LAKERS -at- CAVS - 2/16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Rock Bottom?... You thought the Lakers couldn't top their previously embarrassing poor showings...but a 104-99 loss to the Cavs? Welcome to Rock Bottom.

During a timeout in the third, John Ireland reported that Phil was as emphatic as he has been all season. "Right now! This has to stop right now!" he yelled at them three times. They didn't respond.

One wonders what repercussions there might be. Phil wanted to evaluate this roadtrip before making any moves. Losing the last three with the stunner to the Cavs will have the players thinking long and hard on their flight home. Phil, too.

It's two steps forward, one giant step backward with this team all season. They roll off a 4-0 start to the roadtrip, then buzzkill badly with an 0-3 close.

"They quit on this roadtrip," James Worthy said afterward.

Pau gave the Lakers 30 points and 20 boards (10 offensive), though he struggled to anchor the D down the stretch. No one could put together a two-way game.

Drew couldn't score, but Pau couldn't anchor. Fish was on offensively, but a liability on D. When they'd get a score and needed a stop in the final minute, they were whistled for backcourt fouls and FTs. As a unit, they were horrible in transition D. Throw in a turnover-prone, inefficient Kobe and the perfect storm was there.

"I think they went on the break before the game started," Phil said afterward.

The Lakers gave the Cavs their worst defeat of the season...and turned around to give them their best win.


Kobe -- -- One thing this team has proven when Kobe can't get his points, the Lakers can't make up that extra 10 or so they miss from him. Turnover-prone, inefficient game from Kobe. Most of his turnovers seemed to go for dunks or layups the other way, making them even costlier. "If you turn the ball over, you're going to get beat," Stu said after one of several Kobe turnovers in the third quarter. That ended up the case. The stats paint the picture: 7 turnovers and 24 shots to get 17 points. Not pretty. He was also in foul trouble early on, which changed how his minutes were run. When he was able to play in the first half, he helped dig the team out of a hole. In the second half, Phil ran him the entire time. His shot wasn't there and he didn't manufacture points for the line. This was the second game this roadtrip, too, that Kobe got no FTAs, instead he gave up a couple tech FTs to Sessions (Kobe's 10th T and an illegal D). It was like he was a -2 from the line. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 8-24 shooting (1-6 from three) to go with 12 boards, 2 assists, 1 block, 7 turnovers and 4 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He sank a turnaround at the elbow for the Lakers first score. He missed a fallaway on the baseline. His post entry was stolen for a dunk the other way. He missed a short bank. He was stripped on a cross-over for a dunk the other way. He hit Pau cutting weak to strong for a layup. He picked up his second foul, both on perimeter reaches and he had to sit with 5:37 (not before picking up a tech, his 10th). He missed a 20-footer from the wing. He attacked and swished a fade in the paint. He missed a long chuck trying to draw a whistle. He was blindsided dribbling with too man defenders around. He drained a foot-on-the-three-line jumper. Horrible kickout pass and Luke couldn't save it. He airballed a short turnaround next time down. He had 6 points on 3-8 shooting and 6 boards at the half, not a lot of playing time. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper. He attacked the lane in early offense and was stripped off his leg, another turnover. He was called for a charge, another turnover. He attacked, pumpfaked and hit the short midrange jumper. He attacked, got caught in the air and threw it away, turnover again. He was called for a defensive three-second call, more FTs for Sessions (that's two from Kobe techs). He missed a tough fading jumper with a man on. He sank a pull-up at the FT line. He made a three to cut it to 1. Bad close out on the other end and he gave up a massive dunk when his man blew past him. He missed a three on the other end, got it back and airballed a three with 4 seconds left. He missed an open wing jumper out of the timeout. He was stripped on a drive, layup for Gibson in transition. He blocked Hickson on help D. He missed a wing jumper out of a timeout. He was called for a clear out on the perimeter for another turnover. He dunked off the high screen. He missed a sideline three. He iso'd, spun to split a double team and scored a layup. He bricked a three. He missed another three with 6 seconds left.

Gasol -- -- Pau wanted the ball and got it. He lit up the Cavs offensively, including getting to the line 14 times on his way to the impressive 30-20 game. With Kobe struggling with fouls in the first half, they needed Pau's effort there. Looking at the stats, you might give Pau a pass on this loss. However, he couldn't anchor the paint down the stretch defensively. Two things hurt on that end: 1. His man screened the guards and Pau couldn't contest well on the penetration; 2. Worried about those screen-roll scores, Pau then got burned on some slip screens. Those were killer scores down the stretch when the Lakers were looking to finally reel the team in and get the W. The Stats: He scored 30 points on 8-15 shooting (14-14 from the line) to go with 20 boards (10 offensive), 3 assists, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 41 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a baseline turnaround (need to be more aggressive versus the smaller PFs like Jamison). He tipped in a Kobe miss. He missed a jumper, posted up when Drew got the board and scored easily. He scored a layup cutting weak to strong. He drew FTs in the post and made both. Nice effort to knock a board off a Cav to get possession. He missed a turnaround in the lane with the shotclock low. His drive and kick was picked off. He was fouled in transition away from the ball and made both FTs. He was blindsided for a steal and layup on the post entry. He was fouled on a jumphook, he made both FTs. He tipped in a missed drive by Shannon. Pau had 14 points in the first quarter (good job with Kobe out for half of it). He sank an open 16-footer off the drive and kick from Blake. After grabbing a Kobe miss, getting the pass back, he was hit on an elbow jumper, he made both FTs. He scored a layup off the jump pass from Lamar. No box out and he gave up a putback. He bricked badly in the paint. He had 20 points and 12 boards at the half. Second Half: He hit Fish on the kickout for a jumper. Jamison blew past him for a layup. He drew FTs on an attack across the lane. He sank a couple more FTs. He missed a turnaround in the lane. He sank a 16-footer when Shannon spotted him. Back-to-back layups for Sessions over Pau. He got popped in the eye on a slap by Moon, he made both FTs. His man slipped a screen for a layup when he tried to help the guards. He blocked Jamison. Late recovery trying to prepare for a screen-roll and his man scored an And-1 layup. He posted up and hit Shannon for a layup. He cleaned up a Kobe missed three with a putback.

Bynum -- -- In the last game, he was backing his man down and getting low position. Tonight, Drew settled badly for long jumphooks instead of fighting for that position. "First half, I wasn't being aggressive enough," Drew said. When he's battling and getting down low, give him the ball. When he's not, he's situated firmly as a fourth option offensively instead of a third. He battled against a strong position defender in the last game, but didn't against the smaller Cavs defenders and paid the price. "He couldn't get anything to go for him, which is unfortunately because he's a 60 percent shooter," Phil said. Some sloppy fouls also had him watching from the bench as the Lakers tried to close and the Cavs were scoring at will at the rim on Pau and company. Drew wasn't doing well on the defensive boards earlier, however, even when he had position. "I think nobody is believing in the defense right, the principles in it," Bynum said. He said sometimes they are late on rotations or when they do, no one gets their helper's man. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-12 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 6 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He blocked a post-up attempt. He was called for three seconds. He missed a putback tip, but Pau cleaned it up. He grabbed a Pau miss then hit him for a score. He choked a 2-footer. He swatted Hickson's drive while flat-footed. He drew FTs on the post entry, he made both. He backed his man down and missed a lefty jumphook. He settled for a long jumphook and missed (got to get better position than that). Poor power up and he missed. He settled again for bad position and missed the long jumphook. Second Half: He missed a tip, got it back and scored the layup. He missed a short turnaround in the lane. Poor double team on the sideline getting too aggressive and fouling. He couldn't secure a defensive board despite having inside position. He missed a jumphook, forcing it without getting great position. He was called for a flagrant, yanking down a man on the other end. He slammed trailing the break when Lamar found him, he missed the And-1 FT. Off-ball foul and he had to sit with his fifth.

Artest -- -- The Cavs have a pretty gaping hole at the SF spot right now, which generally makes Ron a non-factor for the team (he was especially in the second half tonight). Phil went with Kobe, Luke and Lamar at SF quite a bit in this game. Obviously, this is where Matt Barnes would have normally filled that gap. Ron's minutes were limited to bench, role-player type of minutes. His impact was similar. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-1 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He attacked and missed a layup on the drive on our first possession. He was fouled on a quick counterstrike on the break (rare he's down court that fast, nicely done), he made one FT. He kicked out to Fish for a jumper. He was stripped on a drive, layup the other way. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Fisher -- -- Normally, an offensive outburst like this from DFish would get some big props, but he had serious troubles on the other end. Trouble keeping up with Sessions. Trouble when he was put on Parker, leaving him open. The Cavs exposed the Lakers help D schemes quite a bit when Fish would sag off Parker to pinch on the weakside. This was similar to how the Lakers would expose Nash in the playoffs last year before they would go to the zone. Perhaps the Lakers should have done that and gone big as the defensive schemes seem very oriented to work with a big lineup. If you really want to watch how the Lakers got exposed in this game, just watch how the Cavs worked off those high screens. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-12 shooting (3-4 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He sank a 22-footer behind a screen. He missed a long sideline jumper. He swished a 19-foot catch and shoot. He drained a toe-on-the-three-line jumper from the wing on a kickout. Penetration for Sessions, who missed, but Pau's man tipped it in when he was out of place trying to defend the drive. Second Half: Bad lob to Drew, right above the hoop, good idea despite the turnover when Drew was called for offensive interference. No lob to Bynum on his next drive and drew was called for three seconds expecting the pass. He ball-watched and gave up a layup to Sessions, uggh. He sank a sideline jumper on the pitch out from Pau. He gave an easy pull-up to Sessions with the clock low (that got him benched for Blake). He sank a sideline three on a kickout. He bricked a drive in transition. He sagged off his man and gave up a three. He attacked off a screen and scored an easy layup. He drained a sideline three to tie the game up midway through the quarter. He attacked and charged (not sure where he was going on the baseline, but he made up his mind that he was going there). He sagged to help on the screen-roll and his man sank an open three. He attacked, took contact and missed a layup. He sank a toe-on-the-three line jumper. He was whistled for a backcourt foul with 33 seconds left when the Lakers just needed to get a stop, more FTs for Sessions. He missed a three at the buzzer.

Lamar -- -- We've seen a few sightings of the old Lamar lately. When Kobe is off his game, this squad will struggle with Lamar being passive like this. He's got to play that aggressive/confident Team USA game. "I guess it's back to the drawing board," Lamar said after this one. We saw a brief, interesting wrinkle from Phil in the first half. He brought Lamar in at the SF for Ron midway through the first quarter, giving the Lakers the trio of bigmen. As I've mentioned before, I think they could easily steal a few minutes a game with LO at the SF since he essentially plays in the two-guard front half the time. We're replacing Ron's three shooting with his during those minutes, not a big loss. Defensively, it just depends on the situation. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. He gave up an offensive board at the end of the quarter (play through until the play is over, LO). He dunked off the oop from Blake. He knocked a ball off Gibson's leg on the sideline. He missed an open elbow jumper. He faked a three and hit Pau instead for the layup. He gave up another offensive board. Horrible bullet feed to Ron (would have been a miracle if Ron caught it, he didn't, turnover). Second Half: He trapped a man on the sideline to force a turnover and breakaway score for Shannon. Out of position defensively, he gave up an open jumper. He missed a wign three. He swiped a pass, pushed it up and was hacked on the break for FTs, he made both. He kicked out to Fish for a three. He somehow bricked a layup at the rim off an offensive board. He attacked to his left and quickly hit a layup with 11 seconds remaining.

Blake -- -- While Fish had the team low -14 and Blake the team high +9, it's probably tough to take anything away from that. Both he and Fish were even on the floor at the same time in some of Phil's rotations. Blake generally did a better job defensively and kept Gibson from doing much of anything in the second half, but he was no where near the threat Fish was on the other end. The Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Brown, Blake unit had a nice 15-4 run in the third that got the team back in the game. Offensively, he got a couple shots to drop but had too many turnovers in his limited time. The Laker PGs shot a combined 4-5 from three tonight (that includes Fish's attempt at the buzzer). The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 3 turnovers and 1 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He reached on the perimeter and gave up FTs with 6 seconds left. He attacked and kicked to Pau for the open jumper. He grabbed an offensive board and lobbed to Lamar from beyond the arc for the dunk. He drained a corner three on the swing pass from Luke. He was tripped on a drive with no call, turnover. Second Half: He threw a pass away trying to hit Pau. His lob to Kobe was deflected, turnover. He sank a baseline jumper. He missed a wing jumper.

Brown -- -- So we get a combined 34 points from Shannon and DFish and lose? Just goes to show that you've got to play both ends of the floor. While Shannon had his troubles like others with the screen-roll D, he also showed some very active hands. He's really improved that in recent games, swinging up on the ball on the those perimeter jabs or getting his hands on passes. He was whistled for a bad foul with 40 seconds left in the backcourt when we needed to lock in and get a stop instead of give up FTs (he also had a couple of big misses from three, but should have been given a key And-1, too). We shouldn't have been in that position, but we were. Offensively, he had some bad looks to start the game. Then seemed to warm up, even making some nice passes. Later, he hit the floor hard on a drive to the rim, just pancaked the floor off the contact. He'll be hurting in the next few days from that car wreck. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 7-14 shooting (0-3 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: Good hands to knock a ball loose, then tap it to a teammate. He missed a baseline jumper off an inbounds pass. Early offense brick of a 22-footer with a man on, horrible shot selection. He probed under control and quickly reversed when he saw an opening. He deflected a pass to ignite a break. He bricked a pull-up jumper trying to create off the dribble (had an open teammate). He banked a runner off the glass. He took an outlet, spun to lose his man and scored a layup. Second Half: He spotted Pau free for an open 16-footer. Confused defensively, he gave up a score to Jamison. Good look at a catch-and-shoot wing jumper and he drained it. He attacked and was drilled to smack the floor hard, painful looking and sounding all the way around, he made both FTs. He scooped up a loose ball off a double team with him and Lamar and he scored the breakaway layup. He grabbed a Kobe miss and darted for the three line to miss a chuck at the buzzer (not sure why he didn't try to shoot the shorter one). Sessions scored a layup off the high screen, working over Pau and Shannon. He missed an open three on the other end. He missed another open three. He scored a layup off the feed from the Pau post. He swiped a pass on a trap, attacked and scored a layup to cut it to 3 (he should have had an And-1). He then was whistled for a hold in the backcourt (bad foul, needed a stop there with 40 seconds, but gave up two FTs to Sessions instead).

Walton -- -- Luke got in on a pretty nice help D rejection as well as taking a charge to erase a breakaway. Very nice D in a game where those plays were few and far between. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot, had 1 assist, 1 block and no fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He drew a charge on a 3-on-1 break to erase it. He hit Blake in the corner for a three. He blocked Hickson from behind and regained possession. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Phil -- -- "I can say lots come next Monday," Phil said after this game. Really, what needs to be said after this loss? But Phil is biting his tongue right now... Kobe was called for two fouls midway through the quarter and had to sit (he picked up a tech on the way to the bench) for Shannon with the score tied. Phil also brought in Lamar for Artest. Giving the Lakers the elusive three bigman lineup... He sat Pau with over three minutes left for Artest. Pau for Drew shortly later... The Lakers trailed by 10... Too many turnovers, no Kobe for half the quarter (and turnover prone when he was in) and the Lakers trailed 29-21 after the first... Phil started a Pau, Lamar, Artest, Kobe, Blake unit. Time to make up some ground... Phil sat Ron for Luke down by 3 after 3 minutes... They had a 2-point lead when Phil sat Pau for Bynum midway through the quarter. Then Blake for Fish... Down 2, Phil sat Kobe for Shannon. Both Kobe and Pau now out... Horrible transition D at times... Bad close to the half and the Lakers trailed on an 8-0 Cavs run... The Lakers trailed 51-46 at the half. They shot 39.5 percent (17-43 with 11 turnovers, Pau had 20 and 12 at the half). The Cavs shot 44 percent (20-45). The Cavs had a 16-2 advantage on points off turnovers... Down 9 after 3 minutes, Phil called a timeout and lit into them... A few minutes later, he sat Ron for Shannon after 5 minutes... Phil sat Fish for Blake after another easy Sessions score. He also brought in Lamar for Drew, down 9... A 20-2 advantage in points off turnovers now... The Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Brown, Blake unit cut it to 1 with a 15-4 run late in the third... The Lakers trailed 74-71 heading into the fourth... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Kobe, Blake, Fisher unit... He sat Drew for Pau, down 2... The Lakers tied it up midway through the quarter... Shortly later, they trailed by 9 on a 9-0 Cavs run, two layups for Sessions working the high screen and scoring over Pau... The Lakers cut it to 3 with 43 seconds left (should have been an Add-1 for Shannon)... Both Shannon and Fisher were whistled for backcourt fouls with 40 and 33 seconds left respectively when the Lakers were down three. Just needed a stop, not a foul. Fish's call seemed dubious, Shannon's was legit... The Cavs ended up with a 23-10 advantage on points off turnovers (19 for L.A., 15 for the Cavs)... From a win of the season in Boston to the loss of the season in Cleveland all on this trip...

[Shaber]

Bl eh
_________________
.

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

[dna.]

hard to believe anyone who watches this team play would be surprised by tonight's loss. Disappointed? Sure. But definitely not surprised.

[PLATNUM]

But.... but... they're back-to-back champions!
_________________
"Dread it, run from it... destiny arrives all the same."

[mhan00]

gasol put up 30 points and 20 boards, and was one of the main reasons along with fisher why we competed in this game and didn't get blown out, and yet he still somehow looked like the laziest player on the floor at times. impressive.

show some (bleep) confidence steve. watch how fisher and shannon get to the spots in the offense to jack up their shots, and know that it's okay if you do that every so often yourself. you don't always have to look to pass; that gets you in trouble when teams just shut down all the passing lanes.

fisher got torched. great shooting game; where the (bleep) was that when it was so desperately needed the last two games?

kobe seems to have been making increasingly bad decisions with the ball as the road trip has gone on. maybe it's fatigue, but man, some of those passes have been uuuuuugggggglllllyyyyy. and he seems to be having more trouble than ever trying to do that crossover dribble between his legs; half the time it seems like he dribbles it off his leg/foot and fumbles the ball now.

just an off game for 'drew today. those are looks he normally knocks down; he just bricked everything.

lamar odom's game has just tanked. ever since the all star snub, it seems the only good stretch of basketball he played was after pau headbutted him in the third quarter of the celtic game. the rest of the time it just seems like he's stuck in sleeping odom mode.

[celticsblow]

"I can say lots come next Monday," Phil said after this game

I didn't see the interview, but... does that not sound like a move will be made?

[DancingBarry]

[A Mad Chinaman]

As stated in the L.A. Times, the coaches will reined in the team on a much tighter leach since they have proven unable to do it on their own.

The Lakers disrecpted the Cavs and they were given the BOOT!!

Will the rotations start to change?

When will Matt Barnes return?

Will Ratliff play when Pau is unable to provide any defense of the basket (like most games)?

How much PT will Joe Smith, Caracter and Ebanks after the All-Star Game break?

If 24 is having an ineffective game because of sickness (like today's game), injury, etc. - which player(s) will step up? Pau, LO, Artest and DFish have proven to not have the ability to produce to win games.

[Discoflux]

where are the post game interview videos?

I don't see them on nba.com... anyone have a good site for this?

[celticsblow]

[Shaber]

[Shaber]

I did not see the game, so I was rather impressed with 30-20 by Gasol.

Then I watched highlights and it was all about people dunking on Gasol....


Real two-way impact
_________________
.

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

[celticsblow]

[Nobody]

I don't know what to say anymore. This team has become unwatchable.

[Shaber]

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB. Ugly job when they play like that, but someone has to do it. Thankfully you do it quite well.

[babyskyhook]

[babyskyhook]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[jmark]

TO's killed the lakers last two games. The biggest weakness we have is transition D and TO's feed a running team. Too much one on one seems to lead to those TO's. When the Lakers moved the ball instead of pounding into the floor they got easy shots last night. Kobe seems to be holding the ball too long and not passing out of the double team, Drew takes too long to back his man down and Shannon dribbles too much and then jacks up shots. Pau, LO and Drew and giving 0 effort on the boards. As my son said last night we are getting too old to just flip the switch. I think we showed some of this last year except Kobe bailed the team out on many occasions.
_________________
"I appreciate all those who have supported me. Thank you for believing in me. My family and I are going to need your support and prayers now more than ever." Kobe

[Bleedpurpandyellow]

[wolfpaclaker]

Thanks DB.

One note - When Kobe doesn't get his 25-30, and you say we lose those 10 points and can't make them elsewhere I don't think that's fair to the rest as Kobe is still taking his usual number of shots. What did he finish with 24?

Either way, this game was lost way before anything Kobe did or didn't do. The Lakers looked tired and worn out. The Cavs looked full of energy and hustle.

[Arbitrary]

Thanks DB.

[smoothazsilk]

defense is the issue. We kept leaving players wide open that should not be left wide open. Problem is we have 2 back up point guards and no starter.

[jmark]