LAKERS -at- MAVS - 1/13 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

3,000: Beware the Wounded Beast... Death and his pale horse limp along the side of the road. Above him vultures circle. He guides his lone horse from the dusty road into the middle of an open battlefield. To you, it seems as if this will be a slaughter.

To his opponent, they are uncertain. Their hesitation is their demise. As they pause, the other Horsemen and Death Riders attack from the flanks. Destruction, Famine and Tru Warier lead the real charge.

The Black Mamba was a mere decoy. It is apparent, he's badly hurt. But as the battle rages on, he does not give in to the pain. Instead, he delivers the death blow.

There are no boasts. There are no words that need be said. They let their effort do the talking. Still, that doesn't stop DancingBarry. He leaves you a note attached to a Billionaire's broken Flowbee:

The Horsemen were here. Beware the Wounded Beast. After taking a series of beatings on the road, they fought back. Hopefully, they won't forget the kind of effort this victory required.

I will continue to track them.

The 3,000th win in Laker franchise history -- it was all heart.

The Mavs should have been ready to deliver some payback for the slaughter they received in L.A. not too long ago. Instead, they came across a wounded beast, who scratched and clawed their way to a 100-95 road win against their closest rival in the standings.

With Kobe hobbled and playing decoy in the first half... with Pau still out... and with an assortment of other hand, foot and leg injuries, the Lakers played some determined, focused ball.

They established Andrew Bynum as the first option. Ron Artest became his wing man. Lamar Odom filled in the gaps. Each of the Laker starters in the front court had a double-double. Bynum with 22 and 11, Lamar with 18 and 14, Ron with 16 and 11.

"Drew was kind of like the rock out there for us tonight," Phil said of Bynum's game. That's not a quote you would have expected to hear a couple of weeks back.

Drew was the rock. Kobe was the heart. On the second night of the back-to-bad-back, he toughed it out. His presence on the floor allowed Ron to take advantage of his strength against smaller defenders. He orchestrated the offense and through the post. He took just one shot in a very limited first half.

"I thought he played opossum tonight," Phil said. With Kobe playing quiet in the first half, he then throttled it up ever so slightly in the second half where he scored 10 points including the key bucket in the final minute.

Somehow, the Lakers pulled off the split. That's surviving.


Kobe -- -- If you looked at how he started this game, no way would you have thought he would hit a key jumper with 28 seconds left. Okay, it's Kobe. There's no way he's not taking and hitting a big shot with the game on the line. His back was once again very stiff to start the game. He looked like little more than a warm body to start. Not even warm. Cold. He didn't shoot and played the decoy that occupied Marion defensively, allowing Artest to go to work. After his first-quarter stint, he lied down on the floor by the bench and didn't return for the half. After warming up at halftime, he looked slightly more aggressive in the second half. Still, no where near the Kobe of old. He had a couple of jumpers blocked, unable to elevate and with defenders now able to sit on his shot a little more. Somehow, he managed a post up and later a drive past Kidd. He saved the offense on a few possessions when it bogged down. Down the stretch, the team seemed lost on how they wanted to execute. Kobe looked as if he wanted to dump it into the post and the post came out to set picks instead. It made for a few confused possessions and bad shots. Defensively, he came up with two of the bigger plays of the night. After missing a jumper on one end, he swiped the ball back with a reach on Howard to regain possession. He also took a key foul on Dampier, who bricked two FTs in the final seconds. Kobe played the entire second half. They didn't want his back to tighten up. Good effort. Now get some rest and treatment, please. The Stats: He had 10 points on 5-11 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He didn't inbounds a pass in time, 5-second call. He missed a three on a Lamar kickout, way short. Second Half: He missed a three wide right. He posted up Howard next time down and hit the turnaround in the paint. He sank a stiff looking baseline jumper off the inbounds. He was blocked on a jumper for a dunk the other way. He tapped a dribble between defender's legs then hit a 19-footer to beat the shotclock. He stepped past Kidd, attacked to his left and scored a layup. He missed a baseline step-back with the shotclock low. He was blocked on a jumper. He airballed a fallaway with the offense stalled and the shotclock low. Clutch steal on the other end. He swished a pull-up jumper from the elbow with 28 seconds left. He fouled Dampier under the hoop to save a layup (Dampier missed both FTs).

Bynum -- -- Excellent game by Bynum for a variety of reasons tonight. First off, he established the post and was the No. 1 option from the start. That was vital to getting offensive penetration without Kobe's attack. Second, he did it against Dampier who has played very physical with Drew in the past to take him out of games. Drew completely dominated him. Third, Bynum had a defensive presence despite having to watch the foul issues. He wasn't rejecting shots right and left (in fact no Laker blocked a shot), but he was altering a lot attempts. After picking up two fouls late in the first quarter, he didn't get another one the rest of the night. Good job all around. The second unit did a poor job of running the offense through Bynum, at times. The touches he got with the first unit were much rarer with the second units. Otherwise, Drew might have gone for 30 and the Lakers may not have coughed up a lead down the stretch. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 8-11 shooting (6-7 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He drop-stepped away from Dampier's leaning D and scored an And-1 off the glass, he made the FT. He hit a face-up 15-footer from the left side. He ran the center sprint on Dirk, got low position and scored the easy layup right over him. He checked the shotclock, quickly went to work and drew FTs on a jumphook with a second left, he made both. He dunked on an oop from LO (should have been an And-1). He backed Gooden down, up-faked, then dunked on him. He was called for a reach (apparently) with his left with 2:48 left in the first and had to sit (cheap foul, but he needed to keep his hands straight up to not give the ref a reason). He had 13 points in the first quarter. He grabbed a Farmar miss, backed down his man and powered in a layup (he wanted the And-1). The Lakers needed to run more offense through him in the second quarter. Second Half: He ball-faked, spun and swished the wing jumper. He missed a turnaround. He missed a jumphook off a spin. He spun on Gooden and dunked the backdoor lob. He tried to one-hand a tip instead of going up strong to flush a rebound down and missed it. He grabbed a Lamar missed three and was fouled on the putback attempt, he made both FTs. After Dampier was fouled and missed both FTs, Drew was fouled with the game in balance, he made one with 20 seconds left to give the Lakers a 3-point lead. That second one was his only FT miss of the game (looked like he was trying a little too hard not to think about).

Artest -- -- "Ron went out and played aggressive," Phil said. Slowly, he seems to be coming back around after taking a step back with the concussion. He's still fighting off the plantar fasciitis and his finger was taped up. He's among the walking wounded, but he was beasting it up against Howard and anyone else the Mavs had on him. He just overpowered his man again and again. He also did a much better job finishing around the rim. He had a lot more space to work with down there and that made a difference. He also didn't charge into any crowds. Efficient work and he formed a much better one-two punch for the Lakers tonight. Phil limited his minutes on the second night of the back-to-back. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-5 shooting (1-1 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 1 assist, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He overpowered Howard in the post and scored a layup. He overpowered Howard on an offensive board and drew FTs, he made one. He sealed Kidd, took the bounce pass from Bynum and hit the And-1, he made the FT. He swished a wing jumper. He threw an interior pass away trying to hit DJ. He coughed up a rebound to give the Mavs a second chance. He rumbled down court at the end of the half, took contact and smartly chucked the attempt up with 0.2 left in the half to earn three FTs, he made all three. Second Half: Late to rotate and he gave up a three to Howard. Kidd sagged off him so he swished a three from the wing. He posted up Howard and scored with his right off the glass.

Lamar -- -- Phil got on Lamar for not being more aggressive and involved in the offense yesterday. LO throttled it up tonight. It wasn't always pretty but he came up with a couple of clutch makes that the team needed in the fourth. His touch around the hoop wasn't very good, but he was hitting some midrange jumpers at the 15- to 18-foot range. Defensively, he had his hands full with Dirk and his spins, fades and banks. Lamar was trying to crowd him on the shots and use his length as much as possible. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-20 shooting (0-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 14 boards (4 offensive), 4 assists, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 43:35. He was a +4. The Action: He drained a 20-footer straight away for the Lakers first score. He missed a baseline jumper. He lobbed to Bynum for a dunk. Tried it again next time down and was short, turnover. He missed a jumphook. We got it back, he attacked and bricked the drive. He swished a 20-footer in transition next time down. He missed an early offense three. He biffed a layup. He posted up Howard and drew FTs, he made both. He was blocked and knocked to the floor. He cut off Sasha's baseline drive and scored a layup. Second Half: Horrible post entry pass, easy steal. He grabbed a high rebound and scored a layup. He threw a pass away in transition, turnover, points the other way. He missed a three next time down. He attacked with speed and hit the running hook. He fumbled an offensive board out of bounds. He missed a wing three. He short-armed a flip over Dirk. He choked a layup. He missed another three. He sank a top-of-the-key jumper to beat the shotclock. He bricked a spinning turnaround badly in the paint. He attacked left and hit a tough one off the glass. He iso'd on Dirk and swished an elbow jumper.

Fisher -- -- On the second night of the back-to-back, Phil went with his bench guards down the stretch, limiting DFish's minutes. A lot of people have been focusing on DFish starting games, but he hasn't been finishing many of them lately. Perhaps, Phil is thinking about using some of the bench guards in that Robert Horry role...not starting, but finishing the game. If the bench plays their fourth-quarter minutes well, the closer job seems up for grabs right now. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-8 shooting (0-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and no fouls in 24:21. He was a +3. The Action: He missed a wing three. He took an outlet, changed directions in the lane and hit the runner. He clanked a hook across the lane. He missed a long three on a kickout. Second Half: He missed a corner three on a Kobe kickout. He missed a runner. He missed an 18-footer in transition. He lobbed to Bynum who spun backdoor for the dunk. He missed a baseline jumper. He made a tech FT.

Luke -- -- There was a stretch of this game where Luke was the first option. Welcome back, now here's the keys to the offense. He had a mismatch they wanted to exploit and the team did a good job working the ball through him for a series of scores. The bench badly needed his Tri skills. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting to go with 1 board, 4 assists and no fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He missed a short jumper. He posted up and hit a cutting Farmar for a layup. He hit an easy runner off the split play with Bynum. Second Half: He stepped back on Dirk and hit the baseline jumper to beat the shotclock. He hit Mbenga under the hoop for a layup. He spun on Terry and rushed a layup, doh!

Brown -- -- The Laker PG/SGs did a solid job on Jason Terry, who has in the past had some large games for the Mavs. When he's knocking down threes and tearing up our D, Dallas is tough to beat. Shannon has had a big hand in that in the past two games against the Mavs. Terry went 2-12 for just 7 points tonight. Shannon was involved in a key play that probably ended up making the game closer than it should have. He tried to score on a reverse that would have given the Lakers a 10-point lead late. He was fouled with no call and couldn't complete it, and the Mavs hit a three in transition the other way. The lead went from a potential 10 to 5 on that switch. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-6 shooting to go with 1 steal in 16 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He drained a top-of-the-key jumper. He trailed Farmar in transition, took a pass and scored around a defender. He missed a wing jumper. He stripped Dampier under the hoop. He missed a runner short. Second Half: He sank a baseline jumper off the Kobe kickout. He was fouled on a reverse with no call (wow, big switch on that play).

Farmar -- -- Joel said that Farmar was at the arena three hours early shooting freethrows and jumpers. That extra work paid off when he hit two clutch freethrows to ice the game with 5 seconds left. It hasn't been often in his NBA career that Farmar has been in that situation (if at all), but he knocked down both clutch ones from the line. Well done. The game is a rollercoaster when Farmar is out there. He'll make some great plays like he did tonight, then make you want to bang your head against the wall a minute later. So much of the problems are on the mental side of the game. He picked up his dribble in odd places (does this a lot) and shuffle his feet. He left the baseline open on a double team of Dirk to retreat to his man and give Dirk an easy layup. He neglected our mismatch all too often. For instance, Bynum only had 2 points and very few touches in the second quarter after we had milked the C spot for 13 in the first quarter. Farmar was feeling his jumper way too much in that stretch and ignored the post advantage. It happened in the fourth quarter, as well. Last game, too. Farmar needs to study how Luke will orchestrate the offense. If he can just get those mental errors down, his speed on both ends of the court would be a huge asset on both ends of the court. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-10 shooting (1-3 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He got tapped on a wing jumper. Barea flopped on Farmar in the post, charge Farmar, very weak (Jordan picked up a tech). He missed a wing three. He pushed out the break, collapsed the D and hit Shannon for a layup. He missed an early offense three (run the offense). He scored a layup cutting off the Luke post. He missed a lob pass to Bynum that was available. He chucked a long transition pull-up jumper and bricked (run it through that bigman who was in front of you). Second Half: He pushed up the inbounds pass, pulled up from 30 feet and drained the three at the end of the third. He was swatted from behind. He attacked with speed and took it right to Gooden who was still in the restricted area, two FTs, he made one. We got back his FT miss, he attacked again from the wing, this time Gooden had position so Farmar went around him for a reverse. He left a double team on the baseline and gave up a layup. He worked off the high screen, attacked and hit the pull-up from the elbow (excellent execution). He probed and traveled when he stopped his dribble on the baseline (big turnover). He missed a step-back jumper. Great close on Dirk in the corner who was open for a three and he forced him to give it up. He was then fouled with 5.6 left up by three and he made both FTs.

Vujacic -- -- Some spot duty for Sasha. He came in with 2:35 left for Shannon in the first half. He later had some situational time on the floor. He was productive with his limited PT. Drew some FTs, made a nice pass to LO for a score. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 2-2 from the line to go with 1 assist in 2:36. He was a +6. The Action: He attacked baseline and fed LO for the layup. He drew FTs flashing to the FT line to take a pass, he made both. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Powell -- -- Powell splashed a three in this game from the right sideline. That is where his three range is, not at the wings or from the top of the key. I'd much rather see that than another lefty jumphook. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 1 foul in 4:24. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He missed a jumphook. He airballed a jumphook with his left, uggh. He drained a sideline three on a kickout. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Mbenga -- -- Luke set up Mbenga for a couple of scores tonight. DJ appreciated Luke dropping dimes to Congo Cash. In the Congo they have a word for Luke Walton. It is...Luke Walton. They need to change that. Come up with something clever. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting to go with 2 boards and 1 foul in 11 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: Nice defensive challenge to force an airball. He challenged a runner, then was called for a weak goaltend a second later. He changed another shot. He tapped out an offensive board. Second Half: He scored a reverse on a bounce pass from Luke. He sank a FT jumper when Luke hit him.

Phil -- -- The Lakers ran everything through Bynum to start the first quarter. Kobe wasn't able to do anything. Artest was the second option... Phil went to Brown for Kobe for the final minute of the first quarter, then sat Kobe for the rest of the half... The Lakers led 27-24 after the first quarter... Phil started the second quarter with a Mbenga, Lamar, Luke, Brown, Farmar lineup... Phil brought back in Bynum with 9:49 left. He stayed out of foul trouble... Not as much action for Bynum in the post (Farmar doing a poor job orchestrating the offense)... Instead of Kobe, Phil ran Shannon and Sasha at the SG... The Lakers led 49-45 at the half. Bynum had 15 points. The Lakers shot 18-37 (48.6 percent), the Mavs 15-44 (34.1 percent). The Mavs won the offensive boards 11-5 (a lot of long rebounds)... Kobe showed a little pulse in the third quarter and scored a few hoops.... The Lakers led 76-71 going into the fourth... Phil ran a Mbenga, Lamar, Luke, Kobe, Farmar unit to start the fourth... They ran the ball through Luke and did well... Phil than sat Luke for Shannon and Mbenga for Bynum with a 6-point lead... The Lakers didn't feed the post when Bynum came in... Phil subbed in Artest for rebounding briefly... Then he subbed in Sasha and Fisher for FT shooters... With 19 seconds left, Phil went with a Bynum, LO, Artest, Kobe, Farmar defensive unit. They stopped the first couple options, but dodged an open three... The Lakers only gave up 2 offensive boards in the second half... The Lakers shot 49 percent, the Mavs 43 percent... The Lakers won the first three quarters and played even in the fourth...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Scary 8-0 run by the Mavs at the end that nearly cost the Lakers. Kobe and Lamar played the entire second half.

[Cutheon]

First. thanks for the recap

[gk3465]

I think it would be a good idea for Drew to also seek out Hakeem. He is a lot more coordinated with his moves now, and I think he could actually pull off the Dreamshake, with enough practice.

Also, big week for him coming up next. First Kaman, then Dwight, then Shaq, hopefully he'll be ready.

[Keyser Soze]

Best win of the year.
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Need proof NBA is rigged:

Nothing should surprise you after this.

[lounger]

we needed this game. hopefully it gels us better for the next one. Thanks DB. Farmar sure has to start thinking with his head out there.

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks again DB.

Great bouncback game - bench is finally showing some life.

Hope Kobe gets rest and Pau is ready on Friday.
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"Just show up ready to work, ready to play, Have your big boy pants on, leave your diaper at home." Kobe Bryant
Anything less than a championship is a failure. Period.

[uberzev]

Note on Josh; he hit that great three and instead of running back on D he celebrated and Dirk got an easy run out which led to free throws.
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Lakers Gonna Lake

[67ShelbyGT]

Great analysis as usual, DB! On the money.

On the Powell play, I actually put that on our guards. I think it was Farmar and Shannon? Either way, Dirk ran off during the release so Powell wouldnt have caught up even if sprinted after the shot. I agree that he should not have been celebrating.
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Alltime lineup: Magic | Kobe | MJ | Hakeem | KAJ

[DancingBarry]

[tw-lakbfan]

Nice efforts from our players. Me liking.

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB
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*sighs*

!...

[prisma8slg]

[limchrc]

Thanks, glad we won.

[LuciusAllen]

The Lakers were really determined last night. Good to see. Lamar, Ron, and Drew all manned up and willed the team to victory. Luke and Farmar also came through for significant stretches.

[smiles]

brown playing well again.

[Burgundy]

Farmar had some nice plays tonight, but overall, objectively, his performance was a net negative.

It all starts with the second quarter. Bynum was absolutely eating Dampier's lunch in the first quarter, on his way to a 30 point game, as the Laker starters were (wisely) exploiting that mismatch.

So what does Farmar do when he comes in during the 2nd Quarter?

Jack up (and miss) contested jumpers, of course!

I counted THREE times Bynum set himself up perfectly for an alley-oop dunk, and Farmar ignored him all three times. You've got to be kidding me.

If Farmar plays the 2nd Quarter the right way, the Lakers are up by double digits at the half.

Don't get me started on the end of the Fourth Quarter, either. With the Lakers up with only 2 minutes to go, Farmar is forcing the action? I know Brown got fouled by Dirk, but why is Farmar forcing it in crowded circumstances instead of pulling it out and running down the clock? Or what about the ridiculous travel?

Yes, those two free throws were big, but they shouldn't have been necessary.

The problem is Fish is so bad now, Phil has no choice but to close Farmar.

I don't understand how Fish can LITERALLY no longer make a shot. It's not like he's shooting contested jumpers. These are all wide open looks, and he can't knock them down.

[apan14]

Favorite line

[Klone_dd]

Gutsy win in Big D. Nice to see guys step up with Pau out and Kobe ailing.

Agree with you on JoFar. Against Barea, he seemed to be in ultra-attack mode, which is okay, but not at the expense of ignoring Bynum so often. When he's able to see the whole game and not focus so much on just his own, he can make an impact. I like that JoFar does play with some attitude and feistiness in contrast to some of the more passive Lakers, but only as long as he plays under control.

The frontcourt was awesome. Not often that all 3 starters have 2x2's and each was very efficient 21-36 FGs (58%).

Anyone have any doubts that Kobe wouldn't stick that last jumper? Even if he had to shoot it lefthanded and over his head, I could not see him missing at that point.

[_#1_]

Great game. With Pau out, and excepting a Kobe way off night, which is pretty rare, looks like we are back to the LO rules.

So goes Lamar, so goes the Lakers.

[LakerSanity]

[golakersgo121]

[PopcornMachine]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]