MAVS -at- LAKERS - 5/4 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Put Up or Shut Up Time... How do you like the role of underdog?

That's where the Lakers find themselves firmly planted right now after dropping their second consecutive home game to the Mavs 93-81.

Game 2 of a series is never an elimination game. But losing your first two at home? Those are some dire circumstances.

The Lakers have two things in their favor. They seem to focus better on the road this year and, secondly, the Mavs have a heck of a track record of choking. Overcoming an 0-2 deficit after losing both home games is something only four teams have done, however.

"If you want to make history, you have to do historic things," Kobe said.

So what went wrong tonight?

When asked this question before the fourth quarter, Phil said, "Where should I start?"

Despite the team only managing 32 points in the second half, Phil didn't believe that end of the floor was the problem.

"Offensively, we feel we're okay," Phil said. He said they are concerned about the other end. What might have him thinking that?

For one, the Lakers missed a lot of open shots. They went 0-15 from three before finally hitting their first one (that's 22 missed threes going back to last game). For another, the Lakers missed 9 FTs, shooting just 55 percent from the line. Make a couple of threes and a reasonable amount of freethrows and it's certainly a different game. There were also a series of missed finishes around the rim.

What is very apparent, however, is that the Mavs know what they want to do and are getting it. They Lakers are in scramble mode trying to deal with Dirk and the Dallas guards setting the table. The communication on defense is poor. And, worse yet, some are getting caught flat-footed. Whether from confusion or effort, it's not what you want to see in the playoffs. The Mavs are getting quality looks, and today, 11 offensive boards.

"It's obvious we have trust issues," Bynum said. He suggested that they were all playing as individuals instead of as a team. Does he mean not covering for each other defensively? Does he mean not sharing the ball offensively? Pick a side of the floor and you could probably make a strong argument for that. Drew will probably take a lot of overblown heat for his comment.

He wasn't saying he wanted the ball more despite being virtually ignored after scoring 14 first half points. He was preaching teamwork.

"The trust that he's referring to is being able to help each other on the defensive end of the floor," Kobe said. He said the corrections were minor, but the difference a wide open shot or a contested one.

"Just got to win one game. Everybody's tripping," Kobe said.


Kobe -- -- The Lakers need "surly" Kobe. You remember him, right? He was ticked off and on a mission for a ring. Teammates followed. He's not pushing the panic button for sure. "We're not very good here at home the last two games, so going to Dallas may do us some damn good," he said in his lone moment of surly Kobe in the post game interviews. It seemed like there were only two Lakers with an edge in their game tonight: Kobe and Drew. Unfortunately, we didn't take full advantage of Drew, which is a shame. Hard for Kobe or Bynum to go to work effectively when we can't spread the floor because of horrible perimeter shooting. This is why you see Phil wanting more ball reversals. The Maverick D can't load up as easily. We still aren't seeing Kobe get to the rim in this series. Kobe was aggressive defensively, coming up with 5 steals. During part of this game, I wondered if it wouldn't be best to throw Kobe on Dirk. Nothing else seemed to be working and smaller athletic gamers have given Dirk issues in the past. Dirk is a problem, but the nickle and diming from all the other Mavs takes its toll. That's where the Lakers need to tighten the screws. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 9-20 shooting (1-5 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 3 assists, 5 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 38 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He sank a turnaround jumper off the repost. He hit a pull-up from the elbow on the next possession. He missed a long three in early offense (poor possession, was at least 3 feet behind the line). He missed a tough, spinning fallaway. He swung through on Kidd and drew FTs (seems like he can do that a lot more), he made both. He drew a defensive tech on iso and missed the FT. He had 6 points on 2-4 shooting in the first. After a lengthy rest, he got into the lane and sank an easy hanging jumper. He knocked a ball from Marion to get a stop. He drained a wing jumper right over a man. He stripped Kidd from behind to get a stop. He swished an elbow jumper over Kidd on the next possession to take the lead. He sank a turnaround over Kidd from 15 feet. He missed an elbow jumper. He missed a turnaround. He missed a three over the zone. He had 14 points on 6-11 shooting and 2 assists at the half. Second Half: He was fouled by Kidd on a breakaway layup with no call, wow, and he missed (looked like an obvious push). He sank a wing jumper. He missed a jumper a little farther out. He hit a pull-up in the lane in transition. He missed a wing jumper and wanted the call. Horrible pass, hitting the backboard trying to go cross court. He missed a jumper, got it back and missed a corner three. He drew a couple FTs and made them. He drained a pull-up three (the Lakers first after missing their first 15). He missed a long three.

Gasol -- -- All the questions this post season have been surrounding the play of Pau Gasol. "He'll be fine," Kobe said. It grew ugly tonight on the floor as Staples took out some of its frustration with him. Boo's were heard at one point after he missed a jumper in the second half. He simply is not imposing his game on opponents. He's not consistently attacking and he's not consistently battling in the paint. Phil was frustrated with the Lakers weak execution offensively to set Pau up, as well. He wanted ball reversals while Pau got low position. It seemed as if he was begging for the team to do it at times. You can't have weak offensive games from Pau and survive. The Lakers one-two punch consists of a very weak jab every now and then by Pau. Yes, they have to execute better offensively, but Pau has to simply get after it. That's not happening with these 2- or 3-point quarters. "He was one of the kids who looked tired out there," Phil said. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-12 shooting (3-6 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He blocked Chandler from behind on help D. He sank a face-up wing jumper when Kobe repost to him. He missed a tough fallaway. Not close on an 18-footer. Better job attacking across the lane on his next touch and he drew FTs on Dirk, he made one. He had 3 points on 1-3 shooting in the first. He hit an easy jumphook in the middle of the lane over Dirk (more please). He missed a layup and putback, but Drew cleaned it up. He fouled Kidd on a three-pointer. He spun baseline to get past Dirk and was hit as he stretched out for a layup (late whistle), he made one FT (he needs to keep attacking him). He had 6 points on 2-6 shooting and 5 boards. Second Half: He was hammered on a double team with no call and coughed it up. He was blocked from behind on a layup (foul, no call). Not close on a 17-footer, crowd letting out some boo's. He dunked in transition when Fish found him. Low position on a ball reverse and he scored easily. He missed a fade in the lane (don't fade, attack). No recovery to Dirk to give up a three after an offensive rebound got by him. He scored a layup when Lamar found him on a drive. He drew FTs getting blocked by Haywood on another Lamar set up, he made one FT. He gave up a putback to Haywood.

Bynum -- -- Unfortunately, the Lakers could have used this Drew in the last game, but he didn't show. At least Drew admitted he didn't play well and got after it tonight. These numbers were more in line with the kind of impact he was getting against the Mavs in the regular season. Kobe and Bynum were the only dogs with some fight in them. Lamar had a few moments trying to be aggressive, but that was it. Unfortunately, after Bynum had 14 first-half points, the Lakers would only get him 3 post touches in the first 20 minutes of the second half while the offense stalled out completely and the Mavs took control. It's low hoop IQ ball and the Mavs thank us for it. They dodge that bullet because we left it in the chamber. Phil wanted a better defensive game from him. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-11 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 13 boards (7 offensive), 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He drew FTs against Chandler on his first touch of the game, he made both. He missed a turnaround bank in the paint. Early low position and it resulted in an easy turnaround at the front of the rim. He was called for a travel in the post on his next touch. Great job running the floor when Lamar pushed out the break and he threw down a dunk at full speed. He had 6 points on 2-3 shooting in the first. He was blocked from behind on a double team. He cleaned up an offensive board Lamar kept alive. He grabbed a Pau miss in a crowd and put it back in after gathering himself (more please). He spun baseline, stretched out and reversed. He grabbed a Kobe miss easily over Dirk and scored. He scored 14 points on 6-8 shooting to go with 6 boards (4 offensive) and no fouls. Second Half: He fouled Dirk on a drive. He grabbed a Kobe miss, got it back and missed a bank. Finally another low post touch and he hit a turnaround to end a dry spell. He had just 2 points on 1-2 shooting in the third. A rare touch, he worked through the triple team and hit the jumper.

Artest -- -- All the talk after the game was Ron's ejection as he popped Barea in the face on a play in the backcourt. It would be a weak suspension if the league did that. That kind of foul is what an ejection or tech is for. Prior to the game, Phil suggested we might see Artest match up against Dirk. Phil let him get some run against Dirk late in the half. They tried to send doubles to help, but nothing was successful. The Mavs chewed the team up. Better game from Ron from the last one. Hard not to be. Hopefully, the league doesn't do anything stupid, but it is Ron Artest. That NBA Citizen of the Year has to have some cache for him now, right? "There's a good chance of it," Phil said. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-10 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 3 blocks and 4 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He swished a wing jumper coming off the screens to start the game. He sank a baseline turnaround cutting off Kobe down the lane to take the pass. He missed a long wing jumper off the Pau pitch out. He blocked Dirk on help D. Great close out to block Peja's three. He attacked Peja off the dribble, instant foul, he made one FT. He missed a wide open wing three. He was blocked on a reverse after grabbing an offensive board. He was called for a tech taking a foul on Chandler in the paint, horrible call, free point for the Mavs. He was called for rooting Dirk out on iso D. He cleaned up a Kobe miss with a putback. He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting. Second Half: He missed an open corner three. He was fouled on a bustout off a Fish steal, he made one FT. He posted up Peja and missed a layup with his left. He blocked Peja's three. He airballed a pull-up three in transition. He drained a three in transition. Then was ejected for popping Barea in the face at the end of the game.

Fisher -- -- Offensively, the point guard position in this game was pretty sad. He and Blake combined for 4 points on 2-12 shooting. If Mitch is looking at upgrades this offseason. A game like this with the season on the brink might really stick in his mind. The D on Terry tonight between Fish and Blake was strong. Can't complain too much in that match up. Barea getting loose on them in the fourth quarter hurt. The inability of the Lakers guard to stretch the floor and make opponents pay on the other end, however, probably cost them. Their combined 0-7 from three only allowed the Mavs to pack the paint more. Still, you wanted Fish on the floor because he made things happen and moved the ball well within the triangle when others didn't. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-7 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He attacked and missed a runner. He missed a long three. Second Half: He swiped a post entry pass to ignite a break. He got tapped on a wing three. He spotted Pau breaking free for a dunk. He missed a wing jumper, not woking it inside-out. He swiped a pass jumping a lane and took it the distance for a layup (he wanted the foul). He attacked and fell. Getting up when the Lakers recovered on the other end he got a cherry picking layup. He missed a long wing jumper in transition trying to pull up from three.

Lamar -- -- The stats are pretty ugly in this one. Lamar scored just 6 points on 12 shots. He had a team-low -18. He was aggressive, however, and that's what you like to see. He just seemed to miss a lot of chippies at times. You'd like to see him attacking with speed more often. When he gets speed going into the offensive zone, it causes problems. In the second half, Lamar had some nice drives to set up Pau. Hopefully we see more of that. "We have the tools to win basketball games. We have to use them," Lamar said. Just don't play like tools in the process. Seems similar in some ways how our tools slowly flickered to life after the first couple of games in the last series. Defensively, the Lakers struggled to deal with Dirk. Even though they kept him at 24 points, he had the D scrambling throughout the night no matter what we threw at him. Single coverage, double coverage...he caused problems. He'll do that. It's the other guys you have to contain. Lamar said we just aren't making them work hard enough for their points. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-12 shooting (0-2 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -18. The Action: He grabbed a board among a couple Mavs, pushed it out and hit Bynum at full speed for a dunk. He was blocked on a layup. He missed off glass in the paint. He kept a Barnes miss alive and Drew cleaned it up. He hit a jumphook easily over Peja out of a timeout. He attacked the offensive zone with speed and scored an And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He had 4 points on 2-6 shooting and 4 boards. He was a -9. Second Half: Aggressive attack, but he couldn't put in the layup. He attacked and found Pau under the hoop for the layup. He attacked and hit Pau for FTs. He attacked Dirk and hit the jumphook. He missed a drive to his left past Haywood. He choked an easy layup off the up and under out of a timeout. He missed a three.

Blake -- -- Just an awful game. Not totally useless because he was playing pretty strong D, which is why Phil left him in there for extended run, but offensively he was stone cold and indecisive. That led to bricks and turnovers. Had he hit two or three of his shots, the complexion of the game would have been different. Just no confidence. Defensively, he played some strong ball and this is where Phil thinks our issues are (despite our horrible shooting). Terry had just 3 points on 1-5 shooting in the first half. I'm not sure Terry actually scored off Blake when he was on him. Good job by both Blake and Fish on that match up. Barea started to work over Shannon so Phil switched Blake on to him to stop that in the first half. In the second half, he was able to get it going a little bit against the duo. That's the kind of impact we want to get from our backup PG spot. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-5 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 20 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He missed an open wing three. He missed a three straight away. Nice challenge on Barea after thwarting a pick and pop to get a miss. Second Half: He missed a corner three, got it back and missed another wide open one (Lakers were 0-11 from three at this point). He threw a bounce pass away for a layup the other way. He missed a three wide right, looked hit on that one. Horrible kickout off a screen (Bynum didn't roll) and it was picked off when he tried to go to Fisher.

Barnes -- -- Paging, Matt Barnes. It's time for you to show up before the Lakers are punked. The league may sideline Artest in the next one. That may result in Matt getting some run. Speaking of run...the Lakers had no run in their game tonight. Barnes, Lamar, Blake...we need to see those guys getting up and down the floor for some easy points off their defensive activity. Phil limited his minutes opting for smaller lineups and Kobe at SF to match up with the Mavs. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 10 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He missed a shot in the paint over Peja, but we scored off it. He lost a dribble off his foot trying to attack. Second Half: He missed a wing three on a kickout.

Brown -- -- There were some moments out there where the Mavs would go on mini runs based off Shannon's mistakes. Phil benched him in the first half for Blake when Shannon gave up a couple layups to Barea and was called for a charge trying to ditch the offense and create. Shannon was in on the clank fest from both the line and behind the arc. He most both FTs in the fourth. We mentioned in the prior game how key Shannon's D on Barea was. Well, Barea got off to cause havoc in our D at times in this one. Those were key points. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting (0-1 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: Wild pass on a drive and Bynum couldn't control it. He hit a fading bank between a couple defenders in the paint. He got crossed over by Terry and gave up a jumper. He banked while working off the pinch-post handoff from Bynum against the zone. He tried to iso instead of working the offense, he was called for an offensive foul (and also gave up two straight layups to Barea on the other end before Phil called a timeout and sat him). Second Half: He missed a sideline three. He drew FTs on a drive, then missed both FTs, uggh.

Phil -- -- The Mavs constantly scrambled lineups and rotations on the Lakers. It seems to be like a moving target for the Lakers and they haven't quite been able to track it and focus their game... The Lakers got the ball to Pau with some frequency to start the game. Drew, not enough... Phil sat Pau for Lamar with 4 minutes left when Marion returned to the game. They started to look for Bynum a little more... Phil sat Fish for Blake down 19-18 and brought back in Pau... He sat Artest for Shannon with 1:24 left down 1... He sat Kobe for Barnes down 3... The Lakers trailed 26-20 after the first quarter... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit again. Dallas had Dirk and Terry in... The Lakers trailed by 8 when Phil called a timeout after 3 minutes. He kept the same unit in, getting on Lamar Who came out aggressive after that... After trimming the lead to 4, Shannon gave up two straight layups and turned the ball over trying to iso. Phil called a timeout down 7... He sat Lamar, Barnes and Brown for Pau, Kobe and Fisher. Phil switched Blake onto Barea. They forced a Dallas timeout by cutting it to 1... He then sat Blake for Artest... He sat Bynum for Lamar with 3 minutes left up by 1. He switched Artest onto Dirk. That didn't work... The Lakers trailed 51-49 at the half. They shot 47.7 percent (21-44, 0-7 from three, 7-12 from the line). The Mavs shot 50 percent (20-40, 4-10 from three, 7-9 from the line). The Lakers had an 8-3 advantage on the offensive glass. Dirk had 15 points, Marion 9... Sloppy start to the second and some no calls by the refs going the Mavs way. The Mavs called a timeout with the lead at 1 after 5 minutes... Phil wanted to get Lamar in and eventually called a timeout down 4. The offense was stuck in mud... He sat Pau. He brought in Blake for Fish... Bynum had only 2 shots in the quarter despite the 14 first-half points... The Lakers trailed 68-62 heading into the fourth. They lost the quarter 17-13... Phil started a Pau, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... Asked what was wrong, Phil said. "Where should I start?"... Down 8 after 4 minutes, the Staples crowd tried to get the team going. Phil brought back in Kobe, Drew, Fisher to go with Lamar and Blake. Nothing sparked them.. Down 10 with 6 minutes left after giving up a dunk, Phil called another timeout... He sat Blake for Shannon... Down 15, he sat Lamar for Pau... He brought in Artest for Shannon, Lakers toast... "I thought they got anxious with about six and half, seven minutes to go," Phil said. You might think that was because they had only scored 20 points after the first 20 or so minutes. Kobe said it was because they were upset with how their defense was breaking down...

[Arbitrary]

[link]

Please, pissed Mamba, come back.

[revgen]

1) The Lakers held Dallas to 93 points on 42FG%. So defense wasn't the problem.

2) We outrebounded Dallas on the offensive and defensive glass. So rebounding wasn't a problem.

3) We had 10 TO's. Dallas had 11 TO's. Taking care of the basketball wasn't the problem.

4) So how did we lose by 12 points? 2 reasons. 3pt% and FT's. Dallas made 6 more FTs and shot 6 more 3pt shots than we did. Needless to say, our outside shooting sucks eggs.
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I Recommend VLC Player: http://www.videolan.org/

[City_Dawg]

Damn.
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*sighs*

!...

[DancingBarry]

[revgen]

[fsc401]

clank fest. I like that.

[fsc401]

DB, do you have any possilbe explanation to exactly what happened to Pau? Where's the Pau we knew that helped us carry to 2 consecutive titles? The Quick spin, the quick first step to the midde, counter back spin and to his jump hook, the up and under.

It seems as if these days when he gets the ball he just jab steps and clanks up a 17 footer or just kicks it back out to Kobe with 5 on the clock.
I mean, what is going on with Pau?

And also, this post season, the two man game between Kobe and Pau, our bread and butter for last three seasons, have been so ineffective. We don't go to it very often, and when we do, we don't get the results we should do. What's up with that?

[triplepurple]

[A Mad Chinaman]

Painful to Watch. It was so bad and it never felt like it was close.


Re: Pau
When will the "Black Swan" Pau show up. Just another game that proves why Kobe is a Super Star while Pau is a good player. Interesting to watch Pau constantly get "rooted out" - yet he just sets up (or try to set-up) in the low block and then gets rooted out.

He gets double teamed and can't find the open man or just fumbles the ball away. Shannon and Blake (on the offensive end) had bad games, but Pau is supposed to be the #2 option and gets paid accordingly.

When will he get pissed and make strong decisions, instead of wimping out. Why isn't he attacking Dirk quickly and forcing him to spend a great deal more energy on defense?

Since Pau is playing tired and weak, maybe he should get more rest - or maybe he is injuried. With Kobe playing on a bum ankle, nobody giving the ball to Drew in the 2nd half, LO wishing he was in bed with Khloe, Artest (well, he is RonRon), Barnes trying to find where the court is and Blake is wondering if there is a basket - where was Pau?


Re: LO
Give the man a lot more candy bars so that he can finish. It was painful seeing him missed chippy after chipy after chipy after chipy . . . . .


Re: Drew
He might be upset that when he was helping out for a teammate, nobdy was rotating to help defend his man, thus allowing layup after layup.


Re: Shannon
Notice to Shannon - you don't have the handles to create on your own so use your athletic ability to defend and defend. Your PT will limited and/or replaced by Trey Johnson if you consistently breakout of the offensive sets to clank outside shots that lead to long rebounds that allow the Mavs to go on fastbreaks since the players were balanced when the shot was taken.


Re: Blake
If you are having problems shooting at home, how will you shoot at the opposing team's court in Dallas?

[Shaber]

I'm just glad I decided not to watch this game. Somehow I saw this coming.
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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

[link]

[Saikobe24]

For the first time i can say i am speechless and have nothing to say to defend the lakers. this isnt a good feeling im sick to my stomach
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thankful for our back to back

[hoopschick29]

Look at Pau. Forget the numbers. LOOK at him. Look at his eyes. The lights are on, but nobody's home. And at this point, I don't even think the lights are on. It's just a dark house.
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So glad we gave you your flowers while you were here, Kobe.

[limchrc]

I'm sad at our current state. Please find a way to win next one.

[thurloly]

Kobe, Pau, Fisher, Artest, Barner, Blake, and Brown had bad games.

You know that you will lose if this happens.

[Kareem's Court]

[richsmith]

[Rick12322]

[E=MC²]

The problem doesn't lie in offense or defense right now, it's in the team mentality and focus. This team is overconfident and arrogant and that has to change quickly if they are to win this series. Mavs are hustling and playing like a team and they respect the Lakers but don't fear them. Game 3 will be where Lakers either show up and decide to play like a team and play with urgency, focus and dedication or this series will be over cause they aren't going to win 4 in a row. after dropping first three.

[A Mad Chinaman]