No Lessons Learned in Game 1, Just Good Basketball

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

After a grueling, physical seven-game series with the Rockets, there was some worry the Lakers might come out flat against the Nuggets (even if history suggested otherwise). And for the first 10 minutes, that's what happened as the Nuggets jumped out to a surprising 27-14 lead. All told, Carmelo Anthony finished with an impressive 16 points in the opening quarter.

Not to be shown up on their home floor, the Lakers spent the second quarter chipping away at Denver's lead, eventually going into halftime with a slim two-point lead of their own. Things continued to go back and forth in the second half until finally Kobe Bryant took over, scoring 18 of his 40 points in the fourth en route to a 105-103 victory.

The only lesson here, though, is that it's better to be a closer late than a front-runner early -- which we already knew. Nothing else should be taken from this game.

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Unless you were predicting a Denver sweep (and by our unscientific polling data, only 1% of you were), nothing you saw on Tuesday night should sway your opinion about the rest of the series, regardless of who you picked to ultimately advance. If you're cheering for the Nuggets, consider the following:

-- Chauncey Billups shot 6-9 from the free-throw line, missing as many freebies in one game as he did in the entire first two rounds combined (66-69). And that ends up being the difference in the game plus one.

-- The Nuggets as a team missed 13 free throws, shooting just 65.7% from the line. If they matched their season average of 76%, they make up the difference.

-- After averaging better than 16 points a game in the first two rounds, J.R. Smith managed a grand total of eight points. If he hit his regular season average of 15, the Nuggets could have coasted to victory.

-- Nene fouled out of a game with a minute and change left and the Nuggets nursing a two-point lead; after he leaves, the Lakers make up the difference. If he stayed in the game, perhaps Denver plays better defense and prevents Pau Gasol from tying the game on the next possession.

-- Trailing by two with 30 seconds left in the game, Anthony Carter inexplicably lobbed an in-bound pass to Chauncey Billups, allowing Trevor Ariza to steal the ball and setting up a Lakers possession that resulted in two Kobe free throws and a four-point margin with only 10 seconds left in the game. If Carter simply made a crisp textbook pass, who knows? Maybe the Nuggets could have tied the game -- or even taken the lead.

That's five hypothetical scenarios, and only one of them needed to happen for the Nuggets to hold onto the lead and win the game. But wait, are you a Lakers fan? Well, hold your outrage, because you could just as easily make the case that this might be the closest game of the series.

-- Bryant not only got everything he wanted in the fourth quarter, he also managed to cool down Carmelo once he took over defensive duties late in the game. Going forward, Phil Jackson probably won't wait until let Carmelo get scorching hot before turning to that option.

-- No, Billups wasn't as sensational as he was for most of the first two rounds, but he still finished with 18 points and eight assists, which topped his season average. Once Anthony's production slides back to his season average (or heck, even his playoff average), Denver is in trouble.

-- Yeah, the Nuggets missed a lot of free throws they normally don't miss, but they also took 11 more than the Lakers did as a team (35 to 24), and that's with the Lakers shooting six in the final 75 seconds after the Nuggets resorted to intentionally fouling. Once those whistles even out, it won't be nearly as close at the end.

-- Pau Gasol (13 points), Andrew Bynum (six points) and Lamar Odom (seven points) were all pretty tame; once they get adjusted to playing legitimate big men instead of Houston's platoon of smurfs, the Lakers will dominate the paint.

-- The Lakers were actually more accurate from beyond the arc (44% on 11-25 shooting) than two-point land (41.1%). If L.A.'s sharpshooters can keep getting theirs all series long (and rest of the team reverts back to the norm with their midrange shots), the Nuggets will never jump ahead to a lead so great the Lakers can't erase it in a matter of minutes.

The point is, no matter which team you're cheering for, there's reason to believe the best is yet to come. And considering Game 1 was one of the most entertaining games since the epic Celtics/Bulls matchup in the first round, that bodes well for the majority of viewers who don't have a horse in this race but simply enjoy exciting, well-played basketball.

Your move, LeBron and Dwight. The entertainment bar has been set high.

Doing Lines

Kobe Bryant wasn't quite as efficient (40 points on 13-28 shooting) as Carmelo Anthony (39 points on 14-20 shooting), but he came through when it mattered most. Neither player was content with simply scoring; as it happens, they each finished with exactly six boards, four assists and a block.


Watching Film



The whole "Nuggets vs. WWE" mini-drama is just about getting old, but leave it to Vince McMahon for milking it for as much publicity as possible. This won't end until Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke hits McMahon over the head with a folding chair.