I haven't offered a link dump for quite some time in this format … so let's get to it.
-Josh Tucker from Silver Screen and Roll offers some nice insight into last night's game from the Lakers perspective. A snippet:
This felt like a bad loss. It left a bad taste in my mouth, felt like the Lakers gave away the game. The Lakers should have won. Don't you agree?
Then I took another look at the box score. It wasn't what I had expected. The numbers said the Lakers and Nuggets played a fairly even game. Nearly identical, in fact. It shouldn't have been that big a surprise, considering how close the final score was.
-Andrew from Denver Stiffs asks if it's time for a Melo puppet.
Pardon my lame attempt to create a Carmelo Anthony puppet (pictured to the left) to rival the Kobe Bryant and LeBron James versions being shown endlessly these days, but the F.A.O. Schwartz custom Muppet maker has very limited options and this was the best I could do.
At least the suit is a dead ringer for an item in Melo’s wardrobe.
-Nick the Nugg Doctor shares his thoughts that are on the tip of a lot of people's tongue:
What's amazing is now after two games, in L.A. nonetheless, I truly do feel that the Nuggets are the team to beat with the series moving to Denver after the Lakers were fortunate to escape with game one.
-Jeremy at Roundball Mining Company offers his awesome detailed analysis:
Things slowly began to turn around in the middle of the second quarter. The catalyst was Carmelo Anthony. Melo started the game 1-6, but somehow willed himself into the zone (at least inside the three point arc). With the Nuggets down 14 Melo came out of a timeout and proceeded to pour in the Nuggets next 14 points in order to ensure they did not fall further behind. -ESPN's Daily Dime is full of all sorts of Nuggets vs. Lakers chat.
During that Nuggets spurt, Kleiza stroked a huge 3-pointer to trim the Lakers' lead to single-digits, worked his way to the line for a pair of free throws and collected four rebounds — all in the span of about two minutes.
-The Denver Post headlines seem to show the hometown paper has come back to their senses.
From Kiszla's article:
When all looked lost for the Nuggets, in a city built on big cinematic moments, forward Carmelo Anthony delivered the line destined to define this Denver team that refuses to give up on its crazy championship dream.
It's great to hear everybody talking about this Nuggets team. At my apartment complex many-a-fans were out on their balcony's after the game cheering and yelling. Just like Rocktober … this town has gone sports mad and it's all about our Nuggets. And this team is no fluke!
