CLIPPERS -at- LAKERS - 10/21 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Ugly... Between the 50 first half freethrows, the odd lineups Phil threw out there and the 21 Laker turnovers, it was hard to enjoy this game. The fans seemed a bit cranky at Staples, too. The Lakers dropped the match up with the Clippers 112-96 with Kobe just playing 16 minutes, all in the first half.

Amid all that, Jordan Farmar put together a great game with 19 points, 5 assists, 6 boards and 2 steals. If this was a regular season game, Phil would have probably extended Farmar's minutes beyond the 21 he clocked. Andrew Bynum also scored 16 points on 6-8 shooting, playing a couple of long stints.

Phil has been running guys in long stints, but short minutes overall. He seems to be playing it cautious with the number of games the Lakers have crammed in before the season.

As far as Kobe's game... "I thought Kobe struggled in the first half. He played enough minutes and we've got a lot of guards to look at," Phil said afterward.


Kobe -- -- Sloppy first half from Kobe, and that's all they decided to run him. He was aggressive, but turnover prone, chalking up 7 in the half. He lost the handle on a baseline attack. He drew FTs on a nice interior post feed from Kwame, he made both. Nice attack and spin to set up Kwame for FTs. He attacked strong to his right, left the floor on the right side of the basket, stretched out and reversed on the other side, very pretty. He kicked out to Fish for an open jumper. He missed a turnaround. He attacked again and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked down the lane strong and drew FTs, he made both. He whipped a screen-roll pass right out of bounds, no chance for Bynum to get that bullet. Just determined on the possession, he attacked the lane and multiple defenders, getting a foul, he made both. He threw an interior feed away. He lost the handle trying to create off the dribble. Kobe played 16 minutes and had 10 points on 1-4 shooting, going 8-8 from the line.

DFish -- -- Okay game from Fish. He played 20 minutes and scored 9 points on 3-7 shooting and had 3 assists. He missed some open looks, he usually seems to hit. He got hit on a catch-and-shoot from the top of the key, he made one FT. He missed a pull-up jumper short. He banked from the left side behind a screen. He drained a baseline jumper off a kickout from Kobe. He airballed a baseline jumper to start his second half. He clanked a wide open wing jumper on the next trip. He hit a layup, splitting two defenders in transition. He got hit on a wing jumper, he made the FTs. He missed a high-arching baseline jumper. He drew a moving screen on the perimeter.

Turiaf -- -- A little OC tonight in some of his play. He scored all 6 of his points in the first half and pulled down 3 boards, dished 2 assists and had 2 turnovers to go with 4 fouls. He swished a 19-footer from the wing. He swished an elbow 17-footer on his next attempt. He missed a 21-footer, heat check. Nice contest on Kaman trying to throwdown, giving a good hard foul. He traveled off a quick high post attack. He was fouled under the hoop and made both FTs. He fumbled a couple of attacks away and Phil sat him in the second half for Cook.

Luke -- -- Pretty much a nothing game from Luke. He didn't score and had just 1 assist in his 11 minutes. Defensively, he had his hands full again tonight having to cover Maggette. Luke backrimmed a FT jumper. He got tapped on a tough layup on his other attempt.

Kwame -- -- "Kwame has played exceptionally well this week," Phil said before the game (I believe he was also referring to the practices, too). Kwame struggled from the line again in this one. Defensively, he was solid on his man D and also disruptive at times in help situations. Nice reach around on the baseline to knock a ball off a Clipper. He lost a good interior feed from Ronny. Good reach again to poke another ball away from a smaller player. He was fouled crashing the offensive glass, he missed both FTs. Out of a timeout, he posted up Kaman and drew an And-1 on a reverse layup, he made the FT. He attacked the rim strong on an interior feed and drew FTs, he made one. He picked up his third foul after 8 minutes. Kwame scored 4 points on 1-1 shooting (2-5 from the line) and had 4 boards and 1 turnover.

Bynum -- 8) -- He led all Lakers with 27 minutes tonight, broken up into two long stints. They used to do this to him in the summer league to help with conditioning and playing through fatigue. His conditioning is obviously much improved because he would have been sucking a bit of wind doing that on the second night of a back-to-back last year. Bynum scored 16 points on 6-8 shooting (a poor 4-9 from the line, leaving some points), just 4 boards and 1 block. Phil brought him in with a couple minutes to go in the first quarter and kept him in for the remainder of the half. He set a low screen, rolled off it and was fouled going for the oop from Kobe, he made one FT. He was fouled as he started his post move, he missed both FTs. He dunked off a behind-the-back pass from Farmar. Tough reach to grab another Farmar pass, then he took a power dribble and scored an And-1, he missed the FT. Nice bounce pass on the baseline to Mo for a dunk. An offensive board got tapped to him and he jammed it down. Out of a timeout, he out-reached Kaman for a high pass, gathered it and dunked easily. He was fouled under the hoop off an interior feed from Vlad, he made both FTs. He missed a face-up 15-footer. Bynum scored 11 points in the half on 4-5 shooting and a poor 3-7 from the line. Nice center sprint and he decided not to vacate his position, Farmar threw a high entry, Bynum gathered it and hit the short hook. Nice bounce pass to Mo who was making a half-ass cut, Mo then missed the dunk and wanted the foul. He lost a backdoor lob off his fingertips. He swished a fake left, turn right jumper from 14 feet out. He drew FTs on a high feed from Critt, he made one. Bynum wasn't happy with the team D and his presence in this game. "They got countless layups today and that's on the 5, so we got to do something about that," he said.

Farmar -- -- "We like the way Jordan Farmar is playing ... a lot," Phil said before the game. Farmar didn't disappoint. He was taking it to the Clips and playing with high energy. He led the team in scoring with 19 points on 7-10 shooting (3-4 from three, showing off that improved shot). He also grabbed 6 boards, dished 5 assists without a turnover and stole the ball twice. He missed a half court heave at the end of the first. He deflected a pass, then one-handed it back in bounds to Vlad. On the other end, he got into the lane and went behind the back to Drew for the dunk. He swished a sideline three in transition. After digging out a loose ball under the defensive rim, he took the ball up court, completely lost Dickau with a spin move (Dickau was preparing to flop and looked silly...I think Turiaf went into a spasm on the sideline, possibly imitating Dickau), Farmer then flipped it up and over the help defender for a score. He exploded to a loose ball, picked it up and scored a layup on the other end. Excellent stint by Farmar, scoring 7 points on 3-4 shooting and playing with a lot of energy. First possession of the fourth quarter, Farmar attacks and flips in a near no-look right hander from the left side to beat the shotclock, wow. He exploded to the passing lane in the backcourt, swiped a pass and drew the foul, he made both FTs. He drained a stepback 20-footer off the dribble. He found Vlad in transition for a layup. Good recognition of Bynum running the center sprint and planting himself in the middle of the lane and it resulted in an easy score when Jordan tossed him a high entry. He splashed in a three from behind a Bynum pick. He swished an open three in transition. Great, great two-way game again.

Crittenton -- -- He was in cruise control again playing across Kobe. They don't run that combo very often, but Javaris needs to stay aggressive even when Kobe is on the floor and demanding the ball. Just watch how Farmar doesn't hold back...it's okay to push the throttle, Critt... Quiet minutes from him, finishing with just 1 point, 4 assists and 2 boards in 11 minutes. He got blocked on his first and only attempt, looked like he wanted the foul. He attacked once and drew a foul, but that was it in his first stint. He telegraphed a perimeter pass and it was picked. He drew FTs on a alley-oop attempt, he made one FT. Good look in the paint, throwing it up high for Bynum and it drew the bigman a couple FTs.

Radmanovic -- -- Pretty average game from Vlad. He scored 7 points on 3-7 shooting (1-4 from three) and grabbed 3 boards in 24 minutes. He picked up a quick foul upon entering the game trying to go for a steal on an entry pass. He gave up another foul on the other end pushing Maggette under the hoop. He swished a pull-up from the elbow. He got blocked at the rim. He missed a baseline three. He gambled off Thorton and gave up a huge dunk near the end of the half. He then missed a good look at a three on the other end. He hit a catch-and-shoot three from the wing. He missed his next three. He scored a layup in transition.

Mihm -- -- Ugly stint from Chris in the third quarter. He went 0-6 and he didn't score. Part of the problem was he had no one creating for him (no Kobe or Luke who could attack and set him up). So, the result was some higher difficulty shots. He did miss some open looks, too, however. He missed a reverse on a corner sequence. He airballed a left-handed hook. He missed an open 12 footer. He missed a long jumphook. Nice challenge on Patterson to get a miss. Good effort on the offensive glass, tipping at it several times before we got it back. He got picked from behind and gave up a dunk.

Evans -- -- Hot Mo has his jumper working. Cold Mo doesn't. Mo made just one perimeter shot and even bricked both FTs he took -- clear signs that Cold Mo as wearing the jersey tonight. He still managed 7 points on 3-9 shooting, and he found some other ways to contribute, tallying 3 steals in his 20 minutes. If Cold Mo can only contribute with dunks and hustle plays that's what Cold Mo's got to do. He missed a three on a kickout from Bynum. He missed a layup in traffic, then fouled on the other end giving up FTs. Mo dunked off a baseline Tri cut where Bynum hit him with a bounce pass. He snatched up a bad pass, blew past Cassell and dunked. He drew a foul off the dribble, but then missed both FTs. Mo sank a corner three off a series of miscues by both teams. He tried to create off the dribble from the top of the key and missed a runner. He then missed a chuck just before the quarter ended. He was stripped off the dribble. He missed a dunk off a great bounce pass from Bynum and he wanted the foul. He shot a three off the side of the backboard, ugly. I wince when Cold Mo takes jumpers.

Cook -- -- And your leading rebounder tonight...Brian Cook with 8 boards in 26 minutes. He couldn't do a whole lot else right, but again, if his shots are not falling he's got to be less of a burden on the team by doing other things. Cook finished with 7 points on a poor 3-11 shooting. He also had 2 turnovers and 1 steal. He stepped in to take a charge on Dickau shortly after entering the game. He drained a long wing three on his first attempt. He missed a three. He scored a layup in transition off a feed by Sasha. He traveled while pumpfaking. He missed a wing jumper. He lasered in a bank shot from the post. He missed a good look at a three. Then, missed another closer in. He traveled with some sloppy footwork in the post. He bricked a turnaround. Even though there's a lot of talk about Lamar playing SF, I think LO takes a majority of Cook's minutes at the PF once he's healthy.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha's scoring spree took a little time off tonight. He did manage getting the most out of the one make he made in three attempts. He got a good look from three, swished it and drew the foul from Thorton, Sasha then made the FT. He started the second half for Kobe tonight and was part of a miserable combination of players on the floor. He lost a ball of his leg, attacking down the lane. He missed a baseline jumper. Good hit, spotting Cook trailing the break and it resulted in a layup. He missed a wing three.

Karl -- -- Poor Coby, he's got the Sasha-itis right now, not being able to take the practice game to the real game. Phil even praised him as being one of the biggest surpises of camp. He looked awful. The stats don't do it justice. He finished with 6 points on 2-6 shooting (2-5 from three), 1 assist, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 14 minutes. He airballed a three on his first attempt. Great D on Maggette on his first stand, blocking the shot with that long wingspan of his. He stepped on the sideline while attacking baseline. He missed a three on his next attempt. A minute after the crowd was chanting "Kobe, Kobe, Kobe," Coby drained a wing three, feeling the love. He took a rare charge off the ball on Kaman. He then returned the favor with the same type of pass rusher type of play on the other end. He screamed as he lost the handle off a simple pinch post play. He missed a corner three attempt. He airballed a three from the corner with Thorton charging at him -- wow, this is brutal. He swished a wing three on his next attempt. Hopefully, he starts to pull it together in the next one.

Phil -- -- So much for the improved D the Lakers were showing yesterday. The Lakers didn't win a single quarter tonight, while giving up the 112 points... The Lakers scored just 5 points nearly halfway through the first quarter before Phil called a timeout. They went to Kwame in the post and got three points. The Lakers trailed 29-24 in a foul-laden first quarter. Both teams went to the line a ton, the difference was the Laker bigmen couldn't hit their FTs... The two teams combined for 50 freethrows in the first half. The Lakers made just 16-24 and trailed 59-53 at the half... Hamblen said, "We fouled too much." No kidding... Phil started a Mihm, Turiaf, Vlad, Sasha, Fish lineup in the second half. Strange lineup with no one to create shots for the shooters. It wasn't a surprise that the team floundered badly out of the gate, shooting 2-11. The crowd wasn't too pleased with the product on the floor at this point... The Lakers shot 40.5 percent from the floor tonight. Not exactly the free flowing offense of the past couple games. But some of these lineups won't see the light of day during the regular season...

[ocho]

nice DB.

i was at the game tonight.

farmar is a gamer. he was doing it all. big defensive plays, threes, dimes....he was the best laker tonight.

bynum does great things when he gets touches. bad defensive game but he looked great on O.

coby karl is bad.

al thornton is a helluva player. the guy is EXPLOSIVE for his size. he was slashing to the hoop at will. hitting threes. he's a nice player for the clipps.

lakers put in some terrible lineups tonight. but it's preseason. won't happen in the regular season.

yes its true...the lakers now do the lame phx ring around the rosie thing pregame. it just looks wrong.

fish got as big if not bigger ovation than kobe. the fans love him.

ronny is great. he really worked on the J and it shows. smooth as silk.

and for god sake who picked the refs for tonights game? they were so whistle happy in the first qtr it was ridiculous. come on guys...it's preseason.

fun game. though if i can offer an emoticon of my own i'd have to give a to $10.50 beers at staples center.

[manlisten]

Butt ugly game tonight, everyone was fumbling the pigskin. Fish and Sasha is a disgusting back court mix. I wish Coby 2.0 would relax because the 15th spot is his to lose, he was more relaxed before he was under the spotlight at Staples.

[REPPIN 818]

[L33T kObE8]

DB do you think if Odom plays in the first game then after the first couple of games of the season, Phil will ease Cook out of the lineup? I'm hoping for Odom to start at SF then go to the 4 when Luke comes in and then Radman in for Odom. Cook is just awful and I really don't understand Phil's deal with playing him. I understand he's our only PF besides Ronny but still I'd rather play Radman over Cook at 4 for shot periods of time. Cook never jumps, his presence on defense is non existent, he can't rebound unless he's in perfect position, he pushes from behind if hes not in rebounding position, and he gets out rebounded by smaller guys constantly. He also likely couldn't guard Mark Madsen one on one and he's constantly swiping and hacking at the ball to pick up dumb fouls.
If you couldn't tell I really hate Cook lol
_________________
In regards to a certain fan wanting to cut his wrists:
Orestes: "Guess that's one way to find out if you really bleed purple & gold."

[uberzev]

Turiaf was just terrible in the second half. I was very disapointed with his defense on that generic white dude.
_________________
Lakers Gonna Lake

[A Mad Chinaman]

DB, as always - a Big Thank You

Question:
With PJ saying that only two players will at the "5" - who would be the better choice as backup to LO (Kwame or Mihm)?

It appears that Mihm (IMO) will be the odd man out because the game is still moving too fast for him - a player that hasn't played for a year. I think that when teams such as the Pistons (w/Wallace), Spurs (w/Duncan) and Mavs (w/Dirk) - the P&G could use Kwame or Mihm at the "5" - feasible?

Having watching the players, could the Lakers' "Speed Team" consist of Farmar @ PG, Crit @ SG, Kobe @ SF, LO @ PF and Bynum @ C. Multiple ball-handlers where all of them (outside of Bynum who can do everything except bringing up the ball) dribble the ball, pass the ball, drive the paint and score while playing good "D?"

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[KOBE 2.0]

Bynum is a beast down-low am I the only one who thinks this hes gonna be very good this year but his shot-blocking and rebounding needs to improve a bit.

[prisma8slg]

I'm kinda glad I wasn't able to watch the game. good to see that a few people did have good games.

[lakerfanSB]

Reppin,

Remember we'll have Odom to add to your list of starters.

[lalfan]

this clipper game definitely showed we need an atheletic sf pretty bad. maggate(sp) and al thornton just torn our sf apart with their quickness and atheletism. luke belongs to the bench and mo. evan is too erratic on the defensive end. also bynum looked too passive once he got the ball on the block especially against kaman.

[hi_ma]

Farmar is legit
_________________

The lakers will get prince.

[hoopschick29]

Well if we plan on speeding up our offense, Farmar has to start. You need a real PG to run any kind of accelerated offense and Jordan is really our only pure PG.
_________________
So glad we gave you your flowers while you were here, Kobe.

[Klone_dd]

JoFar is really taking this competition with Critt very seriously. He's been impressive in all the games I've watched. Props to him for not assuming that his job was secure or for sulking when the Lakers chose another PG in the draft. He's showing great quickness, decisiveness and has obviously worked on his shooting. His anticipation on defense has been excellent as well.

Maybe it's just the Shaggy look, but doesn't Sasha look like he's aged 10 years?

[wolfpaclaker]

[DzLaker]

[wolfpaclaker]

^
I think you missed my point.

Turiaf will start at PF, but when matchup warrants that Kwame defend the PF - he (Turiaf) will rotate over to C on defense. That is the advantage of starting Kwame/Turiaf .. defensively it may the best duo. Though I'm still not sold that Bynum/Turiaf can not be even better given some time together. On offense, Kwame will probably always be a C for the Lakers. Turiaf is showing great potential as a starting PF on offense. He has made the doubter in me a believer. Hopefully he can mantain this when it really counts.

[LakerSince72]

[All_Star_Laker]

Was Tony Parker wearing a Jordan Farmar disguise last night?

[shane]

[REPPIN 818]

[REPPIN 818]

[Bas]

Thanks DB.