LAKERS -at- BULLS - 12/15 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Sharpened Weaponry... The river forks in many different directions. Backtracking for a day, you return home with just enough time to grab supplies and spot your little friend. She waits by the gates, as always, looking for family.

As you're about to head out again, you ask if she has a picture of her lost mother. She doesn't. You hesitate. The river is dark, disturbed and nightmarish...but the kid has right to look, doesn't she? "All right, come on," you give in. She whips a bag of food and supplies out of nowhere. The kid knows you're push over.

"How often do these boats sink?" she asks as she climbs in. "Only once," you reply.

The river is quiet tonight, but that silence is broken by the launch of a bright white phosphorescent flare. As it fizzes and burns above, it lights up the shoreline of an empty village. You approach with caution, hopping out to examine what is left.

Not much. It's a shell of its former self. Brushing away thick vines that drape over the mossy stonework, you see the familiar etchings of triangles -- but these are many years old. Like the Mayan, they have vanished and left behind only clues.

Something snaps beneath your feet, you kneel down and pick up a familiar looking spear. Unlike last time, the pointed tip is now sharp to the touch, and the blood -- it is fresh. In the dirt, DB has left you message.

The Horsemen were here. The Hand of Death was lethal and accurate. Their opponent put up a spirited fight, but they were overwhelmed by his relentless attack.

I will continue to track them.

Kobe is not over his injury, but he sure looked a lot better tonight. Gone was the huge splint. Gone was the stomach sickness and lack of energy. Back was the multi-faceted, hard-to-guard scoring threat.

The Lakers took the 96-87 road win over the Bulls behind 42 points from their wounded warrior.

"It was fortunate for us he was shooting so well," Phil said. The Lakers gave up 22 offensive boards to the Bulls, or in basketball terms "a zillion," as Phil said.

"We have to box out better. We have to get bodies on guys," Phil said, although he gave a lot of credit to the spirited effort by Joakim Noah, who had 14 offensive boards.

Kobe said he got to the arena early to get in some extra work on his shot and felt good. "I just wanted to get a rhythm going," Bryant said.

His midrange game was deadly. His penchant for drawing fouls was as good as he's shown all season. It looks like he's ready to roll again.


Kobe -- -- So much for stressing about Kobe's fractured finger. His shot looked as good as it has all season. His new splint is a thin strip of plastic versus the fat, bulky wrap he had one before. Perhaps, that made a difference. Although, Kobe said his finger felt well enough that he thought about not using a splint at all. That made a difference in this game. But his energy level was also back to normal, unlike the Jazz game when he was clearly a dead man walking. The Lakers fell behind quickly, before Kobe put them on his shoulders and lifted the team from a 10-point hole in one 4-minute stretch in the first quarter. Despite the good shooting, Kobe led the team with 8 turnovers. The Bulls got a lot of hands in for strips. The Lakers also had some poor execution offensive. Nice to see more of the two-man action with Kobe in this game, but he was a little sloppy with it. The Lakers really need to integrate this back into their game more as it's typically their bread and butter in close games. Phil said he put some of the turnovers on Kobe's injured hand, but it did seem like they more than a few were more just bad decisions. This was one of those rare games where Kobe manufactured a ton of points from the line (he tied his season high with 15 attempts, but struggled a little to hit them). He did a good job with the pumpfakes on the perimeter and drawing contact. Defensively, everybody needed to help board tonight. If a bigman comes out to help challenge your man when you get screened off, you need to box out his man. There were several possessions, where Kobe was the weak link in the defensive rebounding schemes. The Stats: He scored 42 points on 15-26 shooting (1-5 from three, 11-15 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 8 turnovers and 2 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a turnaround from the midpost. Salmons tied him up on a drive, jumpball. Horrible lob pass to a wide open Bynum, should have been an easy dunk with as wide open as he was (but Kobe threw it to the top of the backboard...this could have been one of those finger turnovers). He got Salmons to bite on a pumpfake and drew FTs, he made both. He scored an And-1 on Salmons off a jab-step, 22-footer, he made the FT. No D on Hinrich, giving up a wide open jumper. He posted up and scored easily around Hinrich. He drained a pull-up three in early offense. He hit a top-of-the-key pull-up jumper off a bounce pass from Ron. He bumped off his man, then swished a turnaround from 15 feet. He faced up and swished a baseline jumper. He flashed weak to strong and hit the fade from 16 feet. He got the repost from fish, attacked left and swished the pull-up from 18 feet out (just on fire). He lost the handle trying to pull up from three. He pumped a couple of times to get Hinrich in the air, but he missed the jumper instead of trying to draw the foul. Perfect high outlet to Bynum from about 60 feet away and Drew scored on the leak out. Kobe had 20 points in the first quarter. He swished a tough (for most people) fallaway from the elbow with a man on. Screen-roll with Pau led to a Lamar score. He was picked trying to create off the dribble against Salmons (didn't want to pass to a wide open LO who was camping). He attacked a crowd and finally got that third on Salmons with a couple minutes left, he made one FT. He swished a jumper after working on Hinrich. He missed a three in transition (had several Lakers cutting), the miss resulted in a dunk with no one back. He forced a baseline drive in a crowd, it resulted in a break again. He missed a halfcourt heave at the buzzer. He had 25 points on 10-17 shooting and 3 assists. Second Half: He swiped a backdoor pass. He pumped Salmons into the air and drew FTs (back to the bench for Salmons after a minute), he missed both. Then he missed a three when Pau got the FT miss back. Hinrich went behind his back with the pass, Kobe went behind his back the other way with a reach to steal the pass, he made one of the two FTs on the clear-path foul. He was called for a hook on a baseline attack. He drew FTs on a breakaway, he made both. He missed an elbow fallaway. He was stripped on a drive right. He posted up Hinrich, spun and drew FTs, he made both. He swished a wing step-back off the post. He missed a long wing jumper over Rose. He worked from the post again, got past Hinrich and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked from the elbow and some how hit a runner off two long strides in traffic. He changed directions on the dribble and hit the turnaround from the left wing. He was doubled on the sideline and turned it over. He changed hands on a drive down the lane and didn't draw iron while hanging. Horrible pass trying to hit LO (should have gone to Pau off the screen-roll), turnover and score the other way. He threw it away again on the next possession (wow, big crunch time passing mistakes). He iso'd on Salmons, attacked right, stopped, stepped through to his left and hit the lefty one-hander (impossible to guard). He scooped up a loose ball and dunked.

Gasol -- -- Despite the good rebounding numbers, he and his teammates struggled to control the defensive glass. Hard to say Pau had a tough time on the defensive glass when he pulls down 12 on that end. But when his primary assignment gets 14 offensive boards, yikes. And, believe it, Pau was at fault for many of those. Noah was just relentless. Sometimes Pau would have good position, but Noah would just keep working, keep moving, keep tapping and Pau would be rooted to the floor. Other times, if Pau had to help in any way, if he gave an inch, Noah would take it and then some. If he had to rotate, Lamar and Kobe didn't put a body on Noah. Other times, Noah was just working from behind Pau. Pau was battling, but credit to Noah, he just out-battled him on a lot of those. Offensively, not a lot of shots again for Pau. The team seemed very focused on getting Kobe the ball with his hot hand and didn't set up Pau as much as we could have in the post. The team started to run a little more of the two-man game with Pau. It didn't result in shots for Pau, but it did lead to some good passing sequences. They really need to get that weapon dusted off. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-8 shooting (4-4 from the line) to go with 16 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 39:23. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He missed a 15-footer with pressure from behind. He hit a short lefty hook off the corner entry from Ron. He was blocked twice on one offensive sequence by Noah. He drew FTs after getting swarmed in the paint, he made both FTs. He was stripped in the paint by Miller. Touch pass to LO off the Kobe two-man sequence for a layup. He set up LO for a layup after working the post. He attacked from the three line (got away with an extra step) and threw down the reverse jam. He had 6 points on 2-5 shooting and 9 boards. Second Half: He spun past his man then was blocked. He scored a lefty jumphook off the bounce entry from Fish. He was called for grabbing Noah's arm to try to get a defensive board, giving up FTs. He tried to thread a needle to Kobe, turnover, breakaway. He missed a post-up turnaround over Miller. He was intentionally fouled on inbounds, he made both FTs. He blocked Noah.

Bynum -- -- Looking at the Bulls offensive boards and the stat box, the first thing you see is Bynum's low rebounding numbers compared to the Bulls offensive boards. If you watched the game closely, however, almost all of the offensive-board damage was done versus the Pau/Lamar lineup. That didn't have much anything to do with Bynum. That's not to say Bynum shouldn't have had more boards. It's just that he wasn't how we were getting killed. He wasn't in the game when most of the killing was being done. There was really one sequence where he stood and watched late in the game on the defensive glass as Noah tapped at a couple boards before Shannon saved the day. Phil subsequently sat Bynum at the end that 6-minute fourth-quarter stint. That was it. Why were his numbers low? Three reasons: Effort, minutes and dealing with a perimeter-shooting bigman. Miller pulled Bynum from the paint to challenge shots, whether his own or off the two-man game. Bynum was continually being pulled from the hoop, and that will limit defensive rebounding. You also may notice Miller had a couple of offensive boards. One of them was a classic example of the team-rebounding issues. Bynum popped behind a Miller screen to challenge a guard's jumpshot, Miller wisely rolled and our guard (ahem, Kobe) whom Bynum was covering for, didn't help the helper. Still, there were plenty of sequences where Bynum wasn't hustling, especially on the offensive glass. He never imposed his game on that end whereas that's all a guy like Noah was doing all game. Effort will get you a lot of stats. Drew could have made the Bulls fight on that end a bit more than they had to. Offensively, some very good and very bad moments for Drew. When he fought for low position, good things usually happened. When he settled for jumpers outside the paint, he gave the Bulls a much easier time. Typically, he should pass the ball if he's not in the paint. He needed to impose his size more often for better position before getting the ball. When he backs down his man and goes to the power move off the glass (especially on that left block tonight), he is very tough to deal with. Just need to see it more. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-10 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 block and 2 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He reverse jammed off the two-man game with DFish (very nice finish around Miller). He missed a face-up jumper from the right side (should have worked the ball around more). He was stripped in the lane after he tried to take a dribble. Excellent help D to swat Pargo at the last second. On the other end, he backed his man down and went glass off the left block. He leaked out on a challenge and Kobe hit him with a perfect 60-foot pass for a score. He surveyed the floor, spun and hit a jumper over Miller from 6 feet out. He missed an open elbow jumper. Second Half: He bricked a jumphook. He was tied up after fighting for a pass. No hustle after an offensive board that looked as if he could have tracked it down. Weak baseline turnaround jumper on a repost, need to get better position versus taking longer jumpers. Sloppy screen work on the perimeter, offensive foul. He posted up with low position and easily muscled in an And-1, he made the FT.

Artest -- -- Ron had four of his shots blocked tonight. He has struggled finishing in the paint, but tonight he was always in a crowd. The worst sequences were when Bynum and Pau were both on the floor. It was just too crowded down there for Ron to work. He would get past his man but the help D easily gobbled him up. He struggled from three, as well. Had he made a few more of his shots, the team would have cruised. He just wasn't a threat tonight. Defensively, Deng was able to do some damage, unlike the first game. Some good work on the glass by Ron. Sure there was an instance or two where he could have done a little more, but generally he's one of the guys always boxing out and always helping the helper. One of the key plays tonight was a defensive board by Artest in crunch time. Ron got a lot of minutes tonight. Let's see how his motor is tomorrow. I expect we won't notice a difference despite playing 45. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-14 shooting (1-7 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 45 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: Nice up and under move in the post, but he was blocked by the help D. He missed a 20-footer. He posted up and was blocked from behind. He posted up Miller, turned slowly and hit a face-up from the left side. He missed a wing three on a Kobe kickout. Second Half: He bricked a long heave with the shotclock low. He missed a three. He posted up and quickly shot when he anticipated the whistle coming, he made both FTs. He missed an open three. He sank an open wing three on the next trip down. He was blocked trying to score in traffic. He missed another three on a kickout. He missed a corner jumper. With the offense stalling, he created against Deng, hitting a step-back jumper straddling the three line. Huge defensive board battling against two taller Bulls, somehow pulling it down with a minute left (that probably iced the game).

Fisher -- -- Phil got a lot of run in for Shannon at the PG. This helped reduce DFish's minutes on the first night of the back-to-back. The team just played better tonight when DFish was on the bench, not that he was doing anything bad. He worked the ball around quite well, didn't take a lot of shots and had a couple scrappy defensive plays. Shannon and Jordan, however, just gave the team a little more on both ends. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting, led the team with 5 assists, had 1 steal and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He set up Bynum off the two-man for a dunk. He stripped Miller who was going up for a jumper. Second Half: He drew a charge on Rose on the break. Long bounce pass entry to Pau for the score. He missed a three.

Lamar -- -- Offensively, like Bynum, Lamar had some very good and very bad moments. The bad got him a timeout and lecture from Phil. (We had just missed a three and Lamar came down court and bricked an early offense three on the next possession. Not only is that compounding mistakes and taking a shot we could get anytime, it also allowed the Bulls to get into transition again). The good offensive stands were on some of the cuts Lamar made off of Kobe and Pau when they drew attention. Instead of always standing on the three line, he was able to make the D pay. He needs to continue to do that. His length and quickness is easy to take advantage of when Kobe and Pau draw all that attention. Late in the game, LO came up with some key hustle plays on both ends. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-9 shooting (0-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 4 fouls in 31:24. He was a +8. The Action: He missed a wing three. He swatted a shot under the hoop on help D and it led to a breakway score for Shannon. Nice challenge on his man who was trying to finish strong. He slipped a screen, losing Noah badly and scored an And-1 reverse, he made the FT. He scored a layup off the Kobe/Pau two-man sequence. Another nice cut, this one off the Pau post and he scored a layup. He missed a wing three. He picked up his third foul while fighting for a rebound with a minute left (weak call). Second Half: His defensive speed forced Hinrich on a switch to pass and get a shotclock violation. Horrible shot selection, pulling up for an early offense three right after we missed a three in the previous possession. He missed a running bank three at the third-quarter buzzer. He bricked a layup off the drive left. Sensational play, crashing the offensive glass to grab a Kobe miss, Lamar got control along the baseline and immediately turned and drilled a 12-foot fallaway at a tough angle before the shotclock could expire with 3 minutes remaining. Nice hustle to track down a defensive board and throw it off his man.

Brown -- -- Shannon worked the bench role to perfection tonight. "A perfect, perfect scenario," he said of being able to get the win in his home town and come up big. He gave the team a big lift on both ends, including some momentum-changing play. Back-to-back scores by Shannon to start the fourth forced a Bulls timeout. Those first few minutes of the final quarter are critical and Shannon got the Lakers rolling. Defensively, he was quick and steady. He made some hustle plays at key moments. Phil was able to use him at the both the SG and PG because of it. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-4 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He pushed out the Lamar block, crossed over his man at high speed and scored with his left. He blocked Johnson on help D in transition. Second Half: He sank a sideline three in early offense. Next possession he filled a lane on the break and soared in with a slam finish. With the offense busted, he created off the dribble and hit a step-back 17-footer. Nice help D under the hoop in a scrum to prevent an offensive putback. His post entry was deflected for a turnover.

Farmar -- -- To start the fourth, he helped the team get some quick defense-to-offense strikes push out steals. Those were critical minutes in the ball game. He and Shannon led the team with a +13 each. Their solid play allowed Phil to run DFish short minutes. Minor note: Does it seem like Farmar always misses the first freethrow he takes? The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-6 shooting (1-3 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 foul in 16 minutes. The Action: He let his man fly by, stepped to his left and drained the corner three. He missed a wing three. He drew FTs on a finger roll, he made one. Second Half: He didn't hit a rim trying to beat the shotclock to start the fourth. Wise decision to hit Shannon on the break push-out, Shannon jammed. He drained the wing pull-up jumper off the pinch post. He swiped the ball from Miller on help D. On the other end, he missed the baseline jumper. He lost the ball while trying to make a layup with his left.

Phil -- -- By the time the season is over, Phil will likely end up with more wins as a Laker coach than as a head coach for the Bulls... The Lakers floundered badly on both ends in the first 4 minutes, trailing quickly by 10. "I thought we were lethargic to start with," Phil said... Kobe tied it up just 4 minutes later, lighting up the Bulls on a series of jumpers... The Lakers solved their offensive problems with Kobe on fire, but defensively their bigmen were giving up too many points. The two teams were tied 31-31 after the first... Phil started with a Bynum, LO, Kobe, Brown, Farmar lineup. He swapped Artest for Kobe after a minute and a half... Phil kept Shannon in for extended run, finishing out the first half as the PG with Fish on the bench... The Lakers held the Bulls to 27 percent shooting in the second quarter... The Lakers led 54-48 at the half. They gave up 11 offensive boards and only had 3 themselves. The Bulls had 11 second-chance points in the half... Phil called a timeout after Lamar bricked a three in early offense and barked at him and the team for shot selection. Too many three's during this stretch... The Bulls led 73-72 heading into the fourth. The Lakers scored just 18 in the third... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Artest, Brown, Farmar unit... With a 9-point lead, Phil went with a rare Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Shannon, DFish unit. (Kobe on Deng briefly)... The Lakers locked down better in the fourth, getting some key rebounds and challenging shots well. "Defensively, we buckled down," Kobe said... "We got some steals and run outs," Phil said... The Bulls out-scored the Lakers 38-34 in the paint...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Bulls had a 12-2 run early on, but Kobe reeled them in. The second unit with Brown in for Kobe took control in the fourth quarter with a 14-4.

[japanesebeef1]

No. 1 Outstanding analysis . . . . again! Thanks DB. I especially liked your take on Bynum and rebounding.

[mugwump]

Thanks, DB, always look forward to your special brand of insight...

[George W Buss]

[GoldenThroat]

Thanks, DB. It was nice to see the return of the Kobe/Gasol/Odom connection, where Kobe & Gasol run the PnR and Odom flashes from the weak side. We made a killing off of that last year, and this was the first time this year that I've seen us execute that well.

That was the best part about this game, IMO.

[AllorNothing]

We need more of the Kobe and Gasol two man team. That's why our offense was so unstoppable last year. So many options available when you have these two handle the ball.

[Klone_dd]

There's nothing as cool as Kobe on a roll. Lefty up and under, sweet midrange, pull up 3's. He mentioned in the post game that the finger stiffened up in the 3rd which, no doubt, contributed to the team's poor showing.

ShanWow was huge in the 4th. He had a stretch of so-so games, but got some inspiration from being back in his hometown.

LO was pretty uneven. However, that baseline turnaround with the shot clock winding down in the 4th kinda sealed the game.

RonRon played poorly I thought. Very surprised he had 45 mins of run time, especially on the 1st of a back-to-back. Phil had a limited rotation tonight, almost like playoff-scenario. Is he trying to condition his main 8 or saving the subs for tomorrow?

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB, I totally missed the game. I hate these Mid-west/East coast games. anything before 6:30 really throws me off.
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*sighs*

!...

[DancingBarry]

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks again for the recaps DB!

Great bounceback game from the loss in Utah. Kobe lighting up United Center and the Bulls for 42 points and 5 assists.

Pau with 16 rebounds, and good games from Bynum, Artest, Lamar, Farmar and Shannon. On to Milwaukee.
_________________
"Just show up ready to work, ready to play, Have your big boy pants on, leave your diaper at home." Kobe Bryant
Anything less than a championship is a failure. Period.

[Dr. Laker]

[mambajustkillsya]

Outstanding alaysis indeed! Pulled the words right out of my mouth and then much more.

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB. I expect a better game from Drew tomorrow night against Bogut.

[pask]

Regarding Bynum, not only did he defend an outside shooting bigman, but he also challenges a lot of penetrations, putting himself out of rebounding position.

I didn´t see the Utah game, but I bet Phil put him on Okur, with similar results.

As Gasol it´s quicker than Andrew, the only explanation to this kind of "mismatches" is Phil trying to protect Pau of fouling too much, so he makes sure to keep him on court whenever he needs him.

I´m positively sure than a lot of Gasol´s and Odóm´s rebounds can be credited to Adrew challenging shots or keeping bigs out of the rebound.


About Kobe, even if he had a great game scoring wise, he comited too many careless-silly turnovers. He also killed one own late run in the 2nd, hoisting a three in a 4 to 2 fastbreak, helping the Bulls avoid a double digit margin at the half.

[davidse]

imo, phil screwed up tonight.
odom should have guarded deng so we could have artest defend noah who is a none threat outside of his rebounding.
noah's length would have been completely cancelled out by artest's strength and and commitment to boxing out on every shot.

i'd even play small ball at times to have this match up, + i think sasha has played well when he was given a chance in the last couple of games.

to have artest for 45 minutes on the floor, have noah dominate the boards like he did and still not even try putting artest on noah is just plain dumb.
very disappointed with phil.

[Rick12322]

Thanks, DB. I didn't see all of the game but every time I did it looked like Drew was hustling more in this one. I saw more quickness from him on help D sequences, quickness that reminded me of how explosive he can be. I saw several sequences where he was causing missed shots on the help D, which resulted in boards for our teammate. I remember one where he was still practically coming down out of the air and the ball bounced off the rim and into Pau's hands.

He had a couple rebounds slip out of his fingers that were just beyond reach, and one he came down with got swiped out of his hands.

It was clear Chicago was in desperation mode, and a desperate team is a dangerous team. So we did well to escape with a win.

Shannon had a great game, there's hope for that kid. He's the perfect guy to have against these chaotic athletic teams.

[limchrc]

thanks, nice win.

[Freakout]

I admit that Drew needs to pickup the intensity but with that said what is Phil thinking by having him always cover the perimeter big's on defense? That is the thing that really makes zero sense to me.

Last night Drew should have been on Noah with Pau on Miller. Just like last year in the playoffs against Denver when he had Bynum guarding Martin who spends most of his time out of the paint. Later in they had Drew on Miller with Lamar on Gibson......

[LakerSanity]

Ron should have an easy approach to the game...

Bynum + Gasol = Ron passer, cutter, and 3pt threat.

Bynum or Gasol + Odom = Ron driver, cutter, and on the box.

No Kobe + Odom = Ron with the green light.

His number 1 priority should always be defense and rebounding, however.

It's a role we always wanted Odom to take, but he never got. Unlike LO, Ron is more of a scorer and, so, I think he is more than capable of it. He took too many shots last night, tried a bit too hard - needs to do what the defense gives him. He would have been a much better facilitator last night.
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[LakerSanity]

[wolfpaclaker]

^
I miss the Lamar Odom of last year AND the Pau Gasol. I don't know what it is exactly, LS. Something has this team playing very below their standards on offense.

My guess is the roles have changed this year. Odom is pretty much the primary ballhandler this year and Pau seems to be less aggressive in going (and taking) post opportunities this year perhaps because Kobe/Bynum are taking up a lot of the post opportunities.

What's critical is we just aren't seeing enough cutting. Last season Ariza and Odom were excellent at cutting up the opponent's defense. Finding the holes and carving them up.

This season we aren't seeing that from Artest and Odom. You can't really expect Bynum to do that because it's not his natural game. You probably want him more aggressive on getting offensive rebounds. You can't expect Kobe and Gasol to do that because they always have a man (or in Kobe's case 2 or 3) watching them.

Really it is on Lamar, Ron and our quicker guards to start cutting more. Stop all the ball watching and 3 point/jumper shooting. I'm glad Phil got upset last night and called those TO's. Someone needs to whoop LO and Ron into shape. They are settling way too much on their J. As for Pau, he needs to be fired up and fed the ball more. Something Phil would do last year.

Three things can get this team to a level offensively where I would think is enough to win it all. I'm not sure without the offense improving LA is the best team in the league. They have to improve their execution.

1- Get Pau more iso's in the post. Put it on him to create. He won't be aggressive and demand it. So you set it up. Kobe has to play a part in this as many times last season it was Kobe who got in Pau's ear and delivered him the ball in critical moments.

2- Get Lamar back playing the 4 spot. As a post sprinter or whatever they call it. This forces Lamar to play without the ball. Giving Lamar the ball to start with in the offense means Lamar stops playing at the 3 point line when he initiates the offense. You make him a post sprinter or a 4 man and he has to actually work to get the ball.

3- Same as Lamar, get Ron to cut more. He's settling for off balanced 3's and quick shots. You want Ron to be more deliberate and take higher percentage shots. The guy is a physical freak. Maybe he can't finish plays around the rim, but he'll draw fouls and contact. FT's. Even if they aren't pretty you get the other team in some foul trouble.

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[kobester]

[Freakout]