WARRIORS -at- LAKERS - 3/19 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Disappearing Acts... The word on the street has been that the Horsemen have lost their killer instinct, that they had it months ago, but have grown careless, lazy even. You hate the word on the street.

You think back to some of the scenes of devastation you have found, the wasteland of Nuggetville to the knocked out Fatman. Some of the crime scenes you came across earlier were, indeed, gruesome...complete in their destruction, better suited for the Hollywood big screens instead of the back alleys, deranged suburban streets and the yellow brick road from hell you've managed to survive.

What was the difference between the Horsemen then and the Horsemen now? The one thing your mind comes back to is him...the missing Horseman. Right now, they are surviving, holding it together, biding (spelling) time. Instead of searching for the nebulous killer instinct, you begin to wonder if you shouldn't just search for the missing Horseman. He's out there somewhere.

That's why you find yourself carrying a plate of steaming spaghetti, his favorite food, to his favorite corner booth of his favorite restaurant. You're looking for people who might know his whereabouts. "Here you are, sir," you say to the Magic Man as you place the entree in front of him. "You new here?" he asks. You catch him by surprise and sit down across him.

"I'm looking for information on someone," you say. "The missing Horseman. You know who I'm talking about?" He looks from side to side and over his shoulder. Either he's looking for help or he's making sure no one is listening. You don't know which until he leans forward. "I know him," he says, "but it will cost you." Cost you what, you wonder. A favor? Some quid pro quo? "How much money you got?" he asks. Ah, that kind of cost.

He's making quick work of his plate as you reach in to your wallet and pull out a couple of twenties and a few ones. Not exactly pay dirt. You slide them across the table, and he snatches them up faster than a blackjack dealer at San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino. "The missing Horsemen is coming," he says. You lean forward. "How soon?" you ask. His plate is nearly clean, the last spaghetti is sucked into his mouth like a 4-year-old. Sauce splashes you in the eye. He leans forward. "He'll be here in April." He wipes his mouth and says he needs to use the restroom. You ponder his last statement. He didn't really tell you anything.

The waiter brings the bill to you. "The Magic Man says you'd cover this." You look up startled. The backdoor near the restrooms swings closed. The Magic Man pulled a disappearing act and stiffed you. Opening up the bill, someone has penned you a message. DancingBarry:

Three of the Four Horsemen were here. They attacked the other warriors aggressively and with purpose at times, only to fade and flirt with danger again. They looked to their biggest of Horsemen to carry them, they answered the call.

I will continue to track them...

P.S. See you on the road.

"It wasn't too pretty out there," Pau said after the Lakers finished taking the 114-106 win over the Warriors. They built leads as big as 18 points, only to let the Warriors climb back into striking distance.

It wasn't the bench that struggled after we built big leads. The second unit played with some rare poise and purpose. The bench guards didn't hoist up shots without thinking. They looked to feed the post and create for their bigmen.

Still, the moment the team worked their way to their biggest lead of the game, they coughed up a 12-0 run.

"Focus is obviously a big factor," Pau said. "You've always got to keep the intensity up." They will need it as they head out onto the road.

Two weeks. Seven road games. They need to come together.


Kobe -- -- Unlike the last game where we didn't press our post advantage in crunch time, Kobe looked to feed the ball down low. With the outcome still in question, he ran the offense through Lamar on the block who had a small defender on him. (Note to Kobe: Don't feed Powell in the post in crunch time. That's a questionable advantage.) After the 0-0 from the line in the previous game, Kobe went just 1-1 from the line tonight. Was he fouled more than that? You bet. Not a lot of love lately from the refs. It's hard to imagine, but I'm guessing he'll actually get more whistles than that on the road. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 9-25 shooting (2-6 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers and 1 foul in 39 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a wing jumper on the Lakers first attempt. He hit LO for a dunk off the two-man game. He swished a wing three out of a timeout. He missed a layup on a drive down the middle. He blew past his man and scored the layup after taking contact and no call. He sealed Jackson, took the entry over the top and then hit over Ronny. He crossed over and missed a wing pull-up. He coughed it up after getting caught in the air when he tried to pull up and shoot with a man on, layup the other way. He got tapped on a wing three. He was stripped by SJax. He missed a wide open three in transition. He posted up, stepped past his man on the face up and scored the reverse. He missed a scoop in the lane. He missed a floater at the end of the half. He went 1-6 with 2 turnovers during those last 6 shots. He had 9 points on 4-11 shooting (1-3 from three). Second Half: He sank the 14-footer off the screen from Pau in transition. He swished a wing three next time down. He missed a three on our next trip. He missed flat-footed jumper. He missed another wing three. He cleaned up an Ariza miss on the break. He busted out for a layup off the Pau block. He missed a long floater trying to beat the clock, got it back and was fouled with no call. He was then stripped. He blew a one-handed dunk, just a rare choke on the finish. He swung through, didn't get the call, of course, and missed the jumper. He missed a baseline jumper. He dumped the ball into Powell to create, then when the turnover came, didn't get back in transition. He backed SJax down to the floor (flop), then attacked Ronny and scored the And-1 (got away with a clear-out), he made the FT (his first of the game with 3:43). He attacked next time down, took contact, no call and missed. Turnover, running the clock down then trying to no look it to a teammate.

Gasol -- -- Pau had an advantage in the post against the weakened front line of the Warriors. He looked to exploit it aggressively when he got the ball. He wasn't as amazingly clean as he had been the last two games, but still a strong game. The Lakers did a better job going to the post, but there were still stretches where they didn't go after it. "Our ball players didn't work to do the right thing and feed the ball in the post," Phil said afterward. There were some sloppy sequences at times and our timing also seemed off. Defensively for Pau, the Warriors aren't going to get a lot through the post. Pau has to be more concerned about the guard penetration and not getting caught in no man's land. We rarely took the ball out of the guards hands on some of those two-man sequences. Late in the game, the Warriors were able to get whatever they wanted from their guards, inside and out. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 9-15 shooting (3-6 from the line) to go with 14 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He tipped in a miss behind Turiaf. He missed an elbow jumper. He hit the jumphook over Ronny on iso. He missed a jumper in the lane. He worked the post again and missed the lefty jumphook. He faced up, attacked to his left and hit the jumphook with his left. He worked his way into the lane and hit the short one over his man with the left. He battled for a miss by Luke and drew FTs, he made one FT. He got tapped on a short one. He was shoved after an interior feed from Luke for FTs, he made one. He lost the handle on a drive. He drew more FTs working the post, he made one again. He scored a layup when Luke went over the top of a fronting defender with the pass. He had 13 points on 5-9 shooting and 5 boards. Second Half: He deflected a pass, then fought for a Fisher miss in transition and powered it back up and in. He missed a left layup on the spin after Kobe fed him. He flashed to the ball, took the pass and hit the short jumphook. He blocked a drive, layup for Kobe the other way. He fell down as a pass came, turnover. He attacked and threw the ball away. He hit a short jumphook with his right. He kicked out to Sasha for the three. He overpowered his man for a layup on the right block. He threw a kickout away when Kobe went another direction.

Lamar -- -- With the game in question, Lamar went to the post with a smaller man on him and demanded the ball. He got it and delivered in the final minutes. His minutes were limited with some foul trouble, but he owned the paint. He was swatting shots and grabbing boards. If running the offense through him in the final minutes wasn't rare enough for you, how about the perfect 6-6 shooting from the line? Shaq, he's coming for you. He needs to bring that FT shooting with him on the road. He said the Lakers need to understand how these are big games for their opponents. "Teams are gunning for us. They're going to play their best basketball," Lamar said. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He attacked with speed to his left off the screen and scored a layup. He attacked to his right and missed the layup. He threw down off the Kobe bounce pass. He rejected a drive and got a good challenge in on the follow shot. He was rejected from behind under the hoop. He picked up his second foul late in the first and sat for Powell. Looked like he stripped a man and swatted a shot on one defensive sequence, he drew FTs on the other end and made both. He missed a pull-up jumper. He had 6 points on 2-5 shooting and 8 boards. Second Half: He grabbed a rebound pushed it out and was called for the charge, erasing his hoop. He fell asleep on one end to give up a layup, then missed a three on the other. He picked up his fourth foul on the perimeter against Maggette. He powered up an And-1 off the interior feed from Powell, he made the FT. He posted up, took the entry and powered in another And-1, he made the FT. Bad high-low pass to Pau, turnover. He posted up with 1:50 left, got the entry from Kobe and scored the layup. Post up again with 1:15 left, he drew the double and kicked out to Ariza who hit the open three. He drew FTs on a good hustle for a defensive board, he made both.

Fisher -- -- He played just 8 minutes in the first half, 10 in the second. The old legs got some rest tonight. Phil said he wanted to make sure DFish was ready for some extended minutes on the road. He certainly looked like he had his legs in his shot. He was swishing jumpers from around the perimeter. The 47-point difference between Fish's +27 and Farmar's -20 in the last game was just 9 points tonight. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-6 shooting (2-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He swished a pull-up on the wing. He missed a corner pull-up. He made a tech FT. He swished a wing jumper in early offense. Second Half: He drew a moving screen on Ronny. He missed a runner in transition. He sank a break-rhythm three in transition. String music on a wing three in transition.

Ariza -- -- Trevor saved his only make from three for a critical juncture. With just over a minute left, Lamar posted up, the Warriors left Trevor and he banged down the three. That nailed the door shut. Or, at least closed it politely. Mixed game defensively from Ariza. He had some nice challenges under the hoop and a nice strip. Then he got lost on other plays, giving up threes or fouling on a three-shooter when he did close out. Still, he led the team in steals and has put together yet another good game from the starting spot. Glad to see him come alive again, we will need that on the road. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-12 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He missed a bank on the drive and pull-up. He missed a sideline three. He attacked strong to his left and missed a layup. He drew a charge in transition D. He faced up and rattled in an 18-footer. Quick attack in semi-transition, he hung and scored around a defender. Second Half: He spun on the baseline and reverse jammed. He busted out when Kobe knocked a pass loose and scored a layup. He picked SJax with a great reach, then got mugged by him. His perimeter pass was picked off, dunk the other way. He missed a layup in transition. Nice challenge in transition to get a miss. He missed a sideline three. He swished a wing three with 1:15 left when Lamar drew a double in the post and kicked it out. He dunked when the Warriors press broke down in the final seconds.

Luke -- -- Luke flushed on Ronny after a drive, then looked him down as he ran back to the other end of the court. The bench were on their feet and Ronny took some ribbing. You could see that play coming when a lane opened up on the wing and look got to build some speed. Ronny has made it to the new Luke Walton poster series. Luke thanks him for helping get that started. This was Luke's second good game since going to the bench. He played a measured game. Didn't try to do too much himself, but looked to get the ball to our bigmen. The second unit finally stopped their bleeding...for a game, at least. "Our goal is winning a championship. We're striving to get better," Luke said. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-6 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He clanked a short one on a drive. He threw a low pass to Powell, who was expecting it up high, but we still scored the And-1. He hit Pau over the fronting defender for a layup. He slapped a handcheck away, attacked and had his jumphook goaltended. He drained a corner three off the baseline drive and kick from Farmar. Good stint, going +8 with 5 points on 2-3 shooting and 2 assists. Second Half: He beat his man with a first step, then dunked with one hand over Ronny. Wow. He worked off the Powell screen and hit the runner.

Farmar -- -- Farmar appeared to be thinking pass first tonight. He played a more controlled game and was able to get DFish some good rest. It wasn't a clean game, but it was more controlled. There were several passes that were late or off the mark, but what you didn't see was a series of mistakes...the turnovers, followed by missed shots and bad ideas. The second unit guards did a much better job playing with purpose and playing with their bigmen. Farmar needs to look at this game and build from it. The second unit not only survived their minutes, they built leads at times. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 7 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and no fouls in 25 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: Sloppy pass on the break to Pau, low and behind him, opportunity blown (yet another simple PG-type play where he didn't show proper polish for his position). He set up Powell on the pick and pop for the jumper. He missed a pull-up jumper at the buzzer. He missed a wide open lob trying to dunk it, should have played it safe with the lay in. He never got squared up on an early offense three and missed. He took the outlet by Sasha, head-faked under the hoop, got Maggette in the air and scored the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He attacked baseline and hit Luke for the three. Second Half: He threw a pass right out of bounds when Kobe faked him out. He kicked out to Sasha for the three. Good challenge on a jumper to force a miss. He went up for a jump pass, threw it away when Pau was expecting the shot. He attacked baseline, took contact while going up with both hands and drew FTs, he made one. He blocked a jumper on the final shot.

Vujacic -- -- Like Jordan, this was a very controlled game from Sasha. In his first stint, he didn't look to force any shots. He fed the bigmen and played solid defensively. In his second stint, he knocked down a couple threes off of kickouts. The second one was after reposting to Pau and getting it back (exactly what you want to see from him). He then started to heat up and got more aggressive. The Machine appeared to be back for a rare appearance this season. Also, a good job on the two-man situations with Powell. Defensively, he played solid. He's always quick to loose balls and he had a couple good boards. Like Farmar, this is a game Sasha needs to look at and build from. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-4 shooting (2-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He set up Powell on the pick and pop for the open jumper. Good job getting to a loose ball, he then hit Farmar with the outlet for an And-1. He knocked a bad pass free in the backcourt and it led to a Laker score. He didn't shoot, but had a good stint. Second Half: He sank a three on a drive and kick from Farmar. Nice challenge on a jumper at the end of the quarter and he got a piece of it. He reposted to Pau, got the kickout again and drained the three. He curled off the screen and swished a wing jumper. He worked off the screen and hit the baseline jumper off the dribble. He took the outlet from Luke on a leak out and drew the foul, he made both FTs. He was called for a walk, shuffling his feet on a drive.

Powell -- -- He looked good when he ran the pick and pops, not so good (again) when trying to create around the rim. Lamar got into a foul situation again and this led to the team needing to rely on Powell a little more. When he's doing the catch and shoot thing, he's fine. Anything else, creating for teammates, working the post, it's always an adventure and rarely productive. Defensively, the Warriors are a tricky matchup. He wasn't stuck on the island against Maggette to the extent that happened the last time we played the Warriors. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-8 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He swished a 16-footer off the pick and pop with Farmar. He swished a long baseline jumper off the pick and pop with Sasha. He missed an 18-footer. He socred an And-1 when we stole the ball in the backcourt and Luke set him up. He scored an And-1 expecting the lob from Luke, but getting a low pass instead, he made the FT. He missed a short jumphook off a spin after working the two-man game. He missed another short one, got it back then threw it away. Bad help D on the zone scheme and he gave up a layup. He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting and 4 boards. Second Half: Bad pass trying to bounce it to Farmar cutting to the hoop, turnover. He hit LO with an interior feed for FTs. He stripped Maggette on the drive.

Mbenga -- -- Not a good stint for Mbenga. He was called for a couple turnovers off the ball and a travel. He's played at a steady level for the team lately, but this time he was definitely mucking things up. The smaller Warriors can sometimes be tricky for a big, we were still able to keep Pau's minutes down. I think that was more due to the ability of LO to hold down the paint. The Stats: He didn't score, didn't shoot, had 2 boards, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 7 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He swatted a shot at the rim. Turnover out of the timeout trying to seal his man. He was called for a travel after getting a missed shot by Kobe. He was called for three seconds with a heel in the paint. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Brown -- -- He ran as lead guard at the end of the second quarter, bringing the ball up and covering the point. Again, these minutes may be clunky, but the team needs to integrate him as much as possible on both. The more comfortable he gets, the more our bench will benefit. Glad to see him in their defending the PG spot during meaningful minutes. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting and had 1 foul in 5 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He bricked a scoop at the rim. He hit LO with a return pass for FTs in transition. He was called for a touch foul, giving up a perimeter And-1 to Ellis. He was called for a loose ball foul on an offensive board. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Phil -- -- Phil said he wants the guys to work on defensive rebounding as a team, stopping direct-line penetration, turnovers that lead to transition, and knowing your opponents (all of them) in case you get matched up during a game with someone you aren't normally guarding. They didn't achieve that tonight, but those goals are what we need to keep an eye on... Some weak D by the Lakers on the perimeter and they trailed 17-11 halfway through the first quarter... The Lakers trailed 24-20 when Farmar and Sasha entered... The Lakers trailed 28-26 after the first... Phil started the second quarter with the Pau, Powell, Luke, Sasha, Farmar lineup... Very controlled, purposeful execution by the second unit, getting a 5-point lead when Kobe returned and Pau sat for Mbenga... Up 44-42, he went to a Mbenga, LO, Ariza, Kobe, Brown lineup and finished the half with them... They led 52-51 while shooting 45 percent to the Warriors 43 percent. The Lakers were out-rebounded 7-4 on the offensive glass... "We're just giving a lackluster effort right now," BShaw said. He mentioned they need to continue to pound the ball inside... The Lakers started the half with a 11-0 run, some great D to open that third quarter... LO picked up his fourth against Maggette and had to sit midway through the third. Phil brought in Luke at PF to deal with Maggette... The Lakers led by 18, then let the Warriors right back in it by giving up a 12-0 run late in the third... The Lakers led 82-73 to start the fourth with a Pau, Powell, Like, Sasha, Farmar... The lead was chipped away. Phil went with Farmar late into the fourth, running with the starters to close... Down the stretch, no high screen-roll action. They fed the post and got key scores... The Lakers shot 50 percent for the game, but had 22 turnovers that the Warriors turned into 23 points...

Game Flow -- LINK -- A combined 19 points from LO and Sasha in the fourth quarter. Good starts to the quarters in the second half.

[Vishnu]

1st

edit: yeah back-to-back 1st posts

[TheLakerFeeling]

2nd.

[MedRomLaker]

ROFL LMAO @

[hellsling]

It's great to see Farmar running the offense and finally realize that he doesn't have to break down his man down and score in every possession

[adtz]

it nice to see farmar and sasha perform. hope for more similar performance so that our first team will get much rest befor playoff start

[lngtimlkr]

good recap and thanks. the turnovers worry me more than anything else in this game. 18 the game before, 40 over the last two is not the way they're going to win on the road. trips to detroit and charlotte have been tough in the past and they'll give them away with nights like we've seen over the last two. good to see sasha and luke have impacts on the game.
5 and 2 is realistic if they clean things up and 6 and 1 would be too good to be true.

[AceFresh]

Still going strong, amazing you've done this all year DB!


Great stuff as always.

[ecksor]

[Dr. Laker]

[Addicus]

Thanks DB
_________________
Stop crying and start doing.

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

[abciximab]

The Magic Man slurping up spaghetti, then furtively ducking out......Gotta love the mental picture.

Last couple of games, they've had strong 3rd quarters, but struggled some in the fourth. Maybe meeting up with some hostility on the road will bring their focus back a bit?

Thanks for the recap as always, DB.

[10scott10]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[sia_kb8]

Thx DB. Enjoy reading your recaps.
_________________

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB!

Who said Luke has no hops?!?!

[targetman]

Under Luke

The second unit finally stopped their bleedind
_________________
Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

[Sage_10]

13th
_________________
"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[prisma8slg]

[limchrc]

Thanks. Nice win.

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

-what big man does G-state have that we need to double down and leave the shooters?

-luke???? on ronny???? i could not stop laughing

-welcome back the machine

-pau seems to be getting more and more frustrated with not getting the ball (and rightfully so)

-championship teams dont keep blowing big leads on their home court



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

[LakersDa1]

Glad to know that even when Kobe is having a bad game the rest of the

team can hold they own and win.. I still think its crappy that they

let them come back, but hey we got the W and that's what matters!!

[yanyon]

thanks DB...

[Klone_dd]

Nice to see the Machine cranked up and running on all cylinders. Looks like he got the memo.

Powell - pick, pop, jumpers, boards. Please no dribbling or playmaking.

These small, run & gun teams are teams that LO and Pau should feast on. Everyone else should just realize it and support.

Now it's back to playing critical road games and to re-bonding with one another about focus and commitment. The next 2 weeks probably determines the best record chase.

[BornAndBredLakersFan]

At least we're winning these close games in the end, usually. The team should mature through this huge road stretch, and be poised and ready for the playoffs. The Lakers have been blowing games against lesser competition for years, including the years with Shaq. For some reason, I specifically remember in the 03-04 year, when the Lakers lost to the Atlanta Hawks after beating them by 20+ points earlier in the year, and people were having this same conversation. Well, then again the Lakers lost to the hungry Pistons in the Finals that year, but I don't see that happening with an older, stronger KB running the show.