RAPTORS -at- LAKERS - 11/30 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Destruction... You hit the snooze bar on the alarm clock several times, but the ringing won't stop. Finally it dawns on you, it's your cell phone. The display reads a series of dashes instead of a phone number. You clear the sleep from your head and answer.

Her voice reminds you of that bottle whiskey you finished off last night -- just the right age, with smoky undertones...and definitely trouble.

"I didn't think you were cut out for this line work," she says.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," you reply. "You mind telling me who you are and what you want?"

She laughs. At what, you have no idea. "Just go outside," she says.

You pull on jeans and a crumpled T-shirt from the floor. You stagger down the dark hallway and unlock the front door. Nothing. "Okay, now what?" you ask the voice in the phone.

"See that crap car you drive? You're safer standing next to it," she says.

Cautiously, you step outside. You see a piece of paper pinned to your windshield by one of the wipers. You walk over and grab it. Suddenly, the ground begins to shake, slowly at first, then it picks up violently. Car alarms chirp and are drowned out by the thundering rumble. Earthquake.

The rumble grows and you instinctively duck. Then, as quickly as it came, it passes. You look at the phone in your hand. What the? "How did you.. Hello. You there?" No answer. The line is dead.

You look at the paper in your hand. Dammit, DancingBarry again:

"The Four Horsemen were here. Their names: Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. The ground shook in their path as they were led by the young one -- Destruction. Andrew Bynum stepped off his horse and looked the same height as when he was riding it. They pointed him in the direction of Toronto's toughest warrior, Chris Bosh. Bynum was too big, too strong, too mobile for a man his size. He overwhelmed Bosh on both ends.

Destruction... Total destruction of Bosh's game...

I will continue to track them."

Chris Bosh had been torching teams, averaging 27.7 points a game heading into tonight's contest. Bynum absolutely locked down. His size and athleticism caused Bosh all kinds of issues, holding him to just 12 points on 4-13 shooting and 4 turnovers in 37 minutes. Ouch.

The Lakers effectively cut off the main point of Raptor attack on their way to the 112-99 win. They also used their length to control the boards and ignite the break, out-rebounding the Raptors 54-36. They led by as many as 20 points.

"Our rebounding was big," Bynum said. "They weren't very impressive inside with J.O. out and we were able to take advantage of it."

Offensively, the Lakers not only went into the post (16 points for Bynum in the second half), but they consistently worked the ball around. The season-high 34 assists spoke truth of the fluid attack.

After Bynum left the game, all that was left was whether or not the team could hold the opponent to under 100 for free tacos. "Jack in the Box might go out of business with us this year," Bynum said.


Kobe -- -- The passing in this game was smooth and fluid. Kobe was continually looking for the open man when he drew a crowd. He led the team with 7 assists. His shot looked smooth and he had his way with Toronto, scoring 21 of his 23 in the first half. Also, just 14 shots for Kobe to get his points. The Lakers matched their previous win streak and look to extend it heading out on the road. Asked about the roadtrip, Kobe said, "We enjoy the challenge of everybody expecting us to lose or wanting us to lose and we're looking forward to getting out there." The Stats: He scored 23 points on 9-14 shooting (0-2 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He drew the double and hit Vlad for a layup. He took the pass from Fish near the hoop, took contact and drew FTs when he flipped it up, he made both. He was hit on a pull-up three in transition, he made all three FTs. He lobbed to Vlad for the throwdown. He got blocked trying to power up a rebound under the rim. He tried to split a double and was stripped. He found Dfish for a three on the weakside. He faced up and sank a wing jumper. He sank a 20-footer from the same area next time down. He faced up and went glass with the wing jumper on the left side. He missed a three, we got it back, Kobe cut and Luke hit him for the dunk. He jab-stepped Moon then hit the 21-footer from the left wing. He fouled Moon on a three-pointer. He forced a jump pass for a turnover. He sank the turnaround at the left elbow. He leaked out after a challenge, took the long outlet from Luke and scored the layup just before the D could get there. He dunked off another long outlet and bustout a few seconds later. He missed a top-of-the-key jumper. He had 21 points on 8-11 shooting. Second Half: He split a double and lobbed to Bynum for FTs. Next time down, Bynum slipped a screen at Kobe's direction, Kobe fed him, dunk Bynum. He attacked down the lane and kicked out to Vlad for the three. He popped out behind screens and hit the wing jumper. Not even close on a long outlet to Ariza, right out of bounds. He kicked out to LO for a three. He found Pau next time down off the two-man game for a short jumper. He missed a three. He didn't get back in transition, looking a bit sluggish and Phil subbed him out at the end of the third. He didn't need to return.

Gasol -- -- He lit the Raptors up in the first quarter. Nothing dominant, just smooth like he is -- elbow jumpers, jumphooks, running the break. The Lakers length caused the Raptors all kinds of issues. Pau and Drew combined for 10 offensive boards. Defensively, again, another good job anchoring and there were no screen-roll issues tonight as the Lakers put in some extra work on it in practice. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 10-17 shooting (4-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 30 minutes. The Action: Nice help D challenge to cover for Bynum and alter a Bosh layup. He picked up a foul contesting a Bosh drive. He drained an elbow jumper on his first attempt. He attacked the lane and hit a layup with his left. He swished the elbow jumper off the extra pass from DFish. He threw a lob pass over Kobe's head. He missed a jumphook with his left. He swished a 12-footer from the left elbow. Good low position, he missed the jumphook, but tipped it back in. He dunked off the breakaway with Ariza. Bosh dunked on him, Pau went at him on the other end and hit a jumphook. The above was all from an excellent first quarter by Pau. He up-faked his man, then drew FTs on the attack. He showed his jumphook and it was knocked away on the way up. He had 16 points on 7-11 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: He missed a jumphook, but tapped it back out. He hit the short jumper off the two-man game with Kobe. He scored a layup when Ariza set him up off the drive and dish. He followed a Farmar miss and scored the layup. He missed a runner with his left. He was left alone under the hoop and was fouled on the in-bounds pass, he made both FTs. He did not play in the fourth.

Bynum -- -- By the time Bynum was through with him, Bosh had no confidence -- something he's been talking about as one of the biggest differences for him this year. There were few easy looks for him with the size he had to deal with. Even when forced to move laterally by Bosh, Bynum had some very good sequences defensively. Bosh led the Raptors with a -24. The no block stat by Bynum is about as deceptive a stat you'll see. He altered a ton of looks. With JO out, Bynum also went at Bosh on the other end. He backed him down for jumphooks, and when Bosh would try to deny that, Bynum was drop-stepping and powering up. The Lakers did a good job looking for him and found him on a few lobs, including a nasty And-1 dunk from Farmar where Drew was undercut and ticked at the defender. Great two-way game tonight. "I'm still trying to force my way into the move," Bynum said of his post play. "I need to work on the drop-step more." Phil on Bynum offensively: "We do want him to be aggressive in at the post." Bynum added that he had very minimal pain today with the foot, saying it didn't affect his game at all. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-13 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 10 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, no turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. The Action: He posted up Bosh, backed him down and easily hit the short jumphook. He was shoved from behind on a drop-step layup with no call and he missed. He missed a short jumphook. Sweet lateral movement on D and then a contest on Bosh's turnaround to force him to shoot off the top of the backboard. He pulled down an offensive board, then hit Sasha with an interior feed for a layup. He swiped the ball from Bosh with good hands on the right side of the lane. Late on his lateral movement and he fouled Bosh. Second Half: He was fouled on a lob from Kobe, he made one FT. With Kobe yelling, "Go, go, go, go," Drew slipped the screen, took the pass and dunked. He forced Bosh into a brick on a drive with a good challenge. He missed a 16-footer when the offense stalled. Airball on a turnaround by Bosh. On the other end, Bynum backed him down and hit the short jumphook. Low pass, Bynum gathered it and got fouled from behind trying to power up (no call), he got it back and scored. He drop-stepped Bosh next time down and powered in the layup. He forced Bosh into a turnover on a drive as he tried to pass off under the hoop. (Great stint on both ends, then Phil sat him with a 10-point lead after 8 minutes.) Back in with the second unit, he missed a turnaround in the lane. He curled from the strongside to the weakside, was left open and Sasha hit him for the alley-oop. He stretched out for the lob from Farmar and flushed it downwhile getting undercut, he was pissed as he hit the floor, he made the FT. Sweet 75-foot outlet to Lamar to hit him in stride and it led to a dunk by Ariza when LO tapped it to him. Sasha scooped up a loose ball and fed Bynum for the dunk. Phil sat him with 5 minutes left and a big lead.

Radmanovic -- -- Phil went to Luke when Ariza's stint was over in the first half. Sasha was so-so early on (so he didn't slide Kobe to SF), Vlad was so-so. Not sure exactly why the early minutes for Luke, but perhaps it was a message to Vlad. Not hot, not cold and a little below average defensively for Vlad. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-10 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover and no fouls in 17 minutes. The Action: He sank a wing jumper off the weakside pinch post. He missed a corner three. He scored a layup when his man doubled Kobe. He missed a three, the ball was tapped out to Kobe who then lobbed to Vlad for the dunk. He missed the sideline three. Second Half: He missed an open corner three. He hit an open three off the kickout from Kobe. He threw it to a Raptor trailing the break, ugggh, open three the other way.

Fisher -- -- He and Calderon had a little battle going. A few fouls were called, and eventually both got a double tech. Dribble penetration was way down in this game. Hard not to be compared to the last one. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-7 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. The Action: He missed a floater. He hit Pau twice for elbow jumpers. He hit a wing three on the skip pass from Kobe. He missed a pull-up wing jumper, wide right in transition. He missed a runner on the baseline at the end of the half. Second Half: He swiped the pass from Bosh and hit a jumper in transition. He pushed off on the dribble for an offensive foul. He smothered Calderon on the other end for a jumpball, he won the tip. He missed a wing three. He and Calderon picked up double techs after a few fouls. Fish crossed-over and got tapped on the wing jumper.

Lamar -- -- Interesting game from Lamar. Slow first half offensively. He wasn't imposing himself on offense, and most of his passing was of the swing pass variety, not the aggressive type of creating for others. But he was hitting the boards well on D. In the second half, he got much more aggressive. He was battling and fighting for post position on several straight possessions, drawing fouls (even one offensive). But that was some good aggression on the block. Love seeing him like that. Then he, Bynum and Ariza teamed up for one of the plays of the game on the break. Those three had the best +/- against the Raptors, and at the end of the night, Lamar led the team with a +19. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 10 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: Heads up outlet to Ariza to ignite a break and dunk for Pau. He was blocked on a layup attempt. He reversed the ball to Farmar for a wide open three. Nice challenge on Kobe's man on help D to force a brick. He swatted Humpries, but was called for the body foul. He had 7 boards and 3 assists, but no points on 0-1 shooting. Second Half: He sank a corner three off the kickout from Kobe. He and Ariza trapped off a screen, Kapono coughed it up, Lamar pushed it out and lobbed to Ariza who scored the layup. He was called for another foul on a block of Parker's layup, bogus call. Overly aggressive trying to post up on the offensive end and he was whistled for a foul. He drew back-to-back fouls on his man trying to get in the post. He missed a three. He took an outlet and tapped it back to Ariza for the dunk.

Ariza -- -- "We're a team," Ariza said. "From 1 to 15 we all play together. We all play hard and we just want to win." There is a big difference with him in the game versus him on the bench. I'm not saying they should move him. I like him on that speed unit. Our D, however, looks less sluggish with him out there. The switching ends of the court is throttled up. The team energy level increases. He stuffed the stats tonight in just 22 minutes. He continues to kill teams with nothing set up or run for him. The Staples crowd now anticipates Ariza plays. When Lamar missed him for a split second on a potential lob pass, you heard Staples make collective "Ohhhhhhh!" That wouldn't happen with any of our other SFs. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-10 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 5 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 1 foul. The Action: He hit Pau in transition for the dunk. He missed a corner three. He missed a pull-up jumper from 20 feet trying to beat the shotclock. He missed a three against the shotclock. He took the kickout, attacked off the three line and scored a layup. He swatted Humphries shot, scooped up the ball and was hammered on the layup by Humphries, he made both FTs. He missed a layup, popped back up on the other side of the rim and tapped it in. He tried to no-look up high to Bynum and the pass hit the top of the backboard and shotclock. Second Half: He and Lamar trapped Kapono off the screen, stole the ball and Ariza scored a layup despite never getting full control of the lob pass. He attacked off the Pau screen and fed Pau for the layup. He spun one way, went the other and hit the shot jumphook off a good find by Sasha under the hoop. He swished the wing jumper off the split play. He took the tap pass from Lamar on the long outlet and dunked. After saving a rebound to Lamar, who saved it to Farmar, Ariza missed a lob on the other end.

Farmar -- -- Birthday boy gift-wrapped a few presents for the Raptors late in the game with a series of turnovers. It was garbage time and that "5 TO" number in the stat box will look worse than it was. He seemed just a hair off his game. Not a great game from Farmar, but he still provided some spark. Defensively, he needs to keep focus on denying dribble penetration. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-9 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, 5 turnovers and 1 foul in 24 minutes. The Action: In the game and he immediately gave up a layup to his man without use of a screen. He missed a three at the end of the first quarter. He forced and missed a three, way short. He cut through the D in transition with a jumpstep to his right and scored the layup with his left. He gave up another layup on the other end. Wide open on the wing, he took the swing pass and drilled the three. Second Half: He traveled trying to go behind his back on the break, that cost us a bucket. He missed a turnaround in the post. He lobbed to Bynum for the And-1 throwdown. He stepped on the gas in early offense and scored the easy layup. He missed a reverse. He missed a sideline three. Several careless turnovers during Taco time.

Vujacic -- -- Not a prototypical Machine game. No Sick Jumpers of Death. His makes were layups and his court awareness was excellent. If there was an open man available for a score, Sasha got him the ball. Combine that with some feisty hounding on D and he put together a good game -- despite not hitting from the perimeter. That doesn't happen too often, but it's important to see as he grows his game. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. The Action: He took the interior feed from Bynum and scored a layup on the other side of the rim. He missed a long wing jumper. Second Half: He attacked from the three line, took it through the D and scored a layup. He found Ariza under the hoop for a score. He saw Bynum curl weakside and lobbed to him for the throwdown. He scooped up a loose ball and fed Bynum for another dunk. He missed a wing three. He curled from the weakside, attacked with the ball and drew FTs, he made one. He missed an open corner three, he stole it back.

Mbenga -- -- With Mihm day to day still with the minor tweak, Mbenga got some rare run. He came in with 3 minutes left. Very good job swatting on a couple plays. Ugly looking shot attempt. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting, had 2 blocks and 1 foul in 3 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He swatted dribble penetration. He swatted another guard who tried to drive. He nearly broke the Mbackboard with a jumphook that didn't draw iron.

Luke -- -- "A Luke Walton sighting. Wow," announced Stu as Walton entered the game with 5 minutes left in the half. Interesting sub from Phil. Luke did okay, although he was one of the few with a negative in the +/-. (He led the team with a -7.) I don't think he was the real issue for getting outscored while he was on the court. He had some nice passes, including one to a Raptor for a dunk. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 9 minutes. The Action: Nice read on the quick Kobe cut and Luke fed him for a dunk. He missed an open three next time down. He hit Kobe, who leaked out after a shot contest, with an 80-foot pass for a layup. Second Half: He swished a pull-up 16-footer in transition. He got caught in the air, tried to throw it across court and it was stolen for an easy dunk, not a taco-friendly play late in the game.

Powell -- -- He came in for Bynum with 5:31 left and a 17-point lead. Not a lot of action to report, but the last several games he has been able to alter or block dunk attempts. Another one tonight. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting in 6 minutes. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: Nice challenge on a dunk attempt to force a miss. He faced up from the post and swished the jumper.

Phil -- -- Phil mentioned the Lakers would need to expand and contract their D tonight with the inside-outside play of the Raptors. The inside looked fine, but the outside gave up 11-25 from three... The Laker perimeter D wasn't able to get out to some shooters early, but the Toronto D wasn't able to deal with the Lakers, either. The Lakers led 34-29 after the first... The Laker second unit was getting outplayed by the Raptors second unit. No purpose to our offense... After a timeout, they tightened up the D and started to get some distance with a 13-1 run... Phil brought in Luke with 5 minutes left in the half and a 13-point lead. Phil called a timeout 2 minutes later with the lead down to 9. The Raptors cut it further, but a couple quick strikes in transition and the Lakers had it back to 10, 61-51 at the half... The Lakers out-rebounded the Raptors 29-16 at the half. They shot 50 percent (25-50) to the Raptors' 42 percent (18-43). The Lakers had 18 assists in the first half... The Lakers forced a quick timeout by the Raptors with a 5-0 run to start the half... The Raptors started to take quicker shots in transition, hitting a series of threes to cut the lead back... The Lakers led 90-81 heading into the fourth... Full-court pressure forced the Raptors to burn a timeout on the in-bounds pass to start the fourth... The Lakers stretched it to a 15-point lead with some great play by Bynum on both ends. Phil sat Bynum shortly later for Powell... In addition the rebounding and assist numbers up top, the Lakers shot 51 percent, while hold the Raptors to 38.6 percent... Phil on Bynum and the second unit: "I like the matchup with Drew having the opportunity to play Bosh and giving that group an inside presence where they really thought about going down and getting the ball inside."...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Bynum and the second unit. Lakers got a lead with a 13-1 run in the second quarter. They took control with a 17-4 second-unit run in the fourth.

[japanesebeef1]

"Mbenga -- -- With Mihm day to day still with the minor tweak, Mbenga got some rare run. He came in with 3 minutes left. Very good job swatting on a couple plays. Ugly looking shot attempt"

I thought that rebound from that ugly hook shot might take a head off someone!

Thanks DB, nice write up. Bynum made Bosh look pretty human.

Who do you think is the greatest challenge in the upcoming road trip . . . Indi, Philly, or Washington?

[lakerfn4lfe]

Drew is really starting to find his game. He is finally going to the bucket with real determination. If he continues to show improvement, he will make a dfference against KG in the Finals.

[jbjb]

Damn, you're literate, DB. That was a great read! The basketball stuff was pretty good too.

[City_Dawg]

DB is a scribe for the ages, props man.
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*sighs*

!...

[mefor3]

thanks DB!

can we start the playoffs already?

[Critical Beatdown]

Good point about Sasha, some rare stuff from him tonight, and Jordan looked like he was up a little too late with the ladies last night (and into the morning?).

Drew was awesome, the only caveat I'd put out there is that Bosh isn't used to playing against guys that big, and Chris did start out hot from the perimeter but cooled off when we put the game away (as did the rest of the Raptors, missing lots of open treys).
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Per 100 possessions, we're winning 118-102 with LO on the floor, and losing 109-111 without him. (updated: 4/1/09; source: 82games.com)

[DancingBarry]

[Critical Beatdown]

Funniest moment of the game was Trevor's alley oop to Drew that hit the shot clock. Phil wise-cracked about the "pass over the backboard" later in the post-game press conference.
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!
Per 100 possessions, we're winning 118-102 with LO on the floor, and losing 109-111 without him. (updated: 4/1/09; source: 82games.com)

[dna.]

Thanks DB!

I find myself looking forward to the next Laker game so much, I wish I had the whole season recorded and could watch them all in succession like Lost or 24...

[Sister Golden Hair]

Pau may be the first laker in the Kobe era who is as polished as Kobe as an all-around player. WHile not the defender Kobe can be, pau's offensive game is so nuanced, so damn mature and refined. He really plays with old school grace and fundamantals. But it's freaky to see that skill level in a 7 foot body.

On the other hand, a player like Ariza is still raw, but the athleticism is alarming. Ariza doesn't run so much as he slices around the court. Now you see him, now he just got another steal and racing downcourt for a dunk. WHat were the Knicks and the Magic thinking? You get the impression that Mitch and Ronny were secretly pining for this guy for years, and when they thought he could be obtained, they weren't going to let him slip through.

Adding a healthy Andrew and a healthy Ariza to this team just raised the asheer athletic ability of the squad to another level.

I'm glad Boston is also playing at a high level. that's the way it should. I hope Boston wins 65+ games, because it will keep the lakers on their toes the whole year.

I really think that, barring injury, this laker team can be one for the ages.

SGH

[AllorNothing]

Well Pau is showing his offensive arsenal this year because he's playing his true position most of the time. I know he's a 7 footer but he plays more like a PF, like Tim Duncan.
The addition of Bynum doing some of the rebounding assignments and guarding centers gives him more stamina during the end of the games.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

DB That was as entertaining as any intro you've come up with yet! Famine, Pestilence, Destruction, Death, and the most feared horseman of all -- Dancing Barry!!! and his Wicked Sick Recaps of Domination!!!!

Keep it up DB! Thanks again!

By the way, I only caught Q4 tonight; but the passing game I saw was a step beyond the ordinary world... I don't believe I've seen Sasha feed other players the way I saw him play tonight. If Sasha starts serving up Andrew Bynum alley-oop slams with consistency then Showtime just gets better and better.

I saw Bynum, LO, Ariza and Machine playing phenomenal B-Ball, and the game was nowhere near as close as the final margin would imply.

[koolruningz]

I'm enjoying these recaps more with every win, awesome work again DB. I thought i was reading a crime novel for a minute there with that intro.

This team is so fun to watch, they play the right way and they play for each other. This is right up there with the Showtime teams for me, just a joy to watch.

Drew played some lock down D on Bosh tonight, you could see Bosh was intimidated and had no idea how to get a good shot off. Hope we see some Drew on KG at some point this year, i think it could work well for us.
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"The advice I get from Magic, Michael and those guys, that's always sacred," Bryant said. "That's going to the mountain top and talking to Buddha, know what I mean? That's privileged information."

[A Mad Chinaman]

DB:

Enjoyed the Intro!!!

Question:
Regarding Vlad - understanding that some shooters need shots to get their timing and/or get to shoot themselves out of slumps (small and large), how does PJ maximizes Vlad's ability to be a shooting threat (especially since Luke is definitely not a shooting threat)?

Regarding Luke - wah happened to his shot, is he still injuried (hard to phantom being that his PT is way down this year)?

Regarding Laker's "D"
Stu made a great comment about what we need to find out about this Lakers team - can it play 48 minutes of defense like what the Celtics will do? I understand that many of these past games are against teams that the Lakers should beat easily and they are playing at home, but what indications should we be looking for that providence that the Lakers' will play lockdown "D" against teams such as Celtics, Cavs, Hornets, Spurs, etc.?

Just wondering

[limchrc]

Thanks. Another nice win.

[Mation]

Thanks DB! Lovin' these intros!

[farkas]

thanks DB! you're the man!

[Wilt]

It might not be intentional from Phil, but these little sparks of energy that we see from the Lakers on the defensive end allow them to play great offensively for 48 minutes, create cushion at crucial periods of the game, and win an overwhelming amount of games. You cannot allow 90 points per game and score 110, even with a deep team. We are not the classic 'outscore the opposition' type of team. We are opportunists. Combined with our youth and the luxury to rest our best players for long stretches gives us a great opportunity to turn on the switch in the playoffs and play defense consistently. We have far more potential than the Celtics, and we are hungry for revenge. With that said, I hope the officiating isn't as laughable the next time around.

[LAkers 4 Life]

I thought Sasha played a very good game. He was under control and made plays other than just catching and shooting.

The clown turnovers in garbage time needs to be addressed. Farmar made some ill-advised passes that got the Raptors too close to 100 and I don't want the players to be lax even during a blowout. But he didn't even make the worst mistake. Luke showed that last year was no fluke in brain farts as he made another ignominious WTF turnover.

[Sage_10]

good overall win. thanks 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

[Dr. Laker]

Excellent job.
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[PakaLOLO]

AWESOME!

Thankyou

[GoldenThroat]

Bynum's best game as a pro?

I know that he's had greater individual numbers, but he put up 18 & 10 while completely taking an MVP candidate out of his game & altering a ton of shots. If it's not his best, it's right up there.

This team is such a joy to watch. Very entertaining game last night.

[Rick12322]