LAKERS -at- NETS - 3/27 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

(Note: A little background music to go with this.)

Never Appear Small... As you approach a bridge in the road, you are met by a large man with a massive throwback fro and hands about the same size. He seems to stretch skyward. You recognize this young bad ass as the one they call the "Doctor." You must be in the '70s now.

He immediately goes to work on you, speaking in riddles like MJ did. "I live my life trying to never appear to be a small man," he says. You think you recall him saying this in the past somewhere at sometime.

"I wouldn't mistake you for one." you reply. "I'm looking for the Horsemen. Have you seen them?"

"They are beyond the bridge. If you'd like to pass, you'll need a ticket." You have no idea where to get this ticket, but you expect this to come down to your ability to impose your will on yet another obstacle in the road. "How can I get a ticket?" you ask, taking the bait.

"You must defeat me," the Doctor says. "I warn you now, I demand more of myself than anyone else could ever expect." The two of you circle. You notice that he's no longer between you and the bridge. You make a run for it. You've got a sizeable lead, but he catches up to you near the end. You turn and take a swing at him. He dodges, rises up in the air and seems to levitate with no regard for gravity...or your face, and he connects with several kicks to your chops before he descends back to Earth.

He raises those large mitts of his. Electricity sparks between his fingers, forming brilliant balls of lightning. His hands circle in the air and he sizes you up. He begins to rise again. Hanging in the air, he hurls the taser balls from hell at you. You avoid both...barely.

You think of his comments about not appearing to be a small man. You go to your bigman attack. You seek out contact with him so he can't get in the air. You work his body with several blows before the Doctor crumbles. He smiles and steps back. "Well done. Here is your ticket, son."

You cautiously take it from his hand, no cheap shots from the Doctor. He appears to be a class act. As you head off the bridge and on the road you notice something written on the reverse side of the ticket. It's DancingBarry:

Three of the Four Horsemen were here. Pestilence overwhelmed his adversaries. They had no answers for his size and skill, but their opponents were able to scratch and claw their way back in the battle against the Death Riders. In the end, however, the tallest of Horsemen was too big, too skilled.

I will continue to follow them...

"This is a tale that's been told many times over this season," Phil said after the Lakers 103-95 road win over the New Jersey Nets. Once again, the Lakers flirted with disaster by nearly blowing as 22-point second-half lead.

Pau Gasol made sure nothing crazy occurred by putting up 36 points, 11 boards and 7 assists. He had several huge plays in crunch time. The bigman stepped it up on the second night of the back-to-back. Good thing, too, because Kobe had an off night and tweaked his ankle in the process.

The Lakers second unit once again struggled to hold the line. "It shouldn't happen. It shouldn't happen," Pau said. Phil said the bench is just not playing the game.

With 10 more of these games to go in the regular season, the Lakers clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. They'll need to get it together. Phil Jackson also rose to top on the all-time list of Laker head coaches for most games coached on this night.

The Lakers won their fourth consecutive game on this trip. Asked if they could be the first team to go 7-0 on the road, DFish said emphatically, "Yes, we can do it." Phil said they will be only focused, however, on Atlanta.


Kobe -- -- He sprained his right ankle in transition at the end of the half. His ankle was retaped at the half. He looked agile and effective in the second half, but you can play ball for a while after a twist. The question will be how it reacts after the game. Kobe struggled to score. His shot selection was fairly poor. He had one run in the third quarter where he got hot and helped the team push out to their biggest lead. Down the stretch, he took a couple poor shots, settling for the long jumpers. He also got to Pau, however, to get a series of scores in crunch time. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-19 shooting (3-6 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 9 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 41 minutes. He was a +20. The Action: He swatted a man at the rim on help D. He airballed a turnaround on his first attempt. He missed a wing pull-up jumper. He threw a pass away, layup the other way. He stepped around his man and reversed around a help defender. He missed a wild, hanging bank shot. Sensational attack in transition, blowing past one defend with a spin move, then immediately dishing behind his back to Pau for a dunk. He missed a wing three. He missed another wing jumper. He missed an off-balance turnaround in the post. He bounced a pass to Mbenga for a layup. He gambled in the post, lost and gave up a layup. Good work for a defensive board, he then outlet to Ariza for a dunk. He charged in transition, got his legs tangled and went down in pain. He went to the locker room with 52 seconds left in the half. He had 2 points on 1-7 shooting in the first half. Second Half: He hit Pau under the hoop for a dunk. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a jumphook in the lane. He backed his man down in the post and went glass for his fourth point of the game, 5 minutes into the second half. He made a tech FT. He didn't box out and it led to second-chance points. He swished a three on the Pau kickout. He popped out behind a screen and hit another three next time down. He jumped the lane on a Nets outlet to swipe a pass and set up Pau for FTs (Mamba on the loose!). He pulled up in transition and drained his third three in a row. He missed his fourth attempt after a timeout. He missed a wild attempt, airballing off an attack across the lane. He was blocked on a drive. He missed an open three. He missed a long three out of a timeout. Bad shot selection, chucking a pull-up with a man on from 22 feet. Another bad pull-up from distance, Lamar saved him with a putback. He hit Pau off the two-man sequence for a layup with 47 seconds left.

Gasol -- -- After a sub-par outing last night, Pau went big minutes and shredded the Nets. Down the stretch, this was Pau's game. He killed the Nets on both ends in the final couple minutes. He came up with a series of key scores on one end and some clutch stops on the other. The Nets were worried about him from the start. They tried fronting, zoning, and everything else they could think of. He wasn't just effective against the half court D, he repeatedly beat his counterparts down court in transition for scores. In the first half, he did not hold down the defensive glass, and didn't get any help. The Lakers did a much better job of going one and out in the second half. The Stats: He scored 36 points on 14-19 shooting (8-10 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 45 minutes. The Action: He missed an 18-footer in early offense. He scored an And-1 after taking the pass over a fronting defender and scoring the layup, he made the FT. He hit an early offense jumphook. He powered in another And-1, getting fronted before scoring the layup, he made the FT. He drew more FTs on a post entry pass, he made one. He missed a jumphook. He drew contact in the paint for FTs, he made one. He took the behind-the-back feed from Kobe and dunked. He faced up and hit the baseline jumper. He dunked getting out on the break with Sasha who stole the ball. He missed an 18-footer. he had 16 point on 6-9 shooting. Second Half: He faced up and missed a wing jumper. He dunked when Kobe found him under the hoop. He beat his man down the court again, took a pass and dunked. He sealed, took an entry pass and dunked. He drew FTs off the Kobe steal and pass, he made both. He swatted a shot under the hoop, challenged the next one and secured the board. He missed a short baseline jumper on the break. He scored a layup when the D left him in the middle of the lane. We found him again for a layup against the zone. He blocked guard penetration and controlled it. He faced up and hit a short wing jumper with 1:20 left. He took the high entry from Kobe off the two-man game and scored a layup with 47 seconds left. He spun on Lopez and dunked on the baseline with 31 seconds left. He pulled down a defensive board in a crowd and drew FTs, he made both.

Lamar -- -- Lamar had his jumper working. His form is looking great and the shots are dropping. He worked the pinch post for several jumpers tonight. Late in the game, he posted up Carter when the Nets went small. Nice mix of the inside-outside scoring. Defensively, again, he's one of the rocks on that end of the court. He had some excellent rotations and recoveries. His activity on the defensive end behind the screen-roll plays is vital for us to defend against the two-man game. He swatted shots and managed to avoid foul trouble. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 11 boards (4 offensive), 4 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 36 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: Great help D to recover, swat a shot, control it and push out the break to Fish for a three. He sank a 19-footer, pulling up off the high pinch post. He couldn't finish a putback dunk off a Kobe miss, dunk the other way. He drained a wing jumper, popping out behind a screen. He missed a layup. He missed a three. Second Half: He attacked, spun in the lane and hit the jumphook with his right. He hit Pau ahead of the pack for a dunk. He drained another wing jumper off the high pinch post. He swatted Harris's drive. He whipped a pass to Pau in the paint for a dunk. Excellent challenge on Boone in transition to force a miss. Back in with the lead just 3, he overpowered Carter in the post for FTs, he made one. He missed a jumphook over Carter. Nice weakside cut and he drew a foul while bricking the layup, he made one with 2:41. He put back in a Kobe missed jumper with a great effort on the glass.

Ariza -- -- He went up against VC for most of the game until the end. A lot of gambling by Ariza where he came up empty. Despite that, I much prefer seeing Ariza go up against Carter than Kobe, as we've had to do in the past. This is the kind of heavy lifting that Kobe needs. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-9 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He missed a layup trying to bring it down and go back up. He missed an 18-footer badly. He missed an early offense three, not getting completely squared up. He sank a top-of-the-key jumper off the pinch post. He swished an open three on the kickout from Pau. He missed a three late in the shotclock. He was fouled on the bustout, he made both FTs. He dunked off the long outlet from Kobe. He gambled for a steal and fouled. Second Half: He gambled for another steal on the perimeter, missed, foul on Pau. He missed a corner three. He gambled, this time won and knocked a pass loose. VC was sitting on the post entry pass, so Ariza attacked off the dribble instead of passing and scored a layup off the glass. He got drilled on some great transition D trying to take a charge against Harris, but didn't get the whistle (home court call).

Fisher -- -- He went up defensively against Harris, and the team, once again, made a point to deny dribble penetration and layups. They were going to get beat from the outside. Harris scored 13 points on 4-13 shooting (1-7 from three), but did have 14 assists. Still, you can see we were able to keep his offense perimeter-oriented. Offensively, Fish had it going from the start. He sank several of the Lakers first hoops. His jumper was connecting and he gave us a consistent perimeter threat (which is rare these days). The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-12 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists and no fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +19. The Action: He swished a wing jumper for the Lakers first score. He sank a three on the break on the next possession. He pulled up and hit a baseline jumper in early offense on his next attempt. He hit a 7-footer on the baseline. He hit the backboard on a corner jumper. He attacked, missed, got it back and scored the layup. He missed a three. He had 11 points on 5-7 shooting. Second Half: He hit a top-of-the-key jumper off the high screen. He drained a long corner jumper in transition next time down. He was called for a tech in the middle of the action (no clue why). He missed a sideline three. He sank a wide open wing three over the zone.

Luke -- -- Not a lot to Luke's game, but he did at least make more shots than he missed, which can't be said for the rest of the bench. Phil once again went with Luke at the PF spot a little. This kept LO's minutes down a little more than they probably should have. Luke was a -8 at the PF spot to start the fourth while LO rested for 5:31. With Lamar playing 36 minutes, you could have gotten him a few more minutes even on the second night of the back to back. The Lakers ended a Nets rally when the LO, Fish and Ariza returned to the game after that break. Bring LO back a couple minutes sooner and the Nets might not have gotten it as close. No knock on Luke, but we needed LO at the PF out there. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: His post entry pass was deflected to ignite a break the other way. He got into the middle of the lane, sealed his man and hit the turnaround. Second Half: He hit an elbow jumper to start the fourth. He missed a baseline jumper.

Farmar -- -- An ugly game from Farmar again. He and Sasha were a combined 2-12...that will do a lot for an opponent game after game. Farmar seemed to be consistently short on everything. The bench was outscored 38-12 by the Nets bench. Luke seems to be the only one with any kind of consistency for the bench. Farmar needs to get him the ball and try to work off Luke more. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-7 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He missed an open midranger jumper from the wing. He bricked a layup on a drive, should have had that one, then he gave up a three on the other end. He whipped a pass to Pau in the paint for FTs. He scored a layup off the Pau handoff. Second Half: He missed an open wing midrange jumper. He missed another midranger, way short from about the same spot. He drew FTs pushing out the break, he missed the first one short, made the second. He missed a layup with his left. He bricked a sideline three.

Vujacic -- -- He needs to elevate his game offensively. It's killing the Lakers and their second unit. His made shots seem so huge these days because of all the misses in between. Defensively, he had a decent game. He was able to swipe a few balls or cause turnovers with his activity. He had only one foul, but it was one of those kind that drive you crazy because they are so far from the hoop. The defensive effort is usually there. That's the most consistent part of his game right now. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 3 steals and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He drained a wing three with the shotclock low. He swiped a pass, pushed it up and bounced to Pau for a dunk. He missed a step-back jumper from 18 feet out. Second Half: Nice pressure D on a bigman at center court to force a travel. He missed a corner three. Stupid foul 90 feet from the hoop. He stole a pass. He missed a sideline three.

Powell -- -- Very quiet minutes from Powell. He was never integrated into the offense and he wasn't helping on the glass. He picked up a tech after a cheap foul. That's about it. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting, had 1 turnover and 1 foul in 5 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He drew a cheap foul on the perimeter and then a tech. He missed a turnaround in the post. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Mbenga -- -- His minutes seem to be getting a little wild lately. Somehow the ball is finding its way into his hands and he's quick to send it to the hoop. That doesn't help his effectiveness out there. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting to go with 2 boards and 2 fouls in 3 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He bricked a jumphook badly. He pulled down a Kobe miss, reset the offense, then made a nice drop pass to a cutting Luke to draw a foul. He scored a reverse off the Kobe feed in the lane. He missed a turnaround in the paint. He then gave up an And-1 on the other end. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Brown -- -- He came in for the final few seconds. Nothing to report. The Stats: No stats. The Action: No action.

Phil -- -- Phil became the Lakers longest-tenured head coach. This games with his 728th game... Phil didn't have practice this morning because of the back-to-back situation... The Lakers were aggressive on the offensive glass early on. They led 31-25 after the first quarter... The Lakers started a Pau, Luke, Kobe, Sasha, Farmar lineup in the second quarter... He would later swap Powell for Kobe... With a 13-point lead, Phil brought in Mbenga for Pau. All bench players out there. He then quickly brought in the rest of the starters to run with DJ. Amid these subs the Lakers gave 4 points on one defensive possession, not securing boards and fouling... The Lakers not going one-and-out on possessions defensively. Ridiculous number of second chances given up by the Lakers. New Jersey went on an 18-6 run to erase the lead. They needed better rebounding from the entire team... The Lakers led 51-49 at the half. The Lakers were outrebounded 27-19 and lost the points-in-the-paint battle 36-22... The Lakers went on a 16-0 run in the middle of the third. It was stretched to 25-2. Kobe forcing a timeout hitting three straight threes... The refs started giving New Jersey a series of calls to close the third quarter and the Nets had an 11-0 run to cut the lead down... The Lakers had an 81-70 lead to start the quarter after their 22-point lead was cut in half... Phil started a Pau, Luke, Kobe, Sasha, Farmar lineup. The lead was trimmed to 3 when Phil called a timeout midway through the fourth quarter... Excellent job by all in blowing the 22-point lead... Phil brought in the starters at this timeout (Lakers scored just 5 points in the first 5 minutes)... The starters eventually held the Nets back. Although the lead got within just 3, it never got closer....

Game Flow -- LINK -- Once again a dominating stretch during the third. They gave up half of their lead on an 11-0 run at the end of the third.

[dcarter4kobe]

first?
_________________
"He's a Zen master, so he can speak to you, and he doesn't need a microphone; you can hear him in your head, 'Ron, don't shoot, don't shoot.' Whatever, pow, three. I love the Zen, though."

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!

Great contrast on cheap shots... Dr. J vs Laimbeer

Pau, LO both played great!

Here's hoping Kobe's able to use that ankle Sunday!

[Dr. Laker]

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[10scott10]

[ReaListik]

lol that music is hilarious to read your analysis with. I was impressed by Pau's efficiency out there and the way that he got his 36 points. Was glad that Kobe did not sustain a serious ankle injury.
_________________
"We are the goodest." - Shaq ESPN interview

[ecksor]

Awesome. Thanks, DB.


And is it just me, or does Pau seem to be getting more vocal with his frustration with the bench?

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks again for the recap DB. The second unit is still out of sync and needs to get it fixed pronto!
_________________
"Just show up ready to work, ready to play, Have your big boy pants on, leave your diaper at home." Kobe Bryant
Anything less than a championship is a failure. Period.

[macwebb]

Man, that music was the bomb...I almost ran to the closet and pulled out my afro wig...I was almost ready to call Huggie Bear and Crockett & Tubbs...

Two thumbs up for DB...He got soul...

[MedRomLaker]

Sweet intro, what was up with the phantom tech's? that was I didn't see either incident, I watched the game but I didn't see any contact, very weak.
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11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

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

[DancingBarry]

[big E]

yeah, what did fish get his tech for?
_________________

[big E]

[Sage_10]

Thanks DB! Good stuff.
_________________
"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[20,000]

Great music.

I am cringing everytime I see Farmar enter the game. I know Brown is not yet comfortable with the offense, but I am hoping he starts getting more minutes soon. Farmar is just stinking it up this season. I know his confidence needs to be built up, and sitting on the bench is not the way to do it, but he needs to be yanked sooner.

Is it possible to track Farmar's year-to-date plus-minus? I swear, looking back to the early part of the season when the Lakers had huge leads and then lost some of them (going from a 30-point lead to a 20-point lead) coincided with Farmar's appearance in games.

My other issues with the team:
- Powell: he looks like he is trying way too much, particularly things his game is not suited for. He has a good pull up jumper, but he shouldn't be the first option every time down the floor. If he is at the 15-foot elbow and someone drives and kicks to him, he should take that shot. But he sometimes looks awkward trying to initiate all on his own.

-Speaking of awkwardness and trying too much, Mbenga is trying too hard. He should focus on rebounding and mblocking when he enters a game. Some of his shots are just too wild, as if he has no control over his mbody or his arms. And why is a 7-foot mbig man going to the fade away?

I will admit Mbenga sometimes does surprise, mbut that doesn't mean he should mbe shot happy everytime he is on the floor.
_________________
Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[20,000]

One last thing people should learn when playing basketball, lesson from Pau, when you catch the ball high, do not bring your hands (and the ball) down!
_________________
Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[Burgundy]

Mbenga is letting his recent success go to his head a little - he shouldn't be jacking up shots as soon as he gets it in the post as if he's the first option...

Lakers are in trouble with their guard rotation.

At this point, I'm all for a:

Fish/Sasha
Kobe/Sasha

guard rotation. At least Sasha plays defense...

[limchrc]

Nice win, thanks for recap.

[noJINX]

Of course there are many variables to the Lakers not holding on to leads. But, I see Jordan consistently with TO and missed layups/ bricks. Thus opponents scoring. Jordan started strong this year, with his head in the game, but for the past month or 2 just lackluster. He is one of my favorite players but come on.

If anyone sees him around town tell him to ditch the (bleep) that is causing him to play s***ty.

[Freakout]

[Addicus]

First off I hope my main man with the plan DB is feeling better. Get well, the Lakers need their muse.
-
Second I'd like to say that I saw some fundamental positive changes in the Lakers vs New Jersey.
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A. Derek Fisher attacked an attacking point guard throwing Harris' rhythm off for the evening. Gary Payton is jealous. This how you set the tone for the night.
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B. Although Kobe took mostly good shots and was off he never left the offense and actually did a great job of feeding the hot hand (Pau) during crunchtime. It was nice to see him not try to force the Captain Save A ***
in the 4th. Every followed suit and Pau dominated BOTH HALVES!
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C. Sasha had only one foul and DIDN'T COMPLAIN ABOUT IT!. He took it like a man. No whining, no hand gestures and no dirty looks to the refs. My hope for the Rise of the Machine this season has returned.
_________________
Stop crying and start doing.

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