NUGGETS -at- LAKERS - 4/3 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Speed Bump... The margin for error in the Lakers attempt to hunt down the Spurs has been slim. Odds are something is going to go against them. Unfortunately, they ran into one of those inevitable hitches with a 95-90 loss to the Nuggets.

The Lakers lost the game and with it, the ability to control their destiny after a win by the Spurs earlier in the day.

The outcome of a Nuggets game would be based largely on whether or not the Lakers used their size advantage. So when Phil chose instead to play small ball for some stretches (including having Artest at the PF), the team wasn't playing to their strengths.

Throw in possessions where we opt for long chucks from the perimeter versus exploring the post and the advantage is neutralized futher.

Given the way the injury bug was cruising around looking to sting someone, it might have been best had they not played at all.

The Lakers may have narrowly escaped disaster when Pau Gasol went down awkwardly after a hard foul as he threw down. He landed with his foot under his bent leg, torquing his knee. He will have an MRI, but was able to come back and finish the game.

Andrew Bynum slightly tweaked his surgically repaired knee and was kept out from the close (a seemingly overly cautious move by Phil...especially considering he let Pau return).

Kobe also moved one step closer to some trouble as he picked up a technical (perhaps someone else needs to step up for him and gripe at the refs when they miss call after call).

Hopefully, they dodged bullets and the game will be the only loss suffered by the Lakers in this one.


Kobe -- -- The refs had one of those game where they let a lot of handchecking and holds go against Kobe. Actually, they seemed to let a lot of everything go against him. Kobe picked up a tech early on and was clearly frustrated throughout the game. He needs to avoid the techs from here on out. More games like this might make that hard to do. He missed several layups and chippies as a result and his shooting percentage tanked. Although that stats seem to show some of his FT struggles were overcome, he had a lot of body language on the freethrow line today trying to talk the ball (he just didn't seem comfortable). He's seemed to start the last couple game a bit slow on both ends. Eventually, you see the intensity elevate, but some ugly moments lately. The Stats: He scored 28 points on 10-27 shooting (0-4 from three, 8-9 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 38 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He missed a wing three. He missed a twisting layup attempt on a drive. He blew past his man and missed another layup next time down. He ball-watched and gave up a dunk. He attacked and couldn't finish. He attacked again and powered in a layup, looking for the foul. Fish hit him with an alley-oop in transition for the slam. He missed a long jumper standing on the three line, lazy possession. He swiped a pass and missed an awkward one-hander in transition from about 8 feet out. He missed a short turnaround in the lane, looking for a foul call. He drew two fouls on Smith on one possession, getting the whistle while taking a post-up pass, he made both FTs. He swished a turnaround baseline jumepr. He spun on the dribble, spun back the other way and hit the bank in the lane. He attacked a space and hit the fading 15-footer. He sealed Felton and drew FTs on the slow corner entry, he made both. He missed a wing three. He made a tech FT. He attacked with speed off the Bynum handoff and drew FTs in the paint, he made both. He attacked and kicked out to Ron for a three. He attacked, got undercut and missed a bank, slapped the floor on his way up and was given a tech. He attacked, spun and took contact with no call, coughing up the ball. Dumb foul in the backcourt, giving up two FTs. He attacked, spun and banked with a man all over him. He had 19 points on 6-15 shooting. Second Half: He got a switch between his man and Pau's, then threw a bad angled pass to Bynum instead of attacking the mismatch and it was picked off. He missed a long runner in early offense, not great shot selection. He pumpfaked his man in the air, then stepped through and hit the leaner. He missed a baseline jumper, Smith clearly walking under him (should have been a foul and lucky he didn't get injured). He swished a pull-up jumper working off the Pau screen. He attacked down the lane and couldn't finish a layup. He was tripped on a drive and earned FTs, he made one. He blew past his man and scored a layup. He missed a pull-up in the paint. He blew past his man on the high screen and dunked. Not close on a three. He missed a baseline fade getting held without a call as he made his move. After being held coming off a pick with no call, he missed a tough, fading turnaround three on an inbounds pass.

Gasol -- -- I'll take the loss over losing Pau to an injury. Keep the fingers crossed on the MRI. He had a very close call coming down awkwardly on a hard foul from Nene. He went to the locker room, but returned later to close out the game. The knee has some soreness and swelling, which sounds like it could be a minor sprain. The fact that he was out there playing on it was a good sign. When the Lakers would go to Pau against Nene today, the Nuggets immediately went to that match-up. The Lakers would often send a double to help. The collapsing D would open up the three shooters for the Nuggets. The Lakers got burned several times on this. In crunch time, we simply didn't have our best defensive lineup. Phil may have been concerned about the screen-rolls. Doesn't seem likely he was concerned about Drew's knee, since he let Pau return. There was a key stretch when Phil went with Artest across Pau. That just made our interior D even weaker and the Nuggets got their lead during that stretch. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-10 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. He couldn't finish a putback on a Kobe miss. He missed a jumper from the FT line. He hit a leaning turnaround jumper from the left block. He grabbed a Kobe miss, pumped and powered in a layup. He faced up and hit a baseline jumper. He swung through and drew FTs from the post, he made both. Second Half: Tricky 16-footer with the shotclock low and a man on tight, but he still swished it. He blocked a Kenyon shot. His man tried to steal the ball, Pau attacked and slammed over a hard foul from Nene and he landed awkwardly on his leg (looked like his knee got hyperextended a little), he missed the FT. He swished a face-up jumper. He had back-to-back turnovers in crunch time. He grabbed a Kobe miss in the paint and scored a layup.

Bynum -- -- Drew is one of the main difference-makers against the Nuggets. Pau has a tough time against Nene. Bynum can dominate him. Unfortunately, we didn't make that a priority in this game, both offensively and he didn't finish the game on D down the stretch as Phil opted to not stretch his luck with bigman injuries. The Lakers pretty much paid the price for it. Early in the game, it seemed obvious Bynum was going to dominate. They got him the ball and he powered down a couple of dunks. Then, the offense screwed around for the next 8 mintues. Late in the game, we suffered with a collapsing D in the Nene vs. Pau match up. We also didn't secure a key rebound on a missed FT while Bynum watched. Bynum had that bounce in his step. The key to some of his great games is his ability to challenge a shot and bounce back up and help secure a board. When he's doing that, he's on his game. One part of his game that he should have left in the locker room was his inbounds passing. He had two picked off and nearly a third. Can't be lazy with those. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-7 shooting to go with 16 boards (5 offensive), 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He slammed back in a Pau miss. Low position on the next possession and he dunked with both hands. Lazy inbounds pass and it was picked off. He blocked dribble penetration. He forced up and missed a 12-footer badly. He missed a tough lefty jumphook in the middle of the lane. He swiped a post entry pass on one end, ran the floor and slammed off the pass from LO on the other. He challenged a shot, bounced back up and got the board. He had 12 boards in the first half. Second Half: Another lazy inbounds pass and it was stolen for an And-1. He tapped a defensive board away from a player, secured it and outlet to Ron for transition points. He took contact on a finsh and had his shot goaltended (should have been an And-1 with a man in the restricted circle, Lakers weren't going to get those calls). He blocked a dunk on help D that was thrown out of bounds by the shot taker (should have been Laker ball...instead it led to an And-1...big swing, could have gone up by 8, instead only up by 3).

Artest -- -- Gallinari led the Nuggets in scoring with 22 and pretty much had his way with Ron. Rare we see Ron not make an impact on that end. Offensively, he wasn't a positive factor, either. He had a couple key turnovers late in the game on some sloppy execution against his man. This was probably one of his weakest games since the All Star break. The Lakers inability to hold a team in the 80s was hindered by Ron's inability to check his man here. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-5 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 29 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He missed a layup and a follow tip on the first possession. He pushed up the break and dished it off to LO for the layup. He drained a wing three, squaring up perfectly off the Kobe kickout. Second Half: He gave up a drive and dish dunk on the first possession. He missed a three, straight away. He missed a wide open corner three. After Gallinari scored again, Ron finally tried to post up, but used his off arm to seal and was called for it. He tried to create instead of run the offense, travel violation. He rumbled out on the break and drew FTs, he made both.

Fisher -- -- Some very poor decision making on both ends by Fish. Not a fan of the 20+ foot pull-up jumpers in transition. Fish missed a couple of those in this game. His probes in the lane were also bricks or turnovers waiting to happen. He also got burned on some doubles in the post. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-8 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He blindsided a big to knock a ball loose, then lobbed to Kobe on the break for the throwdown. He missed a wing three. Not close on a running bank attempt. He shed a defender with a bump and swished a corner three. Horrible post entry, it was swiped for a dunk the other way. He missed a long wing jumper in transition (plenty of room to move in closer). Second Half: He missed a corner three. Horrible probe, not waiting for his two bigs to get down court, the D converged on him and he threw it away (if they have numbers and our bigs aren't down court, where do you think you are going?). He missed another pull-up 20-footer on the break. He doubled the post and gave up a three. He let his man fly by, moved in and hit a pull-up 17-footer. He missed a corner three.

Lamar -- -- Unfortunatley, the Lakers HCA may be up in smoke because of Lamar's inability to get a couple key defensive boards. That Spurs loss, of course, and today he gave up a key putback. This one was a bit different. The Lakers would still have to sink a shot on the other end. But more importantly, he was clearly shoved under the hoop by Martin. The missed Nene FT resulted in a putback score and the Lakers couldn't recover. Secure that and you are down 3 with a shot to tie it up. Instead, you are down 5 with 11 seconds left. Different ball game. Should have been a foul on Kenyon, however. The second call against Lamar in crunch time came a little earlier. It looked like he had made a great defensive play to tie up a guard at midcourt with a minute left (we would have then regained possession). The refs, however, let the Nuggets get a timeout call instead. Frustrating game for the Lakers with the refs. Hard to push through that stuff and even more painful that it happened on your homecourt. Nice to see LO stick a three with 15 seconds left. Too bad the clutch make didn't make a difference in the outcome. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-17 shooting (2-6 from three, 1-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 5 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a fading pull-up jumper. He sealed his man, took the corner entry and scored a layup. He missed a fade across the lane after taking contact. He pushed it up and hit Drew in the paint for the slam. He was short on a wing three, his man then dunked easily when Lamar couldn't get back. He charged trying to spin on the break. He begged for the ball from Artest on the break, got it and attacked for a layup. He missed a one-hander, got it back and missed a fade. Second Half: He missed a three, followed it up, got the miss and scored a layup. Nice trap with Fish in the corner on the other end to help get a turnover. He then stuck a three on the other end. He got Smith on him in transition, backed him down and drew FTs, he missed both. He cut to the post, grabbed the pass, spun away and banked. He cut across the lane, reached out and scored a layup. He changed directions on the break to avoid a foul then hit a trailing Bynum for a score. He attacked, took all kinds of contact and no call on the miss. He attacked off the three line and was fouled, he made just one FT again. He was called for a charge on a pass off out of a timeout. He missed a wing three. He missed a shot in the lane in all kinds of traffic. Great trap at midcourt with a minute left, should have been a jumpball, but the refs gave the Nuggets a timeout. He drained a huge three out of a timeout to cut the lead to 2 with 15 seconds left. He missed a leaning three at the buzzer.

Blake -- -- Phil went to a Fisher/Blake backcourt a couple of times in this game trying to match up with the Nuggets. That's something the team isn't used to. He got taken out of one of those rotations when Blake got elbowed in the chops and was bleeding. I wouldn't mind seeing a little more of a change up every now and then when Shannon's game is completely off track, but Fisher isn't an answer. Blake had his moments in this game, mixing things up defensively to get some stops and the highlight pass of the game on a long lob to Barnes. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He went to the floor to get a loose ball after he turned his man into Barnes on D to help Barnes jump him. On the other end, he pushed it up and hit an elbow pull-up jumper in transition. Second Half: He missed a baseline pull-up jumper. Sweet 50-foot lob pass to Barnes for a layup on the break. His post entry was stolen. He drew a clear-out foul on Nene on a double team.

Barnes -- -- I wouldn't mind have seeing him go up against Gallinari more with the way Ron wasn't on track. Quiet game overall from Barnes after his return from the suspension. Barnes is 0-6 from three in the past 5 games. Anytime he's taking a three from on top of the arc, it looks like he's not getting enough legs in the shot to get the ball to the rim. It seems like an automatic miss. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 foul in 18 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He missed a three from the top of the arc. Second Half: He got Gallinari to dribble the ball off his foot with some tight D. He grabbed a Blake miss, reset the offense and it led to Kobe FTs. He busted down court, took the long lob from Blake and scored the layup. He posted up Felton and had his shot goaltended. He attacked off the high post and drew FTs, he made one. He got crossed over and gave up a jumper.

Brown -- -- Got to love when we have a clear post advantage with Bynum on those second units and we end up with perimeter shots for Shannon. This is really last option stuff that winds up as our point of attack instead. Like Barnes, Shannon has shot 0-5 from three in the last 5 games. Shannon's three shooting has gotten progressively worse as the season has gone on (Oct. - .500, Nov. - .456, Dec. - .395, Jan. - .263, Feb. - .231, Mar. - .222). He does take some percentage buster late shotclock threes or buzzer beaters quite a bit. But...he also has the iso chucks from three. It seems like those inside-out catch-and-shoot threes have been fewer and fewer. He didn't take a three in this one, but had some lengthy perimeter atttempts. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting to go with 2 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He missed a 19-footer on his first touch. He attacked, lost the ball, got it back and hit the wing jumper. He fouled a three shooter on a rush out (Gallinari leaned into him and stuck out his elbow to get the call). Second Half: He airballed a step-back 21-footer with the shotclock about to expire. He missed a 22-footer in early offense, uggh. He sank a closer 16-footer off the screens next time down.

Phil -- -- After feeding Drew a couple times for dunks to start the game, the offense fell apart, the Lakers scoring just 8 points after 8 minutes. No purpose and very little attempt to get one.. Phil sat Bynum for Lamar down 11-8... He sat Fish and Artest for Blake and Barnes with 3 minutes left... Up 16-14, he sat Kobe for Shannon... The Lakers trailed 21-20 on a lackluster first quarter... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... The Lakers trailed 26-24 when Phil brought back in Kobe for Barnes and Fisher for Brown. This left the team with a Bynum, Lamar, Kobe, Fisher, Blake unit... He sat Lamar for Pau a minute later... After a timeout, Phil went back to his starters with Lamar instead of Bynum... He sat Pau for Bynum a couple minutes later up by 2... The Lakers closed the half on a 10-3 run, starting to dial up the intensity... They led 47-40 at the half. The Nuggets shot 29 percent in the half (they would finish the game shooting 44 percent)... Phil brought in Lamar for Pau, who went to the locker room after 4 minutes... The score was tied 56-56 midway through the quarter... Pau returned for Bynum with 4 minuets left up by 2. Phil sat Ron for Barnes... He sat Fish for Blake with 3 minutes left up by 1... Poor defensive quarter from the Lakers by everyone but Bynum... The score was tied 69-69 heading into the fourth.... Phil started the Bynum, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake lineup... Big sequence when the Lakers had a 6-point lead. Bynum blocked a shot that was clearly thrown out of bounds by a Nugget after the block. The refs gave the ball to the Nuggets. It led to an And-1 on that possession to cut the lead to 3 instead of a chance for the Lakers to go up by 8 on the other end... Down 4 with 7:15 left, Phil went to Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Fisher, Blake again. Three subs at once and the odd backcourt... He had to sit Blake for Artest when Blake was hit with an elbow and bleeding... Phil then went with Artest at PF with over 4 minutes left. The score was quickly 89-83 and Phil called a timeout. He then went back to Lamar and Pau (Drew's size is needed against Nene)... Out of a timeout, the Lakers missed back-to-back threes on consecutive possessions... They would get within striking distance, but something always went against them. Phil may question not having Bynum in there late... Some congrats here for Tex Winter for finally making the Basketball Hall of Fame. Behind all of Phil's rings as a coach is Tex's offense. This is long overdue. Phil: "When Tex was verbally and cognizantly capable of receiving this award, I would have been much happier. The fact now that he's had a stroke that's impaired his capabilities, it kind of irritates me a little bit that this wasn't done 10 years ago when he was still serving basketball in such a great capacity."...

[SweetP]

Stinker of a game.
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“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[Alpha]

thanks db... missed the game.

[Sister Golden Hair]

Of all the misplays, I thought Fish and Blake hurt the most on defense. Why do the Laker guards reflexively double and collapse on penetration when they have a big who can swat behind them? Denver's offense, like SA's, would literally grind to a halt if you make the guards finishers. Let them get 30 points. Who cares? Just stay on the shooters and get the rebounds when the guards do miss.

SGH

[E=MC²]

Limit the remaining 6 game stretch to 1 loss please and stay ahead of Miami and Boston for home court.

[The_Joker]

It seems that the Spurs have figured out something, the Nugget copied them and that allowed them to broke down our defense. Basically, shoot as long as you have your feet set, or anytime you get some separation. This makes defending anyone real tough, because you have to be by their side, as opposed to being in front, to affect them. But if you keep staying by their side, then that means that you are giving them a wide open path to the basket.

Considering how explosive Bynum looked, this game should have been a blowout in our favor. The fact that we lost is perplexing.

To me, the fact that Ron got torched on D is no coincidence. Ron's defense is basically stay on a guy's side, swipe at the ball, and hope that the shooter is affected. But now that that no longer works, you have to wonder how exactly you can defend the offensive players any tighter. I mean, you can't go behind them, that's for sure.

Basically, you have to defend everyone like how Pau defends Dirk, or how Kobe defends Wilson Chandler at the end of the half. The problem with that is that only Kobe has that kind of length, and it's impossible for Bynum to block that many penetration attempts.

To me, I think we have to score better. If guys like George Hill are scoring easier, then that means that guys like LO and Ron should be able to score easier also.

[sia_kb8]

[JM]

Horrific game. Ugh. Painful to watch. Lost opportunity. (I always think the Lakers are capable of winning every game easily. And I know this is delusional.) This was full of missed opportunities, sloppy ballhandling, poor decision making, lethargic and clumsy execution......... sometimes you just get up on the wrong side of the bed. In some respects, I'd rather see them get blown away. Ugh.

And yet, there was a part of me thinking they could pull it out.

[City_Dawg]

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[LakerLanny]

[babyskyhook]

[Shaber]

Are Nuggets too quick for Lakers?

And think of non-winning habits that go with Carmelo. Nuggets seem to feel blessed to get rid of him
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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

[Vicky T]

I forgot how it feels to lose
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Macho Men:
http://tinyurl.com/2ajhhov

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB.

Welp.... Time to start another win streak. Perhaps 22 games this time.

[revgen]

What sealed the fate of this game was when LO picked up that 5th foul in the 4th and Phil opted to go to take him out and put in a small-ball lineup instead of inserting Drew back in. The Nuggets acquired a 6 point lead during that stretch and kept it all the way to the end.
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[July]

I was expecting we would lose by Nugget or this Tuesday. It's very difficult to keep up with big winning streak and the new-look opponent which we just faced yesterday.. that we don't play much before! Oh well, we will start a new winning streak again.

Go Lakers!

[Arbitrary]

It was a painful game to watch. Thanks DB.

[angrypuppy]

Thanks DB.

[limchrc]

thanks

[LoyalLakerfan44]

The truth is that this is a totally different Denver team than the Carmelo version the Lakers played earlier in the season, and although I'm sure the Lakers scouted them well they still did not know what to expect. The Lakers know Denver has been playing well, but one thing is knowing and another is actually being out there with them on the court. If they were to face them again I'm sure they would make the appropriate adjustments to defeat them. Again it is what it is and let's just hope Gasol and Bynum are ok.

[calistrtballr]

strange game. don't understand why Phil didnt continue to run plays for Drew

[mhan00]

[DancingBarry]

[RVCdesigns]

Thanks Db, I missed the game.