FANS, PLAYERS EYEING FINAL RUN TO HISTORY.Byline: KAREN CROUSE Wednesday at Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. felt a little bit like last weekend at Augusta National. The scoreboard watchers were out in force, packing the arena for the Lakers' game against Minnesota the way patrons did Augusta National's back nine on Sunday. Every shot hung in the air, suspended by the gravity of the moment. A Grand Finale is what we're on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of witnessing. The top eight teams in the Western Conference are homing in on history, jockeying for position in the standings the way Tiger Woods  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled. , Phil
Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970) (nicknamed "Lefty" for his left-handed swing, even though he is otherwise right-handed), is an American professional golfer. He is one of the leading players of his generation, having won three major championships and a total of 32 , David Duval David Robert Duval (born November 9, 1971) is an American professional golfer and former World No. 1 who competes on the PGA Tour. Background and careerAmateur career Duval was born in Jacksonville, Florida. et al did at the Masters. Not since the current NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= playoff format  This article or section may deal primarily with the U.S. and may not present a worldwide view. was introduced in 1984 has
there been so little separating the first and eighth place teams in one
of the conferences.
The Timberwolves began the day in eighth place, 9 1/2 games behind In sports, the phrase games behind, often abbreviated as GB in tables, is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division. the conference-leading San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and are the current NBA Champions after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007 NBA Finals. . Whatever happens the next few days, the Western Conference is poised to shatter the previous low differential between first and eighth place teams of 14 games in an 82-game season. Is it the NBA or is it reality TV? The Western Conference playoff teams might as well be chained together, seeing as how one can't make a move without everybody else feeling it. At the start of the day the Lakers stood second in the Pacific-Division standings, one game back of Sacramento, which was playing in San Antonio. A Sacramento loss would have given the Lakers as big a shot in the arm as Ron Harper's return to the lineup. The Lakers want to win their division, if only to improve their chances of avoiding a first-round playoff matchup with Portland. For all their failings, the Trail Blazers on paper are as frightening to the Lakers as Woods' gallery and game stare would have been to any golfer paired with him in last Sunday's final round at the Masters. It's not by chance that David Duval, who played in front of Woods and not alongside him, finished second. That's why, when the Kings' Predrag Stojakovich's feathery feath·er·y adj. 1. Covered with or consisting of feathers. 2. Resembling or suggestive of a feather, as in form or lightness. feath bank shot slipped through the net in the final seconds of overtime, the reverberations were felt a couple thousand miles away in L.A. ``I'm sitting here looking at this,'' Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said, his eyes glued to a television set tuned to the San Antonio- Sacramento game, ``because every game is important just to see how the matchups end up.'' Sacramento's overtime victory over San Antonio was great theater. A Laker fan might call it a regular tragicomedy tragicomedy Literary genre consisting of dramas that combine elements of tragedy and comedy. Plautus coined the Latin word tragicocomoedia to denote a play in which gods and mortals, masters and slaves reverse the roles traditionally assigned to them. . ``Right now,'' Kupchak said, what matters ``is really trying to position ourselves as best as possible in the standings.'' If the playoffs began today, the Lakers would play Dallas. The Mavericks host Sacramento today so stay tuned. The standings are like the weather in Chicago; if you don't like them, wait an hour. In the prevailing climate, one slip can lead to a precipitous fall. Goodness knows the Lakers could drive themselves to distraction worrying about who they'll face in the best-of-five opening round series. ``We're trying not to place an emphasis on it as a team,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said in his pregame address and that's probably a sage strategy, given how disposed to distraction the Lakers have been in their title defense. Not long after Jackson spoke those words we stumbled upon Lakers forward Robert Horry. He was plopped in front of a television. Was he watching the San Antonio-Sacramento game? ``No,'' he said. ``It's halftime there.'' OK, so maybe the Lakers are doing a little bit of scoreboard watching. Whatever they're focusing on, it's putting them in the proper state of mind. Behind Shaquille O'Neal's 31 points and Kobe Bryant's 30 points and nine assists, the Lakers defeated Minnesota 119-102 for their sixth consecutive victory. It's their longest winning streak of the season. At this pace, the Lakers will have San Antonio firmly in their headlights. The most charismatic player in the Western Conference has crept back into contention. But of course. With O'Neal driving and Bryant back riding shotgun (instead of grabbing for the wheel), why shouldn't the road to the playoffs turn into a bottleneck right around the Staples Center? |
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