TWOLVES -at- LAKERS - 11/9 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

LO Back in the Attack... The Lakers got 18 points and 10 rebounds from Lamar Odom in his return to the floor. The team played a little loose at times -- their intensity yo-yoing with the size of their lead -- but they held on to the 107-93 win against the 0-4 Timberwolves.

The TWolves are a franchise in transition, which is a polite way of saying that they are currently a post-apocalyptic basketball story. The big one hit. Scattered elements of a team remain. A madman is in charge.

Kevin McHale dismantled a Western Conference Finals team, and kept dismantling around KG until, Garnett, too, had to go. In the process, he managed to somehow inherit the Celtics, sans Paul Pierce. Brilliant. There's a lesson here for the Lakers.

At least McHale got Al Jefferson and his own draft pick back, but it's a long way back to contention...especially with McHale at the helm, who seems about as excruciating and marginally effective in the art of negotation as Jerry Lundegaard (a character out of McHale's neck of the woods in the movie Fargo, "...They install that TruCoat at the factory, there's nothin' we can do...")

I digress. The point being, the Lakers have their own post-apocalyptic story to prevent with the fate of Kobe Bryant, whatever that may be.

Tonight, the Lakers got 20 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocked shots from their center combo of Bynum and Mihm. They had three players in double digit rebounds for the first time in a year and a half. The game should have been a bigger blowout: We shot 41 freethrows to the TWolves 14; we held them to just 39 percent shooting; and, we had 28 assists on our 36 makes. The problems? We gave up 18 offensive boards and 18 turnovers -- not enough one-and-done stands and not enough protection of the ball.



Kobe -- -- Kobe was continually looking for teammates, but not to the point of neglecting his own scoring. He still has some ill-advised passes, usually while he gets caught in the air or sometimes on sketchy transition plays. On the good side, some of those passes are trying to hit his bigmen. He put together a well-rounded game. He scored 30 points on 9-19 shooting, he pulled down 7 boards, he dished 7 assists and had 4 steals. He had 5 turnovers (between him, Luke and DFish, they combined for 15 turnovers...ouch). He took contact on his first attempt and missed a layup. He dunked after swiping a pass on the perimeter. He missed a wide, wide open three (he's rarely that open in the half court). He forced up a reverse and missed badly. He attacked baseline, spun away from the pressure and drew FTs, he made one FT. He hit a jumper from the top of the key. He gave Bynum an extra pass under the hoop for a dunk. He dunked when Fish hit him on the release after a missed shot. Wow, he somehow managed to guide an alley-oop from Farmar in despite what looked like a shove from behind with no call. He hit a three pointer going for a quick attempt at the end of the quarter. He had 12 points on 5-9 shooting in the quarter. Poor pass trying to get it into Bynum and it went out of bounds. He missed a wing three. He bolted after a long rebound, went between his legs off the dribble to cut to the lane and threw a perfect oop to Ronny for the dunk. He tracked down the long pass, took contact and drew FTs to get his first points of the quarter with 2 seconds left. He had 14 points at the half. He worked the two-man game with Mihm and Turiaf for consecutive scores. He shed his man, took the outlet and scored a layup. Perfect break, pushing it up, waiting, then hitting LO for the dunk. He lost the handle trying to create off the dribble. He swiped the ball from Jefferson on the double team with Bynum, then he drilled a three in transition on the other end. He missed a three next time down from the same spot. Short little oop in the lane to Bynum for the dunk (show me that more, please). He hit Sasha with the quick outlet for a layup. He missed a three. He blew past Green for an easy layup. He hit Vlad cutting the baseline for FTs. He missed a jumper, then drew a foul off the ball, he made both FTs. He threw a wild pass in the paint and it went out of bounds. He missed a jumper. He blew past Green and drew a foul, he made both FTs. He got fouled again and made both FTs. He drilled a three from about 29 feet out.

Lamar -- -- "I'm still a little rusty," Lamar said. "I still have a long way to go as far as my conditioning is concerned, but I just let the game come to me and playing with a great player like Kobe, it's pretty easy." Starting at the SF but moving also the PF, Lamar led the team with a +22. The quick ball movement forced the D to scramble, but also helped LO to avoid hoisting perimeter shots. He was aggressive, attacked when the opportunity was there and posted up at times against smaller men. Very fluid game from him. He scored 18 points on 7-10 shooting (no three attempts, 4-4 from the line), he had 10 boards and 2 assists. He attacked using his length and missed. He attacked off the right pinch post with speed and scored a layup. He missed a bank. He grabbed a Kobe missed three and drew FTs going back up, he made both. He posted up Brewer and drew an easy foul. He attacked and kicked out to Farmar for the three. He lost his man in the post and made an extra pass to Vlad who was fouled (Lamar probably should have scored that one). He left Brewer in the dust again in the post and dunked. He banked back in an offensive board. He bricked and easy layup under the hoop. He drew FTs off the pinch post, he made both. Lamar had 10 points on 3-6 shooting, 5 boards and 1 assist in 17 first half minutes. He hit Kobe with the long outlet for a layup. He two-hand jammed out on the break with Kobe. Great cut off of Fish who had the ball in the corner, Fisher found him and LO dunked. He blew a sure alley-oop from Luke. Great feed from the corner to a cutting Bynum for FTs. He scored a layup on a bust out with Fish. He attacked to his left from the right wing, used his length, extended and scored the layup.

DFish -- -- Fish led the team with 9 assists, making some excellent reads in the half court sets. His decision-making in transition is always an adventure, and his 4 turnovers were reflective of that. He scored 11 points on an efficient 3-5 shooting (0-1 from three, 5-6 from the line). He missed an open baseline jumper. He threw a pass away on the break. He threw an outlet away. He head faked and drew a foul attacking, he made one FT. Good bullet feed from the perimter to Ronny for an And-1. He outlet quickly to Kobe who released after a miss and it led to a dunk. He slapped a ball loose, then took a pass the distance for a layup. He hit Luke with a long backdoor pass across the lane for a score. He drew contact in the lane and made both FTs. He missed a three. He attacked off a Luke pass and scored the layup. He set up Mihm off the pick and roll. Fish had 7 points on 2-4 shooting, 5 assists and 3 turnovers in the first half. He swished the deep corner jumper. He drew FTs cutting off Bynum and taking the handoff, he made both. Wild backdoor feed to Luke for a turnover. Excellent corner feed to LO who cut from the wing to the baseline and dunked. He drew a clear-out foul on Jaric. He stripped his man, pushed up the break and hit LO for the dunk.

Turiaf -- -- Matched up against Jefferson to start, and he seemed to do a better job keeping him off the glass, even though Ronny didn't tally but a couple rebounds. The minutes between him and LO at the PF make the team much improved. Cook was firmly planted on the end of the bench and Ronny was putting together 11 points, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in his 22 minutes. The steals, blocks, challenges, rotations and boxing out are the little things that help win games. He only had 2 fouls, too. He took a quick entry and dunked an And-1 over Gomes, he made the FT. He swatted Smith, who was trying to post up over him. Good hustle to get a loose ball and it led to a Bynum dunk. He drew a foul in the lane and made one FT. Excellent challenge on one end, then he sealed on the other in transition and drew a foul on Jefferson, he made both FTs. Another great challenge on Smith on one end, then he drew a foul in the post again running to the other end, he made one FT. He missed a wing jumper. He jammed in a Kobe alley-oop. He had 9 points on 2-3 shooting (5-7 from the line), 2 steals and 1 block in the first half. He missed a long jumper. He swatted dribble penetration on one end, took a feed from Kobe off the two-man game, faked a pass and scored. He missed a layup off a nice post move. I thought Phil seemed to forget about him for a stretch in this game.

Mihm -- -- Chris looked like his active self on the offensive glass. He was causing the TWolves all kinds of issues there, tallying 5 on the night. His impact on the offensive glass was a little more than that 5 offensive boards, as he kept other boards alive and drew fouls by fighting for good position. Phil sat him down at the six minute mark of the first and third quarters. Then, brought him back later. Chris's ankle looked loose after each of those rests, and he said he felt good afterward. He scored 10 points on 5-9 shooting to go with his 10 boards and 2 blocks. He cleaned up a Kobe miss with a layup. Good activity next time down on the offensive boards again and he drew a foul. Good D in transition to force a brick from Jefferson. He swatted Jefferson in the paint. He took the return feed off the pick and roll, spun and hit the short hook. Good activity again on the offensive glass and he drew a foul. He reposted and hit a jumphook. He worked the two-man with Kobe and similar to the one with DFish, the took the return feed, spun to the middle and this time hit with his left. He missed the jumphook bank attempt. He short-armed a 15-footer. He swatted Green, then secured a defensive board on the same stand. Good activity again on the offensive glass and it got back a possession, he then drew a foul in the lane off an interior feed from Luke, he missed both FTs. He pulled down another offensive board and it led to Kobe FTs. He bit on an upfake and gave up a dunk to Jefferson. He fumbled away a sensational touch pass from Luke. On the other end, he could not secure the defensive glass, giving up multiple boards before the TWolves finally scored. He got it back, though, tapping in a Luke miss on the other end.

Bynum -- -- "He's starting to get tough rebounds inside," said Norm Nixon afterward. I think that's one of the more apparent improvements (along with finishing above the rim) for Bynum this season. He is pulling boards away from people and controlling the defensive glass. He also had some very good shot challenges, anchoring the D all night, which is what they need. He finished with 10 points on 4-8 shooting, 10 boards and 3 blocks in 25 minutes. He was the first sub off the bench, midway through the first. He dunked off an extra interior pass from Kobe. He challenged penetration, then quickly went up high for the board. He never saw a feed from Luke or thought it was going to Vlad and it went out of bounds. He missed a jumphook. He got blocked twice by Ratliff on one possession. He swatted Telfair and controlled it. Long 14-minute stint, he had 7 boards in that stretch and went 1-5 for 2 points. He took the high pass, gathered himself and got fouled hard, he made one FT. He threw down an interior alley-oop from Kobe. Using that tremendous wingspan of his, he tipped a missed shot away from two defenders and dunked around Jefferson. He swatted Smith in the lane, but then let him score easily a few seconds later. He dunked off a drive and no-look feed from Farmar. He drew FTs off a nice cut and then a feed from LO, he made one FT. He had 8 points on 3-3 shooting in the third. He kicked out to Sasha for the jumper for his 1 assist.

Luke -- -- Luke has played better as a starter for whatever reason. But he needs to get the job done off the bench with the way Ronny is playing at PF (moving Lamar to the SF). He shot a poor 1-6 for 4 points to go with 6 turnovers with 3 assists in 29 minutes. Some of those turnovers (maybe three) were probably not his fault, but as Phil said, "He tried to do some things that were a little risky." Luke also spent some time at the SG with Vlad and LO out on the floor. He blew an easy layup curling from the weakside out of the offense. He missed an open wing jumper. He missed a short jumper in the lane. He threw a pass away trying to hit LO. Sweet spin move off the dribble at the top of the key to draw the D, then he kicked to Vlad for three. He backdoored his man, took the pass and scored. He was called for an offensive foul in the post. He drew FTs when LO pushed up the rebound, he made both FTs. He missed a runner trying to beat the shotclock. He missed an open three.

Farmar -- -- Farmar had a couple nice plays on the night, but didn't bring his "A" game. He scored just 3 points on 1-4 shooting, assisted twice, stole the ball once, and had 2 turnovers. Bad pass in transition and it resulted in a turnover. He attacked Telfair in transition and drew the foul, he missed both. He missed a three. He swished a sideline three off a kickout from LO. He missed a three. He drew a charge on Smith in transition. Sensational play against the zone, he got into the paint, drew a crowd and wrapped a no-looker around a defender to Bynum, who was behind him, for a dunk. He dropped a pass out of bounds. He missed a hurried sideline three.

Radmanovic -- -- Vlad is going to struggle to find his minutes with the current lineup, so he will need to make the most of his time while he's out there. He played just 12 minutes and managed to go 1-5 for 6 points (3-4 from the line, 1-3 from three). He drew FTs when Lamar made the extra feed under the hoop, he made both. He missed an easy putback. He sank an open corner three off a drive, draw and dish from Luke. He drew FTs cutting off Kobe, he made one. He missed a jumphook.

Vujacic -- -- I'm not sure what Sasha's minutes will be. Especially if Mo gets healthy, but there is clearly a log jam in front of him. He played 6 minutes, all in the second half and scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting. He missed an open corner jumper. He released after the challenge and scored a layup off the Kobe outlet. He airballed a corner three. He swished his next jumper when Bynum kicked out to him.

Phil -- -- He started Mihm, then brought in Bynum midway through the quarter. He later replaced both Fish and Odom with Farmar and Luke. The Lakers led 30-28 after one, giving up some easy shots and too many turnovers (6)... Phil sat Kobe and brought LO in. Always having one on the floor in the first half. He played LO at both SF and PF. He played Luke at both SG and SF and got some minutes for Vlad at SF. Tight rotations without minutes for Cook, Sasha, or Mo (injured) with that rotation... The Lakers cut the turnovers a little in the second quarter, but still had 10 in the first half. They shot 43.9% from the floor to the TWolves 44.4% in the half. The Lakers went 17-23 from the line, the Wolves just 5-6. With that big a difference, they should have led more than 56-50 at halftime... Similar rotations in the second half (a little more LO at PF) until Phil brought in Sasha at the SG spot... Phil went back to LO and Fish for Farmar and Vlad when the lead got cut with over 6 minutes left. He somehow forgot about Turiaf and left him on the bench. We paid the price on the defensive glass, I thought... The Lakers won the battle of the break 21-4... The team D looks a lot tighter with Ronny and Kwame defending the pick and rolls vs. Ronny and Mihm. Mihm gives us a much better post option and is active on the offensive glass. Phil's got some interesting decisions... As predicted, Cook's minutes will be reduced with LO back. He was a DNP tonight...

[OscarWang]

First! Nice game DB, I was there...!
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"Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise."

- Kobe Bryant

[LakerSanity]

Best news is Cook being pushed to the bench... as usual, spot on stuff DB.
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[KOBE 2.0]

Thanks.

[jbjb]

Thanks DB. I hope you enjoy doing this, because I'm really looking forward to reading 75 more of your "Thoughts and Ratings" this season.

[Michlake]

It will be interestng to see how Phil plays the 4th quarters in the future. This game he went with the triangle friendly lineup with Luke in for Ronny.

Aganist teams with a better offense I think he will need Ronny in there for defense but Phil has always enjoyed a healthy man-crush on Luke, so who knows. It wouldn't susprise me if Phil went with Luke until we lost a couple of close games because of poor defense.

[TooCool]

Nice job DB. I wish we would have blown the T-Pups out though. But I'll take it anyway.
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[Achilles]

Excellent job as usual. Nice Fargo reference too.

I don't think we win this game last year. There were times during this game where we looked like a veteran team. I saw genuine chemistry. Kobe is still forcing passes but he's playing extremely hard. There's just more effort in general this season. It's nice to watch.

I think I'll call up Shep Proudfoot and go get a shot and a steak.

[Siguy]

McHale is crazy guys. What the heck was that team he's made?

And why did they refuse to play Telfair and Green until the fourth? What, they want Jaric and their other crap veterans playing instead of young prospects that they need to figure out?

[8750]

thanks, DB
as you say, i hope that watching the wolves without garnett will give to our fo and also to some people here an idea of what lakers without kobe would look... what all the young talented teams -look at atlanta, with joe johnson, marvin williams, josh smith- miss is exactly the mental toughness that only someone like kobe or garnett could give...

[GoldenThroat]

...and yet Bynum is still getting the "he played terrible defense" response from some on the board. I'm really not sure that he'll ever be able to satisfy some people. You're right on the money with your evaluation of his D tonight.

[chazz]

Nice recap d-Barry. Do you think when Kwame´s healthy that Pj might use him at PF a little more instead since Mihm and Bynum are doing good together or is it back to the three headed monster=)?

[he_is_the_one]

Thanks DB!
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That was Noiceeeee

[kups]

Ah yes, a rating from DB. Glad to hear we got the W. Game wasn't available here but these were my favorite parts:

[quote DancingBarry] --we had 28 assists on our 36 makes
Lamar -- He was aggressive, attacked when the opportunity was there
Bynum -- He is pulling boards away from people and controlling the defensive glass. He also had some very good shot challenges, anchoring the D all night, which is what they need.[quote]

Thanks for the excellent recap DB.
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[infidel]

The difference between Lamar and Walton is so immense. Like watching a stud race horse streak down the track versus a fat injured walrus limping to its death.

I think the Lakers are flat out better with Turiaf at the 4 and Lamar at the 3.

I'm hoping that becomes are go-to lineup with Bynum at the 5 and Fisher and Kobe in the backcourt.

[LongtimeLakerLover]

Thanks DB.

I agree with Achilles. We wouldn't have won this game last year. Fish makes a HUGE difference over Smush (who, btw, hasn't cracked Riley's rotation yet) in every way. He just knows what to do. I like the way they shared and moved the ball, and their movement without the ball. Nice to see them cutting instead of standing around like last year.

This is a better team.

Now, off to Texas....
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[limchrc]

I was not able to watch the game. Thanks for the recap.

[In the paint]

It was great to see Lamar back. He is definitely fun to watch in an up tempo game running the wing or with the ball. Also he had some very good plays in the half court sets, beating Al Jefferson off the dribble, and his nice cut along the baseline both for easy scores.

I would not expect many more threads about not fitting into the team.

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

Welcome Back L.O. IMO we would be 5-0 right now if Lamar had started the season healthy.
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[golakersgo121]

[golakersgo121]

[Rick12322]

Thanks DB. What's wrong with Luke? Last year he came in shooting good and now he can't shoot worth a lick?

[wolfpaclaker]

^
Last year, Luke was shooting from 3 and the low post. He wasn't doing as much shooting from mid-range or other spots. Right now he's not playing as aggressively inside or with the same poise outside. A year ago, I felt Luke didn't hesitate at all to shoot, now that hesitation is back in his game a bit. Luke is a on and off player in regards to his shooting, probably always will be. What you must see/recieve from Luke is the creativity. Unfortunately last night he was off on that too. It's going to be an adjustment for Luke, he has been a starter for over a year now. The last time he came off the bench for a consistent period of time, it was March 2006. It's a different game off the bench. Actually harder for a veteran like him. He'll be fine, eventually.

Please - lets not expect the same numbers from him. I'll be very pleased with 8, 4 and 3 in about 22 mpg. So long as Ronny keeps bringing his 8/7 in 24 mpg also, the Lakers will be a much better team for it.

[lakersfreak]

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[20,000]

Wow, not until someone above mentioned did I just realize that Cook didn't play last night. I think that was the best part of this whole thing. Imagine how much of a bigger game Jefferson would have had if Cook had played?

DB, or anyone really, to what do you attribute all the Kobe turnovers to? These weren't the kind of turnovers you see when he makes a wide open pass to Kwame. No, I mean the jumping in the air forced passes turnovers? Or the passing to a double-teamed player turnovers? Is he trying to force the "make his teammates better" thing? Is he just showboating and trying to have fun? I don't think he is trying to sabotage anything by making these turnovers. It just seems he doesn't or isn't thinking things fully through.

Also, what's the word on Evans and Brown? What exactly are their injuries? Will they be back sooner or later?

Argh, I had another question but I am drawing a blank now. I will re-post when it comes to me.

Thanks.
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