JAZZ -at- LAKERS - 4/14 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Time to Dance... Opening the front door, you notice the lights in your home are already on, but that's not what startles you. Someone is blasting tracks off your iPod. The tracks change every few seconds: The Doors, Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N' Roses, Snoop Dog, Beach Boys, Flo'z, No Doubt. Someone likes local talent.

Cautiously, you step down the hall into your living room. That's when you see her, the voice on the other end of the phone. The same woman you spotted across that field back in December. Trouble. She's fixed herself a drink and watches you approach. You don't say anything, neither does she.

You walk over to the iPod and try to figure out why it's skipping every few seconds. You set it to shuffle and let it play. There's a tension in the room that you avoid by fixing yourself a drink, ice water. She watches you and slowly stirs the rocks in her glass with one finger. You drink that ice water in two gulps.

It's then that a thought flashes in your mind, "what if..." and on cue, it happens. The iPod switches over to one of the most embarrassing songs you have on it, "Maneater" by Hall & Oates. Three words come to mind quickly: "Oh...my...God." You try to play it off coolly, but she glances over at it, then smirks at you. And as if she's reading your mind and changing the tracks herself, another Hall & Oates song comes up, "Say it isn't so." Yes...you admit to yourself...yes, it is so. Maybe you should introduce her to the lawn gnome now, too. "Take me for a ride," she says.

Thirty seconds later the two of you are barreling down the road in your Yenko Nova. She takes a drag off a cigarette. "It's Angel, right?" you ask. She nods. "Do you, uh, smoke a lot?"

"Just doing my part to make the sunsets look pretty," she exhales. "Could you drive any slower?"

"I could, yes." You floor it, hitting 65 in an instant. She exhales smoke with a crooked smile. "I only smoke when the wind's not blowing." She says these obtuse things that seemingly end the flow of the conversation as you mull them over. "Where we going, anyway?" you ask, pulling up to a red light

"You ready to finally see the Horsemen?" She hands you an envelope. You stare at it for a second, then open it. There's a map, directions and a note, of course, from DancingBarry:

The Four Horsemen were here. This was a sneak preview of the battle to come. It won't be this easy. They handled their business without issue, and The Association has chosen an opponent. Time to dance. See you on Sunday.

I will continue to track them...

P.S. Hall & Oates? Come on, man.

It made for an awkward dance -- two teams who could choose whether they meet in the first round depending on the outcome of the game. They clutched, grabbed, fouled and had a couple words along the way. The Lakers wanted to take a well-played victory, but not show all their cards or play extended minutes. The Jazz resting Okur and Miles.

Late in the night, the Lakers second unit took control of the game, building a 21-point lead. On one hand, you worry about showing up an opponent...on the other, you want a sound victory to let doubt creep in their mind. The Lakers seemed to strike that balance in the 125-112 win.

And so they finish the regular season with a 65-17 record, first in the Western Conference, second in the NBA. They closed with a season-high 39 assists against the Jazz, who shot 47 freethrows on the Lakers home floor.

"They are a physical team, no doubt about it," Phil said in the Times. "I think it'd be good for us actually to play a physical team. That's what you have to play in the playoffs and they bring it every night."

Starting Sunday, the Lakers need to bring it. Sixteen wins. Do or Die.


Kobe -- -- Chewing the gum again on the floor, Kobe looked relaxed and pacing himself early on. Foul trouble kept him pinned to the bench in the first half. His intensity level picked up when he took exception to Deron trying to get some payback on Bynum. He throttled it up a little after that and put the Jazz on their heels. The Jazz have got their hands full trying to stop the Laker attack. They don't have answers for our impact players and that spells trouble. Kobe cruised through 26 minutes during this blowout. If the Jazz leave Brewer on him, Kobe can kill him in post or off the dribble with some efficiency. Look for some AK on him late in games. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-11 shooting (to go with 1-2 from three, 5-7 from the line), 1 board, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He sank a 12-footer in the paint over his man. He spun on Brewer and scored the layup. He picked up his second foul with 3 minutes left in the first. He returned to the game and sat a few seconds later getting his third foul. He had 4 points on 2-2 shooting in 10 minutes. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper. He missed a layup after getting bumped with no call. He then found Ariza for an open three. He orchestrated the break and set up Fish for the corner three. He traded some words with Deron after Deron's cheap shot on Bynum. He missed a wing jumper. Quick dribble to his right and he hit a baseline jumper. Poor switch, Lamar got his man, Kobe didn't get Lamar's, layup Milsap. He drew FTs on the perimeter, he made one. He attacked on iso to his left and powered up an And-1 bank over Brewer, he made the FT. He overpowered Brewer in the post and drew FTs on a help defender, he made both. He drew a foul on AK with 0.8 left in the quarter, he made one. He pulled up on the break and hit Pau for the layup (was trying to go to LO). He called for the screen and drained the wing three (that shot seemed like it was the nail in the coffin and set up the playoff match-up).

Gasol -- -- In a game where the Lakers had 39 assists, who was the leading assist man? Pau, of course. He and Lamar had a few especially nice sequences. Pau seemed to have his way with Boozer offensively. He's just got too much length and the Jazz are going to have to send help and collapse like crazy. The Lakers have to exploit this continuously. On D, he had some excellent challenges under the hoop. The Jazz are going to have to try to shake him off screen-rolls as much as possible to free up Boozer for jumpers. They will likely find Bynum the easier of bigs to attack that way when Deron is orchestrating the attack. Bynum can deal with Knight and his lack of shot much easier. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-12 shooting (4-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +16. The Action: He busted out with Fish for a breakaway dunk. He leaned to the middle, spun baseline the other way and hit the jumphook with his right. He worked the left block, turned baseline then hit the bank high off the glass. He missed a turnaround in the lane. He drew FTs when Lamar hit him with an interior feed, he made both. Low position on Boozer and he drew a goaltend on AK. He hit Lamar on the give-and-go for an And-1 layup. He lost Boozer badly with a spin move, but then missed the two-handed dunk. He was stripped in the paint. He had 10 points on 4-7 shooting and 4 boards. Second Half: He posted up Boozer and hit an easy jumphook. He popped out behind a Kobe screen and missed a jumper. He swatted Harpring, then drew a foul on him. He swatted Boozer on the next stand. He set up Lamar for an And-1 when he and Kobe ran the two-man game. He got low position against Boozer and hit the short jumphook. He swiped a Kobe pass that was going to Lamar and scored the layup (LO thought he had an easy two). He drew FTs after grabbing a loose ball under the hoop, he made both.

Bynum -- -- Phil was interested in how Drew would respond to the Jazz transition game since he didn't face them last year in the playoff. Bynum held his own, but he may be forced to move a bit more when Okur is out there. The Lakers can't camp in the lane with Okur's range and this will be an issue. The best option will be to take it to Okur on the other end to tire him out and get some fouls. Bynum said Okur is going to make everything different with his ability to spread the floor. "I'm definitely going to have to be more physical out there," he said. We'll see if Phil switches anything up. Drew continued to battle for low position. This was vital to his success before he went down. He was a load for the Jazz when he got in there. Some good work drawing fouls, especially for the second unit. This is going to help the Jazz get into the penalty real quick and stay in there. He won his first jumpball tonight since returning tonight. His shotblocking was also improved, but he needs to watch how he's using his hands since he's come back. A lot of pushing off that is getting whistled. Just use the body and impose your strength that way. "Come playoff time I think I'm going to be ready," Bynum said. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 8-13 shooting (6-7 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He missed a jumphook in early offense. He rejected Williams penetration, dunk the other way for Ariza. He missed a short one off an offensive board. He dunked the lob from Fish on the break next time down (first time we've seen that from those two since Bynum returned). He missed a jumphook, short. He couldn't finish the And-1 off the two-man game with Kobe, he made one FT. Early position, he backed his man down and powered in the jumphook. He grabbed a pass at his knees, took contact and still managed to get the And-1 layup in, he made the FT. He missed a baseline jumphook. He got the ball in the middle of the lane, easy layup overpowering his man. He took an inbounds and powered up on the baseline for a layup. He had 12 points on 5-9 shooting and 3 boards in 14 minutes. Second Half: Great center sprint to get early position under the hoop, he earned two FTs, he made both. He pushed off when he didn't need to as he tried to get an offensive board. He dunked when Ariza set him up on the drive and dish. He took a cheap shot from Williams who tried to drill him with a hard screen, taking offense to an earlier play where Bynum bumped him after a dunk (Bynum barely even took notice and happily took the offense foul from Williams). He filled the lane on the break with Luke and dunked on the no-looker. He hit Lamar with an interior feed for a dunk. He bounced to Luke for the baseline pull-up. He missed a jumphook. He snagged a loose ball and dunked it. He drew FTs after spinning baseline, he made both.

Ariza -- -- Some sloppy passing from Ariza and it usually resulted in bad things the other way. He's got to be careful with the possessions in the playoffs because the Jazz will quickly exploit that in transition. He did have some quality plays setting up others off the dribble. Just needs to clean up the simple post entry or swing passes in the Triangle. He and AK went head to head quite a bit, and Ariza held his own. AK seemed to heat up later on others. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-6 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He got tapped on a wing jumper that rattled out. He cut off the ball, took the pass, spun and lost his man for a layup. He packed Brewer's jumper from behind. He tried to force a pass to Kobe, turnover, points the other way. He dunked on the bustout after Bynum swatted a shot. He threw a post entry pass away, layup on the other end. He missed a baseline jumper. He attacked baseline and kicked to Sasha for the corner three. He missed a wing jumper working the two-man game. He blew past AK from the wing and drew FTs on a reverse, he made both. He drew a charge on AK in transition. Second Half: He sank an open sideline three off the skip pass from Kobe. He attacked off the three line, drew the D and set up Bynum for the dunk. Very nice.

Fisher -- -- Hopefully, the days off will allow DFish to recover those legs. He did look a little better on the jumper tonight, but the low minutes lately and the time off should help him to get his shot going. Fish was huge for the Lakers last year in the Jazz series. He could use his strength to match up better with Deron than our other options. We've got more flexibility this year, but he will still be the main man in the mix. The Lakers have to keep Deron out of the paint or always funnel him to help D. That will only get harder when Okur is out there. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: Deron fell, Fish scooped up the ball and fed Pau for the uncontested dunk. He attacked and threw a pass away. He picked up his second foul on Deron after 7 minutes. He missed a sideline jumper. Second Half: He swished a 19-footer from the right wing. He gave up a dunk and penetration on back-to-back sequences against Williams. He missed a long three trying to get it back. He missed a floater. He drained a corner three off the kickout from Kobe in transition.

Lamar -- -- LO was a +28 in 19 minutes. That's ridiculous. His perimeter shot was falling, he was making some nice extra passes, and the second units were clicking. He didn't get the huge rebounding numbers, but a few things conspired against that. The Jazz took just 75 shots, Lamar's minutes were low, and the refs seemed to be blowing the whistle on quite a few of the battles in the paint. When Milsap matches up on Lamar, I'd like to see more of LO taking it to him off the dribble. He has a speed advantage there. Whenever Sloan decides to throw AK on him, Lamar needs to get in the post. Then, there's always the Okur match-up if Phil continues to keep Pau on Boozer. All that flexibility that LO gives the Lakers will be key in this series. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-11 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 1 block and 4 turnovers in 19 minutes. The Action: He missed a three from the wing as soon as he entered. He hit a wing jumper with the shotclock low. He attacked off the Brown tip out, spun and dumped it off to Pau for FTs as he fell to the floor. He missed a 17-footer. He stopped on the drive and sank the wing jumper against the shotclock. He scored an And-1 layup off the give-and-go with Pau, he made the FT. He picked up his third foul and sat next to Kobe for the final 2 minutes. He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting. Second Half: He faced up on Milsap, crossed him over badly and scored the layup. He scored an And-1 layup out of the timeout when Kobe and Pau ran the two-man game, he made the FT. He was blocked by Boozer on a dunk attempt. He hit Pau with an interior feed for a layup. He swished a 17-footer, flashing from the weakside. He dunked off the interior feed from Bynum.

Luke -- -- His first stint was a stinker, but he picked it up in the second half. Nice to see Luke knock down some of those mid-range jumpers. His shot seems to have been falling a bit more the last few games. It couldn't have gotten much worse, but he's looking a bit more confident now. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-3 shooting to go with 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He threw a lob over Pau's head. He threw a baseline pass away. He then gave up a touch And-1 foul to Boozer and sat with his third. Second Half: He stole the ball on one end and hit a runner on the other. He pushed the ball out on the break (moving to the middle of the floor), drew the D and no-looked to Bynum for the dunk, then he had some words for a flopping Jazz defender. He hit a baseline jumper off the Bynum pass. He hit a pull-up 12-footer from the left elbow.

Brown -- -- As soon as Deron entered the game in the second quarter, Phil sat Farmar for Brown. I don't think you will see Farmar and Deron matching up too much. So, those minutes that DFish rests or has to deal with foul issues, Brown will be the go-to guard. There seemed to be less dribble penetration given up when Brown was out there. Typically, Brown had another sensational play in this one, he rejected another shot in transition D. Those kind of big plays will take the Staples crowd up a notch, and in turn, the Lakers will feed off that. Prior to the game, Phil talked about Brown a bit. He said he has a great attitude and is always looking for a way to help the team. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-7 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: Williams crossed him over and hit a long jumper. He swatted a layup, getting up high in transition D, unfortunately a trio of Lakers didn't get back down court to help. He missed a corner jumper. Great elevation on the offensive glass to tap out a board, it led to Pau FTs. Quick first step from the wing to score a soaring layup. He attacked with speed to his left, got smacked on the arm for FTs, he made both. Good perimeter D by Sasha and Brown to deny their men the ball and force a travel on a Utah bigman. He missed a pull-up 15-footer at high speed on the break. He sank a baseline jumper. He missed a baseline pull-up. Good effort in transition to get back and challenge AK's shot. He had 6 points on 2-5 shooting. Second Half: He let Williams get a head of steam and gave up a layup. He missed a layup at high speed. He drained a wing three on the Kobe kickout.

Farmar -- -- In the few minutes that he and Deron had head-to-head action, you could see the Laker D collapse. Players started to get open looks and the Jazz offense was clicking. Thankfully, the game was well in hand at that point. And, thankfully, Brown will likely get this match up defensively. On the offensive end, Farmar had a much smoother game. He still seemed to struggle to finish in the paint and took a wild shot, but the Lakers weren't struggling. On the Brown/Farmar rotation, Phil said, "What I like about it is that Jordan can still come out there and give us 6, 5 minutes of high-intensity, energetic, scoring offense. Shannon can come out there and give us some defensive posture and some real intensity out there that we need." The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-7 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 3 assists, no turnovers and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He ushered his man into the lane to draw FTs on Farmar's first defensive stand. He missed a 21-footer wide right. Second Half: He swished an open corner three off the swing pass from Sasha and held the pose. He returned the favor to Sasha, and The Machine hit the corner three. Nice drive and dish to LO, who made the extra pass to Pau for the layup. He missed a short runner in transition. He missed an open sideline three. He hit Sasha on a skip pass for a three. He scored a layup on the lob play. Wild baseline turnaround and he missed.

Vujacic -- -- "Thank God, we got the Machine," Hamblen said at halftime. Sasha gave the Jazz a lot to consider this game. They will be treating him as a legit threat in the playoffs. His shot looked money all night. His D was feisty, but foul-prone (hard to avoid that tonight). He will be on Sloan's mind when these two teams face up. Great time for someone to turn on The Machine. The second unit was clicking tonight. LO and Sasha had the best +/- for the night. Sasha said Phil has been showing a lot of confidence in him lately and that has helped. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting (3-4 from three) to go with 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +22. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. He swished a long jumper, his toe on the three line as he came off the screens. He drained the corner three off the Ariza drive and kick. He took a Pau kickout, gathered himself and swished the baseline jumper. He drained a jumper off the pinch post. He missed a heatcheck three on the next trip down. He had 9 points on 4-6 shooting. Second Half: Extra pass to Jordan and Farmar swished the corner three. He tied up Deron Williams to force a jumpball, he won it. He sank a corner three off the swing pass from Farmar. He was stripped on a curl down the lane. He drained a sideline three off the skip pass from Farmar.

Powell -- -- The action that Powell got in this game was a sign that the Lakers weren't bringing their A game tonight. With the game still in question, Phil had him rotating in during stints where you would probably have seen one of our impact bigs. That is doubtful to occur in the playoffs. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting, 3 boards, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 12 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He swiped a pass, then gave it right back on the outlet. He came off the screen, took the pass at the wing and swished an 18-footer. He was called for three seconds. He gave up a layup to Milsap on the other end. He pulled down a missed jumphook by Bynum and reset the offense. Second Half: He missed a face-up jumper. He biffed a dunk that would have been the Lakers 40th assist.

Phil -- -- A couple weeks ago, the Lakers looked fatigued and not peaking for the playoffs. With the infusion of Bynum and Brown into the rotation the bench, Phil seems to have the team starting to hit their stride again. Still a lot of things to work out, but a good sign as they enter the playoffs... The Lakers led 14-12 when Phil called a timeout midway through the quarter. We had given up a series of layups. We gave up a dunk out of that timeout... Phil was asking Kobe, Pau and Bynum where they were in transition D when Shannon Brown swatted a shot. None of them got back and the Jazz scored on a second chance... The lazy play continued and the Lakers trailed 24-17 at the next timeout... The Lakers trailed 27-25 at the end of the first. Some nice spark off the bench again by Brown... Farmar started the second against Knight... The Lakers were out of fouls 2 minutes into the second quarter... When LO picked up his thrid foul, Phil went to Powell at the end of the half when we had a 3-point lead instead of Bynum/Pau. A clear sign he's not taking this game too seriously... The Lakers led 56-55. The Jazz shot 29 freethrows in the first half, the Lakers 10. The Lakers had 10 turnovers, which the Jazz converted into 14 points. Both teams shot over 50 percent... The two teams played a tug of war during the third quarter. Kobe seemed to wake up after trading some words with Deron Williams. The Lakers led 91-83 going into the fourth... Phil started Farmar in the fourth. He matched up with Deron, but Sasha switched so Farmar could take Price. Farmar later matched up with Deron... The Lakers blew things open in the first few minutes of the fourth. Threes by Farmar, Sasha and Kobe... The Lakers cruised, scoring 125 with 39 assists (tying a Lakers record at Staples)... "It was a spirited contest," Phil said. He pointed out that it was the Jazz's fourth game in five nights...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Late in the third and to start the fourth the Laker second unit had two runs: 12-4 and 10-0. That took control of the game.

[LakerEric]

first finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks DB
_________________
Do you believe it now, Trinity? - Morpheous

[8750]

thanks, DB
i read just now that Tex Winter will retire at the end of this season... i think that LG should strongly support his induction in the Hall of Fame...

[DancingBarry]

[Mation]

Thanks DB!

53 points for the bench tonight. Way to rock n' roll into the playoffs!

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks for the recape DB.

16 more wins to go.
_________________
"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.

[LakerSince72]

[MedRomLaker]

Maneater" by Hall & Oates

man I was cracking up, haven't heard that song in a while, props DB.

Bring on the off's time to get Little Larry.
_________________
11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

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

[Sage_10]

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

[pointlance]

DB , you and jd2k and the rest of the other posters have been such a huge credit to this site and the laker nation. Really enjoyed reading your stuff.Lets see you and the lakers up your games for the playoffs. Viva lakers.
_________________
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
- Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

[limchrc]

Thanks, nice recap.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[KobeBryantCliffordBrown]

[quote="DancingBarry"]Time to Dance... Opening the front door, you notice the lights in your home are already on, but that's not what startles you. Someone is blasting tracks off your iPod. The tracks change every few seconds: The Doors, Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N' Roses, Snoop Dog, Beach Boys, Flo'z, No Doubt. Someone likes local talent.

Hey! where's the Clifford Brown?

Thanks for the write up as usual.
_________________
“It took many years of vomiting up all the filth I’d been taught about myself, and half-believed, before I was able to walk on the earth as though I had a right to be here.”
― James Baldwin, Collected Essays

[20,000]

Are we seeing the end of Farmar's stay in LA? Is Brown good enough to keep this up and perform like this in the playoffs? Is he good enough to be the backup PG next season? Does he have it in him to ever become the starting PG on this team?
_________________
Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[prisma8slg]

maneater

these intros are great.

thanks for the recap - I missed most of the first half.
_________________
"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."

[Rick12322]

Thanks DB, good stuff! I hope Bynum puts in extra work on his foot work. I don't want to see any travels called on him during crucial moments of the game.

[bryants2hot2handle]

thanks!

[Tanlentueux]

[sia_kb8]

Thx DB. This was a season worth of hard (and great) work from you with your amazing recaps.
I'm keeping a collection. Thx alot.
_________________

[Prometheus8]

Great recap DB. Loved this part:

"He took a cheap shot from Williams who tried to drill him with a hard screen, taking offense to an earlier play where Bynum bumped him after a dunk (Bynum barely even took notice and happily took the offense foul from Williams)." - Must have driven Deron crazy that Bynum barely noticed his hard foul. Like a 6-year-old trying to tackle a grown man.
_________________
"Every time he got an offensive rebound, it was deflating," Hornets coach Monty Williams said ... "I thought Bynum decided the series. He was that good."

"...one of the most valuable players in the league…"– Phil Jackson about Ron Artest in 2005

[Klone_dd]

When all is said and done for the regular season, this Lakers squad posted the 3rd best record in Lakers history. So after the team that won 69 (with a 33-game win streak), after the Shaq's most dominant season ever, this team had a better record than all the Showtime teams? Amazing to think that, isn't it? Not saying that this squad is better than the Showtime squads, but, for all the griping and piss-and-moaning we all do, it's very impressive.

Now all they gotta do is win it all.

I like how the Lakers approached this game, despite some early sloppiness and all those fouls. They should take the attitude that no matter who they play in the playoffs, that other team is going to get thumped. The Utes are probably better than an 8th seed, but they go into the playoffs stumbling backwards, with zero momentum and little confidence. There was no reason to let up on them in this game.

LO and Sasha with +20's. Wow.

Can't say enough about Pau this season.

Bynum rounding into form.

Memo to NBA: Don't get Kobe mad.

Finally, a huge shoutout to DB for his continued excellence year after year.

[mhan00]

anybody else take phil's quote about farmar coming in and getting "6, 5 minutes" as farmar being done? i actually laughed when phil said six minutes first and then immediately corrected himself to five. i think farmar sees very, very few minutes come playoff time unless he gets red hot or shannon brown absolutely collapses.

[vida24]

thank god we have the machine.

[Alpha]

Love the Flo'z ref

Great stuff DB! Thanks for doing it all (regular) season!

[LakerSanity]