LA has been blessed with some of the best home team announcers. Along with Vin Scully, the absolute best was Chick Hearn, who changed the commentating game and invented terms like “air ball,” “triple double,” and “slam dunk.” His partner behind the mic in his final years was Stu Lantz, who will forever hold a special place in my heart for the love but also the impartiality with which he provided (and still provides) color commentary. He has always been full of useful tidbits of information that provide insight into the game.
One of the things Stu has always stressed is starting and finishing quarters. During the Shaq/Kobe era, we were absolutely the best at that. The third quarter, in particular was ours. We OWNED the first five minutes of the second half, and it made the difference so many times. I don’t know what Phil told them in the locker room, but they would use those opening minutes of the third to either turn the momentum to their favor or put a team away for good. It was goddamn inspirational and I miss it. I know coming up short in close games is a virtual inevitability with such a young team, as these guys just don’t have the experience to know how to close out games yet. But I will be much relieved when we figure it out and start winning some of these games where we have earned a W but end up losing because we stumble at the finish line. Continue reading “Lakers: Random Thoughts On 2-5”
