LAKERS -at- RAPTORS - 12/19 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Road Crew... It's been rare that the Lakers bench hasn't given them a lift during games. Consistency is one thing you don't typically see from your second unit players, but more often than not, one or two of them give the team a lift.

Once again, the bench rose to the occasion in the Lakers 120-110 victory over the injury-depleted Raptors. Andrew Bynum led the way with 16 of the bench's 57 points.

While missing a layup and going back up with the rebound, however, Bynum felt a "twinge" in his knee. He knows his knees far too well, of course, and didn't seem too concerned.

"It will be all right," Bynum said. "There is no swelling. I'll just ice it all the way home and it should be good."

Bynum makes a fine fourth "B" in the Lakers Killer B's. They destroyed the Raptors as Phil went with an all bench unit for one key stretch.

"We played freely out there," Shannon Brown said. "We weren't hesitant about things. It's good to get Luke back out there making those passes and being aggressive."

Walton replaced Lamar at the power forward spot and led the team with a +15. (Meanwhile, Lamar had a -5 and was later benched in the final seconds by Phil for not running the game plan). Rare you will see that big of a swing between those two, but that was the case with Lamar's play today.

Five straight, 6-1 on the roadtrip -- the Lakers will happily return home with their league-leading 11th road win of the season after taking care of business.


Kobe -- -- Given the sprained pinky, you weren't quite sure what kind of game Kobe would bring. You just knew he'd make his impact felt in some manner. That, he did. He had some fireworks in the first half on a couple of finishes at the rim (including a sensational reverse), but then settled into more of a facilitator role. He worked the two-man game with his bigs and set them up. In the second half, he had a couple of nice sequences off the ball. The offense had been lacking that at times in the first half, despite scoring well. Overall, his game didn't seem to skip a beat despite the injury. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 6-12 shooting (0-2 from three, 8-9 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He missed a layup on a drive, got it back and missed a corner three. He drew FTs when Ron found him on an inbounds pass under the hoop, he made both. He crossed over his man badly and scored a layup. He spun around his man and threw down a two-handed jam. He missed a fallaway from the wing. He spun baseline, brought it up then back down and hit the reverse between two players on his way down. He got tapped on a turnaround from the midpost. He worked the two-man sequence with Bynum for FTs, he made one. He worked the two-man game and hit Pau for the jumper. He set up Drew for FTs on the screen-roll. He was called for a clear-out on a drive. Second Half: After pulling out an offensive board, he sank a pumping baseline jumper. He curled down the lane, Pau found him and he drew FTs taking a hard foul, he made both. Another cut around Pau and he scored an And-1 layup on the pass, he made the FT. He changed pace, collapsed the D and kicked to Pau for the jumper. He fired from the wing with a toe on the three line, the ball hit rim, bounced on the top of the backboard twice, then fell in. He missed a wing three on his next attempt. The mustard came off the hotdog on the break, not close on a no-looker, turnover and layup the other way. He missed a tough 15-foot turnaround. He was fouled intentionally and made both.

Gasol -- -- Phil went with some all-bench lineups out there for extended run and to extend leads. With Bynum in the post and as a presence on D, he got to rest Pau. He also didn't run any of the Pau/Bynum lineup, probably fearing they might be too slow to keep with the speed game the Raptors like to play. As a result, Pau ran just 30 minutes tonight. In the combined 48 minutes the two ran at the center spot, they got 35 points on 13-21 shooting and 15 boards. There are probably only a few times that Pau won't see minutes at PF now. In a sense, he was playing the PF spot tonight going up against Amir Johnson and the smaller Raptor lineups. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 9-15 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He lost the handle in the post. He got tapped on a lefty jumphook. He faked the handoff to Ron one way, then attacked the other for the nasty throwdown at the front of the rim. He scooped up a loose ball, attacked and finger rolled the layup. He missed a short jumphook. He drop-stepped and scored the lefty jumphook. He hit Lamar cutting for a layup. He missed a lefty bank on iso. He swished from the FT line on the Kobe two-man game. He threw a pass away, breakaway points on the other end. He grabbed a Lamar miss and put it back in. Second Half: He missed a baseline jumper. He dunked off the feed from DFish. He found Kobe cutting for a couple of layups. He sank an open 15-footer when Kobe drew the D and found him. He swished a short turnaround in the paint. He missed an open 19-footer. He missed a baseline jumper looking for the foul. He was fouled on a jumper in the lane, he made one FT. He was stripped in the paint, but stayed with it and just beat the shotclock on the layup. He spotted Lamar for a layup with the interior feed.

Lamar -- -- Phil benched him with 10 seconds left up by 10 points just to make a point. Lamar knew it, too. Throughout the game, he didn't run the game plan. Phil wanted more passes and Lamar was trying to go more iso (often turning the ball over in the process). Phil wanted clock run and Lamar was shooting early offense jumpers. When the Lakers were obviously just running down clock as much as possible in the final couple minutes, Lamar was in there hoisting up an early offense chuck. Only one Laker was a negative on the +/- today. Phil didn't need to see the stats to know who that was. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 5 turnovers and no fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: His timing was off on the Kobe backdoor lob and he threw it away. He threw an outlet away, dunk for the Raptors. He couldn't secure a defensive board and it was tipped in. He was picked by Amir for a layup the other way. He scored a layup when Pau spotted him cutting in the middle of the zone (first real, purposeful move from Lamar off the ball). He hit a wing jumper on iso. He missed a point-blank layup from the post. He jammed back in a DFish miss in the paint. He blocked Amir from behind to prevent a layup. Second Half: He drew a charge on help D, stepping in and going down (bench loved it). Poor D giving up an easy layup. He was stripped on a drive. He was stripped on a drive again. He drew FTs on a lob from Pau on the break. He missed an early offense three. He missed a layup trying to stretch out under the hoop. He attacked down the lane and hit a floater. Poor decision to fire an early offense jumper when the team was trying to run clock, he missed. Pau found him in the lane for a hanging layup.

Artest -- -- Good start offensively from Ron again. The team seems to be making a point of this recently and Ron has done well with it. Phil matched him up with Kleiza, but eventually went with Barnes again to close, keeping Ron's minutes low. In the 48 minutes shared between the two, they got 18 points and 11 boards. Solid production from the SF spot, but Barnes activity on the glass amounted for most of the boards. Ron typically seals guys off and lets teammates grab the boards. He wound up dumped to the foor on one such sequence. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He drained a long jumper standing on the three line to start the Laker scoring. He flashed weak to strong in the post and powered up a layup. He and Fish doubled Kleiza to get him to fumble it away. He attacked down the lane and drew FTs, he made both. He hit Kobe under the hoop on an inbounds pass for FTs. He was called for a charge on a handoff. Second Half: He missed an early offense three.

Fisher -- -- Some scrappy defensive plays from Fish today, taking charges or swiping the ball. The Lakers had their hands full with a lot of dribble penetration in the halfcourt. Calderon went for 20 and 12 assists, despite Fish's efforts. Offensively, he struggled a bit with his shot, missing some wide open looks and even a couple from the line. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-8 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He sank a face-up corner three. He swiped a kickout pass. He missed a wide open sideline three. He attacked across the top of the lane trying to create and drew contact and FTs, he missed both. When Pau tipped out his second miss, he sank a wing jumper to make up for it. He missed a baseline drive, got it back and missed a flip over his shoulder (but Lamar jammed it in). Second Half: He missed a long wing jumper. He fed a pass to Pau under the hoop for a dunk. His bounce pass was easily picked off. He drew a charge on Wright on the baseline. He missed a long three against the zone. He was intentionally fouled, he made both FTs.

Bynum -- -- His size was too much for the Raptors to handle. The 10 attempts from the line and the 5 offensive boards attest to the that. He played about a foot above anyone else out there. Offensively, he looked much more comfortable (probably as a result of the smaller opponents). He's still not quite playing above the rim like he needs, but that should return with time. Despite the twinge in the knee he felt late in the game and the icing he will do, he seems confident going forward. "I can't wait to start working with my trainer when we get back home so I can get a little bit of my explosion back. I feel like I can't really jump right now...As of right now, I feel like I'm kind of glued to the floor." Defensively, he was challenging shots or deterring penetration from getting to the rim with some frequency. That last line of defense needs to erase mistakes and Bynum has been showing that ability. The problem in this game was when the team turned the ball over or took early offense shots, allowing the Raptors to get up the court quick and hit shots before the Laker defense could get set. That's the way they play, the Lakers tried to play with them too much. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 4-6 shooting (8-10 from the line) to go with 7 boards (5 offensive), 1 block and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He tipped a miss to himself from behind a bigman and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a jumphook from the right block. He scored a reverse on a missed drive by Barnes. Luke set him up for FTs in the paint, he made one. He was grabbed on a dunk attempt, he made one. He was fouled again on the screen-roll with Kobe, he made both FTs. He swatted dribble penetration off the glass to erase a layup. Second Half: Great angle to force Barbosa to throw a pass away on a drive. Too big, he grabbed another offensive board from right behind a Raptor. He scored a layup on the drive and dish from Luke. Nice hands on help D to knock a ball loose. Good foul under the hoop after having to recover (saved a point on the eventual missed FT). He drew FTs when Luke spotted him under the hoop, he made both. He scored a layup when Luke kept an offensive board alive. Low position, he missed the lefty jumphook, but scored the follow easily.

Blake -- -- The Barnes, Brown and Blake unit made 6-12 from three off the bench. Each of them knocked down big threes in the second half when the team needed a hoop. Blake did a good job running the offense the way the team wanted. He moved the ball and didn't settle for early offense chucks (he rarely does). Jerryd Bayless has had games of 31, 17 and 20 in three of his last four. Blake may know him well since they spent some time together in Portland. The Lakers were able to hold him to just 4 on 1-7 shooting. He was one of only a couple of Raptors not shooting well today. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting from three to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He got caught in the air defensively and gave up two FTs on a jumper. He sent an outlet between defenders to a leaking out Luke for a layup. He missed a jumper from one side, cut back to the opposite corner when we recovered the miss and he swished a corner three. Second Half: He missed a corner three. He swiped a cross-court pass. He missed a corner three. He attacked the zone and kicked to Barnes for the open jumper. He drained a big three with 5 minutes left from the wing.

Barnes -- -- Another good game from Barnes and Phil let him close with the starters. He was one board shy of a double-double. He sank a couple of big threes in the fourth. After his 1-15 start from beyond the arc in December, he has made 4-8 in his last three games. Barnes is perfect coming off the bench. When the team lacks some spark or needs to changes gears, his energy and activity helps give them some life. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-10 shooting (2-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 9 boards (2 offensive), 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: His jumphook from the post was goaltended. He pushed up the ball for the last possession and missed a drive, but Bynum had the putback. He pushed up the break and hit Luke for a score. He missed a wing jumper in early offense. He swiped the ball from a DeRozan. Second Half: He missed a corner three. He drew FTs in the middle of the paint, he made both. He swished a corner three to start the fourth. He tied up Barbosa on the break and won the jumpball. He missed a layup in the paint and the putback. Not close on a wing three (dunk on the counter strike). He swished a 19-footer on the kickout from Blake. He drained a sideline three with the shotclock low.

Brown -- -- His improved handles were on display in this game on a couple of highlight plays. On one he weaved his way through traffic around multiple defenders for a score. On another, he broked off Barbosa badly on a cross-over for a layup. After missing his first couple shots, he made his next five. Throw in a couple of threes and Phil was content to only run Kobe for 28 minutes. Job well done by the bench. "We're going to continue to get better, every practice, every day," Shannon said. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-7 shooting (2-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and no fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He missed a wing three. He fumbled a pass out of bounds. He blocked Barbosa in transition and it led to a layup on the counter attack. He missed a long wing jumper. He weaved his way through a crowd, ball-faked a defender to turn around and scored at the rim. Second Half: He swished a long wing three with the shotclock expiring. Great effort to save a bad pass from going over the halfcourt line (as he threw it over his head, it looked like Shannon was clearly on the wrong side of the line in the scramble), and it led to a Laker score. He sank a wing three with the shotclock low. He attacked and kicked to Barnes for three. He lost Barbosa badly on a cross-over (sent him flying one way, while he went the other) and he scored a layup. He drew FTs on a pull-up jumper, he made one. He attacked across the lane and got a tough fade to bounce in.

Walton -- -- Phil seemed ticked with the Lakers lack of passing on the offensive end and gave Luke some extended run at the PF spot. Luke played the role well as an extension of the coach on the floor. He moved the ball and helped make the offense flow. (He looks for his bigmen with consistency.) He had some bad passes in the process, but he ran the game plan. As a result, he led the team with a +15 (next best was a +8). Look at Lamar's team worst -5. That's a huge difference between the two PFs. When Luke was in the game at PF, the game plan was run. Lamar wasn't doing that. Pretty simple difference. Give some credit to Luke also for some feisty battles on the offensive glass as well as earning some trips to the line. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 2-4 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 3 boards (2 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He threw a pass away in the paint. He scored a layup when Barnes found him in transition. He set up Drew for FTs with a drive and dish. He pushed out a rebound, attacked and drew FTs, he made both. He leaked out after a challenge and scored a layup when Blake found him. Second Half: Great job getting to the Barnes miss, but he choked the point-blank layup. Another good battle on the glass and he was held to earn FTs, he made one. He drew FTs again on the defensive end after grabbing a bad pass, he made both. He attacked and hit Bynum for a layup. His long inbounds pass was picked off and Barbosa hit a half-court heave at the buzzer. His behind-the-back pass was picked off. Excellent extra pass to Drew under the hoop instead of taking the long jumper and it led to FTs. Great look to Barnes cutting, but Barnes couldn't finish. He kept an offensive board alive to Bynum, who scored. He blocked Bayless from behind.

Phil -- -- With the return of Bynum, it seemed the Lakers would likely only have just the one loss on this lengthy trip. Good job by the team and Phil juggling his lineups... He sat Pau for Bynum with 4 minutes left in the first... He brought in Blake for Fish and Barnes for Artest a minute later... He brought in Shannon a minute later... An 8-0 Raptor run soon had them up by 8... The Lakers trailed 34-28 after the first... He started a Bymum, Luke, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... Down 35-31, Phil brought in Pau for Bynum after two and a half minutes. No Bynum/Pau combo, opting to go small... They pulled out to a 42-39 lead... Phil brought in his entire starting lineup at the 6-minute mark (4 subs at once)... He sat Artest for Barnes with 2 minutes left... Pau picked up his second foul and Phil sat him for Bynum with a minute left... The Lakers led 57-49 at the half. The Lakers shot 54 percent but just 13-18 from the line. The Raptors shot 42 percent... The coaches didn't like the ball movement and wanted more patience in the offense to slow down the pace... The Lakers opened the second half with an 11-3 run, forcing a timeout... The Raptors went on a similar run out of the timeout... Phil sat Kobe, Lamar and Artest up by 6 with 4:37 left, going with a Pau, Luke, Barnes, Brown, Fish unit. A very different sub pattern... He brought in Blake for Fish... With 2:34 left, he sat Pau for Bynum... They stretched the lead to 10 before Luke's pass was picked off for a half-court three at the end of the third... The Lakers led 86-79 heading into the fourth... Phil started the same unit... He finally subbed out Luke with a 13-point lead for Lamar after 4 minutes. Good run by Luke... Lead was cut to 6 shortly later... Up by 9, he subbed out that group for the starters with Barnes instead of Artest and 4:30 left... He subbed in Shannon for Lamar with 10 seconds left. Lamar grinned and walked sheepishly to the bench, Phil making a point to run the game plan like he wanted... The Lakers shot 52 percent and 31-39 from the line. They had 20 assists with 17 turnovers...

[SoCaLjAy]

Thanks DB...good win especially after a long trip.

[SweetP]

That was a nice way to end the road trip.
_________________
“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[KobeJaws]

Thanks DB!

[mdlakerfan]

4th!

[E=MC²]

This is the best road trip result since the 6-0 roadie two years ago.

That next 7 game roadie in February however will be the real test.

[taim]

Great recap!

[Tris]

Artest is a defensive beast. Crazy.

[limchrc]

thanks

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB. I missed the game; and once again your recap gives me a good feel for what happened out there.

Excellent result , and it looks like Drew's starting to find his timing too. Here's hoping Drew doesn't see any swelling regardless of the occasional twinge he's going to feel now and then.

[babyskyhook]

Thanks DB. I give the guys extra credit for pushing through a 10am start on their bodyclocks on the last day of a long roadtrip.

They needed the bench's energy and the bench delivered.

Such a nice change from last year.

[RVCdesigns]

Thanks DB

[Dr. Laker]

[Odominator7]

Thanks DB.

I have been reading your write-ups for years but have always been too lazy to sign up. Anyway better late than never.

Loved the epic write-ups from last years finals series, particularly the Phoenix and Boston series.

With Bynum slowly returning to full health the 4 horsemen of the apolocalypse are re-united once again...

Keep up the great work.

[Klone_dd]

I was pretty shocked at the turn of events in the 3rd Q. The halftime message to the team was to go deeper into the shot clock and work the ball inside to eliminate any Raptors breakouts and transition buckets. The plan was working to perfection for the first half of the 3rd. The Lakers built a 16 pt lead, then all of a sudden they went from smart to stupid. Not what you'd expect from a veteran team.

Luckily the bench produced. 4 B's and a Luke played well. Say what you want about Luke, but he runs the offense and gets the ball to the right people. I can see why Phil adopted him. Bynum played big, like he should against runts. Game by game, he'll get stronger and better. Sure wish he'd learn more about passing out of the post ala Pau.

[Rick12322]

thanks DB, you da man!

[revgen]

[mhan00]

[Rick12322]

[DancingBarry]