BULLS -at- LAKERS - 11/18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Catch-24... The Lakers pounded their opponent 61-32 in the second half and cruised to the 106-78 slaughter of the Bulls. They were powered by 73 points from the bench, the most since 1988. The W, however, didn't come without a price -- losing Kwame Brown to a sprained ankle and knee.

There's a whole backstory to this Bulls matchup, of course, that won't be refected in any box score -- the trade demands and negotiations between Kobe, the Lakers and the Bulls. The drama of which seems to have consumed the 2-7 Bulls as their own fans chant "Ko-be! Ko-be! Ko-be!"

Kobe hasn't called off his dogs publically, and it appears to be going no where. You wonder if Kobe realizes the position he's in. Call it a Catch-24.

He can't leave L.A. right now without draining another team of talent. The potential impact talent around him is too young at the moment. He wants to win it all now, but his best opportunity might be to do the one thing he doesn't want to do ... wait.

Meanwhile, his supporting cast just thumped the Bulls. The game might have been the perfect chance for the Bulls to exorcise some demons. But with Deng sidelined and this being the second night of a back to back, the wheels fell off that idea. The Lakers held the Bulls to 34.8 percent shooting. Combine that with five players on the bench scoring double figures...and ouch...you have your 28-point blowout. Last time the Lakers had five off the bench in double figures was 1985.



Kobe -- -- He started to look for his perimeter shot a bit more in the second half and we pushed out to our first big lead. It wasn't a pretty game offensively, for sure, but we're winning games. Kobe scored 10 points in the third and keyed a 15-2 run. Defensively, we matched him up with Hinrich to ball hawk...which wasn't going to help Hinrich get out of his shooting struggles. Hinrich shot just 3-11 on the night and had 8 assists, but with 6 turnovers. Not a great game offensively from Kobe and I think a good chunk of that has to do with the first unit not thinking the game well right now. The Stats: Kobe scored 18 points on 6-16 shooting (0-2 from three, 6-7 from the line), grabbed 5 boards, dished 3 assists, had 3 steals, 4 turnovers and just 1 foul in 32 minutes. He had a +12. The Action: He attacked in transition and drew FTs, he made both. He charged into Ben Wallace, who then took out Kwame's knee. He created off the dribble and hit a pull-up in the lane. He missed a three, stepping back behind the line. Quick interior feed to Bynum for the dunk. Stupid pass, throwing it behind his back without looking to where Bynum had been at the three line, Bynum had already left to get to the paint. He pumpfaked Thabo a couples times, got him to bite and drew FTs, he made both. He faded unnecessarily on a jumper and came up short. He set up Mihm for FTs with dribble penetration. He worked the dribble again, getting contact with no call and banking in the layup at the buzzer. He had 8 points on 2-6 shooting in the first half. He missed a pull-up to start the second half, we got it back and he hit a fallaway on the baseline. He missed another pull-up. He forced pull-up and he missed short. He attacked Griffen got hit on his elbow with Griffen's teeth as he went up and banked in the And-1, he made the FT after getting some blood cleaned up and his elbow patched. He attacked, lost Thabo pulling up and hit the 16-footer. He scored a layup, giving it up to Cook, cutting and getting it back. He missed a wide open wing jumper. He missed a tough turnaround. He jumped out behind Duhon in the backcourt, stole the pass and drew FTs, he made one. He bricked a long three.

Lamar -- -- Quiet night from Lamar, but I was actually pleased with some of his reads in the Tri. He facilitated a few excellent Tri sequences that won't go down in the stat sheet, but picked apart the D. Hopefully, we can start seeing a bit more of that because I think he's struggled a bit in his "preseason" games with that aspect of his game. He's been getting by on hustle and garbage plays. Good to see the brain muscle flex a little more. Defensively, he used his length well to deflect passes, challenge a number of shots and force misses throughout the night against the smaller Bulls team. The Stats: Lamar had 9 points on just 3-7 shooting (0-2 from three, 3-4 from the line), he pulled down 6 boards, blocked 2 shots and had 2 steals in 35 minutes. He had a +5. The Action: He sank a baseline jumper on our first offensive sequence. Bad choice to fallaway to a steep-angle baseline shot against the buzzer and he hit the side of the backboard. Bad kickout, right out of bounds for a turnover. He posted up Nocioni and scored easily. He blocked Duhon's drive. He dropped a pass in transition out of bounds. He scooped up a loose ball, pushed it out, cut off Wallace, then attacked and drew FTs, he made one. Too quiet in the first half, scoring 5 points on 2-4 shooting and pulling down just 2 boards. He tied up Hinrich on the floor and won the jumpball. He attacked and wanted the foul on the missed layup. Good challenge with Kobe to force Gordon into an airball. He deflected a pass to cause a turnover. He missed a three. He swatted Thabo, pounded the dribble and drew a foul, he made both FTs. A couple great Tri reads, the first he spotted Luke in the high post with Farmar getting ready to cut, the sequence led to a Mihm dunk. Another read of Mihm setting up for the corner sequence, LO hit Farmar in the corner for the entry pass who quickly went to Mihm for the dunk. He drained a wing fallaway jumper.

DFish -- -- Not a good night from Fish. Ill-advised decisions and poor shooting. He matched up with Gordon defensively which didn't go very well. A lot of DFish's impact can be seen with the chemistry. The locker room chemistry at the end of last season was horrible. There may still be a couple pouters on the team, but we look like a much healthier team in that regard. The true test will be when things don't start going our way. The Stats: He scored just 4 points on 2-8 shooting, didn't get to the line, had 2 rebounds, 1 steal and just 1 assist with 3 turnovers in 23 minutes. He had a +5. The Action: He threw a pass away trying to get it into Cook in the post. He missed a pull-up jumper. He missed a three. He got blocked on a layup in transition. He lost a good pass by Mihm in the lane. He missed a wide open wing jumper. Another turnover trying to dribble in traffic and make a pass. Horrible first half. He was 0-4 with 3 turnovers in 12 first-half minutes. He hit a bank on the wing out on the break. He missed a pull-up on the break. He hit an awkward runner in the lane.

Cook -- -- Pretty good job on the glass tonight, which was nice to see. He had to deal with the smaller Bulls lineup, which definitely didn't help him defensively, but he took advantage on the glass. Offensively, he didn't score. The Stats: He shot 0-3 in 14 minutes, had 5 boards (3 offensive) and 1 assist. He was a +13. The Action: Horrible entry pass to Kwame's wrong shoulder and it was poked away for a bustout. He missed a face-up 12-footer. He pulled down an offensive board to start the second half and it led to a Kobe score. Nice job working the give-and-go with Kobe in tight quarters for a Kobe layup. Great anticipation on the other end, jumping in front of Smith to draw the charge. He missed a three.

Kwame -- -- The early diagnosis was a moderate sprain of both his ankle and knee. Who knows what that means, six weeks...three games? Hopefully, it's not worse. It didn't look pretty. The x-rays were negative, but it appears he won't travel with the team. The Stats: He scored 2 points on his only attempt and had 2 boards and 1 assist in just 3 minutes. The Action: He attacked down the lane from the elbow and hit a layup. He drew a charge on Hinrich on help D. He grabbed his knee after Wallace took out his legs. Kwame went down like he was doing a WWF body slam under the hoop. His knee and ankle bent awkwardly.

Bynum -- 8) -- Phil thought Bynum got a little winded starting the second half. With Kwame out, I imagine he'll probably go to Mihm in the starting spot and Bynum will continue to work with the bench unit. The Lakers should have done a better job getting the ball into Bynum in this game. The Bulls can't match up with his length, especially when they throw guys like Joe Smith on him. Bynum did a good job mixing up his post game in the opporunities he had. Glad to see him go to a couple moves that had been collecting dust since last season. The Stats: He finished with 14 points on 6-9 shooting, 10 rebounds (3 offensive), 1 block and 4 turnovers in 32 minutes. He had a +22. The Action: He came in early when Kwame went down. After a scramble under the hoop, Bynum gathered the ball rose up and scored off the glass. He got fouled after taking a high pass from Lamar, he made both FTs. He drew Wallace's second foul on the defensive glass. Good challenge on Hinrich to force an airball on a drive. He traveled after taking contact in the paint. He missed a hook, (looked like he was hit on the arm, that's happened quite a bit lately with no call). He dunked off an interior feed from Kobe. He bricked a gimmie layup under the hoop that he could have dunked. He missed another layup on an interior feed from Farmar, he got it back then decided dunking might be a better option. He picked up a phantom foul under the hoop. He sold Wallace like he was going to the middle with a couple dribbles, then lost him with a dropstep for a layup. He finished the half with 10 points on 4-7 shooting, 5 boards (3 offensive) and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He bumped Wallace in the post, then rose up with Ben flat-footed and scored an easy jumphook. He was called for an offensive foul, spinning into a help defender. Finally, Drew went to what used to be one of his key post moves, facing up on Wallace, he spun back into the middle of the lane and hit the short jumper at front of the rim...don't know why we don't see that more, when he gets contact on that move it's tough to challenge. He swatted Duhon with ease. He took a board away from Noah, just too tall right behind him.

Luke -- -- Finally a better game from Luke off the bench. He seemed to get it in gear and play with the same quality read and reacts he had been making with the starters. Now, we need him to string them together. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-4 shooting (1-1 from three, 3-3 from the line), 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 1 steal in 28 minutes. The Action: He sank a catch-and-shoot three from the sideline. He attacked and kicked to Vlad for a three. He missed a long jumper. He pushed out a board to Farmar for the three. He scooped up a loose ball that Farmar knocked loose then hit him for the breakaway layup. He drew a foul on a three at the end of the third, he made all of the three FTs. Luke set off a pretty Tri sequence, taking the high post pass, flipping it between his legs to a cutting Farmar, who attacked and dished to Mihm for the dunk...that was your NBA TV Play of the Day. He took the repost and hit the turnaround over the smaller man. He scored a layup in transition.

Farmar -- -- "A lot of what I changed up in the offense this year is meant for his game," Phil said afterward...which if you think about how stubborn Phil can be about changing what he does, that's some praise for what Farmar's game what it can mean for this team. The open floor certainly plays to Farmar's speed with the ball and it has put other teams on their heels. Tonight was no exception as Farmar led the Lakers with a +23 off the bench. More impact minutes. "We're just trying to bring energy, have fun and play together," Farmar said of the Lakers Bench Mob. Defensively, he was active and causing problems again. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-7 shooting (2-4 from three, 2-2 from the line), 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in 25 minutes. He had a +23, as mentioned. The Action: He missed a three. Good challenge on a help rotation at the end of the quarter to force a miss. Great cut from the weakside, he then drew the D and dished to Bynum for the score. Excellent challenge on Hinrich forcing him to throw the ball way instead of shoot while in the air. He pulled up and hit a jumper from the top of the key. He attacked off a Bynum screen and scored a layup. With an extra burst of speed off the pinch post, he drew a foul on Gordon, he made both FTs. He swished a quick wing three off a kickout from Luke. He poked the ball loose on the other end, took the outlet and scored a layup. He got caught in the air and threw it away to start the third. He took a between-the-legs pass from Luke off the high post, attacked with speed, drew the D and dished to Mihm for the dunk. Good corner entry sequence and Farmar hit Mihm for the dunk. He missed a three. He drained a three on a kickout from Kobe. He threw a bouncepass right out of bounds thinking Kobe was going to continue to the hoop (probably would have been a great pass), Kobe put his arm around him as they went to the bench. He hit Vlad off a drive and kick for a three. Great game again. Impact minutes.

Mihm -- -- Well, the stats will look like a poor shooting night, but he had several shot attempts that were tapping offensive boards up, keeping them alive. Chris continues to give teams problems on that end of the floor. His numbers in boards and FTs reflect that. He had a couple quality reads in the offense tonight, as well. A little bit foul prone. Look for him to take Kwame's minutes. Hopefully, Chris can anchor the D in a few games. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 2-8 shooting (7-8 from the line), grabbed 5 boards, 1 steal and had 3 turnovers and 4 fouls, all in just 13 minutes. The Action: He entered the game midway through the second quarter. Good activity to tip a couple offensive boards before slapping it out to Vlad. Offensive foul, holding on to Wallace who wanted to challenge Fish. He drew FTs on a corner entry, he made both. He was called for an offensive foul when Wallace faked a foul. Quality center sprint to get a match up against Nocioni, he then drew Nocioni's third foul of the half, Chris made both FTs. He swiped a pass in transition. He missed a couple taps on the offensive board. He drew FTs when Kobe set him up off dribble penetration, he made one. Soft challenge on Thomas and Mihm gave up an And-1. He was called for a three-second violation. He drew a loose ball foul on the defensive glass, he made both FTs. He pulled down an offensive board and reset the offense, it led to three points from Luke. He dunked off the pretty pass sequence from Luke to Jordan within the offense. He missed a jumphook. Beautiful execution of the corner sequence in the Tri, Mihm sealed Wallace with the tight angle toward the baseline, the ball went from the wing as LO read it, to Farmar who quickly entered, now the angle Mihm had put Wallace on his hip and Mihm threw down...that was textbook. He missed a jumphook short.

Radmanovic -- -- Strong shooting game again from Vlad, sinking all three of his attempts beyond the arc. Nice to have a shooter on this team who is consistently hitting his threes. He's 16-30 from beyond the arc so far this season. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting, 3 boards and 2 assists in 12 minutes. He had a +13. The Action: He drained a quick baseline jumper in semi-transition. He rattled down an open three from the top of the key. He missed a jumper. He drained a three off a Farmar kickout. Vlad with that quick trigger again, picked up a deflected pass on the fly and drained a three.

Evans -- -- Steady minutes from Mo tonight. Nothing spectacular. He was in the game when we had 10-0 and 18-0 runs and he usually covered Ben Gordon. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-6 shooting, hit 3-3 from the line, had 1 offensive board and 2 assists in 15 minutes. He had a +15. The Action: He got hit on a baseline jumper on the inbounds for the And-1, he made the FT. He attacked from the elbow and kicked it to Luke for the three. He drew a foul on a turnaround in the lane, he made both. He missed a blindside attempt that he knew he should have had, he was called for the foul. He missed the pull-up 15-footer. Next time down, he got into the lane and hit the post jumper over his man.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha sighting. He got a little run in the first half when the game was still tight. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting, hitting both threes he took in 7 minutes. The Action: Got in the game with 3 minutes left in the first half, didn't do much. In for garbage time and he drained a three from the top of the key. He sank a wing three on the next trip down.

Phil -- -- "I was suprised the crowd was still there when we started the second half," Phil said about the lackluster first we put out... With Ben Wallace out with fouls in the first quarter, the Bulls went to Joe Smith on Bynum. The Lakers didn't take advantage of the matchup. Pretty quick up and down tempo... The Lakers trailed 45-46. We had 12 turnovers which the Bulls turned into 17 points. The Bulls had 9 turnovers, which we only managed to get 4 points from in the firest half. The Lakers starters struggled with just 15 points, while the bench scored 30... The coaches didn't like the stagnant offense and the second-chances we gave up... The Lakers pushed out quickly to a 12-point lead in the second half behind Kobe. They then started to settle for a number of threes and long perimter jumpers (again neglecting the post mismatches) and Phil called a timeout when the Bulls cut it back to 7 points... The Lakers closed out the third quarter with a 12-0 run. The Lakers killed the Bulls with a 30-14 third quarter... He subbed back in Kobe with the Lakers up by 16 with 6 minutes left. We extended the lead and he pulled him out 3 minutes later... Phil said the first unit "tried to do a lot of things that were more difficult to do against the Chicago defense than they had to make it. The second unit got things going."... The Lakers shot 45.6 percent, including 8-17 from three. We had 22 total turnovers, but we ended up not giving up any points off of our 10 second-half turnovers... The Lakers won the battle of the break 16-8... The 18-0 run between the third and fourth quarters blew the game open...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Bench Mob numbers are sick.

Heard at the Game -- -- Mel Gibson getting as many boos as cheers when he was shown on the Staples big screen. Ouch.

[mike_dee23]

FYI, Sasha is scoring about 30 points per 48 minutes. Talk about production!

[KOBE 2.0]

DB, have you seen this kind of a deep bench from a Lakers team?

[Omar Little]

Thanks DB. From the look of the other threads, I might have thought we lost this by 28
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“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

[wildcat]

DB, great post as always. Are you sure Kwame's traveling with the team? Got this from the LA Times:

[TEAM LAKERS MEMBER #54]

Turnovers need to stop effective immediately. The up is that we are lookin like a team right now!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lakes

[DancingBarry]

Thanks, wildcat. I pull it out. That's what was said on Fox Sports in the second half.

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[Siguy]

That was a very banged up Bulls team, but you don't win by 28 just because the other team is missing one guy.

[Omar Little]

[KOBE 2.0]

[tony smith]

as soon as sasha came into the game, i already saw the waving banana. great job, db.

[A Mad Chinaman]

As always, thanks for the write-up - it is SO MUCH BETTER than what Norm Nixon is providing.

Given that the winning percentage of the teams that the Lakers have beaten is presently the highest in the league - admittedly before any extended road trips - what teams do you feel will give the Lakers the most problems? With the fast-growing development of Farmar and Bynum, the Lakers are starting to develop the necessary pieces to defend against the Tony Parkers/Chris Pauls & TD/KG/Rasheeds of the world - the Lakers appear to have the skills/talent to have a great chance vs. these teams - the only question could be if they are mentally tough.

DFish - even when he is having a bad game, he is still providing what is needed for the team to win. He's allowed Farmar to have the pressure of starting, especially since it is more important who is playing at the end of the game. He has replaced a player that was a worst black hole than Cookie, if that is possible?!?! He's providing leadership, mentorship to Farmar, stability and a proven ability to produce in crunch time.

[rwongega]

Our bench beat theirs. Nuff said.
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http://media.giphy.com/media/zNyBPu5hEFpu/giphy.gif
http://bartsblackboard.com/files/2009/11/The-Simpsons-05x18-Burns-Heir.jpg

RIP Jonathan Tang
RIP Alex Gruenberg

Free KBCB

[TooCool]

Glad we destroyed the Bulls. Always hated them with a passion.
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[melo061]

DB- What do you think about the Laker's inability to use Kobe bryant effectively? We all know he is best 15 feet, at the wing. However, this season we barely see him there. Why is that?
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Perfect music.

[Vadorojo]

Thank you DB! I can't tell you how much I appreciate these game recaps. I'm currently in Spain and have little to no chance of watching Laker games and ESPN replays and box scores only go so far. As a result, I look forward to reading your posts after every game. Thanks a ton and please, keep up the good work!

[melo061]

[Vadorojo]

[Mation]

Thanks DB.

I wish Kwame the best and hope he recovers as soon as possible.

Just when Luke starts to get out of his slump, Fisher seems to be falling in one. I really agree though with how he's been able to impact the team chemistry on/off the court. I could see how the spread of minutes might be a problem with some players, but winning changes that.

Man, I didn't really get a good look at Tyrus Thomas until this game. He should be making highlights every chance he gets; pure athleticism.

[moonriver24]

Thanks DB, great read.
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Kobe's Top 5 Dunks, 81 points, MJ last gm @Staples

[Tanlentueux]

recap is great. thanks once again. I love reading you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

i wonder if kobe still wants to be traded to chicago?
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[ElginBaylor]

DB - Love your new modified format, highlighting the stats and the action. Quite honestly, I skim the play by play action recaps but I'm always interested in your smiley ratings and analysis of each players performance. Great job a always.
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Not a legend