LAKERS -at- HORNETS - 12/23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Bugs on the Windshield... Green clouds loom in the distance, a sure sign as any that a severe storm is coming. Are you prepared? You put it in the back of your mind for a moment as you continue your search for Little Larry O'Brien.

You aren't looking for answers to some of your lingering questions tonight. You are going to the scene of another anomaly. Someone is reporting swarms of bugs on the edge of town, and this sounds right up the Four Horsemen's alley.

As the Yenko Nova hurdles down the highway and rounds a corner near the location, you slow to a crawl and look around. Quiet here. Too quiet... In an instant, the windshield is suddenly splattered with the squashed bodies of hundreds of insects. You realize that the car isn't moving into them -- it's the bugs fleeing. From what you don't know, but you run your wipers in a lame attempt to see out the window. The live bugs are gone, the dead ones have left large carcasses -- hornets.

You pull over and cautiously step out of the car. You feel the crunch beneath your feet. You stand with another crunch. All around are the scattered remains of hornets. Millions of them. There is one spot clear of dead bugs. A spray can stands in the middle of it. You make your way over...crunch...crunch...crunch... It's a can of Raid and a there's a sheet of paper under it. You pick it up. DancingBarry again:

The Four Horsmen were here. Pestilence made their opponents sick. There was Famine. Destruction. And Death followed. They seemed determined in a way we haven't seen for sometime. Maybe it was the opponent...or, perhaps, it's the storm on the horizon.

They will be tested soon. The Green Menace comes. I will continue to track them...

Once again, we saw the Lakers lock up the Hornets defensively. They play this team well, proving it with a 100-87 victory. With Chandler not a perimeter threat, it keeps a Laker bigman patrolling the paint at all times. That helps. "We match up really well with this team," Kobe said.

The Lakers put together a crushing second quarter, dominating the Hornets 32-17. It came down to effort. It came down to a team playing as a team again. They played with one mind on both ends more than we've seen lately.

The Lakers scored 28 points off of 16 Hornet turnovers. That's an impressive number. Equally impressive: 28-32 from the line. They took another difficult back-to-back game, showing a little heart once again. Time to put it all together.

The Celtics have won 19 straight. There were chants of "Beat L.A." at their game tonight. Asked about what it will take to beat the Celtics on Christmas, Kobe said, "It's always the same answer -- defense and rebounding."


Kobe -- -- "To put it bluntly, it's nobody's business," Kobe said of the team meeting they had before the Memphis game. Late in that game, the team found the sense of urgency and have since played several straight quarters of strong hoop. Kobe was taken out of the action early in this one with 2 fouls. He didn't commit another foul the rest of the game. He manufactured a ton of points at the line. Down the stretch, he kept the Hornets at bay with a series of scores. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 7-18 shooting (12-15 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 4 assists, no turnovers and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. The Action: He sank a pull-up 15-footer in transition. Silly second foul, pushing a man going for an offensive board, he had to sit after 5 minutes. His foul trouble probably caused some problems defensively on a few sequences when he entered. He didn't rotate to help Bynum and it gave up an easy dunk. Same thing defensively next time down, no rotation when Sasha is trying to funnel, another layup for Bynum's man. He's man curled past him for a score. All three of those started the second quarter and Phil called a timeout. He missed a pull-up elbow jumper. He attacked in transition and drew FTs on a reverse, he made one. He missed a tough baseline jumper in transition. He settled for a 20-footer on the break and missed. He posted up Posey and hit the turnaround (double didn't come). He took contact and missed near the rim. He blew past Posey and drew a foul on the throwdown attempt, he made one FT. He blew past West and this time was able to hammer down the reverse jam. He missed a three. Nice give and go with Lamar to set him up for a dunk. Good rotation to West on the pick and pop and it forced a 3-second violation. He attacked, pulled up and hit Pau with the extra pass for the short 6-footer. He beat Posey to the spot with good anticipation, then knocked the ball from him. He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting and had 4 assists. Second Half: He missed an elbow fade. He backed down Brown and drew a foul on the turnaround, he made both FTs. He drained a step-back wing three. He missed a short pull-up jumper. He drew FTs getting shoved by Paul on a lob, he made both. He missed a long turnaround, then gambled for a steal and missed, dunk the other way. He drew FTs away from the ball, he made both. He crossed over and missed a tough runner. Kobe tried to swim past Posey for an offensive board and Posey shoved him to the floor for a foul and tech, Kobe made two of the three FTs. He stepped back and swished a wing jumper over Posey. He missed a turnaround. He drained a 21-footer from the wing with a man on him. Again, he jab-stepped, created just a hair of space and swished the long jumper. Next possession, he stepped past his man and drew FTs in a crowd, he made both FTs. He missed a baseline jumper over Posey. He drew FTs on a defensive board, he made both.

Gasol -- -- Pau dominated West. West just can't iso against Pau with any effectiveness because of Pau's length and footspeed. And on the two-man sequences, the Lakers covered and rotated well. West was 5-15 from the floor. Offensively, Pau was an efficient machine. He was hitting his jumper, running the floor again, and always kept the offense flowing. How sweet was that corner three? (Honestly, I wouldn't mind setting him up for that every now and then. Supposedly, he beats Sasha in three shooting contests in practice.) The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-10 shooting (1-1 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +11. The Action: He swished an elbow jumper flashing to the ball. He lost the dribble on iso for a turnover. He ball-faked then hit the jumphook with his left. He missed an 18-footer. He scored a layup in transition and taking the feed from LO. He scored an And-1 off the high entry pass from LO, he made the FT. He was stripped when Ariza broguht his man to him. He tapped out an offensive board and it led to an Ariza score. He crashed the glass to tip in a Kobe missed jumper (should have been an And-1). He hit a short jumper in the lane off the extra pass from Kobe. Nice challenge on West's attack to force a miss. Kobe kicked to him in the corner with the shotclock low and Pau sank his first three as a Laker. He had 16 points on 7-8 shooting and 5 boards. Second Half: He missed an elbow jumper. Nice recovery to his man to block a jumper. He swished a rainmaker fallaway out of a timeout. He was fouled late and made both FTs.

Bynum -- -- When Bynum picked up that second foul after several minutes in the first quarter, he let his teammates have it for the weak D. I said a few games ago, Bynum needs to get pissed. He certainly looked it a few times tonight. Even on some of his finishes, he was playing with a little more of an edge to his game. If he can channel that frustration in a higher level of pissivity on the court, the team will be better for it. He didn't have a great game, but it was better. The team shut down the Paul/Chandler lobs and were much improved on the high screen D. Bynum had a few breakdowns on those plays, but the team corrected itself instead of getting continually torched as they have in other games. It certainly helps us when Drew doesn't have to deal with perimeter bigmen who can hit threes or long jumpers. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-15 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 7 boards (5 offensive), 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He missed a jumphook short on the Lakers first attempt. He picked up his first foul on guard penetration. He couldn't finish a lob. He ball-faked to clear a lane, then dunked (very nice). Good position, he took the entry pass and quickly drilled a step-back jumper. He picked up his second foul after dealing with Paul's penetration again, he then yelled at a teammate (he had to sit after 7 minutes). Poor screen-roll D and it allowed Sasha's man to easily get past him for a foul on Lamar (the two talked it over). He took a high entry, missed, got it back and threw down with authority (more of that, please). He lost the ball on a layup attempt. He swatted a layup attempt. Second Half: He missed a shot in the lane after pulling down the board. He missed off the glass on the screen-roll. He couldn't throw down a lob and wanted the foul, seemed like an obvious call. He threw down a huge dunk trailing the break when Luke set him up. He had a jumphook goaltended after drawing a foul on the screen-roll, he made the FT. He fumbled a lob pass, got it back and finished it. He was blocked on a jumphook for a jumpball.

Luke -- -- He had probably some of the weaker offensive attacks of the game. For some reason, he was dribbling into traffic right next to Paul. That resulted in turnovers. He was also swatted badly on a post up. Defensively, some good rotations. We didn't have to deal with Peja spacing the floor and that helped. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-3 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers and no fouls. The Action: He attacked right into defenders for a turnover on our first possession. He was stripped by Paul again, trying to attack off the dribble near him, layup the other way. He missed a floater, but got it back and reset the offense. Second Half: He gave up a three sagging too far off his man when he didn't need to. He spun baseline and drew FTs powering up in traffic, he made both. He ran off the three line from the corner, pulled up and hit Bynum trailing the break for the dunk. He got swatted in the post, got it back and clanked the jumper. Great challenge on iso D to force a miss on a jumeper. He telegraphed a pass, points the other way.

Fisher -- -- I'll take the 6-16 shooting and 3 turnovers from Chris Paul any day. Paul played 46 minutes, too. The Lakers screen-roll defense was solid most of the night. Fish did a good job making sure that Paul didn't get by him without use of the screen (memo to Farmar). Fish got into some foul trouble, though, and it forced Phil to shake things up and go to bigger lineups. Offensively, Fish had some trouble from three, but managed to do enough damage to keep Paul semi stuck to him. Fisher hit a jumper in the fourth with Paul all over him at one point. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 3-8 shooting (1-5 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 39 minutes. The Action: He caused a turnover on West with a double, then picked up a foul on him in transition. He missed a corner three. Great switch on Chandler, using his body to keep him from getting to a lob. He missed a corner three. He drew FTs on the perimeter, he made both. He probed the lane and pulled up for the short jumper. He backpedaled all the way under the hoop in transition and Paul scored the easy layup (where you going, Fish?). He picked up his third foul with 2 minutes left in the half, holding Chandler on a switch (didn't need to, but again, there is that concern for the lob). Second Half: He drew Paul's fourth foul on the D end. He bricked an open wing jumper. He sank a corner three on the kickout from Pau. He sank a 22-footer with Paul all over him and the shotclock running down. He missed a wide open wing three. He was fouled intentionally and made both.

Lamar -- -- Lamar and Kobe led the Lakers with +14. Lamar was a big part of our smooth defensive rotations. The team seemed to all be on the same page instead of those plays where we see three defenders trapping one man. Offensively, the best part of Lamar's game was his passing to fellow bigmen. That's an area that he has needed to improve on. In this game, he was definitely making an effort to take advantage of his centers. He ended up leading the team in assists. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. The Action: He hit Pau in transition for a layup. He lost the ball trying to go up. He hit Pau with a high-low for an And-1. He clanked a turnaround jumper. He swatted a man from behind and controlled the ball. He drew FTs on a throwdown attempt over Posey trailing the break, he made both. He missed a three. He hit Kobe with a pass, cut baseline, got it back and threw down. He attacked Chandler with speed and banked high off the glass for the score. Second Half: He swished a wing jumper off the two-man game with Pau. He missed an attack to his left to start the fourth. He attacked to his left again, drew the D and this time threw it up high for Bynum to finish (more please). He was blocked trying to throw down. He missed a jumphook, should have used the glass. He deflected a pass in transition D to force a turnover.

Ariza -- -- For the first time this season, we saw Ariza defending a point guard. It happened because of foul trouble to Fish, Sasha and Kobe. Getting that extra length on the court is nice to see. Paul is a tricky cover with not only his ability to create, but to draw fouls. Offensively, we never looked to put Ariza in the post to try to take advantage of the size. I'd like to see us do that. Ariza would probably collapse the D and find open men with his good passing skills. As it was, he hung on the perimeter for the most part, and his jumper was on in this one. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-5 shooting (1-2 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 29 minutes. The Action: He completely stalled the offense, coming to the ball when Pau was iso'ing and not shooing on the pass out, then he hung out there and let his man strip the ball from Pau. He attacked and got caught in the air to throw a pass away. He sank a corner three. Nice recovery to his man on the sideline to block the three attempt. Poor shot selection, pulling up for the 21-footer on the break, but he knocked it down. He swiped a pass to the weakside. He buried an open baseline jumper. He drew FTs pushing out the break, he made both. He missed a three. Second Half: He gambled and his man got open for a jumper. He drew a whistle for a moving screen while defending Paul. He missed a layup, got it back after LO knocked it loose and he was sent to the floor after attacking for FTs, he made one.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha and Ariza are going to battle for more minutes with Farmar out. Phil said they will wait to see how that goes before deciding to pursue another guard. The Lakers options open up with free agent guards in early January anyway. Sasha came in at the 7:50 mark for Kobe in the first quarter. He picked up his second foul on the perimeter with 30 seconds left in the first. He played some good team D in that stint, though, and that helped the team buckle down. We saw some minor Rage Against the Machine when Chandler took a cheap shot elbow on Sasha after Sasha fouled him on a strip. Offensively, Sasha did his thing. Stuck a couple threes, but more importantly didn't try to do too much away from his strengths. He was rushing his jumper just a bit too much. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-5 shooting (2-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 assists, 3 steals and 5 fouls in 12 minutes. The Action: He missed a short baseline jumper. He drew a tech on Chandler with a strip under the hoop, he made the tech. He sank a corner three on a kickout. He rushed a three and missed. He sank a three on his next attempt, it hit the heel of the rim and went about 10 feet in the air before dropping in. He airballed a jumper. Nice read, jumping a passing lane to swipe the ball on the weakside. He picked up his third foul and had to sit. Second Half: He picked up his two fouls a minute into the fourth and he had to sit.

Radmanovic -- -- Vlad got in late in the game when we went to some unconventional lineups. The Stats: He score 3 points and made 1-2 from three to go with 2 boards in 6 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He came in for Sasha off the bench and immediately drained a corner three. He missed an early offense three.

Powell -- -- His wife was in a nearby hospital in labor. He was going straight to the hospital after the game for the delivery. The Stats: DNP The Action: He did not play.

Phil -- -- "You just try to stay between him and the basket," Phil said of Chris Paul. He pointed out that keeping West down was a key to the last win here. That was also a key tonight... Phil went with an LO, Vlad, Ariza, Sasha, Fisher combination for the final 30 seconds of the quarter. Lamar at the C... Despite Paul's 5 steals and foul trouble to Bynum and Kobe in the quarter, the Lakers led 24-20... The Lakers defensive scheme fell apart to start the fourth quarter. Essentially, the funneling was too weak and Kobe didn't/couldn't rotate on two plays to cover for Bynum. After a 6-0 run, Phil called a timeout and barked at them for poor screen-roll D. They tightened it up... The Lakers led 36-28 after getting out in transition off some defensive stops. It forced a Hornet timeout... With Fish and Sasha in foul trouble, Phil went to a Kobe, Ariza, Luke, Lamar, Pau lineup with 2:30 left in the half. Ariza and Paul matched up (we never looked to the size advantage down low). But the Lakers did a good job rotating and helping on the D end... The Lakers led 56-37 at halftime. Crushing defensive half again, holding the Hornets to 37 percent shooting. The Lakers had 18 points off turnovers... The coaches reminded them of the lead they blew last time they were here... The Lakers got into the bonus 4 minutes into the second half. That helped to manufacture a number of points from the line... The Lakers were out-scored 27-24 in the third and led 80-64 giving up a hoop at the third quarter buzzer... Phil went with a Bynum, Lamar, Vlad, Ariza, Kobe lineup early in the fourth... After playing with intensity most of the game, you could see the Lakers start to let up just a bit in the fourth. The Hornets chipped a few points off the lead, but no big collapse from L.A...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Dominating second quarter. The Lakers had two runs that the Hornets didn't answer and won the quarter 32-17.

[dot3]

lol at pissivity

Good recap, was good to see the Lakers put together their first solid game in a while.

[Vadorojo]

Beautiful game to watch. I expected us to have a little bit of an energy letdown (given the 4th game in 5 nights), but we pulled through with a 13-point win. Great job, Lake Show.

I, too, would like to see us set Pau up for that corner three every now and then. The Spaniard can flat-out shoot!
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"I like looking at a guy's face when he realizes that even his best moves aren't going to work on me all night. They look depressed." - Ron Artest

[DancingBarry]

Wasn't someone else first?

Me thinks the mods are toying with people again.

[najim]

Bynum needs to take ownership of the Defense. just like a soccer goalie will get pissed and yell at his defenders if they give too much space to the other team, Bynum needs to call fools out and start getting mad for defensive breakdowns... there needs to be accountability on that end.

[parsons777]

[Addicus]

Great read. Thanks for the knowledge on Powell. I hope they have a healthy baby.
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Stop crying and start doing.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/addicusbrown

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB.

The Booger men cometh on Thursday.
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*sighs*

!...

[LuciusAllen]

[X56]

Thanks for the recap DB, I was able to only watch the 1st half of the game. Its great to see the Lakers play with passion once again, its been a while. I hope we don't see the Los Angeles "Fakers" anymore.

Hello Boston Green Sucks, your streak is coming to an end!!!!!

Go Lakers!
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Game 7 2010 NBA Finals - Lakers 83, Boston 79

[farkas]

it's better to read T&R after every win.

[tlim]

Now if they can keep up the defensive intensity, and reduce the careless mistakes when Boston comes into town, we might have a chance to beat them...

[limchrc]

Nice win.

[tsumlakers88]

I sure did pick a great game to go to didn't I?


Now bring this intensity back home and give us what we all want for Christmas: A Boston Beatdown.
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"I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure...everyone does. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it." -Kobe Bean Bryant

[BLP711]

Thanks for the recap DB.

[Qsmiff]

The intros are absolutely priceless..outstanding work...Great to see the Lakers regroup and play with a lot of determination. I have given Sasha a lot of grief this season but I thought tonight he was rock solid and it was when we really needed it. I wonder how long Phil's stubborness is going to keep Luke starting, sometimes its 4 on 5 when we are on offense, and tonight Butler would have had no chance at all to cover Vlade or Lamar. Also, when Lamar plays with the aggresion he has played with the last 6 quarters it makes the entire team different...wont have to read LO trade proposals today. Loved Andrew showing " Pissivity" at the guys not helping the helper, but I'm sure its hard for a 21 yr old to get on his team mates..but the more he does the better the D will be. Pau, Kobe and Fish have shown great leadership these last two games. Heres hoping the entire teams "Pissivity" level turns the green menace to yellow on Xmas!!!

[dot3]

[Sleepy]

Playing the Hornets always reminds me what little punks they are, including their announcers.

Chris Paul is a poor sport little punk. He's talented, but I have no respect for dirty players. What I mean by dirty is absolutely faking fouls to get a whistle (very D-Wade-esque, but CP does it on dribbles and off the ball plays, not driving to the hoop). He gave several fouls on Lakers in the first quarter by simply walking into a guy and flailing his off arm like he was mugged - and the refs call it (one of the reasons Kobe and Bynum had to sit so early in the 1st). Looks like the refs cleaned that up after the first because they didn't call that bogus garbage after that.

They also complain a lot - Chandler should have been ejected in that game. He should've had a T before he actually got one, and also one after. Good thing Joe Crawford wasn't officiating or he wouldn't have made it past the 1st half.

Posey is still a P.O.S. cheap shot artist. He will always be a dirty little Celtic in my mind.

As for the Lakers, I was very impressed with their defense after the first quarter with so many flop fouls called against them. Even Bynum did well. However, it's hard to say if they just tightened it up (which it looked like), if N.O. had a bad game without Peja, or if L.A. just matches up well against them. The Celtics game will let me know where the Lakers"new" defense stands.

[oldschool32]

Congrats to Powell.


I'm glad to see Bynum make a small step toward improving his play yesterday. The energy they played with on both ends is exactly the way they need to play all of the time.
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"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up."-The Greatest

[KingKobe]

You know DB, very few writers can get it done in 2nd person like you do. 1st and 3rd yes, but rarely 2nd.

And 2nd person noir sports writing with horror and comedic elements..... well, that's just one of a kind. My props to you good sir.



Also, one of the most enjoying games to watch all season. And Ariza at the 1. It's like Phil can finally hear me yell through the tv.

I love the Kobe/Ariza back court. Puts the ball in Kobe's hands to run the offense (he's still best on the team as far as running the triangle and low post passing when he feels like it). And I don't worry about Kobe sacraficing energy for offense as a problem on this team, as we are loaded in options. The more Gasol has the ball the better. Not to mention, I think Trevor's handles are underrated, and while not point guard like, are good enough to help Kobe get the ball down the court when needed (not to mention that LO, when on the floor, can also get the ball to midcourt pretty well).

And as far as our defensive plans, you can't expect to trap and double without stopping the ball somewhere, and if the point if going to run unperturbed down the lane, well, it's even harder. Trevor fights through picks with his length and speed better than any other Laker right now, not to mention has the lateral quickness of a guy half a foot shorter. And even moreso since the constant doubling makes us switch and scramble all the time, Trevor's lanky 6'8 can switch on almost anything, unlike Fisher who tends to see lob after lob when he gets scrambled into the paint against taller players.

I'm not saying we should start him there, but please Phil, give the Kobe/Ariza backcourt some more minutes.
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*Warning: The preceding post may have contained sarcasm and/or irony.

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

[Nobody]

[Julius1]

My thoughts on tonights game:

1) Ive gotten on Fisher as much as anyone this season, but I was proud of him tonight. He played nearly picture perfect screen and roll defense tonight as did the team. He defended Paul about as well as anyone can defend him. Keep it up in the next game.

2) I noticed tonight was the first night that Kobe truly got the calls that he deserved and hasn't been getting ALL SEASON. There was one specific play that stood out and that was the one where Posey was accused of committing the foul in the fourth on a reach in, and the team and crowd erupted in anger, but in the replay it showed that it was #9 Mo Peterson that took a swipe and hit Kobe in the shoulder and one thing became apparent from that:

Kobe is fouled on nearly every play, its just a question of WHO was it? If they showed replays of Kobe with the ball in attack position, I coudl bet you'd see a foul on nearly every possession. And that to me is funny. The announcers didnt know who it was until AFTER the replay and then they settled down. But, it goes to show that if they want to call the same stupid fouls that Chris Paul gets, Kobe could Live at the line all night.

3) There was a couple of instances of where Bynum got upset at SAsha and others for not rotating on defense. THAT is EXCELLENT to see. It's HIGHLY important that teammates hold other teammates accountable for breakdowns on defense. It'll happen less often if everyone is getting pissed off at each other about it.

The point of me saying that is that later on, in the early 2nd quarter I beleive, when Kobe had the breakdown by not rotating over to deny the easy dunk to Hilton Armstrong and Bynum looked at Kobe like...."Come on Man"...he didnt show the same vigorous 'pissivity' that he had to SAsha....and that its important that Bynum IS allowed to do that to even Kobe, the leader of the team.

Kobe is still a player on this team and if Bynum is upset at a Kobe breakdown or anyone is for that matter, it's important for them to be able to give Kobe crap about it, not worrying about his status on the team. It'll make him and his teammates better and give him credibility when he lashes out himself as he is willing to take criticism for his own mistakes.

I think this is also key.

4) The Big lineups with Pau, LO, Luke, Kobe, Ariza and specifically,

Bynum, LO, Vlad, Kobe, Ariza were a thing of beauty. Ive been preaching to a buddy of mine who we all know here on LG that taking out the Steve Kerr on our team (Fish/Farmar) and replacing them with Harper and Kukoc (Vlad) would help our defense just by length alone.

Whats the difference between a 6'2" sharpshooter and a 6'10" sharpshooter? The 6'10" sharpshooter guards someone who isnt as desctructive as a PG because the PG has the ball in his hands a lot. That allows us to put a tall, lanky, speedy athletic wing player on the PG to slow them down and still have a TON of lenght to rebound and contest shots elsewhere all over the floor because of the use of that 6'10" shooting forward.

The only difference in that crunchtime lineup

Pau, LO, Kobe, Ariza is the same. The differnce is take out Fish and put in Vlad. See what happens for a while. If it doenst work, go back to what you think you need to do.

5) The defensive awareness of the team has come back just in time for Boston. I have no doubt we'll bring this effort and then some to our game against Boston. The key for Kobe is to attack the Boston defense from the post position isolation like he did in game 3 Finals last year, when he took Ray down there and faced him up and then drove the ball, as opposed to initiating his offense behind the 3 point line with picks and so forth.

Because Kobe will want to exert his will on this game, the coaching staff and himself have to understand that getting the ball to Kobe in teh same spot he had it tonight in NOH is highly important, which is the pinch post, from 16 feet. Live Dribble, face up...see the court....attack.

[8_IZ_ENUF]

Thanks DB!!

I took my son to his 1st Lakers game and here are some observations:

Got autographs: Sasha, Odom, Mihm, and Pau. Sasha signed my hat.....I told him that 3 in Orlando should've stayed down. He said "Iknow....it felt good when it left" I told him to shoot everytime he's open!! My son was in awe!!

Odom seemed to hang around the fans for like 5 full minutes signing autographs and talking......Seriously, he is a really nice dude.

Got a high five from Ariza......I guess he wasn't in the signing mood.

The arena was buzzing....not sure if it was sold out, but I didn't see too many empty seats.

A hornets fan, 3 seats over from me, kept calling Pau a "Girly-man" everytime he touched the ball. So, everytime Pau scored my son & I jumped up and said "Way to go Girly-Man!!!" I also told him that "Girly-Man is gettin' 20-10" He shut up half through the first quarter and left half-way through the 4th.

Kobe's dunk was sick!!! The Hornets fans just shook their head as to say "Damn, he's good!!!"

Pau's 3 at the end of the half took all the life out of the arena. I was going nuts!!!

Defensively, the lane was closed!! We basically made them a jumpshooting team. I've never seen them play CP3 better! It truly was a great team effort!

David West looked scared of Pau, passing up open shots on a routine basis.

Anyways, I only get to see them in person twice a year.......so thanks Lakeshow for sweeping the Hornets off their own floor!!
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....and a new dynasty begins?

[Klone_dd]

Probably the best all-around game the Lakers have played so far.

Kobe the dagger. Pau the rock. Everyone else filling in nicely. Finally, we see some emotion out of Bynum instead of whining. LO filled the stat sheet, but he doink-ed a number of lefty layups.

My only negative was the lack of ball movement late in the 4th. Kobe-iso and everyone standing around has become an all too familiar pattern. Pau was 8/10 through 3Qs and never takes another shot or even get many touches in the 4th.

[Andre2K]

um why is luke still starting?
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My Dream Starting 5 next Season

Pg Lonzo
Sg Kawhi
Sf Ingram
Pf Lebron
C Dedmon

Bench: Caruso, Hart, Bullock, Kuzma, McGee etc