Do the Lakers Lack a Killer Instinct?

Cherry Picking recaps the previous day's NBA playoff action.

Objectively speaking, the Lakers hold a commanding 2-0 lead in their first-round matchup with the Jazz. How commanding? According to ESPN's John Hollinger, teams that open a series with two straight wins have gone on to win the series 192 out of a possible 204 times in playoff history. For those who can't perform long division before their morning coffee, that translates to 94.1%.

So why did Derek Fisher predict that Phil Jackson would put his team through a practice "from hell" after beating the Jazz 119-109 on Tuesday? Because for the second game in a row, the Lakers let a fat lead shrink in the fourth quarter.

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The Lakers led Game 2 on Tuesday by as many as 20 in the first half, and though the Jazz chipped away at the lead in the third quarter, the game still looked seemingly in hand with a 13-point lead at the 7:23 mark in the fourth. Over the next four and half minutes, though, the Jazz made a game of it, whittling the deficit down to three.

Should the fact that the Lakers couldn't keep their proverbial foot on Utah's neck worry fans in L.A.? After all, it wasn't that long ago that Jackson called out his team's lack of a "killer instinct," and it was less than a month ago that he insisted on putting his starters through the paces in the final minutes of a blowout win until they executed five clean plays in a row.

What's even more curious is the fact that Utah made its biggest charge immediately after most of the Lakers' starters returned to the floor. It's one thing to let your bench squander a lead, but it's another to see Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom surrendering big runs.

Is it time for the Lakers to worry? Is this a front-running team doomed to first-quarter blowouts and fourth-quarter busts?

Personally, I don't buy it. For as much as people will talk about L.A.'s "collapse," they still closed out the game with a 9-2 run and a double-digit margin of victory. Sure, things started to get a little dicey for awhile, but perhaps credit should be given where it's due.

The Lakers are extremely talented and the prohibitive favorite, but the game is still more than just a mental exercise between five guys wearing purple and gold -- there's actually another team on the floor with some pretty talented players and a lot of pride at stake.

Runs happen for both teams, and as impressive as the Jazz looked cutting the deficit down, the Lakers looked even better pulling away. Don't sweat the small stuff, just the final score.

Doing Lines

Brandon Roy is neither a fan of history nor FanHouse. We learned that much on Tuesday night when he ignored Tom Ziller's perfectly reasonable post outlining Roy's history of struggles against Ron Artest. After requiring 23 shots for 21 points in Game 1, Roy needed just 27 shots for 42 points in last night's win over the Rockets. He shot 15-27 from the field and 10-12 from the line, grabbing seven boards for good measure.

Watching Film



In honor of Dikembe Mutombo, who almost certainly played his last game as a professional Tuesday night, take a moment to re-live just one of his career 3,289 career rejections, and ask yourself, is this the greatest Mutombo highlight of all-time?

Consider: 1) That wasn't a soft layup he turned back but a two-handed dunk -- Kirk Snyder looked like he didn't know what hit him; 2) He immediately followed with the requisite finger wag; 3) The color analyst immediately broke into a Mutombo impression, which is always funny no matter how many times you hear it; and 4) The highlight was from 2006, his 15th year in the league, exemplifying his incredible longevity.

Watching Faux Reality TV



Bonus section! I don't know anything about MTV's The Hills except to realize that this video is mocking it -- and that Chris Bosh simply kills it in his cameo about a minute in. Head nod to Fresh Prince of the Blog for the find.


On the Blockquote

Bring Back Novak from The Dream Shake on his new favorite Trail Blazer:

You thought Mehmet Okur was bad? Andrei Kirilenko? Matt Harpring? Anderson Varejao? Nope, none of them compare to the Vanilla Gorilla himself, the newly crowed "King of the Floppers." Apparently, Przybilla isn't as strong or as powerful as some claim him to be. From the looks of it, a light shove to his back sends him flying into the air like he's just been electrocuted, flailing arms and all. For example, Kyle Lowry puts his palm on Przybilla's back and gives him a little shove without extending his arms at all during a rebound. To this, Joel suddenly flies into the air like a bat, falls onto the floor, and just for kicks, rolls around like he just flew off a motorcycle.

Dan Feldman of PistonPowered:

Tayshaun Prince is 3-for-12 and has six points in the series (just four total rebounds, too). And Antonio McDyess made two free throws last night. Now, the starting front court has combined for two free-throw attempts in the series.

Seen on a fan's T-shirt in Portland, with photographic evidence at BlazersEdge:

I'm the guy who threw the cup at Ron Artest.