LAKERS -at- BUCKS - 12/16 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Fear the Mamba... Fear of snakes is called Ophidiophobia.

Fear of loud noises is called Phonophobia.

Henceforth, fear of losing a game to an opponent who hits a final shot at the buzzer shall be called Kobephobia.

Kobephobia can be recognized by sweaty palms, loud shrieks, slumping shoulders, dumbfounded looks and blank stares. It is often accompanied by recurring nightmares -- seeing the same play over and over again while victims toss and turn in their beds.

Incidents of Kobephobia have been sharply on the rise, according to elite hoop scientists who monitor outbreaks of this phenomenon.

There is only one known cure for this psychological terror: cheer or play on the same team as Kobe Bryant. If you aren't able to do that, suffer the consequences.

The Milwaukee Bucks and their fans just contracted a mass case of Kobephobia. They had a 6-point lead with 1:25 left in overtime. As the buzzer went off, they stood dumbfounded, slumped shoulders and staring blankly as if in shellshock.

Kobe Bryant sank three straight hoops, the final shot ripping the net as he faded from the left wing at the buzzer. Lakers win 107-106.

He had a similar shot at the end of regulation that fell short.

"It was such a good look and I missed it," Kobe said of the first attempt. "If I had another opportunity, which I got, I wanted to go right back to the same spot and try to redeem myself."

Redemption completed. Kobe finished with 39 points and is likely wanted for highway robbery in the state of Wisconsin right now.

Not only did he steal the victory from the Bucks, he also managed to steal the spotlight from Pau Gasol who continues to put up ridiculous numbers. Looking more like the Lakers one-two punch of last season, Pau scored 26 points to go with a new career-high 22 rebounds.

"He's playing lights out," Kobe said afterward. "Once he got the first 20-rebound game, it's like the flood gates opened."


Kobe -- -- Kobe scored the last 7 points in the game. Two of the hoops will be the most discussed. The sweet fade at the buzzer was nothing but net. No debate about degrees of luck in this one, he just swished the game-winner. He had a similar shot during regulation, as mentioned, that he clanked badly (didn't get enough legs or arms into it). "He wasted a half hour of our lives," Phil joked afterward about Kobe hitting the next attempt at a game winner. This one was string music, good legs, good space on the defender. The other talked-about make was a controversial And-1 when Kobe got the blocking foul after a spin move where he plowed into Bogut in the paint. Perhaps, the fact that he spun was how he got the call. It looked like the ref on the sideline who could have called the charge clearly swallowed his whistle and a ref with a worse angle made the call. Defensively, I wish they would have had Kobe on Redd for some stretches. He's had a couple lockdown games on him in the past. We struggled to keep him in control tonight. Back-to-back situation? Whatever, Kobe went 50 minutes tonight and his jumper looked perfect at the end. (Maybe keeping him off Redd kept those legs fresh enough for the finish.) In any event some brilliant brush strokes by the Kobe to put together this late-game masterpiece. The Stats: He scored 39 points on 13-28 shooting (1-3 from three, 12-12 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 7 turnovers and 4 fouls in 50 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He attacked off the three line, pulled up at the FT line, pumped a couple times before spinning the opposite direction and hitting a lefty leaner, wow. Bad kickout and it went out of bounds. He got caught in the air on a drive and threw it away. He clanked a wing jumper. He missed a layup in transition. He drained a pull-up wing three in transition. He missed a 17-footer. His post up drew a defensive three call, he made the tech. He up-faked, blew around Bell and was hacked under the hoop for FTs, he made both. He missed a quick-fire wing step-back jumper. He missed a turnaround falaway on the baseline (had to turn too much in the air). He turned and lobbed to Bynum open under the hoop for a dunk. He attacked down the lane and hit a runner over a couple defenders. He drew FTs on perimeter working off a Pau screen, he made both. He had 12 points on 3-9 shooting. Second Half: He swished a 12-footer from the right side. He took an outlet from Pau and scored around a defender. He drew FTs on a pull-up jumper, he made both. He sank an iso wing jumper. He jump-passed to Pau who cut under the hoop for a score. He missed a one-foot fading jumper. He muscled Bell in the post and drew FTs on the turnaround, he made both. He missed a pull-up from 18 feet out. He back-rimmed an elbow turnaround. He sank a turnaround from the low post out of a timeout. He missed a baseline turnaround. He missed a three at the end of the third. He missed a pumping fallaway. He up-faked to lose his man, then attacked for a layup. He backed his man under the hoop and scored a layup over his head. He drew FTs one a drive right (LO should have cleared out, he's not spreading the floor on that play), he made both. He forced a drive right into multiple defenders (there was nothing there, just a very bad read) and he was picked off. He lost the handle on a pull-up jumper, turnover (only turnover that might have been finger related). He attacked to his left, stopped, spun and banked to tie the game with 2 minutes. He airballed a tough fallaway and wanted the foul, ugly possession. After winding the shotclock down for the final shot, he attacked left and bricked a turnaround 19-footer over Bell with a chance to win the game at the buzzer (he's usually a lot closer on that kind of shot). Overtime: He missed a three. He curled off a Pau screen and hit a quick jumper in the paint. He attacked off a screen, spun and plowed over a defender and banked in the And-1 (lucky break on the call), he made the FT. With 5 seconds left, he got the ball in the backcourt with plenty of room, he pushed it up, went to the same spot on the left wing where he missed in regulation, rose up and splashed the jumper at the buzzer.

Gasol -- -- Beasting. Just Beasting. Pau said he's pursuing the ball more. Anytime he or Lamar or Drew have had those string of games with huge rebounding numbers, that's what they are doing. It's like greed. They want to get the ball as much as they can and go after it. Ever since Pau had that 4-rebound game against the Suns, he's been battling like mad for boards. Tonight was the first time we've really seen him get the ball to score more in addition to pulling down the huge rebound numbers. Pau started off showing his range by hitting a number of jumpers. Later, he would work the post to get to the line or score in the paint. He made a clutch jumphook off the glass in OT, which kind of made up for an And-1 that Bogut scored on him late in regulation. Pau had a number of blocks tonight on Bogut, just couldn't get a stop on that play. Both he and Bynum had some very good stretches of anchoring or defending the post. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 9-15 shooting (0-1 from three, 8-9 from the line) to go with 22 boards (19 on the defensive end), 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks and 4 fouls in 48:46 of action. He was a +3. The Action: He swished a 20-footer when his man sagged off to deny a post entry. He posted up on the left block, worked for a bank and drew FTs, he made one. He sank an 18-footer after Kobe ran off him on the pinch post to draw Pau's man a little. He blocked Bogut from behind. He sank a 17-footer when his man helped on Ron. He missed a lefty jumphook. He attacked baseline and drew FTs on a reverse, he made both. He blocked Bogut's post up. He dunked on the lob in transition. He tried to dribble through a double, turnover. He swatted Bogut who tried to dunk on him. He dunked in transition off the bounce pass from Ron. He missed a bank from the left block. He hit the rim on a 40-footer at the buzzer. He had 13 points on 5-8 shooting and 11 boards. Second Half: He was called for a charge on a drive to his left. He drew FTs on a collision under the hoop, he made both. He reversed off the Kobe jump pass. He missed a 17-footer straight away. He blocked penetration to get a stop. He missed a putback at the third-quarter buzzer. He missed a short lefty jumphook. He scored a jumphook with ease over Warrick. He drew FTs on a pumping turnaround on iso against Bogut, he made both. He was lost on screen-roll D, no reason to show that high, 40 feet out, they gave up a layup to Ridnour. He took contact from Bogut and still hit the And-1 jumper over him, he made the FT. He gave up an And-1 on iso to Bogut with 20 seconds left to tie the game. Overtime: He missed a pull-up jumper attacking off the elbow. He spun away from Bogut and hit a jumphook bank with his right.

Bynum -- -- Some foul issues for Drew limited his time on the court. (Phil thought the first call was weak and mentioned it after the game in regards to giving a critique of Bynum's game.) He started off playing some very strong D, blocking and challenging shots and providing a real presence in the paint. The Bucks stayed heavily on the perimeter until they were able to stretch the floor more later in the game. Bynum and Pau should have gotten the ball more to go after Ilyasova in the post. The team focused on that early on, forcing Ilyasova to play D and had him sitting with fouls. They didn't have the same focus after that. "Overall, Drew blocked some shots. He did some things that were okay for us out there. We're not going to complain about it." Drew had a couple of turnovers early in the fourth with sloppy execution that they'd like to have back. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-6 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He missed at the front of the rim, then was called for a foul trying to follow his miss. He overpowered Warrick for an easy jumphook. He swatted Bogut's running hook, just ate it up. In transition D, he rejected Warrick's drive a few seconds later. He drop-stepped Bogut and got hit on the arm with no call. He denied Delfino's drive with a good challenge. He dunked off the lob from Kobe. He picked up his third foul with 4:37 left in the half and had to sit. Second Half: He powered in a high entry pass from Artest. He deflected a pass in the lane. He challenged a Bogut shot leaving the ground quickly on help D to get a miss. He grabbed some garbage that Kobe fumbled away and he tossed it into the hoop. He was called for a moving pick to start the fourth. He was called for three seconds on the next trip down. He had to take a foul when his man was about to dunk off the two-man game. He sat with 10 minutes left and 4 fouls. Overtime: He didn't get the jumpball. He wrapped up Bogut who was somehow given FTs.

Artest -- -- Redd was giving Ron some issues early on. Phil later mixed it up a little with Sasha and Shannon, it only made things worse. He never went to Kobe who has had some very good defensive games against Redd. Without Ron, that's likely what would have happened. With 2 minutes left, Ron got screened off, fought through it to give Redd a good challenge, but he still hit the huge three. That was a tough a break. Ron had hit a big three earlier in the OT, one of his few attempts in this one. When Ron matched up with Delfino, he locked him down. Dude had 5 turnovers in 17 minutes and didn't score. Ron just hounded him. The Lakers need to work on the spacing issues when Ron posts up. He likes to go to that left side of the glass. When he's posting up on the right block, this becomes an issue in the triangle as it brings him into our center opposite of him and his defender. On one back-to-back sequence, Pau moved out of the post, forcing Pau's man to help and Pau ended up hitting the jumper off the kickout by Ron. They will have to be more conscious about pulling defenders out of the paint for Ron when he is about to go to work there. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-7 shooting (2-5 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists and no fouls in 41 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He hounded Delfino away from the post and eventually stripped the ball off him for a turnover (he must have touched the ball three times on that play). He missed a sideline three. He pounded on Bell in the post and drew FTs, he missed both long. He posted up again and kicked out to Pau for the jumper. He bricked a corner three at the end of the quarter. He wrapped a bounce pass around a defender to Pau for a dunk. He was called for a tech when he had his arm pinned and it looked like he swung his other arm to hit an opponent (looked more like he was torqued into that). On the other end, he drew FTs getting dumped to the floor on a box out, he made both. Second Half: He attacked baseline and threw it up to Bynum for a score. He sank a three on a kickout from Pau. He tipped in a missed layup by LO. He missed a three. Overtime: He drained a wing three on a kickout from Bynum. He was "blocked" on a drive and shocked he didn't get a foul call (the Bucks would score in transition on the other end when he couldn't get back, big sequence not getting the call...but they got one later).

Fisher -- -- How about that clutch jumper in the final minute? Seems lately like if there's a big Kobe shot, Fisher can be found with one somewhere, too. You need clutch players and the Lakers have a couple of them in the backcourt. I think everyone in this game was worried that rookie Brandon Jennings was going to torch the Lakers. They didn't let that happen. They denied Jennings the paint and he didn't pursue it as aggressively as he probably could have, scoring 11 on 4-11 shooting to go with 7 assists. Late in the game our two-man D looked really confused and it cost the team a couple of times. Still, he always manages to come up with some scrappy play and he was involved in getting a couple stops right after that (a steal and a clear-out foul on Ridnour). The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-10 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He missed a long wing jumper on the first possession. He attacked off the three line and missed a short runner. He missed a three from the top of the arc. He posted up Jennings, over-powered him and scored on the short turnaround. He was fouled in the backcourt for FTs, he made one. He was blocked easily on a reverse. Bad post feed to Kobe, dunk the other way. Second Half: He shoved Bogut after a screen to give up an And-1 (DFish don't like screeners). He missed a pull-up jumper on the other end. He swiped a bad pass to Jennings. He attacked to his right in transition and threw it in over his man with his left. He sank a pull-up jumper off the Pau screen. He and Pau blew a screen-roll on D, colliding into each other to give up a layup to Ridnour. He fouled Ridnour on the next screen. He stripped a man on help D. He drew a clear-out foul on Ridnour 40 feet from the hoop. He missed a quick heave jumper from the elbow. He let his man fly by, moved in a few steps and drained the clutch jumper from the right side with 31 seconds left. Overtime: Nothing to report.

Lamar -- -- "We've been here before," Lamar said of being down late in a game. "It was kind of the same way in the finals when Fish hit those threes." It seemed like to a man, none of the Lakers or coaches had any concern about being in the hole late in a game. They executed and came up big (well, Lamar missed a bank he should have had). Some decent cuts by Lamar tonight. Good things usually happened whenever he did that. Once again, it's good to see that part of his game starting to return. That's been missing too much since Pau has returned. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and 3 fouls in 33:21. He was a -6. The Action: He sank a sideline pull-up off the Pau handoff. He blocked a drive in transition. No challenge on a drive by his man and he gave up a score. He threw a loose ball back under his own hoop, And-1 for the Bucks. He tipped in a Pau miss cutting to the front of the rim. He drew FTs on a drive when Ron kicked out to him and he attacked, he made both. Second Half: He missed a layup cutting off Pau, but Ron tipped it in. He picked up a tech when he gestured in frustration after a foul call. He hit a short jumphook on a cut off Pau against the zone. He missed a three behind a Pau hand off. Overtime: He grabbed a Kobe miss, but bricked his putback off the glass.

Brown -- -- Zoinks. He was getting worked over by Redd. That was one of our weaker links in this game. After coming up big in Chicago, he got chewed up tonight. Some indecisive moments from Shannon with the ball in his hand and it resulted in a couple of turnovers. He still scratched a few points, but hopefully we don't see that match up defensively again. After Kobe hit the game winner, Shannon resumed his position under one of Kobe's arms similar to the Heat game. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-2 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 12:37. He was a -9. The Action: Quick burst of speed off the dribble to his right and he drew FTs, he made both. He drained a wing three on the skip pass from Farmar. He carried the ball trying to decide what to do. Second Half: He was called for a reach on a Redd swing-through to give up FTs. Layup for Redd in early offense. He missed a wing three. Another layup for Redd. He traveled off the three line. Overtime: Did not play.

Farmar -- -- Okay minutes from Farmar. He couldn't connect on anything, however. The team missed some of that scoring spark off the bench. Had we gotten a couple of hits from him that would have helped keep the team afloat when Redd was working our bench over. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-4 shooting (0-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and 1 turnover in 17 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He missed a three on a kickout. He stayed on Ridnour's penetration and swatted the ball off him. No touch on a drive to his right in transition and he missed the layup. He lobbed to a wide open Pau in transition for a dunk. He missed an early offense three. Second Half: He got tripped on the perimeter and drew FTs, he made both. He traveled off the Kobe/Farmar two-man game at the end of the quarter. He missed a three after reposting to Bynum. Overtime: Did not play.

Vujacic -- -- Phil dusted him off, presumably to cover Redd and provide a couple minutes relief on the back-to-back situation. Not much time for Sasha to do much. He hustled while he was out there. The Stats: No stats in 2:33 of action. He was a -1. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Redd swished a post up turnaround over him. Overtime: Did not play.

Phil -- -- The Lakers got Ilyasova into foul toruble going at him in the first quarter on the mismatch. (They didn't keep it up.)... Phil sat Drew for LO, then brought him back in for Pau at the end of the quarter, along with Farmar for Fish... The Lakers trailed 20-19 after the first quarter... He started a Pau, LO, Artest, Brown, Farmar unit. Kobe and Artest were subbed for each other as usual... Lakers were in the bonus with 8:38 left in the second quarter, that hurt the Bucks. The Lakers didn't have a foul until a minute later... The Bucks led 47-45 at the half. The Lakers shot 14-34 (41 percent), the Bucks 19-49 (39 percent). The Lakers shot 15-19 from the line, the Bucks shot 3-4. The Bucks made 6-16 from three, the Lakers 2-8... The coaches were irked with the lack of low post touches and the number of open looks for the Bucks... The Lakers went on a run midway through the third. Lots of one-and-out defensive stops. They pulled out to a 7-point lead, but the offense began to flounder as we misfired on several shots. Phil called a timeout and got the ball down low to Kobe for an easier attempt... During that timeout, he also subbed out Artest for Sasha and Fisher for Farmar. He put Sasha on Redd... The Lakers led 74-71 to start the fourth. Phil went with a Bynum, LO, Kobe, Shannon, Farmar lineup... Several turnovers on the offensive end to start the quarter (Bynum had a couple). A 10-2 run that spanned both quarters for the Bucks... Phil brought back in his starters with LO down by 3 with 5 minutes left... They trailed by 5 when Phil called timeout a minute later. They tied it up shortly later... After a series of weak offensive possessions, Phil let into the team during a timeout... Fish hit a jumper out of that timeout... No timeout on our final possession. Kobe iso'd and bricked that jumper. Overtime. (Phil got on himself after the game for not calling a timeout there)... Phil went with the starters, Drew couldn't win the jumpball like he had to start the game... Down 4, he brought back in LO for Bynum... Down 6 with 1:25 left, Phil called a timeout. Kobe hit a quick jumper off a pretty sequence where he set a screen for Ron, then Kobe curled off a Pau screen to get the ball in an odd-man situation. He pulled up for the short jumper, but could also pass to Pau on that... Kobe then made an And-1 a few seconds later to cut it to 1... Down 1 with 5.4 left, they got the ball back off a Redd miss and called timeout. They had to take the ball in the backcourt along the sideline. No problem. Kobe took the entry with ease, attacked on iso and this time drilled the jumper. Ball game... "That was a miraculous win," Phil said. "It really was."...

Game Flow -- LINK -- The Lakers had a key 15-3 run in the third quarter, but that fell off when subs were made by both teams. Check out the final 7-0 run that was all Kobe on offense.

[George W Buss]

First!

Btw, where has the four horses story arc gone to?

[koolmo23]

Second

[DancingBarry]

[Spirit]

Kobephobia. Me likey!

[George W Buss]

[Dr. Laker]

[67ShelbyGT]

[DancingBarry]

[koolmo23]

[67ShelbyGT]

[JTS1]

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks for the recaps DB!

No one better than Kobe in the clutch - nothing more need be said (except Pau was huge tonight).
_________________
"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.

[StuLantz#1]

I think it's a mistake phasing Bynum out of the offense, which has pretty much happened. The guy was a proficient 20 and 11 when he got touches--he should at least put up 13 shots a game. There's no excuse that other guys not named Kobe or Gasol are taking shots that should be his. They need to force the issue. When the post kicks it out you kick it back in and grind out the defense and force them to work.

It's unusual trying to make sense of why this was a close game by looking at the box score. We shot better than they did and outrebounded them. They put up like twenty more shots than we did, but that's because we had more trips to the line. Turnover differential wasn't that significant. The additional six three's they knocked down is the thing that stands out I guess.

[LakerSince72]

[chilake24]

[NYLakerFan]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[ChefLinda]

[limchrc]

thanks

[BigEvil]

Kobe... he's a bad, bad man.

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB

Kobephobia
_________________
"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[Luca Brasi]

pau is playing a game right now i didn't think he was capable of; his rebounding and defensive have vastly improved over the last three years. i always knew he was a brilliantly talented offensive player, with a myriad of offensive moves, seemingly unparalleled for a player of his size, but i was skeptical of how well he could rebound - a career 9 reb avg. - and how well he could defend at his position. he's playing unbelievable basketball right now.
_________________
"i was born down in the valley where the sun refused to shine, but i'm climbin' up to the highlands, goin' to make that mountain mine" ~ Lakers, 2011

[Klone_dd]

The Bucks showed the Lakers not named Kobe a lot of respect. I mean, why else do you give Kobe 2 chances to win the game against single coverage?

I guess Kobe wanted the added pressure of winning or losing on a single shot as opposed to winning or going to OT. The And 1 he got was extremely fortunate. To me, it was either a charge or walking, but he is Kobe. I found this foretlling tweet from Kevin Ding:

[City_Dawg]