GRIZZLIES -at- LAKERS - 1/2 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Unhappy New Year... Staples Center is growing angrier by the game. They are tired of the dumb turnovers. Tired of the low hoop IQ and inept offense. Tired of hosting passionless, garbage ball. They let their Lakers have it in the second half tonight, raining down "Boo's" at various opportunities during the 104-85 blowout loss to Memphis.

"They have a right to boo," Kobe said afterward.

The Lakers once again lost every quarter of a game in a blowout loss. It has been an all-too-frequent occurrence of late. When that is happening with consistency and your lineup is relatively healthy, it's not about a single player or a unit or a coach -- it takes a group effort to do that.

"Just about every category we got outplayed tonight," Phil said.

In the last couple games, the Lakers at least had all of their impact ballers playing impact ball. Tonight, only Kobe and Drew showed up. Bynum made his impact on D, while Kobe tried to spark a struggling offense to life by himself. Pau and Lamar mostly watched.

"A lot of the things we wanted to do in this ball game we never accomplished. We never got that started," Phil said, a frustrating thing for a coach. He highlighted Pau scoring the first few points of the game and then never becoming a factor afterward. "We didn't use our strengths, which is our inside players," he said.

Rarely establishing their bigmen, the Lakers had 13 assists to go with 20 turnovers. Memphis worked those 20 turnovers into 18 points -- dunks, layups and odd-man breakaways again and again. They were quicker to loose balls, more aggressive on the offensive glass and dominated the Lakers.

"They were out-worked tonight," Phil said of his team. "Memphis played harder than they did."


Kobe -- -- "Kobe has to screw up the game and start energizing the team by going one on one and that takes the rest of the guys out," Phil said afterward. The offense was sputtering, nothing was working, so Kobe tried to ignite them. Unfortunately, it fell apart in the third quarter for the Lakers. He wasn't shooting them out of it, however. The team had little flow before his offensive burst and little after. He had fairly normal offensive numbers for Kobe. He worked his way to the rim a number of times and hit the midrange jumper. He couldn't hit from three and took too many. Several were while not running the offense and that's a problem. Not the reason they lost, but a problem. Part of that was trying to keep the team in the game, but he'd have been better off working those possessions through the post and helping to keep everyone involved while being aggressive himself. Tough for him to strike that balance, I think, when he sees the team floundering as badly as they did in the first half. Defensively, he got to roam off of Tony Allen. When the Grizzlies brought in Mayo (a threat offensively) for Allen, Memphis changed the game in the third quarter. That's when they took over. Another blowout, another tech for Kobe. He picked this one up after hitting a jumper. He had been irked out the no-calls again and apparently griped one too many times. He's sporting the white tape on fingers on both hands now. The Stats: He scored 28 points on 10-22 shooting (1-7 from three, 7-8 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He ballwatched and gave up a layup. He was picked on the other end, turnover. He lobbed to Bynum who spun backdoor. He deflected the ball from a big to get a stop. His pass under the hoop was picked off. He missed a point-blank layup backing his man down. He swished an elbow turnaround jumper. He missed a 15-footer. He kicked out to Fish for a three. He attacked the paint out of a timeout and drew FTs, he made both. He drained a pull-up three in early offense. He missed an easy step-through bank after losing his man in the paint. He missed a three in early offense. He threw the ball away at the end of the half. He had 7 points on 2-6 shooting, 2 assists and 3 turnovers in 17 minutes. Second Half: He forced a three up in early offense, then let his man score a layup while he complained. He swiped a pass and attacked in transition for a layup. He hit a floater in a crowd, yelling for the And-1 that didn't come (then had more words for the ref at the timeout). He missed a wing jumper, got it knocked back to him and weaved his way for a layup. He drew FTs on an attack off the high screen, he made one. He probed the lane, lost his man on a rock-back dribble and hit the 12-footer. He missed a long three. He was tripped and nearly hit the shot over his head as he fell, he went to the line and made both FTs. He drilled a step-back 16-footer over Gay on iso. He missed an off-balance heave at the buzzer. He attacked the paint off the Bynum screen and hit a runner. No D on Mayo and he gave up a three on the other end. He pumpfaked Gay into the air and drew FTs, he made both. He crossed over his man, but missed the open jumper. He missed a three. He missed an open three on a kickout (should have moved in a little closer). He worked into the lane, pivoted and sank a turnaround, then picked up a tech yelling at the ref for the no call. He attacked strong to the rim and scored out of a timeout. He missed a pull-up three in transition.

Gasol -- -- It seemed like he was active early on, then he completely disappeared out of our offense as a threat. When Pau has 5 turnovers and no assists, something is very wrong on the floor...not to mention that he barely scratched double digits in scoring. "We didn't use that focus that we have in the ball game," Phil said. "We started out the game, I think Pau got 6 out of our first 8 points. He didn't score again in the first half...he's too good of a player for a game like that." Yep. Phil hammered on this after the game, clearly irked that they didn't use their post presence effectively. There was no one-two punch in the game and it looked like it. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-9 shooting to go with 8 boards, 2 blocks, 5 turnovers and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He swished a face-up baseline jumper off the repost from Fish. He worked the post for a short lefty hook. He got a tough turnaround in the lane to bounce in. He blocked Randolph's drive. He swatted Thabeet from behind. He airballed a one-hander in the lane. No rotation and Phil barked at him after a score and during a timeout. He missed an open baseline jumper off a kickout. He had 6 points on 3-5 shooting, 3 boards and 3 turnovers in 15 minutes. Second Half: Strange execution between Kobe and Pau to start the half, Pau's cross-court pass was picked off in the process. He scored the layup off the high-low from Bynum. He sank a face up jumper to start the fourth. He was called for a travel in the post. He missed a layup off a high-low pass. He attacked baseline and was blocked.

Bynum -- -- Drew's defensive game was one of the few highlights. He was swatting shots or changing drives with excellent challenges. He was taking care of the glass, as well. Bynum was the only Laker in double digits on the board. He led the team in both offensive and defensive rebounding. As Phil mentioned, it wasn't really the defense that was the problem (aside from some poor rebounding by others). The poor offensive execution led to an absurd number of easy runouts or shots in transition. That will take Bynum's anchoring out of the equation defensively. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-8 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 11 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 5 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He was tripped on an attack across the lane for FTs, he made one. He swatted a Conley jumper stepping out behind a screen, he then controlled it. He slammed in a backdoor lob off a spin on the other end. He missed a lefty jumphook. His jumphook was goaltended. He lost control of the ball on a screen roll. He had 5 points, 4 boards and 2 blocks in the first quarter. He swatted Conley out of bounds to erase a drive. He blocked Gasol on help D from behind Lamar. He dunked off the Artest drive and dish. He missed a jumphook in the middle of the middle of the paint. He got a piece of a drive by Gay. He had 7 points, 7 boards and 5 blocks in the first half, triple-double pace. Second Half: He hit Pau on the high-low for a layup, excellent read in the triangle when Pau's man was fronting. He scooped up a loose ball, gathered himself, made a power pivot and scored with his left as his man was on his heels. Strong D on Randolph's drive to force a miss. He grabbed an offensive board and went up softly on a jumphook and missed.

Artest -- -- Aside from a nice drive and dish to set up Drew for a dunk, his passing was horrible in this game. He only took a couple of shots. So, when he's not even moving the ball well or making the post entry correctly, that's not good at all. The SF position gave the Lakers nothing. That hasn't been the case in some of the previous blowouts if you are looking for trends. Tonight, Barnes and Artest were badly outplayed. There was a key stretch in the third quarter of this game when the Grizzlies brought in Mayo and put him on Ron defensively. Ron went to the post, but found out that we were ignoring the post tonight. Got to take advantage of those mismatches. The D would have collapsed and the Lakers would have had some much-needed inside-out possessions and ball movement. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 offensive board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He forced Gay into a tough leaner and miss. He swiped the ball from a big. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He choked an easy layup after grabbing an offensive board. He pitched out from the post to Fish for an open jumper. Bad idea to feed the post when the angle for entry wasn't there, layup the other way. On the next set, he flashed to the ball, attacked and dished to Drew for the dunk. Second Half: His post entry to Lamar was picked off.

Fisher -- -- Conley had lit up the Lakers for 28 points on 10-13 in the loss to Memphis a month ago. He wasn't the reason Memphis cruised in this one. The Lakers contained that damage. And you can't blame Fish for the turnovers that led to 20 points the other way. Somehow Fish was the only starter not to get a turnover. He was also one of the few back in transition on D. You do wish he could set up the bigs a little more since no one else was and dribble penetration often allows our bigs to get on the offensive boards. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 block and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He picked up two fouls in transition trying to step in for a charge and had to sit midway through the first quarter. He swished a wing three off the Kobe kickout. He swished the sideline jumper off the pitch out from Ron. He missed a three. Second Half: He crashed into a crowd on a drive and was blocked. He forced a drive and missed off the glass, layup the other way. He missed a corner jumper.

Lamar -- -- He didn't play with the edge he has been recently and the Lakers missed it. He had a couple of nice drives, but that was about it. They were dull offensively, aside from Kobe's work trying to give them some life. There was no real sharp edge to their attack. When Pau and Lamar are moving the ball and players are cutting off screens that's when this team clicks. The Lakers have two of the best passing bigs in the game, but that was never a threat tonight. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-8 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -22. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. He attacked with speed to his left and scored a layup. Another layup in transition around Gasol. He was hacked on his way to throw down on a baseline drive, he made one FT. He blocked Thabeet from behind. He was fouled on the defensive end and missed both FTs. He barely hit rim on a three. Second Half: He was blocked on a lob. He missed a 20-footer. He lost the ball in the post. He hit Pau for a high-low, Pau missed and Lamar followed it up with a putback for a layup.

Blake -- -- His shot was working fine, but he was sloppy with the passes tonight. He can't seem to string together a well-rounded offensive game of late. In the process, the Killer B's have had little sting. I'd really like to see more of the two-man game with his bigs. In prior seasons, he has run that relentlessly for his teams. Just not comfortable doing it within our schemes yet. Defensively, again he had a couple of goofs like in the last game. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-4 shooting (2-2 from three) to go along with 2 boards, no assists, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 21 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: Poor inbounds D under the hoop, his back turned and not protecting the paint, layup for the Grizzlies. He attacked baseline and threw the ball away. He drained a wing three with a second left on the shotclock. Second Half: He sank a short wing jumper in early offense. He swished a three off the high pinch post. He gave up a layup on a drive on the other end. His pass was picked off in transition for FTs the other way. He got tapped on a wing jumper off the pinch post. He threw a lob pass away on the break.

Barnes -- -- Some very lazy defense when he entered the game. Ron had done a decent job on Gay to start the game, then Gay got some easy ones as soon as Barnes came in and cruised from there. Where was the "cut the head off the snake" in this game. Rudy Gay lit them up from that point on and Barnes lax D helped ignite that. Offensively, the team was missing his scrapping on the offensive boards, and of course his cutting off our post players for scores, which wasn't a featured weapon tonight. The Stats: He had 3 points on 1-2 shooting from three to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He gave up a layup to Gay on an inbounds pass. He sagged off Gay and gave up a three. He sank an early offense sideline three. Second Half: He missed a sideline three.

Brown -- -- Most of his scoring came when the game was already over. When the Lakers aren't working the inside game well and the team is settling for long shots, Shannon doesn't help when he comes in. In fact, he makes things even more out of balance and it's painful to watch. He needs to think the game more in those situations. He was in on one of several Laker turnovers that led to easy Memphis scores when he made a lazy perimeter pass to Kobe. That seemed to typify the Lakers game tonight. Memphis was aggressive, got to loose balls and steals, the Lakers fanned the flames. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 3-8 shooting (1-3 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 21 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He missed a tough chuck from the corner with the shotclock about to expire. He got into the paint on a drive and threw the ball a way. He squared up and drilled a wing three. He missed a wing jumper out of a timeout. He forced a three and barely hit rim. Second Half: He hit rim on a 70-footer at the buzzer. He was drilled from the side while probing, he made both FTs. He pushed up a steal and was back at the line, he made both FTs. Lazy initial pass to the wing and it was picked off for a dunk. He got tapped on a long wing jumper. He swished a wing jumper from the other side. He sank a long wing jumper.

Walton -- -- Perhaps, Luke thought Staples was shouting "Luuuuke" and not "Booooo!" during the second half, so he was ready when his name was called by Phil for garbage time. He sank a couple shots, but also got picked for a dunk the other way like everyone else. He managed to outscore both Barnes and Artest combined in his brief stint. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 block and 1 turnover in 4:36. He was a +3. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He was picked on a drive (dunk the other way). He sank a wing jumper. He got a shotclock violation on Memphis on iso D by himself. He drained a corner jumper on a kickout.

Smith -- -- Down by 21 points, he got his first run as a Laker with 4:36 left. He seemed to show the basics of the offense, although he wasn't involved in getting the ball. Defensively, he got in on a swat and moved well. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot and had 1 block and 1 foul in 4:36. He was a +3. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He blocked Randolph, but it went back to him for a putback score.

Caracter -- -- DC didn't do much in his time other than chuck a ball into the stands to make sure the Lakers crack the 20 mark on turnovers. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot and had 1 turnover in 4:36. He was a +3. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He threw a pass out of bounds trying to hit a cutting Luke.

Phil -- -- Phil knows three-peat seasons are frustrating. After his first three-peat, he has often talked about Jordan's apathy for the game. His second three-peat was one implosion after another in Chicago and ended up that team's final run. The Laker three-peat was a classic team light switch with players irked with each other faults and personalities. Now, he's got to slug through this season... Phil restated that this would be his last season prior to the game. He suggested that with the potential for a lockout that the timing was right. "It seems an appropriate time and a good time in case there is a rescheduling or a whole season lost to this type of labor agreement that's going on in the league," he said... To the game: Phil sat Pau and Fish midway through the quarter for Lamar and Blake. Fish had two fouls... The Lakers trailed 17-15 with 2 minutes left. Phil sat Bynum for Pau and went with Pau/Lamar and the Killer B's... Very poor first quarter, the Lakers trailed 23-18 and had 5 turnovers... Same unit to start the second quarter. They started to fade midway through the quarter. Down by 8, Phil sat LO, Brown and Blake for Bynum, Kobe and Fish. Seemed like Kobe should have been in a couple minutes sooner... The Lakers started settling for threes to close the half and trailed by their biggest margin... The Lakers trailed 48-39. They shot 47 percent (15-32, 5-10 from three, 4-8 from the line), but had just 8 assits with 10 turnovers. The Grizzlies shot 42 percent (20-48, 3-6 from three, 5-7 from the line) with 15 assists on just 4 turnovers. The Grizzlies had a 6-1 advantage on the offensive glass... The coaches didn't like the Lakers energy level. Neither did the fans... Back-to-back turnovers for layups and the "boo's" were coming out early in the second half... After that, the Lakers played with more intensity, forcing a couple of timeouts and trailing by just 2... Memphis brought in Mayo for Allen to open up the offense (putting him on Ron defensively, which L.A. didn't expose) and the Lakers quickly trailed by 7 again. Phil called a timeout. He sat Pau for Lamar out of that timeout. Thought maybe he'd set up a play for Pau to establish the post... Down by 73-60, Phil subbed out Kobe, Bynum and Fisher with under 2 minutes left... The Lakers trailed 79-62 heading into the fourth. The Lakers had just 9 assists total after three quarters... Down 20, Phil brought in Kobe for Blake with 8 minutes to go... Phil emptied his bench down 22 with 4:36 left...

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB. The Boo Birds were in full force and were NOT happy.

I feel sorry for my fellow brethren who came early to the game and had to stand in the rain and cold just to have to witness another flat outing from the Lakeshow. Aside from Kobe's little spurt and Bynum's blocking everyone and the family dog, this was a garbage outing. Honestly, even though I was there, too many guys were invisible or showed for maybe 30 seconds and disappeared. Even the "Big Shot" contestant was way off.

BTW, I bumped into Jim Gray as we were leaving. Took me 10 seconds to figure out who he was.
_________________
*sighs*

!...

[GoldenThroat]

Well, it's nice to see Drew kicking ass on the defensive end/boards. That's about the only nice thing I can say about this game.

Wake up, Pau!!!!

[Klone_dd]

Glad the holidays are over because the Lakers seemed like they were too pre-occupied to play their home games. In their last 4 home games, they've been outscored by 50 pts!

[Laker's Fan]

I'm concerned that not even a visit from his brother could get Pau out of this sleepwalking. Early season Pau was balling and thus so was LA. He's been a totally different player since early November.

Also, no energy from Artest. If Phil is going to use him for short minutes, overplay on D, use your fouls and stir things up.

LA can't sustain things with Fisher getting toasted on D and O at the same time. He is still a very important part of the team but it is time to make him a 7th-8th man, now.
_________________
Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.

[George W Buss]

Well, at least nobody got injured in this game

[limchrc]

thanks

[A Mad Chinaman]

DB:

You have described what ails the Lakers and it is something that Phil knows well - "3-peat" itis.

The evidence is clear that Pau is not the superstar that Kobe or Shaq is, though very talented. He appears to be running on fumes and being bumped out of what he wants to do. Hopefully he will not be in the All-Star Game so that he can recharge his batteries. Without a low post presence forcing the defense to collapse, the passing will remain going around the horn and round the horn and around the horn - oh, by the time it is a short clock, Kobe has to shoot.

The rest of the league has caught up to LO's level of play as noted by the leveling of his stats. Will LO be able to raise his game after the All Star Game?

With other teams having thoroughly scouted the tendencies of "The Killer Bees" - it will be interesting what adjustments they will be making, especially since they are not getting the "clean" look that they were getting when Pau was forcing the opposing defenses to collapse.

With all Heat, Mavs, Spurs and Magic desperately needing to build their "mojo" throughout the season and the Lakers needing a serious challenge to get their attention (sadly), the Lakers probably won't have home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Having said that, injures and/or not ready to win during the playoffs might derail the Heat, Mavs, Spurs and Magic. Despite what Sir Charles says that Magic/Heat are better than the Celtics, it still could be a rematch of last year's Finals! What a sendoff as the NBA wioll go through its next strike.

DB Questions
there was a glimpse of some "high-low" post action between Pau and Drew - why aren't they using this more? Since Pau is not doing any damage at the low post, why not have him at the high post/pinch post that would same him some punishment while providing some lances for him to drive.

When LO and The Killer Bees are on the court and in the half-court offense sets, would it be effective to have LO have the ball at the pinch post to provide him the greatest amount of options and threats.

[angrypuppy]

Thanks DB. Worst loss of the season. So far.

Poor defense... Lakers got clobbered in transition. Teams are packing the paint not our of fear, but to bait the front court into taking long jumpers.

Poor offense... Pau started the game strong (except for the TOs) and then disappeared. Is this a physical problem, or is he harboring some resentment at being neglected on offense?

Poor second unit play... The vets almost get a pass in the eyes of many due to their accomplishments and mileage. What right does the second unit have for such unfocused effort?

[Rick12322]

Thanks DB, ugh, here's my two cents worth.

Offensive execution
20 TO's. 17 of them turned the game around. 17 of them could have equaled as much as 34 high percentage fast break points.

What's causing the poor offensive execution? Teams are becoming all too comfortable with the initial Triangle passing sequences. They are reading the plays faster than our own guys. They know where the ball is going next, heck, they might even be setting it up purposely the way they work the screens.

Teams have zero respect for our perimeter game. They are living in the paint, they seem to be in the middle of everything but always closer to the paint. They are denying post entry passes with corner and sideline players by cheating off them. They are getting away with this by using young athletic long players, they get their extendo arms in everything. All of a sudden the court isn't big enough any more for all these long players.

Here's a suggestion, have the post players go from weak to strong? Some of these teams have figured out the Laker's tick when Pau gets the ball in the mid post, so they deny post entry on the strong side.

Defense
The worst part of our defense is caused by offensive breakdowns resulting in fast break points in transition.

The defensive scheme is designed to prevent penetration at all costs, even at the expense of giving up 3's. However, last year we had good coverage against 3 point shooters, so what's changed? Last year Kobe was our backup SF, that left two quicker guys out on the perimeter in Brown and Farmar. Kobe didn't have to guard the quicker reserve guards last year.

Doubling the post. This is a philosophy that needs to be tweaked, especially when the guy doubled off of is a good shooter and the post player is not a threat. This is so mindless it's boggles the mind why they do it.

Kobe's defense. Kobe cheats off perimeter players too much. That's why they took Tony Allen out and put the shooter in. Kobe puts his all into offense and zero into defense. That's got to change. He needs to stay home on the shooters.

Phil thinks Pau is ok, well, he looks like he's either tired or upset. Whatever the case, he's not getting it done. The refs are letting them play this year. This game was somewhat balanced as far as letting both sides play, but this method of reffing is not good for Pau's style.

[RVCdesigns]

Thanks DB.

[Tony Almeida]

Thanks, DB.

I haven't had a chance to say it all year, but your work is much appreciated.

[DancingBarry]

[slaker]

[wolfpaclaker]

Thanks DB. Really appreciate when you do recaps for games like these. It is games like these that are tough to watch and appetite as a fan. I was watching the game on and off at a bar with some friends who had invited me out for a few drinks to celebrate the new year. Anyway it wasn't pretty when I did look.

Lakers (as in the FO) has to start asking themselves what the issues are. Is it something simply due to a lack of motivation/energy. Or is their a problem with the chemistry and cohesion of this team. Is there things going on where a change may be needed?

We added Barnes, who honestly can start for us. Same with Blake. They would compliment Kobe, Gasol, Bynum more on O than Artest/Fisher. From another POV, I think you may want to start considering the real option that changes may be needed. Nothing huge but maybe 1 or 2 moves may be necessary. We need to have 6-7 players to be in top form to win it all. Right now we're getting maybe 3 or 4. Yesterday Lamar and Pau weren't there, but they usually are. You can count on Kobe. Bynum is coming. Fisher/Artest have been useless in a lot of our games. Our bench players can't really play enough to get the rhythm and minutes to make the impact and the same for Artest as he's not playing enough to warrant big impact either. Something's got to give ... We need our top 6-7 players in shape and in form. A couple months left, but this thing is starting to get a bit out of hand now IMO.

[KobeJaws]

[thurloly]