LAKERS -at- SPURS - 3/24 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Maestro... The boat winds its way through a narrow river that cuts through urban decay. Along its banks, the River Walk has been devastated by the Apocalypse. Nothing here but scorched earth and the carcasses of burned out buildings.

Up ahead you hear classical music echoing through the lifeless surroundings. The boat comes to a halt as you near the source. Jumping off, you follow the sound through dead buildings until you reach an abandoned, Old West-style jail.

A lone battery powered radio sits atop a table and plays music. "Hey, let us out!" Someone yells as you jump back a step. Several old men grab the rusted jail cell bars and shake them.

"Leave 'em," says a voice behind you. It's Tru Warier, grinning insanely. He pretends to conduct the classical music like a Maestro. The men in the cell scream and rattle the bars. Tru Warier blows them a kiss and takes a bow.

As he leaves, you are about to follow when the song on the radio abruptly ends. DancingBarry interrupts:

"The Horsemen were here. They played prison guards for a night and locked down some unruly locals.

I will continue to track them..."

When the Lakers flex their defensive muscle, it's a sight to see sometimes. Quick scrambling defensive rotations. Ron Artest...everywhere. Bigmen containing the post. The Spurs saw all of that in the second half, getting held to 35 points on 29.7 percent shooting as the Lakers took their seventh straight win, 92-83.

Late in the game, Ron Artest came up with his fifth steal on a beautiful reach from behind on a driving Spur. He secured the ball, then blew kisses to the crowd as Stu described him as "the Maestro."

He and Kobe had a couple of virtuoso performances in that second half.

The Lakers took control of the game with an 11-1 run in the middle of the fourth quarter. That stretch of game was highlighted by great defensive plays by Gasol and Artest. Pau had a block and steal, Artest with a couple of steals. Although Pau struggled offensively, he held Tim Duncan to just 6 points on 2-11 shooting.

Offensively, Kobe was the Maestro. All second half, Kobe made the Spurs decide how they were going to pay. Leave him on iso against defenders and suffer. Send the doubles and he'd dish the ball to his teammates. Down the stretch, he buried them.

Five tough games on the road, the Lakers passed their first test.


Kobe -- -- A beautifully orchestrated game from Kobe. The Spurs had no answer for him despite several different defenders. When they started to overplay and double, he hit teammates for open shots. The ability to switch gears seamlessly like that is what kills teams. And if the game's close, he's the best closer in the game. Down the stretch, he went for the kill with several clutch hoops for the Lakers to run away with it in the final minutes. Kobe led the team in assists (one of them was a Magic-like, no-look bullet to Lamar under the hoop that was a thing of beauty). Defensively, the team also doesn't lockdown on the Spurs if Kobe play his part on that end. Sometimes Kobe's ball-watching or floating will burn the team. Not tonight. Great game from 24. In a playoff atmosphere, he looked playoff ready. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 11-16 shooting (2-2 from three, no FTs) to go with 4 boards, 6 assists, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 42 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He no-looked a bullet feed like Magic to Lamar under the hoop for a dunk. He banked a short pull-up to pass Alex English for 12th on the scoring list. He missed a corner jumper to beat the shotclock. He swished a turnaround in the post over Hill. He missed a long wing jumper. He had 4 points on 2-6 shooting after the first. He tripped over Mbenga and lost the ball. He faced up, attacked and powered in a layup. He drained a turnaround over Hill. He faced up and hit another jumper over Hill. He had 10 points on 5-9 shooting and 2 assists. Second Half: He attacked and kicked out to Fish for three. He attacked, collapsed the D and hit Ron for a three. He up-faked Manu and banked a jumper from the right wing. He blew past Manu on iso for a layup, forcing a timeout. Instant double for Kobe on his next touch after that timeout. He attacked (between the legs on several dribbles before what looked like a quick Bodiroga move, insane skills) and he hit a cutting Pau for a layup. He had 4 points on 2-2 shooting and 3 assists in the third. He attacked and hit Farmar for a wing three. He worked back and forth off the dribble and hit the short jumper over Manu in the lane. His pass to LO was picked off. He settled for a long jumper and missed (probably only one of those all game). He sank a ridiculous 30-footer with the shotclock low. Spurs got lost and Kobe was left wide open on the sideline three, that's always money. He attacked with speed to his right, pulled up and swished the hanging baseline jumper.

Gasol -- -- "When one aspect of your game is not working out for you, you've got to make sure you contribute in other ways," Pau said. What's Pau talking about? The 6 points and 2-11 shooting he held Duncan to on iso D. Both guys were doing a good job on D, but Pau ended up owning the individual match up. Crack open a history book to figure out what the lowest Duncan has been held to against the Lakers. In crunch time, Pau had a couple of stops that helped the Lakers begin to dominate. Really, the only issue he had was on some defensive boards with guys coming from behind him. Offensively, no post game from the Lakers in this one. Pau tried to go iso on Duncan several times but was not very effective. The clearly missed Bynum's size, especially since it meant minutes for Powell or Mbenga. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-11 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 12 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 5 turnovers and 2 fouls in 43 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He missed a wide open 10-footer. He swished a face-up wing jumper. He couldn't control a FT miss rebound and it led to 4-point possession. He missed a short bank over Duncan in the post. He was called for a charge on the screen-roll. He attacked and missed a reverse looking for a foul call that never came. He had 2 points on 1-4 shooting in the first. He drew a charge on help D on an attacking Blair. Duncan poked another offensive board from behind Pau to regain possession. Duncan poked a ball from him in the post. He faced up, turned back around and then hit the jumphook over Duncan. He missed a lefty jumphook. He had 4 points on 2-6 shooting, 5 boards and 3 turnovers. Duncan had 4 points on 2-7 shooting. Second Half: Another missed FT goes to the Spurs and they scored off it for another 4-point possession. He drew FTs on a good passing sequence when Ron found him open under the hoop, he made one. He was called for a bogus moving screen on a flopping Manu. He cut off the Kobe double, took the pass in the lane and scored the layup. He missed a jumphook over Bonner. He rejected Duncan's jumper out of bounds with the shotclock low. He was stripped on a double team. He grabbed an Artest missed drive and it led to a three. He had 3 points in the third 1-2 shooting and 4 boards. He missed a 12-footer, way short. He drew FTs in the paint next time down, he made just one. He swatted Duncan's drive and fade in the lane, great D. He spun away from the double and banked the jumphook with his left. He swiped a bounce pass on the two-man game. Duncan pushed off to get an offensive board, leading to a three-point play. He missed a lefty jumphook with the shotclock low.

Artest -- -- If you love watching good defense, the second half of this Laker game had some great sequences. Most of the time, it was Ron Artest disrupting the Spurs from all angles. Quick hands, guys bouncing off of him, hard-nosed, non-stop D. He even threw in some steals and tank-rumbling bustouts for scores. He ended up with 5 steals after all his disruption. This is the kind of playoff-intensity/road-warrior dirty work that wins games come post season. When he's playing like that, who cares what he does on the other end. Ron, however, was effective on that end, too. He was bodying up his man in the paint to produce scores or offensive boards. He would have been even more effective had he hit his FTs. He led the team with 9 FT attempts, but made just 5. He also led the team with a +16. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-11 shooting (1-5 from three, 5-9 from the line) to go with 8 boards (2 offensive), 3 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 36:36. The Action: He overpowered Jefferson in the post for the Lakers first score. He hit Lamar with an interior feed for a layup. He missed a corner three. He stole a board from McDyess and drew FTs, he missed both. He posted up Jefferson and drew FTs away from the ball, he made both. He missed a sideline three. He had 4 points on 1-3 shooting and 5 boards. Second Half: He swished a three on a Kobe kickout. He swiped the ball from Jefferson at midcourt. He missed a wing three on a kickout. Nice extra feed off the three line to Pau under the hoop for FTs. He somehow grabbed an offensive board and flipped it up and in all in one motion to score an And-1 on Jefferson, he missed the FT. He attacked in transition (should have pulled it out), but drew FTs, he made both. He was called for travel on a baseline drive. He stripped the ball from Manu on the perimeter, pushed out the dribble, Manu bounced off him once on a reach, tried to get back but Artest scored the layup, "that's a man playing against a boy there," Stu said. He blocked Hill from behind on a drive. He missed a three. He choked a layup with his left. He had 9 points on 3-6 shooting in the third. He closed on McDyess and swiped the ball from him to go coast to coast for a layup. He stripped Duncan under the hoop. He missed a three over Duncan. He stripped Mason, lost sight of the ball and kicked it out bounds. Bonner tried to drive by him, forget about it, Artest swiped the ball. He was then fouled on the other end, he made one FT.

Lamar -- -- He may have the shoulder issues (which you could see from time to time), but when he's aggressive and playing to his strengths, that is trouble for the Spurs. Bonner, McDyess, Blair, whomever the Spurs have defensively on him, he's too much to handle. He didn't go after the match up with Bonner as much as you'd like to see, but the team also has to recognize it and set it up. Defensively, it seemed like the Spurs were able to get away with over-the-back aggressiveness against our bigs. Lamar may not have the strength in the shoulder to fight for boards like that. It looked like he was in pain after one such sequence. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-18 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 13 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 5 fouls in 42 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He was stripped on a cut to lose the ball. He pushed up a rebound, attacked left and scored a layup. He powered up a layup off the Artest feed. He dunked off the Kobe bullet pass. He fell while grabbing a board, dribbled himself up, took it down court and swished the 18-footer. He smothered Jefferson on the baseline, swiped the ball from him, took it the distance and scored a layup with his right with a second left in the quarter. He had 10 points on 5-6 shooting after the first. Quick outlet to Farmar for a breakaway dunk. He was blocked on a drive and asked for the shove foul. He sized up McDyess, attacked right and banked in a layup over him. He missed a three. Off an inbounds a second later, he missed another three at the buzzer. He scored 12 points on 6-10 shooting and had 6 boards. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper. He screamed for an over-the-back foul that didn't come, three for the Spurs on the second chance. He missed a baseline jumper. He chased down an offensive board and hit Shannon for three. Poor challenge in the corner on a three and Lamar gave up 3 FTs to Mason, Lamar's fourth foul. He got it back with a sideline three on the other end. He attacked way too soon (with 12 on the clock) and drew FTs on the drive, he made both (luckily the Lakers didn't pay the price on the other end). He had 5 points in the third. He missed a jumphook in the lane. He missed a three with the shotclock low. He missed layup off the Kobe feed to rob him of an assist, but he made the putback.

Fisher -- -- Although Hill went off in the first half for 20 points, there were a variety of Lakers that had trouble with him, usually on scrambling defensive rotations. Hill was be left open for sideline threes a couple of times. The low wing screens, however, with Duncan seemed to get Hill aggressive in the midrange or around the rim. The Lakers sagged off more with their bigmen in the second half and that seemed to be that. Offensively, the Spurs wanted DFish to beat them. He was left open quite a bit and struggled to make them pay. That will be a recurring theme if he can't knock down the jumpers. He did move the ball well on a few sequences and that helped. Fish was in a bit of foul trouble in the first half, but didn't have issues in the second half. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 3 fouls in 22:13. He was a +5. The Action: He missed a long wing jumper. Left open, he missed a wide open three. He got sealed in the post and gave up a layup to Hill. He picked up his second foul with under 4 minutes left and had to sit. He quickly picked up his third foul after a minute of third-quarter action and he sat. Second Half: He sank a three after hesitating on a kickout from Kobe. He missed a wing three. He missed a wide open wing three on the Kobe kickout. Nice strip off Bonner's leg, but the refs gave it back to the Spurs. Great, quick swing pass to Shannon for a three. He came in for Kobe with victory in hand.

Brown -- -- The Lakers struggled to get over the hump in the third quarter against the Spurs. They were knocking on the door, but couldn't get through it. Right after Phil sat Kobe to get some rest, Shannon stepped in and measured back-to-back threes from the right wing to tie the game up and get the lead. When he lets the offense come to him and can hit those DFish-type catch-and-shoot type looks, he's a difference maker for the team. After those sequences, he got some run to start the fourth and was too aggressive with his own shot. Just run the offense through the guys getting doubles and good things will happen. Defensively, consistent energy, effort and athleticism was very effective. Just his ability to recover to guys a step quicker than our others makes a big difference. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-5 shooting (2-2 from three) to go with 3 boards and no fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He banked in a long wing jumper off the pinch post. Second Half: He drained a three to tie the game up. Great passing sequence next time down and he swished another three. He missed a step-back jumper on iso to start the fourth, horrible execution. He missed a reverse badly next time down (at least he ran the offense).

Farmar -- -- Great game in a hostile environment from Farmar. He did a very good job running the offense and taking shots that became available, instead of forcing them. He also showed some nice off-ball cuts on a couple of occasions. The PG spot needs that as a change up from DFish's predictability. They also need a shooter to knock down the open threes. Farmar did that, too. Offensively, that is exactly the combination of shooting and cutting that the team needs to find from its PG spot. As a result, Phil let Farmar close the game in the fourth quarter. Those are some quality, playoff-type minutes for him. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting (3-4 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 26:23. He was a +2. The Action: He missed an open wing three. He was blocked on a curl by a flat-footed Duncan. He busted out, took the outlet and dunked at full speed. He was called for stepping on the sideline as he tried to attack. He drained a wing three on a kickout to just beat the shotclock. He sank a wing three on a kickout. He missed a baseline jumper out of a timeout. He had 8 points on 3-6 shooting. Second Half: He drained a wing three on the Kobe kickout. He gave up FTs to Hill on the perimeter.

Vujacic -- -- Quiet game from Sasha. Phil gave him a brief stint to see what he could do against Manu in the first half then kept him on the bench. The Stats: He didn't have any stats or +/- in 2:44 of action. The Action: Brief stint in the first half. He got the crowd briefly riled up when he held Manu's jersey for half a second on a drive. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Powell -- -- With Lamar in the starting lineup, the toughest minutes for the team to survive is the double dose of third-string bigmen the Lakers have to run. When Powell's not hitting his jumper, that makes it even more difficult to stay afloat against good teams. The Spurs were able to run their Blair/Bonner duo and not pay a price for it. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-4 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 6:03. He was a -3. The Action: He threw an inbounds pass off the side of the backboard, turnover. He was blocked under the hoop, got it back and hit Farmar for a three. He missed an 18-footer, long. Another long jumper, another long miss. Second Half: He missed a baseline jumper.

Mbenga -- -- He came in for Pau at the end of the first, Phil ran him for a few minutes into the second quarter. He bogged down the offense on multiple possessions. The team was just out of sync trying to work around him and with him. He did get a swat that ignited a break. The Stats: He had 1 points on 0-1 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 4:42. He was a -3. The Action: He was called for a moving screen. He missed an elbow jumper. He cut weak to strong, took the pass and was fouled trying to finish, he made one FT. He swatted Manu to ignite a break. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Phil -- -- Pop called an early timeout after a 10-6 Laker lead with multiple scores from Lamar... The Spurs hit several threes to take a 7-point lead... Down 21-14, Phil subbed in Farmar for Fish... Down 25-16, Phil called a timeout with 2 minutes left. Hill had 14 points, killing the Laker PG spot and anyone else who rotated... Out of that timeout, Phil sat Kobe for Shannon... Phil went to Mbenga for Pau with a minute left... The Lakers trailed 25-22 after the first. Spurs were 4-8 from three, Lakers 0-3... Phil started a Mbenga, Lamar, Kobe, Shannon and Farmar unit... No exposing of Bonner/Blair in the post and the Lakers trailed 33-25. Phil went with a Pau, Powell, Kobe, Sasha, Farmar lineup... Phil had some words for Bogans who kept holding Kobe and finally got called... Down 8, Phil went back to the starters midway through the second quarter... DFish only lasted a minute before pulling "The Sasha" foul on a the sideline... The Lakers weren't able to establish any low post game in the first half, other than a few Kobe possessions... They trailed 48-41, shooting 44 percent (18-41). The Spurs shot 44 percent (19-43, 6-17 from three). The Lakers had 8 turnovers, the Spurs had 4. Hill had 20 points on 8-11... The coaches said they looked at tape and game planned for Hill in the second half... The Lakers cut the lead to 1 and hovered there for most of the quarter... Phil sat Kobe down 3 for Shannon. A couple Shannon Brown threes on two possessions and the Lakers were up by 3... Hill was scoreless in the third... After winning the third 30-18, the Lakers led 71-66 heading into the fourth... Phil started a Pau, Powell, Kobe, Shannon, Farmar lineup... The Lakers quickly trailed after a 7-0 run (not playing to their strengths)... After 3 minutes, Phil sat Powell for Lamar up by 2... The Lakers were out of fouls after 4 minutes... The Lakers pulled out a 9-point lead with 3:29 left... A minute later, they had the lead to 10... The Lakers held the Spurs to just 17 points in the fourth... The Spurs were held to 37.5 percent shooting. They made just 2-10 from three in the second half. Meanwhile, the Lakers finished 10-20 from three... Lakers made just 10-17 from the line. Thankfully, that didn't cost them... The Lakers locked down the Spurs for 11-37 shooting (29.7 percent) in the second half....

[uberzev]

FIRST! THANKS DB!
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Lakers Gonna Lake

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Great win on the road tonight - slow start and falling behind numerous times got most fans worried, but lockdown defense by Pau, Ron and LO (especially in the 2nd half) helped to regain the lead, then it was Mamba Time. Great to see them being more aggressive and contributing positively.
Now on to the next victim of the road trip.
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"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.

[City_Dawg]

The Captain of the Offense and the Captain of Defense came through tonight, great stuff from the Lakeshow.Phil was also pretty fired up tonight.
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*sighs*

!...

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!

Good game Tru Warier... Keep them old men locked down. Nice to see the defense playing like they mean it this time!

[8750]

thanks, DB
best half of this season so far. with an affordable pg, our d with this lineup would be terrific

[night89]

I think this game shows that Drew should not come back until he's at least as explosive as he was against the Kings. Pau has the capability to play 43 min without a noticeable drop off, so unless he "surpasses" that(like being able to play 40 min, but put up better numbers), his impact will be small, and pretty much any upgrade comes from not having to play Powell/MBenga.

To me, when he comes back doesn't matter. As long as he's strong and explosive enough, there will be no need for time to integrate, because the game becomes a lot easier, or plays itself out, so to speak, as long as he is physically dominant enough of course.

I hope that he doesn't "chicken" out about adding more weight to his frame, because of a small injury. If it comes down to it, I think his being 320 full of muscles against the Cavs is much better than if he played the entire postseason at say 295. He's been careful about his weight through the season and made it this far, no need to chicken out, especially at the time that we most need it. 4 games of 25 and 15 against the Cavs(probably the only series that we'll need him), that should be his mission.

[20,000]

1st!
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Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB

Ron blowing kisses to the crowd

[limchrc]

thanks, good win.

[Rick12322]

That was the best blend of reading the D, passing and scoring by Kobe that I've ever seen him do. It was brilliant.

[Hades]

Just curious how did Powell threw an inbounds pass off the side of the backboard
any video?

[RVCdesigns]

"The Maestro" I enjoyed the title and although I missed the game, I was able to see the highlights ( thanks JD2k ) and right away noticed that this was another defensive masterpiece lead by Ron. Thank you as always DB.

[Arizona]

Love it when Kobe is that efficient. Just a joy to watch. Mix it up Kobe, it makes you and the offense unpredictable and deadly. Loved the defense, especially in the second half. Ron played great, Pau stepped up defensively, and LO gutted it out and played a great game in spite of the hurt shoulder. Props to him. The Lakers are just more fun to watch when LO is on the court.

Great win! Keep em coming!
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“I’m just a basketball player, you know? Just put me where you need me.” -Lamar Odom

“You’ve got to play with pride and guts.” -LO

[squidward]

We beat a winning team. Wooohooo. It's gonna get a bit harder from here, but I feel like the Lakers played with a sense of urgency. Let's keep it going.

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB.

I like the momentum this team is starting to build. They seem to be able to make adjustments as needed. Hill was smoking in that first half and was shut down in the 2nd half. For this team to adjust to how a player is playing is key especially come playoff time. 35 second half points for SA in their building is amazing. This team can play really good defense when they have their mind set.

I'm greedy. Now I want to see them sweep this 5 game roadie.

[A Mad Chinaman]

DB - thanks

Re: PG/Facillator
With Kobe's performance, it sheds additional light on what type of PG is needed with Kobe and/or LO. It doesn't a JKidd/CP3-type that needs the ball to draw doubles since no one is better than Kobe.

Re: Pau
He did a great job on TD, but the need to have Drew for opponents such as Shaq/Howard/Nene (possibility)/Yao Ming (in the future) definitely exists if one notes Pau's numbers against Cleveland. Noting that (besides Kobe) the Lakers have very few reliable outside shooters, Pau will afforded little room to move/pass.

Re: Artest
RonRon showed why he is here. Ariza is a good player that people say have offensive skills that is "appropriate" for The Triangle. Since Mitch/Kobe/Phil/myself/others are only talking about what is needed to win another ring - Artest is the right person, despite his periodically offensive "troubles." It is funny that people didn't realize that RonRon was the focus of Houston's offense throughout the playoffs and beformed well.

Re: Farmar
Jordan is showing that he is a good player (meaning he has good games, bad games and average games). Is he a starting PG for an elite team, nope. Hopefully, he will find a way to be effective when his outside shots are not falling by making good decisions while he is running the team. Since the next road games feature teams with quick guards, it will be interesting to see how he does since we know that the stronger PGs will just take him to the post.

Re: Lakers' Effectiveness
The concern that I have is that if you practice bad habits (which these games are since the Mavs/Nuggets/Thunder can't catch them and the Lakers can't catch the Cavs), it will bite your A.. at the most opportune time. Obviously the best scenario is that the starters play efficiently (not necessarily emotionally) so that the 2nd team can get minutes to sort out their problems. With Kobe playing more minutes this year, than last year, it is something to monitor. Hey, these games might help LO to develop even further his right hand!

[macwebb]

Most of the time, it was Ron Artest disrupting the Spurs from all angles. Quick hands, guys bouncing off of him, hard-nosed, non-stop D. He even threw in some steals and tank-rumbling bustouts for scores.

I'm so glad you reported that...I can still see Manu getting picked and bouncing off of Ron trying to recover...He's literally like a bull in a china shop...that was hilarious...

[LakerSanity]

We will need a better game than that from Pau against Cleveland. Pau won't need to defend Varejao like he did Duncan last night, but Varejao will defend Pau like Duncan did (luckily Pau might be spared from Varejao due to Jamison's appearance). The same can be said against KG/Wallace and Boston. Of course, that's assuming we have Bynum to match up with Shaq/Ilgauskus/Varejao and Perkins/Wallace respectively.

If we can't get at least 15 points on 50%+ shooting from Gasol against either of Boston, Cleveland, or Orlando in the playoffs, we will struggle. We can beat any team in the West with what Gasol gave us last night, but not those three. He still needs to step up a bit (granted we could have fed him a bit better last night as well).
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[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[Sister Golden Hair]

[DancingBarry]

I don't know about kickout vs. swing pass, but I think the more open they are on the catch and shoot, the better (is that stating the obvious?). The good passing sequences usually start from some type of kickout that has the D scrambling to recover. I still feel like we hit those shots when they make that extra swing pass off those initial kickouts. Like DFish swinging it to Shannon last night for the wide open three. Those are the three's Shannon and Farmar should be taking. Not the pull-up, off the dribble types like Hodges talked about.

The real key is getting that initial defensive collapse and then moving the ball via the pass for high percentage looks off that.