WARRIORS -at- LAKERS - 1/22 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

[DancingBarry]

Closing Out... Digging in down the stretch, the Lakers fought back from a late Warrior lead with a 12-2 crunch-time run to snap their two-game losing streak. The 108-103 victory didn't come easy.

Poor execution on the offensive end by the Lakers led to transition scores and easy buckets for the Warriors. The Lakers tightened up the Triangle and then slowly clamped down on the defensive end. We didn't bleed on the boards tonight -- we gave up 19 points on the break and 28 points off of 24 turnovers.

A year ago to the night Kobe dropped his legendary 81, he scraped together just 42 points against the Warriors this evening. He put together a much more well-balanced scoring game than our previous loss. Andrew Bynum dropped a 10-point, 15-board, 4-block game like it was nothing.

Luke Walton, his confidence appearing to be at an all-time low for this season, scored his first two baskets in 10 attempts in the last two minutes of play. (Someone on LG must have put the reverse Karma in action with a post in the middle of the game...because his game did a 180 at that point.)


Kobe -- -- After the off-balance game in the last one (3 shots in the first half, 19 in the second half), Kobe managed to score 21 points in both halves tonight to balance the scales. They set him up with frequency on the iso wing position in the mid and high posts like they tend to do when a team is looking to double him a lot (which the Warriors did). When LO gets back, hopefully, we will see him working out of this area with more consistency. Defensively, he had some real up and down moments. He was playing a bit too soft in the first half, but tightened it up in the second half. Again, he does a great job anytime he man's up on BDiddy, his strength, size and speed takes away a lot of Baron's advantages. Kobe scored 42 points on 11-22 shooting (4-7 from three and 16-19 from the line), he grabbed 8 boards and had just 1 assist with 5 turnovers (not exactly the ratio you want to see and it cost us a few times on the other end). He let others get into the flow with a few shots early, but he didn't wait anywhere near as long before he took his turn. He banked off the glass after Drew hit him in the lane. He sank a wing 21-footer. He lost the ball twice on the dribble, once for a score the other way, the other he fouled on a reach. He drained a 29-footer straight away. He missed a three. Smush gave him the ball with barely a couple of ticks on the shotclock and Kobe swished a 30-footer while rushing it. He posted up, attacked and drew FTs, making both. Out in transition, he sliced up the D and scored an And-1 reverse, he made the FT. He drew a foul in transition and made one FT. He stole a pass when the Lakers surprised the Warriors with a full-court trap, he attacked and drew two FTs, making both. He sank a three from the wing, going for a quick two-for-one. He had 21 points in the first half. He ended a 15-1 Warrior run in the third with a three. He attacked and drew FTs, making both. He took a perimeter foul and hit a couple of FTs. He dunked after Sasha saved a loose ball to Cook and Cook hit Kobe open on the other end. He got hit on a jumper and made one FT. He faced up and drained a jumper from the wing on the next trip down. He swished a one-dribble jumper going to his right on the very next trip. He drew a perimeter foul for FTs and made both. He missed a jumper from the left side. He threw down a reverse dunk against the zone when Luke set him up. Uggh, he ballwatched with 2 minutes left and let Jasikevicius get an offensive board which he then converted into two with a jumper. He bricked a three with 1:11 left but Luke cleaned it up. With 4 on the shotclock he got tripped off the attack and made both FTs with 26.6 left to give the Lakers a 4-point lead. He was fouled after a defensive board with 3.4 seconds left, he made one.

Walton -- -- "It felt good to finally get the ball in the dang hole," Luke said afterward. Fortunately or unfortunately (depending how you look at it), Luke's first make came with under 2 minutes in the game. He was 0-8 up to that point and you could see that his shooting struggles are really affecting his confidence. One of the tell-tale signs is when he refuses to shoot an open shot and instead overpasses for a turnover. Hopefully, Luke will have some of that pressure and focus taken off him when LO returns and he can get back into the groove he was in earlier. Luke scored 8 points on 2-10 shooting, pulled down 7 boards and dished 5 assists with 2 turnovers in 31 minutes. He missed an open baseline jumper. He got backdoored for a dunk. He got blocked on a post up. He posted up Pietrus and kicked it to Bynum a few feet away for an And-1. He attacked and kicked to Evans for an open jumper. He missed an early offense three. He got Pietrus in the air with a headfake to draw FTs. He passed up on the perimeter shot, he attacked, then got stripped and it resulted in an And-1 the other way. He got rejected at the rim. No confidence in his jumper, he overpassed instead of shooting and we got a shotclock violation. He gave up an And-1 to Ellis getting caught in no-man's land. Then, things turned around. He found Kobe against the zone for a throwdown. He attacked off the dribble, just missed the And-1 while fouling out Biedrins with 2:47 and he hit both FTs to tie the game. With 1:44 left he finally hit his first shot in nine attempts, getting a little runner in the lane to drop to tie the game. On the next trip down he cleaned up a Kobe bricked three, putting it back in over his head and off the glass after taking a little contact. Great D a couple times on SJax down the stretch, once forcing a bad pass from the PG when he jumped the lane, the next time staying on SJax's hip and avoiding a foul to force a miss. Somehow he managed to turn a miserable game on its head in the last three minutes of action. "He looks like he's aiming the ball rather than just shooting it right now," Phil said. "He's trying to make sure it goes in and doing a lot of things that are structural things you work on in the summertime. He'll loosen up. It's just a phase, it's just a slump like a batter goes through, and it'll come back. We have confidence."

Smush -- -- Again, another sort of standard Smush game. He scored 11 points on 4-6 shooting and had 3 assists with 4 turnovers. He, too, had some sloppy moments passing on the offensive side tonight, which helped the Warriors on the other end. Earl on, he worked off the Bynum screen, took contact without a call and scored a layup. He stepped in front of SJax to draw the charge. He sank a three from the wing on a kickout from Kobe. He attacked off the Bynum handoff, hit a layup before falling to the floor and getting pinned down by a Warrior. He threw a pass out bounds on the break, just sloppy execution. He attacked, drew FTs and made one. He attacked in transition and charged. He attacked and threw a pass at Bynum's shoelaces for a turnover. He attacked off the high pinch post and drew FTs, making one. He threw an oop to Evans on the break for a throwdown. The Warriors threw the ball away, Smush grabbed it and scored at the other end with 16 seconds left to ice the game.

Bynum -- -- Beastly game and great statline from Bynum tonight. It's almost a shame he only got 4 shots in the game with all the work he was doing for the team. He finished with 10 points on 4-4 shots, 15 boards (4 offensive), 4 blocks and 4 assists in 32 minutes. All of his points came in the first quarter when we seemed to give him a few touches to get that token inside presence going. You got to love it when he shows these flashes of dominance -- something that will become a more regular event in a couple of years (or sooner, who knows with him?) Defensively, the 4 blocks point to the anchor job he did. He contested and intimidated a number of other shots, as well. Early on, he fought through a double team to hit a jumphook in the lane (one of the rare times you see him attack a double team, very nice). He set up Cook coming off the weakside for a jumper. He took an offensive board and fed Kobe, who attacked for a score. He got the interior feed, then went up and under to power in a layup. He kicked out from the double team to Cook for a jumper. He took the post feed, spun to far under the hoop, gathered himself and drew a foul, he made one FT. He got caught in the air and gave up an up-and-under to Biedrins. He took an interior feed from Luke and powered up an And-1 layup, he made the FT. Great D, bodying up his man as he worked laterally like Kwame, then contesting and blocking (not like Kwame), he then deterred another shot and it forced a turnover. Out on the break after that play, he couldn't handle a Kobe lob pass and fumbled it away. He cleaned up an airball under the hoop by Evans with an easy putback. He then swatted SJax's dribble penetration on the other end. Excellent first quarter from Bynum, playing all 12 minutes and scoring 10 points on 4-4 shooting, grabbing 4 boards, blocking 2 shots and dishing 3 assists. Back in midway through the second and he challenged one shot then rejected the next shot under the hoop to ignite a breakaway score. He forced Harrington into a brick with his presence. He kept an offensive board alive with a tip off a Warrior player. Great board and quick outlet to Kobe to get another attempt at the end of the half. He had 10 points, 7 boards and 3 blocks at the half. He was called for a loose ball foul trying to get to a wild shot from Kobe. He drew FTs on an offensive board and missed both. Iso'd against Ellis defensively with 2:30, Ellis attacked him off the dribble and Drew sent his shot into the third row with authority. Damn. "PJ got mad at me yesterday and said I wasn't rebounding like I should," Bynum said after he grabbed his career-high in boards. Haley said Dr. Buss considers Bynum's potential to be among the elite young players in the league and will not trade him.

Cook -- -- Cook scored 13 points on 6-9 shooting in just 21 minutes, he also grabbed 3 boards and blocked a shot. Those are the kind of numbers you like to see, but you want them coming off the bench as a 10th man against a favorable match up defensively. Al Harrington, a versatile SF/PF type, isn't a favorable match up. Al went for 30 and we again missed LO. Cook hit a jumper from FT line on his first touch. Good recovery on Harrington to block his shot on the drive. He hit a midrange jumper off a kickout from Bynum. He stayed after a loose ball, dribbled to the wing and hit a 15-footer with no one on him. He missed an open three. He fouled Harrington on an And-1 jumper. He fouled Davis midway through the first and had to sit. Back off the bench late in the second and hit hit back-to-back turnaround jumpers from opposite sides of the court. He gave up an And-1 at the end of the half in transition D and had to sit again with his third. He had 10 points on 5-6 shooting at the half. He picked up his fourth foul with a silly reach for a loose ball and had to sit early in the third. He sank a three a couple feet behind the top of the arc. He airballed badly trying to create his own shot off the dribble (those are usually bricks with him if he's taking more than one dribble).

Turiaf -- -- Ronny let the hair out. I think he's losing a potential advantage to challenge shots with that. I mean, if he just got it to go straight up instead of flopping to the sides he might be able to block sight of the rim when a player tries to turn and shoot over him. It's the old Chick Hearn line from Fletch, "Ronny is listed 6-10, with the fro 7-6..." Anyway, Ronny didn't scratch on the offensive end in this game and didn't take a shot. Phil put him in late in the game to defend the more mobile Warriors lineup and Ronny did a good job mixing it up, rotating and hustling (as he usually does). He played 15 minutes and grabbed 5 boards with 1 assist.

Evans -- -- We've got a lot of difference makers this year, but the savvy pick up of Mo Evans by Kupchak this offseason continues to pay dividends. He's more consistent and active than George and seems to be getting more comfortable by the game. When our team seems to be playing soft, he's one of the guys who consistently gives us some spark. He missed a few chippies tonight, but he still led the bench with 14 points on 5-14 shooting in 27 minutes. His average is up to nearly 8 points a game on 21 minutes a night. Quick first step off the pinch post and he drew a foul, he made one FT (one of those plays showing his growing comfort in the offense). He airballed under the hoop but Bynum cleaned it up. He drained a wing three. He faced up and drilled an elbow jumper. He took a kickout from Luke and promptly knocked down the wing jumper. He pulled up in transition from the other side and sank the midranger. He had 10 points at the half. He posted up out of a timeout and drew FTs, making both. To start the fourth, he couldn't connect on a series of plays and was eventually subbed out for Kobe. He threwdown a lob from Smush on the break with under 5 minutes left. Nice D on SJax on one sequence to contest his jumper well and force a brick (show me more of that, please).

Radmanovic -- -- Zero points on 0-4 shooting, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls in 13 minutes. Yuck. Hideous game. He fumbled a fastbreak pass, got control and then was promptly picked for a turnover. He was nailed to the floor and gave up a layup as his man blew past him. He erased a Laker basket with an offensive foul away from the ball. He got rejected badly on an attack down the lane. He bricked a hook. He missed a three wide open. He had a -17 on the night. Blech!

Farmar -- 8) -- Serviceable minutes, which seemed to be all our PGs could give us tonight. Jordan had 4 points on 1-4 shooting, 3 boards, 2 assists with 2 turnovers and 2 steals in 13 minutes. Vlad got rejected badly but it came right to Farmar and he drained a three. He elevated with the bigs to pull down a nice defensive board. He missed a runner high off the glass trying to beat the shotclock. He missed a catch-and-shoot three. He hit Cook for an open three. He attacked from the baseline, elevated, got hit from behind and went down hard on his back, drawing FTs with a half second left, he made one. (He'll be feeling that tomorrow). He missed a layup on a drive.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha only made 1-6 shots, but he didn't play too bad of a game. He pulled down 5 boards and had a couple of steals to go with his 6 points on 13 minutes. He helped with the energy level which we seemed to lack at times. He had a three rattle out and then back in again. He got picked for a layup the other way. He missed an open pull-up elbow jumper on the break. He got an earful from Phil for not getting back in transition D. He missed a putback attempt. With the Laker offense stalled early in the fourth, he drew FTs on the sideline on a three attempt and knocked down all three. Great save of a loose ball on the other end and it led to a breakaway score for Kobe. He clanked a three attempt. He dribble himself into a double team and somehow hit the rim on what looked like a pass attempt.

Phil -- -- About surviving without Kwame and LO, Phil said in the Times, "We were able to prevail, I guess is the word you would use." The next three days are big as they try to implement Kwame and LO back into the practice sessions...The Lakers transition D was poor to start the game and they backed up that D with some equally soft half-court D on the perimeter. The Warriors had 9 steals in the first quarter and outscored us 35-32... The Lakers had 14 turnovers that turned into 19 points for the Warriors in the first half (those are full-game numbers)... The Lakers closed the first half with a 19-7 run to lead 61-57... The Lakers had nearly 8 minutes of FT shooting to take advantage of in the third, they managed to get a few points from the line, but were still outscored in the third... The locked down and only allowed 18 points from the Warriors in the fourth... The Warriors had 56 points in the paint compared to the Lakers 34. We won the battle of the boards easily 51-36. We gave up 28 points off of 24 turnovers and still won... Phil on Kobe: "There's this either/or we're getting into where either Kobe's like a facilitator or he's going into scoring mode," Jackson said in the Daily News. "It's not quite that way. It's not that cut and dried. He can find his way (to score) out of the offense and also the other players can find their way to score out of the offense. A lot of the focus from the media has come about, `Wow, Kobe's really including everybody.' That's what a system offense is all about. It's just part of what we do."...

[Triple-Threat-Lakers]

Thanks for the feed. I just can't wait till Lamar or Kwame come back...it's pretty irritating that the Lakers were allowing 98 points a game prior to Lamar's injury and 108.2 ppg after his injury.

[dino]

thanks for the recap db...didn't catch the game (wasn't shown in manila)...there was an ongoing discussion in another thread regarding bynum not getting touches and getting pulled after swatting another shot...any idea why the kid was taken out? and were his lack of touches due to them not looking for him or the team unable to make entry passes?

[ocho]

it's just not right that bynum gets 4 shots. he NEEDS more.
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14-5-3-12

[DancingBarry]

Dino - They were just swinging the ball away from him. There were plenty of opportunities to get him the ball. They pulled Bynum for Ronny late because Biedrins fouled out and the Warriors put in Pietrus, going small.

[DancingBarry]

[Muad'Dib]

Pretty cool to surprisingly see Mo signaling to a couple of his teammates where to be in the tri in the 4th tonight. He's had a tough time getting his spacing and movement down, but it looks like he's coming around.

And as good as he can be off of the kick-out, I think he has shown that he's at his best offensively around the bucket--especially that little 12' jumper in the paint.

[A Mad Chinaman]

The Lakers played sloppy for 3 quarters w/24 TOs, then tightened up during the 4th quarter with no TOs - amazing!

The Lakers have done well during the absence of LO/Kwame w/a 12-9 record - especially when one compares the non-success of the Nuggets. When Cookie is playing the role that he is best at - coming off the bench - he will be invaluable. As a starter - OMG, he is awful because he is just one dimensional and a complete liability on defense - especially if he is not hitting his shot, looking for his shot and/or the opposing team locks him down.

DB - do you think that Luke will sometime soon have the defensive presence of a Rick Fox that will allow him to stay on the court with atheletic superior players?

[DancingBarry]

Fox played when you could use your hands and arms more on the perimeter. He has said he's glad he's not playing with these new rules because he'd be toast. Luke can be a pretty decent team defender, but he will be overmatched on some nights at his position athletically and someone else will have to step up...LO, Kobe, or Mo.

[Sage_10]

Good to get a win DB! Thanks.
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"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[KingKobe]

Think of it this way, with Bynum/Kwame, LO, (Luke), Kobe, and Smush, we're both long and fast at almost every position(except Luke), allowing a team like ours (and our often lazy defensive attitude) to get by on speed and reach alone until we dig down when it counts.

With Luke and Cook starting, we have the slowest, worst defensive forward corps in the NBA. Perhaps one of the all time worst.
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*Warning: The preceding post may have contained sarcasm and/or irony.

"We're all surrounded by idiots." - Kobe Bryant

[LakersInFour]

[20,000]

[wolfpaclaker]

Good stuff, DB. Glad to see you're saying and seeing much of what I am.

I'm happy the team won but not pleased with the strategy.

And watching the game with a friend over - I was telling him at the very start "Cook on Harrington? Al's going for atleast 25 tonight"

At the same time despite the poor defense this team has shown sans LO the one thing good about them is that they do play what I call "clutch D". That is 4th qtr D that wasn't present the rest of the game. They have done it in a number of games that they've won ugly. Now got to transform that energy and dedication to the road and more importantly earlier in the game.

Don't even get me started on Bynum not getting the ball. Won't ruin a great thread like this.

BTW - Small typo

[karlmalonefan]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

Welcome Back Kobe!
Too bad the Hawks didnt trade us Harrington in the summer
I swear Bynum had more than 4 blocks


thanks DB
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[LongtimeLakerLover]

Thanks as always, DB.

Ugh. What the heck? Layup after layup for GS - no defense whatsoever. Then, all the sudden in the 4th it was there. WHAT THE HECK? It's so frustrating to know that they can defend and then see them sort of looking dazed and confused at why the other team is scoring on them so easily. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad they won. It's just...they're capable of a much better game. Frustrating.

Bynum was great!
Harrington is a beast.
Ellis is amazing.

....Kobe is still the best.
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I love LA........WE LOVE IT!

[Klone_dd]

Well, once again we see that Kobe is Kobe and Luke is just plain ol' Luke.

Kobe was very efficient. When he's nailing jumper after jumper, I think that's just as demoralizing as a vicious dunk. Sooner or later, the other team's gotta think: "What do we have to do to stop this guy?"

Luke battled and battled thru a horrible game, but in typical fashion, found a way to help the team win. Hopefully, that kind of finish will teach him not to hang his head so much. In a 48-minute game, there's a lot of time to make crucial plays.

Bynum needs more shots. Give Mo mo mins. That's all I gots to say about them.

[angrypuppy]

[Dr. Laker]

Good job!

Drew is getting screwed with touches/minutes - is there some sort of issue with him and Phil or Kareem?
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[abc]

[angrypuppy]

[TheProdigy]

Bynum is not getting as many touches as he's supposed to, because Phil wants him to act as the weakside rebounder. Unfortunately, guys rarely leave him(which leaves the role players more open shots, which explains why the 2nd unit plays much better with him than with Ronny), so the only rebounds he has a chance to get are the ones where he is directly boxed out. At this point, though, he's not strong enough to push the guy that's boxing him out for deeper position, so he has to resort to just poking in and hope for a good bounce.

[MIMLaker]

[TheProdigy]