He often passes up shots that we would like for him to take. Today, he took those shots without feeling any pressure. Pretty straightfoward.
- The Rockets must have read my post from two nights ago, as they decided to pass to Shane Battier. Either that, or it was incredibly obvious that they should. We finally found the need to look to Battier without having Yao in the middle. It's like the movie Star Trek. When the captain goes missing, everyone is instantly promoted. Battier simply got promoted in the offense, and that will never be a bad thing. It's not like he can't score - it was the primary reason why he was drafted 6th overall in the first place.
- Consider today as a passing of the torch. Out with the old, in with the new. The Great Wall is gone, so send in the steel reinforcements. Chuck Hayes, this is your team now. Good luck.
- We only had 10 turnovers! Hooray!
- The greatest part about this win is that we did it without much help from Ron Artest. What can we do when he is actually making his shots?
- Brian Cook hit a three in the second quarter. Checkmate.
- Ball movement was excellent - we kept passing until we found the open man. Even Crazy Pills made some good passes.
- Jeff Van Gundy mentioned the possibility of the Lakers employing a "Hack-a-Hayes" strategy. I think Magic and Kareem would remove their jerseys from the Staples Center rafters if that were to happen.
- We effectively used the pick and roll game all day long, and that led to a bevy of open shots, open looks, and in general, a whole lot of openess.
- We can make free throws again! Hooray!
- L.A. had 54 points after three quarters. Insane.
- Carl Landry made one basket. A ferocious, posterizing, basket.
- The final score meant nothing. We won this game by about twenty five points.
We came out with more heart, more energy, and with less pressure on us than Los Angeles did. The home crowd was definitely a factor - we obviously had the most adrelanine pumping through our veigns.
That said, a win in L.A. would be asking a lot from this bunch. But who am I to doubt them now? All I can say is: Believe.
You have no reason to do otherwise.