PISTONS -at- LAKERS - 1/4 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Turning the Tables... Whatever your opinion of why the Lakers have been losing, they probably proved you right tonight.

No turnovers. Check.
Better transition D. Check.
Feed the post. Check.
Dribble penetration. Check.
Locked down defensively. Check.
Easier hoops in transition. Check.
Played with passion and better energy. Check.
Phil coached. Check.
Lakers moved the ball. Check.
Artest scored. Check.
Kobe passed. Check.
Fish played D. Check.
Bynum played big in the middle. Check.
Impact players playing impact ball. Check.

The Laker finally put together a more complete two-way game in their 108-83 blowout over the Pistons. It doesn't matter whom the opponent was, they Lakers have proven they can look bad against anyone at any given moment recently.

Whatever the coaches preached, they can tell the players "I told you so" and maybe it will sink in.

"We came out third quarter with the kind of energy we like to see this team play with," Phil said after the game. He mentioned taking good shots and having quality possessions as another reason for the win. "Sometimes we don't get the ball inside as often as we like to or in positions where we want to get it."

The Lakers had 29 assists with just 6 turnovers. This time, they held an opponent to the 80-point range, taking over the game with a strong third quarter on both ends.

"We gave a great effort," Kobe said, mentioning they picked up the intensity in the second half.

"One game is not the end of this situation," Phil said.


Kobe -- -- He passed Dominque Wilkins for 10th on the NBA scoring list with a layup in the second half. "I don't know what to say. It's pretty cool," Kobe said of climbing past another big name. It wasn't a pretty game from Kobe. His touch around the rim, at the line, and really, everywhere else was off. He did do a good job of setting up others, including some easy ones at the rim for his bigs in the first quarter. That really made a difference in the team's offensive flow. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-18 shooting (0-1 from three, 5-8 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He kicked out to Ron for a three. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a layup on a drive. He set up Lamar for a layup off the two-man game (want to see those guys run that more). He got tapped on a pull-up jumper. He got to the rim and was hacked on a layup attempt, he made one FT. Kobe/Lamar again on the two-man game, FTs for Lamar this time. He attacked and missed the little flip in at the rim, Lamar cleaned it up for him. He attacked, drew the D and fed Pau for a layup. He missed a 15-footer, got it back and missed a twisting layup at the rim. He missed a hanging one-hander in the lane. If his percentages weren't bad enough, he hit rim on a 40-footer at the buzzer. Despite the 0-9 quarter with 1 point, he had 5 assists and helped set up teammates throughout. Bad angle and no help, dunk for T-Mac. He powered in a baseline jumper. He grabbed the Lamar brick and scored the putback layup. He missed a wing pull-up jumper. He blew past T-Mac for a layup. He attacked with speed down the lane and blew another layup. He missed a tech FT (with the way he's shooting them lately, maybe Fish should have taken that). He deflected the ball from T-Mac on one end and scored an And-1 layup over Prince in transition on the other (he probably should have passed that), he missed the FT. He then fouled T-Mac like Sasha 40 feet from the hoop for FTs. He had no assists in that second quarter and finished the half with 9 points on 4-15 shooting and 1-4 from the line. Second Half: He pitched out to Fish for the three. He split a double team and drew FTs at the rim, he made both (yay). He dunked off the steal and breakaway pass from Ron. He attacked and kicked to Fish for the three. He crossed over between his legs to lose Prince and score a layup (passed Dominque on that score). He threw a pass blindly to a Piston (his only turnover). He ushered T-Mac full court to the rim for a dunk. He got smacked on a drive down the lane, he made both FTs. He spotted a cutting Pau for the easy score. He attacked, took contact and was in disbelief at the no call on the miss. He had 8 points on 2-3 shooting and 3 assists in the third.

Gasol -- -- Pau quietly led the Lakers in scoring. The Lakers four impact players all got into double digits again. They also dug in defensively better this game, which is what you want from them -- two-way impact ball. The Lakers set the tone by getting it to their bigs early on. Pau got the first shot of the game and Pau and Bynum got the scoring going in the first quarter. The key was to consistently use their bigmen throughout the game. Better job by the Lakers in that regard, too. Phil mentioned prior to the game that when you see Pau not have any assists, they aren't playing the game the right way. Both Pau and Drew each got a couple in this one. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 7-11 shooting (7-7 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 3 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He missed a jumphook in the middle of the paint on the first offensive set. Quick attack off the elbow pinch post and he scored an And-1 layup (nice change up on that play), he made the FT. He missed a wing jumper. He scored on the drive and dish from Kobe. He took contact across the lane and hit the tricky fade in the middle of the paint. He drew FTs working the post, he made both. He swished a hook from the right block. He tipped in a Kobe missed jumper (that's the effort you want to see that has been missing). He deflected a pass that ignited a breakaway. He picked up two quick fouls in a few second span. He had 13 points on 5-8 shooting. Second Half: He drew FTs cutting across the lane on the break, he made both. He drew FTs taking a hard bump in the post as he made his move, he made both. He cut to the front of the rim and Kobe found him for a layup. He swatted Monroe's post up attempt. He slipped a screen, took the Lamar pass and dunked. He had 8 points on 2-3 shooting in the third.

Bynum -- -- Drew was beasting early, but was quickly strapped with fouls and had his minutes reduced considerably in the first half. Loved the way he used his size and footwork in the post to power around people and finish. Both Blake and Artest set him up for a couple of easy ones off the two-man game. Lakers needs to work that more, especially from the role players. Bynum talked of the new Laker defensive schemes that require more activity and movement. "We always try to keep two between the ball and the basket," he said. It's still a work in progress, but having big Drew as one of those guys in front of people makes a difference. He only blocked one shot, but challenged several others well. The Lakers as a team did a much better job of getting hands up on shots. Had Bynum not had to sit most of the first half, the Lakers probably would have controlled the game and the lead they built earlier. He managed to lead the team with a crazy +30 in just 22 minuets. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-6 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and 3 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +30. The Action: Power pivot, then he pivoted again and dunked. Wallace got a layup on the other end with his own footwork. He kept an offensive board alive, got it back, pivoted and powered in a layup. He scooped up a loose ball and scored a layup. He scored a layup off the two-man game with Artest. He picked up two fouls and had to sit midway through the first quarter. Back in for a minute to start the second and he picked up his third foul on the boards. Second Half: He backed down Wallace and powered in an And-1 bank, he made the FT. He dunked on the drive, draw and dish from Blake. He tipped an offensive board to himself then wrapped a pass around a defender to Lamar for a layup. He dropped a bounce pass to a cutting Shannon Brown for a dunk.

Artest -- -- "Ron created some things in the third quarter and helped us break this open," Phil said. It was the only words he could get in afterward about Ron that didn't deal with the recent gossip about what Ron and Phil had that was described as a "loud confrontation" in practice. “It was not a loud confrontation,” Phil said prior to the game. “It was a man-to-man confrontation... It was direct, but it wasn’t loud.” Ron apologized to Phil in front of his teammates after that. Phil has pushed buttons of players in the past. Horace Grant and Robert Horry come to mind. Neither wanted to be a whipping boy or publicly flogged. “In Ron’s defense, I’ve been trying to motivate him through a variety of activities, starting from the very beginning,” Jackson said. “Talking about his activity level, and sometimes about his bizarre behavior. He wants it to be in private. I just said, ‘Don’t act it out in public and then we can keep it private.’ ” Good two-way game from Ron tonight. He sank a couple threes and set up teammates. He also got in a couple steals, including one that led to a rare Artest dunk. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and no fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He sank a sideline three on a kickout from Kobe. He set up Bynum off the two-man game (more please). He missed a layup driving across the lane. He bricked in the post. Second Half: He swished a three to start the Laker scoring in the second half. He was blocked on a baseline drive. He swiped the ball on the perimeter, pushed it up and hit Kobe for the dunk. Way short on a face-up 16-footer. He jumped a passing lane, swiped the ball and dunked instead of laying it up around Prince.

Fisher -- -- It's not often where DFish provides some actual lockdown D, but got to give him credit tonight. He seemed to take exception to a push off by Gordon and no whistle from the refs. Maybe that fired him up, but it he may have wanted to lead by example on that end of the floor. He was getting after it early. The Lakers had to do a better job with their initial man D. Better effort there makes for fewer help D sequences as well as makes the help D more effective with an extra beat or two of time to react. DFish was moving his feet, avoiding unnecessary hand checks and seized moments to go for the strip. Gordon, a tweener guard like Fish in some ways, scored just 5 points on 2-6 shooting and was taken out of the offense despite efforts by the Pistons to free him up. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +16. The Action: He missed a three on a kickout. He missed a baseline jumper. He stripped Gordon to get a shotclock violation (Fish was ticked about a push-off foul that he wasn't given). Next possession down, Fish stripped Gordon again. He knocked another ball away from Gordon, then also helped Ron by denying a drive on that defensive stand. Excellent first stint by Fish, keeping Gordon to 3 points and actually locking down. Second Half: He settled for a long jumper on a fly-by instead of attacking the massive gap in front of him and missed. He drained a three on a Kobe pitch out. He got a push off foul on Gordon away from the ball. He sank a corner jumper on a kickout from Kobe. He drew contact and swished a baseline jumper with no call (seemed obvious).

Lamar -- -- The Lakers did a better job of using their mobile bigs offensively. Both Pau and Lamar were slipping screens or rolling to the hoop of the two-man sequences. That type of action will collapse the D and take advantage of the well-rounded skills and finishing size of the Lakers front court. We also saw a little passing between the bigs, as well. Aggressive game from Lamar again and nearly a double-double in limited minutes. You don't like to see just 28 minutes from Lamar when Drew was in foul trouble, but in the long haul of the season, it's a good thing. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-12 shooting (0-3 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 9 boards (3 offensive), 4 assists and 1 foul in 28 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He scored a layup off the two-man game with Kobe. He missed a follow tip. He was hammered on a slip screen with Kobe, he made one FT. He finished a follow tip this time on a missed Kobe drive. He took the handoff from Pau baseline and reversed over his shoulder. He bricked a three. He missed a wing three. He short-armed a short one in the paint. He snagged a loose ball, pushed it up, floored it and scored a layup. He had 9 points on 4-5 shooting. Second Half: He hit Pau slipping a screen for a dunk. He scored a layup when Drew wrapped a pass around a man to him. He pushed out the break off a board and and fed Blake for the layup. He couldn't finish a lob right at the rim. He drained a sideline jumper as the shotclock went off. He was fouled on a wing three, he made all three (well done). He missed a three with the shotclock expiring.

Blake -- -- Steady minutes from the point guard position as a whole tonight. The Lakers were able to deny dribble penetration, which is a lot easier against these Piston guards than other teams. They did have brief issues with passes on some sequences where Blake has to chase his man off screens and bigs have to show and recover. The help D wasn't reacting well to those baseline screens, but they cleaned that up. Offensively, a better mix of aggressiveness from Blake. He had a nice drive and dish to Bynum for a dunk. He needs to start looking for more of those opportunities within the offense. They are there. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He drained a corner three to start the second quarter. He avoided a swing through by Hamilton and we got a miss (rare you see guys pull their hand out of the cookie jar in time on those). Second Half: He missed a jumper from the left side. He got dribble penetration and bounced to Bynum for the dunk. He scored a layup filling the lane with Lamar on the break. On the other end, he deflected a pass to ignite another break. Perfect lob pass to Brown from 40 feet out in early offense for an And-1. He hit a cutting Lamar for what looked like it should have been FTs on the foul. His kickout pass was swiped for a score the other way. He missed a corner three. He kicked out to Luke for back-to-back threes.

Barnes -- -- He has a faded a bit lately in his impact on both ends of the floor. The Lakers lack of inside-out game and flow can impact that as he works off the ball well. We just haven't seen a lot of that. He's even been a little slow to react on the defensive end right when he enters games. Of the regular rotation players, his minutes were the fewest. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: Prince blew past him for a layup. He airballed an early offense three (if you're going to take those, better come a lot closer). Second Half: Poor lob pass to start the fourth, turnover. He missed an open wing three.

Brown -- -- Again, when the Lakers do a better job of feeding the post, games where Shannon comes in and misses high volume looks from the perimeter are less of an issue for the team. When they do a poor job of going inside and he plays this way, it sticks out painfully. He couldn't connect on any of his threes. Shannon made .500 from three in October, .456 in November and .395 in December. He's off to a 1-7 start in January. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-12 shooting (0-4 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He missed a wing three. He drew a charge on Stuckey on the other end on help D. He swatted dribble penetration. He missed a three trying to beat the shotclock. Second Half: He missed an open corner three. He missed a 12-foot floater at the buzzer. He missed a wing three. He attacked off the three line, ball faked and scored a layup with his left. He changed directions at high speed on the break and scored a layup. He scored an And-1 layup on the lob from Blake, he made the FT. He slammed after cutting with speed off Bynum's post. He missed a couple 20-footers. He was blocked in a crowd.

Walton -- -- Luke got T'd up for trash talking DaJuan Summers after a three. Not sure what that was about. Maybe he still holds a grudge with all Pistons for losing in the Finals. Phil was hoping to steal some minutes of rest for Lamar with Bynum out for the first half with foul trouble. He inserted Luke and paid a little for those minutes. In the second half, Luke got some garbage run and sank a couple threes off of kickouts from Blake. The Lakers lost a little off their lead in both of Luke's stints. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting (2-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 8 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He stepped out of bounds as Pau tried to thread a difficult pass to him. He missed a runner, driving right. He pushed up the break and missed a wing jumper at the buzzer. Second Half: He swished a corner three, then got a T for taunting. He swished a three from the other side next time down and didn't say anything. He tried for the third three in a row, but couldn't hit it. He found Caracter for the elbow jumper.

Smith -- -- Another Joe Smith sighting, but this time in a blowout in our favor. Good to see some extended run for him. The Lakers need to integrate him into the scheme of things. Right now, Phil is leaning on Luke at the PF spot when things happen, like the Bynum foul trouble tonight. In his few minutes of run as a Laker, he's shown some good activity defensively...especially with some of his shot challenges. Tonight, he scored his first two points in the purple and gold, hitting a baseline jumper. The more minutes they can find for him, the more Phil can determine when and where he can use him. You never know when you will need to steal a few key minutes during a playoff game with a bench bigman. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting to go with 2 boards and 1 foul in 6 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a wing 18-footer. Nice help challenge to force a miss, but a Piston put it back in. Great challenge on Maxiell's jumper to force a complete brick. On the other end, he pumped a defender into the air and swished a baseline jumper, asking for the And-1. He missed a turnaround from about 12 feet out.

Caracter -- -- Kind of interesting to see a 260-pound PF like Jason Maxiell bouncing off DC. Caracter throws his weight around quite a bit. When he gets that in control and can displace defenders without the refs whistling him, he could work himself into a legit NBA baller. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 6 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He bullied his way past Maxiell for a layup. He thought he drew FTs and was getting ready to shoot them when the officials reversed the call after conferring that he was, in fact, a rookie and gave him a charge (the look on Phil's face on that change was funny). He drained an elbow jumper when Luke found him.


Phil -- -- Like LG, Phil said in the pregame interview that he's been asked not to talk about two things: Politics and Religion. Everything else is fair game, which sometimes gets him in trouble with the press like with the "screwed" things up comment about Kobe in the last game... He didn't say "three-peat-itis," but Phil described some of the team's issues as "boredom." He elaborated, "Not everybody's participating at 100 percent. We have to get everybody involved so that everybody participates at 100 percent." They did a better job of that tonight. Whether that was Phil cracking the whip in practice or the players feeling the heat from the angry Staples crowd last time out, they brought a better game... Phil had to sit Bynum after he picked up 2 fouls midway through the quarter. He had 8 points in the first few minutes... The Lakers pulled out to a 22-16 lead to force a timeout with 2 minutes left. Phil brough in Brown and Barnes for Fish and Artest... The Lakers led 24-19 as Pau, Bynum and LO combined for 20 of those points... Phil started Drew in the second quarter, but sat him a minute later with his third foul. Pau went with Lamar and the Killer B's... Phil sat Shannon for Kobe... He sat Blake for Fish and Barnes for Artest up 8 with 4 minutes left... Up 6, he brought in Luke for Lamar with the Bynum foul issues forcing Phil to make a change to give Lamar a little rest... The Lakers got their first turnovers of the half with 2 minutes left. Well done... The Lakers led 45-42 at the half. The Lakers had just 2 turnovers and didn't give up any transition points... A 14-2 start to the second half from the Lakers forced a timeout... Up by 18, Phil brought in Blake, Shannon and Lamar... The Lakers won the third quarter 31-17, getting it done on both ends has been a rarity... The Lakers led 76-59 heading into the fourth... Late into garbage time, he brought in Lamar for Shannon. Then later Shannon for Blake to get them a rest, but LO was out there with the game well in hand... The Lakers gave up just 6 points off 6 turnovers. Meanwhile, they had 23 points off of 19 Piston turnovers... The Lakers had 29 assists. That's what you want to see...

[DancingBarry]

Pushing through some kidney pains tonight. I think I'm a game time decision tomorrow. We'll see.

[SweetP]

[IPK]

^Yea, not good. Health is priority, DB! Heal up. We'll hold down the fort and the 'ship' until our cap returns.


_________________
Our tribute to Phil, the man behind LG

[IPK]

[thurloly]

[OregonLakerGuy]

Get well DB

[limchrc]

thanks

[babyskyhook]

[revgen]

[fsc401]

I really liked what they did today offensively with Kobe.

Last game, most of the turnovers came from bad post entry passes, taking a poor angle but still forcing the passes into the post only to turn the ball over.

This game it seemed as if the Lakers really concerntrated on moving the ball back to the top when the post entry wasn't there. Kobe was on the guard spot today a lot, and when they swung the ball, he imediately went to to the dribble weave action in the weak side with other bigs, really making an effort to get the ball inside through either his quick drive or looking for the roll man. Usually if there's nothing after the first weave Kobe would just go Iso and shoot it himself, but tonight If there wasn't something good off the first dribble weave, Kobe ran another screen and roll rigth away and really looked for the roll man.

Just because our goal is to get the ball inside it doesnt mean you have to forcefeed the post from the first option when the angles aren't there, especially cuz teams know we want to get the ball inside and try all they can to prevent it, knowig that once it's in it's all over. You can always reverse the ball and work the two man game and get it in that way.

It's also better for the flow of the offense as the wing man doesn't hold the ball for about five seconds trying to get the ball in the post
Nice game, and thanks

[heatseeker08]

[Texas_Pete]

[A Mad Chinaman]

Get Well!

Time to start getting ready for "The Heatles" in the future.

[prisma8slg]

[waterman40]

Had kidney stones over the summer, no fun, hope you feel better whatever your ailment is DB.
_________________
LAKERS 2019-2020: NBA World Champions!

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[LA1969]

[City_Dawg]

DB is so injury prone! Trade him for Kevin Love!
_________________
*sighs*

!...

[mhan00]

Best thing about last night's game (besides 'drew besting in spite of foul troubles) was pau swishing a hook shot. It's been a while since I've seen pau take and make that shot from more than a foot from the rim. Hopefully it's a sign his game is coming back to him.

[DancingBarry]

[GoldenThroat]

Don't be a dumbass and wait until the pain is so bad that you pass out again, turkey.

[Vadorojo]

Get well soon, DB!
_________________
"I like looking at a guy's face when he realizes that even his best moves aren't going to work on me all night. They look depressed." - Ron Artest

[DancingBarry]

[thurloly]