BLAZERS -at- LAKERS - 2/21 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:33 am    Post subject: BLAZERS -at- LAKERS - 2/21 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

Taking Care of Business... Lamar stepped up with a 20-point, 17-board game and Kobe took over midway through the fourth as the Lakers cruised to the 99-82 home win over the Blazers. Kobe scored half of his points in a stretch drive of the fourth quarter.

The Blazers helped out by shooting a horrid 12-28 from the free throw line. The Lakers got some balanced scoring with five players in double digits. Devean George stepped up again off the bench with another solid performance. If you believe the Lakers will get a trade done before the deadline, this could be the last game in the purple and gold for a player or two. With injuries to Profit and McKie, Mitch and Phil has repeatedly brought up that they are searching for some additional backcourt help.


Kobe -- 8) 8) -- Kobe cruised throughout most of the night. He was trying to post up frequently, sticking with the game plan to take advantage of the smaller Blazer guards. He throttled it up in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach (kind of amazing sometimes to see him just suddenly dominate and kill a team in a matter of minutes). He finished with 27 points on 11-19 shooting (5-8 from three). He pulled down 6 boards, led the team with 5 steals and had 4 assists in 42 minutes. He was getting ready to rebound and Smush passed to him under the hoop for a layup and his first score. He posted up and fed Cook behind the back for a reverse. He went backdoor on Blake and scored an And-1 when Ha fouled him at the rim. He hit a 20-footer off a screen. He had several steals in the first half anticipating post entry feeds. He swished a wing three behind a Kwame screen. He missed his next two threes. He had 9 points in the first half. Nice help D swat coming from behind the Laker bigman to smack the ball out of bounds. He swished a wing three with 2 on the shotclock. Kobe took it off cruise control midway through the fourth. He attacked off a pick, blew past a couple other Blazers, then scored a layup over another. Out of a timeout he swished a wing three. He pulled up over a double team and hit a wing jumper. He rose up from the top of the key and hit a jumper. On the next possession, he drilled another three to force a Blazer timeout. After a George jumper, Kobe drained another wing three. Phil then sat him and Lamar for the last couple minutes. Kobe said his role defensively has changed a bit, as he has been given more freedom to roam as a free safety.

Odom -- -- Phil has stressed the importance of Lamar being more aggressive. Tonight, Lamar shot 9-21 for 20 points. I believe that is the Lakers first win when he has shot more than 15 times (they were something like 0-8...but it was a deceptive stat if you look at those games). Lamar also dominated the glass, going for a season-high 17 boards. "His ability to rebound is a big asset for us," Phil said, "besides his ability to take that ball down off the rebound and create things on the break.." He was posting up Miles quite a bit, taking advantage of the opportunity we usually have in the post for Lamar. Most of his makes were around the rim. He scored a layup off a Kobe interior feed. Phil put the ball into Lamar's hands to close out the quarter, Lamar attacked with a quick first step and dunked along the baseline. He posted up Miles, spun and scored at the rim. He scored a hanging reverse layup off a Kobe feed. He blew a point-blank layup he could have dunked. He hit a baseline jumper to start the second half. He pulled down an offensive board and scored. He attacked along the baseline, drew defenders and kicked it to Kwame for a dunk. He drew FTs off a feed by Kobe and he sank both. He took Outlaw off the dribble and scooped a layup in under him. He attacked with speed from the wing and scored a layup. He scored a layup off a feed from George. "When he's playing like that," Bryant said in the Daily News, "he's being aggressive, he's taking the open jumper, and does a good job moving the ball, we're a very, very dangerous team."

Cook -- -- Cook suffered from a little foul trouble and found himself on the bench quite a bit after starting. When he was out there, he shot well again scoring 10 points on 5-7 shooting in 22 minutes. He scored a reverse layup off a Kobe post feed. He hit a baseline jumper off a couple of dribbles. He sank a wing jumper. He picked up two fouls and had to sit in the first quarter. He hit a sideline jumper when his man sagged on Kobe in the post. He drew a charge in transition on Patterson. He hit a 15-footer from the side off a kickout.

Smush -- -- Smush quitely neared a triple-double in this game with 13 points, 9 assists (a career high) and 6 boards. He couldn't hit from three, going 1-6 from beyond the arc in 35 minutes. He missed a layup, got his rebound and missed again. He hesitated, then attacked down the lane for a layup. He took a wild pass, then turned and shot while out of control instead of setting up and he bricked. He kicked out a feed to George for a three. He posted up in the high post and quickly spun and drove the lane for a layup (nice play out of the Tri we rarely see him run). He tried to throw down in the lane with both hands and missed, he wanted the foul. He ballfaked to Kobe in transition and then scored a layup. He missed a couple of open threes in a row. Nice tip away from Patterson on a defensive board to save a hoop. He sank a three after the Lakers missed a cutting Kobe who was wide open. He attacked quickly out in transition and went straight at Miles and finger rolled a layup over him. He nearly had the mustard off the hotdog as Chick would say, when he tried to go behind the back in transition, but he drew a foul and made both FTs. Speaking of Chick, I think the poor refrigerator might have broken down a couple of times this season with some of the collapses this team has had.

Kwame -- -- Pretty decent minutes from Kwame, starting at center and playing 28 minutes. He scored 9 points on 3-4 shooting, grabbed 7 boards and blocked 1 shot. He jumped into the passing lane, stole a pass, and lumbered down the court for an uncontested dunk. He battled for an offensive board and drew a foul, making both FTs. He fumbled away a post entry pass, got it back, then threw it away. He powered in a layup in the middle of the lane. He posted up against Ha and drew FTs (missed both). He dunked off an interior feed from Lamar. Nice aggressive post up trying to establish position and he drew a foul, airballed the first FT, then swished the second.

George -- -- George continued his strong February, picking up where he left off and led the bench with 13 points on an efficient 6-8 shooting. He also had 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. He hit a pull-up wing jumper off of one dribble. He set up on the right side and Smush kicked it to him for a three. He posted up and hit a turnaround in the lane. He attacked strong off the dribble along the baseline and scored a layup. He nearly gave up a layup on a long pass at the end of the quarter, he recovered and blocked Patterson's shot (who then got a T). He pulled up and sank an open wing jumper when his man sagged off him. Nice flash to the FT line to receive a pass and then he kicked it under the hoop to Lamar for the layup. He popped out on the weak side and hit a long wing jumper. After the game, Devean said he has been trying to focus on his offense a little more to help out Kobe. He's also been one of the few guys who makes the offensive execution click. He said the team has a long way to go in terms of their Tri execution.

Mihm -- -- Good to see Chris back out there with the Vitti shoulder pad. He played 13:45 and scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting and grabbed 3 boards. He missed a long wing jumper. He clanked a jumphook off the side of the backboard. He hit a short jumphook easily over his man. He's a gamer, so you know he's no where near his usual self right now. Haley said he was at about 70-75 percent.

Walton -- -- Some more sleepy minutes from Luke. The only thing he seems to be consistent at helping the team with right now is on the offensive glass. That, and filling in as a utility player since Phil has plugged him in at PF, SF and SG, where ever needed. He played 13:17, scored 2 points off a couple of FTs and had 1 assist. He was called for a couple cheap fouls against Randolph, one of which looked like a great strip. Nice hustle to save an errant pass. He hustled again to pull down an offensive board. He drew a foul on the last possession and sank a couple FTs.

Vujacic -- -- He scored 3 points and had 3 fouls in 16 minutes. He got tapped on a reverse layup. He bounced in a tech FT. He attacked down the lane and hit a layup high off the glass. Sasha also picked up an extremely cheap tech by slapping a hand check away.

Phil -- -- Glad to see we didn't have a post All Star let down. Also, glad to see the Blazers even though we lost to them in our last game... The Lakers attacked the smaller Portland guards in the post with Kobe throughout the game...The offensive timing was off, but we still managed to plug along. You could still see some major breakdowns in spacing and flow... The Lakers shot 50 percent and had 23 assists on the game... Really not a whole lot to talk about in this game. They got the job done against a team that you have to come away with a W... "We've given a lot of 100-point games up recently. We've got to get back to the defensive end and think about that," Phil said in the Times...
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critical_beatdown
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:01 am    Post subject:

I missed a good portion of the game, so appreciate the recap. It looks like Phil is making adjustments, and Smush surprised me with his confidence tonight. Lamar was great, and Kobe was in one of his zones that's so fun to watch in the 4th. Good defense all around.

We obviously lost to these guys last time, so no W is a bad W.
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DiehardLakerFan
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:06 am    Post subject:

it was good to see Kobe back in form. And it was cool that he was letting some of his teammates shoot more than him, although I wish Smush didn't jack up so many errant jumpers
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Ko8e8ryant
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:11 am    Post subject:

George is the freaking man...I hate to lose him.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:13 am    Post subject:

where was bynum? i thought he was gonna start getting more minutes?
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:29 am    Post subject: Re: BLAZERS -at- LAKERS - 2/21 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

DancingBarry wrote:
OdomLamar also dominated the glass, going for a season-high 17 boards. "His ability to rebound is a big asset for us," Phil said, "besides his ability to take that ball down off the rebound and create things on the break.." Phil put the ball into Lamar's hands to close out the quarter, Lamar attacked with a quick first step and dunked along the baseline. "When he's playing like that," Bryant said in the Daily News, "he's being aggressive, he's taking the open jumper, and does a good job moving the ball, we're a very, very dangerous team."
LO is the key to the Lakers' success. If he can consistently give these type of numbers, we can cause trouble in the playoffs cuz LO causes constant mismatches and he can neutralize players such as KG and Tim Duncan. He can create clean and open shots for Smush, Sasha, DGeorge and Mihm.
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venicebeach
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:42 am    Post subject:

Lamar more shots than Kobe?
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orido86
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:11 am    Post subject:

tnx DB
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AirKobe8
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 5:31 am    Post subject:

Only if we could have a boxscore like this everynight.....GREAT WIN!
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targetman
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 5:37 am    Post subject:

I wonder if playing against his old teammate Darius Miles got Lamar motivated. Even when things didn't go right in the beginning for him he kept attacking, something he rarely does when his shot is off in the beginning. Lamar seems to play harder when he's playing against teams that matter to him personally (Miami with Caron, Clippers, Miles) or when he is in New York.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 6:43 am    Post subject:

I had to follow the game online as it was not shown in my area. But espn.com, nba.com, and yahoo all showed the game as over after the 3rd quarter when it was 68-55. It never seemed too fix itself, and by then it was nearly 1:00am in MI, so I just went to bed. I am just glad I didn't wake up to see the Lakers had another letdown.

A couple of notes: this is exactly the kind of game we want to see Lamar having, but why is he having so much trouble reaching any level of consistency? Seeing this kind of game from him, does it make it easier or harder to trade him (easier because his stock goes up, harder because he shows a good game for the Lakers)? Since he is a part owner, does Magic ever come down and try to coach Lamar?

Two: as someone mentioned, why didn't Bynum get any minutes? Some poster, either here or on CL, posted a quote from Phil that Bynum would get more minutes the second half of the season. So what happens the first game after the ASG? Bynum with a DNP? I don't get it.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:32 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB

If we could play like this every nite, we would need to make trades. Wish LO could do this consistently. Along with Kobe and Mihm recovering, we could make the rest of the season exciting. Was LO having a good nite because he knows he might be traded? Well I guess we should know by 3pm Thursday.
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kemi4kobes
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 8:39 am    Post subject:

thanks db. i don't think you get enough credit for this.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:15 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB. I enjoy reading your posts after games. In reference to Bynum, they actually interviewed him before the game. He said that he heard that he would be playing more minutes the last 30 games of the season. I think the fact that Portland went small a lot was a big reason why he didn't play much. Portland had a couple of bigs who didn't even dress. Randolph also got hurt in the third quarter. I think that we will see Bynum quite a bit in the next 29 games.
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senator kobe
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:40 am    Post subject:

Why the hell is Luke out there getting minutes? WHY?
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:05 am    Post subject:

Thanks again DB. I missed the game so thank God you're here doing the play by play.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 1:02 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. I only heard the 1st and 4th quarters on the radio and the Sportscenter highlights are pathetic, so your recaps are much appreciated. One question i have is was Lamar playing in his usual facilitator role or did Kobe spend most of the game there?
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 1:48 pm    Post subject:

koolruningz wrote:
Thanks DB. I only heard the 1st and 4th quarters on the radio and the Sportscenter highlights are pathetic, so your recaps are much appreciated. One question i have is was Lamar playing in his usual facilitator role or did Kobe spend most of the game there?


A lot of switching up in this game because Kobe and Lamar spent a little more time in the post. Smush, Kobe, LO, Walton, Sasha all worked it. LO spent a little more time in the post and had a few early offense attacks with the ball in his hands on the perimeter.
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koolruningz
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:13 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, do you think that could work better than Odom being the lone initiator? Or do you think that Odom can be more effective scoring in that role as he understands it better?
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:39 pm    Post subject:

koolruningz wrote:
Thanks, do you think that could work better than Odom being the lone initiator? Or do you think that Odom can be more effective scoring in that role as he understands it better?


Flexibility is always better, IMO. Keep changing things up to keep your opponent off balance.

There is no reason, though, that LO can't call his own number more while initiating...or work himself into the post off simple strong side clear outs or weakside pinch posts.
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koolruningz
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:53 pm    Post subject:

Hopefully this is a turning point for him, but he has teased us like this before. I really want him to succeed in this role, he and Kobe seem to have great chemistry and i think that is an overlooked aspect. But in the end it comes down to production and i pray Odom can keep this mindset and stay aggresive and play smart.
Thanks for your help DB, i have only seen one Laker game this season and its hard to get a clear picture listening to the radio. Your input really helps people overseas like me.
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mike_dee23
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:14 pm    Post subject:

Was it just me or was Sasha about to cry out there?
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SlyBoogie
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:36 pm    Post subject:

Was anyone watching when Ruben Patterson entered in the game and you could hear a fan yell out "You're sorry Ruben" among other things and then he proceeded to miss shot after shot. And when you think it couldn't get worse, he gets "blocked" by Devean going for the dunk. I'm sorry I just thought it was hilarious that the fan was harrassing Ruben, since you know he was once the self-proclaimed "Kobe-stopper".
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:44 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
koolruningz wrote:
Thanks, do you think that could work better than Odom being the lone initiator? Or do you think that Odom can be more effective scoring in that role as he understands it better?
Flexibility is always better, IMO. Keep changing things up to keep your opponent off balance. There is no reason, though, that LO can't call his own number more while initiating...or work him self into the post off simple strong side clear outs or weakside pinch posts.
Accurate assessment DB (as always). With LO having success with Mihm (before he was injuried)/Brown (where he dived toward the paint for dunks) on the "high-low" post offense within the Triangle will be seen more often while allowing Kobe to be the initiator be another element featured more often in the offense?
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