CAVS -at- LAKERS - 1/19 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

BigE32 · Star Player Joined: 25 Jun 2005 Posts: 8518

Thanks, DB. Very nice win. We punished them down low and that was great to see. Sasha came in and was definitely feeling it from the moment he came on the court. I thought AB was a little more active on both ends of the floor which was nice to see. What can you say about Kobe that hasn't already been said? It was good to get the taste out of our mouths from the last two games.

lakersfreak · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:51 am Post subject:

DB

Someone send a note to the TNT crew that it's not "the self proclaimed Machine" it's "the Machine".
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Forget carbon, reduce your government footprint

wolfpaclaker · Retired Number Joined: 29 May 2002 Posts: 58380

Finally some defense.

We kept them outside all game long - minus that stretch where Varejao and Lebron had all those easy looks inside late in the 4th - which was the key in beating them.

Most of the time teams will not beat you shooting from outside all game long. They have to change it up from outside to inside

One of the major keys overlooked was the Cavs missing Z. This isn't really a fair assesment of whether the Lakers are better than the Cavs. If you look at Z, and what he brings to that team, it changes a lot for us. The Lakers would not have gotten as many easy baskets from Bynum or Pau whenever a smaller guy was on them. They wouldn't have dominated the paint matchup. Second, it gives the Cavs a low post option, something they lacked the whole game. Third, Andrew won't be anchoring anywhere near as effectively with Z out there. Z can knock down the J or get post position. Both things will make Andrew far less less attentive toward protecting the basket.

Quality defense, but I want to see us beat the Cavs with their lone post presence. It wasn't really a fair contest on either end. We were without a healthy Kobe and they lacked big Z.

Klone_dd · Star Player Joined: 11 Mar 2002 Posts: 7330

Big time game for the Non-Kobe's. Pau and Bynum played "big", using their size and skills with deadly precision. Sasha was a-blazing, LO was very aggressive (almost too much at certain points, but better more than less), and Ariza was cobra-ing.

However, the guy that set the tone is the guy who laid it all out there, playing in pain. Kobe's manic energy in the way he was denying LBJ, hawking LBJ and setting up his mates tired me out just watching him. If your team leader is putting out that kind of effort, everyone else has gotta dig deep as well. Most importantly, the Lakers hit shots. 52% against one of the best defensive teams in the league. That made Kobe not have to carry the offensive load so much that he could really go all out on the D end.

BigEvil · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:46 am Post subject:

You know what made me smile? The tough edge the Lakers played with.

I mean it was mostly subtle but if you look back, you can see it. The Lakers put shoulders into Cavs' jerseys. They gave them little shots as they walked passed them on dead balls. They gave hard fouls. Hell I even caught Pau glaring in disgust at the opposing "big men" when he monster dunked on them.

And of course, LeBron got totally abused all night in that old school way harkening to an era when men were men and shorts were tight enough to lower sperm count.

Bench · Starting Rotation Joined: 02 Nov 2008 Posts: 456

Thanks, DB! Great recap as usual! LOL at note to LeBron comment. I noticed Sasha plays well whenever he's pissed, gets choked, blocked, elbowed etc.

Great, great game!

IPK · Star Player Joined: 19 Feb 2008 Posts: 6859

JUST-MING · Retired Number Joined: 23 Jun 2005 Posts: 44017

Ilgauskas was a bigger factor than Delonte West. He's their equalvent to "Pau Gasol". Lakers were missing Farmar and Walton, both of whom could start for this team. But great job acknowledging their absence Flo'z. Just happy we got the win, the next one will be ten times harder, when we play Boston and Cleveland on the road. (with "suspect" officiating)

DancingBarry · Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:55 am Post subject:

10scott10 · Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:58 am Post subject:

DancingBarry · Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:05 am Post subject:

Addicus · Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 2:00 am Post subject:

Addicus · Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 2:01 am Post subject:

JUST-MING · Retired Number Joined: 23 Jun 2005 Posts: 44017

Ilgauskas plays more like a 7-3 power forward, than a center. He shoots elbow jumpers, spreads the floor, pick and rolls, etc. He moves the ball around from the high/mid-post, almost out to the three point line. He's hardly "Andrew Bynum"-ish. He has way more polish to his game.

Pau Gasol analogy is a lot accurate than Bynum.