Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 8:21 pm Post subject: HEAT -at- LAKERS - 12/25 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings
A Lump of Coal... If you could describe the Lakers play by using a line from the Twelve Days of Christmas, it would not be the one that goes "Five Golden Rings."
Facing the big three of the Heat, the Lakers big three played more like Three French Hens. Kobe called out those who might be happy with just two rings.
"This is serious stuff," he said. "You don't just have two rings and say we're satisfied with what we've got and let it slide. I'm not rolling with that."
The Lakers rarely leave their fans anything good under the tree on Christmas Day games. In fact, most who have seen the Lakers play on Christmas Day have come to expect the worst. Chalk this one up in the long line of failures -- a 96-80 lump of coal.
"I don't think we're mean enough to show up on Christmas Day and play," Kobe said. "They should just take us off this day."
At least Ron Artest had a present for the lucky winner of his championship ring raffle that raised more than $500,000 for mental health charity. That seemed to be the only positive.
The Lakers struggled to establish their advantage -- the post game. Pau didn't get his first score until more than 18 minutes into the game. He was off balance with the size of the opposing centers. The refs let a lot of contact go in the paint, frustrating several Lakers.
On the other side of the floor, the Laker screen-roll defense had issues, especially with Wade, who was splitting the D with regularity.
"Their pick and roll defense has been a joke," Van Gundy said of the Lakers.
Forget the X's and O's. Give credit to the Heat for imposing their game. But the fact that they imposed it on the Lakers and not the other way around was what concerned Kobe and Phil. This game seemed to be more about attitude -- imposing your will on the opponent. Prior to the game, Phil had this to say:
"I sensed anger in Kobe, obviously, but I didn't sense a lot of anger in our team," Phil said beforehand. "I didn't sense that kind of anger that rises in a team when they know that they really disappointed themselves."
Maybe after the embarrassing loss on the national stage? Who can say? Stay tuned...
Kobe -- -- "I think these games mean more to our opponent than they do us," he said. "I think we need to get that straight. I think we need to play with more focus and put more importance on these games. I don't like it." Frustrating day for Kobe. He attacked early and often, taking contact on most of his drives and not getting any whistles. He eventually picked up a tech - his third in the past two games. If this was home court advantage, I'd hate to see what it looks like in Miami. Kobe drew doubles throughout the game, whether it was in the post or running the two-man game. That was really the only consistent thing that worked for the Lakers. Their bigmen/post game was missing in action. Defensively, he and his bigmen struggled with the DWade screen-roll D. Phil later tested Kobe against LeBron. The two exchanged a few words at one point. Not sure what was said, but Kobe has been here against LeBron in the past. All that matters is who is where in June. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-16 shooting (1-3 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls in 40 minutes. He was a -21. The Action: He found Lamar for two dunks (one on a lob, the other on a cut) for the Lakers first two scores. He missed a turnaround from the post. He posted up, took contact, no call and missed. He airballed a layup and screamed at the refs for the no call. He attacked and took contact, missing with no call again. He was 0-4 in the first quarter. He missed a quick-fire three from the wing. His man went for a steal on the post entry and Kobe dunked for his first hoop 14 minutes in. He spotted Brown cutting baseline for a layup. He picked up his second foul on the other end. He set up Lamar for a layup with a bounce pass. He overpowered a smaller man by backing him into the post for an easy layup. Not paying attention and he fumbled a pass away that came to him. He swished a fading bank from the left side. Completely hammered in the post with no call, airballing. He was stripped in the post next time down and screamed at the refs for another no call, this time picking up a tech (frustration was growing by the play). He drew a double and hit Pau for the dunk. Again, contact in the post and no call, he held his arms out wondering where the whistle was. He drew FTs with 6 seconds left, his first of the half after all the contact, he made both. He swatted Wade from behind on the other end. He had 8 points on 3-10 shooting and 6 assists at the half. Second Half: He swished a face-up jumper from the left side. He drained a wing three on his next attempt. Bad possession, stalling the ball and missing a long turnaround fade. Some hockey assists for Kobe working the two-man game. finding Ron, who then hit a bigman for the score. He had 5 points on 2-3 shooting and 1 assist in the third. He missed an off-balance jumper from the top of the key. He missed a sideline three with the shot low. He attacked and was pulled down for FTs, he made one. He was called for a charge on a drive to the hoop. He threw a pass away. He scored an And-1 putback, he made the FT.
Gasol -- -- He struggled offensively against Z in the post early on and got worked on the jumpers on the other end. This is ultimately where the Lakers lost this game offensively. Their inability to get their bigmen going and use their size to their advantage cost them. Neither Z nor Bosh had to play any real defense. You have to work the body in the paint to not only prevent run-outs from long shots, but soften the interior. Pau started the game 0-7 (the Lakers one-two punch was 0-11 in the first quarter when the Lakers dug their hole). The Lakers need to establish the post and work off it. Move the ball, set screens, cut off the ball -- none of that was happening -- and the offense suffered. At some point, games like this will be what puts Bynum in the starting unit...not what Lamar is or isn't doing. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 8-17 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -11.The Action: He missed a turnaround in the post. He missed a jumphook from the right block. He got tapped on a short one in the paint. Not close on a tip, probably fouled since he was point blank and didn't rim. He came up short on a high arching turnaround in the paint. He was 0-7 in the first quarter. He finally scored after 18 minutes when Phil set up a ball-reverse sequence for him to the get the ball with good position on the weakside. He missed another post up, taking contact on the shot without a call. He tipped in a Kobe miss in the post. He slammed off the Kobe double team in the post. Second Half: He drained the short baseline jumper off the two-man game with Fish. He sank an elbow jumper off the two-man game with Kobe. He slammed in the oop from Ron (initiated by the Kobe/Pau two-man game). He powered in a layup off the interior feed from Bynum. He had 14 points on 7-15 shooting (making 7 of his last 8) after three quarters. He missed a jumphook (first shot 7 minutes into the fourth). He faked a pass and wheeled around a man for an And-1 layup, he made the FT.
Lamar -- -- Despite a couple of dunks for the Lakers first two scores, Lamar was another of several to be frustrated with the lack of calls. At least he seemed to play through it. It would have helped, too, had he made his FTs. He did a good job offensively attacking the lanes. It sure seemed there was a lot of room to do that, but too few capable Lakers. Defensively, Bosh had 18 points in the first half. Lamar let him get some easy ones and was scrambling to help on others. Hard to fault him on the scrambling plays when the D gets broken down, but the layups on iso D aren't what you want to see. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-12 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-5 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls. He was a -21. The Action: He slammed in the lob off the backdoor screen on the first play. He missed a three with the shotclock low. He slammed when Kobe posted up and found him cutting. He attacked baseline and drew FTs, he made one. He missed an awkward-angled layup. He scored a layup off the bounce pass from Kobe. He choked a layup after somehow coming up with a deflected pass in the paint. He drew FTs pushing out the rebound and attacking, he made one. He was fouled at the rim with no call (seemed obvious) and missed. He had 8 points on 3-7 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: He missed a high-speed drive to his left. Quick attack off a Kobe screen and he drew FTs, he missed both. Another quick drive and he scored a layup going left. He scored a layup when Ron attacked baseline and hit him. He had 4 points on 2-5 shooting in the third. He attacked to his right, stretched out and made the righty layup. He was obviously fouled on an offensive board and lost it without a call. He missed an early offense three.
Artest -- -- Ron ended the game with a +2. Really, this is the result of the Lakers losing ground to the Heat right after he sat with two quick fouls to start the game. They never recovered from that hole. So while he was good on the +/-, it was because he had to sit with fouls and was in part to blame for some of those problems. He took issue with one of the fouls and certainly the Lakers weren't getting those calls on the other end. Later in the game, he and LeBron got tied up under the hoop and they earned a double tech. Tough night for anyone when LeBron goes 5-6 from three. Offensively, Ron hit both of his threes, but struggled with some finishes at the rim (one of them should have been a foul on Wade). Some of his best sequences were making the D pay for overplaying the Kobe/Pau two-man game. Ron would put pressure on the D and make the pass for a score. After the game, Ron gave away his championship ring to a fan for his fundraiser. Well done. The Stats:The Action: He was quickly whistled for an off-ball foul on LeBron on the first stand. He missed a baseline jumper. He was called for another foul with 9:26 left in the first quarter while battling on the defensive boards and had to sit. Back in after a long rest, he sank a corner three. He missed a putback attempt. He drew an offensive foul on Z, taking an elbow to the face to regain a possession. He missed a layup, but tipped it in (or a Heat player did) in a crowd. LeBron shoved Artest on a battle under the boards and they picked up double techs. He was a +4 in his 9 minutes. Second Half: Nice D to help get a shotclock violation on the LeBron two-man game. He missed a point-blank layup (Wade came down on him with no call). He drained a step-back three on the kickout from Pau. He somehow didn't hit rim on a drive past LeBron, then fouled on a reach. He swiped the ball from LeBron, then lost it while pushing up the break and crashed into the Heat bench. He attacked baseline off the Kobe two-man sequence and set up Lamar for the layup. He lobbed to Pau for the dunk (again off the Kobe/Pau two-man game).
Fisher -- -- A more respectable game from Fish than the last outing. Hard not to be. Arroyo and Chalmers weren't doing much of anything, nor are they the threats in this offense, so you can't heap blame on Fish's back when he was putting in effort on help D, rotating and battling on that end. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting from three to go with 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He sank a wing three when left wide open. Great help challenge on a jumper by Z to force an airball. He missed a corner three. He stopped a 3-on-1 break, taking a charge on Wade. Second Half: He set up Pau on the two-man game for a jumper. He swished a wing three on the swing pass from Ron.
Bynum -- -- For the Lakers to have real success against the Heat, the bigmen have to impose their games. Bynum got some of the rare post scores in this game, but there were too few to make an impact. They need that impact Bynum against this Heat squad. Otherwise, the Heat will have too much advantage by attacking Drew on the screen-roll on the other end (which they did often). They also need Drew in the paint controlling the boards and getting the Lakers second chances. That wasn't happening much either. Pau struggled against the size and contact that the refs were letting go at the C spot to start the game. It seems inevitable that Drew will work his way back into the starting spot just because of that. Phil played the two just a couple of minutes together. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He hit a jumphook in the middle of the lane on his first touch. He drop-stepped Dampier and hit the lefty jumphook. He played 6 minutes in the first half. Second Half: He missed a jumphook, got it back and hit Pau for the layup. He missed a jumphook against an illegal D that wasn't called (a lot of that today). He scored a finger roll on an up and under from the midpost.
Blake -- -- He picked the wrong game to shoot blanks. Blake took all of his five attempts from the three line and couldn't find the target. Just hitting two or three of those three's makes this a different game. Again, the team didn't face much from the opposing PG on the defensive end. Would have been nice to win the battle at that position today. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-5 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He hit the back of the rim on a 90-foot chuck at the buzzer. He missed a corner three. He expected Lamar to finish a cut and threw the ball away when he didn't. Second Half: He was short on a wing three. He missed a corner three. He was way short on a wing three.
Barnes -- -- Phil got to see what would happen if Artest picked up early foul trouble and we had to go to our bench against LeBron. Barnes held his own okay in the first half on the defensive end. They just couldn't score on the other end with any consistency. When the team is getting good post play, Barnes cutting and off-ball movement is usually rewarded. The team didn't get any of that with Pau at the C spot in that first quarter and struggled badly. Later in the game, Phil put Kobe on LeBron and Barnes on Wade. Might be interesting to see that earlier when the intensity of the battle was still there to truly test it. It was interesting that you rarely saw LeBron bulldozing his way to the hoop in this game. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and 1 foul in 16 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: Nice challenge on James on one end, but he missed a layup on the other. He powered up a layup off the Pau miss. He missed a corner three. Second Half: He missed a baseline throwdown.
Brown -- -- With the rest of the bench floundering, it seemed anything Shannon did positive was just to keep the team afloat. The second unit really lacked the life they usually bring. That may be because they essentially lost Barnes out of the Killer B's with Ron's foul trouble and Phil's rotations. Or it could be just too much suckage as a team on both ends. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-9 shooting (1-3 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He was called for a charge on the baseline handoff. Way short on an elbow jumper. He cut baseline from the weakside, took the pass from the Kobe post for a reverse. Second Half: He threw up a 6-footer but it went 4 feet, airball. We got it back and he hit a sideline jumper. He missed a sideline three with Spo clapping and yelling at him. He sank a tech FT. He drained a wing three. He missed a wing three. He missed a drive. He drew FTs in garbage time, he made both. He missed a pull-up jumper from the wing.
Walton -- -- Phil brought him in for some garbage time run. He ended up with the team high on the +/- again...clearly because of his on-court presence. The Stats: He didn't score in 2 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Late garbage time run. Nothing to report.
Phil -- -- Typically, Phil won't show everything to a team he might see again in the Finals. However, having Bynum on the bench and working back into shape probably gives the Lakers a different look regardless of what Phil might hold back... Phil had to sit Artest for Barnes just a couple minutes into the game when Ron was whistled for two fouls... The Lakers trailed 17-10 on a 13-2 run from the Heat... Phil brought in Bynum with 3 minutes left, down 7. The Lakers were 4-20 at this point... The Lakers trailed 20-14 after the first, shooting just 6-25. Pau was 0-7, Kobe 0-4... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Kobe, Brown, Blake unit. Phil not using Barnes like he usually does in this rotation with LeBron out and Ron with foul issues... Down 10, Phil sat Bynum for Pau... Artest finally returned midway through the second quarter along with Fisher... With Pau not scoring in the first 18 minutes, Phil ran a play for him out of a timeout. They setup a ball-reverse and quick post entry for him to go to work with low position and score. Moving the ball from one side to another is key in this offense... The Lakers trailed 47-38 at the half. The Lakers shot 36 percent (16-44, 2-8 from three, 4-6 from the line). The Heat shot 43 percent (18-42, 5-11 from three, 6-8 from the line)... After falling back by 16, the Lakers trimmed the lead to 11 working the Kobe/Pau two-man game and forcing a timeout... Phil sat Kobe out of that timeout with 3 minutes left (taking his foot off the gas) and brought in Bynum, Brown and Blake. Going with the Bynum/Pau bigman duo... The Lakers trailed 75-64 heading into the fourth... Phil torpedoed the fourth-quarter interview by answering the reporter's questions with a "we need to score more on offense and hold them to less on defense" type of quote... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Kobe, Brown, Blake unit. Kobe went back to work on the two-man game... Out of a timeout, the Lakers had back-to-back turnovers and trailed by 17... Phil switched Kobe onto LeBron with Barnes on Wade... The turnovers out of that timeout above were the nail in the coffin... The Lakers scored just 4 points off of 10 Heat turnovers. The heat scored 13 points off of 12 Laker turnovers... Phil on the day: "You have to sit three and half, four hours, right? Televisted game. You get hemorrhoids sitting there long enough."
I agree with Kobe. The NBA should give all bball fans a gift and not schedule the Lakers on Christmas any more. Maybe have them on the road so they can focus better because the last 2 vs LBJ have been real stinkers.
It's really worrysome that the Lakers have 2 blowout losses in a row at home. The starters have been listless and/or bored. If the bench can't supply the energy to amp up the team, the result is one of these games.
I agree with Kobe. The NBA should give all bball fans a gift and not schedule the Lakers on Christmas any more. Maybe have them on the road so they can focus better because the last 2 vs LBJ have been real stinkers.
They're giving other team's fans a big gift. Just not Laker fans.
I think the identity of this years team has been cast. That identity is Entitled. No way these guys are working hard and fighting for each other. It's really too bad. _________________ Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.
I didn't watch much of the game, save for a few minutes here and there in the second half. Given your description, it sounds like the vignettes were consistent with an overall pattern of low energy and indifference...
The defense was absolutely abysmal. The Lakers were porous on pick-and-rolls and Pau for some inexplicable reason kept giving Z wide-open looks after Z got hot on that midrange jumper. On offense there was very little ball or player movement... except for LO who is really playing like he gives a damn.
I wasn't surprised they lost because they haven't been playing well. Kobe looks like he's over the hill. Maybe he rested too long last summer. I hope he can get his athleticism back before it's too late.
I wonder if Pau is still slugging it out through that wall he hit, or does he have some other health issue? I think he rested too long last summer and should have done some maintenance weight lifting. He looks like the 2008 charmin version.
The refs always screw the Laker's when they play against Lebron, it's like clockwork.
Joined: 17 Sep 2008 Posts: 21089 Location: In a white room, with black curtains near the station
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 10:08 am Post subject:
Thanks DB. I didn't watch the game. Thanks for enduring it and reporting the results. As always, a top-notch recap. I hope you were able to enjoy Christmas regardless of how this game played out. I also think it's about time Ebenezer Stern gives the Lakers a break on Christmas.
I think the identity of this years team has been cast. That identity is Entitled. No way these guys are working hard and fighting for each other. It's really too bad.
Not to bicker, but of course "entitlement" is a problem. It's why teams don't repeat let alone threepeat. They have to fight through that, other teams don't. But I don't think it's been cast yet at all...last year they only really found themselves when they had their back up against the wall against the Thunder in the first round. They slumped their way into the playoffs.
Thanks DB. I didn't watch the game. Thanks for enduring it and reporting the results. As always, a top-notch recap. I hope you were able to enjoy Christmas regardless of how this game played out. I also think it's about time Ebenezer Stern gives the Lakers a break on Christmas.
Definitely enjoyed Christmas. Even the Christmas dinner that came right after the Laker loss. Been here too many times to let it affect my day with the family.
Portland in 00 (Won championship in 2001 June)
Kings in 02 (Lost to Spurs in May 2003)
Rockets in 03 (Won the West, beat the Rockets in 2004 playoffs, lost in Finals)
Heat in 04, 05 (Were a lottery team one year, a 7th seed the other)
Cavs in 09 (Won Ring in 2010 June)
Looking back, the Lakers have lost to Portland, Sacto, Houston, Miami (thrice) and Cleveland on Christmas. Yet not even once have the Lakers actually lost to those teams in the playoffs that year. In 2 of those years they won rings (2001, 2010) and in another year they won the West (2004).
Really X-mas games mean very little.
But I am concerned about our D on the perimeter. Is it age or motivation or a combo of both? We've let Nash/Richardson kill us. We're having issues with defending the perimeter teams more than the teams with big guys inside. Looking at our losses ....
Portland in 00 (Won championship in 2001 June)
Kings in 02 (Lost to Spurs in May 2003)
Rockets in 03 (Won the West, beat the Rockets in 2004 playoffs, lost in Finals)
Heat in 04, 05 (Were a lottery team one year, a 7th seed the other)
Cavs in 09 (Won Ring in 2010 June)
Looking back, the Lakers have lost to Portland, Sacto, Houston, Miami (thrice) and Cleveland on Christmas. Yet not even once have the Lakers actually lost to those teams in the playoffs that year. In 2 of those years they won rings (2001, 2010) and in another year they won the West (2004).
Really X-mas games mean very little.
But I am concerned about our D on the perimeter. Is it age or motivation or a combo of both? We've let Nash/Richardson kill us. We're having issues with defending the perimeter teams more than the teams with big guys inside. Looking at our losses ....
Milwaukee - Pau 6/12, 15 pts. While Bogut was 7/9 for 15 pts. 8 of those in the 1st quarter.
Miami - 8/17, 17 pts. Just flat out neutralized by Ilguaskus.
When Pau fails to deliver (and I don't consider him shooting 50% fga delivering) we pretty much become the 2007 Lakers. The triangle falls apart.
Also with Pau at the 5, he often lets his guy get whatever post position he wants. Which drives me insane. With the way our team always doubles the post it makes it harder to recover. When Drew is playing he will try and push his guy out further away from the hoop (think back to the Milwaukee game when Drew came in and Bogut tried posting him up).
The perimeter defense does need to improve but a lot of it is tied to us missing our twin tower lineup. When both 7 footers are playing our perimeter players are not required to help as much against penetration.
Phil just needs to get back to playing them together.
Joined: 13 Jan 2002 Posts: 7927 Location: Lake Forest
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 9:04 pm Post subject:
DancingBarry wrote:
TooMuchMajicBuss wrote:
Thanks DB. I didn't watch the game. Thanks for enduring it and reporting the results. As always, a top-notch recap. I hope you were able to enjoy Christmas regardless of how this game played out. I also think it's about time Ebenezer Stern gives the Lakers a break on Christmas.
Definitely enjoyed Christmas. Even the Christmas dinner that came right after the Laker loss. Been here too many times to let it affect my day with the family.
Didn't ruin my fun. If the Lakers don't give a "care," why should I?
Portland in 00 (Won championship in 2001 June)
Kings in 02 (Lost to Spurs in May 2003)
Rockets in 03 (Won the West, beat the Rockets in 2004 playoffs, lost in Finals)
Heat in 04, 05 (Were a lottery team one year, a 7th seed the other)
Cavs in 09 (Won Ring in 2010 June)
Looking back, the Lakers have lost to Portland, Sacto, Houston, Miami (thrice) and Cleveland on Christmas. Yet not even once have the Lakers actually lost to those teams in the playoffs that year. In 2 of those years they won rings (2001, 2010) and in another year they won the West (2004).
Really X-mas games mean very little.
But I am concerned about our D on the perimeter. Is it age or motivation or a combo of both? We've let Nash/Richardson kill us. We're having issues with defending the perimeter teams more than the teams with big guys inside. Looking at our losses ....
Milwaukee - Pau 6/12, 15 pts. While Bogut was 7/9 for 15 pts. 8 of those in the 1st quarter.
Miami - 8/17, 17 pts. Just flat out neutralized by Ilguaskus.
When Pau fails to deliver (and I don't consider him shooting 50% fga delivering) we pretty much become the 2007 Lakers. The triangle falls apart.
Also with Pau at the 5, he often lets his guy get whatever post position he wants. Which drives me insane. With the way our team always doubles the post it makes it harder to recover. When Drew is playing he will try and push his guy out further away from the hoop (think back to the Milwaukee game when Drew came in and Bogut tried posting him up).
The perimeter defense does need to improve but a lot of it is tied to us missing our twin tower lineup. When both 7 footers are playing our perimeter players are not required to help as much against penetration.
Phil just needs to get back to playing them together.
I don't know why it drives you insane. Pau has always been like that, unfortunately. I have seen it from the days he was in Memphis.
I think Phil, just like you, is anxious to get Bynum back to start. However, in his condition right now, he doesn't help much either. He can provide good 15min also, and that's it. I think we all have to wait around 1month or so.
Portland in 00 (Won championship in 2001 June)
Kings in 02 (Lost to Spurs in May 2003)
Rockets in 03 (Won the West, beat the Rockets in 2004 playoffs, lost in Finals)
Heat in 04, 05 (Were a lottery team one year, a 7th seed the other)
Cavs in 09 (Won Ring in 2010 June)
Looking back, the Lakers have lost to Portland, Sacto, Houston, Miami (thrice) and Cleveland on Christmas. Yet not even once have the Lakers actually lost to those teams in the playoffs that year. In 2 of those years they won rings (2001, 2010) and in another year they won the West (2004).
Really X-mas games mean very little.
But I am concerned about our D on the perimeter. Is it age or motivation or a combo of both? We've let Nash/Richardson kill us. We're having issues with defending the perimeter teams more than the teams with big guys inside. Looking at our losses ....
Milwaukee - Pau 6/12, 15 pts. While Bogut was 7/9 for 15 pts. 8 of those in the 1st quarter.
Miami - 8/17, 17 pts. Just flat out neutralized by Ilguaskus.
When Pau fails to deliver (and I don't consider him shooting 50% fga delivering) we pretty much become the 2007 Lakers. The triangle falls apart.
Also with Pau at the 5, he often lets his guy get whatever post position he wants. Which drives me insane. With the way our team always doubles the post it makes it harder to recover. When Drew is playing he will try and push his guy out further away from the hoop (think back to the Milwaukee game when Drew came in and Bogut tried posting him up).
The perimeter defense does need to improve but a lot of it is tied to us missing our twin tower lineup. When both 7 footers are playing our perimeter players are not required to help as much against penetration.
Phil just needs to get back to playing them together.
Pau isn't fighting through things right now. He's not competing. Which is fine, when you stop to consider they're in year 4 of 3 straight deep runs into June. Pau has never been the picture of perfection as far as competitive nature goes, so he's naturally going to be quick to lay down when the stakes don't warrant the level of "fight" needed to procure a win. It's precisely why LA lost both games to Cleveland last year - Pau didn't feel it really necessary to "fight" for a regular season win that Cleveland was playing like a championship bout.
Pau will be fine once the games matter. Only time he will even consider fighting through fatigue is games against Boston, because he knows they're the only team that has his number even when he WANTS to fight for the W. _________________ Stephon Marbury on Kobe: "He's the only person on 'dis earth that can do 'dat. He guards people, like shuts 'em down. Then, to do 'dat on 'da offensive end. It's like 'Damn, I can't score on him AND he about to bust my ass."
Joined: 17 Jun 2010 Posts: 724 Location: The Shadows
Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 2:09 pm Post subject:
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December 25, 2010. Millions of people were watching. Millions of people were waiting for a "Lakers and Heat Clash In Thriller" or "Kobe and LeBron Goin' Hard" headline after the game. But what the people of Los Angeles got was "Heat Blowout On Christmas Day". The Lakers were tired and not put together. The Lakers play the Number One Seed in the Western Conference on December 28, 2010. They will have to get back up, and get back to that championship team that beat the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Finals. The loss on Christmas Day was hard for the fans of Los Angeles. But we cannot lose hope in our team. Kobe and the Lakers were "Burned"...
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-- "I think these games mean more to our opponent than they do us," he said. "I think we need to get that straight. I think we need to play with more focus and put more importance on these games. I don't like it." Frustrating day for Kobe. He attacked early and often, taking contact on most of his drives and not getting any whistles. He eventually picked up a tech - his third in the past two games. If this was home court advantage, I'd hate to see what it looks like in Miami. Kobe drew doubles throughout the game, whether it was in the post or running the two-man game. That was really the only consistent thing that worked for the Lakers. Their bigmen/post game was missing in action. Defensively, he and his bigmen struggled with the DWade screen-roll D. Phil later tested Kobe against LeBron. The two exchanged a few words at one point. Not sure what was said, but Kobe has been here against LeBron in the past. All that matters is who is where in June. 
-- He struggled offensively against Z in the post early on and got worked on the jumpers on the other end. This is ultimately where the Lakers lost this game offensively. Their inability to get their bigmen going and use their size to their advantage cost them. Neither Z nor Bosh had to play any real defense. You have to work the body in the paint to not only prevent run-outs from long shots, but soften the interior. Pau started the game 0-7 (the Lakers one-two punch was 0-11 in the first quarter when the Lakers dug their hole). The Lakers need to establish the post and work off it. Move the ball, set screens, cut off the ball -- none of that was happening -- and the offense suffered. At some point, games like this will be what puts Bynum in the starting unit...not what Lamar is or isn't doing. 
-- Despite a couple of dunks for the Lakers first two scores, Lamar was another of several to be frustrated with the lack of calls. At least he seemed to play through it. It would have helped, too, had he made his FTs. He did a good job offensively attacking the lanes. It sure seemed there was a lot of room to do that, but too few capable Lakers. Defensively, Bosh had 18 points in the first half. Lamar let him get some easy ones and was scrambling to help on others. Hard to fault him on the scrambling plays when the D gets broken down, but the layups on iso D aren't what you want to see. 
-- Ron ended the game with a +2. Really, this is the result of the Lakers losing ground to the Heat right after he sat with two quick fouls to start the game. They never recovered from that hole. So while he was good on the +/-, it was because he had to sit with fouls and was in part to blame for some of those problems. He took issue with one of the fouls and certainly the Lakers weren't getting those calls on the other end. Later in the game, he and LeBron got tied up under the hoop and they earned a double tech. Tough night for anyone when LeBron goes 5-6 from three. Offensively, Ron hit both of his threes, but struggled with some finishes at the rim (one of them should have been a foul on Wade). Some of his best sequences were making the D pay for overplaying the Kobe/Pau two-man game. Ron would put pressure on the D and make the pass for a score. After the game, Ron gave away his championship ring to a fan for his fundraiser. Well done. 
-- A more respectable game from Fish than the last outing. Hard not to be. Arroyo and Chalmers weren't doing much of anything, nor are they the threats in this offense, so you can't heap blame on Fish's back when he was putting in effort on help D, rotating and battling on that end. 
-- For the Lakers to have real success against the Heat, the bigmen have to impose their games. Bynum got some of the rare post scores in this game, but there were too few to make an impact. They need that impact Bynum against this Heat squad. Otherwise, the Heat will have too much advantage by attacking Drew on the screen-roll on the other end (which they did often). They also need Drew in the paint controlling the boards and getting the Lakers second chances. That wasn't happening much either. Pau struggled against the size and contact that the refs were letting go at the C spot to start the game. It seems inevitable that Drew will work his way back into the starting spot just because of that. Phil played the two just a couple of minutes together. 
-- He picked the wrong game to shoot blanks. Blake took all of his five attempts from the three line and couldn't find the target. Just hitting two or three of those three's makes this a different game. Again, the team didn't face much from the opposing PG on the defensive end. Would have been nice to win the battle at that position today. 
-- Phil got to see what would happen if Artest picked up early foul trouble and we had to go to our bench against LeBron. Barnes held his own okay in the first half on the defensive end. They just couldn't score on the other end with any consistency. When the team is getting good post play, Barnes cutting and off-ball movement is usually rewarded. The team didn't get any of that with Pau at the C spot in that first quarter and struggled badly. Later in the game, Phil put Kobe on LeBron and Barnes on Wade. Might be interesting to see that earlier when the intensity of the battle was still there to truly test it. It was interesting that you rarely saw LeBron bulldozing his way to the hoop in this game. 
-- With the rest of the bench floundering, it seemed anything Shannon did positive was just to keep the team afloat. The second unit really lacked the life they usually bring. That may be because they essentially lost Barnes out of the Killer B's with Ron's foul trouble and Phil's rotations. Or it could be just too much suckage as a team on both ends. 
-- Phil brought him in for some garbage time run. He ended up with the team high on the +/- again...clearly because of his on-court presence. 
-- Typically, Phil won't show everything to a team he might see again in the Finals. However, having Bynum on the bench and working back into shape probably gives the Lakers a different look regardless of what Phil might hold back... Phil had to sit Artest for Barnes just a couple minutes into the game when Ron was whistled for two fouls... The Lakers trailed 17-10 on a 13-2 run from the Heat... Phil brought in Bynum with 3 minutes left, down 7. The Lakers were 4-20 at this point... The Lakers trailed 20-14 after the first, shooting just 6-25. Pau was 0-7, Kobe 0-4... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Kobe, Brown, Blake unit. Phil not using Barnes like he usually does in this rotation with LeBron out and Ron with foul issues... Down 10, Phil sat Bynum for Pau... Artest finally returned midway through the second quarter along with Fisher... With Pau not scoring in the first 18 minutes, Phil ran a play for him out of a timeout. They setup a ball-reverse and quick post entry for him to go to work with low position and score. Moving the ball from one side to another is key in this offense... The Lakers trailed 47-38 at the half. The Lakers shot 36 percent (16-44, 2-8 from three, 4-6 from the line). The Heat shot 43 percent (18-42, 5-11 from three, 6-8 from the line)... After falling back by 16, the Lakers trimmed the lead to 11 working the Kobe/Pau two-man game and forcing a timeout... Phil sat Kobe out of that timeout with 3 minutes left (taking his foot off the gas) and brought in Bynum, Brown and Blake. Going with the Bynum/Pau bigman duo... The Lakers trailed 75-64 heading into the fourth... Phil torpedoed the fourth-quarter interview by answering the reporter's questions with a "we need to score more on offense and hold them to less on defense" type of quote... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Kobe, Brown, Blake unit. Kobe went back to work on the two-man game... Out of a timeout, the Lakers had back-to-back turnovers and trailed by 17... Phil switched Kobe onto LeBron with Barnes on Wade... The turnovers out of that timeout above were the nail in the coffin... The Lakers scored just 4 points off of 10 Heat turnovers. The heat scored 13 points off of 12 Laker turnovers... Phil on the day: "You have to sit three and half, four hours, right? Televisted game. You get hemorrhoids sitting there long enough."
