LAKERS -at- HORNETS - 4/28 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Exterminated... Returning to the labyrinth of above-ground tombs that honeycomb this landscape like a cement hive, you hear screams of terror and the loud crunches of crushed exoskeletons. Destruction has commenced.

The largest of the Horsemen is devastating everything in his path -- bugs, concrete, innocent bystanders. The opponent caves under the relentless pressure.

He didn't just destroy them, he turned their tombstones into dust.

Four bells chime, one for each victory. All that's left in this concrete city of the dead is a single triangle-shaped tombstone. On it, you read another message carved in stone from DancingBarry:

"The Four Horsemen were here. When they smell death in the air, they pounce. R.I.P. Bugs. The first battle is over.

I will continue to track them..."

Pick your stat of the night: The Lakers holding the Hornets to 34 first-half points or Andrew Bynum's 8 offensive boards. Either way, that's a combo that spells certain death for opponents as it did the Hornets in the 98-80 blowout win to close out New Orleans.

When the season started, Laker fans who knew their team well said that Bynum would be the key to success. The impact in this first series showed
why.

"Every time he got an offensive rebound, it was deflating," Hornets coach Monty Williams said after the game tonight. "You don't really realize how good he is until you face him in a series. Kobe's Kobe, but I thought Bynum decided the series. He was that good."

Big Drew set the tone of the game on both ends. He was physical, active and owned the paint on his way to 18 points and 12 boards in just 29 minutes.

"We all just came out here with a..." Bynum searched for the correct words, "a collective energy to come out here and just smash this team. We wanted to win big. We wanted to put them in their place."

Spoken like someone who's developing a killer instinct.

It was another well-rounded effort. The Lakers four impact ballers all scored in double digits and the Killer B's had more sting than the Hornets. The bench took over the game by winning the first 5 minutes of the fourth. Chris Paul was held to just 10 points and had 5 turnovers.

"The lane was packed and DFish was in my pocket all night long," Paul lamented afterward.

The Lakers now turn their focus to the Mavs, who lost home court advantage in this series with a late season collapse. Bynum dominated for the Lakers during that post All Star break run. He'll need to bring that same killer instinct into the next series.


Kobe -- -- The Mamba likes blood. He's strung together a series of great 30+ point road close out games. "It’s more enjoyable to do it on the road, because you can take the crowd out of it," Kobe said. While he didn't get the 30-point game tonight, that may have been due to not getting his usual minutes. Another 8-9 minutes out there, he probably reaches that number once again. He did a good job blowing past Ariza to get into those secondary defenders again and manufacture FTs. In the next series, you will likely see a good mix of length on Kobe trying to sit on his perimeter shot and Kobe will have to do the same. We really need to make sure we stick with Jason Kidd. He sank 15 threes against Portland. Nice moment between Kobe and Trevor after the game was over, hugs and smiles from Kobe. Much props to Ariza. He had a horrible season. Just horrid. But when the pressure was on in the playoffs, Ariza found his shot again. Not that we played great D on him, but he stepped up. Tonight, there were sequences where Ariza had the ball and you didn't mind if he was hoisting jumpers. You hope that the extra time off between series will allow Kobe can rest that ankle and get his defensive mobility back. Phil was able to limit his minutes tonight with the strong fourth by the bench. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 6-16 shooting (2-4 from three, 10-10 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 3 steals, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 30 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He hit Pau rolling off the screen for FTs. He missed a running jumper with the shotclock low. He missed a wing three. He missed a baseline jumper. He deflected a pass to get a stop. Nice touch on a step through to get it to drop. He swished a turnaround from the midpost. He missed a fade across the lane on a nice challenge from Ariza. He sank a long three with the shotclock low on a kickout from Pau. He deflected a pass to ignite a break and score a layup. He missed a wing jumper, got it back, and missed a layup. He kicked out to Fish on a double team for a jumper. He threw a pass out of bounds to give the Hornets the final shot of the half. He had 9 points on 4-10 shooting and 2 steals. Second Half: He missed a forced wing jumper on his first attempt. He attacked, hung and flipped in a layup over his head to beat the secondary defender. He missed a long, off-balance chuck up against the shotclock. He attacked into a crowd and turned it over on the next possession for a layup the other way. He blew past Ariza and drew FTs on the help D (Okafor's fourth), he made both. He worked the screen-roll with Pau on the wing and Pau hit Bynum for the score. Poor pass to Bynum, both late and behind him, turnover. He attacked into the paint and drew FTs, he made both. He up-faked to lose Ariza, attacked the paint and drew FTs on Mbenga, he made both. He was lost ball-watching Mbenga and gave up an unchallenged three. He got it back on the other end when Ron found him cross court and Kobe hit a three. He hit Lamar on a bounce pass off the give and go for a layup. With a few seconds left in the quarter, he attacked in transition off the Artest block, took a hard foul from Smith under the hoop (a flagrant-1), he made both FTs with 2.6 left. He somehow back-rimmed an off-balance wing three at the end of the quarter, nice try. He was hit in the head on a spin move off a drive and was in a little pain, he made both FT. He swiped a pass, but lost it in transition and it led to a Paul three. He attacked, drew the D and missed a tough fading jumper, but Pau tipped it in.

Gasol -- -- Very quiet first half from Pau, unable to score a hoop. Once he got rolling in the second half, the Lakers offensive struggles were behind them. He stayed aggressive all second half. He attacked, he worked the post, worked for garbage points and hit jumpers on his way to 14 second-half points. I think he'll be happy to put this Hornet team behind him. He struggled to get his game going at times in this series and guys like Landry were a tough matchup. Hopefully, the next series will allow him to get into more of a comfort zone and his game clicks. It feels like he and the team have shaken off some of that three-peat-itis. It took the first series against the Thunder last year to do it. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-12 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He missed a jumphook short on the first shot of the game. He rolled off a screen and Kobe hit him for FTs, he made both. He swatted Belinelli's drive off him to get a stop. He was blocked at the rim by Okafor. He missed a face-up wing jumper. He had just 2 points on 0-3 shooting and 4 boards. Second Half: He sank a turnaround from the post for the Lakers first score of the half and Pau's first hoop. He swished an elbow catch-and-shoot jumper on the next possession. He missed an off-balance jumper on the next possession. He doubled Paul in the corner with Ron and forced him into a turnover. He sank a long jumper behind the Artest screen. He hit Drew for a bucket after working the screen-roll with Kobe. Nice help on Ron's man on rotation to block a jumper and get a stop. He blew past Mbenga and was fouled on a dunk attempt, he made both FTs. He missed a reverse, but Artest got it back and found him a few seconds later for a score. He missed a lefty jumphook. He was fouled in the paint trying to go up and made both FTs. He tipped in a Kobe miss crashing the glass. He missed a face-up jumper. He stripped Landry who tried to attack.

Bynum -- -- This was Bynum's game. The other guys did their thing, but Drew put his stamp all over this one. How great is it to see him imposing his will on an opponent in a big close-out game on the road? He did it right out of the gates and throughout the night. He beasted against Okafor, overpowering him and anyone else thrown at him. He imposed his size on the offensive glass like a one-man wrecking ball. Offensively, he showed a mix of power moves, jumpers and garbage points. Defensively, he dominated the paint. The Lakers really dialed in their defense against Paul tonight. What did we say after the first game? You'd see the Lakers (as a team) get more aggressive on Paul in those situations. "We were up on every screen roll and we didn't let Chris Paul dictate so much," Bynum said afterward. The Hornet offense ground to a halt. "He's three times bigger than anybody else on the court," Paul said. That's the kind of impression you want to leave on an opponent. Well done, Drew. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-13 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 12 boards (8 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He pivoted around Landry and slammed with both hands. He grabbed a loose ball off a blocked shot and put it back in. He missed a bank off the repost. Poor high-low feed and it resulted in a Pau foul trying to get it. He missed a tough baseline turnaround off a loose ball he had to dig out. He blocked Green's jumper on help D along the baseline. Low position, he waited for the pass and quickly hit the jumphook after it came. He tipped in a missed a layup by Blake. He was called for a travel after grabbing an offensive board. He sank a long step-back jumper from the wing with the shotclock about to expire. He tipped in a missed layup by Lamar. He plowed over Jack just running the court to pick up a foul. He was tied up on a double team. He had 12 points on 6-9 shooting and 7 boards in the first half. Second Half: He stepped around his man to swiped a post entry pass. He was called for three seconds. He was held with no call on a pass from Pau off the screen-roll, missed it, got it back and scored the layup. He swatted Landry's reverse to get a stop. He missed a layup trying to power over Mbenga. He hit an elbow jumper off the Blake drive and dish. Great effort to tip a tough offensive board to himself, gather it and then find a cutter for FTs. Great challenge on the other end to alter Landry's attack and get a stop. Power dropstep on Okafor and he drew FTs taking contact on the layup attempt, he made both.

Artest -- -- While Ron has played a very consistent series and held down his men defensively, we hadn't really seen any of those moments where a flurry of his D results in a Laker run. He often has a stretch like that, which ignites the team. He had a moment like that tonight, scoring off a backcourt steal (then flexing, of course) and a shotblock on help D on the other end to result in another Laker score. Offensively, he didn't have his jumper going. When the Hornets tried to hide Jack on him, Ron got into the paint to make them pay. He did a great job finding teammates and led all Lakers with 5 assists and with a team-high +18. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-6 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 5 boards (2 offensive), 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +18. The Action: He airballed a corner three. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He forced Belinelli to knock a defensive board out of bounds. He missed a long, fading wing jumper off the high pinch post. Poor foul trying to grab Ariza after he busted out on a steal to give up a clear-path foul, it also resulted in the last shot of the quarter for the Hornets. He sealed Jack in the paint, took the quick feed and scored a layup. Second Half: He missed a wide open wing three to start the half. He somehow pulled down an offensive board in a crowd, got out of that pile up, drew the D and hit Pau for a layup. He spotted Kobe cross court for a three. After Paul pulled down a defensive board, Ron made like a one-man trap against him under the hoop, Paul fell out of bounds and Ron grabbed the ball and muscled in a layup over Smith who went flying to the floor (Ron then flexed). He blocked Smith on help D on the other end to get a stop (it led to a flagrant-1 for Smith when Kobe attacked with a few seconds left).

Fisher -- -- Paul had just 10 points and 11 assists with 5 turnovers in this game. "They did a really good job of closing the lane down," Paul said afterward. "I think a lot of credit goes to Derek Fisher. I told him after the game, unbelievable defense he played in the entire series." He said having Fish on his side and the two bigmen in the paint made life miserable in this game. Just a sensational effort by both Fish and the bigs to lockdown Paul in his house tonight. You got to love the effort by old man Fish. The Hornets ran a pretty good screen-roll D clinic for the Lakers in this series. It will be interesting to see if that helps down the road. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He missed an open wing three. He drew a clear-out foul on Paul on the perimeter. He curled from the elbow and flipped in a finger roll. Shortly after picking up Paul's second foul, he hit a wing jumper coming off the screens. He drew an offensive foul on Gray on the screen. Great post entry feed to Ron who sealed Jack and scored a layup. He drained a wing jumper when Kobe drew his man and kicked. Second Half: He threw a pass away under pressure while bringing it up (Phil called a timeout and talked to him and Pau about that sequence). He gave Paul a straight-line layup (help D not set). He pounced on a loose ball and called timeout.

Lamar -- -- Excellent effort throughout the night. He was engaged, aggressive and reading the floor well as part of that two-guard front. Lamar was locked in and focused. He helped lead that second unit to stomp the Hornets in the first 5 minutes of the fourth. When he and Drew are as focused and active as they were, that makes the Killer B's job much easier. Those guys just got after it and went for the kill. The Lakers bench out-scored the Hornets 30-21. I love seeing when those guys get out on the break. With Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake, you get some very nice speed pushing the ball up and the ability to fill lanes and finish. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-10 shooting (1-2 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 4 assists and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a +11. The Action: He hit Shannon out of a timeout on the wing lob pass play. He missed a wing jumper. He attacked from the wing, drew the D and missed the layup, but Bynum tipped it in easily. He dumped a pass off to a trailing Barnes for a layup. He scored a layup down the middle of the zone. He attacked baseline, took major contact under the rim but still scored the layup. He drew a charge on Landry in the post anticipating where he was making his move. He attacked across the lane and got knocked to the floor for FTs, he made one. He had 5 points on 2-4 shooting, 5 boards and 4 assists. Second Half: He scored a layup off a give and go with Kobe, taking a little contact in the process. He drained a wing three for the Lakers first score of the fourth. Nice attack off the high Bynum screen to draw FTs on the drive left, he made both. He missed a wing three. He filled the lane on the break, Blake hit him in stride and Lamar attacked for the layup. He missed a turnaround and a quick hustle follow attempt (he wanted the foul).

Blake -- -- Kind of a quiet game from Blake compared to some of the others. The nice thing about him is that his weaker games are "quiet" ones, meaning he's not out there making bonehead mistakes that lead to momentum for opponents. He's finding teammates, orchestrating the offense and making the right plays. The second unit just took it to the Hornets in the past couple games to start that fourth quarter. This is where you hoped the Blake and Barnes additions would make their biggest impact -- the first 5 minutes of the fourth. Love the attitude, too. Paul tries to intimidate and play with a chip on his shoulder, but Blake gives it right back to him. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He didn't hit rim on a drive, but Bynum cleaned it up. He threw a pass away trying to find Bynum. He missed a jumper with the shotclock low. Second Half: He missed a wing three on a kickout from Lamar. He attacked and hit Bynum for the elbow jumper. He pushed up the break off a Barnes rebound then hit Lamar in stride for the layup.

Barnes -- -- With Blake and Barnes, you get that vet-steady ball. They know their strengths and weaknesses and play a smart game. Little things like doubling Paul at the end of the half to get the ball out of his hands, then recovering to his own man to help prevent a score. Or, giving hard fouls to help keep that physical nature to our game and play playoff ball. Barnes was also active on the glass, helping secure one-and-out possessions. The Laker second unit out-boarded the Hornets bench 15-7. Offensively, he drained a couple threes in garbage time, but good to see those drop. His perimeter shot has looked poor (making just 2-10 in the three games prior to this and not sinking a three in this series). Hopefully, that gets on track with some confidence out of this game. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-5 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 block and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He missed a wing jumper in early offense. He scored a layup trailing Lamar on the break. Second Half: Nice job on a couple of defensive boards in a crowd to get one-and-out possessions. He missed a tough sideline jumper not getting set well before firing. Nice hard foul denying Landry an easy one and sending him to the floor while challenging. He sank a wing three on a cross-court pass. He drained a corner three on his next touch.

Brown -- -- Steady game from Shannon. The team played to their strengths when he was out there. That's what you want to see. It's always good when he can get to the line and manufacture points. It's especially good when you see him earn the FTs with a strong off-ball cut. He needs to keep that part of his game consistent, good things happen. Blake and Brown did a good job in this series of shutting down Jack after he had that strong first game. They'll have to deal with Terry in the next series, who is more of a focal point. If they can control Terry, the will likely control the Mavs. This will be one of the key matchups. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-5 shooting (0-2 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards and 1 foul in 18 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He finished a backdoor lob over a couple players on the pass from Lamar. He stopped the ball, then missed a challenged three. Second Half: He missed a three with the shotclock low. He kept a Blake miss alive and it led to a Bynum hoop. He was swatted on a drive. He swished a catch-and-shoot wing jumper out of a timeout, working off the screens with the shotclock low. Excellent cut when Bynum grabbed an offensive board, Drew hit him and Shannon earned FTs, he made both. Early offense attack seeing a lane and he drew FTs, he made both.

Johnson -- -- I was hoping I'd be able to put him in the write up tonight. He got some run with a minute left in the game, the Lakers up big. He got to pound the dribble and run the clock out on the Hornets. The Stats: He had 1 assist in 1 minute. He was a +1. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Phil -- -- Down 8-6 with 6:28 to go in the first quarter, Phil called a timeout. The offense was struggling to get on track (we also took and missed four threes, 2-11 shooting over all). Offense comes and goes, but the defense can always be a factor. It held the line during this slow start (and the rest of the night)... Phil sat Pau for Lamar tied at 10-10... The Lakers had a slow developing 10-2 run to go up 14-10 over a stretch of minutes and the Hornets called a timeout... He sat Bynum for Pau and Kobe for Shannon with a couple minutes left... He sat Fish for Blake with 30 seconds left... The Lakers led 18-16 after the first... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... With the scored tied 26-26 midway through the quarter, Phil sat Bynum for Pau and Shannon for Kobe... After a timeout shortly later, he sat Blake for Fisher and Barnes for Artest. Nice staggering subs... The Lakers had a 37-32 lead with 2:12 left in the half... He sat Ron for Barnes in the final minute to save Ron from getting 3 fouls... The Lakers led 40-34 at the half. They shot 45 percent (18-40, 1-6 from three, 3-4 from the line). The Hornets shot 41 percent (14-34, 0-4 from three, 6-6 from the line). The Lakers had a 6-2 advantage on the offensive glass (Bynum had 5 of those)... The Lakers chipped their way to a 52-42 lead midway through the quarter, forcing a Hornet timeout... Phil sat Bynum for Lamar up by 12 with 4 minutes left... The Hornets scored a couple of buckets and Phil called a timeout to lecture Fish and Pau about a turnover and not let anything get started. Great timeout... After a couple excellent plays only Ron makes to get a few points, Phil subbed him out for Shannon with 2 seconds left in the quarter to get another shooter out there... The Lakers led 69-57 heading into the fourth quarter... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... They extended to a 76-59 lead after the first few minutes, forcing a Hornet timeout... They pulled out to a 20-point lead, officially winning the first 5 minutes and forcing another timeout. Well done... Up by 19, Phil brought back in all the starters to go with Lamar with 5:23 left in the quarter. Great job by the Killer B's, but the wholesale change at this point risked getting a cold stretch of ball for a couple minutes... Phil sat Artest a minute later for Barnes... He sat Kobe with a couple minutes left... The Lakers won the offensive glass 14-7 and out-rebounded the Hornets 43-30... On the white board after the win, "12 Mo'"... "It took us considerable time for us to really figure out this team, but tonight was really our best defensive effort," Phil said...

[mhan00]

Victory.

[10scott10]

Oh Boy, second


Great to see my main man Drew, really dominate like I always knew he could.

Also, great Win, yadda, yadda ,yadda

[City_Dawg]

The Saga Continues...
_________________
*sighs*

!...

[hellolaw5]

I can finally sleep easy tonight. THANKS DB!

[lounger]

Our turn to punk Dallas!

Thanks DB. Enjoyed the write-up as always.

[michaelg]

Yesssirrrr!!! Thanks DB!

[markjay]

Thanks for the great write-up, as usual! One minor point: I haven't seen the series stats updated yet to include today's game, but, by the looks of things, I think Trevor short just as poorly in this series as he did in the regular season. He just took more shots.

Edited to add the final shooting stats:

Regular Season:
FG% 40%, 3P% 30%, FT% 70%, eFG% 45.1%, TS% 48.8%

Playoffs
FG% 41%, 3p% 33%, FT% 73%, eFG% 45.3%, TS% 49.1%

So yes, a tiny bump up from his very bad shooting during the season to still bad shooting in the playoffs.

[LakerEric]

The Empire Strikes Back!!! On to Round 2 and thank you Charles Barkley for the Kiss of Death to the Mavericks!!! #WINNING!!! #LAKERSRULE!!!
_________________
Do you believe it now, Trinity? - Morpheous

[Klone_dd]

Andrew Bynum!

That should be a new chant at Staples. Gotta love the big man playing 3 times his size. I'm even diggin his youthful exuberance on the court.

The only part of the game I didn't care for was the starters returning in the 4th. The 2nd unit was really playing well and NO had quit. Was it really necessary to stick Kobe and company back out there?

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[limchrc]

Thanks, great win.

[prisma8slg]

Thanks DB.

very decisive road victory

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!

12 more bells.

[Rick12322]

Exterminated

Wow, DB, brutal! Great writeup. I've been really impressed with Andrew and Ron. Ron knows his strengths and pretty much sticks to them. Andrew is realizing his talents and it's a fun process to watch.

[Rick12322]

I think Phil is more concerned with the starters putting in work to build on the rhythm established in the game so it has a better chance of translating to the next game.

[celticsblow]

Enjoy the write-ups, DB. I'd just like to throw one correction out there re: Drew's breakdown:

He tipped in a missed layup by Blake.


I smiled a big arsed grin when I saw that play, because it's been something I'd been hoping to see forever.

That wasn't a "missed layup" by Blake. Instead, it was a damned smart PG who couldn't care less about his own stats and how the play would end up written in the box score who: 1. drove and penetrated; 2. drew defenders; and 3. used the glass to throw Drew a pass on the opposite side of the bucket.

Blake doesn't miss layups that badly. It wasn't a layup attempt, it was a pass off the glass to a giant in perfect O rebounding position on the weak side. I've been waitin' on that... would love to see it a few times a game, because it's been open for years.