BOBCATS -at- LAKERS - 3/26 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

No Energy... Someone replace the batteries. Buy them some energy bars. Some Red Bull. A meal. Something.

The Lakers came out with no sense of urgency, no energy and paid the price. The Bobcats, which have won four of the last five against us, attacked our weak interior and feasted inside and out. Adding to the loss, Kobe got a double tech and was ejected. Next one is a suspension.

We didn't play an especially smart game -- not enough ball movement, not getting in the paint in the first half -- but the lack of energy cost us the W, 108-95.

"It just looked like we were out of character, tremendously out of character, in more ways than one. Irrational play at times, inconsistent at best, but some just poor judgments, poor decisions," Phil said.

We dug ourselves out of a 19-point hole, cut the lead to 3 in the fourth, but couldn't push through in the final quarter. Too hard to flip the switch against a team when we are as undermanned as we are.

Help won't be coming for a few more games. The Lakers need to forget about the "easy" part of their schedule and dig in and continue to fight.


Kobe -- -- He's now out of techs... Rough night for Kobe. He looked sluggish and tired out of the gates like the rest of the team. In the first half, he settled for threes and didn't attack (another sign of saving energy), which also resulted in no freethrow attempts. In the second half, he throttled it up, attacking, getting in the post and to the line. Defensively, he got called for two 4-point plays. The second-one looked a bit iffy. Kobe was fed up with the refs, whistled for a second T and he was sent to the locker room with under 4 minutes left. He and the team were very out of sync for most of the night. He tried to push us with a big third (he scored our first 14 points), but we could never get the team-game clicking. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 8-22 shooting (2-6 from three, 9-12 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 3 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 39 minutes. The Action: He missed an early offense three. He traveled in the mid post. He hit a baseline turnaround, cutting off the ball. He blew a left-hand layup down the middle of the lane. He dribbled into a crowd not running the offense and was picked for a dunk the other way. He scored a putback layup. He missed a 21-footer from the right side. He missed another wing jumper. He missed a reverse trying to draw a foul. He sank a wing three. He missed a three on the next possession from the other side. He swished a frozen rope three. He missed another three, short. He fouled JRich on a three-pointer, giving up a 4-point play, Kobe's third foul of the half. He had 10 points on 4-11 shooting (2-5 from three), 1 assist and 3 fouls at the half. Second Half: He missed a midranger, got it back and he finally drew FTs on a jumper, he made one. He missed a long wing jumper, not running the offense. He attacked and bricked expecting FTs. He posted up and drew FTs with deep position, he made one. He took a post entry, hung and banked. He attacked off the dribble and powered in a layup over Wallace. He hit a 19-footer with some better arc on his shot. He missed a 21-footer on his next possession. He drew FTs, slicing to his left in transition to avoid a charge, he made both. He forced a pull-up jumper and missed. He somehow pulled a ball up in traffic and banked in the And-1 at a steep angle with the shotclock buzzer going off, he made the FT. He attacked off the dribble and drew FTs, he made both. He kicked out to Sasha for a three. He drew FTs on a three-pointer, sending Wallace to the bench with fouls, he made two. Kobe was 4-9 from the floor and 9-12 from the line in the third, scoring 17 points. Careless pass off the dribble, a turnover when it was deflected. He blocked Okafor (probably should have been a foul) on great help recovery. He missed a three. After getting pushed out of the way under the hoop with no call, then a tie-up in the backcourt that wasn't called, he picked up a tech. He was blocked, forcing a shot in the lane. He fouled yet another 3-point shooter, giving up another 4-point play and he was tossed, down by 13 with 3:40 left. Not sure what he said there

Lamar -- -- He couldn't dominate the interior like he could against the smaller opponent in the last couple. In fact, he didn't get a double-double. Lamar had his hands full with the size of the Bobcats lineup and our in ability to anchor the D. It got him into a little early foul trouble, but he avoided picking up another foul after the first quarter. We could never establish him in the post (or anyone else in the post, for that matter). He took advantage of the open-court and spacing when it was there. Defensively, it seemed like he was always rushing at someone and almost always there too late. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-10 shooting (1-1 from three, 3-6 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 43 minutes. The Action: He took the interior feed from Kobe and stretched around a defender for the layup. He hit Fish on the break for an open jumper. He picked up a second foul having to contest JRich and had to sit after 8 minutes. He sealed his man on the Tri corner sequence and drew FTs trying to throw down, he made one. He reversed directions off the dribble to get back to his left and he scored the layup. He missed a step-back jumper. He missed a baseline layup off the dribble. He drew FTs on Okafor at the front of the rim, he missed both. He had 5 points on 2-4 shooting, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 fouls at the half. Second Half: He blocked JRich, grabbed the ball, then threw it off JRich. He got blocked in the post by a help defender. He scored a layup after pulling down a board and pushing it out (Nazr blocked it but it went right in). He swiped a rebound right out of Nazr's hands and hit Ronny with a behind-the-back pass, but Ronny dropped the pass and missed the layup. He swiped the ball from behind Boykins at the end of the quarter, he then scored a layup off a pass from Kobe. He drew FTs in transition after Mbenga poked a ball loose, Lamar made both. Great job on iso in semi-transition, Wallace cut off baseline, Lamar spun away from it, stretched and scored the layup. He scored a layup, attacking to his left. He sank a transition three.

Fisher -- -- Fish was disappointed with the lack of passion we played with. What his game seemed to be really affected by the lack of inside-out possessions. He needs that to stick to his strengths. The offense wasn't working the ball well and wasn't collapsing the D. In the second half, when we were starting to get things going, he couldn't connect from downtown. But he was definitely right about the mental approach we had in this game. Just wasn't there. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-7 shooting (0-3 from htree) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 32 minutes. The Action: He hit a 16-foot pull-up on the break. He drained a baseline jumper in transition. He missed a wing three, got it back, attacked baseline and fed Ronny for FTs. Felton drilled a three over him at the end of the half, Fish needed to crowd him with the clock that low. He had 4 points on 2-3 shooting. Second Half: He missed an open three. He missed back-to-back long jumpers and we gave up a dunk on the second miss.

Radmanovic -- -- He got himself back in the doghouse with some lackluster play and poor decisions on the offensive end. Phil gave him a quick hook at one point. Pretty much a complete dud on either end. "We have to have better energy coming to the game...last couple games here at home," Vlad said. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-7 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. His pass was deflected and turned into a score the other way. Next time down, he rattled in a three straight away. He missed a corner three. He bricked a wide open three. Bad angle entry pass after re-entering the game in the second quarter and Phil immediately yanked him again. He had 3 points on 1-4 shooting and 3 turnovers in 11 minutes. Second Half: He missed a three. He missed a corner three.

Turiaf -- -- Ronny has had some good scoring first halves only to fade in the second halves of games. He scored 10 points in the first half with some good perimeter shooting. Then, he disappeared again offensively. He missed a couple easy ones and only managed 2 points in the second half. Defensively, he couldn't hold down the fort. He also had yet another pass that led to a 3-second violation. Ronny was one of the few players to get out of the gates with some energy. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-10 shooting (4-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and 4 fouls in 32 minutes. The Action: He swished a 21-footer wide open on his first touch. He swished an elbow jumper for our second basket. He swatted Okafor to ignite a break. He missed an 18-footer. He drained a 16-footer flashing to the ball. Good hustle under the glass to get us another possession. He drew a charge in the post. He drew FTs on a drive and dish from Fish, he made both. He got blocked by the rim on a throwdown. He worked the mid post and hit a turnaround in the lane. He kept a missed FT alive and it led to a Kobe three. He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting in 14 minutes. Second Half: He didn't shoot on a kickout from Lamar and it resulted in lane violation. He missed a much harder 19-footer on the next trip down. He missed a layup, fumbling the pass from LO first. Continuing his Kwame-esque play, he missed a point-blank jumphook. He drew FTs on a cut off the two-man game, he made both. Nice deflection of an in-bounds pass to cause a turnover.

Luke -- -- Those weren't "Luuuuuke's" the crowd was yelling. He bricked an alley-oop from Sasha on the break and heard it from Staples tonight. That wasn't his first bad play of the game, but the one that Staples was certainly the most irked about. Offensively, he had some nice attacks off the dribble and finishes around the rim. Good to see the double digit scoring anytime from him this year. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting (3-3 from the line) to go with 4 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 21 minutes. The Action: He missed an open 21-footer from the wing. He got blocked on a reverse. He cut off Mbenga, took the pass and dunked. He kept his dribble alive in the corner, attacked baseline, faked JRich and got knocked in the head as he powered in the And-1, he made the FT. He found Lamar in semi-transition for FTs. He tried to get cute with a no-look pass to Ronny and he lost it out of bounds at the end of the half. Second Half: Wow, total choke job of a lob from Sasha on the break, not even hitting rim...he heard it from Staples. Still down the floor after a Bobcat break, we got it back to him and he scored the layup. He worked off the dribble and banked. He picked up a tech with his off arm after a foul, he made both.

Farmar -- -- Farmar is shooting just .326 from behind the arc and .391 from the floor in March. His worst numbers of the season. Not sure if it's fatigue or shot selection, maybe both. He had some more off-the-mark shooting in this one. He really needs to work on getting into that midrange area and using his hops to elevate for jumpers. Tonight, he had a few jumpers where he was fading and that caused issues. Speaking of issues, he had his hands full with Felton. The Bobcats didn't need to press that advantage too much because they were getting anything else they wanted. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-7 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 16 minutes. The Action: He got swatted on the break. Great clock awareness after stealing the ball, he pushed it up and drained a 33-footer at the buzzer. He missed a baseline fade. He faded again on a three and missed. He missed an open three. He pushed the ball up in transition with speed and scored a layup. Good D hounding his man and eventually forcing a turnover. He had 5 points on 2-6 shooting. Second Half: Bad clock awareness now at the end of the third, trying to hit Lamar with a pass as time expired. He missed a sideline three on one end, then Felton took him off the dribble to set up a layup on the other.

Vujacic -- -- Good effort from Sasha, although he had a couple poor decisions. Still, he at least brought some effort. Offensively, he his shot seemed a little long for most of the night. He was able to come up with a few steals in the game as well as draw some offensive fouls. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-11 shooting (3-8 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 25 minutes. The Action: He had to chuck up a three to beat the shotclock and missed. Great effort on D, diving out of bounds to tap a loose ball to a teammate. He missed a corner three. He drew an offensive foul on D. He got caught in the air and threw a pass away. He drew another offensive foul working around a screen. He let his man get behind him off a missed Laker FT and it resulted in points the other way. He hit Mbenga off the two-man game for a short jumper. He missed a corner three in early offense. He was 0-3 with 2 steals in that stint. Second Half: He sank an open corner three off a kickout from Kobe. He missed a 19-footer. He scooped up a loose ball caused by Mbenga, pushed out the break and scored the layup. He missed a good look at a three. He missed a corner three. He got it back, took a little more time with it and swished the corner three to cut the lead to 3. Bad D, not cutting off the baseline pass on an inbounds and it led to a 4-point sequence. He drained a corner three on the other end to get some back. He missed a wing three.

Mbenga -- -- I didn't like Phil's sub out of Mbenga early in the fourth. He was sparking the team and matching up well defensively against the Bobcat's size. Shortly after he left the game, we lost our mo. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting, had 4 boards, 1 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 11 minutes. The Action: He hit Luke cutting down the lane for a dunk. He sank the 10-footer off the two-man game with Sasha. Second Half: He caused a turnover on the perimeter and we scored in transition. He hit a jumphook in the post and it forced a Bobcat timeout. He drew a loose ball foul boxing out. He poked away a post-entry pass and it ignited the break.

Phil -- -- Wished we could have pounced on this team early, but the team came out flat. When we did have some energy early in the fourth, Phil changed up the lineup and it might have cost us... Looked like we set up a post possession for LO out of a timeout in the first quarter, but we couldn't get it to him and he was called for 3 seconds... We trailed by 10 in the first, playing soft D and not working the offense well... The second unit cut the lead to 27-24 after a 7-0 run to close the first... The Lakers weren't playing with any sense of urgency and fell back again... We trailed 57-44, not doing much right on either end. The Cats shot 56 percent to our 42 percent. The Cats outscored us 32-15 in the paint in the first half... "They're playing with more energy than we are," BShaw said at the half... Kobe scored the Lakers first 14 points of the third quarter before Lamar finally scored a layup with 3:50 left... We cut the lead to 8 points before it ballooned again to 16 points... We trailed 82-68. Some feisty second-unit play to start the fourth and we cut the lead back to 8 points with a 6-0 run... Phil subbed out Mbenga after he gave us some good energy and minutes to help us to an 8-0 run. (We went on a 10-0 run total and cut the lead to 3 before slipping again)... The Bobcats went on 16-5 run shortly after that... This is a game I wish Phil would have taken a tech. Got in a ref's face and maybe wake up the team and give Staples something to cheer about...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Check out the +8 stint that Mbenga had early in the fourth. Subbed out too soon?

[PakaLOLO]

URGH... This game piss me off. As you mentioned about Mbenga, i was confused about that too. They had a good MO going and you could see after he was taken out the enery was gone again. Farmar has been getting to my nerves, i just hope he snaps out of the funk.

Thanks DB.

One good thing though..... 1ST!!!
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[Klone_dd]

Unfortunately, I was at the game tonight. Painful to think of the hard earned cash being flushed down the toilet to watch such an uninspired game.

Kobe's worst game of the year. He struggled, tried to make a push in the 3rd, but got too frustrated. First time I can recall seeing him tired and weary. 5th game in 7 nights might explain it.

No one else brought anything worth mentioning. There's already too many p&m threads tonight anyway.

I thought the game was lost at the end of the 1st half. Bobbies with a 10-0 run in the final minute. With that kind of pace, we're lucky they didn't score 480.

[LakersLO7]

Lamars the only 1 who bothered to show up tonight.

[MedRomLaker]

LOL I used the same thumbsup in a post to describe mbenga, and I must say I totally agree with you, thanks for the recap. I mean seriously phil really needs to use these guys on the bench, he's done it before, 1st with coby, now with DJ in longer minutes, but when a player is providing a defensive spark off the bench you need to get that player more time to play especially with all the injuries. Do you think Phil is hardheaded and just won't bring out ira/coby/dj. With this performance by DJ I really hope phil decides to use him more in give ronny some time to rest.
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4/30/14 the day the ant left the building!!!!!!

[oldschool32]

This team isn't crisp at all. They look like they are in preseason form, still trying to work the kinks out. Lack of discipline, lack of effort, and lack of players.

I would like to see Newble get some minutes as well. Phil should start putting a little bit more stock in defense.
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"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up."-The Greatest

[KOBE 2.0]

DB, any reason Newble doesn't get playing time? it sure seems like the 10-day contract will be his last.

Phil seems to think hes useless and its not like he has enough time to learn the triangle sets with the season coming to a close.

[DancingBarry]

2.0 - Newble hasn't had a whole lot of practice time. With the schedule and Phil trying to keep the guys from getting fatigued, I just don't think he knows what to expect from him.

[Cardom]

[UntiedShoe]

Don't understand how Phil let's the team keep "going" with such little energy? How many coaches in the league would allow this to go on more than 7-8 minutes before they'd yank and talk to a couple of players?

Zen this Phil.

[Trajan]

Very hard review to read.

Overall feeling how the Lakers performed today, disgusted, embarrassed, disappointed, I could go on and on. With playoffs on the loom and every game crucial for playoff seating and home court advantage, the way the Lakers showed up for this game made me sick. I have a good hunch that this won't be the last time in the season will see them pull this crap.

[PLATNUM]

It looked like Kobe may have tossed or even kicked the ball after giving up yet ANOTHER 4-point play, to get him that 2nd tech. He deserved to hit the shower early for his sloppy play, Phil should have yanked him, unfortunately the refs had to do it.
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"Dread it, run from it... destiny arrives all the same."

[Cardom]

[LakerSince72]

Yikes! Looks like I chose a good night to miss the game and catch up on some work. I'm starting to get a little worried with these kinds of losses so late in the season..............

[jmark]

The lack of AB or Gasol is catching up to us. Pau was a large part of why we beat the Cats in Charlotte. We were there. We are very 1 dimensional without a true center and teams are basically swarming Kobe and he is tired and injured. We become a jump shooting team.
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"I appreciate all those who have supported me. Thank you for believing in me. My family and I are going to need your support and prayers now more than ever." Kobe

[KOBE 2.0]

I understand we're missing 2 star players, but It would've made it easier if we would have come out with a focus. no one is gonna feel sorry for us for losing to the Bobcats and we also shouldn't feel sorry for our selfs but whats done is done this loss doesn't mean a thing in December/Jan but when your basically going down the stretch and you let the Bobcats trash you then some questions need to be answered.

[BigE32]

Thanks DB. Disappointing loss to say the least. I'm bothered by the lack of urgency, energy, and focus of this team. Charlotte was on a back to back and they came into our building and got a W. I don't know how we can come out so flat when every game means so much in the standings. I also scratch my head with PJ's substitutions. I liked what Mbenga was bringing in the fourth and he gets taken out around the nine minute mark. I don't know why he was taken out. No doubt in my mind that we're probably fatigued, especially after two tough games against GS. Having said that, we need to find a way to win at home. The Bobcats play us tough and if they played us on a nightly basis, they'd be a playoff team. The disappointing losses are going to bite us in the back end when it's all said and done. I honestly expect to lose a few more before the season ends. Just a very poor job by the team. I'm very frustrated.

[Addicus]

I watched 3 NBA games tonight. 5 of the 6 teams are sure playoff teams. If I hadn't been around all year and was asked to choose which team was not, I would have chose the Lakers.

Don't press the panic button because the playoffs allow a team to rest. Yet, the fatigue is showing and has been for a while. Remember focus and mental acquity goes downhill before the physical play.

Phil pulled DJ because he knew it was only gonna last for so long so he may as well end it on a positive. I've heard him say such things before so I'm interjecting it here.

Great write up DB. Man it was so bad I didn't even get pissed tonight. I did receive the email from my season ticket holding cousin in Charlotte stating simply, "Lakers suck".
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[MagicKobe3224]

Unfortunately, these kinds of games happen. However, isn't that why we pay a coach (one who is allegedly one of the greatest of all-time)? Can't he get a vibe for how guys are playing and make some changes? How can it be any worse? If guys are tired and banged up, which we know they are, then get other guys some bigger minutes and say the heck with this game. But now morale is down, everyone is still banged up and tired, and PJ is still just as clueless as ever...

In my mind, one word describes Phil Jackson - overrated. Always has been. And until I see him get a team to play better than the sum of its parts, I see no reason to change that opinion.

[KobeJaws]

As soon as we think this team is legit....this happens. But the bright side its only one game and we can regroup for Friday against Memphis. They need to prove to themselves they are a championship caliber team....they can't just say it....they have to BELIEVE it!

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

once again, phil is outcoached by sam vincent. the lakers should issue a refund to every fan at staples last night. i feel for all of you that went. this isnt an overreaction. its one thing to lose, its another to let the bobcats win practically wire to wire, lose by 13 at home, dont take advantage of phx losing, fall a game behind the hornets, i could go on......

thanks db, no thanks lakers


bye, bye 60 wins
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB for your efforts!

This team has championship aspirations?

I just can't friggen believe that effort last night! WTF?

[limchrc]

Poor effort by the team. Hope we play better and smarter on our next game.

[Arizona]

[mike_dee23]

To keep things fair, the Cats defeated the Celtics (in Boston) earlier this season, and recently beat Golden State, Toronto, and they blew out Atlanta. It's an improving team with tons of talent.

I'm not too worried about this loss. DB's analysis of no energy from the Lakers is 100% dead on.[/code]
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