MAGIC -at- LAKERS - 6/4 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Final Battle Begins... "Someone is at the gates!" announces a nervous monk to the rest of the Order. "There are ... there are ... Four Horsemen." You watch as a procession of monks approaches the two gates where you and Angel await with the Four Horsemen and the Death Riders.

"Produce the keys!" demands the oldest monk as he squints at you with one eye, his other eye is a cloudy gray. You've seen him before, months ago, but he wasn't dressed as a monk. You cautiously approach and hand him the keys. He inserts them into a series of four locks and opens the first gate. "Where are the others?" he says loudly, looking around with his good eye.

With a loud "fooomp" a cloud of smoke explodes next to you. The horses bray and the Horsemen hold tightly to their reins. From the cloud appears a group of magicians.

The largest of which pulls off his top hat and shows you that it's empty. He claps his hands, shakes his fingers and reaches in. Out comes an assortment of oddball items: A minature Liberty Bell, a reeking and slightly burnt green jersey, and a "We are Witnesses" T-shirt. But no keys... He stands back, perplexed, then raises a finger as an idea occurs to him. He reaches inside his mouth and pulls out key after key, all strung together on a long golden chain. He gives it to the aged monk, who looks somewhat disgusted as they are placed in his hands. The monk opens the second gate.

The Horsemen and magicians stand aside. Angel squeezes your hand. It's then that you understand that the gates aren't for you to enter -- they are for something to come out. Hoisted atop the shoulders of several monks, behind a steel-barred carriage is the The Golden Child, Little Larry O'Brien... But he is followed by another and another and another...there is no telling which was the real Little Larry. Damn, those crafty monks.

Days later, back in your city, you stand amid the chosen battleground...a sandy stretch of beach, where it's difficult to run or fight at high speed. Death dismounts his pale horse and steps ahead of his army of warriors. He draws a line in the sand and screams at his opponent in the distance. His horse trots forward, he leaps on while it's still moving, raises a fist and the Horsemen attack.

As the battle begins, a trend becomes clear. The Horsemen are not fighting from a distance and sometimes not at very close range, either. They are working the spaces in between. Death is relentless. He is in a frenzy. This is their opponent's weakness, this is his strength. They've got them on their heels. Moments later, the bells ring out. You count them ... one ... two ... three ... and they stop. The Horsemen have won.

A bottle containing a message washes ashore at your feet. Is it someone asking for help? You know it's not, it's DancingBarry. He writes:

The Four Horsemen were here. Little Larry is in play, and they will take him by any means necessary. They delivered a crushing opening blow. Death led the charge, dominating the attack. The other three Horsemen each brought something to the fight today. Their opponent had no answers, and there was no mercy.

They will fight again. I will continue to track them...

"Let's get this thing off on the right foot." These were the last words of Stan Van Gundy in the locker room before the game.

With 8:32 left in the first half and the Magic up by 5, Phil Jackson called a timeout. He brought back in Bynum and Kobe, and the game turned for good. The depth of the Laker bigmen, combined with Kobe's deadly midrange game exploited the Magic and L.A. cruised to a 100-75 blowout.

Bynum and Gasol kept the interior from collapsing defensively against Howard (or the pick and roll). There were very few inside-out possessions for the Magic. The ones they got were generally to their least effective shooters.

"You live by the bomb, you die by the bomb," BShaw said afterward. The Magic shot 29.9 percent for the game. "The more we can play Dwight Howard straight up, the more we can stay with their shooters. If they want to keep bombing from the outside, we'll live with that."

For their part, the Lakers methodically avoided shooting the three. They didn't want the Magic to get transition looks. Instead, they focused on largely working off the high screens with Kobe. He got into the spaces and exploited them to the tune of 40 points, including and 18-point third quarter.

They defended home court and must do it once more to keep the advantage. The Magic will be scrambling to make adjustments on both ends. This series isn't won in a game, it's won possession by possession.


Kobe -- -- This was absolute destruction. He was a wrecking ball in the third quarter. He wasn't even in the zone, but he was slicing up the D relentlessly. Working off the high screen, he picked the Magic apart with that 18-point third. They didn't want to collapse the D against Kobe like we've seen and the Magic paid the price from the midrange. Look for Orlando to try to pack it in more on help D. If we start kicking out for threes, that might get Orlando's transition game going. The Lakers will need to mix it up then and go into the post. Kobe has had some big point games against the Magic. Good luck game planning against him. Some great leadership on the court by No. 24. Kobe was talking to his bigmen throughout the game, like a jockey whipping the horse on the home stretch. His eyes are on the prize and he's making sure everyone is focused. "We understand how badly he wants to win this championship. We all want it," Lamar said. "Kobe is a very focused person." In addition to some excellent passing and orchestrating of the offense, great job by Kobe on the defensive glass and protecting the rim. The Stats: He scored 40 points on 16-34 shooting (0-1 from three, 8-8 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 38 minutes. He was a +25. The Action: He attacked down the middle of the lane and hit a floater. He missed a baseline turnaround. He missed a jumphook. He flashed to the ball and hit a 16-footer. Quick step past his man from the midpost and he had his layup goaltended. He missed a hanging jumper in the post. He missed a tough leaner. He missed a pull-up 20-footer in early offense. He missed a layup at the end of the first. He shot 3-9 in the first quarter. He posted up Lee, stepped through the lane and scored the short one, he wanted the And-1. He drained a 19-footer off a great screen from Bynum. He swished a high arching pull-up from the elbow. He got tapped on a layup at high speed. He hit Fish in the corner for a three. He sank a tough turnaround from the elbow with a man all over him. He rattled in an elbow jumper off the screen again. He swatted a three on a close out. He missed a baseline jumper. He attacked and kicked to Pau for the baseline jumper. He missed a three. He attacked with speed and scored a layup on our final possession. He made 5-9 in the second quarter. He had 18 points on 9-18 shooting (no freethrows) and 6 boards. He was a +13. Second Half: He went up and under on Lee in the post for a layup. He sank a short baseline jumper in early offense. He missed a wing turnaround. He attacked, all kinds of contact with no call and he missed the short one. Quick attack from the post and he was tripped, going to the line for the first time 27 minutes into the game, he made both FTs. He worked the Pau screen, pulled up and hit the elbow jumper, getting undercut for an And-1, he made the FT. He ran the two-man with Pau, Lamar scored an And-1 off the high-low. He hit Pau off the two-man for a layup. He missed a long wing pull-up jumper. He froze Pietrus on the dribble, attacked, switched hands and scored the layup just beating the shotclock. He sank a 16-footer off the high screen next time down. He worked Pietrus over from the midpost, taking contact, pumping in the air and banking in a tough shot in the paint for an And-1, he made the FT (the killer instinct look after the score). He drew FTs on a rare fastbreak bustout, he made both. He kicked out to Ariza for a three. He missed a long jumper. He attacked left and missed the bank with his right at the buzzer. He had 18 points on 6-11 shooting and 2 assists in the third. He missed a fade over Redick (attack that). He backed Redick down next time, but missed the fallaway bank. Looked like he swatted Gortat from from behind. He missed a layup. He pushed out a break and drew FTs, he made both. He missed an FT jumper. He swished an easy 10-footer off the two-man game.

Gasol -- -- Looking at Pau in this game, it was all about the midrange game for the Lakers. Offensively, Kobe was working off the Pau and Bynum screens to kill the Magic. If the Magic don't trap Kobe, he's going to score on them in this situation. The Magic don't defend the midrange game very well and that midrange game of Kobe's is deadly. As soon as they start trapping, look for Pau to be more of a weapon with the ball. When he got the ball on the perimeter tonight, he was hitting his shot. (Again, the midrange game.) I'd like to see Pau get the ball a little more in the post against Rashard. Pau struggled a little early on, but Rashard has got no little defending this on his own. The few times we posted him up this game, it was trouble for the Magic. Defensively, Pau held his own at the PF spot (Rashard was a game-high -26) and the C position. Pau is a crafty defender, more than people give him credit for. He will likely have his work more cut out for him at the C spot at the Magic will explore some things. Pau drew two offensive fouls on Howard tonight and stayed in front of him when he had the ball. Some good three-quarter fronts at times forcing the Magic to swing the ball away. We also had to send some doubles to help Pau. A lot of different looks and Howard struggled. Pau got into a little foul trouble and that will be vital to watch all series...but he's usually pretty good of avoiding it. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-12 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards (3 offensive), 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: Slow start for Pau tonight. He got away from Rashard on a post entry feed, drew Howard to him and fed Bynum for a dunk to start the game. He missed an easy jumphook over Lewis, flashing weak to strong (more of that play, please). Crawford whistled him for a hold on the defensive glass, cheap foul. He missed a layup at the rim. He swished a 17-footer on the pick and pop with Kobe. He took the pass over a fronting defender and couldn't finish while looking to draw a foul. He dunked when Luke attacked and drew Howard to him then passed. He then drew a charge on Howard in the post, his second foul late in the first quarter. He missed badly trying to go glass on a turnaround. He lost the handle on a spin and turned it over. He gave Howard the baseline and then fouled him, his second foul with 3:48 left. He swished a baseline jumper on the Kobe kickout. He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting to go with 3 boards and 2 turnovers. Second Half: He posted up Lewis and drew his third foul on a turnaround (more please), he made both FTs. Howard led with his elbow on a spin and Crawford nailed him with a charge (looked painful). Nice high-low feed off the two-man with Kobe, getting an And-1 for LO. He scored a reverse layup around a help defender while working off the Kobe two-man game. He swatted a shot to ignite the break. He crashed the glass to put back in a missed Ariza shot in the paint. He had 6 points on 2-2 shooting in the third. He wheeled around the basket and hit the short jumphook. He swished the open elbow jumper. He blocked a Pietrus drive. He missed an elbow jumper.

Bynum -- -- Holding ground. You need only look at Howard's 1-6 from the floor to know what it means to have strong bigmen and length out there, as well as some bigman depth. Drew had to deal with some foul issues, but played strong enough on the glass and in the post in his 22 minutes to frustrate the Magic interior game. His defense and rebounding are vital in this series. Keep it up, Drew. He had some odd shades to the baseline against Howard, I think looking for help D. He needs to protect baseline and force Howard to the middle where Drew can use his length. We don't need to shade to help with Bynum out there. Offensively, Bynum was set up to start the game. (Doesn't that always seem to be a determining factor to whether he plays a strong game? Sure seems like a trend, but maybe it's a coincidence.) We might see the Magic trap Kobe more when Bynum is setting the screens versus Pau. The PFs will need to flash to the ball and set up Bynum with their passing on those. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-8 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards (3 offensive), 1 block and 4 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He threw down a big dunk to start the game when Pau drew Howard over and found him with an interior feed. He sank an elbow jumper on our second possession. No help on Rafer's drive to give up a layup. He took an offensive board behind Howard and scored the layup. Bad angle defensively and he took a foul on Howard. He posted up Howard, backed him down, gave a little shake and drew a foul on the turnaround jumper, he made both FTs. He was called for a second foul (looked like he might have tied up Howard). He sat with 3:14 left in the first quarter. Back in, he was blocked on a layup. He missed a left-handed jumphook next time down. He missed underneath the hoop off an offensive board and screamed for the whistle that never came. On the other end, bad angle giving Howard baseline, he reached and picked up his third and had to sit with 4:21 left in the half. He had 8 points on 3-6 shooting and 6 boards in 13 minutes and was a +12. Second Half: He rejected Lee's drive. He missed a layup he should have dunked. Another good challenge to force a brick on a drive. He picked up a cheap foul from Crawford at the 9:38 mark (weak call, contact initiated by Howard). He drew FTs on an offensive board and putback attempt, he made one. He missed an elbow jumper. He blocked Nelson's jumper.

Ariza -- -- Ariza seems to dial in his defensive presence as the series goes along. He struggled a bit against Hedo early. Luke actually did a much better job on both ends in this game. Hedo was cooled off after that start and wasn't a factor. Ariza doubled the post a few times and swatted a shot, but he will need to really pick his spots on those. Offensively, not a lot of open touches for Ariza. They tried to sag off him a few times and eventually Ariza knocked down a three in one of his few attempts. Kobe looked him off when he was wide open on a couple of threes...maybe Ariza should cut to the rack a little more. It looks like they don't want to take threes to keep the Magic transition game to a minimum. Attack the paint. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 block and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +18. The Action: Hedo got off to a good start against him, scoring on drives or jumpers for 11 points in the first half. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He swatted Rashard from behind on help D. He drained a wing three on a Kobe kickout. He crashed to pull down a Kobe miss and reset the offense. He curled down the lane, took the feed, missed but Pau cleaned it up.

Fisher -- -- Doubling off Alston will likely be one of our best options all series. Tonight, DFish was able to provide some help in the post. Howard would kick out to an open Alston, but he was shooting blanks. Offensively, Fisher looked like he had his legs on his shot. That rest may have done him some good. Fish, however, was also able to manufacture a couple layups off the baseline inbounds pass plays. He curled around a screen and the inbounds defender (Hedo) allowed the pass to the paint with a bad angle. Later, Fish just sealed Nelson in the paint while Hedo was out of position again on the inbounds and DFish overpowered Jameer for the layup. Keep an eye on those sequence as the series goes along. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-6 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 3 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +22. The Action: He missed a layup on an inbounds, got it back and scored it (he wanted the foul). He swished a pull-up at the elbow. He drained a corner three off the Kobe kickout. Again on the inbounds and he scored a layup on the pass. He missed a long challenged wing jumper. Cheap foul fighting through a screen to give up FTs on the perimeter.

Lamar -- -- After getting several days off, Lamar looked effective out there...although, there was a brief moment when it appeared he was holding his back a little. Excellent job on the boards. Lamar was gobbling them up. Rashard also had only 8 points on 2-10 shooting (2-4 from three). The more we can use our size with LO and Pau in the post against Rashard, the more he has to work. The more LO crashes the glass, the more Rashard has to body him up. We didn't explore Lamar in the post much in this game, but there will likely be adjustments that will need ball penetration via the pass. Hopefully, we'll milk it. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-11 shooting (0-3 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 14 boards (2 offensive), 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +21. The Action: He drained an 18-footer from the left wing. He crashed the glass on Luke's post up and jammed it back in. He attacked, took contact with no call and threw the ball away. His high-low pass was picked off. He deflected a pass on a good defensive rotation. He sealed Lewis in transition and drew a foul. He scored a layup off the back-screen lob play out of a timeout. Nice close out on Lewis to get a miss. He picked up his second foul getting caught in the air helping on Hedo. He had 6 points on 3-5 shooting and 6 boards. He was a +8. Second Half: Great seal on Hedo on a high-low off the Kobe/Pau two man and he scored an And-1 under the hoop, he missed the FT. He attacked to his right and was tripped with no call, bricking on his way down. He posted up Rashard, another foul on the post entry. Dive cut off the Farmar drive, he took the pass and scored the And-1 trying to throwdown over Gortat, he made the FT. He missed a three. He missed another three over Howard. He missed a drive to his left.

Luke -- -- Some more excellent minutes from Luke. He put together a strong two-way game. In that second quarter, we ran a little offense through him so Luke could use his size against some smaller defenders. He made the Magic pay. He took it Pietrus and Lee to the post and burned them for a series of scores. He had a nice drive past Hedo to hit Pau for a dunk. The Magic have a dilemma when Luke is in the game. They want Pietrus on Kobe, but Luke will make Lee pay on this cross match. The Lakers are going to go after him and it will force SVG to put Lee on the pine. Defensively, Luke was solid all night. Pietrus helped by missing a couple open looks, but against Hedo Luke's strength seems to help him quite a bit. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-5 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He attacked from the wing, drew Howard to him and fed Pau for the dunk. He posted up, missed, but LO dunked it back in. He attacked past Pietrus again and scored a layup with his left. He posted up Lee and scored the easy jumphook. He overpowered Lee again in the paint for a layup. Hedo tried to catch him with the swing through, Luke pulled his hand out of the cookie jar and Hedo airballed the force. He had 6 points on 3-4 shooting and 1 assist in 9 minutes. Second Half: He drew FTs off the nice cut out of the triangle, he made one. He jumped the passing lane, stole the ball and pushed up a break. He tipped in a Pau miss.

Brown -- -- Phil seems to be saving him now as a change of pace guard to give the team some spark heading into and starting the fourth quarters. Shannon didn't play in the first half. In the second half, he took Sasha's minutes from him. Not a lot of action from him, but he didn't stick out negatively, either. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting to go with 1 offensive board and no fouls in 8 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He was blocked on a drive, but got it back. He was fouled on an oop attempt in transition next time down. He missed a 21-footer in early offense.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha was the only player with a negative +/- in this game. After a weak first stint, Phil later went Brown in place of Sasha. We may see more of that. The Lakers don't want to settle for threes and Brown does a much better job getting to the rim or cutting off the ball. And, despite some better play of late from Sasha, Brown has simply been outplaying him. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 5 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He picked up a foul away from the ball. He attacked off the three line and lost the ball in traffic. Second Half: Nice chuck from three to just beat the shotclock, he missed, though.

Farmar -- -- Phil went with him as the first guard off the bench. Not great minutes from Farmar, but he was in control for the most part. It seems like he can get dribble penetration easily against the Magic. Once there, either draw Howard and dish or pull up for the short J's. Defensively, he may have to go against Nelson in this series as the Magic try to integrate him off the bench. That won't be easy. Jameer put together a very good first half, but faded. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 13 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: Rafer scored a layup over him, Farmar missed a three on the other end. Good help D on Pietrus to force a brick. Second Half: He threw the ball away, stole it back and missed a baseline jumper just getting it off in time. He attacked the lane and hit LO for the And-1. He spun past Rafer in the post, but missed the layup. He forced a pass on the two-man game for a turnover.

Powell -- -- Some spot duty minutes. Interesting that Phil went with him in the final minute of the first half to relieve Pau from picking up a third foul. Howard was out, so that may play in that move. I would suspect Mbenga would get the minutes against Howard if we need help against him. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting (1-1 from three to go with 4 boards (2 offensive) and no fouls in 3 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed under the hoop but got it back and reset the offense. Second Half: He swished a three at the end of the game to just beat the shotclock (should have just taken the turnover).

Mbenga -- -- He came in with 2 minutes left in a garbage-time lineup. The Lakers are probably going to have to dust him off in this series with our bigs fighting through foul issues. It might have been nice to get him in a little earlier to get some more run. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting, 1 board and 1 turnover in 2 minuts. He was a +2. The Action: He didn't play in the first half. Second Half: He scooped up a loose ball and airballed trying to beat the shotclock.

Phil -- -- Lakers ran a weakside rotator over on the two-man D to cover the player that popped in the middle of the court... Mostly single coverage on Howard defensively early on. Though, Bynum did shade him once or twice to help... Phil sat DFish for Farmar late in the first... The Magic led 24-22 after the first quarter. Pau played horrible offensively that quarter. Lakers missed a lot of chippies... Nelson started the second quarter... Phil started a Pau, Lamar, Luke, Sasha, Farmar lineup... Nelson picked apart that lineup for easy scores, and the Magic took a 33-28 lead. Phil called timeout and put Kobe and Drew back in... The Lakers went on a 6-0 run to take the 34-33 lead and force a timeout... The Lakers worked the Kobe/Bynum pick and roll to extend the run to 10-0, forcing another Magic timeout... He brought in Powell with 49 seconds for Pau to save from Pau getting a third... Winning the second quarter 31-19, the Lakers led 53-43 at the half. The Lakers shot 52 percent (25-48, 1-4 from three, just 2-2 from the line). The Magic shot 36 percent (14-39, 3-11 from three, 12-14 from the line). The Lakers have led in both games against the Magic at the half this year. They needed to come out strong... Bynum picked up his fourth on poor call by Crawford and had to sit with 9:38 into the half... The Lakers pushed out to a 68-50 lead, initiating the offense through Kobe. The Magic called a timeout... With a 25-point lead, Phil sat Fish with 1:38 in the third for Brown... The Lakers won the third 29-15. They led 82-58 heading into the fourth... "We kept them off-balance," Phil said of the Lakers D on the Magic... He started a Pau, Lamar, Luke, Brown, Farmar lineup (no Sasha). They extended the lead a little... Orlando went to their two bigman, Howard/Gortat lineup against Bynum and Lamar. SVG said he probably won't run this again... The Lakers maintained their huge lead all fourth quarter... Very few turnovers in this game by both teams, neither was in double digits... The Lakers won the points in the paint 56-22... The Lakers were very disciplined from the three line, as well, only taking 9 and making 3. The Magic shot 8-23 from three... "We were trying to stop penetration. That's what you try to do every single night," Phil said. Phil was impressed by our interior D. If you don't collapse, you can stay on the shooters more... Now it's up to the Magic to adjust. "We have to find out a way to anticipate what they are going to come back and do against us," Phil said...

Game Flow -- LINK -- A 13-1 run in the second quarter (10-0 during two Magic timeouts) took the game from the Magic. The Lakers had 5 runs and the Magic only 1 from that point on.

[Vishnu]

Lanny I wanted to be 1st

edit: thanks DB

just playing with you lanny

[IPK]

reading...

[LakersFan_73]

Very excited about the win. 3 more to go! Thanks DB.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!!

13 Down, 3 To Go!

[JUST-MING]

As the battle begins, a trend becomes clear. The Horsemen are not fighting from a distance and sometimes not at very close range, either. They are working the spaces in between. Death is relentless.

THOSE SICK MID-RANGE JUMPERS OF DEATH!!! .

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Total domination by the Lakers to earn the win in game one.
Kobe has the determination to take over the game when needed.
Pau, Dru and even Luke came up huge tonight.

Thanks as always for the recap DB!

13 down, 3 more wins until the Celebrations begin.
_________________
"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.

[lakersfreak]

DB
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Forget carbon, reduce your government footprint

[sonimala]

The climax is near DB!!!
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Miami police will not arrest Dirk for stealing LeBron's ring. The victim never witnessed the crime since he left 12 mins before the theft. As tweeted by: The Bill Walton Trip

[usa]

Good win
Expect Orlando to come out hard in game 2 and that is when you find out who want it more.

[chilake24]

a very good analysis from a magic fan in realgm

I want Orlando to win, but am not a homer, so am going to tell Orlando homers, they are in trouble. Bynum and Gasol were pretty effective of moving Howard, or simply hacking him. Odom scares Rashard Lewis. If Howard can't be dominant. Orlando doesn't stand a chance.
Then Lakers are much smarter, they choose to leave Rafer open, in certain shots.
Then you are experimenting with Jameer a guy that plays at a whole different rhythm

[PopcornMachine]

[Colby Briant]

THanks DB

It was great way to start the series. You just get that feeling that Orlando just cant match up. But we'll see of course.

[Dr. Laker]

Good job, DB.

Lost in all this - the Lakers left alot of points on the rim. Hit our chippies and this is a 120+ point night.

Magic won't shoot 29.9% again, but we won't blow so many bunnies, either.
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[ReaListik]

Tremendous game by Kobe and a great win by the Lakers. They sent a definitive statement, and that is "this is our time as champions".

B. Shaw was right on the money, you choose to live by the 3 you will more often times die by the 3.

The Magic shot a surprisingly low percentage and I highly doubt they shoot like that again. Dwight is going to come out like a monster so we need to step up the intensity even more.

Kobe and Gasol being extremely effective on the offensive end as well as defensive will help put us over the top, as well as having Lamar step up and be the player we need him to be.
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"We are the goodest." - Shaq ESPN interview

[AllorNothing]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

3
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[Wilt]

For such a strong team, it is remarkable that they don't really have anybody who can create a shot on the perimeter. Even Nelson needs picks to get open. All their creativity comes from exploiting fast close outs by other teams where they can use fakes and then penetrate to the basket. It's good that we forced them baseline a number of times, making their lack of one on one talent even more apparent.
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¡Hala Madrid!

[DancingBarry]

[LakerSanity]

I've been critical of Phil a lot in the last month or so, but I have nothing to give but praise when it comes to his coaching performance in game 1. A lot of the times it just comes down to the players abilities to perform, but Phil certainly put his players in the best positions to do that in this game. Our defensive strategy was perfect as were his substitution patterns (note how little Sasha played and how many impact minutes Luke/Bynum played).
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[Mation]

Thanks DB!

I like how Ariza adjusts his defense over the course of a series. Against Artest and Melo he took about a couple games to fully implement a solid defensive game-plan. Slowly but surely Artest and Melo felt his presence. Can't wait to see this unfold on Hedo. Truly methodical and I believe he learns more effectively on the court instead of video.

Also impressed with Odom's perimeter defense, especially closing out on the three-pointers. Hope the coaching staff highlights this for the rest of the team.

Loved seeing Fisher and Luke's play. I hope this mini-rest will be enough to carry Fish's legs for the remainder of the series. Luke/Ariza holding down the SF position! Keep it up!

Magic will adjust and Jameer looks surprisingly productive. Maybe it will have a negative counter on Rafer's play though.

Let's duplicate our execution from game 1 to game 2 with our Sunday whites! Go Lakers!

[8750]

thanks, DB
almost too good to be true... perfect attitude, great intensity, and even -can you believe it?- a very good defensive game plan... gasol and also bynum did a wonderful work on howard... and then the eyes of the tiger of the next mvp...

[RhodyRay]

Great job DB.

Lakers stuck to their game plan by covering the perimeter for the most part of the game. They did leave too many perimeter shots open later in the game.......but won easily. The Lakers need to tighten their defense up even more come Sunday.

Bynum set the tone early on Howard. YES Bynum needs touches. Give the man the ball and let him work. Getting him involved puts Howard on his heals and Bynum likes the challenge of playing against Howard. Bynum NEEDS to learn to stop making silly fouls.

Walton played a brilliant game and worked the Magic on the inside.

Fisher still SUCKED and left his man open way too many times for my liking. The Magic aren't going to miss open treys forever. Would like to see a much stronger game from Gasol. He started out rather slowly tonight.

Best coaching decision by Phil was reinserting Kobe and Bynum in the 2nd quarter after the bench had fallen behind by 5 points. Phil did not wait until the Lakers were down by 100 to actually make a coaching change. This move changed the momentum back to the Lakers and they never looked back. Phil earned his paycheck tonight. Need to see more in game coaching moves like this in order to win the big prize.

Overall great job by the Lakers BUT they need to be even better on Sunday. IF they can win Sunday....................the championship will be breathing down their necks!
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Let them HATE so long as they FEAR!