SPURS -at- LAKERS - 2/8 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Old Cowboys... For a change of pace, you decide to take in a movie at a downtown theater. You invite your friend the street urchin along, and the two of you barter for some popcorn.

Inside the theater an old, scratchy black and white film spits from the projector onto the screen. It's a western from another era.

A singing cowboy croons on the big screen, "I've got Spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle as I go ridin' merrily along..."

The movie begins to flutter and skip. The projector groans from overhead. On screen the film bubbles, melts and then finally ignites into flame. So much for Spurs that jingle.

You groan like the projector. Eventually, a projectionist rethreads the film. When the screen lights up again, it's a message from DancingBarry:

The Horsemen were here. Though down two horses, the Death Riders out-maneuvered and out-worked these old cowboys. They took their cattle and sent them on their way. We now return to your regular programming.

And I will continue to track them...

No Kobe, no Bynum ... no problem? You wouldn't think so against the veteran Spurs.

After giving up 34 points in the first quarter (20 of those in the paint), the Lakers would clamp down the remainder of the game. They held the Spurs to 55 points in the next three quarters, including a 13-point second quarter. Without their closer in Kobe, they held on to the fourth-quarter lead and took 101-89 win over the visiting Spurs.

The Lakers have proven they can survive without Bynum, but doing it without Bynum and Kobe says a lot about the depth of this team. It's not a deep bench. Rather, it's depth is in impact ballers. Guys who are normally the fourth and fifth options are now pushed up to second and third options.

"That's something that we've talked about is them being able to step up and perform, and don't put any pressure on me to come back early," Kobe said.

The team got big two-way games from the Lakers three remaining impact ballers: 18 points from Ron Artest, 16 and 10 from Lamar Odom and a 21-point, 19-board, 8-assist, 5-block, 46-minute effort from Pau Gasol.

"Give credit to some of the guys out there that played extra special tonight," Phil said in the Times. Even the two Laker PGs combined for 26 points.

Instead of just surviving, the team seems to be thriving. Every win buys a little more time for the wounded to heal. It also makes opponents question their chances against the Lakers come playoff time.


Gasol -- -- Huge statline from Pau tonight. Although he struggled with his shot at times, Pau kept at, playing almost the entire game and giving the Spurs and Duncan all they could handle and more. Duncan got a few late baskets when the game was over, but still ended up with just 16 points on 8-17 shooting. Scrappy game from Pau. "I was trying to be active," Pau said. "I was trying to continue to play. I wasn't sharp with my shot, but I was still rebounding well, block shots and get my teammates involved." The numbers from Pau just show the work he put in on both ends. He's going to be dog tired heading into the All Star game. "You've got to fight through fatigue," Pau said. Great effort, Pau. Wasn't always pretty, but he just kept at it. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-20 shooting (5-5 from the line) to go with 19 boards (8 offensive), 8 assists, 5 blocks, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 46 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He lost the handle on a post up. He scored a layup on the break with Lamar. He missed a lefty jumphook. He missed a face-up jumper and yelled for the foul that didn't come. He dunked when Lamar attacked with speed and fed him. He had 4 points and 5 boards in the first quarter. He clanked a short lefty jumphook. He biffed an And-1 from a foot away, he made both FTs. He back-rimmed another two-foot jumphook. He had 6 points on 2-6 shooting and 10 boards. Second Half: He was hit with no call and just missed another jumphook. Finally, he worked the post and hit the jumphook with his left. He sank a turnaround in the paint on his next touch. He tried to power through Duncan and couldn't connect. He scored an And-1 off the high entry from Ron, he made the FT. After tipping out a missed FT, he missed a hook in the paint. Nice no-look handoff to Ron cutting for a layup. He tipped away at an offensive board a couple times keeping it alive. He had 7 points on 3-7 shooting and 3 boards in the third. He drained a wing 17-footer. He swatted Blair on the other end. He missed a short 10-footer off the bounce pass from Farmar. He blocked Blair's drive, then was blocked on the other end by Manu as he went for a layup and then blocked by Blair. Nice challenge on Manu on one end, then he drew FTs hustling down to the other end. He dunked when Ron drew the D and hit him under the hoop. He swatted Duncan's drive. He hit a runner past Duncan.

Artest -- -- Back in the summer a lot was made about the Spurs signing Richard Jefferson. The Lakers own summer signing dominated this match-up. Jefferson went just 2-9 for 9 points and some of those minutes were against Luke. That's not the impact in a big game that they were hoping from him. He's averaging just 12 points a game this season vs. the near 20 points a game he had the last two seasons. Jefferson has had just 2 games over 20 points since mid November. Talk about chemistry problems. Meanwhile, Ron has stepped up with the Lakers first and third options out. After a big game in Portland, he had another strong night against the Spurs. He sank a couple of threes, used his size in the paint to cause problems and he showed a little more savvy in the Triangle as he continues to learn the offense. Two-way impact ball. That's what makes a difference come playoff time. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-16 shooting (2-5 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 37 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He missed an 18-footer. He drained a wing three for the Lakers first score. He sank a three in transition on the next possession. He attacked, took contact and no call and missed. He missed a wing three. He drew FTs setting up under the hoop, he made one. He had 7 points on 2-6 shooting in the first (Jefferson nothing). He drew a tripping foul on Manu while cutting and stepping on his leg, he made both FTs. He had 9 points at the half. Second Half: He lobbed to Shannon for the dunk to start the half. Duncan goaltended Ron's fallaway jumper. He missed a face-up wing jumper. He forced Jefferson into an airball jumper. He hit Pau for an And-1 on a high entry pass. Nice scissor cut off the Pau, he took the handoff, curled down the lane and scored the layup. Good Tri cut to release pressure, horrible pass to Pau right out of bounds. He spun in the lane and flipped up a prayer, missing off the back of the rim. He muscled up a couple of shots before finally scoring an And-1 layup during a battle under the boards, he made the FT. He missed a long three at the end of the quarter. He had 7 points in the third (16 for the game on 5-13 shooting). He missed a wing three on iso. Sweet pass while cutting weak to strong, drawing the D and dumping it back to the weakside for Pau all alone for the dunk. He missed a step-back wing jumper with the clock low. Wow, great change of direction off the handoff from Pau to cross up Duncan and Ron scored the layup in the paint.

Lamar -- -- He was out of the gates like a race horse tonight. His speed game caused the Spurs all kinds of problems. When they tried to go small, we changed it up and got Lamar a few touches in the post. Phil even set one of those up out of a timeout in crunch time. Spurs can't handle him when he's aggressive and engaged. They put a lot of defenders on him, but he just makes that a very difficult scenario when he's active. A couple of his dunks tonight were nasty. Love the focus and attitude that Lamar has had in the past couple of games. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-13 shooting (0-2 from three, 4-7 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 37 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: Nice challenge on Jefferson to force a missed dunk. He pushed out a rebound and fed Pau for a transition layup. Quick attack past McDyess to his right and he scored an And-1 layup, he missed the FT. Nice challenge on Parker to force a missed layup. Wow, spin to lose his man in the paint on the next possession and then LO slammed. Sloppy pass to a cutting Pau, points the other way. He posted up Bonner out of a timeout and drew FTs, he made one. He attacked Bonner off the dribble next time down and scored a layup. He picked up Bonner's second foul a couple possessions later. He missed a three (attack Bonner, please). He hit Pau for a dunk getting speed into the attacking zone. He had 7 points and 3 assists in the first. He missed a layup on a drive left. He missed a 16-footer. He hit a jumphook over Jefferson in the post. He attacked and drew FTs on Jefferson, he made both. He hit the rim on a halfcourt attempt at the buzzer. He had 11 points on 4-8 shooting, 5 boards and 3 assists. Second Half: He missed a 17-footer. Change of pace drive on Blair and Lamar drew the foul, he made one FT. He got Duncan straight up and then blew past him for a dunk. He swatted Blair on the other end. He missed a putback jumphook. He had 3 points on 1-3 shooting in the third. He airballed a jumper against the shotclock. He scored a layup out of the timeout getting into the post against a smaller man.

Brown -- -- Shannon got the start but struggled against the Spurs. He seemed to be a little more scrambled in the offense than the usual catch and shoots out of the Tri or working off the pinch posts. He just needs to keep things simple. He is still a role player and role players will have up and down games. This was the down game. The Lakers set up a nice lob play for him in the second half that we hadn't seen before. It was a variation of their back-screen lob from the wing, but Shannon was in a different spot on the floor and it caught the Spurs by surprise. Hope we see it again. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-13 shooting (1-3 from there, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 block and 3 fouls in 37 minutes. he was a +7. The Action: He choked a layup down the middle of the lane. He lost Manu then airballed the wide open baseline pull-up jumper. He fouled Manu on a jumper and had to sit with 2:43 left in the first with his second foul. He bricked a wing jumper. He blew a layup on a drive (dunk those). He attacked and drew FTs, he made one. An 0-4 start for Shannon. Second Half: He slammed off the wing lob pass to start the half (different tweak on that play as DFish played a decoy on the back-screen play and Shannon cut without use of a pick). He missed a floater. He missed a wing three. He swished a pull-up elbow jumper. He blew a two-for-one chance and then missed a pull-up from the elbow. He swished a wing three off the Luke pinch post. He missed a baseline jumper, then a three on the same possession. He tried to create off the dribble and clanked a floater.

Fisher -- -- While Barkley called him out at halftime, the TNT announcers had high praise for DFish during the game. Yes, Fisher is a savvy vet, but, yes, he's also a step slower than most PGs. Maybe two steps slower than Parker. Fish was getting torched by Parker to start the game and some later (even right after a TNT love fest for DFish). If Fisher played more consistently like he has the last two games, fans would probably give him a lot less heat than they do these days. Despite the issues with Parker, DFish was hitting his shots and giving the Lakers a legit midrange game. Right now, that midrange is the best part of his game. His three shooting has slipped a bit. His layups, of course, worse than his three game. He got into that midrange and had a lot of success tonight. Keep that up. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-9 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 29 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: His bounce pass was picked off. He swished a pull-up 15-footer off the pinch post. He sank another one from the same spot rubbing his man on the Pau screen. He swished a rainbow baseline pull-up jumper. He gave up an And-1 layup to Parker as the announcers were getting on the fans for criticism of DFish. He missed a wing jumper off a cross-over. Parker had 15 points on 6-11 shooting and 5 assists. Second Half: He missed a pull-up at the elbow. He deflected a pass and hustled to help regain possession. He drew a charge on Duncan. He let Parker fly by, moved in and swished the jumper. Back in for Farmar, he was immediately blocked on a drive. He worked off the Pau screen, crossed over Manu and hit the And-1 jumper from the wing on him, he made the FT. He sank a floater curling into the lane.

Farmar -- -- Very good game from Jordan. He played with both speed and poise. That's exactly what the Laker coaches want from him. He picked his spots and didn't get caught very often trying to do too much. His penetration in the paint caused a lot of problems for the Spurs and kept the Laker offensive engine humming. Remember, the Laker second unit is short-handed with both Shannon and Lamar getting into the starting spot. That puts a lot more responsibility on Farmar, but the second units kept the pressure on the Spurs all night. That was mainly Farmar's doing. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He sank a sideline three. He blew past his man for a reverse. He attacked and kicked out to Sasha for the wide open three. He missed a 19-footer off the pick. Nice help D to force a post player to travel. No helping the helper after his man got penetration, layup Spurs. Nice hustle for a loose ball and he drew a foul. He attacked with speed off the high pinch post from Powell and scored a layup. Horrible pass in transition, not even close to a running Pau. Second Half: He lost the ball under the hoop, fought to get it back and just missed an And-1, he made one FT. He attacked to his right, hung around Blair and scooped in a layup. He attacked and missed a layup, but Pau drew a foul on the board. He attacked and drew FTs, he made one again. Speed cut around Parker off the Pau handoff and he reversed next time down.

Luke -- -- Phil ran Luke at both SF and PF. The Spurs were running some small lineups that allowed the Lakers to get away with that. Some better moments from Luke, but he still seems to be a little out of sync on the offensive end. He matched up with his buddy Jefferson quite a bit. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 11 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He missed an awkward floater in the lane. He was called for a foul on a three-shooter. He scored a layup past Jefferson cutting off the post. He missed a corner three (should have hit Sasha). Second Half: He walked trying to create before dribbling. He drew FTs after a loose ball scramble, he made both.

Vujacic -- -- He started out offensively by hitting a pull-up three off the dribble at the end of the first. Then, he connected on his next two attempts. Got to love 8 points on 3 shots from Sasha. Nice to see a couple of decent shooting games in a row for Sasha. He matched up some against Manu defensively. That's tough and Sasha picked up a couple of fouls. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-3 shooting (2-2 from three) to go with 1 board and 2 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: Perimeter foul on Manu. He was called for what looked like a bogus foul with 6 seconds left in the quarter on a Manu drive (the ref who was out of position). He drained a pull-up three to end the quarter. He pulled up and hit a 14-footer to start the second quarter. He drained a wing three on a kickout from Farmar. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Powell -- -- He came in for Pau at the end of the first. He didn't connect on any of his shots and, as usual, was an automatic miss when trying to hit his jumphook. After a lengthy first half stint, Phil finally sat him. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-3 shooting and had 2 boards and 1 turnover in 6 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: His high-low to Pau was easily picked off. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a lefty jumphook in the post out of a timeout. He missed another jumphook in the paint. Second Half: He did not play in the half.

Mbenga -- -- He got a brief stint to give Pau a short breather at the end of the third. Not much action to do anything in a possession or two. He was the only Laker with a negative on the +/-. The Stats: He didn't shoot or score in 1 minute and was a -3. The Action: He did not play in the half. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Phil -- -- A 9-0 start for the Spurs before Artest hit back-to-back threes. The Lakers led 12-11 midway through the quarter... The Lakers trailed by 4 when Farmar came in for Fisher with over 3 minutes left... He brought in Sasha for Shannon who picked up his second foul... The Lakers trailed 34-28 after one. The Spurs were getting into the paint with ease. The Lakers 4-6 were from three... Phil started a Pau, Powell, Luke, Sasha, Farmar unit. A couple of makes by Sasha and one by Farmar and the Lakers had the lead... Long run for Powell, a full 6 minutes and three bricks before Phil called timeout and brought back in LO. The Lakers trailed 42-39... Phil went with the starters with 5 minutes left... The Lakers led 50-47, good close to the half. They shot 45 percent (18-40, 5-9 from three, 9-13 from the line). The Spurs shot 41.5 percent (17-41, 2-7 from three, 11-12 from the line). Both teams had 7 turnovers. The Spurs turned that into 8 points, the Lakers 0. Spurs had a 28-18 advantage in the paint. The Lakers had a 10-0 advantage on the break... Nice change-up by Phil on our wing lob pass as DFish played decoy cutter on the back-screen play and Shannon bolted for the dunk from Ron... The Lakers opened up a 68-57 lead. Some very good ball movement... A 6-0 run for the Spurs out of a timeout... Phil sat Pau for Mbenga with a minute and a half left in the third... The Lakers led 73-68 heading into the fourth. "We got to rebound and get some stops," Phil said. Asked about how confident he was of the 21-0 record the Lakers had when leading in the fourth at home with no Kobe tonight, "I'm not going to the bank on it," he said... Phil started a Pau, Luke, Sasha, Shannon, Farmar unit... The Lakers pulled out to a 78-70 lead and Pop quickly called timeout... The Spurs were out of fouls after 3 minutes... With the lead at 7 with 6 minutes left, Phil brought in Lamar and Artest for Sasha and Luke... He sat Farmar with an 8-point lead for Fish. Farmar was playing great at that point and could have closed. (Phil would bring him back later.)... Phil called a timeout with a 9-point lead and 2:38 left. Offense was getting a little stiff. Out of that timeout, they set up Lamar coming weak to strong to post up and score a layup over a smaller man... Phil brought back in Farmar to run with DFish... The Lakers shot 44 percent, the Spurs 43 percent. The Lakers were called for just 13 fouls. The Spurs still turned that into 18 freethrows. The Lakers made 19-26 from the line... After the Spurs had dominated the points in the paint in the first quarter, the Lakers nearly evened it up, scoring 46 to the Spurs 48... The Lakers won the break 14-3... Some very nice movement in the offense tonight...

Game Flow -- LINK -- A lot of runs for the Spurs in the first quarter, but the Lakers tightened up their D after that. Lakers seemed to take command of the game with that 14-4 extended run in the third.

[lounger]

Thanks DB!

[koolmo23]

second thanks DB simply the best

[SweetP]

Old cowboys
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“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[AllorNothing]

Barkley was harsher on Fisher than LG.

[night89]

As long as we don't get giddy(when you're up unexpectedly) or tense at any point, score or opponents(something to remember against the Cavs, should we meet them in the Finals) and even learn to laugh at them under pressure, and with the way the refs are calling it(though probably won't happen against Utah), I think this team can actually go without both Bynum AND Kobe for a month and still maintain the lead for HC over Denver. Kobe's biggest contribution is his scoring, yet it's very easy to score these days. Without the mental block, I feel like we should be able to shoot over 50% against every opponent, because let's face it, very few possessions can be considered great defense.

I mean, it seems like Sasha could have scored 20, if he wanted to. Certainly, I don't see why he can't be our Q-Richardson, a guy whose career was thought to be over. As long as you can shoot the 3, you can be a pretty dangerous weapon, in today's league.

Phil beat Popovich in the mental game today, and that's a rare occurence.

[RhodyRay]

Thanks DB. Another enjoyable game to watch!

Hopefully Kobe will rest his wounded body and the Lakers can continue to play as a team. Will do wonders for the 2nd half of the season & the playoff picture especially for guys like Sasha, Farmar, Powell and Luke.
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Let them HATE so long as they FEAR!

[pask]

Don´t we already have the solution at PG? Can´t we play Lamar at stretches at the PG spot, ala Magic Johnson?

He´ll have more minutes, will get more involved, and is a real match-up problem for other teams.

And can solve the opponents PG quickness giving more space and with sheer size....

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB.

[inthepaint]

Thaks DB, I missed the game last night so your recap is right on time.

Looks like we are finally playing to our potential. Nice to see good team play on both ends for a change.

Let's hope this continues when Kobe and Bynum returns.

[RVCdesigns]

Thank you DB.

[wolfpaclaker]

After a slow start - Pau was fantastic. Good to see him back up his words. He talked the talk about wanting the team to execute better on O and that he wanted more touches. With those touches he has been assertive and winning us the games inside.

Should end all that crap I read about Pau being an all-star only because he became a Laker. Granted he's not a championship 1, and is more of a great #2. But this guy has franchise talent and was Memphis' franchise player. He is no joke. He may play soft at times but the guy is our second best player and second most valuable player. The hate for this guy is weak.

Was annoying to see the commentators cling to Fisher's nuts. I am a Fisher fan but the guy can not play starter minutes. He has to be limited to first 6 minutes of the half and last 4-5 minutes of the half. Thankfully Farmar had a big game. Good to see Farmar use that speed.

Without Bryant we saw more ballhandling opportunities for Farmar. Showing one of the reason why perhaps Phil has never valued the PG position from a ballhandling/creative stand point. He's always had a ball dominant SG in Kobe or Jordan and then facilitators in the frontcourt to help out - I guess he just doesn't push the Lakers to get that aspect.

A couple of things I want to see maintain in the longrun.

1- Artest playing this assertively. His chances increase without Kobe, but he was also attacking the rim more. This is what we need.
2- Consistent touches for Pau/AB throught out the game. No long Q's without the ball going inside.
3- More minutes for Shannon Brown with the starters.
4- Defensive intensity stay the same.

One thing I am hoping Phil figures out with these last 2 games is the importance of splitting up all the 1 on 1 talent we have. Our current fully healthy lineup has too little speed and not enough balance of scorers + facilitators.

We may want to start Bynum/Gasol/Artest/Bryant/Fish, but not play them more than the first 6 minutes of each half. Got to get more lineups with 3 impact players and 2 supporting role players.

Ex:

Bynum/Gasol/Bryant/Brown/Fisher
Gasol/Odom/Artest/Brown/Farmar

[Klone_dd]

Total team effort. Contributions from everyone. Ball movement, hustling D. Couldn't ask for much more. Although Pau could've easily had a 30 point game by making his chippies.

Nice to see Fish attacking Parker. Neither could guard each other and if Fish cancels out Parker, that's a plus for the Lakers.

SA is really short these days. You remember the days with the Admiral and Timmy clogging up the lane. Now, their front court is short and slow.

[JTS1]

[maddprophet]

when odom plays just real good, we are unbeatable. if he plays great, we are flat out dominant
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Spark the ism, my expertism, is lyracism, my flow will take you over like I was hypnotism...so where's the lighter, to start the cypher....

[macwebb]

"I've got Spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle as I go ridin' merrily along..."


That is hilarious...I used to watch those old westerns with my dad when I was little...I also remember this one song call "Cool Water" that was just as funny...suddenly a guy would break out with a guitar and everyone around the campfire would join in...Those images never leave...so appropriate for the Spurs...

A++ for creativity DB

[ssiknick833]

Thanks DB, just awesome stuff.
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[THE_MACHINE]

SAsha played a fantastic game so did Jordan and odom and GAsol great team effort from the lakers.
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Where were the Sasha haters in 07?..........

"I was playing. I was playing," Vujacic said. "When you're sitting on the bench, you can't do those things."

[Luca Brasi]

does the 3 guard rotation of derek, farmar and brown remind anyone of the 3 center rotations of the '96-'98 Bulls teams?
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"i was born down in the valley where the sun refused to shine, but i'm climbin' up to the highlands, goin' to make that mountain mine" ~ Lakers, 2011

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[DancingBarry]

^Thought I'd get a couple of you guys with this one.

[Texas_Pete]

It's always good to beat the Spurs. Thanks DB!

[Arizona]

Best win of the year...great team ball, chemistry, ball movement. Now that's the way basketball was meant to be played. How the hell did LO only wind up with 1 block? He had 2 on Blair on the same play plus one previous to that?????
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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