BULLS -at- LAKERS - 11/19 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Return of the Missing Horseman... He is Pestilence. He is the right hand of Death. And he has returned.

The city had been on edge without him. You could sense it in the streets and markets. "Where is the missing Horseman?...When is he coming back?" they'd ask you again and again. All you could do was reassure them. "Soon," you'd say. "Soon."

Today, you make like The Postman and tell the post-apocalyptic survivors that "Stuff is getting better. It's getting better all the time."

The Spaniard is back. He has arrived, and he is ready to defend Little Larry O'Brien.

It's that little girl who is always by the city gates who spots him first. "It's him! It's him!" she yells, pointing in the distance to a tall figure leading the Horsemen and their Death Riders. They are a mass of rumbling dust, hooves and snarling beasts. These are the Horsemen you know.

They have captured a small herd of cattle. There will be a feast tonight. One of them is branded with a DB and a few words:

The Horsemen were here. The Spaniard towered among those around him. He has grown ... not in size but in stature, as they say. Little Larry has that effect on people.

The Horsemen are intimidating again. I will continue to track them.

The impact of Pau Gasol was immediately felt. He cleaned up the Lakers first miss of the game with a putback and didn't skip a beat. He went on to score 10 of the Lakers first 13 on their way to a 108-93 blowout of the Chicago Bulls.

Pau led the Lakers with a game-high 24 points. "I really wasn't expecting to be as effective as I was tonight," Gasol said in the Times. "The condition isn't there yet, but it's a matter of pushing through it."

Laker fans can feel the tension disappearing. The return of Pau had a rippling effect on several aspects of the Laker game. Kobe had to vacate the post when the Bynum/Pau combo was out there (although not always). He would return to the post when just one of Bynum/Pau were on the floor. They were always able to keep an impact bigman in the game. Their size advantage overwhelmed the Bulls. Defensively, he added more mobility to the two-man game. And with Lamar sliding to the bench, the second-unit was rock solid. (Phil played a minimum of three impact players at all times in the first half.)

All that seemed to overshadow a stellar Laker achievement. Another game, another milestone for Kobe Bryant. Tonight, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to take second on the all-time Laker scoring list. He is now only behind the Jerry West.

"It's a great honor," Kobe said. "I've been very fortunate."


Kobe -- -- Chasing Logo. Only Jerry West remains ahead of Kobe on the all-time Laker scorer's list. He sank a freethrow in the middle of the third quarter to overtake Kareem. Kobe had to play a more versatile game with the added bigman in the mix. He vacated the post more, faced up as a guard more. Once the Bynum Pau lineup was broken up, he went back in the post. He struggled to find his shot, but he was still drawing doubles. That resulted in some great passing sequences and easy scores for teammates. Kobe was also hitting the boards hard and ended up with a near triple-double. Defensively, he struggled with Salmons, giving up a game-high 18 points in the first half. That was really the only weak spot on the Lakers D. Phil said before the game that it takes the team a while to dial in Salmons and that they would probably get scored on early, but hold him down later. Salmons didn't score after the first half. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 7-21 shooting (0-2 from three, 7-8 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 8 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +17. The Action: He missed a jumper in the lane. He missed an elbow pull-up jumper in transition. He missed a three out of a timeout. He hit a lefty jumphook from the left block for his first score. He missed a twisting layup attempt. He had 2 points on 1-5 shooting in the first quarter. He up-faked to lose Deng at the three line, then attacked for a layup. He missed an elbow turnaround in a crowd. He made a tech FT. He attacked, pulled up and swished a jumper. He missed a three. He missed a fade in the paint. He missed a short one in the post, got it back and drew FTs, he made both. He posted up, drew a double and kicked to Ron for the three. He missed a turnaround from the midpost. He missed an open wing jumper. He lobbed to Bynum for the layup. He sank a two-for-one wing jumper. He tricked his man into giving the "foul to give" as he went up for a shot with 10 seconds left, he made both FTs. He had 13 points on 4-14 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: He missed a wing pull-up jumper. He posted up, drew a double and lobbed to Bynum for the dunk. He spun around his man and powered a layup over Miller. He turned the corner, attacked baseline and drew FTs, he made one FT to take Kareem's spot on the Lakers all-time scorers list. He made a tech FT. He drew a double team, then hit Pau for the layup. He missed a baseline jumper yelling for the foul call that never came. He missed a short wing jumper badly. He had 4 points on 1-4 shooting in the third. He sank a fade over Deng at the elbow. He swished a wing 20-footer. He was blocked or fouled on a wing jumper and was a couple feet short.

Gasol -- -- With Pau's return, the game just becomes so much more balanced for the Lakers. You add an all-star high/low post threat and the offense starts to explore a boarder range of options. Maybe it's a coincidence that you have six Lakers in double digits, but that should be a more frequent sighting now. The Lakers also get a return of their size advantage over teams. Pau killed the Bulls on the offensive glass from the start of the game. Defensively, Pau give the team more mobility at the C spot, which will help shut down the two-man game (and make DFish look like a better defender in the process). Phil kept Pau's stints short, making him the first sub at the 6-minute mark of the halves. This is probably due to not wanting to push Pau's hammy for long stretches of ball. Who knows how the rotations will settle down at. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 9-15 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 13 boards (7 offensive), 3 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 35 minutes. The Action: He tipped in Bynum's miss on the first offensive stand. He took the entry on the corner sequence and drew FTs, he made both. He finger-rolled a layup on the break when Artest hit him. He tipped in a Bynum putback attempt. He missed a lefty jumphook. He overpassed in the lane, turnover, dunk the other way. He sank an 8-footer on the drive and dish from Fish. He had 10 points on 4-5 shooting. He missed a short runner. He missed a baseline jumper. He scored a layup beating everyone down court and taking the outlet from LO. He missed a layup after overpowering Miller. He pulled down a Kobe miss and it led to a Farmar layup. He drop-stepped and scored a short lefty jumphook. He missed a baseline jumper. He swatted Noah. He had 14 points on 6-11 shooting and 5 boards. Second Half: Noah saved a board right to him under the hoop, easly layup. He was blocked, not elevating on a layup. He scored a layup when Kobe drew his man then dished. He was undercut while trying to tip in a miss and went to the floor hard, he made both FTs. He had 6 points in the third. He was stripped in the post. He was fouled trying to put back in a Farmar miss, he made both FTs. He sealed his man and tipped in a missed jumper.

Bynum -- -- The minutes will go down for Bynum with Pau back. Hard not to since Bynum was 4th in the NBA in minutes per game with 39.3. So, his numbers will go down with those minutes. The Lakers can rest Bynum more, and it's likely the team will have more blowouts and big leads, which will cut the PT short. While he was out there, Bynum was playing double-double pace ball. He missed a few chippies and easy ones, but he got about 15 minutes less than he usually does because of some foul issues, a minor ankle twist and the blow out. The Lakers did a good job of getting him touches while he was in there. They will have to be mindful to also keep feeding Pau for back-to-the-basket possessions. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-12 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 24:16 of action. He was a +9. The Action: He overpowered his man in the post, but missed the layup, Pau cleaned it up. He missed an up and under, Artest got it back and lobbed to him for FTs, he made one. He was stripped on a spin. He traveled on the right block. He scored a layup off the behind-the-back interior feed from LO. He hit a jumphook in the middle of the lane. He missed a lefty jumphook. He missed a layup, tripping over his own feet or something. He scored a layup on the lob from Kobe. He swatted Deng's jumper. He had 7 points and 5 boards. Second Half: He cleaned up a miss by Artest in the post. He missed a turnaround in the middle of the paint. He dunked off the Kobe lob. He missed a bank trying to work the left block. He picked up his fourth foul with 4:31 left in the third and sat for Pau.

Artest -- -- Luol Deng, welcome to lockdown. Ron Ron put him in the Supermax, the SHU. Deng had been averaging 19.1 points in November. He was held to just 6 tonight on 3-11 shooting. Not only that, some of Ron's team D sequences just stifled the Bulls attack. Great rotations and quick reads all night. Offensively, he fit just fine with Gasol out there. Even though the stat line says 13 shots, it wasn't that many possessions. He missed on several occasions only to get back that miss and try again or pass off. A fairly versatile game from Ron on that end. He hit threes, worked the post, drove to the rim and made some solid passes. Speaking of which, Pau should love Ron's post passing. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-13 shooting (2-4 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards (4 offensive), 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and no fouls in 34 minutes. He was a +19. The Action: He grabbed an offensive board and threw it up to Bynum who was fouled. He stripped Deng on one end, then fed Pau for a layup on the other. He posted up and sank a turnaround in the lane (we don't see that much from him but it's in his game). He missed a three, followed his shot and got it back. He stripped Deng from behind to save a layup. Sweet extra pass to Lamar for a layup. He was blocked on a slow developing post up. He drained an open wing three on the next trip down. He stripped Noah. He had 5 points, 3 steals in the first half. Deng had 2 points on 1-5 shooting. Second Half: He missed a post up trying to muscle it in, he got it back, missed again throwing it over his head, but Bynum cleaned it up. He missed a three. He missed a wing three. He scored a layup, cutting off the post and taking the Pau handoff. He jab-stepped and swished a three. He forced Hinrich into a travel with some help D. Deng was 2-5 in the third. He faced up Salmon on the wing, blew past him and powered in an And-1 layup, he made the FT. He powered past Salmon again, missed, got it back and muscled up the layup.

Fisher -- -- DFish is going to look better thanks to Pau. Not so much offensively (although Fish's perfect 5-5 shooting tonight was a nice sight), but defensively. Pau's mobility allows the rotations and two-man game to be a step quicker. That means Fish gets a lot more help. Rose scored 20 points, but on 9-20 shooting and against a variety of Laker defenders. He really wasn't a factor in this game. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-5 shooting (2-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He was stripped on a drive in transition. He hit Pau in the lane for a short jumper. He scored a layup off the pinch post. He sank an open sideline three off great Laker ball movement. He stripped Noah a few seconds later and scored an uncontested breakaway layup. He had 7 points on 3-3 shooting. Second Half: He swished a baseline jumper on the Kobe kickout in transition. He sank a wing three (after some further review).

Lamar -- -- Back to the bench goes Lamar and up goes his +/-. He was a team high +20 tonight off the bench, and our second units instantly look solid again. Phil didn't leave him on the bench long, making the Pau/LO sub in the middle of the first and third quarters. Lamar didn't lose anything in his game. In fact, we should start to see some better passing and more space for LO to work when those two are on the floor at the same time. Defensively, Lamar should also be able to get a little more aggressive and start patrolling the lane better. No more need to worry about putting the team in a huge bind because of foul issues. That Pau/Lamar combo is also very mobile so the team should see some excellent stretches of D. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting (2-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 26 minutes. The Action: He gave up a putback to Miller. He threw a pass away after trying to recover a high lob. He hit Bynum with a behind-the-back interior feed. He airballed an open 17-footer. He swiped the ball from two Bulls who were trying to catch a bad pass and he scored a layup. He scored a layup off the extra pass from Artest. He airballed a three at the first quarter buzzer. He threw an outlet right over Miller's shoulder to Pau for a layup. He threw an outlet away, probably trying to slip it past another defender and hit Kobe. Second Half: He sank a wing three over Noah. He hit another three next time down, this one straight away. He took a baseline pass from Pau and drew FTs (with some words for the Bulls), he made one. Lazy, cute flip pass to Pau and it was swiped. He missed a sideline three.

Brown -- -- He was the first guard off the bench. The defense looks very feisty out there with Shannon. He's always recovering and getting his hands on things. It was a relatively quiet game from him. He didn't have any big plays, but he didn't do anything stupid (which is an affliction our other bench guards have been suffering from). The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting (0-2 from three to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 1 foul in 16:34 of action. He was a +6. The Action: He stripped Gibson. Second Half: He missed a three, way too long. He swished a wing jumper off the pinch post. He missed a wing three.

Farmar -- -- With more talent on the bench, Farmar gets a lot more help trying to floor general the second unit. He will always have a post threat or two out there, so the offense should be pretty simple. Farmar did a good job tonight. He had a couple errors, but kept them to a minimum. Some very good defensive sequences and challenges from him. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 20 minute. He was a -1. The Action: He hit a cutting Artest, who then gave an extra pass to LO for the score. He missed an open three on a kickout. He swiped a pass and was called for a touch clear-out foul on the breakaway. He attacked off the three line, got bumped but still scored the And-1 layup with his left, he made the FT. Second Half: He missed a long heave at a three at the third quarter buzzer. He swiped the ball from Pargo to start the fourth, then lobbed to Shannon who was fouled. He attacked with speed, stopped on a dime and hit the 10-footer. Wild possession, not giving up the ball on the two-man game, then bricking badly on a leaner. He missed a bank out of a timeout. He missed a layup, curling into the paint off the ball. He scooped up a loose ball, gave it up, got it back and scored the layup. He hit Morrison cutting for a layup. Nice job tipping a defensive board out. He was knocked to the floor while jack-knifing in the lane for FTs, he made one. Sloppy pass to Ammo on the two-man game, turnover.

Vujacic -- -- Phil has put him on the deep reserve unit. With Luke out and Kobe sliding over to back up SF for brief stints, that should only open up minutes at the SG. Brown has been taking them. That loss a couple games back where Sasha killed the team in the fourth with perimeter chucking appears to have cemented his fate at the moment. The Stats: He was 0-3 from three and a -5. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a wing three, long. He missed another three long. He missed his third attempt from three.

Powell -- -- These will be more like Powell's minutes now that Pau is back. He'll need to keep his game sharp and continue working on that shot. Hopefully, we can string some blowouts together and he can get minutes. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting and had 1 block in 6 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a face-up 18-footer.

Mbenga -- -- Some late garbage time for DJ with a big lead. That's how we like it. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting and had 1 foul in 4:34. He was a -5. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: Nice D on Pargo who was trying to lose him with dribble trickeration, turnover Pargo. He missed a wing jumper. He sank a baseline jumper with the shotclock low.

Morrison -- -- He seemed like one of the few deep bench players who was engaged and running the offense. Good minutes for him. With Kobe sliding to the SF, Adam didn't get into the thick of the action tonight. Hard to say how much he will see even with Luke out. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting and had 3 boards in 4:34 of action. He was a -5. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He scored a layup cutting baseline and taking the bounce pass from Farmar. He missed a wing jumper.

Phil -- -- After all his poking and prodding, Phil finally has Pau back on the floor after the injury. Time to string some wins together... Up-tempo pace early on. Lakers had 5 offensive boards, but just as many turnovers. They were tied 13-13 midway through the first quarter, but Pau had 10 of the 13. Welcome back... Lamar came in for Pau at that first break.. Phil then went to Brown and Pau for Fisher and Bynum a few minutes later... He finished the period with a Pau, LO, Artest, Brown, Farmar unit... The Lakers led 25-19, despite 6 turnovers... Lakers sank their first jumpshot 4 minutes into the second quarter. They were scoring everything in the paint. Kobe was struggling going 3-11 midway through the second. ... Lakers went on an 8-0 run behind a three and steal from DFish. Bulls called a timeout with the Lakers up by 12... The Lakers led 53-42 at the half, shooting 46 percent (21-46). Bulls shot 41 percent (18-44). Lakers had 9 turnovers, Bulls 10. The Lakers scored 17 of their 21 makes in the paint... The Lakers opened the third on a 6-0 run forcing a timeout (two layups and a dunk)... An 8-0 Bulls run cut the lead to 11... Again, Phil subbed in LO for Pau at the 6-minute mark... Bynum got into foul trouble, so Phil brought back Pau a minute and a half after he sat him... The Lakers led 84-67 after three... Phil started the fourth with the Pau, Lamar, Artest, Brown, Farmar lineup... Phil subbed out Artest for Kobe... With the game out of reach, Phil put in Powell for LO midway through the fourth, the the rest of the bench shortly later... The Lakers had 60 points in the paint, the Bulls 40...

Game Flow -- LINK -- The Lakers had too much talent. Check out that first-half rotation. Phil was able to keep at least three impact players on the floor at all times. Often four of them were out there. That's going to destroy teams.

[ocho]

My first first?
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14-5-3-12

[KoPauChicken]

Wow 2nd -_-
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[SoCaLjAy]

Thanks DB!

[calistrtballr]

Salmons plays good D on kobe since his Kings days

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks as usual DB

[Ray_Gonzoles]

It was so good to have Pau back. Offensive flow was much better. Hopefully Dru will be ready on Sunday.

Thanks DB!
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"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.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks as always DB! Sorry I had to miss this game, this recap is the next best thing.

[lounger]

nice DB. Let the fun begin!

[sia_kb8]

Thx DB. I always appreciate the time you put into these recaps. Nice write up, as usual.

Here's one typo:

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB. it's great to have pau back
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"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."

[limchrc]

Nice, thanks.

[Klone_dd]

Finally, the season has started!

Pau is just too silky smooth. His presence helps so much in the offense and defense and puts everyone in his proper place. Especially LO and the 2nd unit so that JoFar isn't the primary playmaker of the 2nd unit with LO out there. That's a good thing.

Kobe and Bynum will have to adjust a little, but it's better in the long run, of course.

RonRon made Deng invisible the entire game. And did I see Fish actually make 2 layups in a game?

[StuLantz#1]

Missed the game but glad to hear about the convincing win and Gasol picking up where he left off. Looks like that was Bynum's first non big game, so obviously it's just harder for him to operate down there now. Nice to know at least what kind of allstar numbers he can put up if given the chance--I think most Laker and non Laker fans are convinced now--it's just too bad we probably won't see it as much anymore (he has to get use to the reduction in minutes again too). At the end of the day I rather be blowing out teams, but in a perfect world Bynum and Gasol would be clicking up front like they did last Feb.

I saw it mentioned in another thread and I totally agree that I hope our three point shooting improves because I can just feel the zones coming. I will say that it's funny how suddenly allowing zone defense a few years ago has made such a big impact on this franchise. They did it to stop Shaq, Boston wouldn't have stopped us in 2008 without it, and now imagine if teams weren't allowed to zone up the inside threat we currently have without zone defense. Zone defense has been such a crutch/favor to the rest of the league. Opposing fans should be sending thank you letters to Stern every day.

[2The4th]

Lakers' unbeatable with Fisher shooting well.

[Burgundy]

Kenny the Jet had a pretty inciteful comment about the Lakers in the post game:

You can't "box" the Lakers. The only way to beat them is to turn it into a street brawl.

The Lakers are more talented, smarter, and longer than any team in the league. If you play them straight up (like the Bulls did), they will run you off the floor (which the Lakers did).

The only teams capable of giving the Lakers serious problems are the thuggish (Denver), dirty (Boston), and/or high-energy physical (Houston) teams.

Portland is a team that seems to give the Lakers problems, too, but I think that's because Portland has a ton of length, which matches up well with LA.

As far as Charlotte goes...I think that's pretty much 100% mental block.

[City_Dawg]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[Scherm]

Pau was great. It was also fun to see Artest locking down Deng. Even the TNT crew finally noticed--bright fellows that they are.

[Burgundy]

[City_Dawg]

But Pau is a sofa, he's soft isnt he?
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*sighs*

!...

[yanyon]

great job DB...