Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 10:58 pm Post subject: LAKERS -at- SONICS - 2/24 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings
I'd Like To Thank The... Cut short like a thank you speech at the Oscars, Kobe got tossed from the game courtesy of official Brian Forte with whom Kobe had been having an ongoing dialogue all night. The Lakers led by their biggest margin, 31 points, around the time it happened. If he hurried, Kobe had time to catch a good chunk of the Oscars while the rest of the team put it in cruise control and coasted to victory.
The Lakers stampeded the Sonics from the open minutes. "They had us on our heels initially, and we were never able to respond," Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said.
Hard to lose to teams as under-manned as both the Clippers and the Sonics were...not that Wilcox or Swift would have made a bit of difference in the outcome of this game.
The Lakers won their eighth in a row 111-90 and their seventh straight on the road (longest road streak for the club in eight years).
Seven Lakers had double figures as the team was once again led by the trio of Kobe, Pau and Lamar. Kobe and Pau worked from the mid-post area throughout the game. This allowed the defense little time react and penalties when they did. If you didn't double, Kobe and Pau would go to work on single coverage. If you double off Lamar to help, he's going to cut to the hoop and finish. If you double off a shooter, they're going to make you pay. Pick your poison.
Kobe -- -- Prior to getting tossed from the game, Kobe was piling up the assists and working the mid-post area well. The combination of Kobe and Gasol in that striking position is opening things up for everyone else. Just nice to watch as the defense has to make choices. Kobe was having an ongoing dialogue with the refs throughout the game. One sequence as told by Stu: Kobe was called for a foul and asked the ref where he hit him. The ref said on the arm. Kobe told him no he didn't, he hit him on the stomach. That might have come to play shortly later when Kobe got tossed for screaming at the ref after getting hit under the offensive boards. Fish tried to cool Kobe down, but Kobe kept at it and pushed the eject button, getting tossed late in the third. We were up by 30 at the time. The Stats: He had 21 points on 8-13 shooting (3-5 from three, just 2-3 from the line) to go with 10 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 26 minutes. The Action: He posted up Durant and hit an easy bank from a couple feet away. He posted up again, drew a crowd and hit Gasol cutting baseline for a reverse. He drew a double in the mid-post and hit a cutting Lamar for the layup. He attacked off the dribble, got stripped with no call at first, then drew the late whistle, he made one of the FTs. He hit LO from the mid-post for an And-1. He stepped back on the dribble and drained a wing three. He missed a one-hander in the lane. He sank a wing jumper over his man. He swished a wide open wing three. He attacked down the lane and fed Pau for the dunk. He missed a three short. He got blocked on a drive (he was looking to pass off). He hit Luke with a no-looker under the hoop for the And-1. He worked from the mid-post, attacked quickly before the double team could react and he scored an And-1 layup on the other side of the rim, he made the FT. He pulled up off the attack and sank the high-arching baseline jumper from a steep angle. He came up short on a 20-footer. He had 16 points on 6-10 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 6 assists in the first half. He attacked the lane and lobbed to Gasol for the dunk. He drained a turnaround from 12 feet out. He attacked, drew the D and hit Gasol for the dunk. Next play down, he hit Gasol on the slip screen for a dunk. He drained the three off the kickout from Luke. He then drew a tech yapping at the refs after taking contact under the hoop.
Gasol -- -- He's scoring at such an automatic clip that you expect him to hit just about everything. It seemed like he missed a few more than usual in this game, but he was still a sure 20+ points again. He and Kobe just ripped apart the Sonics from the first minutes of the game, drawing doubles and hitting open men. Pau had a highlight no-looker early on to Lamar that was one of his best passes yet as a Laker. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 10-18 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, 2 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. The Action: He reversed quickly off the Kobe interior feed. He faced up, decided to back his man down, then flipped a no-look over-the-shoulder feed as the double came to a cutting Lamar for the And-1 (so sweet). He missed a jumphook taking contact in the lane. He posted up Petro on the right block and hit a hook from about 8 feet out. He missed a contested baseline jumper over the zone. He cleaned up a missed layup by Fish with a quick putback. He attacked and kicked to Sasha for a three. He dunked off the Kobe drive and dish. He drew FTs on the break and made one. He banked from a couple feet out after working the pick and roll with Farmar and getting it back under the hoop. He faced up and drew FTs off a quick first step to his left, he made one FT. He missed a jumphook from a few feet out. He scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting to go with 4 boards and 2 assists in the first half. He dunked off the lob from Kobe to start the half. He ball-faked and knocked down the 17-footer. He dunked off the drive and dish from Kobe. Next play down, he slipped the screen with Kobe, took the return pass and dunked again. He got blocked trying to reverse under the hoop. He missed a lefty jumphook. He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a wing jumper. He posted up, drop-stepped and went glass with his left.
Lamar -- -- Excellent job working off Kobe and Pau to start the game again. He's making teams pay and the Sonics had to change up their plans of leaving him open to help on our duo. Lamar's job should be harder with Luke out there not able to spread the floor like Vlad, but that didn't come to play. Defensively, he got a few blocks and we saw a brief sequence of Lamar at the SFs spot late in the third. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-12 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 11 boards (4 offensive), 3 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 38 minutes. The Action: His man doubled Kobe, he cut down the lane and scored the easy layup. Gasol iso'd on his man, drew a double and went over his shoulder with the no-looker to Lamar for the And-1, LO made the FT. He cut off the Kobe double, took contact, changed hands and flipped in the And-1 with his right, he made the FT. He hit a step-back jumper from the elbow. He missed a baseline jumper. He had 10 points on 4-5 shooting and 5 boards in the first half. He drained a wing three, then gave it back with an And-1 on a perimeter shot on the other end. He swatted Durant on help D. He drew a defender to him when a kickout came, and he swung it Fish for the three. He pulled down a defensive board, pushed it up, went between the legs twice and banked in an And-1 over Green, he missed the FT. He swished a 17-footer on the kickout from Gasol. He missed a wing jumper out of a timeout. He scored a layup off the Farmar airball. He missed a wing jumper.
Fisher -- -- Similar first half to last night's game where Derek is looking to set an aggressive tone. He also had similar results, missing on several. Again in the second half, he picked it up with a couple makes and 8 of his 10 points. Defensively, he wasn't challenged much, and the Lakers had no issues dealing with the PG spot. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-9 shooting (2-3 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 foul in 23 minutes. The Action: He missed a wing jumper on a set play to start the game. He missed a corner three. He missed a tech FT. He got a high bounce to drop in off the long wing jumper. He got blockd on a layup. He missed another layup, but Gasol cleaned it up. He hit Kobe for the wide open three. He had 2 points on 1-5 shooting in the first half. He stole the ball, pushed out on the break, took contact and chucked up a prayer and finally got a late whistle, he made both FTs. He missed the 15-footer. He pulled up on the break and swished a wing three. He got tapped on a baseline jumper. He sank an open three off a Kobe/Pau two-man game that kicked out to Lamar, who then swung it to a shooter.
Luke -- -- Wasn't a pretty game from Luke, but he still managed to put up some decent numbers. His starting didn't seem to have any effect on the abilities of Kobe, Pau and LO to do their thing. You would think his lack of perimeter game of late would allow the D to tighten up, but it was rarely an issue against the Sonics. He and Farmar seem to have been developing some chemistry again. Farmar does a great job of working off the ball and Luke is finding him. They teamed up again in this game for a couple of scores. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-11 shooting to go with 7 boards, 6 assists with 2 turnovers, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 39 minutes. The Action: He dribbled a ball off his foot, unforced turnover. He missed a pull-up from the elbow that was contested. He missed an open 18-footer. He forced up a turnaround in early offense and was swatted. He sank a kickout wing jumper with his toe on the three line. Nice cut baseline when every was watching Kobe and Gasol and he scored an And-1, he made the FT. He short-armed his turnaround from a few feet out. He pulled up on the break and hit the 10-footer. He scored 7 points on 3-7 shooting to go with 6 boards and 3 assists in the first half. He hit Kobe for a three. He hit Lamar for the three. He missed an open 19-footer. He missed a good look at an elbow jumper. He then gave up an And-1 on a perimeter jumper on the other end. Horrible looking pass in transition that hit the backboard like a bullet before a Sonic tracked it down. He overpowered Durant in the post for a layup. He drew a charge on Collison on the other end. He swiped an inbounds pass after a Laker make and quickly scored again. He hit Farmar off the high pinch post for a score. He teamed up again with Farmar on the next trip, hitting him with a pass for a wide open bank.
Turiaf -- -- Ronny did a good job not getting into foul issues, but credit a lot of that to the Sonics inability to get consistent dribble penetration and the lack of a post threat. There was no way the Sonics were getting a win without one of those. Ronny's non-fouls reflected that aspect of the game. Offensively, Ronny wasn't much of a threat, either. The Stats: He scored just 2 points on 1-4 shooting, grabbed 4 boards, dished 3 assists, had 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 17 minutes. The Action: Horrible pass against the zone and it led to a dunk the other way. He lost the handle on a shot and bricked. He swished an elbow jumper flashing to the ball on a play set up out of the timeout. He missed a layup, got it back and fed Farmar for the three instead. He had 2 points on 1-3 shooting at the half. He missed an 18-footer. He swatted Collison from behind.
Farmar -- -- The opening minutes of his first stint were poor, but he managed to shake those off and play a better game. The PG play on both sides was somewhat sluggish. He and Fish shot a combined 8-23. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-14 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 25 minutes. The Action: He missed a two-for-one turnaround fade on the baseline. He missed a tip in at the rim. He had a pass deflected in transition for points the other way. He got blocked on a drive. He missed an open baseline jumper. Bad first few minutes from Farmar and the Sonics started to make a run. He pulled up on the break and hit the wing 18-foot jumper. He swished a three on the kickout from Ronny. He worked the two-man game, setting up Gasol for the easy score. He was called for a travel when he lost the handle. He had 5 points on 2-6 shooting, 2 assists and 2 turnovers at the half. He swished a pull-up wing three in transition. He got swatted on a drive and it resulted in a shotclock violation. He missed a three over the zone. He missed a three on a kickout from Gasol. He airballed a three. He scored a layup working off the pinch post with Luke. Luke found him again wide open for the bank.
Vujacic -- -- Sasha is now stringing together good games. His consistency off the bench of late has been a thorn in the side of opponents, and a steadying influence. He's also been clicking at a high rate from beyond the arc and made half his attempts once again. Nice job tipping a lot of defensive boards from behind Sonic players to teammates in this game. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-10 shooting (3-6 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 turnover and no fouls in 26 minutes. The Action: He swished his first attempt from three over the zone. He rattled in a wing three on his next attempt with a man right on him. He lost Durant on the fly by, Sasha took a dribble in and hit the 19-footer. He missed a corner three. Rage against the Machine!...Durant swung through with the ball across Sasha's face sending him to the floor. Good stint by Sasha. He had 8 points on 3-4 shooting at the half. He didn't know the clock and was caught with the ball in his hands on a drive as it expired. He ball faked, took a dribble to his left an hit the 18-footer over a defender. He got tapped on a baseline jumper. He missed an open three. He missed a chuck over defenders trying to beat the shotclock. He set up Mbenga on a drive and dish for FTs (Mbenga should have had the dunk). He missed a three. He sank a three on the next trip down off a Ronny kickout.
Karl -- -- He came in for Luke with just over 3 minutes left. The Stats: He missed on his only attempt and had 1 steal in his 3 minutes. The Action: He stripped Green from behind, saving a hoop. He missed a three.
Mbenga -- -- He came in to start the fourth and had some pretty ugly sequences. The Stats: He had 1 point on 1-2 shooting from the line to go with 1 board, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in just 7 minutes. The Action: He was called for a travel on a jumphook. He goaltended on the other end. He was called for three seconds setting up camp in the lane. He got a piece of a shot on the other end. He missed a throw down off a Sasha drive and dish, but drew FTs, he made one.
Phil -- -- "I thought we carried the energy out there on the floor," Phil said. "I'm very impressed with how hard we played."... The Lakers got out to a quick 16-6 start (Lamar cleaning up off the Kobe/Pau post doubles)... The Lakers had a 34-18 lead after the first quarter and Kobe/Pau sat... The second unit played a horrible first few minutes. After a timeout, they went on a run. Perimeter shooting by Sasha and Farmar helped them to a 13-0 run... We led 62-43 at halftime. We shot 51 percent to the Sonics 38 percent... Phil went to a Gasol, Turiaf, Lamar, Sasha, Farmar lineup to close the third quarter. Rare tall lineup with Lamar at the SF. The Lakers led 93-70 after the third... It was in cruise control again for the entire fourth... Phil on the Kobe ejection: “I told (Bryant) he shouldn’t jump on Junior. His dad might carry a grudge against him. That’s nepotism in our league. That’s Joe Forte’s son. He’s got a little bit of the red-ass as we say.”...
Game Flow -- LINK -- The Sonics runs were short, 6- to 7-point bursts that were easily managed. Whereas the Lakers put together runs with differentials of 10, 11 and 13 points. Durant had a -35.
Joined: 24 Jul 2005 Posts: 2085 Location: Orange County, Ca
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:03 am Post subject:
DB I want to give you credit for being the reason I often dont get to sleep till 1am on nights the Lakers play. lol _________________ Go Lakers
Go Packers
Go Angels
Go Trojans
DB, What do you think about Kobe operating from the mid post area? I mean to me, that is the best position for him to play during quarter 1-4. Against stronger defensive teams who won't double him, Kobe only needs one step to get to the rim. Again weaker defensive teams, it's wide open shots for teammates. _________________
It's great seeing LO is the designated "Dive Man" as the result of the double teams that Kobe and Pau are consistently getting.
Is Luke still injuried?
In watching the Pistons play this Sunday, a comment was made that their entire starting lineup can post-up on most players on opposing teams - do you think (I don't) that the Pistons can do that to the Lakers and would it make any differences (especially considering that the Pistons' bench is almost as strong/good as the Lakers)?
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 Posts: 3242 Location: Mid-Wilshire: just beyond "The Puff Puff Pass"
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:44 am Post subject:
Thanks for the recap once again DB. At least Kobe picked the right game to get tossed, he was fouled at least three times on that play. Wonder if Phil gets his hand slappedfor his post game comment--He'll say where Im from "red a**" is a term meaning you're doing a really good job
Joined: 02 Jun 2002 Posts: 4545 Location: Monrovia, California
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:55 am Post subject:
Thanks as usual DB!
Lamar is playing so good. I could see why Gasol didn't hit 10 rebounds, Odom outworked him in getting it. But it doesn't matter to me, as long as we get them! _________________
LakerFanAlways wrote:
Somewhere the Utah Jazz are watching this and saying "WE LOST TO THESE IDIOTS"
Joined: 08 Jun 2005 Posts: 785 Location: Murrieta, California
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:07 am Post subject:
Thanks DB. Your hard work and stellar effort are truly appreciated from all of us LG'rs!
I am so enjoying watching the chemistry on our team. Lamar is just a different person out there. He's controlled and sure of himself, creating for himself and others. He looks great! I'm sure it doesn't hurt to be healthy for once, and little bit more removed from the terrible loss he suffered a couple years ago.
Now - when we get Trevor and Drew back, our bench and starting unit are going to be incredible! _________________ I love LA........WE LOVE IT!
Gasol's numbers were good but he missed a lot that a stronger player could have made. He looked either tired or just weak on some of that post work, both offensively and defensively.
I can't get over the change in Lamar. Not having seen a lot of his games before he came here, I didn't know that he was capable of being as athletic, looooong, fast, and confident as he has been CONSISTENTLY for us. I do not want to trade Lamar, not no way, not no how.
Isn't it nice that Sasha's having his break out year so that we didn't completely melt down when Kobe got tossed? I briefly wondered who was going to lead us but then realized that Kobe is not the leader this season, he is just the coordinator.
I am losing a little love for Ronny. He no longer has the joy and hustle. He looks ornery (especially toward Mbenga both on and off the court), and the fans say he can be arrogant. Is he struggling with the impact on his playing time?
Someone asked if Luke was injured. When PMS interviewed him, they referred to his tick tack injuries and he didn't make much of them. He said he is just having trouble getting his game back and it's nice that his teammates can step it up around him. He makes me cringe out there. _________________ Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
Lakers brought it from the get go, we saw that 3 point shooting isn't the only way you will make teams pay for doubling on Kobe/Gasol. You can cut to the basket, and considering their passing abilities, often than not with a talented player, it will result in scores. This is basically how Kobe, Gasol and Odom are working their magic on teams. It is brilliant chemistry. Factor in that Phil is often putting 2 shooters next them, teams so far have just been unable to stop them.
There just wasn't a time in this game that I thought LA would lose, which is a nice feeling. Then when you see them not really let down, that's really rewarding as a fan.
Wonder what Phil will do once AB is back/available. Chemistry is so good. Might actually bring him off the bench in the beginning. At the same time, IMO if AB is studying tape, he'll watch how there are so many opportunities to move off the ball and get in scoring position.
Thanks, DB. I just like how we're jumping on teams early. Yesterday, we're up 16 at the end of the first. We were on a back to back, and had to travel. I know they were missing a few players, but to get a double digit lead quickly in their building is a very encouraging sign, IMO. Kobe got to rest quite a bit as a result of his ejection.
Good stuff DB! Wish I hadn't missed this game but sounds like we took care of business. _________________ "You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE
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-- Prior to getting tossed from the game, Kobe was piling up the assists and working the mid-post area well. The combination of Kobe and Gasol in that striking position is opening things up for everyone else. Just nice to watch as the defense has to make choices. Kobe was having an ongoing dialogue with the refs throughout the game. One sequence as told by Stu: Kobe was called for a foul and asked the ref where he hit him. The ref said on the arm. Kobe told him no he didn't, he hit him on the stomach. That might have come to play shortly later when Kobe got tossed for screaming at the ref after getting hit under the offensive boards. Fish tried to cool Kobe down, but Kobe kept at it and pushed the eject button, getting tossed late in the third. We were up by 30 at the time. 
-- Similar first half to last night's game where Derek is looking to set an aggressive tone. He also had similar results, missing on several. Again in the second half, he picked it up with a couple makes and 8 of his 10 points. Defensively, he wasn't challenged much, and the Lakers had no issues dealing with the PG spot. 
-- Wasn't a pretty game from Luke, but he still managed to put up some decent numbers. His starting didn't seem to have any effect on the abilities of Kobe, Pau and LO to do their thing. You would think his lack of perimeter game of late would allow the D to tighten up, but it was rarely an issue against the Sonics. He and Farmar seem to have been developing some chemistry again. Farmar does a great job of working off the ball and Luke is finding him. They teamed up again in this game for a couple of scores. 
-- Ronny did a good job not getting into foul issues, but credit a lot of that to the Sonics inability to get consistent dribble penetration and the lack of a post threat. There was no way the Sonics were getting a win without one of those. Ronny's non-fouls reflected that aspect of the game. Offensively, Ronny wasn't much of a threat, either. 
-- The opening minutes of his first stint were poor, but he managed to shake those off and play a better game. The PG play on both sides was somewhat sluggish. He and Fish shot a combined 8-23. 
-- Sasha is now stringing together good games. His consistency off the bench of late has been a thorn in the side of opponents, and a steadying influence. He's also been clicking at a high rate from beyond the arc and made half his attempts once again. Nice job tipping a lot of defensive boards from behind Sonic players to teammates in this game. 
-- He came in to start the fourth and had some pretty ugly sequences. 
-- "I thought we carried the energy out there on the floor," Phil said. "I'm very impressed with how hard we played."... The Lakers got out to a quick 16-6 start (Lamar cleaning up off the Kobe/Pau post doubles)... The Lakers had a 34-18 lead after the first quarter and Kobe/Pau sat... The second unit played a horrible first few minutes. After a timeout, they went on a run. Perimeter shooting by Sasha and Farmar helped them to a 13-0 run... We led 62-43 at halftime. We shot 51 percent to the Sonics 38 percent... Phil went to a Gasol, Turiaf, Lamar, Sasha, Farmar lineup to close the third quarter. Rare tall lineup with Lamar at the SF. The Lakers led 93-70 after the third... It was in cruise control again for the entire fourth... Phil on the Kobe ejection: “I told (Bryant) he shouldn’t jump on Junior. His dad might carry a grudge against him. That’s nepotism in our league. That’s Joe Forte’s son. He’s got a little bit of the red-ass as we say.”...
