BOBCATS -at- LAKERS - 2/3 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Cat... "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty. Nice kitty," you say to the large gray cat curled up in a cardboard box near the entrance to the city. As you stop, the Horsemen and your companions continue on through the gates. They carry supplies brought back from the long journey.

Was it the soft fur that caught you off guard? Or maybe the cute stuffed-animal-like round eyes? Maybe you were just relaxed and happy to be back home.

Whatever the case, you decide in your infinite wisdom to stop and try to play with the animal. After all, it seems to be licking an injured paw.

From your bag you pull out some leftover lunch. The cat seems interested and rises. And rises. And rises. This doesn't look like a house cat anymore.

It springs for you, knocking you on your back. Standing on your chest, it rips the food from your hand and devours it in one gulp. Then, the bobcat licks its chops and eyes your meaty neck.

Like a pack of wild dogs, the Death Riders rumble from the gates frightening the bobcat away from its next meal. You sheepishly thank them. As you dust yourself off, you notice a message written on the box where the cat had been. DancingBarry:

The Horsemen were here. Welcome home. There is no rest for the weary. Get ready to defend the city.

I will continue to track them...

One night behind Kobe taking the honors of all-time leading Laker scorer, Phil Jackson added his name to the books as the Laker coach with the most W's.

It didn't come easy. He would have to get through the dreaded Bobcats who have won six of the last seven against the Lakers. Domination.

The Bobcats spotted the Lakers an All Star in Gerald Wallace to help even up the odds. The Lakers, promptly, saw that and raised them an injured Kobe Bryant. Kobe played the game, but was reduced to taking the backseat for most of the night. To be fair, he did start out healthy (well, not as injured, anyway) and feeding the post. Late in the second quarter, Lamar Odom stepped on the same ankle that Elton Brand had and Kobe's effectiveness was reduced drastically the rest of the night.

Lamar picked up the slack. He led the Lakers with 19 points, this time playing a strong fourth quarter along with Jordan Farmar. Up by 3 points with 10 seconds left, Farmar would deflect a Bobcat inbounds pass, take an outlet from Pau and dunk to give the Lakers a 99-97 win (after the Cats would hit a three).

The All Star break can't get here any sooner. The Lakers looked gassed, injured and soft for most the night. First game back from the road trip and facing the Bobcats had something to do with that, but an injured Kobe -- the sharp tip of their offense, didn't help "He couldn't get off the ground," Phil said. "He couldn't get any push off of that ankle."



Kobe -- -- He deferred everything to start the game, opting to run the offense through the post. This was before the re-injury of his ankle that came late in the half. Kobe had his ankle stepped on again, this time by Lamar, and it had to be taped up again at halftime. After that, he looked extremely sluggish on both ends. Throw in the finger issues and you have the poor 5 points and 0-2 from the line. "It's just stiff and tight," Kobe said in the Times. "It just made it worse." With this part of the Laker weapon dulled, the Lakers offensive attack was very soft. It almost looked as if Phil was going to close the game with Kobe on the bench, but Shannon forced his hand. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-12 shooting (1-5 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals and 4 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a pull-up transition three. He missed a long pumping jumper with the shotclock low. He attacked and missed a step-through. He missed a two-for-one three, not squared up. He missed a wing three. He finally made his first shot with 2 minutes left in the half, a three. He missed an elbow jumper. Lamar stepped on Kobe's ankle, so he was taken to the locker room with 12 seconds left. He had 3 points on 1-7 shooting. Second Half: He missed a three trying to beat the shotclock. He sank a turnaround from the left wing. He faced up on SJax and drew FTs, he missed both. He missed a leaner. He hit Pau on the break for an And-1. He missed a 20-footer. He fumbled the ball and didn't get a shot off at the end of the third. He had 5 points on 2-11 shooting after three. He missed a three with 17 seconds left and the shotclock low.

Gasol -- -- Pau was putting together a pretty soft game for the most part. No rebounding, no imposing himself on the offensive end. He gave up a FT miss, then an easy post score in crunch time. In the next couple possessions, he responded with a strong post move on one end, then a block on the defensive end. He and Bynum got force fed to start the game. Some very good passes by Pau in some of those early game sequences. Diaw was a big nothing in this game, going 0-4. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-13 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards (1 defensive), 5 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks and 1 foul in 32:34. He was a +1. The Action: He hit Artest under the hoop on Pau's first post touch for a layup. He missed a baseline jumper. He took a long lob pass and fed Bynum beneath the hoop for a dunk. He kicked out to Fish for a three. He missed a face-up jumper. He reposted, attacked and was blocked. He tipped in a missed Kobe jumper. He dunked off the drive and dish from Shannon. He missed a short putback bank, probably fouled. He drew FTs on a high entry from Kobe, he made one. He scored a layup off the interior feed from Farmar. He missed a lefty jumphook. He had 7 points on 3-8 shooting. Second Half: He missed a runner attacking to his right. Total choke of a layup with no one close to him, should have dunked. He was blocked on a drive. He ran the floor, sealed and scored an And-1 on the pass from Kobe, he made the FT. He sank an 18-footer on the face up. He had 5 points on 2-4 shooting in the third. He couldn't secure a missed FT, then got scored on in the post with over a minute and a half left (Phil got on him for that sequence). He hit a jumphook with his left on the other end. He swatted SJax's drive with a minute left. With 20 seconds left, he attacked, took contact but got no call so he kicked it out, this led to a long miss from Kobe.

Bynum -- -- The Lakers went to the post with purpose to start the game. Bynum had a stretch where he touched the ball on five straight possessions. He had some bumpy moments to start, but seemed to settle in. I'm not sure if all the touches on the offensive end made him more involved defensively, but he sure seemed to have a nose for the ball in the first quarter. He had 9 boards and looked like a rebounding machine, always there to get the miss. His counterpart had 23 and 17, however. The Laker bigs had to deal with a lot of guard penetration, but they were playing very soft at times. The team as a whole was. Not enough helping the helper. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 8-14 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 14 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 35:40. He was a -2. The Action: He missed a lefty jumphook. He airballed another lefty jumphook next time down. He was called for a charge on his third straight trip. He grabbed an offensive board and dunked on the fourth trip in a row. Fifth straight, he missed a jumphook with his right. Next possession, he dunked off the Pau feed. He tipped in a DFish miss in transition. He cleaned up a step-through miss by Kobe. He had 8 points and 9 boards in the first quarter. Back in after a long rest, he missed a jumphook badly. He attacked across the lane and hit the lefty jumphook. He scored a layup off the rare screen-roll with Lamar. He had 12 points on 6-10 shooting and 9 boards. Second Half: He stripped his man, but threw the outlet away (Derek was in his face on that one). He got bumped turning to the baseline and missed the short bank, but drew the FTs, he made one. He dunked on the lob from Farmar. He had 5 points and 4 boards in the third. He missed a 19-footer (need to move in about 5 feet, Drew). He faced up, bump Nazr back and hit the jumphook with the shotclock low.

Artest -- -- You have to attack Stephen Jackson. Kobe does it (when healthy) and SJax is on the bench strapped with fouls. Our best defense with him is a good offense. He gets flustered with foul trouble and pouts (see Golden State earlier this year or several of the previous years that Kobe has completely taken him out). With SJax defending Ron, the Lakers didn't try to go after the mismatch much in the paint. That would have helped tremendously as SJax dropped 30 points on an efficient 10-16 shooting. Ron was still effective offensively (and when he wasn't LO helped save him on a crunch-time drive). He even got some of his midrange game going. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-9 shooting (1-2 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He flipped in a layup under the hoop cutting off Pau. He choked a layup. He missed a three. He sank a fallaway jumper on an inbounds with the shotclock low. He missed a face-up jumper over SJax (post him up). He drained a toe-on-the-three-line jumper next time down. He swished a top-of-the-key jumper. He had 8 points on 4-7 shooting. Second Half: He picked up two quick fouls to start the second half and sat for Luke. He swished a sideline three off the Farmar kickout. Farmar attacked and fed him under the hoop, he missed the And-1 layup, he made both FTs. Finally a post up of SJax and he drew FTs on the post entry pass, he made one. He attacked and lost grip on the ball, it nearly went in, but Lamar tipped it in.

Fisher -- -- Efficient offensive night from Fish. The Lakers needed that with Kobe at about 50%. Again, Fish is best with one day of rest, no less, no more. Defensively, the Bobcat guards were getting a lot of penetration early in the game. The Lakers did a better job of slowing that in the second half. The 18 offensive boards by the Bobcats, however, were in large part because of our bigmen having to deny and help. Farmar played a strong fourth quarter and that left Fish watching from the sideline. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-5 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 22:40. He was a -6. The Action: He sank a three on a kickout from Pau (his 1,000th three of his career). He pushed up the break and missed a layup, but Bynum tipped it in. Bad pass, dunk the other way. He attacked in early offense and drew FTs, he swished both. He swished an 18-footer. He had 7 points on 2-3 shooting. Second Half: He swished a DFish Special from the far wing spot. He got tapped on a wing three. Derek shoved Diop on a high screen (he was ticked about a moving pick not called).

Lamar -- -- Your leading scorer? After killing the Lakers in the previous game, Lamar was killing the opponent tonight. He had 7 points on 3-3 shooting in the fourth quarter. He dominated the offensive glass, allowing the Lakers second-chance points again and again. The 6 offensive rebounds should have been a game high, but Nazr Mohammed had 9 on the other end. Lamar also did a good job imposing his size in the post when he had a smaller man on him. Credit the Lakers for getting him the ball, too. Nice bounce back game for LO. Had to have him tonight. Larry Brown said Lamar was the difference tonight. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-10 shooting (3-3 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 27:46. He was a +5. The Action: He attacked with aggression from the elbow, took contact and scored the layup. He tipped out a long offensive board and it led to a Laker score. He attacked across the lane and hit the runner. He drew FTs after grabbing a missed Bynum post-up, he made both. He let his man get a FT rebound and score. He hit Bynum on the screen-roll for a layup. Second Half: He tapped a missed jumper to himself and powered back up between defenders for a layup. He took a pass from Shannon and windmilled in a reverse. He posted up a smaller man next trip down and hit the easy jumphook. He had 12 points on 5-7 shooting after three. He stepped back and swished a wing jumper to start the fourth. He grabbed a missed jumper by Bynum and fed Shannon for three. He posted up Murray again, spun, fouled and threw the circus And-1 in over his shoulder, he made the FT. He tipped in a fumbled ball that Ron lost on the way to the hoop.

Brown -- -- After helping the team to a fourth-quarter lead, Shannon had a couple of costly possessions offensively down the stretch not running the offense. Phil eventually called a timeout with 3 minutes left and a 4-point lead. The Lakers had control of the game, but Shannon didn't play with the proper mental discipline to keep it. That got him sidelined for the injured Kobe. This is a good learning situation for him. After the game, Shannon credited Larry Brown for bringing to the Bobcats precisely what Shannon needed tonight: "He brought in a little bit more discipline, a little bit more execution on the offensive end," Shannon said. Our two SGs tonight combined for 5-23 shooting. Ouch. Kobe and Shannon, however, combined for 12 assists; a couple of real highlight dishes by Shannon tonight, too. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-11 shooting (2-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 6 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 24:35. He was a +8. The Action: He missed a three. He got it back, attacked and dished to Pau for the dunk. After nearly losing the ball, he was fouled on a layup, he made both FTs. Quick hands to slap a ball off Murray 30 feet from the hoop. He missed a baseline jumper. He pushed up the break, lost his man on an inside-out dribble in the lane, elevated and dunked. Second Half: He drained a sideline three. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a sideline three. He attacked off the three line, changed directions on a spin and fed Lamar for the reverse. He missed a wing jumper. He drained a three off the Lamar offensive board. Horrible pass behind Kobe on the perimeter and it was picked off for a dunk. He missed a corner jumper with the clock low. He clanked an early offense three. He crossed over, attacked a crowd and missed a falling one-hander.

Farmar -- -- Midway through the fourth, Farmar started to change the game. He got penetration and the Lakers scratched away at something resembling a lead. Phil stuck with him despite a couple miscues and Farmar came up big with the Ariza-like, end-of-game steal and dunk. The Bobcats could have tied the game with a three on that final possession, but Farmar disrupted the play on the inbounds pass. Nice pressure D. He didn't put up huge numbers, but he made his impact when it mattered the most. Well done. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-9 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 25:20. He was a +8. The Action: He drove and bricked a runner. He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a three, way short. He knocked his rebound off a man, on the inbounds he sank a baseline jumper. He gave up a layup on the other end, overplaying. He returned a feed to Pau while smothered under the hoop for a score. Second Half: He got a step on his man, pushed it up full court and lobbed to Bynum for the dunk. He missed an open wing three. Dumb foul on a step-back jumper by Murray on the wing, he knew it. He probed and kicked out to Artest for three. He attacked in early offense on a change of pace and just missed an And-1 bank, he made both FTs. Another speedy attack and he set up Artest for FTs. He attacked in transition again, missed and wondered where the foul was, he got the ball back on the wing and swished the three forcing a timeout. He had his pass picked off out of a timeout. He missed a corner three on the next possession, rushing it. He deflected an inbounds pass with 9 seconds left, it went to Pau, who got it back to Jordan for the dunk.

Luke -- -- Phil changed up his second-quarter rotation that had been leaving just one starter on the floor and Luke at the SF. If he wants to bring Luke in without such a vacuum of talent on the floor, he should bring him in for Ron in the first quarter some point early on. Luke has chemistry and experience with those starters. We saw a stint somewhat like that in the second half when Ron picked up some early foul trouble. Luke handled himself fine in those minutes. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting, had 1 board and 1 turnover in 5:19. He was -4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He posted up SJax and powered in a turnaround.

Phil -- -- Congrats to Phil on win No. 534. No other Laker coach has more... The score was tied 11-11 midway through the first quarter. The Lakers bigs touched the ball on every possession but one in the first 6 minutes. Kobe did not take a shot... Pau and DFish sat for Lamar and Farmar with 3 minutes left, down by 2... The Lakers trailed 21-19 to start the first, Kobe/Pau were a combined 0-7. So much for a one-two punch. The Lakers shot 8-23... Phil started Kobe in place of Luke to start the second quarter, going with Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Shannon and Farmar... After resting Kobe, Phil brought him back in with the score tied, but just 3 minutes left in the half... The Lakers trailed 49-47 shooting 44 percent (20-45). The Bobcats shot 47.6 percent (20-42). The Lakers had just 3 turnovers... Ron picked up two quick fouls to start the half. Phil had to bring in Luke, Kobe moved on SJax defensively... The Lakers had a 72-67 lead after three. Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Kobe, Shannon, Farmar unit... Phil sat Kobe tied 77-77 after 3 minutes... Behind some spark by Farmar, the Lakers pulled out to a 92-84 lead and forced a timeout midway through the quarter... With 3 minutes left, Phil called timeout and brought in Kobe for Shannon and Pau for Bynum up by 4... Felton dribbled out of bounds and the officials didn't call it with 10 seconds left, Lakers up by 3... On the timeout, clutch D by Farmar led to a steal and dunk. Ball game... Laker players congratulated Phil right after the win as he became the Lakers all-time winningest coach. He mentioned the importance of having good players, but true to form, he stayed in the moment. "It's about just doing it now. Just getting this thing done this year and winning this championship," he said...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Lamar, Farmar and Ron provided the bulk of the offense in the fourth quarter of a tight one.

[67ShelbyGT]

1st!

Thanks DB.
_________________
Alltime lineup: Magic | Kobe | MJ | Hakeem | KAJ

[Cutheon]

Second! Good (bleep)

[IPK]

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Great gutty win by the Lakers.

Hope Kobe takes care of that ankle and is ready for Friday.

Thanks again DB!
_________________
"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.

[A Mad Chinaman]

Did Drew make Nazr an All-Star in this game?

This game highlighted why the Lakers are better off with RonRon - he can defend him while providing some offense. Ariza would be taken to school by SJack because he is much more physical and he doesn't have the offensive skills to make SJack play on both sides of the court.

As DB stated, Drew and Pau are still playing soft. If they are demanding the ball, they need to produce

[LALdynasty!]

[limchrc]

thanks, nice win

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB

Denver and Portland coming up; the Lakers better heal quickly!

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB

it's great seeing both Bynum and Odom being aggressive.
_________________
"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[RVCdesigns]

Thank you DB.

[Klone_dd]

A slodgy game was pretty much expected after the long and winding roadie and playing a Larry Brown scrappy team.

I'm a little miffed at Bynum. It seems that he'll go off for a good night 17/14, but he'll also give up similar numbers to his counterpart. He should be providing more of an advantage.

Pau has been off for a couple of weeks now. Makes you think that he's hit a wall after playing non-stop ball for about 2 years now.

Good thing LO and JoFar stepped up in the 4th.

Congrats to Phil.

[night89]

Despite Bynum's numbers, he's still not showing that explosiveness(hence the big game by Nazr.) Perhaps he has reached the point where he can no longer get more athletic, by losing his body fat. And so, he'll have to start adding muscles instead.

IMO, we aren't close to beating the Cavs, unless Bynum is able to add AT LEAST 25 lbs of muscles, by the time the Finals start. And even then, I'm not sure that's enough. Shaq has been a beast the last few games, averaging a double-double in limited minutes. I'm not sure what happened, but I think he(or his management) has figured out that losing body fat can make him more athletic, so now Shaq is playing like he's 32 or 33, as opposed to 37. If Bynum doesn't try to get A LOT stronger, then he will get abused by Shaq for sure.

Anyway, Drew will have a pretty good test on Friday. Nene looks like he's added 15 lbs, and his defense is noticeably improved. If you were to look at Pau's defense in the Finals last year vs this year, and Dwight, it seems to me that a big's defense is directly proportional to how much time he spends in the weight room.

The problem is that right now, Pau can't hit the weight room, due to that hamstring injury, or fear of aggravating it(although if his will is strong enough, I think he could still do it, by hiring someone to hold him in such a way that he can work on his upper body, whilst not affecting the legs.)

Bynum is pretty much our only hope for improving our defense, and fortunately for us, he's a guy whose frame can hold quite a lot of muscles. This is the perfect time for him to take advantage of this "God-given" trait.

You may ask, what about the effects on his knee? Well, that's why I said by the time the Finals start. If he does this, then this reduces the extra weight he'll have to carry to 1/3rd of the season. He can lose it all after the season(by simply just sitting there and playing X-Box or PS3, and take an occasional swim), if he wants to. This, to me, is a perfect compromise.

Also, the rule of thumb is that if you can win it all now, then do it. There will be plenty of "non-contending" seasons in his future, and saving that cartilage doesn't do any good, if he's not going to win the championship. Do whatever possible to win NOW, when our collection of talent is greatest. Heck, just take a couple of seasons off in the future, if he's worried about the extra wear and tear that much. He will have saved the same amount of cartitage, as if he's never added any weight at critical times, now.

Quite frankly, this extra weight stressing the knee effect can be over-exaggerated at times. Shaq plays well above 300 lbs for most of his career, and never had knee surgeries. And I can say right now that Bynum will never beat Shaq, much less Dwight, as long as he's content of being a weakling.