WARRIORS -at- LAKERS - 12/29 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Speed vs. Muscle... The Yenko Nova roars through the highways and backroads of ghost towns and abandoned suburbia. As you spot the city -- the stronghold of the Horsemen -- two sports cars suddenly pull up along side you, the vehicles a metal collage of gray primer and mix-and-match parts. You test their engines and press the gas to accelerate ahead. They gun it and catch up with ease.

To your left you see a man climb from the passenger seat and perch in the window like Spiderman ready to leap. You aren't liking the pace of things. As the car jockeys for closer position, the man jumps for your vehicle.

You slam on the brakes. He tumbles into the highway, cartwheeling like a rag doll.

You need to do this at your pace. You decide that sometimes the best defense is a good offense. When you converge again with the other cars, you take it to them. You out-muscle the first car, forcing it off the road and into a spinout. The other car you funnel into the back of a parked tow truck that had its ramp lowered conveniently. The result: a spectacular, CHiP's-esque, airborne wreck. You even bother to stop so you can pull out the unconscious bodies because you sense the car is "gonna blow!"

DancingBarry has beat you to it. He's taped a note to the chest of one of these road warriors:

The Horsemen were here. How much they miss Tru Warier might be seen in the overall impact of their defense. They just aren't the same without him. No matter, they still have the Four Horsemen.

I will continue to track them.

Nothing like a 71-point second half to counter the 60-point half the Lakers just gave up. If you can't lock 'em down, I guess you try to out shoot 'em. That's what the Lakers ended up doing in the 124-118 win over the Warriors.

The Warriors tried to out run the Lakers, beating L.A. 30-9 on the break. The Lakers decided to out-size them, doubling them up on the offensive glass and killing them in second-chance points.

Kobe Bryant was making sure the Lakers weren't dropping this one. He scored 44 points to go with a season-high 11 assists. He had 7 assists in the first quarter, setting up his teammates to get them going early. Then in the fourth, he scored 17 points down the stretch. "He's amazing," said Warriors Coach Don Nelson. "To be able to shoot like he did with a finger problem on his shooting hand and to take a game over without the same shot he usually has is really something. I love watching him play, and it's always a pleasure to coach against him."

Pau added a season-high 27 points. He imposed his size on the Warriors along with the other Laker bigmen.

The Warriors were able to take advantage of Laker miscues or blocked shots to get out in transition. In the third quarter, the Lakers triple-tower lineup just out-sized them. Lamar, who had a horrible first half, dominated the glass with 7 boards in that third.

Phil used a variety of lineups tonight, going from the extreme size with Bynum/Pau/Odom to smaller lineups with Kobe at power forward. He closed the game with both Sasha and Farmar on the floor in crunch time.



Kobe -- -- He's been putting in some good efforts despite the Lakers struggles in the past few games. He damn sure didn't want to drop consecutive games, let alone consecutive home games. "By his effort alone, I think we owe this game to him in the win column," Phil said. The numbers put up by Kobe are just ridiculously good. He scored his 44 points on 27 shots and had the season-high 11 assists. He got 7 of those assists in the first quarter as he drew attention and hit his bigs for a number of easy scores at the rim. In this 40+ point game, Kobe actually got to the line quite a bit. He made the most of it, hitting all 16 attempts. Defensively, he had a variety of covers, but spent a chunk of time against Ellis. Phil ran Kobe at PF against Vlad for one stretch. There was a sequence of this game where Kobe got rejected by Turiaf as he tried to throw down on a Ronny. VladRad then dunked on the other end in transition. Kobe was grinning with Ronny about the play. The moment must have felt like a Laker practice session from a few years back. The Stats: He scored 44 points on 13-27 shooting (2-6 from three, 16-16 from the line) to go with 11 assists, 4 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 43 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He hit a cutting LO, who missed the layup, but Drew cleaned it up. He kicked out to DFish for a three. He posted up, drew a defender and lobbed to Bynum for a dunk. He spun, was blocked, got it back and missed. He got away from his man in the post and lobbed to Drew for the dunk. He dunked off the backdoor lob from Lamar. He threw a bouce pass to Farmar on the baseline, looked like it was too low and Farmar couldn't handle it. He missed a three in early offense. He missed a wing three out of a timeout. He jump-passed to Pau for FTs. He had the ball knocked free, got it back and hit the turnaround from the elbow. He had 4 points on 2-6 shooting to go with 7 assists in the first quarter. He missed a FT jumper. He swished a baseline pull-up jumper. He swished a step-back jumper next time down. He spun at the elbow, hung and pumped in an And-1 jumper, he made the FT. He dropped a post entry out of bounds (bad finger?). He spun through a double team and drew FTs while flinging the ball around Ronny, he made both. He drained a long jumper over Vlad. He missed a three over him next time down (Warriors zoning Kobe). He attacked on a two-for-one possession and drew FTS, he made both. He scored 17 points on 6-12 shooting to go with 8 assists. Second Half: He stepped around a screen and scored a layup. He stepped through a double team and drew FTs, he made both. He stepped back and swished a 21-footer over Ellis. He missed a jumper, but LO cleaned it up. He drew FTs on a jumper. He missed a layup expecting to get a whistle. He kicked out to Fish for the wide open three. He missed a baseline jumper. He got rejected by Ronny on a dunk (Vlad dunked the other way...and Kobe and Ronny were both grinning about that exchange). He lost Ellis who was completely turnaround by a fake spin to the baseline, then Kobe hit the jumper over him. He drained an open wing three. Left alone by Vlad again in transition next time down and Kobe drained another three. He cut through defenders, spun and swished an elbow jumper (he yelled at the refs for missing the foul). He zipped a bullet to Lamar for an And-1 under the hoop. He missed a three out of a timeout. He missed a leaner over Vlad (got to take him off the dribble). He sank an elbow And-1 jumper, he made the FT. He drew FTs getting smacked hard on his finger, he took a long stroll and called a timeout with 4 minutes left, he made both. He thought he was mugged on a shot and drew a tech with 2 minutes left up by 4. He was fouled intentionally on an inbounds pass, he made both FTs.

Gasol -- -- The Lakers one-two punch was fully intact tonight. Kobe was picking apart the Warriors and Pau was quietly going about his business at a high level. He still had 2 of his shots blocked and committed 3 turnovers, those were the things that were really killing the defense as the Warriors quickly capitalized on them. There was a stretch when Pau was the only impact player on the floor. He had back-to-back post scores as the team smartly ran the ball through him. The result gave Kobe a brief rest and kept the Lakers from losing ground. Then Phil brought Kobe in to run at PF beside Pau. First time those two have been in that situation. That's what a Don Nelson lineup may allow. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 10-16 shooting (7-8 from the line) to go with 12 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 45:20. He was a +13. The Action: He went to work quickly on the first possession and hit a jumphook with his left in the middle of the paint. he missed a wide open baseline jumper. He took a baseline pass from DFish and dunked over Biedrins. He took an interior feed from Farmar and scored an And-1, he made the FT. He telegraphed a pass in the interior, it resulted in an LO clear-path foul. He drew FTs cutting off Kobe and taking the jump-pass, he made one. Another pass of his was deflected. Next time, he ball-faked and it opend up a lane which he took for the dunk. He had 10 points on 4-6 shooting. He hit a short lefty jumphook. Pau was called for a foul on an OC drive by Randolph, who then missed both FTs (ball don't lie?). He spun baseline and dunked on the other end. He ball-faked then swished the 13-footer from the left side. He missed a 19-footer to beat the shotclock. He scored 16 points on 7-10 shooting and had 8 boards. Second Half: He had an offensive board pop to him and he hit the short hook. He scored an And-1 off the Lamar board and pass. He was stripped in the post. He knocked a FT miss off Biedrins to get the possession back. He flashed to the ball, moved in with a dribble and hit the 14-footer. He was blocked, dunk the other way. He was blocked again by Turiaf. He blocked Turiaf's jumper on the other end. He worked Vlad in the post and drew FTs, he made both. He drew FTs on a post entry pass, he made both.

Bynum -- -- The triple-tower lineup seemed like it would be most vulnerable in this game to the uptempo, fastbreak style the Warriors play. The Warriors were able to convert a lot of steals and blocked shots into points in transition in the first half against them. Bynum was in on a few of those turnovers. In the second half, the triple towers dominated them. Bynum did a good job on the boards and imposted his size on the offensive glass. He was certainly at a double-double pace. Phil still opted to go for the more mobile Pau/Lamar lineup when it came to crunch time. He sat Bynum to close both halves. At the end of the night, Drew finished with a team-low -6. Bynum has said he he's felt stiffness in his right knee. Knee issues are not something Laker fans like to hear from Bynum. It doesn't really seem to be hindering his mobility, especially on a nice steal he had on an inbounds pass. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-7 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. The Action: He tipped in a missed layup by LO. He was blocked trying to gather himself off a high entry pass. He lost the handle as he turned into the lane. He dunked when his man went to challenge Kobe and Kobe lobbed to him. He lost Turiaf on an up-and-under and dunked. He had 8 points on 4-5 shooting. His outlet was picked off, then he didn't close on the three shooter he was guarding. He was stripped in the post. He didn't hit rim on a jumphook. He had 4 turnovers and was a -16 in the first half. Second Half: He tipped in a missed baseline jumper by Fish. He drew FTs on a post entry, he made one. He jumped the passing lane on the inbounds pass and stole it.

Lamar -- -- This was certainly a bipolar game from Lamar. In the first half, he was turnover prone and rejection prone. All of that led to transition opportunities for the Warriors. In the second half, right from the start with the triple-tower lineup, he started imposing his size on the Warriors. He wasn't standing around at the three line, he was working off the ball. That is so key to his game, and he finally was embracing it. He was giving the Lakers second-chance opportunities on one end and challenging shots on the other. His work at the SF in the second half helped the Lakers dig out from their hole and take a lead. Phil then ran him at the PF spot late in the game and Lamar had some clutch plays in the final 2 minutes. It's just a world of difference when he's working off the ball, diving down the lane and crashing the boards. Lamar got swatted 4 times in this game (eventually, he gave a little fake in the post to freeze a shotblocker, but it took him a while to figure that out). He was a -12 in the first half, but a +10 in the second half. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-12 shooting (0-2 from three, 3-5 from the line) to go with 11 boards (4 offensive), 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 5 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: Nice dive cut off Kobe, he missed a layup, but Drew tipped it in. He posted up, Maggette totally flopped to the ground, but LO kicked it out instead of taking the layup. He backdoor lobbed to Kobe for the easy score. He missed a three, dunk the other way. He attacked, lost it, layup the other way. He muscled an offensive board from a Warrior and drew FTs, he missed both. He took a clear path foul when Pau threw a soft pass to him and it as intercepted. He got swatted at the rim, uggh. He kept a Kobe miss from three alive. No pumpfake and he was swatted easily by Ronny at the rim. He didn't score on 0-5 shooting and had 3 of his shots blocked. Second Half: He tapped it once, twice, then gathered the offensive board and scored the Kobe miss. He crashed the glass, pulled down the missed shot and fed Pau for an And-1. He swatted a shot on the other end. He swiped a pass, pushed out the break with Fish and got fouled, he made both FTs. He was blocked again on a dive cut, not faking enough around the rim. He missed a three (had Fish wide open). Under the hoop and Kobe found him, he windmilled in a bullet pass for an And-1 layup, he made the FT. He yelled at the ref when Maggette drew a bogus foul on him and drew a tech with 4:16 left. He posted up Maggette, ball-faked (finally) and hit the short hook. He swatted Morrow's drive. Stupid reach from behind Maggette on the offensive glass after the ball was secured, sending Corey to the FT line after a missed shot by Kobe. He put back in a missed three by Sasha with 1:45 left. He was hit with 1:05 left for FTs, he made both.

Fisher -- -- "Fish struggled. It was a struggle for him," Phil said, mentioning all the minutes and back-to-back situations. Despite his decent +6 for the night, the defense seemed to have a bit more life in it when our backups were in. Phil has given both Farmar and Brown some quality minutes under pressure during the past few games. The minutes at the PG spot are always sketchy, but it hasn't been a very successful December for DFish. He has shot .375 from the floor this month. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-6 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. The Action: He drilled a wide open three from the top of the arc. He got backdoored for a layup on the other end. He picked up two fouls midway through the first quarter, the second one on a three-pointer. Out of a timeout, the play busted and Fisher missed a wing jumper. He attacked and was stripped for a layup the other way. He missed a three in transition (bad idea). Second Half: He attacked baseline and missed a jumper. He missed a wide open three. He swished a wide open three off the Kobe kickout.

Brown -- -- Shannon had a couple bad offensive sequences that didn't play to our strengths. That may be one of the reasons Phil opted for Sasha versus Shannon to close the game. It's the same thing that got Sasha in the doghouse to begin with. Despite that, Shannon actually brought some decent production off the bench. He hit a three and got the team some points at the end of the both the first and second quarters on the final plays. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-6 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 block and 1 turnover in 19 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He missed a pull-up jumper from 16 feet. He drew FTs with 0.4 left in the quarter on a long jumper, he made both. Nice challenge on Ellis to get the stop. He missed a wing three. He jammed down a dunk over Vlad when Farmar fed him (should have been an And-1). Second Half: He drained a three off the Pau kickout. He didn't feed Pau, then hoisted up a three when the ball was swung back to him (Phil sat him for Kobe right after that).

Farmar -- -- Nice to see Farmar put together a night that Phil could go with him down the stretch to close out the game. He had a couple miscues, but he was giving the Lakers better energy and Phil didn't give him the hook. This may be the first close game that Phil has allowed him to close this season. Late in the game, he hit a big three and came up with a couple of nice defensive plays. "We just tried to be aggressive, tried to make up for last night," Farmar said. He needed a game like this and, hopefully, he can build on it. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-10 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He attacked and dished to Pau for the And-1. He hit a jumper while Fox Sports was playing a replay. Straight line penetration and his man got it back easily on the other end. He missed a corner three. He scooped up a loose ball, attacked and fed Shannon for a dunk. Second Half: He posted up and swished a fallaway from 10 feet out. He swiped a pass, pushed it out, hung until his man flew by and flipped in the layup on his way down. Nice effort to hit the floor and nearly get a steal a few seconds later. He tied up Curry with Sasha on a double team. He drained a wing three in transition. He bricked a runner a few feet away (looked like he wasn't sure whether he was going to pass to Pau). He fouled Watson on a three. Train wreck offensive sequence, he eventually fumbled the ball away in the corner. He missed a wide open three. He swished a high-arching three with the shotclock low. Nice hustle to flag a pass from Ronny under the hoop and come up with the steal with a minute left.

Vujacic -- -- Like Farmar, Sasha got to close a close game tonight. Such is life without Artest. Despite the three fouls in the fourth quarter, he played a reasonable enough game. There were certainly moments that made you cringe on both ends. I think Phil went to him over Brown for a few reasons: his size, threat from the perimeter, and because Shannon made a couple bonehead plays. During the fourth quarter, Sasha committed two fouls early on trying to work around screens. In the final minute, he got a moving screen call to go his way and that helped bury the Warriors last hopes. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 1-3 shooting (3-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and 5 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He drained a three a couple steps behind the line. Second Half: He fouled Ronny with half a second left on the shotclock trying to tap out a loose ball. Some "Rage Against the Machine" when Morrow tried to give Sasha some business in transition and drew a T. Sasha made the tech. Two fouls trying to work around screens to start the fourth. He missed a quick-fire corner three with no other Laker down court. He got beat for a layup off the give-and-go. Good hustle on the defensive glass to get Vlad to shove him and earn FTs, he made both. He missed a three. He smacked Ronny on a reach to give up FTs. He drew a moving screen on Biedrins with 41 seconds left to get a stop and foul him out.

Powell -- -- He's gotten one defensive board in his last 21 minutes. Tonight, was another set of zeros in the stat box in his limited action. The Stats: He had no stats in 3:43 of action. He was a +5. The Action: In briefly and, of course, the opponent quickly gets a putback score. Second Half: He did not play.

Phil -- -- Phil said the team has a decided advantage at the power positions with Drew and Pau. "We have to do more things than just take the ball down and just throw it in," he said before the game. He said they need to have actions and create space for them. In other words, quit standing around after you dump the ball in... Phil started Lamar again at the SF for Ron despite the Warriors fastbreak game. In the first half, he was flat. The second half was a different story... A lot more action from cutters or extra passes to bigs to start the game for the Lakers. Kobe setting up his bigmen... Out of the timeout, the Warriors went on a 10-0 run and the Lakers trailed by 5... Phil brought in Farmar for Fisher who had two fouls. The Lakers trailed by 6... The Lakers offensive miscues led to open court action for the Warriors... The Lakers trailed 35-29 after the first. The Warriors shot 64 percent (14-22). Warriors had 10 points on the break in the first quarter... The Lakers fell back further to start the second quarter... Kobe caught fire for several possessions to chip the lead down to 10 before Phil sat him... He ran a Pau, Powell, Sasha, Brown, Fisher lineup... Phil then brought back in Kobe to run at PF for Powell... The Warriors won the second quarter 25-24. The Warriors shot 11-23 (43 percent) in the second quarter... The Lakers trailed 60-53 at the half. The Lakers shot 49 percent (21-43), the Warriors 56 percent (25-45). The Lakers had 15 assists, but 10 turnovers in the half... The Lakers cut the lead to 68-65 forcing a timeout. Big lineup was doing a good job on the offensive glass... The Lakers took the lead, but Phil called a timeout after both LO and Pau were blocked and the Warriors took it the other way for easy scores... With a 1-point lead, Phil went with a Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Sasha, Farmar unit as he made his first subs... The Lakers won the third 35-26 with 12-25 shooting, while holding the Warriors to 10-19 shooting... The Lakers led 88-86 to star the fourth. Lakers had a 20-6 advantage on second-chance points after three quarters... Phil started a Bynum, Pau, Sasha, Brown, Farmar lineup... Phil swapped out Brown for Kobe a couple minutes later... The Lakers trapped out of a timeout and forced a turnover... Phil closed out the game with a Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Sasha, Farmar lineup... The Warriors shot 55 percent, the Lakers 48 percent...

Game Flow -- LINK -- The triple-tower lineup was a +2 tonight. They had a key 15-3 run in the third quarter. Lamar was huge during that stretch.

[67ShelbyGT]

1st?

Yay.
_________________
Alltime lineup: Magic | Kobe | MJ | Hakeem | KAJ

[DD20045]

2nd..? thanks as always db

[DD20045]

2nd..? thanks as always db

[mambajustkillsya]

No one is in the same league as Kobe!!!

[limchrc]

Thanks, nice to get back to the winning column.

[The Predator]

Man, Ronny has a good block on Kobe
_________________
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

John Wooden

[AllorNothing]

Phil got that right. Bynum and Gasol are getting the ball on the lowpost but there seems to be hardly any movement from the perimeter players.

[DancingBarry]

[ishi331]

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB.

The big lineup is 2-1 without Ron. I hope PJ tinkers with this lineup throughout the year. If only we could get Luke back - maybe PJ gives this lineup a little more burn. We'll see - nice option to have.

Props to Sasha and Farmar for making Fish a 4th qtr spectator.

Nice bounce back game for Pau.

Nothing else needs to be said about Kobe. The guy can do NO wrong in my book.

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks again DB.

Lakers need to focus more on Defense or the W's will be harder to come by. Can't always count on Kobe and Pau to carry the team.
_________________
"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.

[A Mad Chinaman]

Hopefully when Drew gets his legs, the PGs will be more effective in "funneling" the quick PGs into the "bigs." Farmar/Shannon/Sasha played more effectively (relataively speaking) that provide a building block when they face the elite teams such as the Magic, Celtics, Spurs and Cavs (again).

We should buy LO a lot of candy to keep him active in the game. His is an instant mismatch that we don't seem to capitalize on enough. Hey, maybe we should have a "Candy Night" just for LO@

[DzLaker]

[Vishnu]

Thanks DB

[smiles]

sasha was in there for matchups purposes based on phil's post game interview. I don't think sasha is going to be seeing much time in the kings game. And phil admitted bynum struggled out there, especially his turnovers. He needs to pass the ball out if his mobility is limiting him and better decision making.

[Shaber]

Finally some rage against the machine. Not having these has been a large disappointment for me this season so far...
_________________
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Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[A Mad Chinaman]