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

[DancingBarry]

Dig In, Make a Stand, Push Through... Certain situations on the court and off require you to do that.

Laker fans have a whole host of personal trials and challenges. The economy has gone in the crapper. Crime is up. Integrity is down. Various users here are struggling with health and family problems. It seems there is more and more of this going around by the month.

Fans turn to the Lakers for what? For brief glimpses of perfection. To get lost in strategy. For inspiration. To see ... success.

The last thing they want to see -- especially in these times -- is a lack of effort, a paycheck player or visual apathy from any of their Lakers. They don't tune in to watch the millionaire baller club.

They want effort. You are having a rough night to start the game? A bad first quarter? Don't whine. Don't give up. Do what Laker fans do. Dig in, make a stand, push through.

This Laker team has struggled with their offensive execution for three straight games. But unlike teams in previous years, these Lakers seem hell bent on stopping opponents on the defensive end. They are bringing the lunchpails and doing the dirty work.

After giving up 17 points on 8 turnovers and a 28-point first quarter, the Laker defense once again clamped down. In the next three quarters, they held the Rockets to 20 points, 17 points and 17 points. They went from trailing by double digits to a 111-82 blowout. Dig in, make a stand, push through.

It took a quarter and some brilliant energy by the second unit to jumpstart the show...but what a show. Hustle blocks by Kobe, Lamar and others. Steals and offensive boards from the Farmar/Ariza duo. Pau mixing it up on both ends. Young Bynum going toe-to-toe with Yao.

Great effort, great intensity. That's what inspires people. That's what Laker fans want to see.

"The Lakers are just choking the life out of their opponents right now," commented Rick Fox after the game.



Kobe -- -- Kobe had a couple of blocks in this game that made your eyes bug. They saved sure hoops and were against Yao and T-Mac, a couple of superstars. Yao and T-Mac, you've just been Kobe-tized. Kobe gave the Rockets problems anytime we'd run him off a Bynum screen and Yao had to deal with him. Good battle between Kobe and Ron tonight. Kobe dominated it as he usually does and held his own better than you would expect against Ron's size on the defensive end. I liked the energy between the two. I'm surprised Phil let Kobe go at it with Ron defensively, eventually he pulled him after a couple fouls in the third quarter, but Kobe held his own. Amazingly, Phil was again able to keep Kobe's minutes low. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 10-17 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. The Action: He hit a runner in the lane over Yao working off the two-man game. He swished a quick turnaround over Artest. Sweet D, blocking Yao from behind on a help rotation when Bynum had to leave Yao. He missed a short jumper. He lost the ball in the lane. He posted up, spun away from the double and drew Yao's second foul, he made one FT. He swished a 21-footer at the end of the first quarter. He hit a FT jumper, attacking Yao off the Bynum screen and pulling up. He took contact from Yao under the hoop with no call and came up short. Some active D against Artest one on one (Ron 0-6). He had 9 points on 4-6 shooting in the half. Second Half: He picked up two fouls on one offensive set against Artest and had to switch. He hit a hanging pull-up with his left over Yao in the lane (made that look so much easier than it is). He missed a 10-footer over Yao. He hit a FT jumper off the Bynum screen. Sensational recovery on T-Mac under the hoop to swat him and save a point-blank layup, amazing explosion. On the other end, he spun on T-Mac and hit a 15-foot fade off the glass. Ownage. He hit a pull-up elbow jumper on the break. He split the double and fed Pau for the dunk. He missed a three. He missed a wing jumper against the shotclock. He drained a three off the Lamar pass. He took contact in a crowd with no call and missed. He swiped the ball a few seconds later and was fouled on the break, he made one FT. He beat his man, drew a crowd and back-handed an interior feed to Bynum who had to be fouled. He threw down a lob from Ariza when Drew ignited the break with a perimeter steal.

Gasol -- -- "They have a good team, but we have a better team," Pau stated flatly after the game. He missed a couple chippies early that he usually hits. But after that, he was balling. When the offense would fall apart, he'd clean up some ugliness with a jumper, creating in the post or grabbing an offensive board. It's so nice having another guy on the offensive end whom you can chuck it to when things go wrong and he can create something for you. Defensively, he and Bynum did their thing. A lot of good disruption by both bigmen. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 7-10 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 15 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 34 minutes. The Action: Out on the break, he threw down the lob from Vlad. He missed an elbow jumper. He missed a 9-footer. He got stripped under the hoop in transition. Bad pass, too high for Bynum, and the turnover turned into points the other way. He drew FTs when Lamar set him up under the hoop, he made both. He took a shot from Landry, then was fouled on the offensive glass by him and had a few words, he made both FTs. He cleaned up a missed reverse by Ariza. He stepped through a couple defenders and scored in the paint after working from the mid-post. He was fouled on the break next time down, sending T-Mac to the floor, he made both FTs. He had 12 points on 3-5 shooting, 8 boards and 3 turnovers in the half. Second Half: He tried to tip-toe the sideline to save a defensive board, then threw it away to Artest who hit a three. He posted, reposted and hit a running hook in the middle of the lane. He missed a short jumper off the back of the rim. He dunked off the Kobe drive and dish. He swatted Landry under the hoop. He swished a 17-footer off the Sasha kickout. He pulled down an offensive board and hit Farmar for a three. He swished an elbow jumper working the high post.

Bynum -- -- Fun battle to watch tonight. He and Pau were beasting it up underneath the hoop. They combined for 33 points, 22 boards and 6 blocks. Most of the success the Rockets had tonight was when they could get away from the half-court game and get into transition or early offense. When they couldn't do that, our bigs locked down. Bynum was able to go iso on D against Yao with a lot of success. That helped take away easy half-court looks. Watching him hold his position better and challenge Yao's shots better shows how much he's improved physically. One thing he needs to do more is to out-run Yao. Make him work harder on both ends and he will suck wind. Bynum is playing a hell of a game on the defensive end this year. He helps the team extend their D and erase mistakes. "It's tough going into the lane. They got two shotblockers," Alston said afterward. Yep... In the pregame interviews, Kareem mentioned that Andrew has had all the mechanics for the skyhook for the past two years. He also said that Bynum is still not confident in his knee yet, mentally speaking. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-10 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 34 minutes. The Action: The ball slipped from his hand on the first possesion of the game as he went at Yao. He blocked Artest on the other end. He forced Yao into an airball on his turnaround. Yao walked on his next attempt. He drew a foul on Yao trying to finish over him under the hoop, he made one FT. He missed a point-blank putback. He back-rimmed an easy look over Scola on a jumper. He lost Hayes with a shoulder fake before hitting the short jumper. He hit over Hayes with his left at the front of the rim, over-powering him with his size. He missed off the glass with his left. He opened up in the middle of the lane with Scola behind him, then dunked off the jump pass from LO. He took contact and missed under the hoop. He trailed the break and drew Yao's third foul of the half on a throw down attempt over him, he made both. Bynum had 9 points and 6 boards in the half. Yao had 8 points and 4 boards. Second Half: He swatted T-Mac on the two-man switch (this led to transition points the other way). He threw down a long lob from Farmar over Yao...so nice. He drew FTs when Kobe set him up with a pretty interior feed, he made both. Quite possibly my favorite play of the game: Drew hedged nicely on the screen-roll out at the three line, forcing the guard into a wide turn, he then deflected and recovered the guard's pass, he quickly gave it to Farmar who outlet to Ariza who then lobbed to Kobe for the dunk. Bynum's perimeter D, the show and recovers on the screen rolls has been superb. Combine that with shotblock and boarding and you might make an all-defensive team or two...or more.

Radmanovic -- -- Very tough match up for Vlad tonight. Pick your poison -- T-Mac or Artest. He got a bit of both. T-Mac went 1-11, Artest 2-11. Guys had his back with our strong-side help and that allowed Vlad to challenge McGrady's shots. Last year, without this scheme, you couldn't leave Vlad on that island. Now, he becomes tough to shoot over if you try to go against our help D with Vlad on your side. He also had a couple of nice box outs against big men on rotations. Offensively, he didn't have much impact, but he was a threat...and that helps spread the floor. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul. The Action: He missed a corner three. He scooped up a loose ball, pushed out the break and threw a lob to Pau. Bad pass trying to give Bynum a return pass off the two-man game and it went into the backcourt. Second Half: He swished a corner three on the pass from Kobe. He missed a three.

Fisher -- -- The pace of the game wasn't for DFish. A lot of up and down action and he's not a playmaker nor a ballhandler to take advantage of that. Farmar was clearly the better option tonight. Ideally, you run against Yao and push the tempo. Not ideal for DFish. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-10 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. The Action: He got tapped badly on a midrange jumper. He bricked a layup, got it back and bricked it worse. He missed a wing three. He swished a wing jumper off the Kobe screen. He missed a baseline jumper. Some sloppy handles in the game, he got picked once on a poorly executed cross-over. He was 1-6 in the half for 2 points in 12 minutes. Second Half: He missed a 17-footer. He missed a jumper from the left side. He swished an elbow pull-up jumper. He sank a pretty looking runner after probing the lane.

Lamar -- -- Defensively, Lamar had some great sequences of rotation and hustle. The steal and block numbers show the results. Offensively, he played inside and out. I wouldn't mind seeing him on the floor at the SF with the starters against this Rockets team (especially if Lamar has his perimeter game going). He matches up well with Artest and that would allow Kobe to move to T-Mac, if needed. Phil's still got a lot of wrinkles to throw at the Rockets, if needed. Some sloppy passing from Lamar tonight and it resulted in several turnovers. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-8 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls. The Action: He set up Pau for FTs on an attack down the middle of the lane. Sloppy kickout pass and it went right out of bounds. He missed a 19-footer (Bynum had Hayes on him in the post). He missed in the post over his man, Ariza kept it alive, Lamar then put it in. He faked the shot and jump passed to Bynum under the hoop for a dunk. Great hustle in transition D to swat Artest from behind on the break, erasing a layup. Second Half: He swatted Artest then threw away the outlet. He swished a wide open three in early offense. He threw down when Farmar worked off LO's screen and fed him. He swished a turnaround fade in the post. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a wing jumper short, working off the pinch post. He stole the ball on the other end, pushed it out and hit Kobe for three. He charged over Brooks going full speed.

Ariza -- -- The +/- stat doesn't always tell the story, but look at Trevor's +34 in this game. That led the team. Good things happened when he was on the court. Some great hustle off the bench bringing the team and the crowd to life. He was crashing the offensive boards and coming up with steals. Dirty work against a team that did a lot of that last year. That kind of impact fits so well with this team, as I've mentioned several times. Think about how many of his big plays came off the ball. When other Lakers aren't beating you, Trevor is there cleaning up mistakes or causing problems on the defensive end. The key stats for Trevor tonight are those offensive boards and steals. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-6 shooting (1-3 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 8 boards (4 offensive), 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 25 minutes. The Action: He attacked from the wing and drew a foul in the lane, he made both FTs. He missed a three. He took the handoff from Bynum, attacked along the baseline and scored at the front of the rim. He crashed the boards and kept it alive for Lamar to score. He crashed again on the next trip and was fouled trying to throw down the rebound, he made one FT. He pulled down another offensive board in a crowd and it led to a Kobe score. He had back-to-back steals on the D end. He missed a reverse but Pau cleaned it up. He missed a three against the shot clock. He had 3 steals and 4 offensive boards in that half.Second Half: He attacked and kicked to Sasha for the three. He lobbed to Kobe on the break for the throwdown. He attacked, fumbled, got it back and drained the three in the corner.

Farmar -- -- The second highest +/- was Farmar's +27. L.A. Law -- the home town duo of Ariza and Farmar were definitely laying down the law. They imposed their wills on the game, brought the energy and flipped the game back in our favor. We need Farmar on the court against the Rockets. If you want to throttle up the tempo, he's a key to that. Some good action between Farmar and Brooks tonight, two speedsters who also can shoot from distance. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-9 shooting (3-5 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 26 minutes. The Action: He deflected a pass and scored a layup off the bustout wtih Ariza. He drained a three off the Bynum handoff out of a timeout. He attacked the lane, taking contact and showing the refs he was in the act of shooting, he made one FT. He pushed out the break and hit Sasha for three. He missed an early three on the next possession, and the Rockets quickly changed ends for a score. He deflected a pass of his man, swiped it and then threw down on the other end. He missed a baseline jumper. Second Half: He pulled down an offensive board and reset the offense. He worked off Lamar's screen, probed and fed Lamar for the dunk. He sank an open three off the offensive board by Pau. Poor entry pass, throwing it right out of bounds when Bynum was trying to seal, he needed to change his angle of entry. After giving up a layup, he blew past his man to return the favor on the other end. He drained a corner three when Sasha pushed up the board, drew his man and dished. Great, quick read, noticing that Bynum was rolling to the hoop on the weakside and Farmar hit him for the long alley-oop over Yao. He missed a wing three.

Vujacic -- -- Machine says preaseason now over. Machine calibrated. Machine ready to play. Sasha played his best game to date. It wasn't just hitting the threes, but that was great to see, but he also had some decent playmaking, some successful attacks and nice defensive work. Looked like a different player out there. He started off slow last year, then started stringing games together with more and more consistency as the season went along. Apparently, the Machine needs to warm up. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-3 shooting (2-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 15 minutes. The Action: He gave up an open three not rotating fast enough and Phil had some words for him at the timeout. He drained a corner three on the break. Second Half: He swished a wing three off the Ariza kickout. He attacked and kicked to Pau for the jumper. He pushed out the rebound, drew Farmar's man and then hit Farmar for the three. Machine see free points, Machine take tech FT and score. He didn't settle for the three, let his man fly by, then probed the lane and hit the short floater. Great, quick double down on Yao and he stripped the ball off Yao. Sweet pass to Mihm off the screen roll for a layup.

Mihm -- -- Mihm came in late for some brief garbage time. Probably could have brought him in a little sooner. He managed to keep his job as Point-A-Minute-Man. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting, grabbed a board and fouled once in 2 minutes. The Action: Did not play in first half. Second Half: He had an offensive board stripped off him. He powered up off the two-man game with Sasha for a score.

Luke -- -- Came in late. Nothing to report. The Stats: He played 2 minutes. The Action: No action in the first half. Second Half: Brief stint at the end of the game.

Powell -- -- He got some garbage time run. Showed a pretty move to score. That was it. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting in 2 minutes. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He spun into a jab step and hit the 12-footer from the right side.

Phil -- -- He started Kobe on Artest defensively and Vlad on McGrady, letting the Rockets dictate our defensive coverage making up for it with our team D... With the Laker offense misfiring, the Rockets were able to turn that into good looks and easy transition points the other way. The Rockets went on a 12-0 run and built a 16-7 lead, forcing Phil to call a timeout. (The Rockets had 10 points off 5 Laker turnovers)... The one-game-in -a-week thing certainly showed its rusty effects in the first quarter. The Lakers had 8 turnovers in the quarter with some extremely sloppy offensive execution. The Rockets scored 17 points off those turnovers and led 28-16 after one... The second unit sparked the team to life and cut the lead down to 7... Phil went with a Bynum, Pau, Ariza, Kobe, Farmar lineup... The points off turnovers went from 17-2 to 17-13. Ariza and Farmar getting after it... The Lakers pulled ahead at the end of the half 50-48. They held the turnovers to just 3 in the second quarter and 11 for the half. "That was a big recovery. That's what hurt them," Phil said after the game... The first unit pulled out to a 67-57 lead after an 8-0 run... The Lakers led 72-65, holding the Rockets to 17 points in the third quarter... The Lakers jumped on the Rockets, pulling out to an 86-69 lead after the first few minutes of the fourth. Pau, Lamar, Ariza, Sasha and Farmar in that unit. Win the first 5 minutes of the fourth, you have a good chance of winning the game... "We had a good effort off the bench," Phil said. "Some of their offense was generated by steals and turnovers, which got us back in the ball game." Defense turning into offense... The Lakers held another opponent down. The Rockets shot just 37.8 percent. That's why we got another 50-board game... The Rockets ended up with 30 points off turnovers, the Lakers with 29...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Yes, Houston didn't have Battier and he will help tighten things up. Yes, they've played a lot of games lately. But my biggest worry in this game was how rusty the Lakers were going to come out because of the ridiculous scheduling. Look at the line chart. The sloppy execution and rust killed us in the first quarter. The Rockets were feasting. When we finally got that tightened up, it was all down hill for the Rockets.

[Jeffs]

Now I can sleep. Thanks DB!
_________________
Jeffs

I feel like I just watched someone TRULY give 100%. Not the BS I'm-gonna-give-a-110%-just-like-everyone-else-says platitudes, but someone that went until he just....broke. - GT

[Golden_Rule]

The Lakers made the Rockets look silly. I think its interesting that will all the hoopla about Bynum coming back this year, Ariza coming back has been just as productive, if not more! Thanks for the summary, DB.

[KobefanMVP]

[The Predator]

I can't say enough about how impressed with how good Ariza was tonight. The numbers don't always tell the story. He really came in and changed it for us.
_________________
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

John Wooden

[Mation]

Thanks DB!

Good to see Lakers basketball again. Ariza really sparked our come-from-behind win. He is around the rim so much and brings all the other intangibles this team needs. We must've been working on our free throws with all the time off; 18-23. Nice to see. Great game from Vujacic too. Hope he can string a long, long run of consistency with his shooting and rhythm for the game.

[oldschool32]

thanks db
_________________
"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up."-The Greatest

[pjiddy]

First!

[Dr. Laker]

[Vadorojo]

This game was a ton of fun to watch. I particularly enjoyed the Block Party—10 blocks!!! And all while keeping our starters' minutes low!

As always, thanks DB.
_________________
"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

[Critical Beatdown]

Our intensity and will in the 2nd quarter was tremendous, beginning with LO, Ariza and Farmar. Even though nothing much positive statistically came from it when it went down, LO taking the battle to Landry in the post upped our intensity, at a time when we were facing getting run out of our own building, he was freak'n battling NY-style, almost like a fight was going to break out, and Ariza was just amazing flashing in around the hoop. Farmar picked it up too not long after - he, Trevor and Lamar keying the frenzied D.

Later on, Kobe was a killer and Pau showed some of that too, very impressive. Drew held his own against one of the best, and this wasn't even one of his best nights, shots he usually makes just weren't going down.
_________________
!
Per 100 possessions, we're winning 118-102 with LO on the floor, and losing 109-111 without him. (updated: 4/1/09; source: 82games.com)

[Laker7]

When you hold Artest, T-Mac and Yao to a combined 23 points, you are playing good defense.
_________________
Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[dot3]

Loved tonight's game after that first quarter.

[Master)v(ind]

[MedRomLaker]

Great review DB, man twas a great game, just sick. in both ways, 1 qtr. was so sloppy man total rust, after that it was all gravy. Rockets are a good team and I was glad to get the win, we need to keep the momentum going with a win in Dallas and hopefully use that to carry us through fatigue against NO, and still have it in us to take out Detroit. Those 3 games are going to be tough. But with this new defensive attitude and that hunger I really think we can, pull of the 3-0. This team is really on a mission, it feels way different from last years squad. Like what Money said in the after game klac post show that this team "was gunning for HCA all the way to the finals, and the LOB."

Omg I just saw we shot 52.9% from 3pt
_________________
11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

4/30/14 the day the ant left the building!!!!!!

[non-player zealot]

"Tmac should be licking his chops if he sees Radmonovic and Vulachek on him." -- Rockets fan

::onomatopoeia of a laughing sound:: (haha)
_________________
GOAT MAGIC REEL
SEDALE TRIBUTE
EDDIE DONX!

[Tanlentueux]

[KingKobe]

Just some thoughts,

- It's amazing what a defensive identity can do for players. Where before Rad was sub par and Odom merely average on defense, now Vlad holds his own (or better) and Odom is playing excellent D. I've always said, it's not about stacking your team with 12 super defenders, but surrounding elite or near elite defenders with players who might not be as athletic but by into the system and compete.

- Farmar played well, but he needs to work on his post entry passing. The whole team does really. It's amazing how well we're doing on offense, and yet still most of our players outside of Kobe seem to have trouble getting the ball into the post. With some time it should start looking much better.

- I was on the Ariza bandwagon early last year. Just wanted to say that.

Also, DB, your game recaps put the LA papers to shame. Thanks much.
_________________
*Warning: The preceding post may have contained sarcasm and/or irony.

"We're all surrounded by idiots." - Kobe Bryant

[limchrc]

Nice win. I'm impressed with the way we handled Rockets.

[20,000]

[dcarter4kobe]

Lamar and Landry was talkin trash major part they was on the floor together
_________________
"He's a Zen master, so he can speak to you, and he doesn't need a microphone; you can hear him in your head, 'Ron, don't shoot, don't shoot.' Whatever, pow, three. I love the Zen, though."

[Sage_10]

Great game, great recap. Thanks DB!
_________________
"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[Prometheus8]

No Laker game is complete without your great recaps. Thanks for doing this DB.

I know it's really really early, but if Bynum keeps up this level of play on the defensive end he should be the starting center on the all-defensive team this year. He is doing an outstanding job. The lane is just a desert, a land of woe and misery, for the opposing team, especially their 5's.

I just love it when opposing players say things like “I think,” Rockets center Yao Ming said, “it was the worst game we have ever had.”
_________________
"Every time he got an offensive rebound, it was deflating," Hornets coach Monty Williams said ... "I thought Bynum decided the series. He was that good."

"...one of the most valuable players in the league…"– Phil Jackson about Ron Artest in 2005

[Rick12322]

Pau has taken to heart the criticisms of being soft. He's gone from Pau Gasoft to Pau GaBeast!

BTW, Thanks DB, I look forward to your recaps like dessert to go with my coffee in the morning.

[VujacicFan]