SPURS -at- LAKERS - 4/4 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Laying an Easter Egg... When Andrew Bynum went down, Phil said the team would miss his easy points. Mix in a slumping Kobe, forcing the offense to lean heavily on others, and you've got even bigger problems.

"Totally inconsistent from one game to the next, shooting wise to defensive play," Phil said after the 100-81 loss.

The offense will be inconsistent with its current problems. The only reason the Lakers took the win in the last game with Kobe's poor shooting was both DFish and Lamar Odom stepping up. Hard to rely on them every game.

With Kobe continuing to misfire again and again, the Lakers trailed by as many as 15 points midway through the game. They scratched back to cut the lead down to 2 in the fourth quarter.

Soft perimeter defense allowed the Spurs a number of easy buckets and the Lakers were quickly buried for good. Hard to believe L.A. was as close as they were with the way the final score ended up.

Their two-man D and help rotations were exploited badly. Only Pau Gasol was able to produce consistently on the offensive end.


Kobe -- -- Kobe's shooting has been awful the last two games. Unfortunately, he couldn't find an efficient way to produce offense for the team. He wasn't getting to the line like the last game (and seemed to get a lot more calls than usual going against him, even ones you never see called). Kobe tried to get the ball in the post and work from there, but it seemed too often he settled for jumpers even after long stretches of not hitting anything. Seemed to be very similar type of game to early in the season when he wasn't used to adjusting to poor shooting outings and would keep firing with the bad finger. He had the team-low -17 as a result. Defensively, a few too many instances of standing around. He got upset about it later in the game. Look for Kobe to hit the gym and make some adjustments. He usually seems to work on something when stringing together a couple bad ones. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 8-24 shooting (2-6 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 6 assists, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 41:13. The Action: He missed a 21-footer to start the game. He gave up a putback score to Jefferson. He got lost and gave up a wide open three to Jefferson. He banked from the right block. He missed a short one over Manu. He drained a wing three on a kickout from Pau. He hit Pau in the middle of the lane for an easy jumper. He settled for a long jumper against McDyess and missed. He was called for a bogus travel in the post. He missed an open baseline jumper. His behind-the-back pass was picked off. He had 5 points on 2-6 shooting. He was called for slapping a handcheck away on a drive. He didn't hit rim on a chuck from the corner trying to beat the shotclock. He was bodychecked on a turnaround jumper for FTs, he made one. He hit Pau with a bounce pass for a dunk. He attacked in early offense and overpowered his man for a layup. He posted up, drop-stepped and scored a layup around Hill. He missed a wing pull-up jumper. He was taken down from behind on the break, slapped in the head and was ticked with the refs, he made one FT. He missed a floater (got hit with no call). He was called for a tech. He was stripped for a dunk. He was stripped again (foul with no call). He had 11 points on 4-11 shooting, 4 assists and 4 turnovers. Second Half: He missed a long jumper, settling again. He missed a short baseline jumper. He missed a hanging bank. He missed another jumper, his man dunked on the other end. He missed a wing three. He was 0-5 and didn't score in the third. He was hit on a turnaround for FTs, he made both. He ball-watched and gave up a possession (this one irked him). He quickly got over it and scored a layup in transition around Manu. He posted up, faced up quickly and swished the wing jumper. He missed a pull-up next time down. He drained a three. He missed a long heave at a three in early offense. He attacked and hit Lamar for a layup. His layup was goaltended. He missed a runner.

Gasol -- -- Offensively, Pau carried the team. He was really the only threat, which was ultimately the problem. He was sinking face-up jumpers, drawing fouls and running the floor well. On the other end, there was no toughness or defensive anchoring. Some very poor two-man D that Manu exposed a number of times. And as good as Pau was against Duncan last time out, Tim was able to get whatever he wanted. He backed Pau down with ease too often. The Lakers didn't play big in the paint today. Occasionally, we had Luke at PF and certainly missed Bynum, but the paint was too easily exploited. The Stats: He scored 32 points on 13-20 shooting (6-8 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 41:13. He was a -11. The Action: He hit a short jumphook in the middle of the lane. He swished a face-up jumper from the right side. He hit Kobe on a kickout for three. He drained a 10-footer when Kobe found him off the double. He powered in a layup on the break with Lamar. He airballed a fading jumper off the dribble. He scored a layup off the bounce pass from DFish. He missed a jumphook. He got tapped on a lefty layup. He had 10 points on 5-8 shooting. He hit a jumphook with good position on Blair. He choked a layup and was asking for the foul. He blocked a shot, then was stripped. Poor D on the screen-roll, leaving a wide gap that Manu could easily split. He dunked off the bounce pass from Kobe working the two-man game. He was hammered under the hoop off an interior feed, he made one FT. He had 15 points on 7-11 shooting. Second Half: He faced up and hit a jumper from the left side. He sank another from the other side on a DFish drive and dish. He blocked Manu's shot. He missed a 3-footer that he should have had on an inbounds. He was called for a moving screen while sealing his man as Kobe drove for a layup (bogus, bogus call). He dunked after stealing the ball from Duncan. He hit Shannon cutting behind the D for a layup. He was blocked on a dunk. We got it back and he was hammered for FTs, he made both. He drew FTs when Lamar posted up and found him, he made both. He had 10 points on 3-5 shooting in the third. He missed a three on his first attempt of the fourth. He slammed back in a missed Kobe jumper. He swished a high arching wing jumper. He missed a face-up jumper and wanted the foul. He was hit in the lane off the Kobe feed, he made one FT. Duncan scored a layup with an up and under. He hit a jumphook off the Kobe feed.

Artest -- -- Manu has been slaying teams lately, averaging 28.6 points in his last five games. Manu had 14 in the first half. The Lakers mixed up their coverage a little in the second half, but still struggled to contain him. Manu dropped another big game, scoring 32. "Tonight, they just wouldn't let Ron play the way he played prior to that," Phil said. He said they could hook Ron and the refs were turned against him. "He didn't read that official well enough to know you've got to back off." Ron failed to spread the floor offensively, missing 7 threes. When he's set up camp and missing from there, the Laker offense becomes very predictable. He's got to hit the threes, especially when others are struggling. The Lakers didn't push him into the paint to out-muscle anyone this game. The two makes Ron had from three were on the move versus the open set shots. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-10 shooting (2-9 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He missed a wide open wing three. He drained a fading sideline three off the Pau pitch out. He missed a three in transition. He called for Pau to set a screen and missed a three. He missed an open sideline three. He and Manu were called for double techs, Ron couldn't believe it. He hit a 30-footer with the shotclock low after a jumpball. He airballed a half-courter at the buzzer. He had 5 points on 2-7 shooting (1-6 from three). Second Half: He missed a wide open three. He swished a three on a kickout from Pau. He missed another wide open three. He was 1-3 in the third (all threes). He fumbled a handoff out of bounds, unforced error out of a timeout.

Lamar -- -- When he was active and involved in the offense, the Lakers did well. When he was floating (which was most of the game), there was no surviving. The Spurs don't have a lot of answers for him, no matter how they mix it up. The team (and Lamar) just has to decide to focus on it. Without Bynum...and with Kobe struggling...Lamar has got to bring impact ball or the Lakers will suffer. "He has to come focused, especially now that Bynum's not in the game," Michael Cooper said in the post game. He also added he thinks Lamar ultimately will be the reason they win the championship. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-8 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 13 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He pushed up the break and hit Pau for the layup. No box out and Bonner scored a putback. He swished a wing three in early offense. He lost the handle on a drive and missed a chuck in the paint at the end of the quarter. He was called for three seconds when we couldn't get the ball to him against Bogans. He had 3 points on 1-2 shooting, 7 boards and 3 assists. Second Half: He missed a wing three. Finally, the ball in the low post and he scored an easy jumphook. He pushed up the Pau steal in transition and whipped the ball back to him for a dunk. He sank an 8-footer over Jefferson. He posted up and fed Pau for FTs. He missed a fade in the post (power up). He scored a layup off the Kobe drive and dish. He picked up a tech for chucking the ball after a foul.

Fisher -- -- Sold game from Fisher. He didn't try to do too much. He didn't force shots. After that second-half benching a couple of games ago, he seems to have made a turnaround the last couple of games. The Spurs, of course, aren't going to be running a ton of offense through their PG spot without Manu and with another PG going down with an injury. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting, 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 28:40. He was a -11. The Action: He swished a 21-footer in early offense. He pressured his man in the backcourt to draw a push-off foul. He then set up Pau on the two-man game for a layup. He swished a wing jumper. He had 4 points on 2-2 shooting. He attacked off the three line and banked a runner over Duncan. Second Half: He missed a floater. He attacked and kicked to Pau for the jumper.

Brown -- -- Very active defensively at times, showing his quick hands and hustle. Phil had him on Manu for a stretch. Even though he didn't score much, the minutes were better. Providing that hustle is much needed. His only score came off a cut when the Spurs were scrambling. That's what the Lakers need more of. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 2 blocks in 17:29. He was a -1. The Action: He tied up Jefferson on a near steal. He missed a pull-up jumper in the lane. Good hustle back on D to knock a ball away. He swatted a drive on help D. Second Half: Nice double with Pau to force a shotclock violation. He got tapped on a sideline three. He scored a layup off the feed from Pau while cutting behind the D. He missed a pull-up 15-footer. He missed a tough bank in the paint. Poor ball watch and Manu hit a three.

Farmar -- -- The bench finished a poor 2-15 with 4 points. There was a brief stint where the bench seemed to come to life in the second half. The Lakers chipped away at the lead and almost pulled even, then they got smacked badly. Phil said it was hard for them to get into any rhythm because of the short stints. The loss of Bynum means less impact ball surrounding the bench players during their stints. That spells trouble. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 foul in 15:36. He was a -1. The Action: He missed a wide open 16-footer from the right wing. Poor rotation and he gave up a three. Nice bounce pass to Pau, but Pau couldn't finish the layup. Second Half: He airballed a baseline jumper. He missed a wing jumper. He finished a lob from Luke to start the fourth. He swiped a pass and ignited the break. He missed a wide open wing three, never went up straight.

Luke -- -- Welcome back, Luke. He came in after 3 minutes into the second quarter to run at the PF spot against Bonner. The team still saw that big dropoff, however, by not having both LO and Pau in the game during that first stretch. He was a -5 in that stint. In his next stint (+3), they were much more active, Luke included. He found teammates for scores and moved the ball well. Defensively, he couldn't challenge in the paint on his rotations at PF and the Lakers were unable erase mistakes. Good to have him back. Hopefully, the back holds up. "There's a good chance it's going to start hurting again, but there's nothing I can do now," Luke said. The Stats: He didn't shoot and had 2 assists and 2 fouls in 8 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: He lobbed to Farmar to start the fourth. He went to the floor to recover a loose ball and was tied up. He attacked and hit Pau for the jumper.

Vujacic -- -- Phil gave him some run at the PG and SG spots. Sasha airballed his first attempt from three and drew some loud groans from Staples. The Lakers were a poor 5-21 from three. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-3 shooting (0-2 from three) and had no other stats in 6:30. He was a -9. The Action: Brief stint at the PG, then he slid over to the SG. He airballed a three on a kickout from Pau, ugggh. Next time down, he fired another three and missed. Second Half: He missed a baseline jumper.

Powell -- -- Phil brought him in down 14 for the final couple minutes to cover Duncan for Pau. The back-up PF minutes went to Luke this game. Good call there despite the Lakers struggles. Need to get Luke in as many minutes as we can fit in before the playoffs. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting and had 2 fouls in 2:31. He was a -5. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He freed Kobe up with a good screen. He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a pull-up elbow jumper.

Mbenga -- -- Phil gave him a little first-half run while the game was still up for grabs. He gave Manu a little something to think about on both ends, including a hard screen. He got some brief garbage time run. The Stats: He didn't shoot or score and had 1 turnover and 1 foul in 3:42. The Action: Nice challenge on Manu's layup to force a miss. He leveled Manu on a moving screen (Kobe left a hair too early). Second Half: Nothing to report.

Phil -- -- The starters pulled out to a 19-13 lead after 9 minutes... The first sub was Shannon for Ron. Fisher for Farmar followed... The Lakers led 24-22 after the first. Both teams shot over 50 percent... He brought in Luke after 3 minutes into the second quarter, running a Pau, Luke, Ron, Kobe, Sasha lineup... They trailed by 5 before Phil sat Ron for DFish... They were outscored 26-16 in the second quarter. The Spurs fronted a lot, taking away easy post passes... The Lakers trailed 48-40 at the half. The Lakers shot 48 percent (17-38, 3-11 from three, 3-6 from the line). The Spurs shot 50 percent (20-40, 4-9 from three, 4-5 from the line). The Lakers had 9 turnovers in the half... Phil sat Fisher for Shannon with about 5 minutes left... Lamar started to get more involved and the Lakers cut the lead a little... They trailed 67-59 heading into the fourth... "Nothing seems to work right," Phil said, suggesting they needed to find a rabbit's foot or an Easter egg... Phil started a Pau, Luke, Kobe, Shannon, Farmar unit... They went on a 6-2 run to force a quick timeout... The Lakers cut it to 2, but some soft perimeter D and they were trailing again by 7, so Phil called a timeout... The lead ballooned to 15 out of that timeout... The Lakers were out-rebounded by 7. They were out-shot from the FT line (Lakers 10-14, Spurs 19-24), despite just committing 2 more fouls than the Spurs...

[BigE32]

1st! Thanks as always, DB. We laid an egg on Easter, no pun intended. I'm not feeling real confident about the team with only two weeks before the playoffs. Our bench is totally nonexistent and doesn't provide any type of positive contribution. MK really has work to do this postseason to address our issues. Kobe's really struggling with his perimeter shot. All I hope is that we can turn it around.

[Goggles]

Poor game all around.

[Cutheon]

[kobe0825]

When is Pau gasol gonna man up and learn how to play D?
Duncan made THE same move 8 times in à row and gasol didnt do (bleep) about it
_________________
Impossible is Nothing ...
Impossible is a big word Thrown in the world by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given then to explore the power they have to change it.

Impossible is not a fact. Impossible is an opinion.

[City_Dawg]

Thanks Db.

Its getting to the point where you cant expect them to play well.
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*sighs*

!...

[lounger]

[angrypuppy]

Usually Pau's length frustrates Duncan, but today Duncan used his lower body strength, balance and a well-planted elbow to abuse Pau. Without Bynum, the Lakers have to resort to an occasional double to keep Duncan from getting comfortable. For some strange reason, the Lakers were more likely to send an ineffectual double on the perimeter, but not inside.

My real concern remains Kobe's finger. I'm not confident we'll go far this postseason unless Kobe's improves his shooting and reduces his turnovers.

[triplepurple]

First of all, awesome job Dancing Barry. Very nice and complete summary there.

This is the line that worries me and says it all to me even though it's hardly new. In fact, it's so not new that it's become "acceptable" and "normal":

[night89]

Drew's gotta be licking his chop, knowing that this team definitely needs him. However, we don't need him to come back against Denver. What really matters is how healthy and strong he is, going into the playoffs. Also, the less games he plays with the added weight(assuming that he's adding them), the better.

[City_Dawg]

[DancingBarry]

[lounger]

[RVCdesigns]

Thanks DB, Lakers layed an egg for sure.

[Cutheon]

[A Mad Chinaman]

Great job DB

Re: Farmar
He showed flashed on why he should play, but in the end - provides reasons why he wilts when the the lights are the brightest. Example: He led the bench to get closer but made some mistakes that concluded with an ill-advised 3point shot where Phil immediately took a timeout and took Farmar out.

Re: Kobe
Getting concern that his finger issues is severly affecting his shooting - as noted by him missing shots that he normally makes 9 times out of 10, along with missing free throws - something that Kobe usually never does.

Re: Pau
As noted by the ABC newscasters, Pau is having problems properly defending P&Rs with experts such as Manu and TD. Being stuck on "no man's land" and/or not limiting the options available to Manu, it left defenders such as Shannon and Artest helpless not trusting how they want to defend the P&Rs. With Drew out and LO was playing "The Invisible Man" - the Lakers were helpless on D resulting in not getting any stops.

Re: Lakers
With the Lakers having nothing to motivate them against teams fighting for playoff positioning, along with the current roster STILL not knowing how to defend as champions and having pride in their play, everyone hopes that these inconsistencies will not come up and bite them in the A.. during the playoffs.

Re: Phil
How many times does Phil needs to give this team the opportunity to learn how to win?

[mhan00]

[LakerLanny]

Well it looks like Sasha has rounded into playoff form.

Wouldn't want to miss that from the rotation, gotta have the no shooter, no defender guy in the rotation, great.
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Love, Laker Lanny

[DocK36]

[revgen]

[Shaber]

This team just needs another weapon. You can't win behind just one man playing well. This time it was Pau alone. That is not enough. Hopefully Kobe will get his together by playoffs. I don't expect much from Ron, but he will help on D. Lamar could be the key, or Bynum could be the key. But in playoffs, Lakers need at least three guys beasting it up and producing consistently on both ends.
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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

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB
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"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."

[a2531459]

[limchrc]

Thanks, hope we win the next game.

[Rodman28]

We lost because of two reasons:


1. We had no interest in Rebounding whatsoever.

2. Everyone, esp Artest, thought they were Reggie Miller.

Terrible game, and terrible officiating when it came to Artest.
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*On Thin Ice*

I guess I am kind of injury prone.- Andrew Bynum

These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess.- Kobe Bryant