HAWKS -at- LAKERS - 2/16 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 12:55 am    Post subject: HAWKS -at- LAKERS - 2/16 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings

Stumbling into the All Star Break... Atlanta got their fifth road win at the expense of the Lakers. It will be questionable whether you will see better defense at the All Star game versus what the Lakers left on the floor tonight. They gave up layup after layup after layup...

Down the stretch of games like this things that shouldn't be magnified get put in the spotlight. The Lakers got into the bonus early in the fourth, but shot horribly from the free throw line. They make their free throws and a couple of dunks in the fourth and they win the game despite the horrible D.

But the defensive intensity, the ball watching, the lack of rotations and hustle is what cost them in this game. I stopped taking notes on the poor D. Forget it. Everyone failed. Everyone gets one of these ---> "We played a game in which defense wasn't a priority for us and that really hurt us," Phil said after the game.

Maybe it is for the best that they lost this one heading into the break as the organization takes assessment of where they are at. Phil and Mitch have both mentioned some interest in getting veteran help in the backcourt. Smush and Sasha combined for 2-16 shooting tonight.


Kobe -- -- What to focus on first? We will skip the ball watching D for the first three quarters and go straight to the FTs. Kobe Bryant shooting 6-12 from the line? What is that? Doubt we see that again, but it certainly hurt. Kobe finished with 39 points on 14-28 shooting (5-14 from three...too many, but a few taken at the end to catch up). He also had a season-high 9 assists with some nice feeds from the post tonight. He drew FTs 4 seconds into the game and made both...he then didn't get back to the line until a few minutes into the fourth. He swished a long wing three on the next Laker possession. He posted up and hit Lamar in the lane for a score. He posted up and found Kwame out of the Tri for an open FT jumper. He hit a long two from behind a pick. He kicked it out to Cook for a three. Kobe swished a pull-up three on the break. He whipped a pass from the elbow to Odom for a layup. He threw a bad pass back to Cook, then barked at Cook for not being in the right spot (it was a poor pass). He sank a wing three. He hit a pull-up jumper from the top of the key. He busted out on the break and fed back to George trailing for a dunk. He threw down a reverse jam on the break when Smush fed it back to him. He came off the pinch post and swished a baseline jumper. He set up in the post and hit George with a bounce pass running the baseline for a dunk. He threw down on a bustout, wanted the And-1, but didn't get it. He drained a wide open three when his man got lost and left Kobe alone. Kobe hit a 30-foot three, all arms and legs as he had to hoist it up to beat the clock. He faced up at the wing and knocked down an 18-footer. He posted up and bounced a pass to Walton for a score. He drew FTs when he faked like he was going to call a timeout and attacked, he made one FT. He scored an And-1 off an offensive rebound, finishing with his left, he missed the FT. He blew a reverse jam, but stole the ball trailing the play and hit Smush with a baseball pass for FTs (Smush missed both). Kobe attacked in transition, drew FTs and missed both. Ticked off, he attacked with aggression on the next play, spun, got the whistle and hit the four-footer and the FT. He attacked along the baseline, got past Smith and made a layup over the front of the rim from under the hoop. He drew Harrington's sixth foul, he made one FT. He drew a foul on the dribble and again made just one FT. After getting a steal at the other end, he got the ball to Smush who missed a dunk with a player on his heels, Kobe grabbed the rebound, then lost his footing and gave up the ball. That was a huge sequence where the Lakers could have tied the game. He missed a wide open three from the wing to get us within one. "I'm befuddled. Perplexed. Mystified," Kobe said in the Times. "Just put the first half of the season behind us. We wish we could have played a lot better this first half of the season. Unfortunately, it didn't happen."

Odom -- -- Lamar's defensive rebounding disappeared as he pulled down just 3 boards in 34 minutes. He did score 17 points on 7-12 shooting, including a couple of late threes. He attacked baseline and banked in a shot. He flashed to the middle of the lane, took the feed from the post and attacked to his left for a layup. He scored a reverse layup off a feed from Smush. He hit another layup when Kobe found him from the elbow. He posted up and drew his fourth foul on a weak call and had to sit at the start of the third. He posted up, missed. He posted up and drew FTs, missing the first badly, making the second. He swished a huge three with 2 minutes left to bring us within one as he was left open from the wing behind a screen.

Cook -- 8) -- Decent offensive game from Cook as he scored 15 points on 5-10 shooting and had 4 offensive boards and 5 assists. He did a good job not just settling for the catch and shoot jumpers. He swished an open three on a kickout from Kobe. He dunked when Lamar tapped a loose ball to him. He faked the three, set off on the dribble and pulled up for a baseline jumper. He drained a three off a kickout from Smush. He lost the ball at midcourt, getting it slapped out of his hands. Nice hustle to try to tip in a miss and he drew FTs. He passed up the jumper, attacked the baseline and threw down an And-1, two-handed jam, and made the FT.

Smush -- -- The good side of his game tonight was his ability to set up some others for some easy scores. He had 7 assists and made it easy for Kwame to get a couple of buckets. Defensively, he led the team with 5 steals, but his effort was generally lacking with everyone else. He couldn't hit a shot from anywhere. He went 1-9 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc and 1-4 from the line to finish with 3 points. He hit a pull-up jumper off the dribble for his only hoop. Nice cut, he got the pass then set up Lamar for a layup. He ran the pick and roll with Kwame for a dunk. He knocked a ball loose on a double team and it led to a breakaway dunk for the Lakers. Great weakside defensive anticipation as Kobe left to double the post, Smush jumped the passing lane, stole the ball and fed it back to Kobe for a dunk. (Great steal out of team D.) He gave it back on the next offensive possession, however, dribbling O.C. into a crowd instead of setting up the offense and it resulted in a turnover and three points the other way. He was then benched by Phil for that. He hit Kwame in the lane with a quick feed off the dribble for a dunk. He bricked both FTs after getting fouled from behind on a break in the fourth. He tried to finish strong at the rim with both hands but blew the dunk under a little pressure. That would have tied the game in the last minute.

Kwame -- -- Kwame went 5-5 for 10 points, but had his game limited by foul trouble, playing just 19 minutes. He also got yelled at by Phil for a couple breakdowns in team D. I suspect that also put him on the pine a little longer, as well. He finished a layup off the two-man game. Good hustle for an offensive board among several Hawks, it led to a Lamar score. He knocked down an open FT jumper flashing to the FT line. Nice D, staying down in good position and using his length to block his man on one possession. He grabbed a missed shot by Cook, faked to his right and hit a jumphook to his left. He dunked off the pick and roll with Smush. He picked up his third foul midway through the second and had to sit. He dunked off a feed from Smush, nice strong finish in traffic. He picked up his fourth foul in the third when Kobe was ballwatching his man and Kwame had to contest a layup.

George -- -- DG almost didn't get the angry smilie, then he left Joe Johnson and ball watched the critical defensive rebound as Johnson scored an easy putback. Other than that horrible play, a very good game from him. He led the team with an incredible 3 defensive boards. Again, he scored well off the bench, pouring in 16 points on 7-11 shooting. He hit a three from the side on a kickout from Kobe. He dunked off a feed on the break from Kobe. He faked the three, took a couple dribbles in and hit a 10 footer from the baseline. Nice, fast cut on the baseline out of the Tri and Kobe hit him for a dunk. He drained a three off a cross-court feed from Bynum. With the shotclock winding down, he took a quick dribble and swished a 20 footer. He got his shot blocked, got it back and dunked. He swatted Childress on the other end. He spiked the ball after he gave up the offensive putback not boxing out Johnson with a little over 20 seconds left in the game.

Walton -- -- He scored a layup off a feed to Kobe, cut on the baseline and a return feed from Kobe. Nothing else to report in 7:31 of action.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha shot 1-7 from the floor, bricking steadily from the perimeter. He missed his first two jumpers. He stepped into the passing lane, stole the pass, and drew a foul at the other end, he made both FTs. He clanked a wide open three. He scored a layup high off the glass at the tail end of the quarter. Fairly worthless 17 minutes from him tonight.

Bynum -- -- He played 11:10, but could have been in there much longer if Phil hadn't opted for smaller lineups most of the night. Drew finished with 2 points on 1-1 shooting, 2 boards and 2 blocks in his time out there. He blocked a Batista shot from behind easily. Zaza went for a steal in the post, didn't get it and Bynum dunked for his score. Under pressure on the perimeter, he found George for a three.

Turiaf -- -- He came in the game with a couple minutes left in the third and ran as our center. He couldn't secure a defensive board and it led to a layup. He tried to score on a putback, got fouled, but missed both FTs as he did in his previous game. Turiaf finally got on the books, scoring his first NBA points after getting dragged down from behind on a flagrant foul by Zaza. He hit the floor pretty hard, stayed there for a little bit then got up. He knocked down both FTs and got mugged by a few teammates as he went to the bench.

Phil -- -- The Hawks shot .547 for the game. "Wow, how can you lose a ballgame like that?" Phil said in the Times. "I just don't understand sometimes the capabilities of this team to disappoint." He sounds as befuddled, perplexed and mystified as Kobe... They started off okay, but gave up a high shooting percentage in the first quarter. With Kwame out, he went with a Cook, George, Kobe, Sasha and Smush small lineup midway through the second quarter. They played pressure D and had a few moments. But the Lakers gave up 30 in that quarter and followed it up with 30 in the third and 31 in the fourth... The Lakers had 21 assists on 24 field goals in the first half. The offense was clicking fairly decently except for a few too many threes and some of the missed easy points at the end of the game... With Odom and Kwame both in foul trouble, Phil had to go to Bynum early in the fourth... The Lakers got the Hawks in the bonus with more than seven and half minutes in the fourth. Then they bricked 10 free throws, finishing the game a miserable 15-27 from behind the line. Perhaps even more miserable was the 14 defensive rebounds the team pulled down all game... Joe Johnson had a career-high 15 assists and Josh Smith tied his career-high in points with 21 and rebounds with 15...Nicely done, guys...

DB -- : -- Arrrrggggggghhhhhh!!!! I feel better now.
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DaggerInTheHeart
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 12:57 am    Post subject:

You didn't have to put your effort on this pathetic lose DB.

everyone deserves a F.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 1:00 am    Post subject: Re: HAWKS -at- LAKERS - 2/16 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings

DancingBarry wrote:

DB -- : -- Arrrrggggggghhhhhh!!!! I feel better now.

thanks DB, thought maybe you might've taken the night off for this one


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 1:07 am    Post subject:

I don't know why Kobe is surprised...
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 1:57 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB. Glad you feel better. I wish Phil's perplexity made me feel better. I keep waiting for the 'two-steps forward' part but all I see defensively and coaching wise is 'one-step back' after 'on-step back', etc., etc. Get well soon, Chris Mihm. Get here soon, 2008.
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 2:10 am    Post subject:

DB - you deserve a vacation from the 2nd youngest team in the NBA cuz of all your good work.

Any guesses on which 2 to 3 players that didn't play with the necessary energy - as stated during his press conference.

My guess is that it is

Kwame Brown
Smush
Sasha (maybe)
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venicebeach
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 2:22 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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targetman
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 2:32 am    Post subject:

We keep saying that this season is better than last, but it sure doesn't feel like our record supports that. Maybe we are just losing differently but it looks like a Rudy team to me--no D, and too many 3's.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 2:54 am    Post subject:

thanks, DB...
at this point it's evident that not everything phil jackson touches, becomes gold.. i'm not blaming him, with these players -worst supporting cast in the league- even the best strategy can't work... but it sems to me that offensive spacing is so far the only improvement from last season...
odom as "facilitator" is a joke... he's not a playmaker, he hasn't in his hands the rhythm of the game...
our d is becoming more and more embarassing... in the first part of the season we had better rotations, but now we don't have any team defense...
odom and kwame don't show any mental improvement... so maybe phil's legendary motivational skills are history...
this team hasn't any character, any sign of identity... we win only when kobe wins almost by himself...
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 5:39 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:01 am    Post subject:

I think we should start thingking about shipping away Odom. I have had a lot of patience with him this year, but with his consistently inconsistent play and lacklustre approach to bball games, I am starting to think that he is not a legit2nd option on this team. If all he does well is rebound and facilitatethe offense, wecan bringin role players to do those jobs. Not someone who makes superstar dollars...and not someone who obviously is not the answer for this team..and can be traded for some pieces who could be better fits around KObe.

I would do Channing Frye and Penny Hardaway for Lamar Odom in a hearbeat.

LO is our only tradable asset. Loadsof talent any team will be interested in. The problem that I have with him is that he plays with no heart. He only showed evidence of inspired play during his one year under Riley.

This sucks. If Mitch continues to be believe in Lamar, he should be fired.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:22 am    Post subject:

Great job DB. Sorry you had to waste your time on a pitiful defensive performance by this team.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:31 am    Post subject:

now after 3 1/2 months this team sucks more then after 2 months

and thats scary ladies and gentleman
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:41 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB.


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:44 am    Post subject:

Shotblocking
Toughness inside
Pressure guard

That are the needs on this team.

Some balls would be nice too, but that's asking for a lot with the NBA players these days.
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AirKobe8
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:44 am    Post subject:

I'll decline comment on that terrible loss.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:58 am    Post subject: Re: HAWKS -at- LAKERS - 2/16 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings

DancingBarry wrote:
DB -- : -- Arrrrggggggghhhhhh!!!! I feel better now.


I had to do that too!

Not sure if I feel better or not.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:12 am    Post subject:

The thing that this team needs more than anything is discipline. Discipline to run their offense for the whole game. Discipline to play defense with some pride. They look great for about 10 minutes and then go into their bad habits of going one-on-one iso like they did last year. Just once i would like to see them run the offense the entire game. just once...
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:22 am    Post subject:

Augh, this was a tough loss because the Lakers didn't show up. I have been a big fan of Smush, but it is apparent we need more consistency. While I say we hold on to Smush, at this point he needs to be the backup PG. We need a new starting PG and immediately.

I still don't understand why Phil was going small for so long. I know Kwame had foul trouble, and Mihm is out, but it seemed that Josh Smith was getting every single freaking rebound out there. That led to too many second chance points.

I remember a story about Chuck Daly and his coaching method. He took a time out and all he said was "REBOUND! REBOUND! REBOUND!" Maybe this Laker squad has to be reminded of that?

But what bothered me even more than that is the poor shooting, particularly from the free throw line. Was the team just coasting its way into the All-Star Break?

Sadly (or happily?) I foollowed the game online, so I didn't see the action itself. The foul trouble on Kwame and Odom, were they cheap ticky tack fouls, or were they deserved fouls? Bad calls by the refs, or bad calls by Kwame and Odom?

Man, I am big on pushing for patience and see where the Lakers go this year and next, but not knowing the plan and not seeing what the Laker are hoping to do is making me more and more impatient by the minute.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 9:41 am    Post subject:

Only positive in this game for me was watching Ronny.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 10:21 am    Post subject:

The more I watch the Lakers, the more I realize that it's Lamar's team - not Kobe's... Just like when Shaq was here... All the players, except for Kobe, appear and disappear - like Lamar. These guys really need to learn to play with some heart and hustle and bring it every night, like the team's real leader.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 10:23 am    Post subject:

Freakout wrote:
Only positive in this game for me was watching Ronny.


And Andrew. I'm going to focus on the young guys the rest of the season. They're fun to watch.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 10:39 am    Post subject:

PopcornMachine wrote:
Freakout wrote:
Only positive in this game for me was watching Ronny.


And Andrew. I'm going to focus on the young guys the rest of the season. They're fun to watch.



Well said Pop.

Drew gets NO touches in the post.

So many times he's in the post with good position and the Lakers don't even look for him. This then leads him to get confused and at times he gets picked for 3 seconds in the lane.

It really sucks that they have no trust in him yet continually feed Kwame. Bynum isn't selfish with the ball. I don't think he's going to shoot the ball everytime he touches it.

Before making a move he does survey for an open player.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 10:53 am    Post subject:

^And I watched all the times he didn't bother to fight to establish position in the post and elected to set a pick along the perimeter, 3 times in a row.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 10:55 am    Post subject:

I can't believe I missed an episode of "Lost" for the game. But certainly "Lost" is how you would describe everyone's (including Phil's) approach to the game.

I can hear Jack Nicholson: "This team needs an enema."
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