Sights from the Spurs-Lakers game that did happen
The Spurs arrived in Los Angeles on Friday expecting to play Saturday and Monday nights against the Lakers, but they did not know if either game would actually be played because of the wildfires in Los Angeles. When the Saturday game was cancelled, the Spurs were stuck in a city in crisis, with not much to do except wait around to see if the Monday game would happen or not. It reminded me of Jackson Brown’s old song “The Load-Out” describing a rock ‘n roll band on the road waiting for the next show to happen:
We just pass the time in the hotel rooms
And wander ‘round backstage
‘Til those lights come up, and we hear that crowd
And we remember why we came
Thankfully, the Monday game happened, the lights did come up and the team was able to hear the crowd and remember why they came. Although we all missed the Saturday game (and will attend the make-up game if it happens in LA), I was able to attend the Monday game with my son and two of our basketball player buddies, Steve and Dan. For this post, I will give my thoughts and comments chronologically, with many more pictures than normal. I won’t do a play-by-play type game analysis, as that has already been well-handled by my fellow Pounding the Rock writers.
When I got into my car to drive to the game, two songs came on my radio. First, “Light My Fire” by the Doors. Second, “It Never Rains in Southern California” by a guy named Albert Hammond. This was on Sirius, not a local station. I can’t figure out if it was a remarkable coincidence, or just karma.
As we entered the arena, the Lakers gave every fan a Laker-gold shirt honoring the first responders who had performed such brave work on the fires that swept the area. I wondered why the Lakers were handing these shirts out to the fans instead of sending them to the first responders. Perhaps they know that remaining a Laker fan with this team also requires some bravery.
Before we went to our seats, I spoke with a young fellow wearing a Victor Wembanyama jersey. He was probably the happiest guy in the arena that Monday’s game had not also been cancelled. Young Filip Zajac had braved an 18-hour flight from Poland (yes, all the way from Poland) to see Victor and the Spurs play the Lakers. When he took off from the airport in Poland, he did not know if the game would happen or not, so naturally he was absolutely thrilled that it was and he was there for it. I sent him a copy and told him that I would send him this post, along with his picture, so he could share it with all his friends back in Poland. Filip, here we are at the Spurs game in Los Angeles! Before the game started, we had a very solemn and long moment of silence. I have never heard 17,000 people that quiet — it was very moving. Laker guard Jay Vincent (formerly with the Heat) spoke very eloquently on behalf of the Lakers, again thanking the first responders. Though I still don’t know if they will be getting any good Laker swag.
Unfortunately, the Spurs started the game as if they had forgotten why they came. They quickly fell behind 7-0, leading to an immediate Spurs time-out. I told Steve (the same guy who got me the video of Pali High surviving last week) that I hoped we were not going to witness the first shut-out in NBA history. Thankfully, the good guys finally scored some points. Though the Spurs trailed by up to double-digits at times in the first half, it turned into a competitive game. The old guys, LeBron James and Chris Paul. both completed several beautiful cross-court passes to shooters in the opposite corner, with the passes landing exactly in the “shooting pocket” of their teammates. At halftime, the Spurs were down 62-53, but it felt like they had weathered the early storm.
Halftime brought a Michael Cooper jersey retirement ceremony. Most of his old teammates were there, including Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Jamaal Wilkes and Norm Nixon, among others. Pat Riley was also there, and he gave a speech which sounded like Riley believed he was getting honored instead of Coop. As a former Laker fan myself, though long since reformed, I very much enjoyed seeing Laker royalty there honoring one of my favorite Lakers. Longtime Laker trainer Gary Vitti was in the row in front of us, and Coop gave him a nice shout-out in his speech. Instead of a picture of the ceremony which people can find on-line, I instead have a shot of me meeting Coop at a Staples Center event in early 2020, just before everything broke. Coop was a very nice guy, which has always been his well-deserved reputation.
After the game, I asked my seatmates to give me their impressions of our young Spurs team and the game. My son Pablo responded first:
“It was a tough three quarters to sit through depending on who my dad was sitting next to. That said, I sat next to him in the fourth, and he seemed pretty happy for some reason. I guess he wanted to sit next to me the whole time. Glad the Spurs won! Also great to see their young guys play well.”
Dan, long-time Laker fan, was less pleased, though he did accomplish something:
“The Spurs 4th quarter shellacking of the Lakers was so bad, I had to amuse myself with pronouncing (Sandro) Mamukelashvili’s name until I got it just right.”
And he did.
More importantly, we woke up the next morning with clear skies, and no smoke anywhere on the horizon. While Los Angeles is not completely out of the woods yet, as it still hasn’t rained in many months, we just might be past this catastrophe. Let’s get those shirts to the first responders. Next comes the rebuilding.
