LAKERS -at- BLAZERS - 2/23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

40 Before 20... Trailing by 10 points with Phil's 40-20 stat hanging in the balance and the Portland crowd in a typical frenzy, the Lakers dug in.

Gut check time.

"I said, 'Pau, we need you to take this game over right now. This is what you're here for. It's me and you. Bring us home,'" Kobe said. "He did that."

No. 24 wasn't too shabby, either. After swishing a steep-angled baseline jumper, Kobe followed that up with a tough fade in the lane with a man on and 4.7 seconds left to finally catch the Blazers.

Pau had two straight stops on LaMarcus Aldridge. He stood up to the challenge once again to protect the rim on a final drive at the regulation buzzer. Three straight stops. In overtime, he went to work in the post for a couple big scores.

Another Laker filled in the gaps between the Kobe-Pau All Star duo -- Ron Artest. Like Game 7 in the Finals, Kobe struggled from the perimeter in the first half tonight, but Ron kept the Lakers in it with 12 points in the first two quarters. He didn't stop there.

He sank a clutch three with just over a minute left. He hit another one in overtime. And then topped that off with a key offensive board to reset the offense in the final minute. Artest finished with 24 points, sinking 5-6 from behind the line.

When the dust settled, the Lakers slipped out of the stunned Rose Garden with the 106-101 victory.

"Our defense is better," Phil said of the last two games. "There's no doubt about it. We're still turning the ball over too often. We're more purposeful in our play. We have a better idea of what we want to accomplish. Guys are not just shooting the ball in a it's-my-turn-to-shoot-it type of thing."


Kobe -- -- The Mamba strikes. The warrior mentality, the will to win, in Kobe is really in a league of its own. Sometimes it seems to manifest itself when he's in mid-flight with a must-hit shot from some impossible spot on the court. That will to win is why he's one of the best tough shot makers in league history. Portland has seen it before from him. In the final minute of regulation tonight, Kobe swished a tough baseline fallaway at a steep angle and followed that up shortly later with a must-hit fade in the lane with a man all over him and 4.7 left. That sent the game to OT and dug the Lakers out of a huge hole. He started this game with a poor first half, making just 4-15 shots. He would go 10-16 for 28 points in the second half and OT. A complete 180 of the first half. Good thing he got to rest in the fourth quarter last night. Like others, Kobe was in a continued conversation with the refs in this game. He didn't shoot a freethrow until late into the third quarter. The ones he would finally get later were all intentional. Of all the Lakers, he knows how to play through that frustration. He's been doing it for years. "I wasn't frustrated. I was (ticked) off (in the second half). You don't want me to play mad. It was a win we needed. It was a playoff-like test tonight," he said. The Stats: He scored 37 points on 14-31 shooting (3-6 from three, 6-7 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 45 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He pulled out an offensive board and hit Ron for a three. He missed a short turnaround. He kicked out to Fish for an open three. His perimeter pass was picked off. He missed a sideline jumper. He missed a bank and wanted the foul. He hit Pau with a high-low feed for an And-1 layup. He missed a forced turnaround. He missed an 18-footer next time down. After missing his first five attempts, he sank a face-up sideline jumper. He sank a short baseline jumper getting fronted in the post. He missed a forced, hanging turnaround. He missed a hanging bank, attacking to his left (he wanted a foul on that one). He had 4 points on 2-9 shooting and 4 assists in the first quarter. He missed a 22-footer. He sank a pull-up jumper on iso. He kicked to Artest for a three. He swished a three when Artest hit him on a kickout. He missed a long jumper on the next possession coming off the screens. He was blocked on a layup from behind. He missed a long heave from 55 feet at the buzzer. He had 9 points on 4-15 shooting and 5 assists. Second Half: He drained an open wing three on a kickout from Pau. He missed a turnaround and then waved off Leon Wood for the no call. He drained a wing three as the shotclock buzzer went off (might have made this shot a two). He missed a wing three over a bigman on the next trip down. He drained a turnaround baseline jumper off the inbounds (and asked for the foul). He put Matthews in the popcorn machine and sank an And-1 leaner from the elbow, he missed the FT (his first attempt of the game). He drained a wing three from the right side. He was called for a carry in transtion after pulling a pass back down off the dribble, good call. He had 12 points on 5-7 shooting in the third. He gave up an open three getting lost on D. He missed a three with the clock low. He was called for a charge when his man went down with ease. He missed a pull-up jumper straight away. He muscled up a layup and pointed at the refs for the no call. He drained a wing jumper with the clock low. He didn't recognize the shotclock out of a timeout and was called for a violation with over 3 minutes left down 7 (so rare for him to not get a shot off in that situation). He missed a wing jumper on iso on the next possession. Insane baseline fallaway from a steep angle with a man on, nothing but net. He got a turnaround in the lane to crawl in with 4.7 seconds left to tie it up. Overtime: Phantom foul on Batum's drive, (unbelievable, Kobe would go to the line on every play if they called it like that, no respect by this crew). He missed a tough, step-back bank. Superb read, jumping back to swipe a post feed to Aldridge to get the stop (Pau had just scored an And-1 on Aldridge on the other end and Kobe was waiting on the pass to him). He curled in the lane off a screen, took the pass and hit the short, open jumper. He soared in for the defensive board on the missed FT and was fouled intentionally with 18 seconds left up by 3, he made both clutch ones. After Miller turned the ball over (either tripped over his own feet or Kobe's and stumbled into the backcourt), we got another stop and more FTs for Kobe, he made both to stretch the lead to 7. Fouled intentionally again (some M-V-P chants by the Laker faithful), he made both.

Gasol -- -- LeMarcus Aldridge was scoring with ease all game. Many, of course, were on open shots with our D scrambling, but Pau was also having trouble staying with him (and was getting frustrated with the touch fouls on the post D). Down the stretch, the Blazers went at Pau three straight times to try to close the game with Aldridge. Three straight times, Pau came up big with clutch stops, including on a drive at the buzzer. In OT, the tables then turned. Pau went after it in the post, scoring 5 points on a couple superb moves on iso before eventually fouling out (and getting a double tech after having the ball thrown at him to add insult to injury). Pau played regular minutes in that last game. He seemed to be a step slow at times in this one (especially on reading and reacting to the lob passes), but eventually he found that second wind and closed strong. Well done. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-15 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 14 boards, 5 assists, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 6 fouls in 42 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He missed a jumphook after grabbing an offensive board. He dunked off the interior bounce pass from Drew. He fumbled away a dribble. He missed an open bank shot off the screen roll. He made a lefty layup after recovering a Kobe miss. Kobe drew a double, found Pau, who then set up Bynum for the layup. He flipped in an And-1 layup off the high-low from Kobe, he made the FT. He ball-faked and sank a 16-footer. He missed a jumphook. He had 9 points on 4-7 shooting in the first quarter. He blocked Cunningham under the hoop. He missed a face-up wing jumper. He missed a baseline jumphook. Second Half: He threw a sloppy outlet pass and then fouled Aldridge who stole it. He missed a jumphook after a baseline fake. No challenge on Aldridge's turnaround. He slammed off the interior feed from Ron. He swished a baseline jumper off the drive and kick from Ron. He had the ball swiped from him on a face up. He had 13 points and 13 boards after three quarters. No reaction on a lob, second time this game, to give up a dunk. He got a stop on Aldridge's drive with a minute left and another stop with 25 seconds left. One more time, Aldridge on the drive and Pau on him tight to get the stop at the buzzer. Overtime: He scored a layup on the up and under with his left. He worked Aldridge on iso, attacked middle, but scored the other way with his left for an And-1, he made the FT. He missed a fade, but we got it back. He was called for a foul with 19 seconds left and a double tech for getting the ball thrown at him (he had to sit, fouled out).

Bynum -- -- He was a step slower tonight on D, no where near as spry on some of his rotations. That seemed to get him in no-man's land and his presence on D was reduced considerably. Where his rehab issues seem most apparent is in his ability to power up and finish strong on the other end. With a couple of bigmen on the other side, Drew didn't seem to have confidence in finishing in a crowd. He tried to play with a little more finesse than he should have and that made for some ugly sequences. Of course, he wasn't getting any love either from the refs. When he did get in rhythm on a jumphook, he finally hit. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-6 shooting to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He grabbed a Kobe miss and bounced a pass to Pau for a slam. He swatted Miller's drive out of bounds. He scored a layup off the interior feed from Pau. He was called for a moving screen. He airballed in the post. Second Half: He lost his grip on a jumphook and got it back for a travel. Instead of powering up, he faded away for a jumphook and missed it from a couple feet out. He tipped in a rebound from behind his man. He missed an open 5-footer, should have gone glass. He was mugged under the hoop with no call, ball out of bounds. Just 4 points and 4 boards after three quarters of play. Finally some nice rhythm on a post move and he hit the jumphook in the middle of the lane. Sloppy perimeter reach on the screen-roll, foul. Overtime: In for Pau in the final seconds, nothing to report.

Artest -- -- Huge three by Ron with over a minute left (Lakers don't win without that) and another one in the OT. He set a Laker career high with his 24 points on just 13 shots (his career high is 39 points, done twice). He kept the Lakers in the game in the first half by leading the team with 12 points on just 6 shots. He was on fire from beyond the arc, dead-eye shooting, but he also attacked the paint with aggression. It wasn't just a flurry of makes, but a consistent, confident, largely in control effort throughout the game. Whatever he had for breakfast -- whether he got himself some In-n-Out or not -- whatever it was, get that routine down. Despite a couple turnovers tonight which his critics will dwell on, Ron is ranked fifth in the league in steals per turnover ratio -- one of those important items come playoffs when it's all about possessions. His ability to get to muscle his way for offensive boards also gives the team more possessions. He had 3 of those tonight, including a key reset of the offense in OT. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 8-13 shooting (5-6 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 42 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He missed a drive, we got it back and he sank a wing three. He bullied his way to the hoop and scored a layup. He was called for a shove to free himself up in the post (might have been held). He swiped an outlet pass to regain a possession (it led to an And-1 for Pau). He missed an early offense wing jumper, poor shot selection. He made a layup when Lamar spotted him free in transition. He posted up and threw a pass away. He attacked down the lane and drew FTs, he made both. He swished a sideline three off the kickout from Kobe. He returned the favor and kicked to Kobe for a three. He led the Lakers with 12 points on 4-6 shooting at the half. Second Half: He shook a man for a fly by and then hit the sideline three. He swiped a ball, but was rejected on the bust out. He pulled an offensive board out of a crowd and shoveled it to Pau for a dunk. He drained a wing jumper off the two-man game with Pau. He attacked and kicked to Pau for the open jumper. He missed a sideline three. He had 5 points on 2-4 shooting in the third. He was smacked on a layup attempt off the handoff, he made one FT. He drained a huge three to cut the lead to 4 with 1:29 left. Overtime: He missed a tough fallaway in the lane with the 3-second call looming. He drained a sideline three with the shotclock low. He pulled out an offensive board and reset the offense.

Fisher -- -- He was cross-matched against Batum defensively as Kobe took Miller and Artest on Matthews. Phil sat him after he picked up a couple fouls and later brought put him on Miller, but the Lakers would return to this match up in the second half. Interesting cross-matches with Fish on the SF. Fish had the +25 tonight, which is no where near anyone else's numbers. He dodged part of a first-quarter Blazer run when he got into foul trouble and was in on the Lakers fourth-quarter run when they were down by 8 when he came in. He hit a couple of threes in the game, but really didn't do anything spectacular on either end. With all the falling down by Blazers to draw whistles, Fish should have been able to get a couple of those, but it never happened. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-4 shooting from three to go with 2 assists and 2 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +25. The Action: He drained a wing three on a kickout from Kobe. He missed a sideline three. Second Half: He swished a sideline three on the weakside when left open. He airballed a pull-up three in transition (Phil got up to ask about the no call on that one). Overtime: He thought he drew a charge with some nice anticipation, no call, of course.

Lamar -- -- Foul trouble and no calls got to LO a little too much. He eventually picked up a tech and struggled to keep his head in the game. Tough for a lot of Lakers tonight, but Lamar has had some history with being unable to push through when he thinks he's getting screwed. When overtime came, he seemed to put that behind him and focus. He swished a big three to start that period and looked more like his active self on both ends. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-8 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He attacked with speed off the pinch post for a layup. He hit a turnaround over Roy in the post. He wanted the foul getting hit on a drive that was blocked out of bounds. He scooped up a loose ball on the post blindside, pushed it out and hit Artest for a layup. Nice challenge in transition D off that to get another stop, but he was stripped on the other end. He couldn't handle an interior feed from Drew. He was called for an offensive foul trying to post up on the next possession and had to sit with 3 fouls. He had 4 points and 1 board. Second Half: He was called for a charge on a baseline drive and had to sit. Back in, he attacked and missed a layup. He dunked off the drive and dish from Shannon. He drew FTs getting contact in the lane, he made both. He muscled in a post score and was called for a tech, asking for the foul. He was stripped in the post and stared at the refs again. Overtime: He swished a three to start the OT. Nice close on Fernandez's three on the other end. He kept an offensive board alive and Ron got it on a key miss late.

Blake -- -- He mentioned before the game that the Portland crowd always seemed to get into a playoff-like frenzy when the Lakers came to town. That intensity was felt in their players and they'd play at a different level, often getting the best of the Lakers. It was definitely a playoff atmosphere there tonight. He matched up with Fernandez defensively and had his ups and downs. After his aggressive game last night, very little notes from him in this one. In fact, nothing to report in the first half which may not have happened in these notes all season. Can't have that. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting and had 1 assist and no fouls in 14 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: Nice challenge to force an airball. He gave up penetration and it led to a three (poor help D, too). He missed a three on the other end.

Brown -- -- Like Blake, the role players shrunk a bit on the road. Our backup guards had the team lows with a -15 and -8. Barnes can't come back soon enough to help that second unit. Shannon had a couple bad moments, but didn't go overboard like he has on occasion. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He missed a challenged layup. He missed a baseline jumper. He tipped in a missed jumphook by Pau. He missed a step-back chuck on iso with plenty of clock, bad shot selection. Second Half: He missed a pull-up 22-footer at the third quarter buzzer. He grabbed a loose ball, spun, attacked and fed Lamar for the dunk. He and Ron didn't box out and gave up a putback.

Walton -- -- Phil played him briefly in the first half. In the second half, he went to Artest and Kobe at the SF the entire time. Not much to report here. The Stats: He didn't shoot or score and had 1 board and 1 foul in 3 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He found Lamar on the mismatch with a smaller man. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Caracter -- -- We were just mentioning in the last game that there may be a time in the thick of the fight when one of our back-up bigmen will have to step up. Phil often went to Powell last year and it was sketchy at times, but you usually knew what you were going to get. That's Phil's worry with his rookies. With the Blazers size, DC got the call over Joe Smith in the second half when Lamar picked up foul trouble. He played a feisty 3 minutes, which included some much needed presence on the defensive end. Good stint as that backup man. Great stint as a rookie who sees little action. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot and had 1 block in 3 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Nice help D challenge on Aldridge in the post to help get a miss. He blocked a reverse but no one else helped.

Phil -- -- 40 Before 20. Got it...Barely... The Lakers got off to a 10-2 start, but trailed 11-10 on a 9-0 Blazer run... Fish picked up two fouls while covering Batum and had to sit after 7 minutes for Shannon. Shannon quickly picked up a foul trying to play D on Batum in the post. Phil sat Shannon for Blake after a minute... The Blazers sank a couple threes and Phil called a timeout, trailing by 6. Phil sat Pau for Lamar and brought back in Shannon for Ron... The Lakers trailed 29-23 after the first, a poor shooting quarter from Kobe (2-9) and 12 points from Aldridge on the other side... Phil started the Pau, Lamar, Luke, Brown, Blake unit... They traded hoops and Phil brought back in Kobe and Ron for Blake and Luke... Down 8, it was a Bynum, Lamar, Artest, Kobe, Fish unit with 5:33 left... Phil had to go with Pau for Lamar when LO picked up his third with 4 minutes left... The Lakers trailed 47-41 after the first. They shot 41.5 percent (17-41, 4-6 from three, 3-3 from the line). The Blazers shot 47 percent (18-38, 4-9 from three, 7-12 from the line). The Blazers scored 17 points off 9 Laker turnovers... The coaches wanted better ball protection and better hustle after loose balls... The Lakers cut the lead to 1, forcing a Blazer timeout after 4 minutes... Down 1, Phil sat Bynum for Lamar. A quick foul for LO and Phil went to DC for Lamar... Up 2, Phil sat Kobe for Blake and Fish for Brown... The Lakers trailed 69-67 heading into the fourth. The Lakers were 8-13 from three at this point... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Artest, Brown and Blake unit. Phil had Artest on Roy... He sat Ron for Kobe after a couple minutes, down 2... They trailed by 9 as the Blazers worked the screen-roll for threes... Down 8 with 5 minutes left, Phil brought in the starters with Lamar instead of Bynum... Phil called a timeout with 8 on the shotclock (3:28 left) down by 7. Big possession and we weren't focused on what we wanted. Shotclock violation by Kobe out of the timeout. Painful. But they locked in on D... Tie score 87-87 with 4.7 left on a couple Pau stops and a couple Kobe scores. Portland ball. Lakers get the stop by Pau once again... Phil kept the same unit on the floor for OT. Pau won the jumpball... Lakers mixing it up offensively in OT. Pau with some post scores... Pau fouled out with 19 seconds left... Phil sat Ron for Luke with 7.8, giving Ron his props. Great game for Ron. "That's one of the better games he's played," Phil said... The Lakers made 11-18 from three...

[Paillard]

First.

[DancingBarry]

FYI. I'll be missing the next game. Someone else going to have to step up for me.

[thurloly]

[dmlakerfan01]

I don't think many people have the chops to write a short story about the game that just happened on the fly. And on top of that sum up everyones performance. Lot's of work, obviously.

And thank you for the write ups over the years. We all appreciate them .

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks again DB! Nice, gutty win by the Lakers. Here's hoping the winning gets to be habit forming again.

[AceFresh]

[Vicky T]

thanks DB
good win
_________________
Macho Men:
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[limchrc]

thanks

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB.

Artest stepped up big in this game. I'm glad Odom's tech didn't lose the game for us.
_________________
"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."

[angrypuppy]

Thanks DB.

A pretty impressive win, we've been losing these "effort" games up until now.

The Blazers went to Aldrich early and often, but by late in the game the combo of Pau, tired legs and the Laker doubles took a toll. Pau had trouble rotating back to Aldrich earlier in the game, but I chalk that up to help defense. The Blazers were getting into the paint with frequency.

Ron Ron picked a great game to get back his mojo. He had a few miscues, but remained both confident and active. I want to see a more assertive Artest on offense for the remainder of the season... despite the miscues he seems to fully vest himself with the game and the outcome.

Glad Lamar hit that three in OT. That was huge.

Blake... ugh. Some nice stretches of defense. On offense he's the Invisible Man.

Leon Wood is one of the weakest refs in the Association. He's inconsistent, indecisive and a tool. The louder the fans, the more he bends the rules to favor the home team.

[JM]

[stare_at_GOATs]

[20,000]

Any grades for the refs? I didn't watch the game, but I read the Lakers had no free throws pretty much throughout the entire game.
_________________
Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[AJLakerFan]

[Shaber]

Great to get a W playing 5 against 8, but I put a lot of the difficulty of this game on Pau and Lamar for not rotating in D in the whole first half. They did better in the fourth ad in OT, but still. Even though Drew was tired he still tried. Pau and Lamar often just watched it. This is just not acceptable. Ron should kick their asses.
_________________
.

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

[Klone_dd]

Took some guts to win that one. Kobe had a rough start, then became the Black Mamba. Pau started passive, then became the Black Swan. RonRon was the glue.

Wonder if the reason why the Lakers struggle in P-land is because the home crowd gets so frenzied because of the Lakers that the refs bend over backwards to give them favorable calls? Stepping on the scorer's table to save a ball, huge FT discrepancy, luckily the Lakers 3-ball was working to negate the advantage.

I thought the lightswitch was on after the Celts game, but the last 3 games on the trip, it was off. I'm hesitant to say it's back on so I'll go back into the "2 games don't put you into a slump, 2 games don't get you out of one" mode.

[Purp and Yellow]

blazers= terrible
Lakers= greatness

game eval= easy win.

[thurloly]

[Tony Almeida]

Thanks DB.

Black Swan sighting late 4th and OT.

Great defense from Pau down the stretch, thankfully the refs didn't call a foul on a couple of those (I was sure they were going to blow the whistle on one of the last possessions). Blazers knew their strength, and were banking on Pau being soft, dude wasn't having any of it. I'm pretty sure I even saw him leave his feet for some boards.

Also liked his aggressiveness in OT. Reminded me of Lakers vs. Nuggets Game 3 from a couple years back. Kobe was torching the Nuggets the entire game, but there were a couple plays in the 4th that he went to Pau and he delivered. Afterward, Kobe said something like "I had nothing at that point", and needing Pau to step up.

Clutch game from Artest. Beats me how he can go from barely grazing rim and throwing up some nasty bricks in recent weeks, to nailing clutch threes in Portland.

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[Luca Brasi]

one of the best pissing contest moves by our coaching staff i've seen in some time, isolating pau on the block versus aldridge on the wing in OT was high comedy - we know your kid can shoot, but how's is low-post defense?

if you're going to get into a pissing contest with phil you better be able to piss long and straight, otherwise you're in trouble.

by the way, if i were to choose a replacement, i would choose rick1112. he did a bang-up job once in your absence.

there's also another kid who did he yeoman's work but i can place their name, maybe they'll be confidant enough on their own to step forward.
_________________
"i was born down in the valley where the sun refused to shine, but i'm climbin' up to the highlands, goin' to make that mountain mine" ~ Lakers, 2011

[RVCdesigns]

KOBE KOBE KOBE KOBE KOBE, thanks DB!

[Shaber]