CLIPPERS -at- LAKERS - 3/25 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Old School in Session... Who are these Lakers? High-scoring games. Hard fouls. A don't-give-a-damn, just-make-the-damn-shot attitude.

These are the 14-1 since-the-All-Star-break Lakers, proving they can either grind a game to a halt for an opponent or score at a high clip.

The game had highlight-reel dunks, missed dunks, no-look passes and even a near fight with Chris Kaman telling DFish to meet him in the hallway after the Lakers 112-104 win.

With the game about over, DFish took exception to screen and Kaman took exception with the bite in the bulldog. DFish on the play:

"I don't care whether it's Chris Kaman or any other big guy," he said. "You can't come and set moving screens the whole game and not expect for their to be some times when you get tangled up with a guy. So to me that's part of the game. Don't come screaming if you don't want to get into, you know, a tie up."

That quote is dripping with Old School.

Old School Andrew Bynum also returned from his two-game suspension for the flagrant foul, and the Lakers were back to full strength again. While the starters seemed to pick up where they left off (Kobe had 37, Pau 26), the bench struggled to hold ground.

"We stalled out a little bit in both the first half and the second half with our bench," Phil said. "They have to start picking up the responsibility for that."

The Clippers kept it close all game and Ron Artest kept things from getting too interesting with a clutch steal on Blake Griffin on the break in the final minute. Had the Clippers scored, they would have cut the lead to 2.

"That's his forte. He's maybe the best at that," Phil said.

Artest's defense was smothering all game, keeping Eric Gordon in lockdown. The timely jab to poke the ball from Griffin and the subsequent tip over another Clipper was the defensive play of the night.

It's a very good sign that both Artest and Bynum have been owning the conversation lately when it comes to the Lakers.


Kobe -- -- How nice is it when Kobe gets to the line with frequency? Game over. That still didn't stop him from getting clocked in the head in crunch time with no call and resulting in a turnover. The Clippers were whistled for several dumb fouls. The ones at the rim, you can excuse (Kobe was just blowing past Gordon), but the ones where he's trying to make a corner fallaway or a 22-footer, that's just dumb. Yeah, he can hit those, but fouling there is a death wish. Whatever state the ankle is in, it's not a factor any more, it seems. He did look a little stiff coming in the fourth. Some of his footwork is just so sensational. You have to stop the game, replay in slow mo to fully understand some of the things he does to lose defenders. The best in the game. The Stats: He scored 37 points on 11-21 shooting (1-5 from three, 14-17 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was a +20. The Action: He hit a pull-up three. He missed a three straight away when the offense stalled. He worked off the high screen and kicked to Artest in the corner for a three. He missed a tough runner not using glass at an angle that was there for him. He sank a pull-up in the lane off the catch and one hard dribble. He stepped through and banked over a help defender. He pulled up on the baseline next trip down and hit the jumper. He busted out off the Pau steal and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a pull-up wing three. He missed a wing jumper. He had 11 points on 4-8 shooting in the quarter. He swiped a ball on a strip and hit a quick turnaround jumper (no credit for this steal, might have given him the board). He missed a tough turnaround fallaway. He forced a wing three and missed it. He collapsed the D on the dribble and hit Pau for the jumper. He blew past Gordon and scored the layup around the help D. He made a tech FT. Quick first step to blow past Gordon again, he elevated, took the contact and drew more FTs, he made one. He swiped an inbounds pass, pulled it out and missed a three. He had 6 points on 2-5 shooting in the second quarter. Second Half: He drew FTs on a jumper in the lane, he made one. He attacked, spun, pulled up and hit the 14-footer in the lane. He short-armed a jumper from the wing and missed badly. He attacked across the lane and sank a high arching And-1 fade, he made the FT. Poor pass into a crowd and it was a layup the other way. He hit Artest cross-court for a three. Bad force on a pull-up jumper in early offense and he missed. He attacked right and drew FTs on the drive, he made both. He attacked the zone and kicked to Ron for a three. Bad pass behind a cutting Lamar for a layup the other way. He had 9 points on 2-4 shooting in the third. Back in and he was short on a wing jumper. He poked a ball loose from over the shoulder of his man right to Fish who quickly outlet back to Kobe for the breakway dunk. He lost his man on a step-through move and fed Pau for the layup. He attacked off a hesitation move on the high pinch post play and drew FTs, he made both. He lost the dribble off his foot. His man tried to cheat over a Bynum screen, Kobe faded to the corner, took the pass and hit the open corner jumper (rare we see that kind of off-ball setup for him). He was called for an offensive foul off ball out in the paint of a timeout. He drew FTs on a fallaway in the corner, he made both. He sank a pull-up at the FT line. He was fouled on a 21-footer, horrible challenge by Foye, he made one FT. He spun, got drilled in the head with no call and went to the floor (that will go down as a turnover).

Gasol -- -- Pau said he would donate a thousand dollars a point tonight. He will be giving $26,000 to the Japan earthquake relief fund. "I'm truly happy that I was able to score a lot of points...I'm proud to be a part of it," Pau said. He was on fire early on, sinking everything from the perimeter. When he's hitting from outside like that, the game for Kobe and others becomes so much easier. When the D collapses, Pau is an easy kickout for points. That's just a nightmare defensively if you are trying to help on Kobe or others getting penetration. The second unit needs to do a better job of using him in this regard (or just giving him the ball in the post). The Stats: He scored 26 points on 10-15 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 8 boards (3 offensive), 3 assists, 1 steal and 5 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +18. The Action: He backed his man down and hit the turnaround in the lane. He swished an open wing jumper. Next possession, he faced up and swished a short jumper over Blake. Next time down, another jumper on the baseline. He missed a 16-footer. He sank a baseline jumper on his next touch. He swiped a pass and outlet to Kobe for a breakaway. He slammed off a no-look, over-the-shoulder pass from Lamar. He had 12 points on 6-7 shooting in the first quarter. He tapped an offensive board from behind a defender, gathered it and gave it to Ron who slammed off a drive. He sank a 17-footer on a kickout from Kobe. Way short on a face-up baseline jumper. Second Half: He attacked down the lane and was held up for FTs, he made both. He fumbled a loose ball to Griffin behind him and then fouled (should have had that one as Ron poked it right to Pau). He drew FTs on a pass into the post, he made both. He drew more FTs on a high post handoff fake, he made both. He slammed off the attack and dish from Drew. He had 22 points on 8-11 shooting after three quarters. He got sealed and gave up FTs on an offensive board to start the fourth. he was blocked on a turnaround, then airballed a jumper. He scored a layup off the interior feed from Kobe. He faced up, attacked from the elbow and muscled in a one-hander. Great read spotting Kobe fading to the corner away from his man and he hit Kobe for the open jumper.

Bynum -- -- Good to have big Drew back in the middle and anchoring the D. Phil went to Drew instead of Lamar to close the game. Bynum actually came up big on the offensive end with a score in the paint and another key tip in behind Griffin off a missed Fisher FT (ball was still on the rim). Both those came with under 2 minutes left. Bynum also had a couple of nice passes and reads before the action developed in this game. Defensively, he was back to his usual disruptive self, challenging and blocking shots and controlling the glass. "I came to do my job," Bynum said. He said the first two minutes were a little tough after not playing for a week. The Lakers survived without him (barely) in those two wins. With the swelling in his surgically repaired knee acting up prior to his suspension, the rest no doubt did him some good. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-6 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 12 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 3 blocks and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He faked right, went left and missed a jumphook in the lane. He slammed off the screen-roll with Blake. He rejected Jordan's post up attempt. He missed a jumphook with the shoclock low. He blocked a drive out of bounds. He erased Smith's drive and we controlled it. He had 6 boards and 3 blocks in the first half. Second Half: He attacked the middle, drop-stepped the other way and drew FTs, he made one. He altered a Gordon drive. He battled for an offensive board and fed Artest for FTs under the hoop. He grabbed a poor post feed, attacked and bounced to Pau for the dunk. He was fouled on a lob attempt, he made both FTs. He powered up a layup on the extra pass from Lamar (lucky not to get a 3-second call). Great challenge to force his man into an airball. He gathered a high pass from Pau, pivoted back around to the front of the rim and scored with 1:49 left. Huge tip in on a DFish missed FT (ball was still on the rim...guess that makes up for Kobe getting decked without a call on a previous possession in the final minute).

Artest -- -- He jabbed a ball loose from Griffin in transition, then tipped it over another Clipper to come up with a huge steal and stop in transition D in the final minute. Griffin scores there and it's a 2-point game and anything can happen. Huge play, the biggest of a stellar defensive game from Ron. He blanketed Eric Gordon all night. Gordon was scoreless on 0-11 shooting against Ron in the first three quarters. He ended up getting his first bucket against Kobe in the fourth and ended up with just 7 points on 3-14 shooting. Ron was hounding him -- blocking jumpers, knocking balls loose and relentlessly after him. Gordon just folded up under pressure like a U-boat against Ron's depth charge attack. Ron ended up with 3 blocks and 3 steals. He also had 19 ...er... 15 points on the other end. He choked two dunks on the break. He did cram a reverse jam on a baseline drive earlier. But, otherwise, an excellent offensive game from Artest despite those missed dunks. "He made some rather spectacular stops," Phil said. "I wasn't a big fan of the two he got in the third quarter that he went down and missed his dunks." The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-11 shooting (3-5 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +21. The Action: He picked Gordon at midcourt and took it for a layup. He lost the handle right out of bounds on a perimeter pass. He drained a corner three on a kickout from Kobe. He missed a corner three, Pau got it back and gave it to him, Ron attacked and hammered down a reverse jam on Kaman (he then did a jumping bicep flex celebration). He got tapped on a layup off the Pau handoff next time down. He grabbed a Lamar miss in a crowd and scored the putback layup. He had 9 points on 4-6 shooting. Second Half: He blocked Gordon's jumper but missed the bustout dunk. He missed another breakaway dunk when Fish swiped the ball and fed him. His pass was picked off. Nice challenge on Gordon's layup to get a miss. He missed a wing three. He drew FTs under the hoop when Bynum found him, he missed both. He then sank a three when we got it back and Kobe found him. Great close out to swat a three attempt. He drained a sideline three on a drive and kick from Kobe. He swiped the ball from Williams on help D. Sensational steal on Griffin in transition D with Blake about to cut the lead to 2 with under a minute left.

Fisher -- -- Mo Williams was an efficient scoring machine that eventually forced even Phil to sub Fisher off him early in the second half for Blake. This was really the main reason the Clippers hadn't fallen back by a huge margin. Thankfully, Williams cooled off in crunch time. Fish and Kaman got into it with 30 seconds left (Kaman got ejected). Fish was trying to fight through a screen and took exception, getting his arms up high on Kaman. That resulted in some words from Kaman, a tech FT and pretty much the final straw for the Clippers. "Fish doesn't take kindly to that after getting racked up a few times," Phil said. Fish struggled from the line, missing several in the final minute (Drew saved him with a tip in that shouldn't have counted). The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting (1-4 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +16. The Action: He threw a pass away trying to hit Bynum. He got it back on a double team on Kaman in the post on the other end. Speedy attack off the handoff down the middle of the lane and he scored a layup. He knocked a ball off a man to get another stop. Bad idea to pull up from 22 feet out in early offense and he missed. He helped force Kaman into a travel. Second Half: He swiped the ball from his man, pushed it up and fed Ron for the missed dunk. He drew a clear-out foul on the perimeter to get a stop. He swished a wing jumper off the Kobe handoff. Horrible recovery to his man (tried to help on a big on the perimeter, then just faded back to his man instead of getting in front of him) and he gave up a layup. He worked his way to the FT line and hit the pull-up jumper. In transition, he then sold a moving pick on Jordan (good call). He was blocked on a layup with 48 seconds left. He was fouled at midcourt with 35 seconds left, he missed both FTs. He drew a tech on Kaman and ejection on Kaman after trying to fight through a screen. He was fouled at midcourt and made one FT.

Lamar -- -- Kind of seemed like Lamar's game got progressively worse as the night went along. He started out with the pass of the game -- a sweet no-looker over the shoulder to Pau for a dunk. He only had 1 point and no boards in the second half and even got beat down floor in transition D. The result was that Phil went to Bynum to close. The second unit as a whole played sub par. Lamar was the only one to really do anything and even his game left much to be desired. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-9 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He attacked left and went over his shoulder on a no-looker to Pau for a dunk (completely fooled the defense). He missed a baseline jumper. He drew FTs on a drive and made one. He was blocked and then knocked to the ground with no call. He swished a wing jumper. He threw a pass out of bounds on a break. He swished a pull-up wing three. He grabbed an offensive board but couldn't finish. He swiped a ball on a midcourt trap off the screen-roll D, pushed it out and scored a layup at the end of the half. He had 8 points on 3-6 shooting and 7 boards. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He missed a step-back jumper. He attacked a gap and drew FTs at the rim, he made one. He missed a step-back jumper on iso to start the fourth. Smith beat him down the court for a dunk.

Blake -- -- Poor game from our PG spot. Phil went to Blake to try to help out Fish in the second half. Not much help. Offensively, he seemed to be a turnover or blocked shot waiting to happen when he got into the paint. Defensively, he always gives a strong effort, but he wasn't able to help much on a hot Williams by the time he got in, despite some good challenges. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 18 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He worked the screen-roll to Bynum for a dunk. Poor timed attacked, taking a jumper too early, missing and it led to a dunk the other way on what should have been the last possession. He missed a wide open frozen rope corner three. He whipped a pass off Barnes in transition, turnover. Much better arc on his next three from the other corner and he hit it. He was swatted on a drive. Second Half: His layup was blocked badly out of bounds. He attacked and tried to feed Pau, turnover.

Barnes -- -- Barnes wasn't able to get any garbage points and missed all of his shots, which all came from behind the three line. Rare when he doesn't scratch out there, but it happens. Phil needed Ron on the floor more tonight, anyway. He was just dominating. The second unit seemed to play more disjointed than usual. Barnes led the team with a low -13. Ron had a +21. The gap between the first and second unit was massive. First unit had things under control, bench was giving it back. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-3 shooting from three to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He missed a corner three. He tipped in a miss for the Clippers trying to grab a defensive board, uggh. Second Half: He missed a corner three on a kickout. He missed another three after keeping an offensive board alive.

Brown -- -- Well, Shannon and Luke had the bigtime suck factor last game. Shannon continued to struggle in this one. His lone highlight was an impressive reverse jam on a drive. When he turns the corner on those pinch post handoffs and has a lane, look out. When he's trying to create a jumper off the dribble, look out, too...those are among some of the worst shots we take sometimes. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 turnover and 1 foul in 16 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He missed a fallaway corner jumper trying to create off the dribble (poor shot selection). He attacked off the high pinch post hand off and reverse slammed. Second Half: He missed a chuck from three. Finally an attack by the second unit instead of settling and he drew FTs, he made both.

Phil -- -- The Lakers got out to an 18-10 start, forcing a Clipper timeout. Phil put Artest on Gordon defensively... Phil sat Bynum for Lamar with 5 minutes to go up by 6... They led by 16 points shortly later... Phil called a timeout when a three cut the lead to 13. He brought in Bynum for Pau, Barnes for Artest and Blake for Fisher... A minute later, he brought in Shannon for Kobe... The Lakers led 33-23 after the first... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... He sat Lamar for Pau and Barnes for Artest with the lead at 7... With 6 minutes left he brought back in Kobe and Fish for Blake and Brown (LO for Bynum, too)... Poor Laker D and the lead dwindled down to 3... Strong close to the quarter on both ends and the Lakers extended the lead again. They still lost the quarter 25-24... The Lakers led 57-48 at the half. They shot 51 percent (24-47, 4-11 from three, 5-7 from the line). The Clippers shot 47 percent (22-47, 2-7 from three, 2-2 from the line). The Lakers had a 24-16 advantage on the glass. The Lakers scored 8 points off 7 Clipper turnovers. The Clippers scored 2 points off 7 Laker turnovers... Despite the lack of points off turnovers, the Laker transition D was poor and the coaches wanted a stronger effort there... Some missed dunks by Ron on the break and the lead was only 5... With Fish getting lit up by Mo Williams, Phil sat him with 6:47 left in the quarter for Blake... The Lakers were in the bonus early in the third quarter and made the Clippers pay (Lakers shot 14-19 from the line in the quarter)... Phil sat Ron for Barnes and Pau for Lamar with 3:15 left... He sat Bynum for Pau with a minute left up by 6... Generally poor close to the third and the Lakers lost the quarter 32-28... The Lakers led 85-80 heading into the fourth... Phil started a Pau, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... They started hoisting perimeter jumpers to get the fourth quarter off to a slow start... The Clippers brought in Gordon (who was scoreless) while Artest was resting. Phil countered by sitting Blake for Fisher with 9:17 left... Phil sat Barnes for Kobe up by 4 with 8:46 left... With 6:21 left up by 4, Phil went back to his starters... They pushed the lead to 101-93 with 4 minutes left... The Lakers went to Kobe to close on a several possessions and he came through. Bynum also had a couple key hoops... The Bynum and Pau duo closed the game... The Clippers won the break 21-12. Their plan was to go early with quick strikes or work the ball around and go late after making the D scramble... Both teams shot 50 pecent. The Lakers, however, scored 28-39 from the line while the Clippers shot 15-18... Asked if Phil will miss the Lakers-Clippers "rivalry," he said, "Not really."...

[10scott10]

First

Great game to be at

[mhan00]

Brown is just getting worse and worse. Blake at least generally makes good passes and plays solid defense. Brown just seems to gamble and take some very questionable shots.

[limchrc]

thanks

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[Dr. Laker]

Good job, DB!

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thank DB once again!


We move further ahead of Boston, Dallas and Miami!

[Tanlentueux]

[Bynum4MVP]

[JTS1]

thanks db for the great recap, as usual.

What's being underscrored for me of late...our bench is blowing chunks right now. i'll preface by saying bench guys ARE bench guys, in part of inconsistent play; that's part of the deal. barnes and lo had subpar games...overall, they've been the energy guys off the bench. so, eh, we'll see how they fare sunday. however, it seems like weeks and weeks the play of sb and blake add up to...


sb and blake need to step up their play. our 1 spot is definitely the shakiest right now and when kobe's out, it's the grand canyon w/the dropoff in talent.

killer b's? yeah, they're a killer, but for the wrong dam team!
_________________
'How many kids can say growing up that they'll turn pro and play for their favorite team in the world and spend your entire career there? IT'S BEEN A DREAM!'-Kobe Bryant 11.29.15

[RVCdesigns]

Very fun game, thanks DB!

[Arbitrary]

[X56]

Hi DB,
I've been noticing that Pau has been taking the midrange J's quite a lot lately instead of the usual post up and try to back up his man. Do you think this is being done intentionally to create space for Bynum and offer a different kind of attack?
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Game 7 2010 NBA Finals - Lakers 83, Boston 79