WIZARDS -at- LAKERS - 1/22 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Forces of Nature... You stare at the microwave as it spins your plate of nachos around -- jalapenos riding chips like a cheese-covered carousel. You're mesmerized by it. The phone rings and you answer. It's her again. "Toto, it's a twister," she says. You stare blankly at the spinning nachos. "What?" you finally say. She lets out a heavy sigh. "I'm saying it's duck and cover time again, pretty boy."

"Again? Now? Another quake?" The microwave finally beeps. "No," she says, "you'll want to stay inside. Maybe crawl into the bathtub. I've got to split."

"Wait. Where you going?" you ask, pulling out your steaming plate of chow.

"I'm off to see the Wizard firsthand," she says. "I hear he's a mess." You grab the nachos, head to the bathroom, climb in the tub and begin to eat. The lights flicker and go out. Tree branches start to hit the side of the house. Those jalapenos combined with the habanero hot sauce start to heat up. Damn, you wish you brought something to drink.

Lightning flashes, followed by thunder. Sweat drips from your forehead. Your tongue feels like it's sucking on hot coals. Something hits the side of the house with a thud. You dare not leave the tub, but you can't take it anymore. You reach over to the faucet and turn on the tub. You spill your nachos as you stick your mouth under the spout. More water hits your head than your mouth...but, thankfully, you've gotten some relief.

By the time you pull your head out, the winds have passed. You stand up and stare at yourself in the mirror. You're a salsa-covered, drenched, bathtub-nacho-eating fool.

You open the front door. Debris is scattered everywhere. Car alarms chirp down the street. You see a rake bent around a palm tree. The Four Horsemen must have gone off on someone. You close the door and return to the kitchen to fix yourself a new plate of nachos. The power turns back on and the microwave starts up. You thought you turned it off. You look inside, a Post-it note spins in circles. DancingBarry scribbled the following:

The Four Horsemen were here. They were too hot too handle, too devastating a force. The victory was decided early, but they continued to pommel their foe with little regard for anything or anyone. There was no mercy.

I will continue to track them...

The Lakers busted open the game with their highest total in a half with 72 points in the first two quarters. Inside, outside, or anything in between, their offense was too overwhelming for the Wizards. The Lakers won 117-97, and it wasn't that close.

A night after being the first non-Kobe Laker to score 40 since Shaq, Andrew Bynum again led the scoring with 23 points. Bynum already had his sights set for the Spurs. "I'm looking forward to that game because we definitely owe them one," he said in the Times.


Kobe -- -- Wow, this may be the fewest notes I've taken for Kobe all year. Frankly, that's just what he needed with the hand injury. The Lakers were able to score however they wanted to. Inside, outside, transition and everything in between. No heavy lifting necessary. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-11 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He missed a layup at the front of the rim. He was fouled on a turnaround in the lane, he made both. He missed an elbow jumper. He attacked from the left side, twisted in the air and scored the layup. He was blocked on a reverse in transition. He missed a wing three. He sank a long wing jumper, feet on the three line. He hit Bynum cutting down the lane for FTs. He sank an open three behind a screen. He knocked a pass off Caron. He had 9 points, 5 assists and 2 boards. Second Half: He missed a three badly. He missed a step-back jumper. He split a double and went glass on a runner over a third defender.

Gasol -- -- Better night from Pau. A bit of a slow start defensively. He was sagging off Jamison and gave up a series of hoops. Not that it mattered. Our size was too much for the Wizards (as it is for a lot of teams). Pau was able to score with some ease. I was more impressed with taking a smaller guy like Jamison off the dribble for a reverse. Pau's got a lot of skills. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-12 shooting (4-5 from the line) to go with 6 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls. He had the team-high +28 in the blowout. The Action: He swished a turnaround from the midpost. He whipped a no-looker to Luke, who drew FTs under the hoop. He was stripped in the post. He missed a chippie. He hit LO dive cutting for a layup. He gave up an offensive board and putback. He missed a layup with his left. He was run down from behind, literally, on the break (surprised he didn't get FTs). He took an early offense post feed, quickly spun and crammed it in over two defenders. Off the post entry, he got his man in the air with a series of fakes and drew FTs, he made one. Good low position again, he drew another foul with a pumpfake, he made both FTs. He faced up on Jamison, attacked to his right off the dribble and scored a reverse layup. He had 9 points on 3-5 shooting. Second Half: He missed a two-footer off the back of the rim. He grabbed a Luke miss and scored on a hook. He scored a layup off the interior bounce pass from DFish. He scored an And-1 layup filling a lane on the break with Fish, he made the FT. He swished a face-up jumper off the Kobe kickout.

Bynum -- -- If the Lakers wanted to milk it like they did the night before, Bynum could have dropped another set of huge numbers. As it was, he had to settle for the game-high 23 points and 14 boards. Good game again from Drew, combing for 65 points and 29 boards in back-to-back nights. They didn't look to set Bynum up from the start. He had just a couple touches after the first half of the quarter, but he was efficient anytime he got the ball. Eventually, the team started to look a lot more for Pau and Drew. The Wizards had no answers. Another good job from the freethrow line by Bynum. With the huge lead, the starters got some good rest as we ran some extended garbage time. Not a whole lot to analyze in a game like this. Bynum said he and Kareem have been working on quick moves to score off of instead of waiting for the double teams. That's always been a bit of an issue for him as he's surveyed the floor quite a bit before attacking. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 8-12 shooting (7-8 from the line) to go with 14 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 28 minutes. The Action: He hit a short jumphook with good position on his first attempt. He battled for the Pau miss and drew FTs, he made both. Third touch of the game, he went up and under and powered in a layup. He dunked off the Luke dish in the paint. He missed an elbow jumper. He had 8 points in the first quarter. Back in late in the second quarter, he drop-stepped and powered in an easy layup. He was left alone when Ariza attacked and hit him for the easy dunk. He was fouled cutting down the lane and trying to go up, he made both FTs. He dunked with a second left when Ariza stole a ball at midcourt in a scramble and fed him all alone. He led the Lakers with 16 points on 6-7 shooting and 9 boards in 15 minutes. Second Half: He posted up and hit the jumphook in the middle of the lane. He missed a jumphook and a tap in at close range. He as hacked off the drive and dish from Kobe, he made both FTs. He drew FTs working the offensive glass, he made one. He traveled against a double team. He took the pass from LO on the two-man game and scored over his man.

Luke -- -- Serviceable minutes from Luke. Apparently, he got that quick start yesterday because Vlad was late to the shootaround. His jumper has looked smooth in his first couple games back. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 19 minutes. The Action: He swished the open wing jumper. He cut baseline and drew FTs when Pau found him, he made one. He cut, took the pass and fed Bynum for the dunk. His post entry pass was tipped away for a turnover. Second Half: He missed an open corner three. He swished a 17-foot catch-and-shoot.

Fisher -- -- Not much of a challenge for DFish in this game. There's no tough cover at the PG spot. So, no worries for Fish on that end. He ended up with several steals, a lot of bad passes or passes under pressure from the Wizards. Offensively, Derek did a good job dishing the ball. He had a couple excellent feeds to Pau to set him up for layups. His minutes were kept low...and probably could have been even lower. These are the types of games where Farmar could play the majority of minutes. Hopefully, we see some of those soon. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting to go with 1 board, 8 assists, 4 steals, 1 turnover and no fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He swished an early offense wing three about a step behind the line. He sank an elbow jumper from the right side. He scored a layup when no one covered him under the hoop. Second Half: He missed a pull-up jumper in transition. He missed a sideline jumper. He missed an open corner three. He no-looked a bounce pass to Pau for a score. He swiped a pass, pushed out the break and fed Pau for the And-1 layup. He swiped another pass, then swung a ball to Lamar in the corner for a three.

Lamar -- -- He's been an excellent change of pace for the team in the past couple games. He's catching opponents off guard with some of his aggressiveness, especially some of those off-the-ball cuts. The result? Layups and dunks. Again, Lamar was involved in several scores to start the fourth. Not that it mattered this time, but some quality execution to start the fourth in the past couple games. In close match-ups, that's where you can win some ball games. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-9 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 5 assists, 1 block and 1 foul in 23 minutes. The Action: He attacked with speed in early offense and scored a layup. He scored a layup from Pau off a dive cut. No one came out on him at the three line, he attacked right down the lane and threw down the dunk. Nice touch pass in the paint to Ariza for a dunk. He challenged a shot, leaked out and took the pass from Ariza for the layup. He took a pass in the middle of the lane, attacked and drew FTs, he made one. Second Half: He parked in the corner as the ball whipped around from player to player until it came to him and he drained the open three. He missed a layup off the Kobe pass. He scored off a long alley-oop to start the fourth. He hit Drew on the two-man game for a score. Third play of the fourth, he cut off Ariza's post-up and dunked.

Ariza -- -- His perimeter shot either seems to be on or off. The jumper was falling and that typically spells trouble for opponents. He was just another of the many weapons the Lakers had going while clocking the Wizards. He set up Bynum for a couple of his dunks, too. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 24 minutes. The Action: He hit the backboard on a 60-foot chuck at the buzzer. He swished a catch-and-shoot wing three. He dunked off the touch pass from Lamar. He grabbed a board and quickly outlet to Lamar for the bustout layup. He swished a toe-on-the-three-line jumper. He swished a sideline three without hesitation. He got backdoored a couple times for scores. He missed a three badly. He stole the ball at midcourt and quickly fed Bynum for a dunk. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Vujacic -- -- When Sasha hits that first shot of the game, it seems like that's an indication of how things will go with him. He's been very streaky this season. Again, that's something he needs to work on. The effort is always there game after game. He just needs to string the good games together. He had a good mix of inside and outside scores tonight. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-7 shooting (2-5 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. The Action: He drained a wing three on his first attempt. He sank a corner three on his second touch. He attacked down the lane and drew FTs, he made both. He missed an open corner three, a little rushed. Good first stint, even defending Caron well. He hit the floor hard at the end of the high trying to battle for an offensive board. Looked a little shaken up. He had 9 points on 3-4 shooting. Second Half: He attacked off the Bynum screen and scored a layup. He drew FTs on a cut, he made both. He blind-sided a bigman for a steal. He missed a corner three.

Mihm -- -- A rare Chris Mihm sighting. The rust certainly showed out there. Need to have a few more of these blowouts to keep him in form. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 9 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He hit Vlad cutting for an easy dunk. He was stripped as he was getting ready to hook. He hit the side of the board on an attemp. He front-rimmed a jumphook. He missed another short one in the paint. He swatted a shot at the rim. He sealed his man, took the corner entry and scored.

Radmanovic -- -- Vlad apparently showed up late to the last shootaround, so that's why Phil went with the quick hook for Luke. Can't give Phil that kind of room if you've already been in the doghouse. He entered the game with a couple minutes left in the third, up by 30. Some sloppy turnovers, but he was hitting his shot well. He worked the offense well to get a couple of those scores. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting (1-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 turnovers and no fouls. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed an elbow jumper. He traveled on the sideline. He threw a pass away in transition. He took the handoff from Drew, up-faked his man, attacked and scored the And-1, he made the FT. He curled around defenders, cut down the lane and dunked off the Mihm pass. He dribbled across the lane and swished the elbow jumper. He swished a wing three.

Powell -- -- He came in with 9 minutes left, not a lot of quality play out there. He struggled a bit to get into any kind of rhythm. His one score came out of a set play. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting, had 3 boards (2 offensive), 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 9 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a baseline jumper. Good effort to keep a board alive in a crowd. He was swatted on a slow-developing jumphook. He threw a pass to where Mihm was a second ago, turnover. He missed a short wing jumper. He cut weak to strong, took the pass from Sun and scored the layup.

Sun Yue -- -- He entered with 5 minutes left to run with Sasha in the two-guard front. He took several jumpers, but couldn't connect. He did work the ball around nicely within the offense and tallied a couple assists. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 assists and 3 fouls in 5 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a wide open three. He fouled Crit trying to block his shot in transition. He missed another long one from the wing. He hit Powell cutting weak to strong for a layup. He let JCrit crash the glass and tip in a shot. He found Mihm sealing his man for a score. He missed another wing jumper.

Phil -- -- They Lakers took a lead and built it up to a point beyond choke range. Haven't seen that for a while... Pau played weak D to start the game (on Jamison, who had 13 points in the quarter, and anyone else in his area). Phil went to Lamar a little earlier than usual for Pau. The Lakers led 31-24 after the first quarter. The Lakers made 12-19 in the quarter... The Lakers pulled out to a 39-26 lead with a strong opening 2 minutes of the second quarter... The Lakers out-scored the Wizards 41-23 in the second quarter. Total domination... They led 72-47 on 69 percent shooting with 21 assists at the half... The Lakers cruised through the third, leading 97-68... The deep bench went scoreless for several minutes. Some miscues and missed shots... The Lakers finished with 35 assists and shot 53.6 percent...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Four Laker runs before the Wizards had any kind of run themselves. Phil will probably get to hammer on the 17-2 fourth quarter run when the deep bench stunk it up.

[Arizona]

First?

Nice job, DB.

Another fun game to watch. I'm loving the ball movement out there.
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“I’m just a basketball player, you know? Just put me where you need me.” -Lamar Odom

“You’ve got to play with pride and guts.” -LO

[IPK]

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB!

Although it was against less than stellar competition, I am loving the offensive numbers Drew has been putting up lately. It will build his confidence and make him one of the most potent 3rd options in the league. This will be key against defensive squads like the Celtics, Cavs or Spurs who will throw everything at Kobe. I also sense that he is getting into better conditioning. I believe this will translate into more rebounds and blocks. All in all, I like his aggression. PJ coached teams normally rely on their best offensive options and have everyone else feed off of them. Come playoff time KGB will be hard to deal with on both sides of the ball. Me likey.

[DD20045]

loved seeing ice on the guys knees with 8 min left tonight

[MedRomLaker]

Thanks db, talk about blowout, I actually felt sorry for wizards fans, I could see another coach firing along the way.
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11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

4/30/14 the day the ant left the building!!!!!!

[BLP711]

That intro had me hungry for Nachos DB!! Haha.

Excellent write-up. Thanks.

[lakersfreak]

DB
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Forget carbon, reduce your government footprint

[City_Dawg]

[DancingBarry]

[A Mad Chinaman]

It was good that the Lakers had a game where they put the opponent out of its misery and didn't let them in.

Hopefully they will start building an aura (like the Shaq/Kobe teams) that if they were ahead and/or close to the lead - they will win.

[Dr. Laker]

Good job.
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[TooCool]

DB you rule!!!!
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[limchrc]

Thanks. Another outstanding game from Bynum.

[Sage_10]

Good recap, thanks DB.
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"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[prisma8slg]

[20,000]

[Rick12322]

[wolfpaclaker]

It was good to see our guys be reltentless. This is what we need more of. No taking it easy just because the competition is weak. We saw this in October/November, but since then we haven't really had this edge to kill our opponents.

I liked that about last nights game more than anything. There was a relentless attacking mentality and really getting up on you defensively once the bench came in.

Lakers can beat 90% of the teams playing half ass. Doesn't mean thats how you should approach it. I really liked our approach to the game last night. Big contrast from the Clipper game, where outside of 3 players, noone really brought that energy and dedication.

This sort of energy and commitment on the court needs to be bottled up. If we bring this against SA, we could beat them convincingly IMO, instead of it being a dog fight.

Props to the team.

[Klone_dd]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

-exciting 3 qtrs, turnover fest in the 4th
-i wish memphis had taken sun and let us keep marc
-mihm looks DONE
-you guys see kobe yelling at pau to be more aggressive in the post against mcgee? (approx 45 secs left in the 1st qtr)
-pau needs to stop whining to the refs on every single play
-bynum has really improved his footwork
-LO has been a beast lately. he's really been finishing strong at the rim
-glad kobe and fish could rest in the 4th
-finally tnt revealed whats up with vlad and his alarm clock
-funny that cheryl interviewed TO insted of phil
-someone tell cheryl that the hornets arent in charlotte anymore...lol
-OT, but how did bowen get more ASG votes than melo,dirk,artest,durant?
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[Addicus]