LAKERS -at- WARRIORS - 3/3 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:09 am    Post subject: LAKERS -at- WARRIORS - 3/3 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

Inspiring Effort from No. 8... Coughing throughout the night, with watery eyes and generally looking miserable, Kobe Bryant carried the team to a victory with 42 points in a must-win game against the Warriors. "You've got to just pick your spots a little bit," Bryant said in the Daily News. "You're sick, you've got to slow the game down. You've got to use your energy wisely."

The Warriors shot 10-32 from three, while the Lakers held their three shooting to an efficient 7-15 from beyond the arc. There were long stretches of one-and-out D that helped the Lakers lead by as much as 21 points.

The officiating was generally poor, and both teams got into it with the refs. Smush got ejected in the fourth and Lamar had a tech, as well. Both players didn't seem to have their heads in the game.


Kobe -- -- As Kobe swished three freethrows in the last minute, "MVP" chants from those representing the purple and gold could be heard. At the next deadball, Phil pulled him and Kobe slowly made his way to the bench with heavy legs. He crumpled into his chair and coughed. He just scored 42 points in as many minutes. Asked what he would do to rest up and come back out to play tomorrow, Kobe said, "Suck it up." During the game, he became the youngest player to score 16,000 points. He went 11-29 on the night (4-8 from three and 16-18 from the line). He had 4 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. He led the team in minutes, points, assists and steals. He got started early by getting to the line. He pump-faked Pietrus and drew FTs, making both. He knocked down a wing three. He sank another three from the corner. He posted up Fish and hit a jumper in the lane. He sank a baseline jumper with 2.9 left in the first quarter. He then stole the ball and missed an open three at the buzzer. He was fouled on baseline jumper, he hit both FTs and two techs. He knocked down a 15-footer from the wing on the next possession. He was fouled in the lane and made both FTs. He lulled Pietrus to sleep then sank a wing three to start the second half. He flipped a no-look pass out to Smush, and he hit the three. Tough D on Richardson and he forced him into a prayer from the corner that went off the top of the backboard for a shotclock violation. He pulled up over Fisher and hit a 17 footer. He split a double and drew FTs, made one. Great D, jumping out on Dunleavy to strip him, he then pushed the ball up on the break, missed a layup, but Cook tapped it in. He went around a double team and drew FTs with the shotclock low, made one. He drained a high arching 30-footer from the wing as the shot clock went off. After a rest to start the fourth, Kobe spun in the post and scored on an alley-oop from Lamar. He hit a big 18-foot fallaway over Fisher. After a long dry spell by the Lakers, he drew FTs with the shotclock low and made both. On the next possession, everyone knew it was going to Kobe, several Warriors came after him and Kobe ripped the net on a long baseline fallaway. Ballgame. Davis committed a dumb foul on Kobe 35 feet from the hoop and Kobe got three FTs out of it. It's too bad Kobe has to do so much heavy lifting for this team, especially when he's sick.

Odom -- -- No matter how you slice it, a pretty pitiful looking statline from Lamar when Kobe's ill. He had 7 points, 6 fouls, 6 boards, 1 assist and 5 turnovers. His 4 blocks was the lone bright spot in the box score. Lamar tried to post up a number of times in the game and was whistled for fouls or couldn't get the ball because his man was fronting him. Our offensive execution is also partially to blame. If a team takes something away, they are sacrificing something else. Lamar needs to pull out some tape on how we ran the Tri when players fronted Shaq...quick passes, corner sequences, weak-to-strong post ups, top of the key entries could all be used. He posted up JRich and scored easily over him in his first attempt. He went to the post again and was called for a weak foul before the pass came. He posted up again and drew a foul on JRich. He charged into Dunleavy in the post and had to sit at the end of the first quarter. He gave the ball up to Smush in transition, got it back and dunked down the middle of the lane. He went up high to pull down an offensive board, then went up strong against several players and put it back in (like to see that more instead of overpassing in those situations as he sometimes does). He got called again for an offensive foul trying to establish post position against a fronting player. He got stripped after a rebound on the other end for a score. He was ticked, so he put the ball on the floor, attacked and drew FTs, making one. He found Kobe spinning back door for a lob pass. Nice help D rejection on Biedrins under the hoop. He fouled Fisher at the end of the game, then had words for him. After the game was over, he was still talking to Fish.

Mihm -- -- Chris got a lot of touches in the post, particularly in the first couple minutes. One of the rumors floated at the deadline in the media was three-way trade in which Mihm would go to the Warriors and Boozer would come back to the Lakers. In 23 minutes, Chris had 16 points on 4-8 shooting and 8-12 FTs to go along with 5 boards and 1 block. Very good numbers in limited time. He tipped in his own miss. He missed a layup. He was fouled again under the hoop and made both FTs. He then picked up his second foul after 2 minutes of action. Phil gambled and left him in for a couple more minutes before sitting him. He drew FTs on an offensive board, made one. He was fouled on a shot, made one FT. He took a feed from Kobe and dunked down the lane. He took a high lob pass, gathered himself and hit a turnaround one-hander on the other side of the basket. He was losing the ball on the way up and then Fisher plowed into him, Chris was in pain in his injured shoulder, but stayed in and hit both FTs. He drew a foul on a quick feed from Lamar, but he missed both FTs. He went to the line on the final post up of the game. Good minutes by Mihm as the Lakers second highest scorer.

Smush -- -- Smush got into early foul trouble and stayed the entire game until finally getting ejected. He got caught in no-man's land and Fish ended up getting penetration and a foul on Mihm. Smush passed a ball off to Kobe and took two full steps before charging into Fisher, he could have easily avoided that and it cost us a score. He was called for a foul in the backcourt, then got a T as he went to sit just 4 minutes into the game. He scored a reverse layup off a give and go. He lost the dribble on the perimeter, was tied up for a jumpball and lost that. Lazy D sagging off Fish and giving up an open jumper. He saved a pass out of bounds to Mihm, Kobe got it back and fed it to Smush in the corner for a three. He picked up another charge on a pass off, then a reach foul on the other end and had to sit 6 minutes into the second half. Back in for Sasha and Smush was called for a foul, blocking a shot on the break, he then got his second T and was tossed. The Lakers player Sasha 31 minutes as a result of our lack of guard depth.

Cook -- -- Cook continued with his efficient and steady scoring. He had 12 points on 4-5 shooting and 4-5 FTs. He pulled down 5 boards, had 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. His defense was much better throughout in this game. Cook's only miss on the offensive end happened on a layup when someone got contested, looked like he might have been fouled. He finished a near-dunk on a baseline attack. Murphy stepped around him and dunked on Cook's weakest defensive play of the night. He picked up a charge on DFish on pass off. He took a post entry from the corner and scored an And-1 layup. He sank a long wing two with his feet on the line. He was fouled trying to finish at the rim twice, and made three of four FTs. He stopped dead in front of Pietrus in the lane and drew a charge. Nice help D block to stop a transition score. Good hustle in transition to tip in a missed Kobe layup.

Kwame -- 8) -- Good game from Kwame tonight. His defense was solid and he was putting in some hustle work on the glass. He finished with 7 points on 3-5 shooting, 8 boards (4 offensive) and 1 assist. Nice hustle in the corner to save a loose ball. He drop stepped Biedrins and banked for a score. He posted up, drew a foul and made one FT. Good job on the boards in the first half. He pulled down an offensive board and scored. Nice help double when Sasha was being posted up by a bigman, and they got a travel call. He powered down an offensive board and went back up strong for a score.

George -- -- He brought some energy off the bench and hit every shot he took in 20:42 of playing time. He scored 8 points on 3-3 shooting, pulled down 5 rebounds and had 2 blocks. He swatted Diogu twice in a row (second one was a foul that should have been called). He burried a 20-footer, scrambling for a loose ball and hitting at the shotclock buzzer. He drained a three from the corner. Nice job stripping JRich under the hoop to save a basket. He swished a corner three off a kickout from Sasha during a key stretch by the second unit at the start of the fourth.

Walton -- -- A second decent game from Luke in a row. He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting in this one and pulled down 4 boards in 21 minutes. He posted up Davis, drop stepped and scored easily. He took a foul to give at the end of the half smartly, then had a clean block of a three attempt. He attacked off the dribble down the lane, switched hands in the air and scored over Foyle.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha got some extended minutes with Smush's issues in this game. He put the time to good use on the boards and pulled down a career high 8 rebounds. He also had 5 points on 1-5 shooting and 4 assists with just 1 turnover. In early for Smush, he hit his first jumper dribbling to the top of the key and hitting. He let Fisher beat him off the dribble, but DFish blew the layup. In early again for Smush, Sasha got fouled on a three point attempt and made all three FTs. He missed an open corner three. Nice drive and kick to George for a three.

Phil -- -- The defense stepped up a little better tonight. Early on there were some breakdowns for easy scores off the pick and roll. However, they tightened that up late in the half and out the gates to start the second half. They had a long stretch of good rotations, shot contesting and one-and-out type of defensive stands. As a result, the Warriors shot 33.3 percent, were content to launch threes, and were unable to take advantage of our 20 turnovers on the other end... Down the stretch the Lakers only seemed to be able to get the ball to Kobe and watch. "We had guys that just wanted to fizzle up and go hide in a corner or something," Jackson said in the Daily News. "It just was like, 'OK, we'll get it back to Kobe on the other side.' " Lamar seems to fit this comment. Smush was already hiding in the locker room after being ejected... Good luck in the next game, coach...
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angel
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:12 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

It was a very good effort.
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uberzev
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:12 am    Post subject:

Great recap DB.
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angel
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:16 am    Post subject:

It was a very good effort from the #8 Lakers and #8 the player. Kobe looked so very sick. His sinuses were bad and he had a congested chest that made it hard to breath. It was a remarkable effort.
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Coop_21
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:19 am    Post subject:

I have a feeling that on Warriorsground.net, there are many posts about their team shooting too many threes and crying about the bad calls/free throw discrepancy.

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venicebeach
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:27 am    Post subject:

Thanks great recap
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:29 am    Post subject: Re: LAKERS -at- WARRIORS - 3/3 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

DancingBarry wrote:
Odom -- -- No matter how you slice it, a pretty pitiful looking statline from Lamar when Kobe's ill. He had 7 points, 6 fouls, 6 boards, 1 assist and 5 turnovers. His 4 blocks was the lone bright spot in the box score.
As always, thanks DB!! What are your thoughts on how LO responded after "being embarassed" the previous night - and he still got invited to the US Olympics Basketball tryouts?!?!?!

With Magic declaring that LO has very high basketball IQ, why isn't he taking advantages of all the mismatches that he's facing?

Seems like a lineup of Walton, Mihm, DGeorge, Sasha and Kobe might be best functioning unit for PJ . .
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:40 am    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman - Tonight, Lamar tried to get into the post...but he couldn't deal with the fronting D, and neither could the team. We did a poor job countering that D.

Here's a quote: "There was a situation where Smush got run out of the game. Lamar got himself in a hassle with the referees," Jackson said. "You have to be a strong-willed basketball team."

The key for Lamar is the bolded part. He needs to impose his will on the opponent and not get his head out of the game. Phil gave him The Art of War to read at the beginning of the season, trying to get into his head and trying to make him into a stronger mental warrior. Hasn't happened.
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ALbino
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:43 am    Post subject:

Nice to see Walton remembered he could drive. His floater is actually pretty effective and I like when he gets underneath the board and banks it off the glass. It's when he shoots from anywhere outside of the paint that I cringe.

Also, Kwame seems to have gotten another "Ben Wallace" pep talk from Phil. I hope it sticks this time.

AL.
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Drifts
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 2:04 am    Post subject:

I love recaps with smiling faces...
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AirKobe8
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 6:47 am    Post subject:

Sasha 8 boards? Enforcer
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Showtime32
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 7:36 am    Post subject: well done

have not posted here in a long time, but always keep up to date, just wanted to commend you on all of the reviews you have done this year
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 7:53 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Outstanding recap once again, particularly the part of Lamar being fronted in the post. At this point it's obvious that Lamar is more effective there than hanging out on the perimeter, though he needs to learn how to handle being fronted. Not entirely his fault, as it would help if his team mates (hello Smush) learn how to feed him. Both were awful last night individually and in tandem, and it was hard to tell if it was weak minds being distracted, or just not knowing how to work together within the offense.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 9:13 am    Post subject:

I watched the game with some trepidation, worrying that they were going to blow the lead and battle in the last seconds of the game. I am glad that they had the good sense to give it to Kobe and get out of the way since they don't seem to be able to close any other way.

I was happy with Kwame's play, he seems to be beginning to realize that defense is an important part of the game. I was VERY happy to see him bump Foyle under the basket to make a layup, that's the way to use that big body.

I was unhappy with Smush. How idiotic is it to get into it with the refs that have been keeping your team in the game? Between him and Lamar the Warriors got 4 free throws due to their stupidity. Smush plays like a guy with a big ego, and he has done nothing to deserve a big ego. On the plus side, he didn't stroll with the ball up the court, wasting valuable seconds--finally someone spoke to him about quickly getting the ball over the line.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Luke have another effective game. I hate to see him shoot, whether he makes it or not, but he seems to have a good sense of intangibles and ball movement. He hustles and gets some rebounds that I don't expect him to get.

I was happy to see that when the Lakers are going up for a rebound and can't grab it, they were sometimes able to tap it out to a teammate. So often in the past they would battle and hit it away and there wouldn't be anyone there to get the second chance. It feels like Cook and George are anticipating better.

Lamar....sigh.... I am hoping that some of the other players will develop enough that Kobe can sustain a lead without Lamar on the floor. Then Phil can bench him when he is not producing and maybe he will get the message. It worked with Luke, Cook, and Kwame, now it is time to sit Lamar down and try it without him.

I think Sasha will be pretty good in two years with practice and steroids. I'd like to hang on to him.
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wolfpaclaker
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 9:41 am    Post subject:

Take the wins anyway you get em.

We played defense. Offense wasn't too sexy, but so long as they hold teams down and make them shoot jumpers over layup drills - I think the Lakers have a chance to win this game.
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Philostrator
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 9:57 am    Post subject:

They played smart in the 4th quarter and that's how you win games.
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mm708
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 11:21 am    Post subject:

Did Turiaf play?
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hoopschick29
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 11:24 am    Post subject:

^^^Nope. Probably saving him for tonight.
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jeremysnow
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 11:31 am    Post subject:

throughout the whole 1st half a little thought kept popping out:

Quote:

...c'mon guys get some separation!!! (in the score)..... play smart!!!.... dang! here we go again! :roll: !......


unfortunately! this recording kept playing in my head until the end of the game.

as much as I hate to say it, since smush was a contributing player in the first 25 games, his absence may have been a positive in the late game. I'm not convinced that smush would react well to being benched as a starter, which could invariably hurt the team further.

I clearly understand why phil would limit smush's minutes earlier in the year, when laron was healthy. defense isn't something that smush endears himself to.

back in his college days at fordham, coach bob hill was right on about his not being ready for the nba. his lack of focus and seething attitude might preclude him from ever being a upper tier full time PG.

otherwise, I'm glad we got a win, the rebounding was better.

I'm hoping for a positive game from the lakers, not necessarily a win, but a positive effort vs. the pistons.

the team needs build on wins.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 12:47 pm    Post subject:

hoopschick29 wrote:
^^^Nope. Probably saving him for tonight.


Turiaf vs Big Ben
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 12:57 pm    Post subject: Re: LAKERS -at- WARRIORS - 3/3 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

DancingBarry wrote:
His 4 blocks was the lone bright spot in the box score.



LAMAR needs to do more of this, i get frustrated when he gives up so many easy buckets around the rim by just sticking his arms straight up and not playing D. he is 6'10 with a wingspan of a 7footer, he needs to play like it.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 2:16 pm    Post subject:

I'm surprised there aren't more "Kobe as MJ" lines since Kobe was playing ill. Anyway you slice it, it was another gutsy, MVP type performance. I am in awe of that baseline turnaround J. That shot is pure money.

NKPOG = Mihm, although Kwame played very well. GS is the one team Kwame seems to play well against.

Lamar, on the other hand, always plays poorly against GS. Before last night, he averaged 5.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3 apg. So guess what? He gets 7, 6, 1 last night. :roll:
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mm708
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 3:53 pm    Post subject:

Love your gamely ratings.
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Sage_10
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 3:55 pm    Post subject:

Good stuff DB, it was a much needed victory like all our other games.
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