I Got Your MVP Right Here

I sat down tonight with a sense of doom for my treasured laundry, as the Sixers started a five game road trip in Los Angeles against the Kobes. Considering that the Cavs had already won by the time of the opening tip, meaning that the Lake Show had to win to keep pace for best overall record (and home court, and Kobe's MVP hopes), I didn't have much hope for a win. But the first game of a road trip is usually when have your best legs, and the team has won their last three, so...

The first half began badly, with the starting unit stumbling around, but the Lakers didn't take full advantage. The bench play of Lou Williams got it back to a 4 point deficit at the end of the first. In the second, Williams kept up his great play, Andre Iguodala was able to get Kobe to the bench with foul trouble, and Thaddeus Young continued to assert himself. Hell, even Samuel Dalembert played well, despite Pau Gasol carrying the home team. Only a long Sasha Vujacic three, and the road team's continued inability to score from the 3-point line, kept them from a lead. At the half, it was 50-50.

In the third, Kobe picked up his fourth on yet another cheap shot on Iggy -- seriously, if this was the playground, Kobe should be missing some teeth -- continuing to point to a close game. Unfortunately for the Sixers, less Kobe just means more Gasol and Lamar Odom, and like most teams in the Association, coping with the Lakers' big men is a serious problem. With Kobe on the bench, the Lakers expanded the lead with good ball movement and better defense, and at the end of three, it was Lakers 73, Sixers 62 -- the home team's largest lead of the game, closing the quarter on a 10-0 run.

Iguodala got hot in the fourth, and after a Donyell Marshall (wow, he's still in the league, and even useful in small doses, seeing how he's shooting 61% from the three-point line in the fourth quarter of games this year) three and an Iguodala three-point play, it was 80-75. Three straight stops and scores even gave the road dogs the lead at 81-80, a 19-4 run to start the fourth. Jackson called time, and as I looked at the box score, the reigning MVP was -9 in plus/minus, on 4 of 11 shooting with 4 turnovers. Not something you see very often.

Kobe missed, and Reggie Evans got a no-call putback that had the home crowd howling. Odom missed the tying three, and Marshall drilled the answer, and it was, amazingly, 86-80 with five minutes to play. Trevor Ariza got an answering three, Royal Ivey forced a bad miss, and after a Laker team rebound after a Jordan Farmer miss, Ivey redeemed himself with a steal and assist to Williams. Kobe forced a horrible three, but Marshall couldn't keep the board, and Gasol got a putback.

Kobe then (finally) passed out of the double-team to Gasol, who was fouled by Marshall at the rim. Miller missed a flat footed, no one near him three -- just, in a nutshell, what keeps him being an elite guard. Odom replies with a deuce, but Marshall gives the road team the lead again with a three, just unreal, his third in seven minutes after not playing a minute all night. After a long three miss, the Lakers did the smart thing of getting the ball to Gasol, who abused Marshall for two three throws for the tie, with 100 seconds to go.

Williams gets to the rim, but can't finish; Evans can't get the board. Kobe misses again. Miller turns it over. Gasol misses a layup where Evans got away with contact. Williams goes to the rim again, but Gasol denies him. Wild action, back and forth, no time outs, just the kind of end-game you never see, but always should.

And then, in what you would think would be the only moment that anyone will notice or remember thanks to SportsCenter Nation, Kobe hits over Iguodala with 6.6 seconds left to give the home team a 93-91 lead. Just wrong. With the make, Kobe is now 5 for 15. What an MVP...

And just as I was putting this to bed with hate, Iguodala hits the game-winning three over Ariza for the win. The refs look at the tape, and screw you, Kobe. Ballgame, Sixers.

THAT. WAS. AWESOME.

(Oh, and in the post-game interview, Iggy tells us that he waved off the coach's idea of getting to the rim, saying he was going to win the game right here. Well, all right then, Mr. 1 for 7 from the arc, Mr. Thirty Percent Three Point Shooter, Mr. FREAKING AWESOME. You have Large Sack.

* * * * *

Honestly, between the three point failures and the big man defense moments, watching the Sixers is like watching a pro version of the old-time John Chaney Temple Owls. At one point in the third, the game was tied, and the Sixers had 15 more shot attempts. Hard way to win games.

The thing about this Sixers team is that despite their obvious and should be crushing failings, they remain compelling. When they bring defensive intensity, with Dalembert blocking shots, they appear to be much more than the sum of their parts. When Miller is working the ancient kung fu magic that is a mid-range game (honestly, is there any other point guard outside of college that routinely makes bank shots?), it's downright retro-cool.

And when Iguodala is hitting from outside and fooling you into thinking that he's a top 20 player, or when Young appears to be on the cusp of actual stardom...

Well, a man can dream of an actual first-round playoff series win. Not that it can realistically happen, not without some dependable half-court scoring options (and yes, that's why they signed Elton Brand) and some actually consistent three point production. Too many things have to go well for this team to win, and at the top levels in the Assocation, that just doesn't happen.

Or, um, does it? Jack Nicholson is slapping some starlet right now, just to show me that sometimes, the world does go my way. Good to know.

A final point. I've seen bad Sixers teams; I've seen unwatchable ones. I've also seen frustrating or exasperating squads that squandered their talents, got their coach fired, and more or less insulted the intelligence of anyone that spent time on them.

This team isn't one of those. Not by a long shot. Go, team, go.