SONICS -at- LAKERS - 3/21 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Next... If you are a Sonic fan, you're a long way from the days of GP and Kemp. Taking nightly beatings like this 130-105 loss can't be too fun at this stage of the season. You've seen Durant and now you are just waiting for the ping pong balls and NBA lottery again...and wondering if you will still have a team in Seattle.

After the tough set of road wins, the Lakers were able to steamroll the lowly Sonics. We kept a healthy lead for most of the game, then pulled away at the end of the third and start of the fourth.

We had a season-high 36 assists on 60.7 percent shooting, and eight players scored in double figures. Oddly, neither team blocked a shot in this game.

If there was anything to come from this game, it might by Luke's snapping out of his offensive slump with a 17-point fourth quarter. Or, it could be the appearance of Ira Newble, who the team filled out their last remaining roster spot with. Or, finally, Trevor Ariza telling fans in an interview on the sideline that he thinks he'll be back a couple of games before the end of the season.

If Ariza can't hit that timeline, Newble gives the team an added body to help Kobe defensively with some heavy lifting. He could also take some of Luke's minutes if Luke can't contribute at a higher level. However, if we get healthy, Newble's likely not going to see the light of day.

(Note: I assume everyone knows this, but if you are looking for past Thoughts and Ratings, they are archived here.)


Kobe -- -- After the intense game last night, Kobe got to dial it back a bit against the Sonics. Although the blowout came late, we still got to rest him the entire fourth quarter. Nice to have one of these Kobe entries that's not novel length. He could use that rest. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 8-15 shooting (0-3 from three, 7-8 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 5 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He spun in the lane and drew FTs shooting with his left, he made both. He cut down the lane and took a pass from Ronny for a layup. He missed an open three. He attacked and whipped a pass through traffic to Ronny for a layup. He hit Lamar on the break with a long lob pass for a layup. He dunked off the Farmar alley-oop. He attacked from the wing, looked like he was tripped, but managed to still flip it in. He drained a turnaround from the elbow. He missed a three. He had 10 points 4-6 shooting and 5 assists in the first half. Second Half: He missed a layup, got it back and missed again. He swished a turnaround from the mid-post. He missed a step-through finger roll in the post. He set up Ronny on the two-man game for FTs. He hit a turnaround from the elbow. He earned FTs on a pass back from Luke on the break, he made both. He missed a three. He missed a wing jumper on the next trip down. He attacked hard from the wing and drew FTs, he made one. He iso'd on Durant and hit the 18-footer over him. He drew FTs on iso against Wilkins, he made both. He attacked the box-and-one zone at the end of the quarter and scored a layup. He had 23 points on 8-15 shooting after three.

Lamar -- -- He took it to the Sonics out of the gates and then eased back on the throttle. His opening quarter was superb and most of his stats came from that first 12 minutes. He dominated that first quarter. Great mid-range game from Lamar tonight, very nice to see. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-6 shooting (3-3 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 29 minutes. The Action: He sank a face-up elbow jumper. He drained the wing jumper, popping out behind the screen. He swished another midrange jumper on his next attempt. He pulled down a Kobe miss and powered up for a foul, he made both FTs. He scored in transition when Kobe hit him over the top of the D for a layup. He had 10 points on 4-4 shooting and 8 of the team's 11 boards, dominating the glass and the game in the first quarter. He didn't show up in the second quarter. Second Half: He stepped on the baseline trying to create when the offense stalled out of the gates. He attacked to his left, extended, took contact and put in the And-1, he made the FT. He and Kobe jumped Ridnour in the backcourt to force a turnover (better job this time by LO as he didn't reach like he did in the first half on that trap for a foul). He back-rimmed a jumphook, his first miss. He pushed out the rebound, froze the D with a change of directions then kicked out to Farmar for the three.

Fisher -- -- Our defense looked a bit relaxed at times tonight and Earl Watson took advantage of it a little. Not that it mattered. Typical sort of DFish game, hitting jumper, taking a charge and the occasional adventure into the paint. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-11 shooting (2-3 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 24 minutes. The Action: He stripped Collison on a help D reach. He pushed the ball up, attacked the lane and hit the runner. He missed a wing jumper, waiting too long before going up in transition. He crossed over Watson badly and drew FTs on the drive, he made one. He missed a runner off the glass. He swished a wide open three on a kickout from Ronny. He missed a three over the zone. Watson had 9 of the Sonics first 13 points, mostly on DFish. He missed a long wing jumper in transition. He found Ronny for a layup in the paint. He missed a baseline fallaway. He swished a long three with 6 seconds left in the half (we went too early and the Sonics made a three of their own on the other side). Second Half: He missed a long jumper. He drew a hard charge from Watson in transition, anticipating well. He hit a pull-up jumper in the middle of the lane against the zone.

Radmanovic -- -- Vlad did a lot of little things in this game. From deflecting passes, to hitting the offensive glass or setting up teammates with the nice dish...just a lot to this game from him. That's what you like from your role players. Own your niche (perimeter shooting) and do the little things that make your team better. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-9 shooting (2-5 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 38 minutes. The Action: He flashed to the FT line and swished the open jumper. He kept a possession alive with a tap out. He curled again from the weakside and this time attacked down the lane and finger rolled. He forced the Sonics into a backcourt turnover by jumping a passing lane. He jumped the passing lane to deflect a pass, he got it out on the break and flipped up a lob for Ronny. He missed a corner three. He missed a corner three at the first quarter buzzer. He crashed the offensive glass and threw down a putback dunk. He had his own pass deflected back to him and he whacked it over to Sasha who then hit the three. Nice show on the screen to deflect the ball out of bounds. He fumbled a drive away. He hit Ronny cutting backdoor for the alley-oop. He drew FTs when Kobe set him up, he made one. He missed a running hook. He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting, 4 boards and 3 assists in the first half. Second Half: He stole a ball then missed a three. He drained a wing three off a quick swing pass from LO (should have been a 4-point play as Ridnour slit his wrist on the shot. Vlad was bleeding quite a bit and we had to sub him out). He worked the two-man game with Luke and bounced a pass to him for the layup. He ripped the net on a corner catch-and-shoot three.

Turiaf -- -- Ronny didn't really need to hold down the fort in this one compared to what he was up against in the last two. He had another strong first half and continues to pass the ball well, sometimes overpassing a bit...but he led the team again in assists with 6 tonight. That's the Triangle for you. He'll have his work cut out for him against the small, but fast Warriors. He needs to bring his energy and dominate on the glass and around the rim in that game. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-8 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 27 minutes. The Action: He missed a 16-footer. He posted up and hit Kobe for a layup as he cut down the lane. He dunked after beating his man down the floor on the break. He threw the ball away trying to pass across court. He overpassed from under the hoop, but DFish swished the three. He traveled trying to pass in the zone. He scored a layup off the fastbreak lob from Vlad. Kobe found him with an interior pass and Ronny scored the layup. He scored another layup, putting in the Farmar airball like a lob pass. He had 8 points and 4 assists in the first quarter. He dunked a long alley-oop pass from Vlad. He flipped in a layup getting a high entry from Fish against the mismatch. He had 12 points on 6-7 shooting and 5 assists to lead the Lakers in both categories. Second Half: He couldn't finish an And-1 throwdown off the two-man game with Kobe, he made both FTs. He missed a turnaround. Nice pass deflection on help D to force a turnover.

Luke -- -- Maybe the Sonics will turn out to be Luke's Slump Buster. Let's hope. His offensive struggles came to a halt in the second half of tonight's game when everything just started to click. He went from Mr. Automatic Brick to Mr. Automatic (going 8-8 in the fourth). The trick, of course, will be to carry it through against a tough opponent. But it's not like he's been facing heavy D lately. Teams have been leaving him open, and so much of his struggles are just him not finishing easy shots and open looks. With Newble's signing, Luke may find his time reduced if he doesn't step up his game. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 8-11 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 23 minutes. The Action: He bricked an early offense jumper. Second Half: He stripped Durant, pushed out the break and fed Kobe for FTs. He and Ronny managed to turn an in-bounds pass on our end into FTs for the Sonics on the other end by bobbling the pass and then fouling. He bricked a baseline 10-footer. He bricked a wide open wing jumper, no one guarding him. Nice, controlled post move, setting up and easy jumphook bank, which he hit. He scored an easy layup when Vlad set him up nicely on the two-man game. He hit a runner, attacking from the corner. He swished a 12-footer in the lane...he's on fire! He cleaned up a Sasha miss with a good follow and put back. He lobbed to Farmar for the oop off the backscreen play. He iso'd and hit the jumphook with his right. He stepped back behind the arc and drained the sideline three. He swished a face-up wing jumper. He hit Newble under the hoop for a reverse. Heck of an offensive stretch their from Luke.

Farmar -- -- Farmar was feeling it from downtown tonight. I saw a couple heat checks in there from beyond the arc. Must be that home cooking. With this heavy dose of home games, it will be a good chance for Farmar to get that spark back into his game. If he doesn't, the addition of a couple of 7-footers will probably help. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-9 shooting (4-7 from three) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 24 minutes. The Action: He missed an open wing three. He airballed a runner (that's what it looked like) but Ronny took it like a lob pass and finished it. Farmar then stole the inbounds pass and lobbed to Kobe for a dunk. He was called for three seconds after pulling up the dribble in the lane and not giving it up soon enough. He drained a wing three. Second Half: He drained a wing three in transition off the kickout from LO. He swished a heat-check three from a couple steps behind the line and in early offense. He missed a quick three from the top of the key. He missed a baseline jumper. He lobbed to Mbenga for the score in transition. He swished a wing three over the zone. He finished a lob from Luke after getting the back screen from Mbenga. He missed a wing three.

Vujacic -- -- The Machine's battery looked fresh and the Sick Jumpers of Death were as deadly as ever. With the zone's we've been seeing, Sasha is getting a lot of good looks and making the most of them. The 13 points in just 15 minutes is machine-like work. That's why we'll bring out the tomato. It's nice to a see a blow out where Sasha gets subbed out for. If Phil plays him 25 minutes, he probably has 25 points tonight. He just looked smooth from the perimeter. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-8 shooting (3-4 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in just 15 minutes. The Action: Horrible pass from the baseline into the feet of Mbenga for a turnover. He missed a three. Nice dive to save a loose ball in bounds. Wilkins spun around him with ease and drew FTs. He curled from the weakside, took the pass and finished strong (for Sasha). He got tapped on a corner three. He swished an open three on a catch and shoot after taking a pass over the top of the zone. Vlad tapped a pass to him and Sasha quickly drained another three. He swished a corner three like a freethrow. Nice stint with 11 points on 4-6 shooting in 8 minutes. Second Half: Sasha dribbled to the wing and hoisted up a jumper with his toe on the three line and sank it. He missed a reverse.

Newble -- -- He got in to play with 3:46 left and a 23-point lead. He's a career 5.1 point per game scorer and .340 shooter from three, but it's the other end of the court that we signed him for. Ariza's main job was to give us some heavy lifting at the 2/3 spots defensively. Newble will be able to provide a little of that with his versatility. It would be nice to get a few more games like this so Phil can see where he might be able to use him. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting and had 1 board in 4 minutes. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He was involved in a couple shotclock violations with Farmar. He scored a reverse around a bigman when Luke found him under the hoop.

Karl -- -- He came in with 5 minites left and seemed to have a nice bounce to his step and some good energy. Hopefully, Phil can find some more spot duty minutes for him in the first half in some of these home games. The crowd responds to him and play he makes and that only helps the team. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 2-2 from the line to go with 2 assists in 5 minutes. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He soared down the lane holding the ball up high and hit Mbenga with a pass for a jumper. With the crowd wanting Coby to score, he attacked the lane, went behind his back with the dribbled and was wrapped up for FTs, he made both.

Mbenga -- -- Extended run for Mbenga tonight, giving Ronny some rest. He didn't do much defensively, but was able to sink a few shots on the other end. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-6 shooting, grabbed 2 boards and had 3 fouls in 21 minutes. The Action: He started the second quarter. He got dunked on by Durant. He missed a jumphook off the glass. He missed a short jumper. Second Half: He hit a face-up jumper in the lane from 10 feet out. He scored a layup off the lob from Farmar in transition. He took the post entry and went to work, taking a couple of dribbles before hitting the jumphook. He swished a 13-footer off a kickout by Coby.

Phil -- -- Phil will have to find a few minutes here and there for Newble. He was able to get some in tonight. They were a bit clunky, with a couple of shotclock violations. Any little bit will help... The Lakers started with an 8-0, getting out of the gates quick again. They led 34-21, having their way on both ends (although Watson had 11 first-quarter points). We made 14-22 shooting (only 1-6 from beyond the arc...we would go on to hit 11-17 from three the rest of the way) and we had 12 assists in that quarter... The Lakers were outscored 33-28 in the second quarter, playing a bit soft and we led just 62-54 at halftime. We shot 59.5 percent in the first half, but gave up 49 percent shooting and 9 offensive boards to the Sonics... The coaches wanted us to pick apart the zone better and quit giving up second-chance points... The Lakers closed the third quarter strong and pulled out to a 93-76 lead. We then blew the game open at the start of the fourth. Once again, our second unit stepping up... Only bright spot on the Lakers D tonight was the occasional surprise pressure D, which forced a couple turnovers and even a timeout. We seemed a bit sluggish, otherwise, which is understandable...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Check out Vlad's +31 and Luke's 17 fourth quarter points.

[Mike D]

Thanks as always, DB.

[George W Buss]

SECOND!!!!

[SweetP]

Not first!

Great writeup as always. This was a fun game, well except for the Sonics.
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“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[Spirit]

DB, you got a typo regarding Kobe. Should read 23 points rather than 30.

Another superb write-up!

[- Sean -]

[ishi331]

First Page!

Great win tonight, loved seeing Newble make an appearance and score.

[Hector the Pup]

DB, why the hate?

No props for Mbenga matching his career high in scoring?

[Alpha]

First!

I plan to delete all the previous posts





j/p, thanks DB!

Great effort by the team.

[Magic'sSon]

TOP TEN!!! Thanks DB...

[limchrc]

Nice win. Thanks for recap.

[mike_dee23]

I swear it seemed that Ronny had at least a dozen boards. But 4? He only had 4? That's shocking. I love it when I think, "Gosh, LO has been quiet today" and then see him with 13 and 12.
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MTFBWYA

[IPK]

[Ares24]

is this the first time that every laker received good emoticons?!!!!?!?!

[Klone_dd]

Beat up on the ugly stepchildren of the league!

[Vadorojo]

Nice to see us go home and take care of business.

Thanks for the recap, DB.
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"I like looking at a guy's face when he realizes that even his best moves aren't going to work on me all night. They look depressed." - Ron Artest

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[Tanlentueux]

Gracias amigo !

[Andre2K]

damn Mbenga is alwayz getting dunked on
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My Dream Starting 5 next Season

Pg Lonzo
Sg Kawhi
Sf Ingram
Pf Lebron
C Dedmon

Bench: Caruso, Hart, Bullock, Kuzma, McGee etc

[20,000]

Vlad has been playing very well lately. Hopefully he starts getting more minutes as a result.

I am surprised to look at the box score and see the two teams combined for 0 blocks.

The home-and-home with GS might be tough, but if we can get out of those two unscathed, the rest of the month bodes pretty well. April may be a little tougher, but at this point we can look to put a little more cushion between us and the competition. It's up to the Lakers not to bury themselves in gimme games.
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Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB! You're already in playoff mode!

Is it me, or does it seem like this squad is on cruise control? It feels like it can "flip a switch" and turn their play up a few notches. Now granted it was the Sonics, but impressive nonetheless...

[VujacicFan]

Yeahhhhh. Great game for Sasha. You know he's a legend now since he sits out during blowouts.

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB. it's always good to see a dancing tomato
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"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]