The Dancing Nugget

J.R. Smith upset the Lakers with his showboating during Game 4. Smith finally has a good game and proceeds to throw a parade at the Pepsi Center. His "This is my house" act after one of his three pointers in the fourth quarter was repulsive. I am not a prude when it comes to emotion in sports. As much as I loved the calmness with which Barry Sanders tossed the ball to the ref after another long TD run, I do understand that the "act like you have been there before" model doesn't work for everyone. That being said, the entire Nuggets team is over the top. The worst two culprits? J.R. Smith and Chris "Birdman" Andersen. After every block or dunk, the Birdman flaps his wings. Smith, on the other hand, starts screaming and dancing after every big play he makes. But there is a line between celebration and showing up your opponents. Excitement shared after a big play between teammates is acceptable. So is a little bit of trash talking. That is all part of the game. But when celebration turns into showboating and showing up opponents, then you have an issue. What Smith did at the end of Game 4, when he hit a three and danced in front of the Lakers bench, was showboating. When he hit a three at the end of the third quarter in Game 3, that was taunting and showing up his opponent. All of this should be unacceptable in the Lakers' eyes.

So where am I going with this? Basically, if you think the Lakers haven't internalized all of this, you are crazy. I don't believe too much in bulletin board material, or extra motivation, but I do think that this series now has an edge to it. The Lakers should no longer only want to win, but also to take it to the Nuggets. I expect a HUGE game from Kobe tonight. The two cheap fouls on Dahntay Jones combined with the way the entire Nuggets team acts during the game should just fuel his fire. Over/under for Kobe tonight: 45 points. I say he goes under, but only slightly. Kobe may not need to win this game for the Lakers on his own, but if it gets to that point, I can't see him letting them lose tonight. There is too much on the line. Lakers 106, Nuggets 102..