LAKERS -at- KINGS - 4/18 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

[DancingBarry]

Staggering into the Real Season... "We're hot!" Kobe joked about the Lakers two-game win streak after the 117-106 win over Sacramento.

With the Kings on the outside looking in and the Lakers guaranteed a playoff spot, the game seemed to lack a sense of urgency. Phil still wanted the win, bringing Kobe and Lamar back in the game late to secure the victory. Several Lakers had efficient offensive nights as the Lakers scorched the Kings with 57 percent shooting and 72 points in the paint.

So, it will be the Suns.

The Lakers will need to focus on their game plan on both ends of the floor and somehow get chemistry back despite the disjointed season. Jordan Farmar got the start again in this game. It seems likely Phil will start him again since the Lakers took the last two games with him at point. But who knows?

We've only beaten one team with a winning record since the All Star break. That will have to change quickly.

Kobe -- -- Kobe has put together another record-setting season, putting his name among the all-time legends. Clearly, he's been the league's best player the past two seasons, but he won't win any awards for it. Kobe has been deadly efficient in the past two games. Scoring 50 on 25 shots in the last one and dropping 34 points on 12-19 shooting (10-12 from the line) in this one. He also added 6 assists and 7 boards. He was attacking, picking apart the Kings despite Artest trying deny him. He had a bounce to his step all night which was nice to see. He missed a three on his first attempt. He dunked in transition when no one cut him off. He cut backdoor on Artest, took the feed from Farmar and jammed. He drew the D on the perimeter and hit Kwame for a score. He swished a wing jumper off a crossover. He attacked down the lane and powered up a two-handed jam (very nice). He sank a baseline jumper over his man. He hit Ronny off the two-man game with a bullet for a score. He made three of the Lakers last four baskets of the half: He crossed over Salmons badly and hit an 18-footer; he attacked down the lane and scooped in a layup with his left; he attacked in transition and drew a foul, making both FTs. He had 16 points on 7-10 shooting at the half. He missed a runner with his left. He attacked and drew FTs, making both. With a series of moves off the dribble, he lost the defenders and twisted his way under the hoop for a reverse. He attacked, jumpstepped and powered up a layup. He curled off an LO screen, took the entry pass, drew the D and hit LO for the And-1. Sweet no-look whip pass across court to Lamar who was sprinting on the break for the dunk. He drilled a jumper over Abdur-Rahim who switched on him. He posted up and drew a foul after a nice series of footwork, he made one FT. He elevated off the dribble and banked. He gave up a a four-point play to Martin. He attacked, drew a handcheck and made one FT. He attacked, drew another foul and made both. He missed a heave at the third quarter buzzer. He missed a turnaround. He attacked, drew FTs and made both. He missed a baseline jumper. He took a return pass from Kwame, attacked baseline, hung and scored the reverse. Kobe became the first Laker since Mikan to lead the league in scoring for back to back seasons.

Lamar -- -- Good game from LO. Talk about efficient, he scored his 15 points on 5-6 shooting. He was aggressive at times, but seemed to coast a bit when he was out on the floor with the second unit. He played with a bit of a chip on his injured shoulder as the refs seemed to whistle him for some cheapies throughout the game. Better, however, was his ability to control the glass against Sacramento. He used his length to keep the smaller Kings from boards and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go with his 5 assists and 2 blocks. He missed a three. He attacked the lane, drew a foul and made both FTs. He got hit in the head by Luke with a pass under the hoop, not paying attention. He dunked behind a screen from Kwame in transition. He attacked and had a layup goaltended. He attacked aggressively off the dribble but stepped on the baseline. He was fouled on a three, but made just one FT. He took a feed from Kobe, hung after taking contact and scored the And-1, he made the FT. He made like Karl Malone after a Luke defensive rebound, sprinting out on the break and Kobe found him for the dunk (I'd like to see that more, but not against the Suns). He posted up, drew a foul and made one FT. He cleaned up a Kobe miss with a putback.

Luke -- 8) -- Luke's post game took advantage of smaller players tonight. (Note to Lakers: When Barbosa is on him, give him the ball down low, please.) Luke finished the night with a double-double, scoring 10 points on 5-8 shooting and pulling down 11 boards (4 offensive) in 29 minutes. He hit a jumper in the lane. He blew a layup in transition off a nice pass from Farmar. He hit Farmar trailing the break for a layup. He missed back-to-back threes. He posted up Garcia and powered up a layup. He took Garcia under the hoop and abused him again for a layup. He scored again in the paint. He banked over his man. On the Suns matchup, Luke said: "Obviously as a basketball player and a competitor, if a team knocks you out of the playoffs, you want a chance to get your revenge. It wasn't like we were looking to play any one of them, but it will be nice to get that opportunity."

Kwame -- -- He was on limited minutes tonight because of the ankle injury. He did a lot with the time they gave him. If he can be as effective offensively against the Suns as he was in this game, it would be critical to success. He overpowered the Kings on his way to 17 points on 7-8 shooting in just 23 minutes. That's destruction. Show me it again, please. Out of a timeout, he took a Kobe pass and scored off the glass. He sealed Miller and drew a foul, he made both FTs. He took the post entry, spun to his right and scored with his left. He scored an easy layup on an entry against the zone. He posted up, bumped his man and hit with his left. He missed an easy one under the hoop. He rejected a shot behind a Laker (should have been goaltending). He sealed his man when the ball went to the corner, took the entry and dunked. He dunked in a lob in transition from Farmar. He faked the pass to Kobe who cut past him (more players need to use that), attacked Artest and powered in an And-1, he swished the FT. "I felt pretty good and they were undersized," Kwame said. "Kobe's penetration opened it up and made it easy for us. All we had to do was let Kobe come off the ball and they all went right to him."

Farmar -- -- Farmar got the start and played the first and third quarters. Bibby was knocking down everything (six straight shots), mostly from the perimeter early over Farmar. Then, he couldn't connect later. Jordan played a smooth game, no real rookie moments (and no turnovers). He scored 6 points on 3-6 shooting, had 3 assists and 3 steals in his 24 minutes. He hit Kobe with a bouncepass for a dunk. He missed a turnaround. He swiped the ball from Miller, then threaded an outlet to Luke who blew the layup. He got tapped on a pull-up three in transition. He trailed the break and scored a layup when Luke found him. He swiped the ball from Bibby, attacked with a burst of speed to blow past him and scored a layup. Excellent, quick corner entry to Kwame who sealed his man for a dunk. Luke spun, threw the ball back to Farmar on the break, who immediately lobbed to Kwame streaking down the middle for the dunk. He missed a baseline jumper. Wow...next score for Farmar was thunderous...Farmar took the pass in the backcourt, pushed up the break, picked up his dribble at the three line and exploded with two steps, leaving from the circle at the bottom of the FT line and hammering down a dunk. The bench got to their feet on that one.

Smush -- -- Better game from Smush than the last one off the bench. At least we didn't see him getting torched for layups again and again, anyway. Phil's guard rotation against the Suns will be interesting. Smush scored 9 points on 3-10 shooting (1-4 from three) and had 3 boards and 1 assist in 24:18 of action. He attacked on his first possession and drew FTs, making one. He missed a jumper. He sank an open wing three. He missed a wide open corner three, taking all day to measure it. He missed a layup at the half. He missed a jumper short. He missed a runner, got it back and hit the short jumper. He filled the lane on the break, took contact and powered in an And-1, making the FT.

Bynum -- -- Again, the Kings have no answer for him when he gets the ball inside. Which, of course, is why we don't milk it with methodical purpose. He has gone 21-25 for 49 points in 98 minutes against the Kings this year. He went 4-5 tonight for 9 points to go with 3 boards and 2 blocked shots in just 14 minutes. Those are ridiculous numbers, especially considering how long he goes between post touches. Early on, he took a post feed, backed down the smaller defender and powered a two-handed throwdown over him (that's how you do it). He pulled down a miss by Sasha and dunked it back in. He finally got a post feed about 5 minutes after his last one and he dropstepped, headfaked and powered up for an And-1, he made the FT. We then subbed him out. Back in to start the fourth, he challenged penetration and forced a brick. He swatted Salmons to ignite a break. He sealed his man coming weak to strong and drew a foul on the entry. He took the post feed, turned and hit easily.

Turiaf -- -- Short minutes from Ronny tonight, playing just 10:36. With Kwame and Bynum playing well, Phil let them have some more run. Ronny will be critical against the Suns. His energy on the offensive glass can expose one of the Suns biggest weaknesses. Tonight, he scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting. He missed a 12 footer. Next possession, he wisely went to the post and scored easily. He worked the two-man game with Kobe and scored after pulling down a hot pass. He took a bouncepass and dunked.

Evans -- -- Respectable game by Mo tonight. He could use the time off before the playoffs to rest that knee. He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting, grabbed 2 boards and had 1 assist in 23 minutes. He swished a pull-up jumper in transition. He snagged a miss off the front of the rim and quickly put it in. He missed a corner three. He swished a corner three.

Cook -- -- Cook played just 3 minutes and didn't score on two attempts. Defensively on Artest for a short stint. Cook had a shot blocked and missed a three.

Radmanovic -- -- Who knows what we will get from Vlad? Had he not been practicing for the X Games, he would have had a golden opportunity to find some sweet spots in the offense. Right now, Phil doesn't know what he will get and doesn't seem to trust Vlad for any extended minutes. Last year, Vlad was big against the Suns for the Clippers. I wouldn't expect the same thing seeing as how he's been sidelined and is wearing a shoulder pad. He scored 2 points in 4:47 of action tonight. He posted up a guard, drew a foul and made both FTs for his score.

Vujacic -- -- Hopefully, the donut Sasha had from the perimeter (going 0-5) will be out of his system. He may get some extra minutes as an "irritant" for Steve Nash. He didn't have the opportunity to get under Bibby's skin tonight. He scored just 2 points, grabbed 3 boards and had 1 assist in 13:37 of run. He missed three straight jumpers, then got blocked on a layup. He missed his next jumper. He pushed out the break and hit Smush for the And-1. He got hit on a jumper and drew FTs, making both.

Phil -- -- The team can now focus and prepare for Phoenix on both ends of the floor. Our collective hoop IQ will benefit from it. But there is plenty to worry about, as our IQ issues will likely pop up at key moments. I also worry about the second units... Hopefully, Phil is more aggressive about getting the ball to Kobe in the low post against the Suns this playoff series versus the last one. We also need our patchwork PG spot to step up, big time... Phil started Farmar again. Hard to say what he will do with the guard rotations. Expect Sasha to be more in the mix if he can play as well defensively on Nash as he did in the last game... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Mo, Sasha, Smush lineup in the second quarter. Bynum gets a dunk out of his first post touch. Dummies that the rest of the players are, they don't get him the ball again until 5 minutes later and scores an And-1 overpowering his man. Then, we sub him out. Great... Phil went back to the same line up to start the fourth. There are some definite sketchy hoop IQ issues there with that group. Perhaps, you will see more Luke in with our second unit... The Lakers scored 72 points in the paint to the Kings 32, again decimating the Kings weak interior... With the win, the Lakers kept the Kings from finishing with a winning record at home for the first time in 13 seasons... And, finally, is that Clipper fans I hear trying to quietly switch their channels over to Lakers games?...

[zass17]

YAY,,

Suck the Funs

[DK]

We've only had 1 win against a winning team for the last two months!?!? Holy crap is that scary.

Nice work regardless DB.

[ProjectAB]

I'm really liking Bynum's new found aggression the last few games. Maybe it's really all about the mentality after all(although he does look a big stronger and more coordinated.) However, he STILL has a tendency to get a bit too excited(though it's hard to blame, and he should grow out of it as these plays become more routine.)

But now, against the Suns, no matter what good plays he makes, he's going to have to block all that out and hustles back, because this is a team that can get you right back at the other end before you can even say posterized.

[DancingBarry]

ProjectAB - He's learning. I think in the preseason game against the Kings, he didn't know how to handle their smaller players...but since then, he's taken it to them. Once he starts getting his strength up and becoming more and more difficult to handle by bigger players, he should be doing some similar things to those bigger players. When he came into the league, he had absolutely no idea how to play above the rim. Yao had similar issues in the post (but could rely on his superior perimeter game to be effective). Yao learned to bang and finish strong, but it took a bit to get him there. Yao also struggled with playing through fatigue. Bynum's going through a similar growth in the mental side. Once he gets the strength up and the mental game up, he'll be a load...

...but he's got to put in the hard work to get there.

[Luke]

[Mation]

Thanks DB for the great write-ups and hard work on the keyboard!

[KOBEhastheMAGIC]

I think you mean 10-12 from the line for Kobe. Thanks as always!!!

[ProjectAB]

[Runway8]

Kobe was very springy against the Kings. He was hopping and dancing like he was 22 years old again. One of his best showcase of skills all year. This is the efficient Kobe I want to see in the playoffs.

[ocho]

DB- i know it's a cliche but i'm gonna do it anyway.

this being the last game of the season i wanna thank you for your reports which i look forward to every day. we can all look forward to a long summer of trade speculation and rampant rumors....and a whole lot of mitch bashing. the one constant during the season is reading your thoughts and ratings. as frustrating as this board can be at times we always have your column to read.

another season of great work. can't wait to read the playoff reports and the next season.


_________________
14-5-3-12

[Sage_10]

Glad to see Kwame come around on the offensive end at least.
_________________
"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[prisma8slg]

[Rick12322]

re Luke vs. Barosa, the last time the two faced each other I thought the refs called some bogus offensive fouls on Luke. I hope we don't see any more of those bs calls vs. the Suns.

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

props to kcal-hd for finding a way of displaying the lotto numbers without messing up the high-def!
_________________
"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[Dr. Funkbot]

[LakerLanny]

Lakers need to come up with a much better defensive strategy vs the Suns if they really want to have a chance of winning the series.

I would advise mixing in a 3-2 zone every 3rd or 4th time down the floor to try and throw the Suns off. That and tell the PG (be it Smush, Farmar or The Irritant) to stay back on defense to not get beat for the Cherry Pick basket the Suns specialize in.

If the Lakers just stay in a predictable, straight up man defense, Nash is going to pick them apart.
_________________
Love, Laker Lanny

[cusu32000]

kwame seemed to be jumping higher for rebounds yesterday than i remember him doing all season...perhaps it just seems that way because i was watching him more closely than usual, but he doesnt seem to be suffereing any ill effects from his earlier ankle problems

[20,000]

[20,000]

[Muad'Dib]

[RYZ]

[Wolverine]

[LakerLanny]

[postandpivot]