LAKERS -at- SPURS - 12/28 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Drought Continues... “Teamwork is a nebulous thing. It is as ephemeral as love, disappearing at the latest insult.” -- Phil Jackson, The Last Season.

Just 79 points against the Bucks, 80 points against the Heat and now 82 points against the Spurs. The Lakers offense has ground to a near halt in the past three games, and with it has come three straight blowout losses and a lot of finger pointing.

Since Kobe injured one of his fingers, he's averaged 16 points per game. The Lakers are missing his extra 10 points per game and can't seem to make it up elsewhere.

Kobe certainly tried (too hard, sometimes) to get those extra 10 points back tonight. He started off aggressive, making 8 of the Lakers first 10 points. Then, he missed 13 straight shots, going 4-22 the rest of the game.

He's been harsh with his teammates after the worst back-to-back home losses since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles. Now others are getting harsh with him.

"He also has to back it up with action," James Worthy said of Kobe during post-game show. "He's not doing the job offensively, defensively -- no where on the court is this team in sync."

The harshest words came from Phil. He didn't mind Kobe coming out aggressive and trying to set the tone, but he wanted him to back off after that. Phil tried to avoid making a strong statement in the press until someone asked what Kobe's teammates might have thought of his game today.

"If I was playing, I probably wouldn't pass him the ball next time," Phil said.

With Kobe misfiring, the other Laker guards didn't do any better -- the backcourt shot a combined 11-47, while the Laker frontcourt shot 18-35. It's not quite as simple as dumping the ball in the post since the defense swarms them. But better ball movement from weak to strong, more cutting, more screens and more inside-out sequences will make the game a lot easier.

How bad have things gotten? The Lakers had more turnovers than assists and shot just 35 percent tonight. All of this offensive ineptitude has resulted in the Lakers losing 11 of the last 12 quarters.

The teamwork has disappeared.


Kobe -- -- “I couldn’t put the ball in the basket and it snowballed from there. It’s my responsibility to make ’em." Since he hit injured that pinky finger, Kobe has struggled badly. His points per game has dropped significantly since that injury and he's generally looked like a "normal" ball player. That's not Kobe and it's not how he played earlier this season. In the last five games, he's averaged just 16 points since that injury. Is it any wonder the Lakers offense is misfiring? Kobe came out in this game in super-aggressive mode. He hit his first few shots, then turned the ball over on multiple straight possessions and the Lakers fell into a hole early. Kobe would miss 13 straight shots at one point. In the fourth, his frustration grew when he was clearly fouled on a couple of misses without a call. He finally got his first FTs of the game with 4 minutes left. He's picked up four techs in the past three games where the Lakers have barely cracked 80 points a game. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-27 shooting (3-7 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He sank a face-up bank from the right side. No hand up on Jefferson and he gave up a three. He drained a 19-footer straight away on the second possession. He missed a wing jumper, we got it back and he sank a turnaround in the paint over two defenders. Nice battle on the glass on one end, he then somehow made a hanging jumper on iso just before hitting the floor on the other end. He missed an early offense wing three on the next possession. He missed an elbow fallaway the next time down court. He was stripped on the wing. He was stripped by Manu again on iso. He was stripped next time down on a drive (third straight turnover). He was called for an offensive foul away from the ball a couple possessions later. His lob pass to Lamar was off the mark on the next possession. He missed a short baseline jumper out of a timeout. He missed a fallaway bank on the next trip. He had 8 points on 4-10 shooting and 3 turnovers in the first. He kicked to Pau for a jumper. He drew a double tech on a scrum with Hill under the hoop (fourth T in three games). He missed a layup right at the front of the rim. He missed a three with the shotclock low. He missed a quick-fire baseline jumper on the inbounds. He was called for a travel when he lost the ball and dribbled again (looked like he was hit with no call to lose the ball). He had 8 points on 4-14 shooting and 4 turnovers. Second Half: He missed a step-back jumper on the first possession. He missed a turnaround from the elbow. He bullied his way to the hoop, drew a crowd and set up Lamar for FTs. He missed a bank on iso. He was picked by Blair (yes, Blair) for a break the other way. He missed a long wing jumper (13th straight miss), then fouled on the other end. He finally swished a wide open catch-and-shoot three, first make since forever. After a rest, he sank a swing through wing jumper. He drained a catch-and-shoot three straight away. He sank a pull-up wing three next time down (that's an automatic shot after he makes that other one). He missed a wing jumper on the next possession, getting hit with no call. He missed a long wing three. He missed a corner three. He was stripped on a drive and wanted the foul (he was hacked badly, not getting much love in the past couple games). Finally, he got to the line for the first time with less than 4 minutes left (wow), he made both FTs. He attacked the rim and missed in a crowd (looking frustrated again with the no calls).

Gasol -- -- Pau's note section here is too small. If you look at the length of Kobe's notes (especially that first quarter) and compare it to others, it's just too much from him even if he was able to hit shots. When the game notes are this lopsided, the offense is usually out of sync. Too much from Kobe, too little from Pau. The offense sputtered as a result. "Anytime Kobe taking the number of shots he had and pressing a little bit, Pau kind of got out of the offense because of that," Phil said. While the Laker bigs did a great job against Tim Duncan, who had just 2 points, they didn't exactly take advantage with just 9 points from Pau. "Pau had one shot," Phil said of the Laker third quarter where they lost the lead again. "I can't remember any other shots he had in that quarter." The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-8 shooting to go with 9 boards, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 34 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He missed a lefty jumphook on iso. He attacked down the middle of the lane and scored over Duncan. He tapped out an Artest miss, Ron got it and scored a layup on the drive. He missed over Bonner (got to own that match up). He blocked Splitter under the hoop. He was swatted on a jumphook. He sealed Splitter excellently in transition and drew a foul on the post entry (and Splitter's third). He over-powered Blair in the post for an easy And-1 layup, he made the FT. He drained an open jumper on the Kobe drive and dish. He swatted Duncan on iso. He cut, took the Kobe pass and was hacked, he made both FTs. He had 9 points on 3-6 shooting, 6 boards and 4 assists. Second Half: He missed a face-up jumper with the shotclock low. He bricked a FT jumper. His bounce pass to Lamar was stolen.

Lamar -- -- Sure would have liked to see Lamar working the post a little more against the Spurs. And anytime Bonner is on the court, you have got to attack that. The Lakers did a poor job of taking advantage of their bigmen. Lamar's offense basically came from jumpers. No push outs, no driving layups (although he tried a couple), no post ups. Phil benched Lamar early in the second half for giving up an offensive board and then throwing the ball away on the other end. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-9 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He grabbed a Kobe miss and it led to a Kobe hoop a few seconds later. He swished a three with Bonner sagging way off him. He drained a top-of-the-key jumper with Blair sagging off him. He missed a step-back jumper on iso against Duncan. He had 7 points on 3-5 shooting. Second Half: Kobe found him with an interior feed for FTs, he made both. He gave up a putback to Blair. Horrible post entry on the other end to turn it over (Phil benched him on that sequence). He attacked to his left and missed a layup. He missed a layup, got it back and missed the short jumper. He missed a three in early offense.

Artest -- -- While his production was much better, there was a point in the game where the Spurs were sagging off him and the Ron didn't make them pay. The Lakers were playing perimeter ball and not all that well. Ron did a good job not second-guessing or hesitating. He had only one real off-balance shot, the other were good set and shoot type of looks. He also got the rim for a layups. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-9 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 1 boards, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He bullied his way past Jefferson for a layup. He missed an elbow jumper, it was tapped back out and he attacked the rim for a layup. Nice, hard foul on Parker going for the ball in transition. He drained a catch-and-shoot wing three. He swiped a kickout on help D. He had 5 points on 2-3 shooting. Second Half: He jumped a passing lane and took it the distance for a layup. He missed a wing three. He was tapped on another three. He missed another open three (got to make your man pay). He sank a three in transition. He missed a fading wing jumper badly.

Fisher -- -- Fish had a team-low -21. Parker got the Spurs going with 10 points against Fish in the first quarter. The Lakers won't get that from their PG spot. Right now, they need a penetrating guard to pick up the slack for Kobe. That's not Fish's skill set. Fish picked up a tech in this game after getting shoved to the floor with no call. He went after Jefferson and had some words to get the T. Then, he had a discussion with the refs which probably went something along the lines of "if you would make the damn call, I wouldn't have to do this." On the very next play, the ref whistled Fish for a bogus offensive foul. That foul had nothing to do with the action and everything to do with wanting to get back at Fisher. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He stripped Manu to start the game. He was hit on a 21-footer with no call, but he made it anyway. He short-armed a baseline jumper, dunk the other way. He lowered his shoulder on a drive and was called for the charge. He bricked badly on a pull-up bank in transition. Second Half: He cut, took the pass and dumped it off to Bynum for the dunk. He was hit on a jumper with no call. Then in transition, he was shoved to the floor with no call and Jefferson scored a layup off it (DFish ran right at Jefferson and had words with him, drawing a tech...and, really, trying to draw attention to the no call). He was then called for an offensive foul (bogus call right after that).

Bynum -- -- "As a collective unit out there we kind of start pointing fingers a little bit," Bynum said. "So we got to really stay inside of the system, and look to attack teams and use the mismatches and look to the advantages." In center speak -- get the ball to the bigs when they've got smaller defenders on them. Bit by bit, Bynum's game is starting to return. He was a load for the Spurs when he got the ball and didn't miss on his four attempts. He did, however, clank badly from the line. He had four straight misses to start the fourth. That hurt. Defensively, some very good challenges in the paint, but also a better job getting out to jump shooters. Phil ran a lot more Pau/Bynum in this game. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-4 shooting (2-8 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He drop-stepped Splitter and powered in a layup. Hard foul on Splitter when he had to deny dribble penetration and recover to him. He was hammered on a dunk attempt set up by Blake, he made one FT. He kicked out to Brown for a three. He overpowered Duncan to take away an offensive board and earn FTs, he made one. Second Half: He slammed on the dump off from Fish. He sank a jumphook over Duncan. He overpowered Blair at the front of the rim for an easy layup. Great close out on a three to get a miss. He was fouled on a high entry at the rim from Blake for FTs, he missed both. He blocked Manu's drive. He couldn't finish an And-1 layup off an offensive board, he then missed both FTs again, arrgh.

Blake -- -- He needs to get more aggressive with his playmaking to get the bigmen involved. Kobe has been struggling. Shannon doesn't have the playmaker skills. Blake can work the two-man sequences (screen rolls, pinch posts) and get the ball moving. He did a good job looking for Drew and that helped get Bynum to the line (and the team in some early bonus shooting). You wouldn't think anyone on this team had a good +/-, but looking at the PG spot in this game you see a big difference. Fish was a -21 and Blake was a +6. Pretty big difference and it just shows how ineffective the Fish/Kobe backcourt was tonight. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 (0-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He missed a wing three on a kickout. He attacked and bounced to Bynum for FTs as Drew tried to dunk. He threw a pass into Bynum's shins, turnover. He swished a wing jumper off the pinch post with Pau. He hit Ron for a wing three. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He hit Bynum with the high pass at the rim for FTs. He was tapped on a short jumper. He missed a tough corner jumper trying to create with the shotclock low.

Barnes -- -- The Lakers did a pretty good job on Manu in this game. He only scored 9 points on 3-12 shooting. Barnes looked like a good match up with his length and athleticism against Manu when the two went head to head. This was one of the few bright spots and takeaways. Offensively, Barnes did his thing. He sank a three and created some other points at the rim out of the offense. The Laker SF spot (not counting the brief time Kobe spent there) scored 19 points on 7-13 shooting, making 3-6 from three. They didn't lose the game here. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-4 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He flashed to the FT line, faked Manu into the air badly and scored a layup. He drew FTs on a perimeter foul by Manu, he made both. He missed a runner just beating the buzzer. He swatted Blair. Second Half: Lazy pass, turnover and layup the other way. He cut from the weakside and scored a layup. Bad foul after rushing out, he then held his man from behind (just let your help D take care of it or make your man hit the jumper). He swished a wing three. No help on the screen roll for Barnes and Manu hit a three to get it right back.

Brown -- -- With Kobe struggling, Phil was looking for a lift from his bench. Brown wasn't the guy to provide it and the Lakers SG spot was miserable shooting all night. The backup guards shot a poor 2-16, ouch. Got to give the kid some credit for managing to lead the team in rebounding with 11 boards -- a new career high. It wasn't just off his own misses, though that helped, he was in on the defensive glass, as well. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-11 shooting (1-5 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 11 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 21 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He fumbled away a baseline pass. He missed a three with 12 on the shotclock and just about the same amount in the quarter (it led to a three the other way at the buzzer). He swished a wing three on a Bynum kickout. Out of control trying to push up the break, turnover. He bricked a runner in the paint. Second Half: Not close on an elbow pull-up jumper in early offense. He was stripped under the hoop on a drive. He was blocked on a three. His pass was picked off for a layup. He missed a layup. He missed a wing three.

Caracter -- -- Even DC managed to have his moments against the Spurs bigs. Heck, he can say he outscored Tim Duncan. It was garbage time run, but, hey, he'll take it. The Stats: He had 5 points on 1-1 shooting (3-3 from the line) to go with 1 board in 3 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He grabbed a miss by Shannon and powered in the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He sank a couple FTs off a loose ball foul.

Phil -- -- Kobe came out firing, then started turning the ball over in the first quarter. Phil called a timeout down 19-16 with 3:38 left. Parker had 10 points already... Phil brought in Bynum, Brown and Blake out of that timeout... A couple minutes later, he brought in Pau for Lamar and Barnes for Kobe. Interesting sub pattern that we haven't seen. Pau had Bonner on him. That match up should be exploited... The Lakers trailed 27-18, getting burned at the buzzer on poor clock management for a three that should have never happened. That capped off a 16-2 Spur run... Phil started a Bynum, Pau, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... The Lakers got the Spurs into the penalty with 9:27 left in the second quarter (fed their bigmen)... Down 1, Phil sat Bynum for Lamar at the 8:48 mark... He sat Barnes and Brown for Kobe and Artest with the score tied at 34-34... The Lakers finally won a quarter, 26-15, to take the halftime lead... They led 44-42 at the half. The Lakers shot 43.6 percent (17-39, 3-7 from three). The Spurs made 39 percent (17-44, 4-16 from three). The Lakers were out-rebounded 7-4 on the offensive glass. Duncan was scoreless in the first half on 0-5 shooting... Phil benched Lamar after 4 minutes after not boxing out on one end and throwing a pass away on the other... Phil called a timeout down 9 points after Fish was shoved and picked up a tech, then called for a BS offensive foul on the other end. He subbed out Kobe and Ron for Barnes and Brown... Phil went with a Bynum, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit down 9 with 3 minutes left... The Lakers were outscored 29-18 in the third, just like the first half... They trailed 71-62 to start the fourth... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... Down by 14 and not scoring after nearly 3 minutes, Phil called a timeout. Bynum went 0-4 from the line during this stretch, so they had opportunity... Phil sat Shannon for Kobe out of the timeout and brought in Pau for Bynum... Down 11, Phil went with Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Shannon and Fisher... Everything going the Spurs way to close the game with an easy victory... The Lakers had 15 assists and 16 turnovers...

[lounger]

Thanks DB...

[Lakersneuron]

Thanks DB. Sanity was appreciated. Lets hope we can get it together.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB. Looking forward to the next Laker win streak.

[LakersFan_73]

Man, we were pathetic tonight (again).

Thanks DB.

[magic_bryant]

You're always far too easy on Kobe. Call it like it is. He's been very average this year. For his standards, he's been very below par. Has yet to have a Kobe-like game.

He's D-O-N-E.

I'm sure he'll throw up a 35 point game against some bad team giving the believers reason to come out of the wood work, but 30 games into the season, he's yet to Kobe. I'd say it's time to make some serious changes to the roster.
_________________
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."

[A Mad Chinaman]

Looking forward to Kobe and Fish to lead the way with actions. Wondered what happened to the 2 man action, P&R and/or getting the ball into Pau/Drew with cutters.

Interesting that the undersized Blair was able to outrebound Pau and LO. Rebounds are often the result of effort. Blair doesn't have a greater skillset than Blair, so they were outworked.

Shannon made some bad "early clock" shots when he wasn't having a good shotting night. He did improve his oeverall skillset, but he is not yet at a level to have the consistent handles and shots against elite teams like the Spurs.

[limchrc]

thanks

[jmark]

[WestwoodOne]

DB

You are spot on when you point out that the team needs a penetrating guard. We had him but he plays for New Jersey now. We brought in tri PG Blake who shoots under 37% and won't drive to the basket. He is having one of his worse years. But, but, the guy can feed the post. LOL.

I don't think Blake deserves a smile because he does not give what the team needs: scoring and penetrating. A +/- of +6 does not mean jack when the the team lost by 15. When you match up against the scrubs of other teams you can get +6 every night.

[angrypuppy]

Thanks DB.

Props to MB, he watches the game with his eyes rather than heart.

Kobe is going to have to change the way he plays, and the way the starting unit plays with him. I think Phil would be wise to start increasing Blake and Barnes minutes with the starting unit as they'll be better complimentary players. Though there will be plenty of games ahead where Kobe will be a dominant scorer, he doesn't have the athleticism to do so on a consistent basis... which is an absolute necessity past the first playoff round.

I'd like to see Kobe become a facilitator-scorer, rather than a scorer-facilitator. The Laker front court (when healthy) is very talented and versatile; Kobe should look to get them involved in two man games and additional post entry passing. Balancing the scoring load would increase our overall scoring efficiency and keep defenses honest. Kobe as facilitator will keep defenses honest, and allow Kobe to pick his spots. Kobe is a damn smart player, but he is at the point in his career where he has to show the world his sense of the team game.

It was nothing less than remarkable that Kobe placed the loss on his shoulders. That's what you expect from a leader, and that acceptance of responsibility is the first step towards change. However I do expect more losses before the tensions elevate. At that point the team will be very receptive to change, which is the opportunity that perhaps Phil has been waiting for.

[RVCdesigns]

Thanks DB.

[oiboyz]

I like these detailed notes, better than any newspaper gives.

[mparker1945]

AS COBY GOES, SO GO THE LAKERS!!!

IF COBY IS PLAYING HURT--IT SHOWS!!!

TAKE HIM OUT NOW SO WE CAN HAVE HIM LATER AND HEALTHY!!!

HIS PLAY IS INFECTIOUS, BUT IT WORKS BOTH WAYS.

TAKE OUR LUMPS NOW NOT LATER WHEN IT REALLY COUNTS.

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[magic_bryant]

Blaming the finger..?

Really?
_________________
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."

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[magic_bryant]

I've had my concerns since the summer, but I was holding off proclaiming him done until around Christmas. As many reminded me, whenever Kobe's had knee surgery in the past, he's taken until mid-December to recover fully.

We're now staring January in the face without a Kobe Bryant sighting.
_________________
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."

[DancingBarry]

I still have images of Kobe getting stuffed by the rim 6 years ago while coming off the surgery. I do think it's very possible that recovery timetables for him in previous years versus now will be much, much slower due to age. And it does feel that anytime he does get a little injury of some type, his game drops off much more until he recovers and/or adjusts. He needs to play aggressive but smarter right now. He's certainly not doing the latter.

[A Mad Chinaman]

The skill that Kobe is always learning is how to accomplish what he wants with what he wants to do - WIN.

Michael Jordan, Magic and Kareem did the same thing.

[Cutheon]

Kobe's had more bounce in his step in the past few weeks (don't just think of the recent losing streak) and has, to me at least, looked a lot like Kobe albeit one who is conserving energy, playing less, and a little more banged up.

The reason we've yet to have a "Kobe-game" - though there have been some - is because he now is not only dealing with recovery, his finger is hurt again and don't deny he's had to grab at the splint a lot this season even before this most recent injury.

Kobe will be back soon. He's recovering nicely from surgery and he will adjust to his finger, especially once his pinky recovers from its latest injury.