CLIPPERS -at- LAKERS - 11/5 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Fourth Quarter Crushing... The Laker coaches anticipated a dogfight. Revenge, pride, competitive instinct and all that kicking in for the Clippers after their opening night beatdown.

Guys like Al Thornton stayed up till 4 a.m. after that Laker crushing, going over game tape again and again... It didn't matter.

Thornton played well and the Clippers led at the half, but he might not want to watch the fourth quarter tonight. The Lakers went into lockdown mode for a 22-0 run. The clamps came down on the Clips and they couldn't hang with the level of play, losing to the Lakers 106-88.

"They beat us up down the stretch," Baron Davis said.

Phil Jackson said some of that Laker run was attributed to luck. It's true. But you could see the Lakers crank up the intensity. The sense of urgency kicking in.

"The mantra is defense wins ball games. Your offense comes and goes," Phil said.

Andrew Bynum set the tone, again showing huge presence on the defensive end. He pulled down 17 boards, blocked 4 shots and altered many others. He hustled to create second-chance points. Ariza, Lamar and Farmar hustled for a combined 7 steals off the bench.

"We saved the best for last," Phil said. "Until the middle of the third quarter I thought we weren't playing good basketball."

With several days off, the Lakers definitely came out sluggish. The time off isn't helping their rhythm. Even though the team is 4-0, you don't want to be struggling heading into a tough showdown with the Rockets Sunday.

"That's going to be fun," Kobe said with a grin.


Kobe -- -- Kobe was more aggressive from the tip-off in this game, not waiting for the second half to throttle it up. He missed a few looks that he's normally money on, but kept up a steady, aggresssive nature throughout the game. It was close for three quarters, but when you look down at the stat sheet and you see only 36 minutes and no Laker playing more...very nice when you get the W. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 8-21 (0-2 from three, 11-14 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 36 minutes. The Action: He sank an 11-footer on his first attempt. He hit a pull-up 17-footer in transition. He missed a good look on the baseline. He drained a 19-footer from the right side. He drew FTs on a turnaround jumper over Mobley, he made one. He kicked out to Fish for a three. He missed a turnaround from the mid-post. He worked his way into a short 10-footer and sank it. He got tapped on a three in transition. He missed a jumper at the quarter buzzer. He had 9 points in the first quarter on 4-8 shooting. He missed a turnaround on the baseline. He picked up three fouls on Clippers in one offensive stand. He lobbed to Ariza who was fouled on the dunk attempt. He missed a 6-footer in the lane. He was fouled trying to throw down a reverse, he made both FTs. He missed a long jumper in early offense. He got caught in the air behind the glass and tried to shoot over it, turnover. He made a tech FT. He split a double team, elevated and threw down. He had 14 points on 5-12 shooting and 1 assist. Second Half: He was stripped while turning in the lane. He swiped a kickout pass from the post. He lost his man changing directions off the screen, then scored an And-1 reverse, he made the FT. He missed a wide open corner three. He attacked and missed a runner wanting the foul. He missed a turnaround. He went around his back, missed the runner, got it back and bounced the jumper over the front of the rim and in. He hit Vlad in the corner for a three. He airballed a short one in traffic, but Ariza dunked it in. He tucked the ball under his arm on the attack and flipped it in at the rim. He drew FTs on the wing, he made both. He drew FTs with an aggressive attack in transition, he made one. He deflected a pass with LO on one end, pushed out the break with him, drop-stepped to lose Baron and scored the layup. He attacked Thornton off the dribble and drew FTs, he made one.

Gasol -- -- Seems like Pau has yet to put together two good halves. Phil specifically mentioned the second halves recently. So, we got a poor first half from Gasol, only grabbing one board, taking one shot and scoring a couple points. The Lakers went right to him on the block to start the second half. And Pau also pulled down 10 boards in the second half. Hey, Phil got his second half. Sidenote: Drew may have the defensive presence, but Pau is crafty with his disruption. He had a number of plays under the hoop where he altered shots to force misses. He anchors and alters shots, but doesn't have that intimidation factor Drew brings. Still, Pau was effective. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 2-7 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 33 minutes. The Action: He missed a short hook. He kicked out to Fisher for three. He filled the middle of the court on the break and drew FTs when Kobe found him, he made both. He pressured Camby into dropping a defensive board. Great bounce pass seeing Trevor cut baseline for the dunk. He missed a runner in early offense. He was stripped twice trying to create. He had 2 points on 0-1 shooting, 1 board and 3 assists in the first half. Second Half: He hit a short turnaround jumper over Camby to start the second half. He bricked a jumphook on the second possession. He missed a hook with his left. He was swatted on the up and under. He drew FTs, getting shoved on the offensive glass, he made one. He posted up and drew FTs, he made both. He was blocked, got it back and scored the layup.

Bynum -- -- Beastly... Beastly... If you haven't been watching the defensive end of the floor this early part of the season (and it seems some haven't), you have been missing out on Bynum anchoring the D tremendously well. Tonight, he simply dominated that end. Rebounding, fly swatting, and showing and recovering on the screen rolls. He matched a career high with 17 boards, just imposing himself on the Clipper front court.
"You need to win dirty," Bynum said. He still hasn't gotten back to powering up under the hoop this season on the offensive end. The Lakers also did another poor job of creating for him, no lobs or easy ones. Most of his points were off hustle/garbage type of plays, which is a testament to Bynum's effort tonight. Kaman and Camby comined for just 8 points. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-9 shooting (1-3 from the line) to go with 17 boards (5 offensive), 2 assists, 4 blocks, 1 turnover and 3 fouls. The Action: He was blocked under the hoop trying to power up. He pulled down a Fish miss, spun and dunked while fouled by Kaman, he missed the FT. He missed with his left on a spin in the post. He changed Mobley's shot on one side of the rim and grabbed the board on the other side. He altered Thornton's shot and gathered the miss. He dropped an interior feed from Pau. He rejected Thomas's jumper out of bounds. He had 7 boards in the first quarter. He went up high for the defensive glass, no one else can challenge that. He grabbed an offensive board (imposing himself on the glass now with 10 boards), kept it up high and hit the little jumphook. He back-rimmed a 3-footer over Camby after backing him down. He was stripped while gathering himself to power up. He was hacked under the hoop with no call. He had 4 points on 2-7 shooting to go with 10 boards and 3 blocks. Second Half: He blocked Baron's perimeter jumper to force a shotclock violation. He picked up a tech with Kaman after DFish and Kaman had some words. He forced Kaman into a travel trying to create. He hit a jumphook in the middle of the lane over Camby. He grabbed a Kobe miss and hit the mid-range jumper. He blocked a Mobley runner. He grabbed the Sasha miss, then kicked it back to him for a corner three. He posted up, drop-stepped and drew FTs, he made one. He tip-toed along the baseline to save a rebound. Great D stepping out on the perimeter screen-roll and getting hooked by the smaller Taylor for an offensive foul.

Radmanovic -- -- Choppy game for the team, but also for Vlad. He drained the three ball, but we were missing some of those little plays he has been bringing every game that have made him effective. That just meant more minutes for Ariza, who probably leads the team in the hustle and dirty work. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-9 shooting (3-6 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 foul in 24 minutes. The Action: He missed a wing three. He swished a three from behind a screen. He swiped a pass jumping the lane, pushed it out and missed a layup, but Fish cleaned it up. Second Half: He doubled the post, forcing a bad pass, filled the lane, let a couple players fly by and made the ugly layup. He drained a corner three in transition. He airballed a corner three, rushing it without squaring up. He missed a three out of a timeout on a play set up for him. He missed a reverse on the break, should have went up strong for the dunk. He swished the corner rainbow three on the next possession.

Fisher -- -- "We feel like we have the deepest, most balanced team in the NBA," DFish said before the game, "but we know we have to come out on the court and do work." Yep. No ones going to roll over and give the Lakers the W. The team has to go out and take it. Baron was taking it to Fisher, early but was quiet the rest of the night. Baron had 10 points in the first 6 minutes before Phil called a timeout. Baron then had just 7 points in his next 30 minutes of action. The Stats: DFish scored 13 points on 4-12 shooting (3-6 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He missed a 19-footer on the first shot of the game. He missed a layup, but Drew cleaned it up. He swished an open wing three off the kickout from Pau. He missed a three next time down. He sank a corner three off the Kobe kickout. He missed a corner three. He made an uncontested layup after Vlad stole the pass and couldn't finish (you were worried Fish would miss it, weren't you?). He poked the ball free from Baron, then gave it up on the other end. He had 8 points in the first quarter. Baron overplayed Fish in the corner, fouling him on the dribble for FTs, Fish made both. He missed a wide open three at the halftime buzzer. Second Half: He went after Kaman while trying to draw a charge on him, the two had words. Bynum and Kaman got T's. He missed a wide open three. He was blocked attacking the rim. He sank a big three off the Bynum kickout with the shotclock low.

Lamar -- -- Lamar played like a mad dog who busted off his leash. Woof! Woof! Woof! The emotional, aggressive game got him a T, but he also filled the stat sheet. We could have used more minutes from him tonight, but Phil will not put the Four Horsemen on the floor together. That limited Lamar's action. Still, a quality game, despite a couple of those LO miscues. "We're trying to have the best record in the league this year," Lamar said afterward. "We have to do it game by game, and we have to win the ugly ones." The Stats: He scored 15 points on 4-8 shooting (1-1 from three, 6-8 from the line) to go with 9 boards (3 offensive), 3 steals, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. The Action: He drew FTs posting up Thomas, he made one. He grabbed a rebound, attacked the offensive zone with speed and drew a foul on Thomas, he made both FTs. He missed a leaner, but Ariza cleaned it up. He swished a catch-and-shoot 18-footer, popping out from the weakside. He went to the floor at midcourt for a loose ball, recovered it and it led to an Ariza dunk. He swished a wing 20-footer when his man sagged off. He missed another 20-footer on his next attempt. He had 7 points in the first half. Second Half: He grabbed an offensive board, but missed off the glass. He charged in transition. He missed a 21-footer. He choked a layup on the in-bounds pass. He was called for another charge while spinning in the lane. He screamed at the ref after being called for a foul on a strip attempt and picked up a tech (Kobe tried to cool him down in the timeout, but LO was still steaming). He sealed his man in the post and drew FTs, he made both. He saved a ball in transition D right back under the hoop to a Clipper, uggh. He swiped a return pass on defensive recovery. He picked up Baron's fifth foul battling under the glass for FTs, he made one. He sank the sideline three off the kickout from Fish. He got cute with a defensive board, trying to put it behind his back and dropped it out of bounds (he was ticked at himself).

Ariza -- -- Scrappy, energy-filled minutes from Ariza. The team needed it. They were sluggish and he seemed to bring that spark and extra gear we were missing. He led the team with a +25. Trevor seems to have these poor free throw shooting games every now and then. When it goes bad from the line, it goes bad. Then, he'll put together several quality games before another bad one at the line. That was his only ugly spot on an otherwise good game. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-6 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 foul in 21 minutes. The Action: He attacked baseline with a quick first step and was fouled on the reverse, he missed both FTs. He tipped in a miss by LO. He dunked off the Farmar pass after we scrambled for a loose ball. He missed a 20-footer. He missed a sideline three. He cut baseline, took a bounce pass from Pau and dunked. He was fouled on a lob from Kobe next time down, he made one. He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-4 from the line). Second Half: He took the Kobe airball and reverse dunked it all in one motion. He drew FTs in transition, he made one. Great job hustling for a loose ball to keep it from Kaman and it led to Kobe FTs on the other end.

Farmar -- -- "We were a step slow," Jordan Farmar said. "A little laziness." He said they didn't feed the ball down low enough in the game. I think that summed up things quite well. Farmar was struggling himself for three quarters. And just as I am saying to the TV, "Come on, Farmar, time to step it up," he got picked in the backcourt for a layup. He needs to step on the gas in the next game. The Lakers need to run against the Rockets and Farmar needs to lead that charge. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 2-5 shooting (0-2 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 18 minutes. The Action: He missed an open sideline three. He threw the ball away on the break when he could have pulled it out to run the clock down for the last shot. He hit Ariza for a dunk after Lamar went to the floor for a loose ball. He missed from the top of the key. Bad triangle recognition not giving it up to either Sasha or Lamar up top when Bynum had his man sealed while he was fronting, it resulted in a 3-second violation. Second Half: He gave up an And-1 to Taylor. He then got picked in the backcourt by Taylor for a layup (5 points right there in a few seconds). He drained a 21-footer to answer on the other end. He swiped a pass on the perimeter, pushed it up and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a three, got it back, attacked, spun and scored off the glass over Camby. He drew FTs and made one. A few seconds later, he stole the ball and was fouled while going to the rim with 8 seconds left, he made both FTs.

Vujacic -- -- The Machine is still out of service. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Tune in next game. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 2 boards and 1 foul in 720,000,000,000 nanoseconds. The Action: He missed a three, way short, while in transition. He missed another three in transition. Second Half: He missed the wing three, Bynum recovered it, then hit him in the corner and Sasha swished the three. He missed a short baseline jumper.

Luke -- -- Luke gave Farmar a bump in the post game interview. Farmar responded with some friendly trash talking, "Nice, Walton. Way to play three minutes, yo." He then had some nice words for Luke. With Ariza and Vlad getting the bulk of the minutes, Luke is the odd man out. Phil brought Luke in at the very end of the third at the PF spot for a defensive stand, then sat him back down. He returned when we had a 20-point lead later. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting in 3 minutes. The Action: No first half action. Second Half: He missed a baseline jumper.

Phil -- -- With few games this week, Phil said they worked on different defensive sets to counter what opponents are going to put them through. I like the continued emphasis on that end of the floor. It seems to be setting the tone... The Lakers were tied with the Clips 27-27 when the L.A. Boys, Ariza and Farmar, entered. The Clips led 29-27 after the first... The second unit then pulled out to a 37-30 lead, starting the second quarter on a 10-1 run... The Clippers later went on a 9-0 run against the starters... The Clippers led 51-47 at the half. The Lakers shot 36 percent to the Clippers 44 percent... Hamblen said the Clippers simply outplayed them in the first half, and there was too much individual play... The Lakers led 67-65 when the second unit came in... Phil went to LO at center for the final play of the third... The Lakers led 72-68 heading into the fourth... After a few minutes of back and forth ball. The Lakers went on the crushing 22-0 run in the fourth and took the clippers out. We won the quarter 34-20... The Lakers allowed just 37 points in the second half... The Clippers ended up just out-shooting the Lakers, 38.9 percent to 38.8 percent... The Lakers beat them on the boards 54-44... This is the 10th time the franchise has gotten off to a 4-0 start...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Clippers with a lead in the fourth, then the 22-0 run came. Ouch.

[Teamof2000]

Thanks DB! Still undefeated, baby!

[Tanlentueux]

[City_Dawg]

I love Sasha but he needs to chill. I dont mind the 3s, but do not dribble drive,please don't, puppies die when that happens

Think of the puppies Sasha....


Thanks DB, i think games like this go a long way in convincing a team to depend on the D to set them free.....

....feeling you?
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*sighs*

!...

[10scott10]

[J.C. Smith]

It's a tad frustrating to me that Phil has benched Bynum in the past two games in favor of Odom. Two nights ago he left Radmanovic in there rather than go to Odom at the small forward, which is somewhat understandable if he is worried about spacing. But tonight he went with an Odom and Ariza lineup on a night when Bynum had already matched his career high in rebounds, and had 4 blocks. Ariza has improved his shooting, this season but if you aren't goign to go with Radmanovic for spacing, I'd like to see both Bynum and Odom in there down the stretch. Bynum's defensive presence is huge.

[Senor Mortgage]

Its two fold. I think Odom finishing games/heavy 4th mins help with his new bench role and Phil wants to continue to challenge Bynum so that he remains focused and hungry on the boards/D rather than feeling that he is already there.

[10scott10]

[LakerEric]

after surrendering 29 in the 1st quarter...the Lakers D only gave up 22 in the 2nd, 17 in the 3rd, and 20 in the 4th!!! Very impressive! Drew is doing terrific as the anchor!!! Thx DB!!!
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Do you believe it now, Trinity? - Morpheous

[Exick]

BREAKING NEWS: In the midst of a 22-0 Laker run versus the Clippers Wednesday night, paperwork was faxed to the NBA league offices to officially change the name of the Los Angeles Clippers to the Los Angeles Clangers of Brickaheim. Commissioner Stern was not immediately available for comment.
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Game recognize game, Granddad. - Riley Freeman, The Boondocks

[JUST-MING]

[Mation]

Thanks DB!

I bet Phil is extremely happy about Bynum's play tonight. This is exactly what he is expected/asked to do. Late in the game when Taylor (I think) pushed off on him and the call was in our favor was huge.

The 36 minute mark sounds really good. I hope we can keep to that for awhile.

[limchrc]

Nice to see Bynum grabbing those boards and making his presence felt on the defensive end.

[Sage_10]

Thanks DB. Great recap as always.
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"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[Arizona]

[brouk9]

[audioaxes]

something is wrong when a scrub like Fisher is taking more shots than Bynum and Pau
he is going to cost us some games this year if he isnt put in check
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(bleep) Kawhi

[RCS926]

- Lakers have been too reliant on Kobe over the past 2 games to generate offense. I thought Kobe shot the ball too much last night, but in the end, he only had 21 shots. For the most part, he took very good shots. However, when the game was pretty much sealed, Kobe was still chasing the ball on offense. I’d like to see him balance his game out better on the offensive end.

- Drew was beastly again on the defensive end. You can tell that he’s completely in Kaman’s head because Kaman isn’t usually a passive player on the court. I’d like to see the team get him more touches. He deserves it with the way he’s been anchoring that D.

- Fish and Sasha need to watch their shot selection. Fish really never needs to take a contested J. Sasha needs to relax and not try to do too much.

- Pau has been a force on the boards to start the season, so he’s contributing even when he doesn’t touch the ball on offense too much. Still, it’s a crime that a big with the scoring and passing skills of Pau doesn’t get the ball enough. The Lakers need to rectify that quickly.

- Ariza’s J and FT shooting were off, but he still made things happen out there with his hustle and activity.

- I love LO’s aggressiveness off the bench. He definitely seems more willing to pull the trigger on his J, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. Still, I like the fact that he’s mixing it up offensively and using his versatility to great effect on the defensive end.

- Overall, I love the fact that the Lakers won their last 2 games with defense even though they’ve struggled offensively.

[RCS926]

I also forgot to mention that it was great seeing Drew dominate the glass against 2 elite rebounders in Kaman and Camby.

[Freakout]

We seem to have went away from Pau catching the ball around the pinch post area. That pretty mid-range shot that he was nailing the first two games has completely disappeared. The high - low feeds for those easy shots that was a beauty to see is also gone because of it. By always running him into the low post it is also taking away spacing from Andrew to go after offensive boards.

[Klone_dd]

Too much time off resulted in a lot of lethargy and carelessness on the court. Hopefully the team snaps out of it quickly. Sunday's going to be the first major test of the season.

Bynum was fantastic, being the anchor and the vacuum cleaner down low. Stu said he's still a month away from hitting his stride. NBA beware.

LO played well, but still had 2 bonehead plays - saving the ball unnecessarily underneath the Clips basket and the behind-the-back flip out of bounds. Still, I like his aggression when he's on the court. He's made great strides to go out with a sense of purpose.

[king255]

Fisher is not going to change. He thinks that as long as Phil doesn't say anything, he must be doing some things right. And Phil is misled by the fact that because Bynum, Gasol and Kobe are in there doing everything, and keeping us in the lead, Fisher must be doing something right.

[king255]

[Wino]

[oaktown_dimond]

fisher's a scrub? LOL!