This game really ended before it started. Once the official word that Steve Nash wasn’t gonna play, and the Lakers starting backcourt would consist or Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock, that was all she wrote. The final score of Spurs 120-89 was really beside the point.
Not that Nash would have made much of a difference (he’s been a non-factor for the whole season, honestly), but at least the notion that he could have an impact 17-11 game was fun to consider. A pipe dream sure, but that was better than the reality. The Lakers for large portions of the year have been a dysfunctional and boring team and this was their basement game. They were outclassed and outhustled from the first tip. Truth is they didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs anyway, but Utah’ s trash juice squad couldn’t get their act together in the last few weeks of the season.
Game 3 was only noteworthy because the Laker’s crowd was so depressed. They had the nerve to boo throughout the game. Jack Nicholson and bunch of other spoiled fans were actually yelling at the refs, acting like they’re the reason they didn’t win the game. Did they actually think that when Kobe Bryant went down before the series that Lakers would be able to stay on the floor with the Spurs? Did they think that somehow, Mike D’Antoni’s feeble game plans would counteract Gregg Popovich? The sense of entitlement here is comical. They’re getting exactly what they deserve when you think about it. Remember, they basically laughed at the jettisoned Mike Brown when he was dismissed early in the season.
So now we have a NBA postseason that won’t include the Lakers or Celtics, and honestly, that a good thing. These franchises and their fans have been eating for years, so what they’re getting pushed out of the restaurant.
