BLAZERS -at- LAKERS - 1/4 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

[Note: For a multimedia experience, click here for the song played below and let it play as you read.]

Cutting Them Down... Little Larry O'Brien is in your head. He doesn't speak to you with words, but images and song. He wants you to know something, but you aren't sure what. Right now he's pushing a song -- God's Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash -- it's been playing in one endless loop over and over again in your head: "You can run on for a long time, run on for a long time, run on for a long time...Sooner or later God'll cut you down. Sooner or later God'll cut you down."

You cruise to the scenes of the Four Horsemen's previous battles. You kneel over the carcasses of dead Hornets. The bugs weren't attacking, they couldn't attack. Larry wants you to know something about the Four Horsemen, but what? "Go tell that long tongue liar. Go and tell that midnight rider. Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter... Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down. Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down."

The Yenko Nova roars down the road on the path you took that stormy Christmas day. You return to the field of tall grass, to the clearing where they had their strongest victory to date. You walk the scene examining the tracks in the trampled grass. You can practically see the steel hooves holding ground and surging forward. Something has changed with the Four Horsemen. You look around. You don't see any blood at this end of the battle field. This was about Redemption. Retribution. There was hell to pay. "You can run on for a long time, run on for a long time, run on for a long time...Sooner or later God'll cut you down. Sooner or later God'll cut you down."

You're interrupted by your phone -- a text message and an address. It's not too far from here. After a few minutes, you pull up the car outside a dusty warehouse. There's a large sign for some boy band. It reads "P-Town Young Gunz - One Night Only!" On a brick wall a poster shows five youths in matching red trenchcoats and bright red pants -- some kind of bizarre, pseudo tough-guy look. Oddly, they were armed with chains, wrenches and an aluminum baseball bat spiked with broken glass -- weaponry you can respect. But still, they're a boy band.

A massive hole has been ripped in the side of the warehouse. You enter it. Paper is strewn about the floor. A fog machine is smashed to pieces. Five trenchcoats, trampled by those steel hooves, are flattened to the floor. You see P-Town's weapons and examine them one by one. Again, no blood. The Four Horsemen's defenses have tightened up. Opponents are getting nothing. One by one they have tracked these opposing forces... and there has been hell to pay. Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down... Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down...

That's what Larry wants you to know. To bring him home, they've got to do it with their defenses. To bring him home, there's got to be hell to pay. You pick up several of the papers on the floor. They're all the same and from DancingBarry:

"The Four Horsemen were here. They started slow, but once they breached the wall they overwhelmed their opponent. They smothered them, trampled them and exposed their youth. Opponents that have taken it to the Four Horsemen at one time or another last year are now getting severe beatdowns.

I will continue to track them..."

There were chants of "Boston Sucks!" at Staples tonight. The fans are aware of what the Laker players know: We're playing Boston every night. With losses by Cleveland and Boston, the Lakers took over the best record in the NBA with their sixth straight win.

"They are on a mission," said Portland Coach Nate McMillan. "They definitely know what they need to do to win."

After a sloppy, turnover-prone first quarter, the Lakers dug themselves out of a 9-point hole to get the lead at halftime. They clamped down in the second half, holding the Blazers to 36 points and 31 percent shooting on their way to the 100-86 victory.

Granted, the Blazers missed a lot of open looks and were missing Brandon Roy, but that third quarter D that held the Blazers to 16 points was the Lakers imposing their will to get the job done. The Blazers had multiple shotclock violations in the third.

Phil started Trevor Ariza at the small forward in place of Luke Walton, who was out because of a sore right foot. The Laker bench still out-scored Portland 38-10. Vlad came off the bench and dropped 16 points. Sasha had 11, Lamar had 10.


Kobe -- -- In the first half, he and DFish were coughing up the ball right and left. In the second half, they must have taken some medicine because the coughing was gone. Cleaner execution meant fewer easy scores and looks for the Blazers. Offensively, Kobe was efficient and deadly. His jumper has looked great lately. That only opens things up more for the rest of his game. Quite a display of skills: a lefty runner, an up-and-under, reverses, etc. Just fun to watch. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 11-19 shooting (0-2 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 33 minutes. The Action: He iso'd up top and hit the jumper. He missed a pull-up jumper on the baseline. He fumbled a pass he was about to throw, it led to points the other way. He attacked baseline and reversed around his man for the score. He turned the corner and got into the body of Oden for FTs, he made both. He swished a wing 21-footer. He tried to dribble into a triple team, turnover. He bricked a rushed three. He swished a face-up wing jumper. He missed a wing jumper. He scored a reverse layup when Trevor found him in early offense. He sank an open pull-up at the FT line. He left his man for no reason on the perimeter and it resulted in an open three. He threw a pass away, getting caught in the air, dunk the other way. He threw a pass away on the break. He attacked Blake, spun and gut undercut on the And-1 15-footer, he made the FT. He had 17 points on 7-10 shooting (3-3 from the line) and 4 turnovers. Second Half: He missed a runner in the lane. He missed a 22-footer. He attacked to his right and swished the floater. He swished a jumper over a bigman on a mismatch. He attacked, put Outlaw in the popcorn machine at the elbow, stepped through and banked. He attacked and kicked to Sasha for the And-1 three. He missed a tough lob from Vlad. He attacked to his right, cut to his left and hit the lefty runner in the lane. He just missed a step-through And-1 off the glass, he made one of the FTs. He attacked, drew the D and kicked to Vlad in the corner for the three. He missed a corner three. He missed a runner.

Gasol -- -- Pau scored 19 points on 9 shots. That's efficient as hell. You could see the reverse jam on Oden coming. When Pau gets a step on a bigman look out. Defensively, let's just say he's happy to have Bynum out there at the C spot. Oden was a bit of a load for him when they matched up. Bynum could hold ground much better. Offensively, though, Oden can't handle Pau's multiple-threat game and footspeed. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 7-9 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: Bad pass forced into traffic trying to hit Kobe, turnover. He hit a face-up wing jumper. He had no idea about the shotclock and no one seemed to get his attention, turnover with the ball in his hands. He stripped Aldridge. He drew an over-the-back foul after challenging a shot, he made both FTs. Poor defensive position, our zone broke down and gave up a dunk. He drew FTs fighting for position in the post, he made both. He dug out a tough pass and scored with his left. He faced up on Oden, attacked, took contact and hit the hook. He got backed down by Oden and had to foul. He attacked Oden, pumpfaked him in the paint and drew his third foul, he made one FT. He missed a tough hook at the halftime buzzer after getting an offensive board. He had 11 points on 3-4 shooting (5-6 from the line). Second Half: He knocked down an open 16-footer to start the half. He took the post feed, dribbled around a double on the baseline and yelled as he threw down the reverse jam on Oden (so nice). He picked up his third foul early in the third defending the post. He let his teammates clear out, he sized up Oden then swished a wing jumper over him. He spun away from a double team and hit the hook. He missed a wing jumper. He attacked to his right, hung (sort of) and dished to Vlad for the And-1 in the paint.

Bynum -- -- We got to see some extended run this time of the Oden v. Bynum matchup. There wasn't a whole lot of action, but I thought Bynum played Oden quite well on iso D. He even managed to block one of his shots on a superb sequence where he bodied Oden up, then winged the jumphook. Phil took him out early in the third because he wasn't getting to the ball quickly enough. That has been a trend lately, very flatfooted on the defensive boards. He came back later and was better in that regard. Phil also wants him to get better low-post position (something we've been harping on all season). Let's see if Bynum responds to that. Not a great game from Bynum, but again, just his presence out there makes things better against some of these bigger players and penetrating guards. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 35 minutes. The Action: He fumbled away a sure lob dunk from Kobe. He gave up an offensive board and then fouled. He scored a layup working the two-man game with Sasha. After giving up a jumphook to Oden, he sat on the hook next time down and forced a brick from Oden. He pulled down an offensive board and missed the jumphook. Great position in transition, he sealed and drew a foul on the post entry, he made both FTs (more of that, please). He had 4 points on 1-2 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: He missed a flat elbow jumper. He picked up his third foul challenging dribble penetration. Great defensive sequence (well, we did give up an offensive board), but when Oden went at him in the post, Bynum bodied him up well not giving ground then blocked the jumphook. He tapped an offensive board to Vlad for a layup.

Ariza -- -- He told Phil he still prefers to come off the bench. "He asked me not to put him out there with the starters," Phil said. He added that they needed it tonight, however. We didn't get scoring from him and he settled for some threes. The offense also didn't go very deep into its sequences and lacked some fluidity. Defensively, he was his strong self with great recoveries to block shots, hustle plays and quick hands. He switched onto Blake in the second half defensively. That seemed to work well. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 0-3 shooting (0-3 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. The Action: Good help D to block a jumper on a rotation. He airballed an early offense three (he doesn't need to be taking those with barely any shotclock burned). He gave up an And-1 touch foul defending the break. He winged a Blake jumper with a good recovery. He drew FTs getting out on the break, he missed both badly. He hit Kobe for a reverse layup in early offense. He attacked and drew the tripping foul, he made both FTs. He was fouled on the alley-oop attempt from Pau, he made both FTs. He missed a three on the kickout from Kobe. Second Half: He attacked and threw a pass out of bounds. He was called for a weak foul in transition D after stipping an out of control Fernandez. He missed a three.

Fisher -- -- DFish was awful ... awful ... in that first quarter on both ends. He was attacking the paint which is a no-no for him. He was doubling and over-playing on match-ups that didn't need the extra attention. He also looked sluggish on his rotations. This resulted in so many open jumpers to Blazers. We were lucky Blake was missing just about everything in the first half or we would have had a bigger hole to climb out of. In the second half, his mental game was back in check and the Lakers were able to play more like the Lakers. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-9 shooting (3-4 from three) to go with 5 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 33 minutes. The Action: He missed a tough runner over Oden. He left Blake to double, then got lost and didn't recover to him and he hit an open three. He hit a pull-up three in transition. He left Blake open (not recovering) twice on one sequence on D. He traveled trying to attack the paint. He dribbled to a corner then threw it to no one, dunk the other way as we saved it to a Blazer. He attacked the lane off a steal and threw it away again. He picked up his second foul diving for a loose ball and had to sit. Horrible stint for Fisher with 4 turnovers in the first 9 minutes. He swiped a pass and was fouled. He missed an elbow jumper. Second Half: He pushed out the break and hit the pull-up three. He missed a wing three with the shotclock low. He stole a ball, pushed it out, got it back and swished the open three at the top of the arc. He missed an open wing jumper. He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a sideline three.

Lamar -- -- "We played defense and we were able to control the game," Lamar said. LO was the defensive glue for the team and as a result led the team again with a +19. Some great rotations and help D sequences. Offensively, he was aggressive and showed some deft work with his right hand. Phil mentioned last year's role for Lamar was much simpler. This year he's being asked to run at power forward, off guard, and act as a post sprinter. Different roles often within the same game. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-8 shooting (1-3 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He got the ball for the last possession of the quarter, went way too early, bricked badly and it led to points the other way. He attacked to his right to start the second quarter and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a sideline three. He pushed up the break, attacked off a Bynum screen to his left and scored the layup. He attacked and threw it away, dunk the other way. Great backscreen for Trevor to free him up for FTs on a Pau lob. Second Half: Great rotation to force dribble pentration into a brick. He missed a three. He jumped Rodriguez on the baseline, then gave him teh ball while he was out of bounds. Good hustle to save an offensive board and throw it off a defender. He missed a three. He was called for a block, but looked like he beat his man to the spot. He attacked in early offense to his left and drew FTs, he made one. He sank a sideline three. He backed up, attacked to his right and scored the layup with his right. Nice challenge on Blake to force a miss. He was challenged himself on a drive and missed on the other end.

Vujacic -- -- He was sick tonight, both physically with an illness and, of course, with the Sick Jumpers of Death that were raining on Portland early and often. With as bad as DFish started playing, I couldn't wait to see the Machine off the bench. He answered the call and then some. Defensively, this is fairly easy match up for us at the guard spots without Roy on the floor. However, Sasha had some superb defensive work on a few sequences against Rodriguez. He smothered him, forcing a few bricks. Great two-way game from a guy who is under the weather. Get well soon, Sasha. We'll have a tougher challenge in the next one. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting (2-4 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 25 minutes. The Action: Nice challenge on his man to force a brick and shotclock violation. Tight on his man again, another brick. He drained the 22-footer from behind the Bynum screen. He worked the two-man game again with Bynum, this time setting up Drew for a layup. He drained the long three over the zone. He missed a sideline jumper, pressured his man in the backcourt and forced a turnover. He swished a sideline jumper. Second Half: He took the Kobe kickout and drained the And-1 three from the wing, he made the FT. He missed a wing three. He missed another three.

Radmanovic -- -- Phil on going with Ariza instead of Vlad: "Just for internal reasons I thought it was probably better." Meaning? "None of your business," he replied. Cryptic as usual about this whole thing. "It's very frustrating, but that's how it is. Stuff. Business," Vlad said afterward. When Phil first benched Vlad, he said it wasn't anything that had to do with Vlad. Was that a lie to the press to keep the drama down or the truth? If it's the truth, this game seems to raise a lot of questions. Drama aside, Vlad put together a great second half off the bench. He scored a season-high 16 points. He was active around the hoop and spread the floor with his three ball. Can't ask for much more from him. Glad to see him back at the SF instead of the PF where the team struggles. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 4-6 shooting (2-3 from three, 6-7 from the line to go with 4 boards (2 offensive) and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. The Action: He drew FTs trying to throwdown on Oden off the Bynum handoff, he made one FT. He picked up two fouls on one defensive sequence and was done for the half. Second Half: He drained a corner three on the kickout from Kobe. He took a pass in the corner, stepped back and swished the three. He missed a corner three on his next attempt. He curled around the Bynum screen from the corner and drew FTs at the rim, he made both. He scored a layup when Bynum tapped an offensive board to him. He scored an And-1 jumphook in the paint off the drive and dish by Pau, he made the FT. Good effort on the offensive glass and he manufactured FTs, he made both.

Powell -- -- He entered with a few minutes left. Not much time to do anything, but he seems to mix it up quickly when he gets on the floor. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-1 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 1 turnover in 3 minutes. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He took contact from Oden and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a jumper from the left side.

Mihm -- -- He got in with 1:53 left. Tough to do much in that time. Good to see him get a little run, though, especially after we had extended garbage time not too long ago and he sat the whole game. The Stats: He had 1 offensive board in 2 minutes. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He tipped out a FT miss.

Sun Yue -- -- He entered with 1:29 for Sasha and immediately got in on the three chucking offense we were running in the fourth. Unfortunately, he didn't connect. The Stats: He was 0-1 from three and had 1 foul. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a three. He swatted a man in transition but was called for the weak foul.

Phil -- -- Curious why he didn't go back to Vlad to start for Luke and keep the rotations the same off the bench with Ariza. It worked out fine, but Phil was certainly cryptic with his quote mentioned above in Vlad's write-up... The Lakers quickly trailed 16-7 after 5 minutes, giving up easy looks on one end and executing poorly on the other... The Lakers trailed 25-19 after a ton of mental errors during the first quarter. DFish had 4 of the 9 turnovers in the quarter... The Lakers started the second quarter with a Bynum, Lamar, Vlad, Sasha, Fish lineup. They tied the game up 25-25 quickly. The Blazers were out of fouls after just 3 minutes. The Lakers joined them a few seconds later... The Lakers faded after 6 minutes and the Blazers went up by 5 again... The Lakers got their first lead in the final minute of the half to go up 51-50 heading into the break. The Lakers shot 57 percent (16-28 from the floor, 17-21 from the line) in the half, but had 12 turnovers. The Blazers had 6 turnovers... Shaw mentioned the turnovers as key and wanted the team to explore the offense beyond the first option. (The Lakers would turn the ball over just 2 times in the second half)... The Lakers led 64-57 midway through the third quarter. They extended it to 69-57, forcing another timeout. The Lakers locked down to get three Portland shotclock violations in that third... After a strong third defensively, they faded a little at the end of the quarter, but still won it 30-16 to lead 81-66... The Lakers maintained the lead as both teams went into a three-point shootout, or brickout as was the case, in the fourth... "I thought we over-committed defensively," Phil said of the first half. They adjusted at halftime and you saw less silly double teams (a lot of this was DFish)... The Lakers shot 49 percent from the floor and 79 percent from the line (26-33). The Blazers shot 39 percent from the floor and 59 percent from the line...

Game Flow -- LINK -- A dominating 20-5 run in the third quarter. The Blazers struggled to score.

[City_Dawg]

[fsc401]

Thanks. Now I can go to sleep

[LakerEric]

Something is seriously up with Phil and Radmanovic!
_________________
Do you believe it now, Trinity? - Morpheous

[Doggy Dogg]

Im proud of Vlad. He played a great game and if the guys would have been looking for him some more he would have few more buckets. His shot was ON 2nte


Kobe, Gasol and Sahsa all had very good games

[8750]

thanks, DB
also the music, now! johnny cash would be proud to be here with your thoughts and ratings...

[Omar Little]

[LakerFan1972]

[yanyon]

[limchrc]

Thanks, nice win.

[lastdodobird]

[MedRomLaker]

LMAO @ boy band, thanks for the recap DB, spot on as usual glad to see our defense take control during the 3rd, you could totally see how it deflated the blazers.
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11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

4/30/14 the day the ant left the building!!!!!!

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB, for the recap and the multimedia devastation tour.

Best record in the league!

Long ways to travel yet, but it's nice to be a game up again.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[KobeBryantCliffordBrown]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[Qsmiff]

Wow somebody must have found a snowboard in Vlad's locker!!

[targetman]

When Phil says internal reasons it makes me think it has something to do with the team chemistry. Maybe he created drama within the team? His teammates seemed very happy that he was in the flow of the game last night.
_________________
Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

[jsi106]

Thanks for the recap.
We all know Phil plays mind game with what he says on off the court. The whole situation with Vlad just make me glad I don't have to work with someone like Phil, I don't think I can handle his office politic. But it's like the economy, I have nothing to complain when stock market is up, and Lakers are the best right now..

[Rick12322]

Phil's answer to the media makes him look like a jerk. i don't think the word "tactful" is in his exhaustive vocabulary.

[prisma8slg]

lmao at the blazers being a boy band thanks DB
_________________
"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[Tick]

Outstanding recap

[Canuck]

Emplay: Do you know anything about what's going on with Vlad and Phil?

[magic_bryant]

I suspect Phil wasn't too happy with the way the bigs weren't getting touches with all three of the gunners out there together in Kobe, Vlad, and Fisher. Just not enough slashing or ability to create.
_________________
Stephon Marbury on Kobe: "He's the only person on 'dis earth that can do 'dat. He guards people, like shuts 'em down. Then, to do 'dat on 'da offensive end. It's like 'Damn, I can't score on him AND he about to bust my ass."