LAKERS -at- CLIPPERS - 12/21 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Work In Progress... With another game and practice under their belt, the Lakers will head into the regular season...ready or not.

Time to get serious.

They fell to the Clippers 108-103 once again. The quality of hoop improved, despite having Kobe sidelined, and Kapono and Green taking some of those minutes.

The offense opened the floor up more than in the previous game. There were better post opportunities and less time wasted in getting into their sets.

They fell apart again, however, during another turnover-prone third quarter where they clearly missed their playmaking all star. Steve Blake did his best to fill some of the void by dropping 20 points and hitting 5 threes.

Bynum led the team with 26 points and 11 boards, looking more and more like the center the Lakers need this season.

They had plenty of offense in this game, just not enough of it cleanly executed. Another 21 turnovers and 30 points off of those is hard to overcome.


Gasol -- -- Pau wasn't as rushed as he was in the last game. The Lakers spacing was better, giving him room to work or time to survey the floor. Much of the responsibility to space our bigs has to do with him. Drew is going to be near the hoop so Pau is going to have to be aware of when he can get his opportunities. In the Spurs Robinson/Duncan lineup, they would often go quickly. That wouldn't allow the D time to collapse. He'll need to mix a little more of that in his game. Of course, there are times when you want that D to collapse to set up your teammates. Pau did that on several occasions. We also saw him make an adjustment in the post from the previous game. When he drew Jordan over from Bynum, he hooked a pass to Drew for a score instead of trying to shoot over that help D (which got his shot blocked last game). That chemistry between the two is going to be vital. Pau had to deal with some flopping by Blake Griffin. He didn't seem very pleased. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards (2 offensive), 5 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He aws a -7. The Action: He drained an 18-footer to start the game. Good spacing, he faced up and hit a wing jumper on his next touch. He was called for a charge in the post when Griffin clearly flopped. He grabbed a DFish miss and hit him under the hoop for an And-1 layup when CP3 tried to double Pau. He swished a wing jumper working the two-man game with Fish. He hit a lefty jumphook over Cook. He got knocked off balance and was called for a travel, weak call. He blocked Butler's dunk attempt. He scored a layup on the high-low from Drew. Second Half: He posted up, drew the help defender Jordan over and hook passed to Bynum for the easy score. He missed a three from the top of the arc. He drew FTs when McRoberts spotted him cutting, he made one. He was stripped on an up and under. He kicked out to Blake for a three. He took contact in the post and drew FTs, he made both.

Bynum -- -- Big Drew led the team in scoring and rebounding. He was beasting at times and imposing his size. His footwork was superb, with power dropsteps off of fakes to set it up. The Lakers also did a much better job giving him room to work. There were also a few instances where Drew cleaned up missed shots or lob passes (hard to tell) by being in the right place. Defensively, he anchored the paint a little better, but still needs to elevate this part of his game to where it was in the second half of last season. Once he gets his timing and legs under him, that should come along. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 11-15 shooting (4-5 from the line) to go with 11 boards (5 offensive), 2 assists, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 2 turnovers. He was a -5. The Action: He grabbed an Ebanks miss on the break and slammed it back in. He worked Jordan on the left block, drop-stepping and pivoting around him before slamming. He shed his man on a seal and dunked when the defender gambled for the steal. He hit a jumphook off the glass going over two defenders after getting good position (should have been an And-1). He missed a one-handed jam on a lob pass (when he gets his game legs, that goes down). He swatted dribble penetration to ignite a break. He grabbed a lob from Fish and scored the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He grabbed a pass or miss from Metta under the hoop and scored easily. He slammed down a drive and lob from Fish. On the other end he swatted Jordan's shot in the middle of the paint. Beastly power move in the middle of the paint, dribbling to his left once, drop stepping hard the other way to lose his man and powering it in (that got the bench up). He missed a lefty jumphook off the glass. He hit Pau on a high-low pass for a layup. He had 17 points in the first half. Second Half: He scored an easy layup when Pau hook passed to him after drawing Jordan over on a post move. Quick spin move to shed Jordan and slam with the shotclock low. He missed a jumphook on the low block, but bounced up quick behind Jordan and scored the layup. He missed a jumper in a crowd. He missed an And-1 layup he should have had, he made both FTs. He faced up and drew FTs on Jordan, getting him off balance with a fake, he made one.

Ebanks -- -- Excellent first stint, knocking down several jumpers in the first quarter. Not only does he look confident with his shot, his stroke looks good. He isn't hesitating to pull the trigger from anywhere on the floor. The kid is going to surprise some people this season and he hasn't even shown some of his finishing on lobs yet. Defensively, if he can tighten it up just a bit, his length will cause some people trouble...but he's not quite there yet. At some point, you will look forward to people trying to create against him. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-6 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 13 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He tracked down a loose ball, but missed the breakaway layup. He drained an 18-footer from the wing working off the Pau screen. He hit a top-of-the-key jumper off the high post handoff from Pau. He hit a fallaway from the middle of the lane working off the low post. He drained a quick-fire wing jumper on his next touch. He was stripped on the break. He got swatted by the help D on a turnaround. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Fisher -- -- During those early Spurs years, their offense had Avery Johnson and an over-the-hill Mario Ellie on the floor. Avery is not exactly an impact player, but the Little General could floor general that offense. DFish is not that kind of player, although he will have to try. Normally, DFish doesn't get a lot of turnovers because he doesn't take a lot of risks or try to create for others. While he had his moments offensively and led the team with 8 assists, he tallied 4 turnovers in the process. There was a stretch in this game where it was one mistake after another, providing the Clippers with some nice opportunities. He did a good job attacking some of the seams in the defense, but still was one of the negative forces in the game. Between him and Green, the Lakers saw their two worst +/- of the night. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 8 assists, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He missed a pull up jumper on the break, cut to the hoop after Pau grabbed it and scored an And-1 layup on the pass, he made the FT. He hit Pau for an open jumper, working the two-man game. He attacked and lobbed to Drew for an And-1. He missed a wing three. He attacked off the three line, drew the D and lobbed (or missed) to Drew for the dunk. He probed and lost the ball in transition trying to draw a foul (ended up a three the other way). His lob to Bynum was blocked out of bounds. His backdoor pass was picked off for a breakaway dunk. Horrible cross-court pass next time down and it led to another breakaway. Second Half: He missed a long jumper on the kickout. He sank a top-of-the-key jumper off a pinch post handoff. He missed a long wing jumper. He sank a runner after grabbing a loose ball.

Kapono -- -- Kobe out, Kapono in. That seems to be the trend, even when Kobe was healthy. He didn't cut it as the starter. He had to cover Billups as the SG. So you have a guy who should probably be defending small forwards now up against a point guard. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot and had 1 assist and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He had a tough time staying with Billups, but he didn't get lit up from three. Billups finished with 8 points. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

McRoberts -- -- He did his usual garbage man work, hustling for boards and second chances. The Murphy/McRoberts duo combined for 7 points, 9 boards, 1 assists and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was hesitant again when he got the ball on offense to avoid a bad shot or post attempt. As the season goes along, I suspect his confidence in his shot will rise and make him a bit more of a threat on that end. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and 4 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He grabbed a missed three that Bynum kept alive and put it in. Nice recovery to his man off the two-man game to block a three. Second Half: He regained possession, getting fouled on an offensive board. He set up Pau for FTs, hitting him on the cut.

Murphy -- -- Defensively, he had some issues with Blake Griffin in the fourth. Brown let him try to work his way through it. In the regular season, he would have reeled that in for sure. On the other end, Troy showed his ability to spread the floor by sinking a couple of jumpers. When the team's offense starts to understand its options and can set up plays with purpose, he'll become even more effective on that end. Anytime we want to space the floor and let the post go to work, opponents will have to respect his shot. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He hit Blake for an open three. He drained an open baseline jumper off the kickout from Goudelock. Second Half: He drained a three from the top of the arc. He missed an open wing three.

Barnes -- -- Matt was called for a charge in transition with 16 seconds left down by 3 points. That would probably have been Kobe handling the rock, but Barnes hosed the Lakers on a chance to tie it up. A little fireworks from Barnes in the chippy foul department earlier. He gave Blake Griffin a shove to the ground and picked up a flagrant. He made his only shot tonight. We have yet to really see his slashing and off-ball work yet. Once he gets used to the offense, he'll find his spots in that regard. He was tagged with a number of turnovers. As little has he handles that ball, that's never good. Defensively, he wasn't very effective. His man scored on him a number of times. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting from three to go with 1 board, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He traveled before putting the ball down. He shoved Griffin to the floor in the post, flagrant. His inbounds pass was picked off for a lob the other way. He sank a wing three on a kickout from Metta. He was called for a charge in transition, down three with 16 seconds left.

Blake -- -- Sensational shooting game from Blake. You aren't going to get much better from him. He was feeling it from beyond the arc. He's got to string a bunch of quality games together, of course, but you hope the new offense and some offseason work are making a difference. The Lakers would be very pleased to see that shot return. While he had a few miscues himself, he clearly outplayed DFish, or any other Laker guard for that matter. Defensively, he and DFish contained Chris Paul. Blake even had one of the defensive sequences of the game on iso against CP3, making a great challenge and then saving the ball from another Clipper. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 6-9 shooting (5-7 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He drained a wing three on a kickout from Peace. He sank a three from the same spot off a swing pass from Murphy. Heat check, he swished a third one on the next possession coming off the weakside screen. He airballed a long three trying to beat the shotclock. He drew a charge on Cook in the post to get it back. Bad idea to throw a pass into a crowd trying to get it to McRoberts, turnover. He got caught in the air and threw it away, poor decision. He had 9 points on 3-4 shooting. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper against the shotclock. He swished a quick-fire sideline three off the swing pass. He attacked and kicked to Goudelock for a three. His pass under the hoop to McRoberts was picked off. He made a tech FT. He kicked to Goudelock for a three. He missed a three, hesitating a little before firing. He sank a corner three off the Pau kickout on the next possession. He was fouled before an inbounds pass came in as he set a screen, he made both FTs. Superb D on CP3 on iso, challenging the ball well, then hustling to save the rebound to a Laker. He attacked and scored an uncontested layup with a couple seconds left. He missed a heave at the buzzer.

Peace -- -- Metta was inefficient from the floor again. He hit a couple threes in the second half, but had some poor possessions. He did a pretty good job with the passing game and helped set up teammates who scored or drew fouls. Early on, Brown put in him the post on the second unit and had shooters around him who could space the floor. This is certainly a better way to use him. First, the defense can't sag off him to double others. They have to play honestly and even send help. That's a much different effect than having him on the perimeter. So, when and where we can sneak those post possessions in with the second unit, we might be able to keep the offense flowing. Defensively, he's not up to speed yet. He seems a little slow to react on both man D and team D, but that will improve. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-13 shooting (2-6 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists and no fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He missed a layup after a good spin move to lose his man. He airballed a sideline three on a kickout. He overpowered his man on the low block and scored an And-1 with his left, he missed the FT. He attacked down the lane and bricked the layup he should have had. He missed a long three trying to beat the shotclock. He either missed a jumphook or lobbed to Bynum for a score after working the post. Second Half: He missed a corner three. He sank an 18-footer. He missed a long jumper in transition, poor shot selection. He finally sank a three, facing up on the left wing. He set up Drew for FTs on a drive and dish. He kicked out to Barnes for a three. He sank a three over Griffin who sagged off. He was blocked in the post after losing his man. He missed a wing three off an inbounds play with 8 seconds left.

Goudelock -- -- His range was on display tonight as he knocked down a number of threes. Like Morris, he wasn't afraid to let it fly. With a little more shot selection, he could have cut down on a couple bad attempts. He can shoot and made a case for the team to keep him on the roster and develop. Not a great run for Goudelock defensively. He was foul prone as you might expect. He did get whistled for a rookie call or two that vets wouldn't get, but he also had some rookie mistakes on that end and needs to get experience. The Lakers likely won't have a lot of free PT for that, but his shooting could help earn some. He ran across Blake late in the first quarter and later in the third. That combo sparked the Lakers back to life in the second half. The Laker bench shot 12-22 from three in the game. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-8 shooting (3-5 from three) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He missed a long pull-up jumper on the break, not good shot selection. He missed an open sideline three on a kickout next time down (better shot selection). He traveled trying to attack before putting the ball down. He got blocked on his jumper, got it back and kicked it to Murphy for an open jumper. He hit a pull-up three out of a timeout. He airballed a three on his next touch, trying to pull the trigger without enough space from the defender. Second Half: He drained a sideline three off the drive and dish from Blake. He missed a rushed three trying to beat the shotclock. Able to get set up a drive and kick from Blake, he swished the sideline three on his next attempt.

Green -- -- Awful game for Green. He got an earful from Brown a couple of times during his stint. He helped suck the life from the team in the third quarter on multiple possessions. A turnover, offensive foul on a screen, a bad chuck from three. When the Lakers weren't getting anything elsewhere at the time, so it compounded the issues. During his 8 minutes, his lineup was a -14. Game lost right there. He didn't get much PT, but he is not the answer for back up SG. Honestly, you put Arenas in as back up SG in this game, the Lakers probably win. If Kobe isn't healthy at times this season, the team will be scrambling for an answer behind him. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting to go with 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 8 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He was called for an illegal screen away from the ball, turnover. He airablled a three, not squaring up. He couldn't quite get to a lob pass from Barnes and finish it, then he fouled. He lost the ball out of bounds on the next possession, taking his eye off the ball.

Brown -- -- A 15-9 lead for the Lakers, working off their bigs in the low and high posts to generate some offense early for the entire team. They settled into their offense and started to find their options... Pau had to sit for McRoberts after picking up two fouls... He sat Kapono for Peace and slid Ebanks to the SG... To end the quarter, we had a Murphy, McRoberts, Peace, Goudelock, Blake lineup. Brown worked the ball into Metta in the post... The Lakers led 36-33 after the first quarter... He started the same line up to open the second quarter, going right to Metta on the low block... Up 3, he sat McRoberts for Pau... He sat Goudelock for Fisher, Murphy for Bynum up 3... Up by 8, he went with the starters again with 4 minutes left... Too many turnovers by DFish in this stretch... The Lakers led 56-53 at the half. The Lakers shot 58 percent, the Clippers 50 percent. The Lakers had 10 turnovers, but it only led to 5 points. They out-rebounded the Clippers 22-13... Brown started Green the second half for Kapono and Barnes for Ebanks... Turnover-prone start of the second half (really just sloppy fundamentals more than anything else) and Brown called a timeout, trailing by a point... The Lakers trailed 71-62 with this unit midway through the quater... He sat Barnes for Metta and Blake for Green. Both Barnes and Green were horrible. He also sat Pau for McRoberts... With 2 minutes left in the quarter, he went to Pau, McRoberts, Peace, Goudelock, Blake... The Lakers trailed 83-73 after the third... Some Goudelock and Blake action helped the Lakers cut the lead... He went with a Bynum, Murphy, Peace, Barnes, Blake unit down the stretch... The Lakers shot 55 percent (40-73, 12-24 from three, 11-14 from the line). They had 27 assists to 21 turnovers... The 11 turnovers in the second half resulted in most of the 30 points off turnovers the Clippers had in the game... Got to clean up that third quarter execution. Tightening the rotation should help, but it will be a work in progress...

[Omar Little]

First?
_________________
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB. It looks like Ebanks will be our starter at SF. Today was the first time I've been able to see him play since he played sporadically last year. I'm hoping he can impact us similar to the way Ariza did a few years back. His youth and athleticism is much needed.

Random thoughts:

I have high hopes for the spacing Murphy will provide for KGB.

Bynum played like I envisioned him this year: dominant

I hope Blake is our starter

For a team as hyped as the Clippers, they don't scare me one bit

I like the talent on this team. Now it is on Brown to get them to gel

Bring on the Bulls!

[Arbitrary]

Thanks DB!

[limchrc]

thanks

[gumby]

I liked what I saw a lot more than the first game where the team didn't know what the hell they were doing.

Shooters actually making their shots for a change was a real nice thing to see.

Bynum trying to look like the beast he has inside of him was good too.

Pau was Pau-like.

Ebanks is *really* impressing me.

Fish looked spotty at best being a real PG instead of a TRI-PG. And it showed to a degree with those bad passes he forced or just plain executed poorly.

Goudelock has potential on O, but his D looks very much like a rook/college player.

Green, man, you've been given enough chances but he didn't get to do much. Looks like he's on the way out.

The back up bigs played ok, considering. Again, I like their actual usefulness compared to the last few times we had backup bigs.

Happy that the team played more like a team that wanted to win as opposed to the blown out team on Monday. Surprising given that Kobe was out. Was expecting purely a one-sided affair.

But damn the Blake and Jordan lob show was in full effect again. That's gonna be tough for any team to defend.

This season will be interesting to see how they gel with Brown's philosophy on the court.

Bye.
_________________
"This trophy removes the most odious sentence in the English Language. It can never be said again that 'the Lakers have never beaten the Celtics.'" -Dr. Jerry Buss (1985) R.I.P., 33 x M.V.O.

[Laker7]

Fish trying to penetrate against Paul late in the first half killed us. Fish is not Tony Parker.

Like the spacing and hustle from Murphy and McBob. Can we get Kareem to work with them on low post moves / footwork? Their outside game is good.

Ebanks and Blake should start. Fish and Peace should come off the bench. (IMO We need to amnesty Peace but I doubt that will happen.)
_________________
Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[RVCdesigns]

Gerald Green, lol. Thanks DB.

[Tanlentueux]

[BigEvil]

Was definitely good to see the Lakers hang in there without Kobe and still learning their new O and D.

And it sure is nice to have actual shooters on the roster. Quite a few of them actually.

I think we are one starting point guard away, Dwight or no.

[tigerladygal]

well, haven't been here since 2008 (or around that time)..:p...
but good to be back...it is also interesting i've been back here during Lakers' "challenging" season (i remember in 2008, i came in after the Lakers lost that NBA Finals to Celtics)..:p

anyway, saw the game last night on TV as well as 3 nights ago. They played better last night, esp. 1st half. Yes, Lakers seem to just want to try out the personnel, rotation and didn't plan on trying to win the game.

Once coach Brown is set with his lineup and rotation, i'm sure we'll see Lakers performing much better.

It is a new system and coaching staff and a lot of new players, so i wouldn't expect anything much this season, considering Kobe's new injury. Next season, once the rookies and newer players gel, then we can talk more.

As for Kobe's injury, i hope he doesn't force it. If it's not healthy, don't risk. Better play some of the younger players to see what they're capable of.

As for the players who i want to be waived:
Gerald Green

For this yr, these are the keepers (12 man rotation), IMO:
Fisher, MWP, Kapono, Bynum, Gasol, Bryant, D. Morris, Goudelock, Ebanks, McRoberts, Murphy, Blake.
IR:
Barnes, Walton, ??

They have better shooters in this yr's lineup but it will be their D (or lackof) which will determine how far they'll go this yr. Bynum needs to step it up this yr after his 5-games suspension.

...looking fw to the season and Christmas Day game.

[Freakout]

Why do you have Murphy at the rim with McRoberts up high setting picks? That seems backwards.

Ebanks deserves to start.

I actually thought Goudelock looked good. He did a pretty good job defensively at chasing Mo around the court. Compared to Fisher or Blake doing it...

What I would give to have Rondo on this team.

[Cutheon]

Entry passes are better thus far than last year. Team is actually making a concerted effort to get the ball inside and surprisingly don't give up if it isn't there at first. Hopefully the return of our best facilitator will improve that trend.

[lakefan24]

Ebanks played pretty good yesterday. If he keeps it up, he should be starting.

If Steve Blake can stay consistent with his shot, i think it will help the second unit out by a lot. Therefore, he shouldn't be starting. I still think World Peace needs to be a leader in that second unit though. Didn't like seeing what he did these two preseason games.

Gerald Green looked like trash. He needs to figure out his role before he gets cut.

Bynum is a beast! Lets hope he stays healthy. He and Pau are gonna make a strong front court. Maybe the best in the league.

With Kobe back, only good things can happen. Can't wait til everyone plays together this season. Should be a good one.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!


Here's hoping this game is indicative of what we see from Drew, Ebanks and Blake this season.

I thought Goudelock was looking awful at first on offense, but when he settled in he showed why some people are excited about him. He looks like he could be very dangerous. It looks to me as though he's got the tools to be a pretty good defender with some coaching and experience.

I'd also say the dream of having either Blake or Morris become the serviceable PG the Lakers need is still alive.

Now - who do we cut?

[DancingBarry]

We cut Green to get us to 15 today. Green was awful, even at just executing the basics off ball in the offense. He was garbage.

Goudelock settled in. I'd really like to see him with Kobe and the two bigs. I think a couple of the shots he forced up were out of habit because he was always covered tight in college. If he'd get a hair of room, he'd take advantage of it at Charleston. With as many guys around him on this team who can collapse the D, he will get great looks. Just needs to let the game come to him a little more and he will be fine on that end. His shooting mechanics are Ray Allen-ish in form. You can see why he won the college three shooting contest. He can stroke it. On D, it looks like he just needs experience. The effort and lateral speed were there.

[busym]

Good job as usual DB. Always look forward to your write-ups. I missed them in the off season.