LAKERS -at- HEAT - 3/10 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Blood, Sweat and No Tears... It's midnight in Miami and Kobe Bryant is still working on his shot.

The Lakers fell to the Heat, 94-88, their first loss since the All Star break. They misfired offensively down the stretch as Kobe scored just 7 points in the second half.

"If you're not comfortable with something and you feel like you can tweak some things, you've got to work on them," Kobe said. "It doesn't matter when you work on them. You've just got to get it done. You've got to work it out."

It was tough loss for the Lakers as the two teams stayed neck and neck throughout the game. On the road, that's what you want. The Lakers just couldn't pull it off in the end.

Kobe was irked about two key no calls in the final minute that went against the Lakers. He came up about 6 feet short on a three when Wade hit his arm. That should have been three FTs.

"He (Wade) was surprised they didn't call a foul," Kobe said. "He came out and said, 'I fouled the s--- out of you!'"

The other was an arm rake under the hoop by Wade before Kobe lost the ball out of bounds. That should have been two more FTs.

Tough breaks, but perhaps with some better rebounding and D in the first half, the Lakers might not have had to overcome the homecourt advantage with the refs.

Either way, Kobe had a bitter taste in his mouth and the Lakers will try to bounce back in Dallas.


Kobe -- -- He shot jumpers long after the game was decided. Ticked? Determined? You bet. After a hot start, scoring the Lakers first 10 points, he misfired quite a bit in the second half, scoring just 7 in the half. The offense didn't seem to have a whole lot of purpose, either. The Heat threw some trapping on him off the screen-rolls. They also got away with quite a bit of contact, as well. Frustrating when the officials can review plays to see who a ball is off of and have to ignore the obvious fouls in the review. "Wade fouled the s--- out of me," Kobe said afterward. Defensively, he battled, but Wade was also able to get to the rim down the stretch. The Lakers didn't swarm on him quite like the Heat did Kobe. As a result, they were taking easy shots, the Lakers hard ones. Kobe was sinking from distance in this game, but settled for long heaves from three instead of getting closer on a couple of our final possessions. He looked pretty spry out there, physically. The team could have used him on the glass, but when he's got to match up with the Heat's playmakers, then that's a tough haul physically to pitch in there, too. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 8-21 shooting (4-8 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 40 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He sank a 22-footer for the Lakers first score. He swished a wing jumper while getting undercut by Wade, he made the FT. He was blindsided pushing the ball up and it led to a Heat three. He got it back with a three on the other end. He slammed on a breakaway when Artest swiped the ball. He missed a three. He lost Wade on a spin and was fouled under the hoop, he made both FTs. He drained a long three behind a screen. He missed a forced wing jumper. He scored a layup when Ron picked Wade and pushed up the break. He settled and missed a long wing jumper (attack Miller). He stripped Bosh. He missed a tough baseline jumper with the shotclock low. He had 17 points at the half. Second Half: He swiped a handoff on the perimeter. He forced a wing jumper on the other end and missed badly. He missed another tough turnaround from the left side. He missed a tough fading three trying to beat the shotclock, percentage buster. He picked up his second and third fouls on the perimeter. He was undercut on a jumper with no call and missed. He knocked the ball away from Wade. He split a double team and was held on the shot attempt, he made one FT. He came up empty trying to crash the glass and it led to a Miami break (can't gamble like that when Wade and LBJ want to run). He lost the post entry, points the other way. He missed a 3-footer (should have gone glass). He drained a sideline three behind a screen. He missed a pull-up jumper badly from the wing. He swished a huge, long wing three to tie the game up with 2:24 left. He was stripped for a breakaway with 1:27 left. He was hit on the arm on an inbounds pass with no call, then lost it (officials gave it to the Heat). He missed a long three, too far out with 20 seconds left. He missed a long wing jumper.

Gasol -- -- Chris Bosh led the Heat in scoring. Keeping him contained or on the bench with foul troubles is key for success against the Heat. The Lakers let him go off in the first half and paid the price. Bynum only covered Bosh briefly late in the game and blocked his shot. They might have been better switching that matchup a little more. When Drew wasn't grabbing boards early on, Pau wasn't helping much either. He only had 3 defensive boards in the game. Got to do better than that. Offensively, he gave the Heat a lot to handle. Not a whole lot of back-to-the-basket action, but more face-up attacks on the move. Pau didn't get a lot of love from the refs again. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-16 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 40 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He was hit with no call and called for the turnover. He posted up Bosh, spun and drew his second foul after 5 minutes, he made both FTs. He swished a jumper from the top of the key. He swiped a pass then outlet to Ron for the breakaway dunk. He swished a face-up wing jumper. He couldn't secure a missed FT. He blocked Wade's drive. He was fouled and made both FTs. He missed a baseline turnaround. He tipped in a miss. He faced up and hit an easy jumper over Z. Bosh stepped around him for a layup. He missed an elbow jumper. He spun around Bosh, leaving him nailed to the floor, and dunked. He overpassed at the end of the half instead of shooting to cause a shotclock violation. He had 14 points at the half (Bosh had 16 points). Second Half: Phil called a timeout after Pau left Bosh open on a jumper. He missed a reverse taking some contact. Strong first step and get past Bosh for a layup. He missed a face-up wing jumper. Bad pass, layup the other way. He airballed a jumper in the lane, either getting some contact or blocked by Wade. He swished an open 17-footer when Kobe was doubled. He reversed off the Bynum bounce pass for an And-1, he missed the FT. Bosh attacked past him for a layup. All kinds of contact in the paint trying to finish a layup, but he couldn't. He missed a three at the end of the game.

Bynum -- -- A lot of things went wrong for the Lakers but the biggest problem was probably right here. The Lakers missed his activity in the first half. He had just 1 rebound while the Heat dominated the glass and schooled the Lakers in second-chance points. Where was Drew? He slept walk through that half. As a result, the Lakers lost their pace and the tone of the game that they have been playing with lately. Phil let Drew know he needed to step it up, and Bynum flipped on the switch and pulled down 11 boards in the second half. That half, the Lakers held the Heat to 39 points. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough as our offense misfired, but that was the type of game the Lakers needed to play the whole 48. Had Drew done that earlier to help limit all those second chance points, they probably take this one. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-5 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 12 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: Bad idea trying to go cross court with a kickout, easy steal. He was hacked after Fish found him down low, he made both FTs. He bricked a jumphook across the lane over Z. He drop-stepped and powered in a layup. He tipped back in a missed Kobe jumper. No box out on the other end and he gave up a putback. He had just 1 rebound in the first half. Second Half: Much better job on the boards to start the second half. He slammed off the drive and dish from Fish. He was hacked in a crowd under the hoop and made both FTs. He challenged Wade, then recovered the board. He overpassed in the lane instead of trying to finish strong and threw it away. He tipped in a miss to start the fourth quarter. He drew FTs battling on the offensive glass, he made one. He hit Pau with a bounce pass for an And-1. Switched onto Bosh, he blocked his jumper on iso D with 2 minutes left.

Artest -- -- LeBron had 19 on 7-17 shooting, but 9 assists. Still, those are pretty good numbers as far as the Lakers are concerned. The Lakers got burned on the occasional counterstrike. When it was a halfcourt game, LeBron wasn't that big of a factor. Offensively for Ron, the Lakers never really seemed sure about what they wanted to do. They got him in the post a few times without coming away with anything. Ron was effective on the offensive glass, but he missed a point-blank layup after pulling down a Kobe miss in the final minute. That was a big miss that would have changed the complexion of the final possessions. The Lakers were a bit too iso-oriented at times, but Ron led the team with 6 assists (he also led in steals and offensive boards). The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-11 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 9 boards (5 offensive), 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. He swiped a ball and then outlet to Kobe for the dunk. He dunked on the bustout when Pau stole the ball. He grabbed a miss, missed himself and tipped it back in. He posted up, took contact with no call and missed (naturally LeBron took less contact on the other end and scored an And-1). He picked Wade clean, pushed it out and hit Kobe for the layup. He drained a quick-fire 22-footer in early offense. Second Half: He missed a fade in the post. He sank a sideline three. He stripped Dampier under the hoop. He missed a fade badly in the post (set up out of a timeout). He missed a point-blank putback layup off a Kobe miss.

Fisher -- -- Fish led the team in +/- with a +5. He played some scrappy ball and seemed to hold the line better defensively than Blake (Shannon also ran a little PG tonight). With the Heat, it's more a matter of covering shooters and playing within our defensive system than a normal PG battle. That suits Fish better usually, but it does let the opponent PG off the hook on the other end, too. He had a couple of careless offensive possessions and led the team with Kobe in turnovers. With as little playmaking and creating off the dribble as Fish does, 3 turnovers is far too many. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting (1-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 33 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He fumbled the ball away on the first possession. He missed a corner jumper. He stopped a 2-on-1 break, deflecting a pass for the Lakers to regain possession. He recovered his bad pass, attacked and drew FTs, he made one. Second Half: He sank an elbow catch-and-shoot. He blindsided Bosh and swiped the ball from him. He missed a scoop on a nice step-through. He missed a long wing jumper. He attacked baseline and fed Drew for the dunk. He banged down a wing three. He overthrew Pau on an outlet, turnover (no need to try to run with the Heat).

Lamar -- -- Limited action for Lamar as Phil opted to go with his size more. Playing LO just 19 minutes is not the best use of our impact ballers, but Lamar was also looking somewhat flat-footed at times. He helped create some points in the fourth quarter, but wasn't terribly efficient then. Defensively, he had a moment or two, drawing another charge call to erase a hoop. Love seeing that. It makes the D much more effective. But there were also some instances where he was flat-footed and the Heat got second-chance opportunities. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-11 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist and 3 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He erased a hoop by stepping in for a charge on Z. He missed a short jumphook in the middle of the lane. He scored easily posting up on the right block. HE drained a three straight away on the next possession. Second Half: He missed a long floater. He hit a turnaround from the elbow. Flat-footed on the glass and he gave up an offensive board. He missed a drive to his left, but Drew tipped it in. He couldn't put in a missed Barnes layup. Quick attack to his right and he drew FTs, he made both. He missed a wing jumper, followed his shot and put it back in. He missed a sideline three.

Blake -- -- The Killer B's didn't have much sting to them tonight. They shot a combined 0-6 for 5 points. Ouch. The Heat bench outscored the Laker bench 22-16. Bibby came in and hit a couple of threes in the second half as Blake got caught away from him in the Laker defensive schemes. His help D decisions in this game weren't the best. And, of course, none of our PGs are going to make an opposing PG pay for defensive weaknesses. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-1 shooting from three (2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and no fouls in 13 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He attacked down the lane off a handoff and drew FTs, he made both. Second Half: He left Bibby to help on an open bigman away from the hoop, probably should have stayed with the shooter, Bibby, who then hit a three. He got back screened to give up another three to Bibby. He had to heave a long three with the shotclock expiring.

Barnes -- -- Matt forgot to box out Mike Miller, giving up some easy putback scores in the first half. Those should have been one and out possessions. (Luke would have boxed out!! ...I kid, I kid.) He played some spirited defense against LeBron when those two briefly matched up. (Luke wouldn't have done that.) The Stats: He scored 3 points on 0-2 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He ball-watched and Miller tipped in a miss. He was fouled on the break and made both FTs. He gave up another putback, And-1 offensive board to Miller. He missed a corner three. Second Half: He attacked from the wing and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a layup badly on the break. He was called for a reach on an inbounds pass on the far end of the court.

Brown -- -- Too little impact from Shannon. He shot blanks, but at least he didn't chuck a lot. Pretty good looks tonight, just couldn't finish anything. This was more like a classic role player disappearing act game. Of course, the TNT announcing crew felt the Lakers missed their other bench players like Sasha, who apparently had huge games for the Lakers in the playoffs. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He missed a wing three, short. Second Half: He missed an open three. He didn't hit rim on a reverse (should have tried to throwdown).

Phil -- -- Kobe scored the Lakers first 10 points... They got Bosh into foul trouble after 5 minutes, the score tied 10-10... He sat Pau for Lamar with 4 minutes left up by 3... He brought in Pau back in a minute later... Kobe sat a minute later for Shannon... Phil brought in Barnes for Artest... The Lakers trailed 29-26 after the first. Poor finish to the quarter... Phil started the Pau, Lamar, Killer B's unit... He sat Shannon for Kobe after 3 minutes... Down 1, Phil went with Bynum, Pau, Barnes, Kobe, Fisher... Too many second chance opportunities for the Heat... The Lakers trailed 55-53 at the half. The Lakers shot 53 percent (3-6 from three, 14-15 from the line). The Heat shot 48 percent (5-11 from three, 6-9 from the line). The Heat had a 12-5 advantage on the offensive glass and a 15-6 advantage in second-chance points... Phil got on Drew for having just 1 board. The Lakers went back to that slow-down battle pace that they thrive on during the third... The Lakers led 68-62 when Phil subbed in Shannon for Fish with 2 minutes left. He sat Bynum for Lamar shortly later... A series of turnovers and the Heat got into transition again. Phil called a timeout with 1 minute left... The Lakers led 70-68 heading into the fourth quarter. Not a good close to the third... Phil started the Bynum, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... He got off the bench to bark about a bogus three-second defensive call (Bynum had stepped out of the lane, then was back in for a half a beat when whistled)... The Lakers trailed when Phil went to Kobe and Fish for Blake and Brown... Starters in with the score 80-80 and half a quarter to go... Down 2 with 1:27 left, Phil called a timeout (a long missed Artest jumper followed, not what they drew up). Another official timeout, 1:08 left, Laker ball, Kobe thought he was fouled on a sideline jumper that was about 5 feet short. Not a good attempt, regardless... They got a stop down 4 but couldn't hit a couple attempts from three... The Lakers lost the points in the paint 46-30...

[mhan00]

Tough loss.

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[The_Joker]

The Heat's explosiveness kept us ball-watching all game. Bynum realized that you have to play a lot harder to react to the misses, however, Phil should have done the same with Pau and Odom. If our bigs can learn to react even if there's a threat to make the shot, then IMO, we'd have a huge advantage against this team, because let's face it, whether it's Lebron, Wade or Bosh taking the shot, there's going to be a threat that forces you to revert to bad habits and ball-watch.

To me, it really comes down to just playing really really hard, all three of our frontcourt guys.

Also, I'd like to see Bynum copy Shaq's "hop-step" to the middle. Technically, it's a travel, but if they don't call it, then you have to take advantage of it.

[revgen]

[DancingBarry]

I disagree. Phil did, too.

Sure there were problems at other positions, but Bynum's usual activity was definitely MIA. He had no presence in the first half. He's better than that.

[DancingBarry]

Bynum says the same...

"It took me a while to get going today. I don't really know why," Bynum said after the Lakers' 94-88 loss Thursday to the Miami Heat. "I was roaming. I just wasn't being quite as active. I'll watch the tape a little bit."

[The_Joker]

[revgen]

[E=MC²]

Lakers started like they were scared of Miami. By the time they flipped the switch, it was too late. Bad officiating on a couple of those possessions but that's not the reason the game was lost.

[shansen008]

[Klone_dd]

Not a lot of boards to be had? Miami had 11 offensive boards in the 1st half alone. That negated the Lakers momentum coming into the game.

Lakers didn't close quarters well: 1st Q: Mia 5 -0, 2nd Q: even; 3rd Q: Mia 6 -2; 4th Q: Mia 6-0.

Guards was horrible. 2 FGs out of Fish, Blake, Barnes and Brown. Wade really zeroed in on Pau as a 2nd defender.

Still, it was 5 minute game with the score tied. I would take that on the road, but I don't think Kobe managed the last 5 minutes well. Too much iso-ball and not much in the post. Not sure why he was pressing Wade full court in the 3rd. That may have zapped his energy causing him to go 2/11 in the 2nd half.

[limchrc]

thanks

[Laker7]

Lakers bench was out scored and out rebounded by a Miami bench that is statistically the worst in the league. That just cannot happen. We lost by 6 points the our bench was outscored by 6 points. Duh!
_________________
Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[prisma8slg]

thanks, DB. tough loss.
_________________
"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."

[TDG]

[Arbitrary]

Thanks DB.

Onward to the next game~

[angrypuppy]

Thanks DB.

Excellent recap.


I wonder if there is a pecking order confusion emerging in the front court. Bynum was quite passive in the first quarter; he didn't look to get the ball and when he did he didn't make strong moves to score. In all fairness Bynum has been asked to conserve his energy for defense, but then we crushed a quality opponent (Spurs) when he took an active role on offense. Pau did shoot well from 18 feet, but that's not what you want when you play the Heat; if Bynum isn't taking it the Heat inside, Pau shouldn't be out there hitting 18 footers. We weren't using our size advantage for high percentage shots, rebounding opportunities, and the ability to limit the Heat transition game. Neither Pau nor Bynum operating inside, robbing us of the ability to destroy the emotionally fragile Heat.

We didn't play to our strength against a very flawed team, and that was quite frustrating.

[trmiv]

I'm glad you caught that comment from the TNT crew about Sasha having some huge games for the Lakers in the playoffs. I was thinking "Where the hell was I for these games???"


I think part of the team's passiveness in the first came from Phil's approach to this game. He told the team the Heat would come out with a lot of emotion and fire, and they need to just get through it. What they needed to do was impose their will and counter the Heat's emotion like they have the past 8 games on teams. That would have changed the entire tone of the game.

[Rick12322]

Drew's lack of rebounding in the first half wasn't for a lack of effort. It was our ball watching scheme, that's quite a load to have to box out your guy AND patrol the rim against slashers in Wade and Lebron. Most of the damage on rebounding in the first half had to do with a failure by Mike Miller and Bosh' defenders. Fish/Brown failed to keep Miller off the glass and Pau completely failed to defend and box out Bosh.

[Rick12322]

The officiating was de ja vu all over again, every time we face a Lebron team the officials cheat us. It's ridiculous. That said the biggest fail goes back to last year and it's now biting us in the ass. Bynum's already proven he can score, but because of the ball hogs on this team he's not getting enough shot attempts to warrant even working on his offense, yet alone having the experience to get his offense clicking like we know it can click. This game highlights why it IS needed. Bynum would have shredded their front court, no one on that team could stop him from getting 40 and plenty of assists. This is all Phil and Kobe's fault.

Maybe now Kobe realizes he's not a spring chicken anymore, he can't even score against Wade unless he's lofting 30 footers.

[RVCdesigns]

I thought the game was played well minus the rebounding. I obviously did not like the outcome, thanks DB.

[revgen]

[busym]

In my opinion no need to worry. The Lakers were on the road. They never seemed to get in the flow of the game , but still could have won the game. On the other hand, the Heat were at home and were playing a must win game and were lucky to get a win. Based on this game, there is no way the Heat can beat the lakers 4 of 7 games in the playoffs.

[DancingBarry]