NBA Playoffs 2010 (of Transit): Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers, Game 3
Added on Monday, May 24th, 2010Both images are used with a Creative Commons license via Flickr; click on images to see more details
Your defending champions aren’t having as easy of a time as Boston is against Orlando. Lakers lost the first game after eight consecutive postseason wins. It was bound to happen, and don’t forget Phoenix had to be pretty good to climb through two other teams to get there. Phoenix also had home-court advantage, though in these politically polarizing times, it wouldn’t be much of an advantage. I’m shocked that Los Suns aren’t being booed in their own arena when Phil Jackson is more understanding of the immigration law (albeit mealy-mouthedly) than Los Suns.
We dread venturing into the immigration more than we have to, and it’s hard not to have strong, passionate feelings for or against what is going on in Arizona. But we just want to focus it on basketball … and transit to the basketball game. The ‘net is plenty big enough for rancorous free-fire, so take it there.
Phoenix had a 118-109 win in the desert. Amare Stoudemire logged a stunning 42 points. Suns want to make it competitive. They can only do it on the basketball court, though. If Phoenix still had been in the NBA Playoffs 2010 (of Transit) and not been swept by Portland, it would face humiliation by not fielding any train service against L.A.
Portland, eliminated in the first round in the NBA, is a finalist contender on MetroRiderLA. And L.A. versus Portland is a transit fans’ dream match. We’re bound to see why.
L.A. knew it was going to be a tough series against Portland. It knew that Portland is absolutely deadly when it comes to urban rail, and PDX had solidified its reputation by just dunking all over the Blue Line.
This time, the games focus on the big trains. Mainline rail. Pundits note the problems the WES is causing for team morale; it has a presence but injuries and poor performance have hampered it, yet its other trains can come in to save the day. This one promises to be much more competitive.
| Los Angeles Lakers | Team | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Staples Center | Venue | Rose Garden Arena |
| Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Southern California Regional Rail Authority | Transit System | Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon |
| Metro, Metrolink | Transit System Nickname | Tri-Met |
| 1-1 | Record in this round | 1-1 |
Tipoff begins after the jump.







