The Swag is Back in LA; Nick Young Returns and the Lakers Win

Happy 100 Chick Hearn

There are so many brilliant things about this game against the Hawks on a night when Chick Hearn's memory was celebrated on his 100th birthday at Staples Center for "Chick Hearn Night," 11/27/16

For Starters:

Thomas Robinson earned himself a start as a result of his inspired play and ten rebounds in the last game.  He played the same, 15 minutes, and put up 9 points and 8 rebounds.

"It's nice to reward people that come into work everyday and work really hard and don't get the same opportunities as other players." _Coach Luke on T-Rob

Jose Calderon playing controlled basketball, filling in for D'Angelo Russell, and NOT turning the ball over for 4 assists and 9 points

Nick Young came back from his toe injury and did what Swag El does.  Hitting the 3 ball at 80% (4 of 5) for 17 points including his, dare I say "patented," four-point play.  Swaggy D got a steal as well.

The OTHER starters (bench mob):

"The energy the second unit brought on the defensive end in the second quarter I think changed the outcome of that game..it's what we've been preaching all year but it's the first time we saw all five guys talking.."_Coach Luke

Larry Nance Jr with a double-double of 12 points, 10 rebounds.

Tarik Black had 7 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.

"We give ourselves up for each other. We sacrifice for each other, you can see it on the court.  Open man gets the shot, we play defense for each other, you can see it on the team. We smile together, we laugh together, we love each other in this locker room."_T Black

Lou and JC led the team in scoring with 21 and 18 respectively. Bonus: JC wore a kilt in a post-game interview he shared with Larry.

"They have been one of the best groups of five, starters or benches, all season long in the NBA all season." _Coach Luke

A Lakers Win, A sweep of Dwight Howard and the Hawks on the season series,Tacos for ALL in Attendance and this game was put "in the fridge" all of which were rare commodities if happened at all last season.

"We all BELIEVE in each other" _Nick Young

Happy birthday, Chick. 🎙 pic.twitter.com/3poSzW8yhq

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 28, 2016

 The SWAG IS BACK

THE GOOD: Part One of the Lakers WIN against the Brooklyn Nets

D'Angelo Russell_ obvi

Dude went off and apparently has ice in his veins:







IN his post-game press conference he said his dad texted before the game which is something that his dad does not ordinarily do (anymore).   

"..He usually texts me after the game(s).." Russell said in regards to his father.

"He asked me if I was hungry.  HE was like, EAT, and I was like, oh, ok now I know what you mean.."

D'Angelo ATE alright

{ 39 pts on 14/21 FG, 8/12 3pt., 6 Reb, 3 As, 1 Stl, 3 TO, +13}

A record-setting performance by the rookie_ via Mike Trudell, Lakers Reporter in THIS interview with Larry Nance Jr.

"The most a Lakers' rookie, I think,  has had since 1959 when Elgin Baylor did it a couple of times..." 

Larry Nance Jr. made some tremendous plays of his own, including a high flying blocked shot off the backboard that was negated on a call for "offensive interference:"



And THIS dunk off a sweet no-look pass from Marcelo Huertas who has not had a whole lot of run this season..



Huertas got 5 assists in 14 minutes and really helps the flow and pace, particularly as a set-up man for "Gelo" and Co.


 Jordan Clarkson played great ball including his own Mamba Moment to close the third quarter giving the Lakers a five point advantage:



There were moments of inspired play and stellar TEAM DEFENSE.  Swaggy 3 not ONLY showed up but so did Swaggy D:



And here is a contribution by Tarik Black who plays perfect defensive position on Brook Lopez, who had 23 points, and receives help defense by Larry Nance Jr:



Nance, literally, had Black's Back.  He also had Marcelo's.  In his post game interview he looked to correct a turnover stat that had been given to Marcelo:

"I felt bad that I think they gave him the turnover for, that's MY turnover...I always look out for my point guards.."

T E A M

Speaking of TEAM

It REALLY is not whether you win or lose it IS how you play the game and this team, for the most part, played pretty decent team ball on BOTH sides of it

THIS is WINNING

And, on the heels of watching the "Top 10 Chickisms.."

It is fitting that THIS game ended with "Gelo (not Jello) Jigglin" as D'AnGelo Russell hits two consecutive three pointers to ice and close the proverbial door on this one..

LIGHTS OUT!

LA has been missing this...

BeaverTails and Poutine: #NBAMediaDay

Today was NBA Media Day.  Clip of ALL the Lakers Media Day can be seen here:

The secret to the LAkers success may lie here:

1) Bobby Sacre is Canadian:  In what "appeared" to be a pretty serious inquisition about Robert Sacre's "eth-ni-city" by Kelli Tennant , Mr. Sacre quickly shifted gears into speaking about his homeland's cuisine.  (whew, not the "border" issues that I THOUGHT we were going to discuss).

Often referred to as, "Adonnis", by SwaggyP, El Presidente de #Sacremento gave us ALL the secret to being a Greek God.

        Bobby Sac's Guide to Godly-ness

     A) Beavertails:  When Mr. Sacre presented Miss Tennant with the news of his eating Beavertails she seemed a bit speechless.

FerReal ?

I was too.  It sounded hilarious when Bobby delivered this "News," but he quickly followed up with an explanation of what, "BeaverTails" is.  Thank you, Mr. Sacre.

BeaverTails: The BeaverTails pastry is similar to several other fried dough pastries and is topped with a choice of sweet condiments and confections, such as whipped cream, banana slices, crumbled oreos, and Nutella. BeaverTails Canada Inc. through franchising currently operates 33 stores and 43 BeaverTails and Queues de Castor stands worldwide.^{[2] _wikipedia}
 B) Poutine ( (/puːˈtiːn/; French: [putin], Quebec French:[put͡sɪn] ( listen)) Yes, this is pronounced just like "Putin." 

You're Welcome

This is Putin, riding a Bear (or is it the other way around?)

Poutine, however, "is a common Canadian dish, originating in Quebec, made with french fries, topped with a light brown gravy-like sauce and cheese curds.^[1] This fast food dish can now be found across Canada, and is also found in some places in the northern United States and even the United Kingdom, where it is sometimes required to be described due to its exotic nature." _wikipedia

Curious.

Clearly, Mr. Sacre has enjoyed some BeaverTails and some Poutine this Summer.

Other than THAT, the only other "takeaway" was this:

(As Kobe Bryant leans in as if to say quietly to James Worthy and Geeter, "Why, in thee hell, is *Arash Markazi behind me taking a picture of the back of my head?"

But, instead, he said this:

" ..to NOT resist NATURE..."

(@kobebryant quote regarding his current health, status, and BEYOND)

*Arash Markazi rumored to have played an audio clip similar to THIS on LAkers Media Day.  Kobe, allegedly, heard it and made sure that Mr. Markazi was only "allowed" to take a picture of, "the back of my head," said Kobe, and, (pointing to his grill)  "because this is a money-maker and THAT will cost him MONEY!"  

 According to a "s o u r c e" the microphone sizzled, the PA went silent and there were glimpses of JB's ghost nearby.  

Oh, no, apparently it was Donald Sterling lurking about the halls as he is rumored to have a new "basketblog." 

Anyways, the point is this: not sure how "credible the source" IS. (must be ESPN related)

 Later, Mr. Markazi stated to Kobe that he had played "Death & Vader: The Empire Strikes Back," not the same "Empire Strikes Back theme the Lakers played for his comeback LAST season.

Clearly, the Great Kobe Bryant influenced by Vic the Brick Jacobs with his "bend don't break" Phil-o-so-phy.  May the student finally become the teacher in this year's journey to #purplengold excellence?

The Laker Rookies, both, are looking good with their work ethic and doing extremely well handling themselves as the young pros that they are.

Incidentally, Kelli Tenant is much like Fletch:  She does the tough things to get the win and almost 6-9 "in the heels."

I hope we all have a sense of humor like Mr. Bobby Sacre.  We can ALL learn from that.  I hope we ALL also learned a little bit about Canadian pastries in the meantime.  The Lakers WILL need the interior defense of Sacre this season to be more on point than his comedy game and THAT is saying a lot!

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