TWOLVES -at- LAKERS - 3/18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Boom Goes the Bynumite... "They're getting ready for the playoffs," said an injured Michael Beasley afterward.

It wasn't the stellar play of the Lakers that prompted the comment. Midway through the fourth quarter, Beasley was flattened by Andrew Bynum. Both ended up in the locker rooms with the games still going on. Bynum got the ejection, Beasley got the worst of it.

And, somehow, Bynum once again became the story of the game, despite not dominating the night with his play.

The Lakers struggled through an injured Kobe and two teams very familiar with the nuances of the triangle offense. The result was, perhaps, inevitable. The TWolves fell for the 15th straight time to the Lakers, 106-98.

It's hard to say what Bynum's intentions were on the play. In truth, it seemed he was unable to challenge the shot so he took the hard foul. He was frustrated from a foul call and missed dunk on the previous offensive sequence. But there was also more subtext.

In the locker room at halftime, Phil tried to reel in some of the on-court jawing between Ron Artest and Beasley.

"There was some disrespectful things going on out there that will happen sometimes, and I think it upset Ron a little bit," Phil said. With that in mind, it doesn't seem surprising that Beasley ended up taking a hard foul later in the game.

The question is now whether Bynum will get suspended for the next game.


Kobe -- -- Painful to watch him tonight. He struggled with the injury and took a few more bumps and bruises during the game (including a head to the jaw in the second half). Kobe didn't start the second half after a sluggish start on both ends of the floor. Welsey Johnson went off while Kobe was shooting blanks and loose defensively. The rookie went for a career high 29 points. Still, Kobe came up big on a couple plays down the stretch before Phil subbed him out again in the final minute (after Kobe didn't get back in transition off a turnover). He didn't practice during the days off, trying to recover from the injury. The team seemed to be a funk as a result. Offensively, not only was he misfiring quite a bit, he wasn't running the offense much. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-17 shooting (2-5 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He missed a 19-footer with the shotclock low. He was blocked on a pull-up jumper. He jump passed to Pau under the hoop for a dunk. He missed a short turnaround. He was caught in the air and threw it away. He missed a wing three. He was blocked on a reverse. He was 0-5 in the first quarter. He probed and kicked to Blake for three. He lost the dribble, dunk the other way. He missed a wing pull-up jumper. He got caught in the air next time down, turnover and FTs the other way. He sank a wing three when Lamar kicked out to him. He rattled in a three on the next possession. He was stripped at the end of the half. He had 6 points on 2-8 shooting, 3 assists and 3 turnovers. Second Half: He kicked out Ron for a three. He missed a quick-fire three. He missed a wing jumper on iso next time down. He split a double and hit a pull up in the middle of the lane. He was fouled on a forced jumper from the wing, he made both FTs. He was ahead of the pack, took the pass and reversed (goaltend call, but Kobe actually hit rim first), he made the FT. He didn't hit rim on a three next time down, not running offense. He gave up an And-1 on a reach with the shotclock low, he got hit in the head in the process. He swished a face-up jumper on the other end. He missed a long three out of a timeout, poor shot selection. He worked off the high screen, shortened the dribble and hit pull-up jumper. He attacked off the high screen and drew FTs at the rim (rare attack like that in this one), he made one FT. He bricked a long jumper, but we got it back. He lost the ball (Phil said he was hacked) and didn't get back in transition D with 30 seconds left (somehow we dodged a layup and dunk).

Gasol -- -- Lakers will need Pau to help carry the offense while Kobe tries to get healthy. He did it at the beginning of the season. He stepped up tonight and seemed to be the one-thing really working with consistency on our offensive end (that got him a team-high +21 as a result). The difference between Pau having to carry the load at the beginning of the season and now is Andrew Bynum. He can do the heavy lifting and grunt work to save the wear on Pau. Of course, Pau may have to do both in the next one if Drew gets suspended. Hopefully, that won't be the case. Defensively, although Pau had a team-high 4 blocks, he still didn't have the presence that Drew Pau He did a solid job challenging shots, especially on the perimeter. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 12-17 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 4 blocks, 5 turnovers and 1 foul in 33 minutes. He was a +21. The Action: He grabbed an offensive board and slammed it back in on the Lakers first possession. He missed a freethrow line jumper. He missed a face-up jumper. He swatted Beasley's jumper. Double teamed and his pass to Ron went right to a defender. He coughed it up again on the next possession when doubled. He slammed off the Kobe jump pass under the hoop. He faced up and swished a 16-footer. He blocked Beasley's drive. He faked one way and hit the jumphook the other way away from the double team. He missed a baseline jumper. He had 8 points on 4-7 shooting. Horrible defensive position and he gave up a layup. He swung through, drew contact and banked in the And-1, he made the FT. He slammed off the interior feed from Lamar. He was stripped from behind. Great challenge, he then leaked out and ended up dunking on the counterstrike. He had 15 points on 7-10 shooting and 3 boards. Second Half: He scored a layup with his left in transition. Horrible outlet, turnover. He slammed on the breakaway when Fish found him. He swished an elbow jumper. He missed a wing jumper, short. He missed an 18-footer. He hit a short jumper off the bounce pass from Blake. He forced Johnson into an airball on a challenge. He swished a short jumper off the two-man game with Fish.

Bynum -- -- He got stuffed by the rim on a dunk attempt, not able to elevate, then called for an offensive foul. He seemed to take out his frustration on Beasley's drive on the other, delivering a hard foul that sent Beasley to the floor. That got Drew ejected. That may get him a suspension in the next one. Beasley was yapping a lot in this game. Not sure whether that had anything to do with it, but you never know. It looked more like Drew got caught in no man's land and just decided to take a foul. "I think he was making a good basketball play out of it," Rambis said of Bynum. Phil said the refs got the call right. Phil said it was either frustration or that "he just gave up on the block and didn't try for the ball." Beasley wouldn't return after that with a hip injury. "I love that foul," said Rick Mahorn on NBA TV. It was certainly some old school physicality. When Mahorn in on your side, that's probably not a good thing. Norm Nixon wasn't a fan of it in the post game commentary. Despite getting good numbers on the boards, Drew wasn't quite as quick to some balls or off the floor as he has been recently. There were several situations where you expected him to get to a ball but he didn't secure it. Might have been some fatigue, but there has also been some talk about swelling in his surgically repaired right knee. Phil is trying to pace him more. Offensively, despite having Love on him quite a bit, the Lakers didn't go after the match up much. Poor job feeding the post or going to counters when there was a lot of opportunity for inside-out possessions. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 14 boards (7 offensive), 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He was fouled on a dunk attempt, he made one FT. He took an offensive board behind Darko and put it back in. He grabbed an offensive board and it led to a Pau score. He swatted Love's shot under the hoop on the other end. He swatted Darko on iso D. He kept a Ron miss alive. He powered up a bank in the paint and wanted the And-1. He had 7 points, 7 boards and 1 block in the first quarter. He missed a jumphook (needed lower position). Quick outlet to Barnes after gathering a miss and it led to a Pau dunk. He overpowered Love with a strong pivot and power up and he scored an And-1 layup, he made the FT. He had 10 points on 4-5 shooting and 8 boards. Second Half: He drew a double and kicked out to Shannon for a three. Nice challenge on Darko's post-up to force a brick. No box out on Beasley on a switch and he gave up a putback dunk. Back-to-back post scores for Darko against Drew. He forced a shot across the lane, taking contact and no call. He then gave up FTs with a poor reach in the post. He swatted a drive. He got stuffed by the rim on a dunk, got it back and was called for a charge trying to power up. He drilled Beasley on a drive, sending him to the floor, flagrant-2...ejected.

Artest -- -- "Airballlll!" Ron was yelling at Beasley as they headed down court. The two of them were talking quite a bit throughout this game and Ron ended up with a T. Beasley later ended up with a T, a pancake on the hardwood and an injured hip courtesy of Drew. Not a terribly effective game from Ron. He had a stretch where he came up with a few steals in the first half. Offensively, the TWolves dared him to shoot. At one point, both he and Kobe combined for an 0-11 start. Ron was actually the first to break that slump, and the two shot a more respectable 8-15 after that. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-9 shooting (1-4 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He probed the lane and missed a layup. He got tapped on a sideline three. He stole the ball from Darko under the hoop and one-handed it to Drew for the dunk. He knocked the ball from Beasley to get a stop. He swiped a pass in the middle of the court and was fouled. He missed an off-balance three. He missed an early offense three straight away. He missed a wing jumper next time down. He was 0-5 in the first quarter. Tight on Beasley forcing an airball jumper. He missed a wing jumper. He curled down the lane and made a lefty layup. He then picked up a tech getting back defensively while yapping with Beasley. He attacked Beasley hard next time down and drew FTs, he made one. He had 3 points on 1-7 shooting and 3 steals. Second Half: He missed a bank, Beasley daring him to shoot. He overpassed under the hoop, turnover. He sank a wing three on the Kobe kickout. He overpowered Beasley on the offensive boards and was fouled, he made both FTs. He fouled on the offensive boards to give up FTs the other way. Next time down, he was called for an offensive foul while passing from the high post, weird call.

Fisher -- -- DFish had a Paul Sunderland "What did I just see?!!" moment on the breakaway when he scored a layup off a high-speed spin move. You can probably count the times he's done that in his career on one hand and still have a few digits left. Strong second half in this one. He had some timely boards, excellent passes and that offensive highlight play of the game. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He attacked and hit Drew for FTs. He drained a wing catch-and-shoot jumper. He drew a charge on Beasley in transition. He missed a bank (looked like he wanted to pass). He missed a three. He was way short on an FT jumper. Second Half: Great feed to Pau ahead of his man for a dunk. He drew a moving pick call on Love. Nice outlet to Lamar for FTs on the leak out. He grabbed the long board, pushed it up, spun in the paint and high speed and scored the layup. He set up Pau on the two-man game for a jumper. He grabbed a miss with 30 seconds left in transition D, he made one FT.

Lamar -- -- With under 3 minutes left, Lamar ignored Kobe coming to get the ball from him at Lamar brought the ball into the offensive end. Lamar rose up and drained a back-breaking three on the TWolves. For some reason, maybe it was the confidence he shot it with or the understanding that he was going for the kill, it didn't feel like bad shot selection. He then stuck it to the TWolves again on a baseline jumper with over a minute left. He and Kobe ended up being the one-two punch to close out the TWolves...and Lamar delivered the overhand lefts this time. Interesting reaction from both Lamar and Drew after that hard foul. Both just stared at Beasley as he scraped himself off the floor on the hard foul. Beasley didn't like it and picked up a tech, but Lamar and Drew had the old school intimidation thing going on. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-9 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards (4 offensive), 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: His pass in transition was picked off, dunk the other way. He missed a baseline jumper. He missed an open sideline three on a kickout. He hit an elbow jumper. He missed a jumper about a foot further from that same spot next tine down. He hit Pau with an interior feed for a dunk. He missed a short bank. He kept missed FT alive and it led to a Kobe three. He had 2 points on 1-5 shooting, 5 boards and 3 assists. Second Half: He was tapped on a wing jumper. He got tapped on a turnaround in the paint. He grabbed a Barnes miss, then fed him cutting for a score. He drew FTs on an outlet and made one. He waved off Kobe asking for the ball and hit a huge three with under 3 minutes left (confident shot, he was certainly tapped on both his previous two jumpers). He forced Love into a brick on the other end. He sank a baseline jumper with over a minute left.

Blake -- -- Superb game from the bench tonight. Lamar and all the Killer B's contributed something on both ends. Blake scored efficiently despite getting the rock late in the clock on a couple of his attempts. Mix in a few assists or the pass before the assist and you have a very strong offensive game again. Unfortunately, that may mean an 0-1 performance in the next game. Got to zero in on the offense and string the games together now. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-4 shooting (2-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: His shot was blocked right to Drew for a score. Hockey assist: he probed baseline, drew the D, hit Lamar, who then found Pau for the dunk. He drained a sideline three on the Kobe kickout. Second Half: He saved Kobe's dribbling down the clock by hitting a wing three when it was kicked to him with a couple seconds left. He hit Pau with a bounce pass for a short jumper. He stripped Flynn from behind to get a stop. With the clock low, he hit a pull-up, 21-footer on iso straight away. Quick outlet to Barnes for the And-1 layup. He made a tech FT.

Barnes -- -- This seemed to be more like the Barnes of old. He worked his way to a good chunk of garbage points getting out on the break, cutting off ball and getting to the line. He also mixed it up defensively, causing some turnovers that led to some counterattacks. He had a few sequences where he got burned, but the team played well when he was out there. He probably should have had more minutes, although they may be keeping them down as he recovers. This is the type of production off the bench that will win the Lakers some playoff games. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-8 shooting (0-2 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assists, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +11. The Action: He drained a wing catch-and-shoot jumper. He didn't hit rim on the breakaway layup brick. He knocked a ball loose from his man. He hit Pau on the break for the dunk. He swiped a pass under the hoop. He missed a three on the other end. Second Half: He cut across the lane, reversed directions after taking the pass and drew FTs getting hit on the head, he made both. He airballed a sideline three, then gave up a three on the other end. He scored an And-1 layup on the break, he made the FT. He missed a wing jumper, LO got it back, Barnes cut, LO hit him and Barnes scored the runner from the right side.

Brown -- -- Shannon led the Laker bench in points as they outscored the opposing bench 40-21. He started in the second half for Kobe and even closed the final 30 seconds for him. Strong game offensively, hitting good looks out of the offense. When he can catch-and-shoot of an inside-out possession, he's a much better shooter. Defensively, he gambled too much in the passing lanes, which isn't what you want when you are trying to cover a hot hand in Johnson. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-7 shooting (2-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 20 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He sank a baseline jumper. He forced his man into a turnover on the dribble. Quick step past his man, he drew the D and hit a teardrop over the help D. Horrible pass off the wing lob play out of a timeout, easily picked off (he's usually on the other end of that play). He dropped a kickout pass and missed a three, just beating the shotclock. He got it back, attacked and reversed. Second Half: He swished a wing three on the kickout from Bynum. He gambled for a steal and lost. He missed a pull-up off the dribble. He pushed out the break and hit Pau trailing for the layup. Another passing lane gamble, another score for his man. He drained a three on a kickout from Ron with the shotclock low. He was fouled in the backcourt and he made both FTs.

Phil -- -- The Lakers trailed 19-15 after an 8-0 Timberwolf run (Kobe was bricking). Phil called a timeout and went with a Bynum, Lamar, Artest, Brown Blake unit... The TWolves quickly extended it to a 14-0 run, Lakers trailing by 10. Phil sat Ron (bricking, too) for Barnes... The Lakers trailed 27-21 after the first quarter (Kobe and Ron were a combined 0-10 shooting in the quarter)... Phil started Pau, Lamar, Barnes, Brown and Blake... A 6-0 Laker run cut the lead down to 1... Down 37-32, Phil sat Lamar for Bynum and Shannon for Kobe... They tied it up with a 5-0 run... The Lakers trailed 51-49 at the half. The Lakers shot 44 percent (21-48, 3-10 from three and 4-6 from the line). The TWolves shot 43.5 percent (20-46, 4-10 from three, 7-7 from the line). The Lakers were out-rebounded 27-21... Phil started Shannon for Kobe in the second half... Down 62-61, Phil brought in Kobe for Shannon after 6 minutes... He sat Pau for Lamar with 3:27 in the third down 2... He brought back Pau for Bynum and Blake for Fish shortly later. That unit helped the Lakers to a small lead..."I guess I must have been talking to myself," BShaw said about the Lakers feeding the post. They struggled to get the ball inside... The Lakers led 78-74 heading into the fourth... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... The Lakers were in the penalty with 8:36 left in the quarter. This would cost them a few points... The score was tied 87-87 when Bynum couldn't finish a dunk on one end, then was called for a flagrant on the other end and was ejected... Out of that deadball, Phil sat Blake for Fish (Blake was playing well, turns out Fish was, too). Phil went with Pau, Lamar, Artest, Kobe, Fish. Wholesale changes midway through the quarter... They looked like they could lose ground here, trailing by 3, but dug in to grab a 2-point lead...They would close strong in the last 3 minutes as the TWolves fell apart in crunch time... The Lakers gave up 17 offensive boards. They made 8-19 from three, won the break, 15-10, and made 5 more FTs...

[dino]

1st!

db, think drew will be suspended?

[zephyr]

thanks db!

[LA1969]

Thanks for all you do, DB! Ugly win but I'll take it.
_________________
"Time wounds all heels". -John Lennon

[DancingBarry]

[Nobody]

Thanks DB!

Sloppy win, but with Chi, Dal and Bos all losing tonight I'll take sloppy.

Btw, while Kobe was horrendous defensively I think it's fair to point out that Wes Johnson scored at least 10 points (including that 8 straight - 2 threes and a jumpshot - on Blake) when he wasn't in the game. Still, 20 points by a rook on jumpshots because he didn't bother putting his hand up and fighting through screens is nothing to be proud of.

Great job by the bench, great game by Pau, again a solid outing by Drew, minus the needless elbow.

All in all, the W is all that counts and on to Sunday!

Go Lakers, get that 2nd overall seed!

[E=MC²]

Bad effort in this game but a W is a W. Just need to sweep this homestand.

[dino]

thanks db...

just saw the video of the foul, doesn't look good for drew...with the way Portland has been playing he would be nice to have available...

[Laker's Fan]

I'd like to see Bynum be a little more careful not to hurt guys and perhaps more importantly a little more subtle in delivering the hard foul. But there's a positive implication here.

Bynum has taken the charge of being the muscle under the rim. Players need to take note of him when crashing the boards the same way they did Oakley, Mourning and the like.

After watching highlights of Chucky 6-6 Hayes give Garnett the business and seeing Jordan Reggae Hill throw Baby Davis to the stands en route to a blowout win and I recall exactly what it was like having title aspirations and powder puff bigs.

Then think to how Pekovic and Love were summo wrestling tonight and how Beasley was running his mouth and it's not surprising wood was laid. Fisher gives you that at Guard, Ron gives you that at Wing, Bynum gives you that down low. It's better than powder puff.
_________________
Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.

[mhan00]

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[LakerFan1972]

[limchrc]

thanks

[JM]

[ChefLinda]

It's nice seeing the return of the Killer B's. It would be even nicer if they can continue this into the playoffs.

Thanks, DB.

[angrypuppy]

Thanks DB.

[Lurtz]

[RVCdesigns]

Wes " I am Michael Jordan in disguise" Johnson.

[Arbitrary]

Thanks DB!

[Klone_dd]

Drew needs to learn how to foul "more casually." Reckless hit that'll probably cost him a game.

Bench stepped up, along with Pau, when Kobe and RonRon were shooting blanks for the most part. Playing in all 82 games is a source of pride for Kobe. Hopefully his pride doesn't hamper the rest of his (and the team's) game. He didn't play in all 82 last year and the Lakers got the ring. He should've taken a game off against Minny.

I wonder what the Lakers winning % is when Fish hits a layup? I'd imagine it's pretty high. Sweet move by Fish.

[Tanlentueux]