TNT Finally Got it Right

TNT has put a mic on Kobe, LeBron, Dwight, KG, even Sam Cassell, the walking mouth. But they finally mic'ed up the right guy on Friday night for the Lakers-Spurs rematch:



(via Odenized)

I don't know of a single team that wouldn't want Ronny Turiaf on their team. He's a high energy big man who can bang and block shots, plus he is the league's greatest mascot (FreeDarko is much more eloquent than I). If you need it spelled out for you, Turiaf had to have open heart surgery because he had too much heart. I think he may be the only NBA player who is just as effective in-game as he is on the bench -- and I mean that in a completely positive way. Some benches watch on bitterly, some clap mildly, and others may even stand up and yell. But Ronny gets hyphy. And that's that.



If TNT continues the YellowBook cam (the camera that follows one player throughout the game online; one or two players per team are picked), can the sweet, sweet people of this here internet band together to vote for Ronny? Who would you rather vote for, Kobe? We saw that last time. Pau? Boring. Sasha/Odom/Fisher/anyone? You don't really want that. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Ronny bust out into amazing bench antics only to have the camera pan to cover the fast break. A camera covering Ronny for one entire game would give us enough YouTube material for a year.

But as for the actual game (what actually matters), the Spurs got punked. Even when down 2 in the first half, it felt like they were down 20. In some games you might argue that's a good thing, that the team is hanging around despite a vicious home team run. Not this series. If you feel like you're down by 20 against the Lakers you soon will be, because you may hang with them for awhile but it's certainly hard to hang with them the whole game. Their offense is just too good, especially at home.

Kobe is playing out of position an awful lot in this series. Phil likes the match-ups when he puts Fisher-Vujacic-Bryant-Odom-Gasol on the floor, and it's hard to argue the results so far: the Lakers offense looked unstoppable in Game 2 and Fisher and Vujacic have effectively limited the Spurs back-court. Most importantly though, it lets Kobe save his energy. When playing for Team USA this past summer, Kobe famously told Coach K that he wanted to guard the other team's best player every game. Phil isn't letting Kobe have any such delusions however, and has Kobe guarding spot-up shooters (mostly Bruce Bowen or Michael Finley). He isn't even guarding Ime Udoka when Bowen isn't in the game, opting instead to guard players like Finley who camp at the three rather than pick and cut to the basket like Udoka. It may not seem to matter now, but you have to think that this could be a huge factor if the Lakers make it past the Spurs and into the NBA Finals.

Even worse news for the Spurs though, was that Ginobili had another troubling game. After the Spurs blew their lead in Game 1, Manu responded by posting 7 points on 25% shooting, including 0-4 from three. Sasha played good defense but in no way was it smothering. I'm not going to beat a dead horse but Manu just needs to play like Manu.