SIXERS -at- LAKERS - 1/4 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Weathering the Storm...And Then Some... Out of this game with bum wheels: Mihm, Vlad and Sasha. Out for bum rushing: Lamar. Without all their options available, the Lakers still rolled over, through and around the Sixers in a 124-93 blowout.

They established the post early in the game as Bynum got back-to-the-basket touches and dominated the Sixers big men. Despite the 17-point, 16 board three quarters from Bynum, he wasn't the leading scorer. The Lakers got dribble pentration and consistent guard play from start to finish. Javaris Crittenton showed a little of what he can bring to the table, dropping a career high 19 points on 7-9 shooting. That's a couple of youngins dominating the Sixers.

The Lakers shot an incredible 66 percent for the game -- an NBA high. The fourth-best shooting game in the NBA since the '91-92 season. Wow.

Defensively, they also got 9 blocks, controlling the paint on both ends. "They brought better energy tonight," Phil said (sounded like in response to a question by emplay).


Kobe -- -- He played just three quarters and it still looked like we didn't need him. Pretty loose game from Kobe, looked like he was having fun. He took just 9 shots. The Stats: Kobe scored 15 points on 5-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 4 assists and 3 turnovers in 29 minutes. The Action: He took contact in transition and drew FTs, hobbling over to the line, he made both. He connected on the turnaround from the elbow. He hit a wing turnaround working out of the mid post. He hit Ronny cutting down the lane for the layup. He fed Ariza cutting weakside on the baseline and it led to a dunk. He airballed a long jumper that Ronny cleaned up. He sank a tech FT, when the two-man game of Ronny and Bynum apparently brain-froze the Sixers into an illegal D. He blew past Green and threw down a reverse dunk to start the second half. He swished a turnaround on a baseline jumper moments later. He drew the double and spotted Fish for the three. He sank a couple FTs after getting fouled on a jumper. He airballed a three. He went between Dalembert's legs with the pass and Ronny drew FTs from it. He bounced in a turnaround from the FT line. He missed on wild attempt in the lane with the shotclock low.

Bynum -- -- Phil said Bynum wasn't getting enough touches in the last game, so they went to him early and with purpose in this one. Bynum had his way with the Sixers. "I liked the way he tried to use the post position he had in the first half," Phil said. Bynum probably gets a 20-20 game if he plays the fourth quarter. The Stats: He finished with 17 points on 6-8 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 16 boards (all but 2 on the defensive end), 4 assists, 3 blocks and 5 turnovers. He didn't foul in his 29 minutes. The Action: He took and interior feed and powered up for the short jumphook. He missed an up-and-under left hander, got it back and threw down drawing the foul, too, and he made the FT. Out of the post again, he faked right, went left with speed and hit the short one. He missed a throwdown on the high lob, got it back and drew the foul, he made both FTs. Wow, highlight time: Bynum took off on the dribble from the top of the key, took flight from the bottom of the FT circle with his right foot after a couple long steps and threw down a huge dunk with his right hand...he just soared on that one. Excellent first quarter on both ends, he had 11 points and 8 boards. He rejected a cutter as Kobe yelled "Drew!" to bail them out. He rejected Iguodala under the hoop and controlled it. He found Fish across court for a three. He got undercut on a long lob pass and drew FTs, he made one. Great footwork in the post, he took a power dribble, moved to the middle of the lane and abused Smith with another dunk. He had 14 points on 5-7 shooting to lead all players at the half and had 12 boards, 3 blocks and 3 assists at the half. He traveled after putting on the breaks off the dribble. He took a pass, drew contact under the hoop and scored the And-1, he made the FT.

DFish -- -- Fish played an aggressive 24 minutes, getting off a lot of shots and connecting on many. Some good dribble penetration by Fish, picking his spots well. Andre Miller was a non-factor with 8 points on 3-10 shooting. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-12 shooting (2-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 assists and 3 boards. The Action: He missed a wing jumper in transition. He found Bynum with an interior feed for a short jumphook. He got dribble penetration to his left and scored the easy layup. He attacked in transition and fed Turiaf for the score. He swished a baseline jumper off some good ball movement. He attacked and kicked to Crit for the open jumper. He missed a pull-up jumper in transition. He attacked off the dribble, missed, got it back and put it in. He sank a wing three on a kickout from Bynum. He missed a rainbow jumper against the clock. He sank another three when Kobe got double teamed and found him. He swished a pull-up from the top of the key. He attacked down the middle of the lane and banked the layup.

Turiaf -- -- Back in the starting unit with Lamar sidelined with the suspension and Kwame backing up Drew. He just seems so much better at that spot. Tonight, we definitely had a no-fly zone between him and Bynum. "I like to block shots," Ronny said. "That's what I enjoy the most...sometimes I'm going to get dunked on, but hopefully I block more shots than I get dunked on." He looked good tonight. The Stats: Ronny scored 15 points on 5-7 shooting (5-5 from the line) to go with 5 blocks, 4 boards, 1 steal and just 1 foul in 30 minutes. The Action: He scored a layup, working off Kobe and taking the pass. He helped on D, recovered to his man and swatted him badly, then finished on the other end in transition with the layup (that's Turiaf energy). He rejected Dalembert at the front of the rim. He cleaned up a Kobe airball and dunked. He sank a jumper from the top of the key. He roofed Miller and took the ball away. Great challenge and second effort on Miller's drive to get the miss. Another swat under the rim to save a hoop. He had 8 points on 4-4 shooting, 4 boards and 4 blocks in the first half. Great ball movement, every Laker touching it and it drew FTs for Ronny, he made both. He missed a FT jumper. Kobe went between the legs of Dalembert with the pass and Ronny drew FTs. He plowed over Jason Smith and scored the And-1, stared at him, then helped him up before making the FT. He missed a wing jumper.

Luke -- -- He got benched early for Ariza after giving up some scores. Not much impact in this game, other than being a warm body out there. He did look a little smoother offensively. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-3 shooting, 1 board and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. The Action: Luke's three makes: Iguodala overplayed him on the perimeter and Luke burned him for a layup; he hit a wing jumper off the pitch out from Bynum; and he sank a step-back baseline jumper.

Ariza -- -- Coming off the bench tonight, but played more than Luke. He even got a little run at PF late in the game. Typical effort out there with solid D, finishing around the rim, missing jumpers, making some nice passes and getting out on the break. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He dunked when Kobe found him cutting baseline. Nice D to force Iguodala into a brick on a turnaround. Quick cut off Bynum, he took the hand off and drew FTs on the baseline, he made both. He missed a long jumper with the shotclock low. He forced and entry pass into Ronny and it was turned over. He got hammered trying to throw down after an interior feed from Kwame, he made one FT. He swiped the ball, pushed out and scored on the break. He missed a FT jumper. He missed a wing jumper, but stole it back. He tracked down a loose ball and no-looked under the hoop to Kwame for the layup. Kwame returned the favor and Ariza dunked. He dunked busting out on the break. He gave up a score off a missed FT not paying attention.

Kwame -- -- Active game with the passing...some nice looks, too. Amazing the difference in finishing around the rim when Kwame is in the game vs. Bynum. Just shows the growth of Bynum's ability to play above the rim this year versus previous seasons...and Kwame's strange inabilities there. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting, 6 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 19 minutes. The Action: Nice catch when Crit whipped a pass to him under the hoop and Kwame scored the layup. Sweet no-looker to Ariza and it drew FTs. Good stint, but he picked up three fouls (two real quick) and had to sit. He threw an interior pass away. He spotted Farmar cutting for the layup. He scored a layup off a save and pass by Ariza. Kwame found Ariza for the dunk. He attacked from the elbow with speed, but was blocked at the rim.

Farmar -- -- He and Crit ran side by side a lot in this game and looked smooth. Farmar played an excellent game, although Crit's effort will overshadow it. They looked very similar to how we saw them play this summer, where it was a one-two punch. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-10 shooting to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. The Action: He sank a long wing jumper to start the second quarter. He drew a foul after getting dribble penetration. He airballed a jumper. He attacked, hesitated, attacked again and powered in a layup. He took the handoff and scored high off the glass. He went behind his back with his left to Crit for the score on the break. He threw a bad pass but got it right back on the other end. He had a layup goaltended. He swished an open three off some inside-out play with Kwame. He scored a layup when Crit spotted him cutting under the hoop. Another good cut away from the ball, he took the pass under the hoop and scored a layup. He spotted Ariza ahead of the pack for a layup. He missed the three.

Crittenton -- -- With the injuries, Crit got some decent run and delivered. "It's been a struggle, but when the opportunity presents itself I'm just going and give my all," Crit said. He played the 2 spot all night and showed his skills -- the passing, the nasty handle, the quick first step and the finishing ability around the rim. A lot of dribble penetration...there are many teams that are going to have trouble keeping him out of the paint. Career high numbers and it seemed so easy. Defensively, he was solid and always seems to recover well to his men whenever they take a shot. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 7-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 24 minutes. The Action: In late in the first quarter to match up with Miller. He broke his man off the dribble and whipped a no-looker to Kwame who scored the layup. Next trip down in semi-transition he broke his man down again, got into the paint, twisted in the air and flipped in the layup over his shoulder softly off the glass...that was sweet. He attacked the paint next trip down, pulled up and hit the floater. He got blocked by a help defender after a herky-jerky hesitation move in transition. He took an interior feed, exploded and was fouled by Smith on a throwdown attempt, dang, he was up quick...he made the FTs. He swished a baseline jumper off a drive and kick from Fish. He lost the ball on a spin move, looked like a foul and Phil said something to the refs. Excellent first stint with 8 points and 2 assists. He scored on the break when Farmar dumped off the pass to him. He missed a wing three. He showed his favorite move, the ball fake, out on the break to open a lane and score the layup. He spotted Farmar under the hoop for a layup. One on one out on the break and Crit scored the And-1, hanging and finishing, he then knocked down the FT. He attacked off the dribble and drew a foul on the finish, he made both FTs. Quick first step to get into the lane and he scored high off the glass.

Karl -- -- He started the fourth and got some extended garbage time run. Staples seemed to love it. He put in a good effort. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-3 shooting (2-4 from the line) and had 1 board, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 12 minutes. The Action: He missed a three. He attacked Giricek on the break and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a 15-footer. He drew FTs in transition and made one again. With the Staples crowd cheering, he went behind his back and hit the high arching runner on our final possession.

Phil -- -- Asked what they worked on in practice this week, Phil answered, "how to get guys hurt." As mentioned, Phil's options were considerably fewer in this one forcing some new combinations into the lineups... Phil mentioned the lack of post entry to Bynum in the last game. They came out and got him a lot of touches early and he answered. The Lakers led 34-26 after the first quarter... They pushed out to a 64-40 lead on 68 percent shooting in the first half. They never let down... He went with a Kwame, Ariza, Karl, Crit, Farmar lineup to start the fourth... The Lakers shot just 7 attempts from beyond the arc and made 4... Phil passed Red Auerbach and moved into the 7th spot on all time coaching wins with 939, now just 5 behind Bill Fitch in 6th...

Video highlights -- Breaking down a couple plays by Bynum: LINK

Game Flow -- LINK -- Just a consistent crushing from beginning to end, look at the line chart in the middle...and then that there wasn't a single Laker on the negative side of things.

[OscarWang]

First!

Edit: Boring game, but good win nonetheless (look at my game views thread)!
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"Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise."

- Kobe Bryant

[GunShot]

[JerryMagicKobe]

Bynum was fun to watch. But my confidence in him is solid, so it was great to see:

[Fearthefearer]

Remember Kwame 2 years ago went on the run to end the season with something like 14ppg/9rpg.

IF he can return to that, Lakers should resign him to play pf with Bynum!
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Kobe, if you want to be a hero, you have to take hero shots. --Bob Costas

[Siguy]

The best type of boring game. Hopefully this means the Celtics game was a fluke.

[Dr. Laker]

Thanks, DB!

On another board, we named Drew AMFingB. He's living up to it.
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[Annihilator]

[limchrc]

Thanks for the recap.

[jbjb]

[AndrewBynum17]

thanks DB

[AndrewBynum17]

wow, i think this is the first time all season DB has given positive emoticons for everyone???

[Annihilator]

[LakerSanity]

The 76ers took 99 shots (not counting FTs) in this game yet only scored 93 points.... that's either really impressive D on the part of the Lakers, really terrible O on the part of the 76ers, or some combination of both.

I love it when we keep a team under 100.... and I don't even get the free tacos.
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[Tanlentueux]

thanks for the recap. the Celtics game is still in my mind !!!!!

[Vancouver Fan]

[A Mad Chinaman]

DB - Thanks for the breakdown.

DB - Since the Lakers are presently a good to a very good team, does this edition of the Lakers have the ability to be among the elite teams by the end of the season - if so, what needs to happen.

Elite Teams
Pistons (Lakers appear to be competitive with them)
Spurs (Lakers appear to be competitive with them)
Suns (Lakers should be able to beat them)
Celtics (Lakers could be able to beat them by the end of the season)
Mavs (Lakers should be able to beat them)

[kobe2bynum24]

i say we are a elite team.

celtics and pistons are the 2 top dogs out east. i cant wait to play orlando again so we can prove that we are better than them. because we are.

out west, its the suns, spurs, dallas, denver, hornets, lakers, warriors, utah in the top 8.

we are a better team (and by team i mean depth, bench, starting 5, and also individual matchups) than; the suns(2-0 against them) the mavs, (havent played them yet but prob. 3-1 or 2-1 depending on how many times we play), the nuggetts(2-0 against them), warriors (2-1 against them) and also utah(2-1 against them)

we are 1-1 against the spurs, and 0-1 against the hornets. portland will be a challenge when we face them, but i'm sure we can pull through and beat them.

spurs i worry about because of their experience only.

hornets i hate because of CP3. chris paul is a beast, and he will allways own the lakers. we suck against quick penetrating PG's who get into the lane at ease, aka....CP3, stevie, tony parker....

i think this is the best laker team since shaq left. i just dont want to play the hornets or spurs untill the WCF.

everyone eles, we can beat. most likely in 5, at the most 6. i know this, and so does the nba. no other teams can match up with us and beat us in a seven game series except for the hornets and spurs. i think we are deeper than NO but when in comes to SA i just dont think we have the experience to beat them in a 7 game series.

but yea, the lakers are a dangerous team in the playoffs. DEPTH and defense wins in april and june, and right now the lakers have both.

btw.... GO LAKERS!!!

[George W Buss]

The starting line-up looks very smooth, especially with Ariza instead of Luke at SF.
Therefore I wonder if the should play Odom from the bench?

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

[Sage_10]

Much love DB.
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"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[targetman]

[THE_TWELFTH]

Great work, once again DB.

[JM]

[Rick12322]

Awesome recap.