ROCKETS -at- LAKERS - 1/5 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Hand-to-Hand Combat... You've been patrolling the city defenses to make certain they are secure. One section of town has been rarely tested. As you make your way there in the Nova, the radio -- always on scan -- freezes on a station. You turn up the volume. Just static, but it's getting stronger as you head to the port.

The port is filled with stacks of large metal containers, rusted and over-turned ships. Almost everything has been scavenged and picked clean. All that remains is weathered steel and the saltwater marshes. It here when the opponent attacks. The Horsemen are already waiting.

From your vantage point, the battle looks like a wrestling match. It's slow developing as they slug their way through the mud and wetland. There are no lethal weapons on display, just an up-close physical confrontation. The biggest of Horsemen, however, seem to be prevailing.

As you sense they are going for the kill, you pull the car closer. The radio suddenly chirps to life with a broadcast you've heard before: "82 ways to die... 82 ways to die..." The message repeats again before a stronger signal interrupts. It's that damn DancingBarry:

The Horsemen were here. Once again, they were joined by Tru Warier. They have proven they can overwhelm an opponent with their offensive attack. Tonight, they showed they choke the life from them defensively. It wasn't pretty, but the result was just the same. Victory.

I will continue to track them.

Like a couple of tag-teaming wrestlers, Pau Gasol tagged out and Ron Artest stepped into the ring after missing five games with a concussion. The style of game switched dramatically from the previous high-scoring Dallas affair to a slow-moving, slug-it-out battle with the Rockets, which the Lakers eventually took 88-79.

In a span of two games, the Lakers showed they could go from high-octane offense to lockdown, ugly hand-to-hand combat. Like we said at the start of the season, there are 82 ways to die. Tonight, the Rockets took the slow, painful approach.

Of course, there are immediate questions that come up after such a dramatic shift. One night the Lakers are killing a team with their highest scoring game of their season. The next time out, they struggle badly to score, yet still kill their opponent by holding them to the lowest points the Laker team has allowed all season. The question that arises: "Is this because of Artest?"

Yes and no. With Pau sidelined and Kobe having a slow scoring night, the Lakers offense is going to struggle. Throw in the scrappy Rockets team who fight on every possession and you've already got the makings of a low-scoring game.

Ron certainly played a physical, wrestling-match type of game with a lot of time spent in the paint and some ugly offensive possessions. He wasn't very effective on that end. Asked how he liked his game, Ron said afterward it was "A little flat."

He was out of sync and sometimes out of control. That only added to the Laker offensive woes. It wasn't one thing, however, that resulted in a few less made baskets, but a variety and the Rockets stayed close all game. "They just don't give up," Ron said of the Rockets.

Defensively, the Lakers didn't either. They hustled, rotated, challenged and despite 20 turnovers on the offensive end, they didn't get destroyed in transition. Ron had his hand in a lot of that, especially in the first quarter where the Rockets were held to just 15 points.

With Pau out, the remaining Laker bigmen held the team together. Bynum led the team with 24 points, working the post with serious impact and 11 points in the fourth. Lamar Odom, sickness and all, had a near triple-double with 17 points, 19 boards and 9 assists. That's getting it done.

"I just gutted it out," Lamar said. That seemed to be the tone of the night.


Kobe -- -- With Pau out of the lineup earlier this season, Kobe went to the post relentlessly. The Lakers offensive attack didn't have that same approach tonight. Penetration of the Rockets offense is easier done on the pass instead of the dribble. They just help each other and pack the paint a ton. That's not to say Kobe can't attack off the dribble, he'll just need to do it when the defense can't gear up for him. In fact, Phil ran a play out of a timeout that allowed Kobe to get a layup on just such a sequence. Kobe was called for three charges in this game trying to attack off the dribble. He was able to collapse the D, but he just had to be mindful of Rockets charge-takers. His touch from the perimeter was also off and that made for a slow night. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 9-23 shooting (1-1 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 43 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He pumped Trevor into the air and hit the sideline jumper. He missed an elbow pull-up. His bounce pass was picked off. He attacked down the lane and drew FTs, he made both. He backed the ball out, checked the clock and swished the long sideline jumper. He had 6 points on 2-3 shooting and 2 assists in the first. He missed a long wing jumper. He gambled in the post on Battier and lost, foul for Lamar. He swished a wing three in transition. He missed a wing jumper. He got it back, spun away from Battier and hit the 12-footer with his left. He curled from the weakside and scored a layup out of the timeout. He got tapped on another lefty jumper. He missed an elbow fade. He blew past Battier and scored a layup. He had 15 points on 6-12 shooting and 2 assists. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper. He blew an easy runner at the front of the rim. He rejected Scola without leaving his feet. He attacked, took all kinds of contact with no call and lost the ball. He was called for two charges in the third, one on a pass off (the other on what should have been a pass off). He sliced around the defenders on the break and scored a layup with his left. He got tapped on a baseline fallaway. He had 2 points on 1-6 shooting in the third. He missed a turnaround in the post. He was called for a charge, this time Ariza getting the whistle. Way short on a fallaway in the paint. He attacked and missed, he hustled back to steal a kickout pass. He attacked down the lane and dumped it to LO for an And-1. He got an elbow fade to bounce in. He was stripped on a drive, got it back and hit the floater with his left with under a minute left. He was fouled on a rebound, he made one FT.

Bynum -- -- With Pau out, the Lakers went to big Drew to give them that threat in the paint. And with Pau down, Bynum's numbers went up. He led the team with the 24 points and was a couple boards shy of the double-double. The last time Andrew Bynum got a double-double was the last game Pau missed. He got the post touches tonight as the team called his number over and over. He scored on a variety of post moves, turnarounds, drop steps, jumphooks. Excellent display of the skills. It was nice also to see Phil go to Bynum in crunch time. There will be times in the post season with the pressure on when Drew may need to step up and be a first option. Two-way impact ballers are what wins rings. Defensively, he had some good challenges, The Lakers dominated the glass this time against the Rockets. They also didn't get killed by the speedy Brooks. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 10-16 shooting (4-7 from the line) to go with 8 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +16. The Action: He hit a jumphook over Hayes. He spun away from Hayes and hit the baseline turnaround. He backed down Hayes again and drew FTs, he made both. Phil called a timeout when Bynum gave up a post score to Hayes on the other end. He roofed Ariza without leaving the ground. He missed a short jumper getting shoved with no call. He got stripped by Hayes. He was called for a charge. He didn't hit rim on a drop-step lefty attempt. He had 6 points on 2-4 shooting. He scored easily on Lowry on a switch. He missed a short jumphook in the paint. He missed LO cutting for a sure layup. He had 8 points on 3-6 shooting and 2 boards. Second Half: He got an offensive board, then lost it taking contact with no call. He drew FTs on a high entry from Kobe, he made one. He sank a turnaround over Hayes. He powered in a jumphook over Hayes. He attacked from the corner, spun and missed, yelling at the ref for the no call (Ron cleand up his miss). He had 5 points on 2-3 in the third. He ball-faked, spun and hit the turnaround. He was way short on a pick and pop jumper. He sealed his man, took the post entry and guided in a short jumphook. He faced up, surveyed the floor, spun and swished the baseline jumphook. Wow, Landry just turned into Bynum and drew a foul, the Lakers were in shock. He took a lob from LO and powered in an And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He missed a jumper. He hit a jumphook from 10 feet away right in Scola's face. He stole an interior feed and was fouled, he made one FT.

Artest -- -- After losing a battle with his stairs and missing a handful of games, Ron returned to the lineup. "It's good to have him back," Phil said prior to the game. So much for the high-flying, high-scoring games. The offense tightened up along with the defense. Hard to jump to a lot of conclusions when we don't have Pau and Artest has been missing games (at least is should be). He wasn't very effective offensively. A bunch of that looked like poor decisions, but the Rockets get a lot of credit for bogging things down. Not having Pau's ability to play in the low and high posts also bogged the offense down. Kobe not shooting well also affected that. Phil, however, didn't want to risk some more miscues offensively, so he left Ron on the bench in crunch time. Defensively, we aren't holding any team under 80 points without Ron. He just tightens up our D a ton. The rotations, the strength in the paint, the hands and good reads. Hopefully, he'll get back into the flow offensively and we will be back to that good ball movement he has shown most of the season. Good to have him back. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-11 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), no assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He lost the ball trying to attack Scola in the post. He helped cause a turnover on the other end to get it back. He stripped Scola in the paint. He missed a layup trying to flip it in over his head from the post (he's something like 0-4 this season on that over-the-head shot). He overpowered Scola for a score. He missed a long wing jumper. Awkward drive and chuck in the lane (should have gone to his fallaway). He gave up FTs in the backcourt with a bad reach on Landry. Another foul giving up FTs on the offensive glass. He had 2 points on 1-4 shooting, 4 boards and no assists. Second Half: He blocked a shot on help D. He missed a three. He missed another three (the offense stalled with the ball in his hands). He curled around Scola and missed a layup, but LO jammed it back. He was called for a charge trying to set up in the post. He sank a three fading to his left over Brooks. He fell down on a drive, points the other way. He cleaned up a Bynum drive with an easy putback. He was blocked trying to power through Scola on a slow moving drive, points the other way. He grabbed an offensive board, then airballed as he attacked to his right. He had 5 points on 2-7 shooting in the third.

Lamar -- -- It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Mr. Near Triple-Double. You wouldn't have known Lamar had missed practice and had to deal with flu problems if you looked at the stat sheet or watched the game tonight. One of the guys who plays through pain or illness quite well, Lamar just brought it. Sliding to the PF, he just killed the Rockets. "He fills all those gaps for us," Phil said before the game. Afterward, "Very proud of my son, Lamar." Despite the illness, Lamar played the scrappy, hustle-type of game and effort that the Rockets play. In fact, he was beating them at their own game. He killed the Rockets on the offensive glass. He kept them from getting their own misses. Offensively, he didn't hoist long jumpers or get in position to allow the Rockets to sag off him often. He was mixing it up with cuts, post ups and crashing the glass. The Lakers out-rebounded the Rockets 50-36. LO on the Rockets: "They play hard. We respect them," he said. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-10 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 19 boards (5 offensive), 9 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He got tapped on a short jumphook. He took a feed from Fish in the paint and scored a layup. He took the ball away from Scola and scored a layup. Nice double with Kobe on Scola to force a shotclock violation. He missed an early offense three. He cut off the Bynum post and grabbed the deflected pass for a layup. He had 6 points and 6 boards in the first quarter. He missed a face-up, 15-footer. He was called for three seconds. He then picked up his second foul in the post and had to sit. He crashed the glass, tapped it once, twice and grabbed the offensive board (it led to a Kobe score). He had 6 points on 3-6 shooting and 13 boards. Second Half: Super low position, he took the post feed from Fish and scored easily at the front of the rim. He blocked an Ariza drive. He jammed back in an Artest miss with both hands. No hands up on a Scola jumper. He crashed the glass, one handed the board and threw it off Ariza. Great rotation and lateral speed to force Battier to throw a pass away. He posted up Ariza, drop-stepped and scored with his right. He had 6 points on 3-3 shooting and 5 boards in the third. He hit Bynum in transition for the layup. He scored an And-1 layup off the Kobe drive and dish, he made the FT. He grabbed a Kobe missed FT and was fouled with 31 seconds left, he made both.

Fisher -- -- Fish's team-high +19 was purely a result of being able to run with the starters. Farmar was a -12, but the difference between the two was solely with the lineups they had to run with Fish had the impact players, Farmar the deep bench. Not a bad game from Fish. Brooks didn't got for a ridiculous amount of points. DFish also didn't hoist a lot of jumpers that could have turned into transition points off long rebounds. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and 1 foul in 25:40. The Action: He attacked baseline and fed Lamar for a score. He bumped Brooks off him, then missed an open jumper. He popped up and drilled a sideline jumper next time down in early offense. He missed a sideline three. He stripped Brooks. Second Half: He found LO under the hoop for an easy score. He drew a charge on Brooks. He missed a three on a Bynum kickout. He was fouled for a couple of FTs, which he made.

Brown -- -- Quiet minutes from Shannon, but Phil went to him in crunch time. He helped the Lakers match up with the speedy Rocket lineups. He also had to deal with a taller Ariza on some defensive stands. He held his own in both areas. Offensively, he wasn't used much. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 16 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a short elbow pull-up in transition. He sank a baseline jumper off the two-man game with Powell. Second Half: He swiped the ball from Scola, but gave it right back.

Farmar -- -- Farmar was out there with some deep bench lineups. Those were some scary minutes. The team struggled to score. As mentioned, Derek's team-high +/- and Farmar's team-low -12 were purely a result of whom they were running with. Farmar just didn't have many impact players on the floor -- one of the problems with losing Pau. The Laker bench scored 14 points and Farmar had more than half of those. Phil looked like he was going to go with Farmar down the stretch again until he bad turnover late in the game. Farmar had some foul issues in this game. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-8 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 20 minutes. The Action: He was called for a hook. He ball-faked and hit the baseline jumper. He attacked from the wing, switched hands and banked the runner. He lost his man at midcourt with a behind-the back dribble, then kept the foot on the gas, took contact in the lane with no call and flipped in a layup off the glass. He then picked up his third foul and had to sit. Second Half: He missed a fade in the lane. He wasn't close on back-to-back threes. He clanked a wing jumper. He swished a baseline jumper on the Powell pitch out. A really poor PG play on a two-man seqence with Kobe, just giving it away on a bad pass. That got him benched.

Vujacic -- -- Phil used him as the Budinger Stopper tonight, subbing him in and out whenever Chase was on the floor. Sasha played his role well and gave the Lakers some nice hustle, especially on the boards. He had one sequence where he out-hustled the Rockets for two offensive boards in a row. Those are the little things and the effort you want to see from your bench role players. Well done. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting from three, but had 5 boards (2 offensive), 1 steal and 2 fouls in 7 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a three off the two-man game with Powell. Second Half: Great hustle for a couple of offensive boards.

Powell -- -- With Pau out and Lamar's illness, Phil said that Powell would have to step up. He ran him at back-up C and PF spots. He did a pretty good job in his time out there. What I liked the most was the plays where he was given the ball in the post. He fed teammates for jumpers instead of trying to score from there. That's good recognition of your strengths and weaknesses and that helps the team. The one attempt he did take from the post was a dud. Powell missed a couple jumpers from distance. Even though he has good range, he should still try to set up for the midrange jumpers if there is open space in front of him. Some good box outs and better work on the glass again. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 15:28. He was a -3. The Action: Good work on the boards on both ends, although he didn't get the rebound in one sequence. He traveled on the perimeter. He missed a wing jumper trying to create. He missed a long, open wing jumper (should have closed the gap). Second Half: He missed a baseline turnaround. He was called for three seconds. He drew FTs in transition, he made both. He sank a top-of-the-key jumper.

Mbenga -- -- Not great minutes from Mbenga. He had some sloppy offensive sequences for turnovers. No swattage, either. Despite the offensively challenge lineup he was on, they somehow managed to play the Rockets even for his brief stint. The Stats: He didn't score and had 1 fouls and 2 turnovers in 3:18. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He traveled when Farmar dished it to him in the paint. He was stripped in the post. Second Half: He did not play.

Phil -- -- With Pau out and Artest back, Lamar now filled in at the starting PF spot. Familiar territory for the team... The Lakers got off to a 14-8 start, but Phil called a timeout when Bynum gave up a post score to Hayes... The Lakers stretched their lead to 20-8 out of that timeout before the Rockets called their own timeout. (Both teams had combined for 10 turnovers at this point)... The Rockets brought in the bench, the Lakers brought in Farmar... The Rockets out scored the Lakers 7-2 to close the quarter, but the Lakers led 22-15... Phil started a Powell, Lamar, Kobe, Sasha, Brown unit... Phil sat Sasha for Farmar to match up and then Kobe for Artest... When Lamar picked up his second foul, Phil sat LO for Mbenga. So it was Mbenga, Powell, Artest, Brown, Farmar... When Kobe, Lamar and Bynum came back in the Lakers had a 28-22 lead with 5 minutes left. Sketchy minutes... The lead was cut to 4 before the Lakers extended it to 10 again with 2:23 left in the half... The Lakers led 41-33 at the half. Should have been closer, but the Rockets went 4-11 from the freethrow line. The Lakers had 10 turnovers, the Rockets 6. The Rockets shot 36 percent, the Lakers 46 percent... "Let's hope we play better, because we know they're going to play better," Cleamons said. He added the the Lakers need to feed the post and make sure they don't give up transition points or FTs... The Lakers led by 10 in the third when Powell and Farmar came in for Bynum and Fisher... The Lakers started a Bynum, Powell, Kobe, Sasha, Farmar lineup... Phil swapped Sasha for Shannon to match up with the Rockets... The Lakers led 71-63 midway through the fourth... The Rockets went on an 8-0 run, a couple of Battier threes that sparked it... The Lakers pushed it back to a 7-point lead with 1:50 left. Phil was running the starters except sitting Artest out and Shannon in. He said afterward, he thought the game would go down to the wire after those Battier threes, but the Lakers closed strong... The Lakers had 20 turnovers. They kept their three shooting down, going just 2-10... The Rockets shot 40 percent, the Lakers 46 percent...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Good start to the game for the Lakers, but their lack of bench depth with the injuries saw the Rockets keep them in striking range. Bynum was 5-7 in the fourth for 11 points.

[SoCaLjAy]

First! Thanks DB!

[lounger]

first! Thanks DB!


edit: duh... second.

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks again for the recaps DB!

Slow paced game, probably because of the Rockets gameplan or missing Pau. LO came up huge tonight. That's the LO that needs to show up each game. Now to take care of the Clippers tomorrow.
_________________
"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.

[10scott10]

great game from our bigs tonight

[AutoShackMotorSports]

FIFTH!!!! yay

[Dr. Laker]

[Trevacious]

[IPK]

[prisma8slg]

^ there's a song, "99 ways to die."

I like Phil keeping the starters on a shorter leash and not being as stubborn about calling a timeout.

thanks DB
_________________
"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."

[limchrc]

Thanks, good win.

[wolfpaclaker]

[A Mad Chinaman]

It was great that Phil was proud of his son (LO). The props were deserved when he effectively used his advantages (cutting, rebounding, etc.) and limited his weaknesses (staying at the 3point line).

Maybe the opening dialogue should be "The Four Horsemen" and Their/The Fish??!?!?!?

As stated in a recent ESPN article, maybe Drew will learn that playing outrageous defense and rebounding win rigns - like Eleven Rings for Bill Russell. However, as noted in the article, he retired 18 years before Drew was born. As Stu Lantz has oft-stated, there are rebounders and there are people who get rebounds - Drew is the later. Since Drew is still a very young player, hopefully he will learn this in the near future.

It will be interesting if this Lakers team will develop the personality of being "professional killers" - as opposed to only working hard enuf cuz of the great talent that exists on this team. On this note, playing teams like the Rockets/Trailblazers/Bobcats are good lessons on what a basketteam TEAM can accomplished. With Magic johnson, they see historic proof of what happens when a bunch of outrageously talented players are committed to being professional killers.

Alas, thoses were the days when the focus was on the court (and ladies) and not on bringing guns

[DancingBarry]

[City_Dawg]

You know Odom is having a good game when we get a screaming put-back slamdunk.

Good stuff DB
_________________
*sighs*

!...

[Klone_dd]

The Rockets are a gritty team for sure. However, they make for ugly, ugly games.

Lamar is a true barometer of the team. If his energy is up, he takes the team to a another whole level. Memo to Lamar: Better to have an NTD than an STD.

Another sweet game from Bynum. Clearly, he needs space in the paint and touches to be effective. Bynum maybe doesn't have that maturity yet to wait for his opportunities sharing the floor with Pau and thus his overall game suffers with Pau in the lineup. This is going to be something to watch over the season.

I think JoFar would've closed the game, but made 2 bonehead plays. First, he got switched off on Battier and gambled to double the post. This left Battier open for a 3. Then he made a terrible post entry pass for a turnover that led to a layup. Battier hit another 3 on the next possession. A quick 8-0 run, cutting the lead from 10 to 2, Phil yanked him after that.

[Freakout]

I thought Drew did a damn good job of reading and passing out of the doubles last night. One of the most in control games I have seen him play in the post.

Also he was pushing Hayes around and that isn't something you see often. Hayes even bothers Pau due to his short stocky build and quick feet.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]