LAKERS -at- CLIPPERS - 2/23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Back on Top... The Lakers took their seventh straight win and in the process, the lead in the tight Western Conference standings with the 113-95 win over the under-manned Clippers.

Before the game, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said of the new Laker team, "I don't know if they'll lose another game the whole year." Nice rally cry. Without Kaman and Cassell (not to mention Brand), however, the writing was on the wall for this one.

The Lakers were at their best when they were collapsing the D in the post with Gasol or Kobe, or running the two-man games and working the ball for easy scores or good looks. When the perimeter game started to finally fall, that broke the Clipper backs.

The Lakers should have done a better job putting the Clippers away. The second unit couldn't extend or hold the lead enough late in the game and Phil had to bring back some starters. But that was minor.

Gasol had another efficient offensive game. Lamar had another impressive outing and continues to take advantage of all the attention the others are getting. Six Lakers had 11 to 12 shot attempts in this game as we got some balanced scoring.


Kobe -- -- Despite leading the team in minutes, I'm not sure he broke a sweat out there. He took what the defense dictated most of the night, often drawing doubles by working the post. When the clippers collapsed on him or Gasol, we made them pay with cuts or jumpers. He had a minor pull of his rib in the first half that he said he was a little sore from. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-11 shooting (0-3 from three, 7-9 from the line) to go with 7 assists, 5 boards, 2 steals, 5 turnovers and 5 fouls in 42 minutes. The Action: He knocked a ball loose on the D end to force a turnover. He dunked off the Gasol handoff. He was off the mark on a behind-the-back pass trying to hit Gasol. He worked off the dribble, weaving in the lane, hanging and banking. He lost a wheel and hit the floor to get tied up, he came up shaking his right hand. He missed a three. He posted up and finger rolled around Mobley with ease. He got doubled in the post and kicked out to Farmar for the three. He was fouled on a loose ball, he made both FTs. He sliced up the D and flipped in a layup to start the second quarter. He missed a layup, flipping it over his head and not getting a call on contact. He missed an open wing three. He had 10 points on 4-7 shooting in the first half. He posted up Mobley, backed him down, powered up and banked the And-1, he made the FT. He was doubled and hit Lamar under the hoop for the dunk. He attacked in transition and kicked to Fish who hit the three. He missed way short on a three. He hit Fish with a skip pass for three. He got caught in the air trying to pass and traveled. Poor transition D getting caught in no-man's land after throwing the ball away instead of getting back and it caused a numbers situation. He attacked from the three line and drew FTs, he made one. He had 14 points and 7 assists after three. He missed a good look at a 16-footer. He was called for a foul using his elbow on Ross in the post and stared down the official. He drew FTs cutting off Gasol in the post, he made both. He attacked hard, took contact and no call, got it back and was hit to the floor, he made one FT.

Gasol -- -- ""We're playing well," Gasol said in the Times. "We've got confidence. We've got the weapons." Another efficient night from Pau in about three quarters of play. We were able to get him a little rest in this game which will help tomorrow. His passing was on display as the Clippers sent a number of doubles on him with no effect. He also feathered passes to guys just cutting off him without the double. He even pushed out a break and dropped a dime. Anytime you worked him into a play, something good came from it. A number of Pau's scores were of the And-1 variety. Defensively, he had some nice anchor moments contesting or swatting shots. The Stats: He led the team with 23 points on 7-12 shooting (0-1 from three, 9-11 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 6 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in just 33 minutes. The Action: He handed off to Kobe for a dunk. He faced up, attacked to his right, got hit and finished the easy And-1 layup, he made the FT. Running the floor well, he guided in a lob pass from Fish on the break. He iso'd in the post to Williams, backed him down and hit the And-1 jumphook, he made the FT. He swatted Powell's jumper. He fumbled the ball off his leg on a spin move. He just missed a jumper in the lane at the first quarter buzzer. He faced up and was fouled on the baseline finger roll, he made the FTs. Quick first step into the lane off a dribble and he drew contact on the And-1 jumphook, he made the FT. Great help D to erase a suicide steal from Sasha on Maggette with a rejection. Out on the break again and he took the pass from LO for the And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He up-faked on the pick and pop, then took off on the dribble and drew a foul, he made the FTs. He got blocked on the reverse at the end of the half. He led all Lakers with 17 points on 5-7 shooting to go with 2 blocks, 4 boards and 3 assists in the first half. He hit Luke cutting backdoor for a layup. He pushed out the break in the middle of the floor, he high stepped once then bounced to Lamar for the And-1. He missed the baseline jumper. He threw down an And-1 dunk off the pick and roll with Fish, he missed the FT. He set a screen for Luke, rolled to the hoop and scored the high lob return feed. He got pushed on the defensive boards and earned FTs, he made both. He airballed a three attempt at the third quarter buzzer (missed all three attempts at the end of quarters tonight). He had 23 points, 5 boards and 5 assists after three. He threaded a soft pass to Kobe cutting for FTs. He drew a double and kicked to Sasha for three. He set up Farmar for FTs with a pass from the post.

Lamar -- -- Once again, good work off the ball when Kobe or Pau drew a crowd. He also went to the post a few times himself to collapse the D. Intelligent effort and great numbers again with the 20-10. His activity was also reflected in the double digit FTAs he got. The Stats: He had 20 points on 7-11 shooting (6-10 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 41 minutes. The Action: He curled around the pinch post, lost his man and dunked easily. He cut off Gasol who was doubled and drew the foul, he made one. He cut again, this time off the Kobe double, and he scored the layup down the middle of the lane. He swatted Knight's penetration with a great help D block. He took the pass from Pau under the hoop, got blocked, got it back and was fouled, he made both FTs. He missed a rare face-up bank from the left side. He missed a jumphook in front of the rim. He and Pau pushed out the break and Lamar fed Pau for the And-1 layup (looked like LO got away with a charge on the pass off). He had 7 points, 7 boards and 2 assists at the half. He went to the front of the rim when his man left him to double Kobe and Lamar was rewarded with the dunk. He scored an And-1 layup filling the lane for Gasol who pushed out the break. He scored another And-1 cutting off the Kobe double and then taking the pass from Luke in the lane, he made the FT. He collapsed the D in the post and it led to a Fish three. He drew FTs under the hoop next time down when Kobe found him, he missed both. He missed a layup under the hoop and earned FTs, he made one. He had 16 points and 10 boards after three. He hit a stepback J from 18 feet out. He scored a layup off an interior feed from Sasha. He rejected Mobley badly off the backboard (your No. 7 NBA TV play of the night...Mobley then threw down on LO on the next one and got a tech for taunting, your No. 5 play of the night).

Fisher -- -- A tale of two halves for DFish. He couldn't connect and was foul prone in the first half. We didn't get our separation until he sat. Then, in the second half, he drained a series of threes that helped the Lakers pull out to a 20-point lead. His second half makes seemed to come off better looks. Definitely two different ball games for him. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-11 shooting (4-7 from downtown) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. The Action: He drained a wing three on our first attempt (inside-out sequence). He got stripped by Knight. He missed a wing three. He missed a jumper. Short on a wide open three off a kickout. He missed another wing jumper. Nice lob to Gasol on the break for an easy score. He gave up an And-1 on a drive to Knight. He then sat for Farmar, not a good opening 8 minutes for Fish. Back in for a few seconds and he had to sit with his third foul. He had 3 points on 1-5 shooting in the first half. He missed a short jumper in the lane. He clunked a baseline jumper off a swing pass. He swished the corner three off the Kobe drive and kick. He swished a three when Lamar collapsed the D in he post and kicked out to Kobe. He swished another three when he let his man fly by off the cross-court pass from Kobe. He worked off the Gasol pick and fed Pau back under the hoop for the And-1 dunk. He missed a quick sideline three.

Radmanovic -- -- He strained his calf in the first quarter and was done for the night after 8 minutes. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards and 1 foul in 8 minutes. The Action: He missed a top-of-the-key jumper. He missed a wing three.

Luke -- -- Thrust into the starting role again as Vlad went down, Luke needed to step up. He had a couple jaw-dropping misses in the game, but he put together a good mix of passing, rebounding and scoring while playing at both the PF and SF spots again. Some of his passes led straight to easy hoops for others working off the ball. Take away his first few minutes and it was a pretty good game. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-9 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 8 boards (2 offensive), 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He had an entry pass picked off. Nice offensive board but then he completely choked a point-blank layup with no one on him. He hit Farmar with a bounce pass on the give-and-go. He spun in the lane and overpassed at the front of the rim. He missed the turnaround fade in the post. He picked up his third foul and had to sit early in the second. Starting the second half, he posted up Maggette and hit a one-hander on an inside pivot. He cut backdoor on Maggette, took the pass from Gasol and powered up the layup. He choked the easy jumphook in the paint. He threaded a pass from the top of the arc to Lamar who cut down the lane for the And-1. He grabbed a Pau missed FT and hit the baseline jumphook. He airballed a wide open wing three...yikes. He worked baseline off the Pau screen and threw it up high to Gasol for the easy score. He got tapped on an open wing three. He cut baseline behind the play and Ronny found for him for the layup. Excellent bounce pass to a cutting Farmar for the throwdown.

Turiaf -- -- Aside from a forceful rejection in this game and a good pass to Luke, not too much to write about. He had a couple post ups he should have scored on. He did do a good job staying out of foul trouble. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-4 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 15 minutes. The Action: He missed a turnaround on the baseline. He took an interior feed from Sasha and was wrapped up, he made both FTs. He missed an easy bank over Thomas in the post. He had 2 points on 0-2 shooting in the first half. He faced up at the wing and then hit Luke cutting behind play baseline for a layup. He swatted Dickau into the second row. He missed a face-up jumper. He missed another jumphook over a smaller man.

Farmar -- -- A lot of minutes for Farmar tonight as Fish got into some foul trouble. We got a combined 31 points from him and Sasha off the bench. That's a very nice one-two bench guard combo when they can both bring it like that. A good mix of inside and out play and quick cuts off the ball from Jordan. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-11 shooting (1-3 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 28 minutes. The Action: He curled off the two-man game with Gasol and hit the runner in the lane, elevating high on the shot. He swished an open three straight away off the Kobe double-time kickout. He missed a reverse, then a corner jumper. He cut quickly off the entry pass to Luke, got it back and scored the layup. He missed a wing three. He attacked off the dribble to his left and scored a layup around Dickau. He had 9 points on 4-7 shooting (1-3 from three) in the first half. He missed a pull-up jumper from 17 feet out. He threw down getting a bounce pass from Luke on a quick strike. He bricked a baseline jumper fading when he didn't need to. He found Sasha with a kickout for three. He swiped the ball on one end, brought it up, exploded to his left and scored the layup with his left. He drew FTs working off the ball around Pau and he made one. He threw a pass away trying to find Karl for a late score, his only miscue of the night and Karl was partly to blame.

Vujacic -- -- After missing his first three shots, Sasha brought out the Sick Jumpers of Death and sank 6 of his next 9. He also mixed in some nice drives...and even crossed over a Clipper before reversing in traffic. What the? Phil didn't make it easy on Sasha on the other end, either. He had some tricky defensive assignments, going against both Maggette and Thornton for stretches. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-12 shooting (5-9 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. The Action: He missed an early offense three. He missed another three. He cut fast from the weakside and wrapped a pass around a defender to Ronny who was fouled. He missed an open three on the kickout. He drained a three off a quick pass back on the wing from Kobe. He had to D-up against Thornton with our depleted lineup in the first half and the Clippers went at it a few sequences. He the had Maggette with a similar result. He missed a wing jumper, got it back and hit the three. He crossed over Thornton badly, attacked and reversed in a crowd under the hoop, put that one in the Sasha highlight reel. He had 8 points on 3-7 shooting (2-5 from three) and 2 fouls in 11 first half minutes. He cut backdoor, took a pass and no-looked to Lamar for the layup. He missed a jumper from 18 feet out on the left side. He bricked a tech FT way short. He swished a wing jumper, stepping into it. He drained a sideline three on a kickout from Farmar. He missed an open three on an inside-out sequence. He drained a wing three on a kickout from Gasol.

Karl -- -- In late for Kobe for a brief stint. After the game, he got a big hug from Cassell, who has known Coby for a long time. The Stats: He didn't score on 1 shot and had 1 board in his 1 minute of play. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper.

Phil -- -- The Lakers led 29-21 after the first. Fish missed a lot of shots and we got some separation when Farmar came in and we started working the ball into the Kobe or Pau post... The Lakers shooters continued to struggle from outside and the Clippers caught back up... Phil had Sasha matched up defensively with Thornton (Vlad out, Luke with foul trouble). He might have gone big there and tried to slide LO down... The Lakers led 56-48 on a choppy first half. It seemed like they could get a little separation anytime they started to get a few perimeter shots to fall... The coaches wanted the Lakers to cut down on the fouls and FTs in the second half (19 FTs for the Clips in the first half...we held them to 10 FTs in the second half)... The Lakers pushed out to a 74-56 lead in the first half of the third, and they kept that 18-point margin going into the fourth... The Clippers chipped a couple buckets off our lead, so Phil had to bring back in Gasol to make sure nothing silly happened... The Clippers went just 1-14 from three... The team did a good job capitalizing on the doubles that they created. Some very nice inside-out sequences and a lot of And-1 scores around the glass...

Game Flow -- LINK -- A 9-1 run at the end of the half and a 14-2 run early in the third and the Lakers took control. Gasol, Kobe and Lamar... +28, +25, +21 respectively.

[10scott10]

first

[ImmortalD24]

Luke was terrible.
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60!

[DancingBarry]

[Flight#24]

I have never seen a NBA player air ball a three that badly.

Luke's 3 was wide left. But he did OK later in the game.

[The_Lakers_Show]

What happened to Lamar's stats?

Still, great recap DB.
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Go Lakers
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Buck Foston

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[Vadorojo]

[macwebb]

Thought I would try my hand at this:

DancingBarry -- -- Simply amazing analysis as usual

[DancingBarry]

[macwebb]

On a serious note, As DB stated, Luke's performance was pretty good after an unsteady start...

Sasha is starting to show what made the scout's drool over him when they watched him play overseas...He's playing for a contract baby!

Loving Lamar's game of late...always been a fan...he reminds me of a graceful praying mantis

I think we will miss how GREAT Kobe is after he retires....

MITCH, Thanks for GASOL...Unbelievable

[SladeRider]

Luke did okay tonight, he had some good passes but he should not take a 3 even if he's wide open.
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"This is a comptitive city. We're used to winning titles, not just winning games and being in the first round. We want to win championships. Now's the time.", "do something, and do it now."
- Kobe Bryant

[mike_dee23]

Is there a youtube video of Sasha's crossover of death?
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MTFBWYA

[Cardom]

[D-Dogg]

[A Mad Chinaman]

Thanx DB

Sign of the Lakers' current status of winning games while the Lakers were in cruise control

[Addicus]

I simply love the way Lamar Odom is playing. He looks like he did in Miami. This is the guy I've been wishing would be a Laker since his first Clipper game.

I really hope Rad is okay. I love the way he fits in on the starting unit.

Anyone else here wishing we had Maggette and Mobley instead of Luke and Karl? Ahhh, California Dreaming.
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/addicusbrown

[Tanlentueux]

thanks DB

[Qsmiff]

Thanks for the recap DB. I think after the intensity of the Suns game, and finding out no Kaman and no Sam the Lakers had somewhat of a mental let down in the first half but came out fired up in the third quarter then kinda lost interest a couple of minutes into the fourth.Phil probably should have sat Kobe the entire fourth. but what do I know I gots no rings

[melo061]

Every single time they went to Kobe in the post in the third, something god happened. I'm telling you, when we face teams Who don't have someone to match up with Kobe, post Kobe up. If no double comes, then it is a feast. If it does then it will lead to open 3's and open dunks for the players who dive.
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Perfect music.

[AllorNothing]

[Addicus]

^ and can actually catch the damn ball and dunk it!
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[Dr. Laker]

You're missing one of Sasha's 3s, DB.

"Good" job is downgraded tp "Decent".

j/k
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[KingKobe]

DancingBarry is the Kobe Bryant of Lakersground.net.
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*Warning: The preceding post may have contained sarcasm and/or irony.

"We're all surrounded by idiots." - Kobe Bryant