LAKERS -at- JAZZ - 5/10 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Gnashing of Teeth... You return to the bright white building with walls made of salt bricks. The sound coming inside can only be described as angry wailing and the gnashing of teeth. It is music to your ears.

The Horsemen are delivering a beatdown. The ground shakes beneath your feet at times. Eight bells chime in the distance.

The Horsemen exit the building and a barrel marked Gasol-ine is opened up. The battle is won, but they are not done. The Horsemen pour the Gasol-ine and light a broom on fire. They hand the makeshift torch to the Man Who Can Kill You in 0.4.

The salt burns brilliantly like White Hot Death.

As the flames rise high into the night sky, there is a tap on your shoulder and you are handed a note. DancingBarry:

"The Horsemen were here. The Mamba and the Spaniard led the charge, but all were intent on complete and total victory. With the task completed, they are given a new one. The Association has lined up their next opponent. They fight in a week.

I will continue to track them..."

Sometimes the game becomes personal.

The bile spewed toward Derek Fisher from Utah Jazz fans clearly angered several of the Lakers. They tried to bite their tongues in the press and make their statements on the court.

The statement: You are going to be swept.

They took game three and then pounded the Jazz in game four. "People made Kobe mad," Deron Williams said after the 111-96 loss. He mentioned Charles Barkley calling Kobe old. He probably couldn't mention his own fan base, but Kobe was clearly steamed about the treatment of DFish.

Late in the game up by 22, Kobe hit a jumper on the baseline and then turned around to glare at two fans wearing "Fisher Lied" T-shirts.

The Laker one-two punch delivered a couple of haymakers. Kobe had 32, Pau led all scorers with 33 points on 18 shots. He thoroughly dominated the Jazz on both ends of the floor. Carlos Boozer fouled out with just 10 points on 4-11 shooting.

"They got us out of sync because their defense was so good," Jerry Sloan said. "Every shot you get is tough. They make you earn it. That's why they won a championship." It's a shame Jazz fans can take the cue from their head coach, who is always gracious.

The Lakers move on to the Western Conference Finals against the Suns. Asked what Kobe thought about getting knocked out of the playoffs twice by Phoenix in the past, he asked, "What you think?"


Kobe -- -- While some Laker fans were wondering who would guard Deron, the real question of this series was always, "Who would cover Kobe?" Four-straight dominating games. Kobe is the only Jazz opponent to score 30-points in four straight games. He's done it twice. Kobe was not about to allow the Lakers to have a let down tonight. He's been stewing a bit about the Jazz fans and their treatment of DFish. ("That's just bad people," he said of the over-the-top Jazz fans the day before.) He wanted the sweep on the Jazz home floor. At one point late in the game, as mentioned, he sank a baseline jumper up big, turned around and stared at a couple of Jazz fans wearing the "Fisher Lied" T-shirts. Fans that make Kobe mad do not do their team any favors. "He's a terrific player," Sloan said. "He's a great competitor. I don't know what all you can say about him, he's just a wonderful player." Health-wise, Kobe was in pain at one point with the finger. He had to call a timeout because of it. Don't be fooled that the finger issue has gone away. He's fighting through it every game. The Stats: He scored 32 points on 11-23 shooting (0-2 from three, 10-12 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 41 minutes. He was a +16. The Action: He scored the Lakers first points on a baseline jumper over Deron. He attacked the lane, spun and swished a jumper. Slow bounce pass to Bynum easily picked off for a layup the other way. He spun and hit the jumper in the lane. He kicked out to Ron for a three. He found Pau coming off the screen for the short jumper in the lane. He backed Matthews down and scored a layup. He had 8 points on 4-5 shooting and 3 assists in the quarter. He swiped a post entry pass out of a timeout. He missed a quick-fire three. He missed an off-balance, hanging jumper next time down (bad sequence on those). He posted up, hung, pumped and drew FTs, he made both. He faced up, popped up off the dribble and hit the elbow jumper. He wanted the goaltend on a missed drive (clearly his layup hit glass first, but Pau cleaned it up, anyway). He had 12 points on 5-9 shooting and 4 assists. Second Half: He missed a pull-up jumper in early offense. He slithered through defenders off the high screen and drew FTs, he made one. He missed an open baseline jumper. He posted up his man, stepped through and scored a layup. He missed a fade in the lane. He swished a hanging baseline jumper off the Bynum screen. He probed and skimmed the backboard to sink a steep-angled jumper. He thought he was hit on a jumper with no call. Out of a timeout, his pass was swiped for a dunk. He attacked and missed a reverse. He missed a pull-up from the FT line. He attacked, spun on a flop and scored a layup. He hit a turnaround in the lane out of a timeout. He attacked in transition and drew FTs, he made one. He attacked and missed a reverse high off the glass, but Pau tipped it in. He scored 12 points on 5-12 shooting in the third. He attacked and was fouled (in pain on the finger, he called a timeout). He attacked again out of the timeout and this time drew FTs, he made both. He drew FTs from the wing with a pumpfake to draw contact, he made both. He missed a pumping jumper in the lane attacking with the shotclock low. He charged in the post on the next possession. He drained a pull-up baseline jumper on iso (then turned around to stare down a couple fans with "Fisher Lied" shirts). He sank a couple of FTs.

Gasol -- -- With the three shooting in the last game opening the floor up a little more in this one, Pau took advantage. Aside from a third quarter when Kobe got a little too single-minded on killing the Jazz himself, Pau was a dominant force on both ends. Once Pau could get a step or a little space to go to work, Boozer was in trouble. Pau is just too long, too mobile. Defensively, that also caused Boozer issues. He scored just 10 points on 4-11 shooting and had just 1 board. In the last game, a number of long offensive boards went right to Boozer. He'd only pull down 1 in this game and got shoving Pau a couple of times for fouls, eventually fouling out on one of those. Two-way impact players are what win you playoff games. Pau completely dominated Boozer on both ends. That's just a major difference come playoff time. "Size kills," Reggie Miller said of Pau during the game. Sick numbers from the Spaniard tonight. The Stats: He scored 33 points on 12-18 shooting (0-1 from three, 9-11 from the line) to go with 14 boards (7 offensive), 2 assists, 2 blocks and 1 turnover in 40 minutes. He was a +18. The Action: He missed a jumphook. He attacked baseline and whipped a pass to Bynum for a layup. Quick spin around Boozer and he scored a layup with his left. He scored a layup off an inbounds. He sank a short jumper off the screen in the lane. He backed down AK and shot right over him. He drained a face-up jumper over his man. He had 10 points on 5-6 shooting in the quarter. He missed a wing three with the shotclock low. He worked the Dream Shake on the baseline for a score (bench loved that move). He cleaned up a Kobe missed drive with an easy putback. He drew FTs off the ball, he made both. He tried to force a pass to Powell, turnover and layup the other way. Swing-through move on Boozer next time down to draw FTs, he made one. He had 17 points on 7-9 shooting and 7 boards. Boozer had 4 points on 1-6 shooting and 3 turnovers. Second Half: He missed a running lefty hook. He missed a wing jumper. He reversed on the interior feed from Fish. He missed a point-blank putback. Loose ball foul on Boozer who pushed Pau from behind on the defensive glass, Pau made just one FT. He missed a long baseline jumper. He tipped in a missed reverse by Kobe with 2 seconds left in the quarter. He had 5 points on 2-6 shooting and 5 boards in the third. After getting a possession back on a missed FT, he attacked and got a soft bounce on a tough leaning drive across the lane. He faced up, attacked Boozer and drew his fifth foul with the shotclock low, he made both FTs. He swished a jumper off an inbounds with the shotclock low. Boozer fouled out, shoving Pau for an offensive board, Pau made a tech, then made both his FTs. He sank a turnaround from the post.

Bynum -- -- There were a couple of sequences tonight where Drew looked limited by the injury. He had the ball under the hoop and when healthy, he would have powered up and crammed those home. Instead, he tried to finish softly and missed both of them. Defensively, he had a couple of nice swats, both came on a one defensive stand. That was a good sign. When healthy against the Suns, Drew has had some of his more dominating games. He was just too big, too strong. He'll have a nice rest coming up, but how will he look in the next series? Will he be mobile enough? Will the Lakers be able to take advantage of his size or the Suns take advantage of him? Tempo will be key. Bynum had the team worst -13, Lamar had the team best +23 tonight. How will that duo fare in the next round? The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-6 shooting to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks and 5 fouls in 25 minutes. The Action: He drew FTs in the low post, he made both. He missed a point-blank layup and a tip follow (dunk that layup, Drew). He scored a layup off the Gasol drive and dish. He scored an easy putback off the Farmar dribble penetration. He rejected Boozer's layup. He swatted dribble penetration out of bounds. He had 6 points on 2-4 shooting, 3 boards and 2 blocks. Second Half: Not very active on the boards to start the second half. He leveled Kobe's man on a screen. He missed a baseline turnaround. He picked up a couple of fouls and Phil sat him for Pau with 9 minutes left in the fourth. He back-rimmed a short jumphook (could have dunked, but probably not feeling well).

Artest -- -- A quiet night for Ron tonight after the big game offensively in the previous outing. The Lakers toned down their three shooting, taking 12 less tonight. Ron sank one tonight and also hit a foot-on-the-three-line jumper in his two makes. The Lakers think he's shooting better because he's getting the ball in the triple-threat position. Against the Suns, it's absolutely vital that the team doesn't settle for threes. The Suns will push out on those and Ron's speed in transition isn't a strength. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-8 shooting (1-3 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 33 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He missed a face-up wing jumper on the Lakers first attempt. He was swatted on a cut under the hoop. He missed an early offense wing three. He hit Pau under the hoop on an inbounds pass for a layup. He drained a wing three on the kickout from Kobe. He freed up Pau with a screen next time down for an open jumper. He drained a wing jumper standing on the three line. He missed a fade in the lane working the post. He had 5 points on 2-6 shooting. Second Half: He was blocked under the hoop. Instead of blocking Williams, he just ripped the ball from him on a drive. He missed a three on the other end. Back in after a long rest, he sealed his man, grabbed the missed three and drew FTs, he missed both.

Fisher -- -- He was greeted with "Boo's" every time he touched the ball as well as Jazz fans wearing "Fisher Lied" shirts -- just another game in Utah in front of some angry, bitter and "ignorant" fans as Reggie Miller described them. Fisher said this was personal between him and the fans. His team rallied around him. The result? This was the first time the Jazz fans got to endure a sweep in a 7-game series. Well done, Jazz fan, well done. Great series from Fisher. He played some physical ball. He and the team never let Deron go crazy like the Nuggets did. There were some transition layups for Deron tonight (like Westbrook in the previous series), but nothing ever got out of hand. The team walled him off well and Fisher's muscle didn't allow him to get to the rim too easily. Williams shot 7-18 for 21 points, but 0-7 from three. DFish got back half of that on 8 shots. He had a couple of back-to-back three-point plays that seemed to take some wind out of the sails of the Jazz in a key juncture early in the fourth. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-8 shots (1-4 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He deflected a post kickout for a steal. He was blocked on a jumper. He missed a wide open three next time down. He bullied his way past Deron and banked on a drive in transition. He hit the floor for a loose ball in the post and recovered it. Second Half: He missed a sideline three, layup the other way. He posted up Deron, drew the D and hit Pau for a layup. He drew an offensive foul on Deron on the other end. He swished a foot-on-the-three-line jumper. He was rejected badly on the break and sent to the floor. He missed a pull-up three in early offense (poor shot selection on that one). He lost the handle on a drive, unforced turnover. He drained a long three next time down when Bynum kicked out. He drew FTs on a corner three attempt on the next possession, he made all three. He drew a moving screen on Milsap.

Lamar -- -- Lamar was limited to just 23 minutes with foul issues. Despite that, he was a +23. That's a pretty impressive stat in that amount of time. He didn't have any other dominating numbers, but that mobile Pau/Lamar unit really seemed to get the Jazz out of sync defensively. Lamar looked a little more like himself in this series than versus Ibaka and the Thunder. Still, he never really got his game going with consistency. With Bynum's health a question and the speed of the Suns, Lamar's minutes will be in the spotlight again in the next series. Will he play impact ball and be the difference? The Stats: He scored 10 points on 2-4 shooting (1-1 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and 4 fouls in 23 minutes. The Action: He was hit on a step-back jumper, he made both FTs. He picked up a phantom foul against AK. Then his second whistle on Deron shortly later and had to sit for Luke with 1:31 left in the first. He drew FTs off the quick hit passing sequence from Bynum to Farmar, he made both. He attacked from the wing and scored a finger roll. He drew FTs when Farmar found him in the lane, he made one. He swatted Fesenko from behind to save a dunk. He missed an iso pull-up from 19 feet out. He had 7 points on 1-2 shooting (5-6 from the line) and was a +16. Second Half: He swished a corner three. He was blocked on a drive to start the fourth.

Brown -- -- After getting benched for a couple miscues -- a bad pass, then compounding that with a soft And-1 foul -- which allowed for a small Jazz run, Shannon returned to sink two back-breaking threes in the fourth. "I wanted him to understand that those skills that he has to demonstrate as a guard are important to us," Phil said. He was happy that Shannon didn't take it personally and returned to the game to hit those big threes. No pouting. He went out there and rose to the occasion after that. After the Pau/Kobe one-two punch, Shannon was the Lakers third leading scorer. He also had a couple of nice dunks to close the first and open the second quarters. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-10 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He missed a drive in transition. Next time down, he wound the clock down, exploded off his first step and slammed with a second left. He dunked to start the second quarter when Farmar swiped the ball and found him. He missed a wing jumper. He got tapped on a wing three on a Kobe kickout. He was blocked in transition, but we recovered it. He probed off the three line and scored a layup on the baseline (nicely done). Second Half: Momentum killer sequence: He threw the ball away at midcourt, then gave up an And-1 foul to Deron. Phil immediately sat him. Back in and he swished a wing three on a pass from Pau. He went up high for a defensive board. He sank another three with the shotclock low and the D scrambling. He missed a three, but Ron got the miss.

Farmar -- -- Some good minutes in the first half. He didn't cut off the ball as much as he should have, but he had some nice passing sequences to LO to set him up. It's good to see those two provide some bench chemistry. Farmar's minutes in this series were reduced because Phil wanted to wisely avoid the DWill/Farmar match-up. Farmar doesn't have the strength for Deron, but he does have the speed and size to battle with Nash. Phil has played him against Nash in the past, so look for Farmar to have some more opportunity. He's also probably the only PG we have that can take advantage of Nash's weak D. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 2 assists, 1 steal and no fouls. He was a +6. The Action: He knocked a ball loose in the back court and hit Shannon for the dunk. He missed a layup off the pinch post, but Drew cleaned it up. He didn't cut, but made the quick pass to LO off a Bynum kickout to set up FTs. No cut again left open, but he banked in the three straight away. He probed from the left wing and spotted Lamar in the lane for FTs. Second Half: He missed a sideline three.

Luke -- -- The highlights for Luke consist of plays on the floor with the clock winding down at the end of quarters. He was on the floor when Shannon slammed at the end of the first and he got to pound the dribble and run down the clock at the end of the game. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting and had 1 board in 1 minute. He was a +2. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. Second Half: He ran the clock down for the sweep.

Powell -- -- Somehow he managed a -9 in just 3 minutes. He came in for Lamar at the end of the first half, up by 20 to save LO foul trouble. They lost a few points then. He later came in to close the game in the brief garbage time the Lakers had. Not much to his game, just more of a warm body out there tonight. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting and had 2 fouls in 3 minutes. The Action: He missed a tough 21-footer with a second left in the half off an inbounds. Second Half: He returned for Lamar up by 20 with a minute left. He missed a 10-footer off a pass from Shannon.

Phil -- -- The Lakers trailed 16-12 after the first 7 minutes. Artest and Fisher were a combined 0-5. Lamar came in for Bynum... The Lakers led 21-20 a few minutes later... Phil sat Kobe for Shannon with 2 minutes left, down by 1... Lamar was tagged with two fouls and had to sit with 1:31 left for Luke up 25-24... The Lakers led 29-24 after the first, making 12-23 shots despite the slow start... "Now we got to maintain the energy this quarter," Phil said... He started a Bynum, Pau, Kobe, Shannon, Farmar unit. (Pau for LO with the fouls, Kobe getting rest at the end of the first could run with this unit)... Up 33-25, Phil called a timeout on the defensive end. He brought in LO for Pau... The Lakers pushed the lead to 42-29, forcing a timeout... Phil brought back in Pau and Fish for Farmar and Lamar up 45-29. Starting unit in with 6 minutes to go... He brought back in Lamar for Bynum shortly later... Jazz were 10-17 to start before going 3 of their next 19... Powell came in for Lamar to save foul troubles... Phil sat Kobe for Shannon with a minute left up 21... The Lakers led 58-41 at the half. They shot 50 percent (22-44, 2-8 from three, 12-14 from the line). The Jazz shot 39.5 percent (15-38, 2-8 from three, 9-14 from the line). The Lakers had just 2 turnovers, which the Jazz turned into 4 points. The Jazz had 8 turnovers off which the Lakers scored 10... The Lakers got into the bonus after 4 minutes. The Jazz still trimmed the lead down to 8 before Phil called a timeout midway through the quarter... The lead got trimmed to 5 points before the Lakers pushed it back to 13. Lakers shot 9-25 in the quarter... The Jazz won the third 26-22, not much but they got some momentum by trimming it down at one point... The Lakers led 80-67. The all-important start of the fourth quarter for the reserves to hold the line... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Kobe, Shannon, Fisher unit. Fisher in with Deron... After a couple three-point plays from Fish, Shannon gave up two hoops and a turnover. Phil sat him for Farmar... Phil sat Bynum for Pau up 86-76... He brought back in Shannon for Farmar as the Jazz went bigger... The Jazz got into the bonus with 8:42 left... Phil sat Kobe briefly midway through the quarter for Ron. He said he thought Kobe was getting a little worn out at that point... Lakers pushed it back to 22 with a 11-0 run... Just 6 turnovers for the Lakers in the game. They got to the line more, making 80 percent (29-36). The Jazz shot 18-27)... They matched the Phoenix sweep and now they have a week to prepare for battle. "The Suns are playing great basketball, a full-team effort," Phil said. He added that getting a sustained effort from the Laker bench would be a key...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Four unanswered runs in the first half by the Lakers. They buried the Jazz in the second quarter. The Jazz tried to dig their way out of it in the third, but the Lakers rallied back.

[Marauder]

Thanks!

[japanesebeef1]

first oops, second. Thanks DB . . . you the best!

[thurloly]

Woot!

I have been waiting for 3 hours for this. Thanks DB! My night is completed.

Good night to all!

[Janemann7]

SECOND...Thanx, great as always!

[gt1]

[JTS1]

eight bells.

like that number, lots!
_________________
'How many kids can say growing up that they'll turn pro and play for their favorite team in the world and spend your entire career there? IT'S BEEN A DREAM!'-Kobe Bryant 11.29.15

[OregonLakerGuy]

thanks db

[Qsmiff]

Thanks for the work, as always


DB wrote:
The Lakers move on to the Western Conference Finals against the Suns. Asked what Kobe thought about getting knocked out of the playoffs twice by Phoenix in the past, he asked, "What you think?"


I saw this live during the post-game show-- Kobe's face just went all Hanibal Lechter(sp.), after a thirty day fast,--this is rather unusual for #24, who normally plays his cards close to the vest, with questions like that, LO also mentioned it, I love, that they are tuned in to this series already I think Kobe, LO, Luke, Drew, and Sasha are the ones that are left from those teams.....maybe the Suns can sign Tim Thomas to some 10 contracts so we can kill two birds with one stone

[MedRomLaker]

Thanks DB, it is now time to exact our revenge.
_________________
11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

4/30/14 the day the ant left the building!!!!!!

[Vishnu]

thanks, as always

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB

[limchrc]

Thanks, glad we advance to the next round.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB! What a fun game to watch. I particularly enjoyed the wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Well, that and some really good basketball.)

Normally I'd worry a little about a 7 game break, but the Suns have an even longer break and the Lakers can really use this time to get some knees, shoulders, and fingers back.

Still, it's 7 days. And to make it worse, only Boston and Lebron on the TV for a while...

I think I'll fire up the xbox.

[RVCdesigns]

Thanks DB, SWEEP!

[Klone_dd]

Memo to NBA and its fans: Don't ever, ever make Kobe Bryant mad. He's a bad, bad man.

You could see the intensity and focus from the start of the game to the finish. A bit too much in the 3rd, when Kobe was trying to single-handedly demolish the Utes, but once Pau got involved, it was over.

Pau has been better than his usual steady self. Some nights, he gets a ho-hum 2x2. Lately, he's been extremely dominant and the 2x2's have been jaw-dropping in terms of efficiency.

Boozer played like he was reeling from that Utah paper "All hope is lost" headline he was asked about. Way to go, Ross Siler, former Daily News Lakers beat writer!

DFish doesn't deserve the treatment he gets in SLC. He played with a chip on his shoulder. I'm sure every shot he sank was very sweet to him.

Lakers vs Utes: 4-2 in 08, 4-1 in 09, 4-0 in 10. Next year, Lakers in 3.

[MIMLaker]

People actually wore "Fisher Lied" T-shirts? Classlessness just reached a new basement level.

Yeah, we bash Fish around here, but we do it for his shot selection or transition passing, not for having (what apparently in Utah is) the horrible gall for wanting to get the finest-possible medical care for his cancer-stricken baby girl.

Glad we swept the Jazz. Only wish Fish went 8-8 behind the arc on those ungrateful little pinheads.

MIM

[tw-lakbfan]

Sweep!

Sweet!

[Gallofa]

Thanks, DB!

Great series. We pulled the rug from under their feet, didn't we?

Pau has been balling for us! Kobe will bring it in the finals (conference finals and finals finals), I never question that, but if Pau plays like this, man! Then there's no stopping us!

[JTS1]