LAKERS -at- NUGGETS - 4/8 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Fisher, For The...Loss... The Lakers will exchange some of their healthy Western Conference lead for healthier players. They'll let Bynum recover as long as he can, and now they'll find some rest for Kobe. With a 98-96 loss to Denver tonight, the Lakers have dropped four of their last five games.

Kobe Bryant sat with what was officially called "right knee swelling." The team pretty much just picked an ailment. After a couple poor shooting games, Phil wanted to rest Kobe's legs for the playoffs.

The Lakers took a beating in the first half, then lulled the Nuggets to sleep. They fought their way back in the game, taking a lead late into the game.

With no Kobe, the wheels came completely off with a minute and a half left. Shotclock violation on one possession. Turnover Pau (he wanted the foul). Then, with 14 seconds left down by 2 points, the Lakers put the ball in DFish's hands. They got a switch with Billups fronting Lamar and Fish against Melo. Fish opted to try to create and hit a three. He was promptly blocked. Game over.

"We got the mismatch on it but we didn't have the action we asked for," Phil said. They didn't execute the play they wanted properly.

With Lamar being fronted by Billups, Pau should bounce out to the FT line to take a pass, while Lamar goes down low. This sets up a quick high-low play. None of that took place. Again, an opponent took away the first option, the Lakers struggled to to go the triangle counter to take advantage.

In the playoffs, the team will likely have Kobe to orchestrate those late-game possessions. Maybe they won't for a game. If so, the team needs to figure out just what they want to do in crunch time. They are a rudderless ship without No. 24.

The trio of Lakers who played some SG tonight -- Sasha, Shannon and DFish for a brief stretch -- combined for 8-35 shooting. The Kobe shots were available for the taking. They took them, but failed to hit at a reasonable rate.


Gasol -- -- With Kobe out, Pau was able to step into the Option 1 role and get to the line quite a bit to manufacture points. It was the no call that he didn't get with a minute and a half left that hurt, however. The Lakers floundered down the stretch. One of those plays was a turnover by Pau when he swung through and was stripped. He said he was hit on the arm, the Lakers lost a key possession. Phil didn't like that he exposed the ball and mentioned it after the game. Sure would have loved to see him get the ball back, though, in the final play to see if we could manufacture something from our leading scorer. Makes sense, right? The whole play was completely messed up. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 8-17 shooting (10-11 from the line) to go with 13 boards (6 offensive), 5 assists, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 43:31. He was a -2. The Action: He missed a baseline turnaround. He missed a face-up elbow jumper. He dunked off the lob pass from Sasha. He swished an open baseline jumper off the inside-out from Ron. He was stripped on the break, trying to ball fake and attack. He missed an And-1 jumphook but made both FTs. He tipped in a Lamar miss. He had 8 points on 3-6 shooting in the first. He drew FTs off the shove in the post, he made both. He missed a driving layup. He spun to lose his man and scored a layup. He drew FTs fighting for low position, he made both. He had 14 points on 4-9 shooting (6-6 from the line) and 6 boards. Second Half: He swished a lefty jumphook. He was hit on a jumper, he made one FT. He missed a two-footer. He blocked Nene's travel drive. He blocked Afflalo on a great rotation and close out on the sideline. He iso'd on Nene and drew FTs on a jumper, he made both. He had 5 points on 1-3 shooting in the third. He crashed the glass, pulled down a Farmar miss and scored. He attacked from the elbow, spun, got shoved and hit the And-1 turnaround, he made the FT. He missed a jumphook. He spun off the elbow and hit the pull-up jumper. He got completely tapped on a wing jumper that somehow crawled out. He was stripped facing up with Nene with a minute left (Pau later showed the refs how he was hit on the arm on a swing through in that play with no call...key no call).

Artest -- -- He looked to get into the paint early on, which is a lot easier to do with no Bynum or Kobe trying to post up. That may have helped him get more into a groove. (Didn't help him from completely choking an uncontested breakaway layup...wish we had those 2 points.) Ron didn't settle for just spreading the floor for others. Good to see a more multi-dimensional game from him. No way the Lakers hang in this game without his 22 points on 11 shots. Defensively, Melo was able to get going in the first half, but Ron held him down in the second half. Anytime Ron had to rotate or there was an opportunity in early offense with a mismatch, Melo would shoot and usually score on others. Melo had 19 points in the first half. Ron slowed him some when he was on him, causing an occasional turnovers, but Melo still got his in that half. Ron kept him to a perimeter threat, however, which is important. In the second half, Melo had just 3 points for the first 20 minutes, then he lit it up when Ron was on the bench. That was a key stretch of the game to turn things around for the Nuggets. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 7-11 shooting (3-4 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 38:35. He was a +8. The Action: He sank a catch-and-shoot jumper standing on the three line. He deflected a pass off Melo for a turnover. He posted up under the hoop on Melo, recovered a fumble and scored a layup. He attacked and missed a layup with his left. He posted up and fed Pau for the open jumper. He forced Melo into an airball on a drive. He attacked and was stripped. He was called for three seconds. He swiped a pass from Melo and drew FTs on the break, he made one. He drained a corner three of a swing pass from DFish. He had 8 points on 3-4 shooting in the first. He sank a face-up jumper over the Birdman. He saved an airball back to Mbenga for a score. He was stripped in the post. He missed an unconstested layup on the break, never got any lift on his legs and completely biffed it. He drained a wing three. He was blocked on the break. He sealed his man, got a missed three and drew FTs, he made both. Despite the missed layup, he had 15 points on 5-8 shooting, 2 offensive boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Second Half: He sealed his man, grabbed the long miss, turned and sank a corner three to force a timeout. He sealed Melo and scored an easy layup. He was hit by Melo on a rebound, he made both FTs. He was called for a foul off the ball trying to post up. He had 7 points on 2-2 shooting in the third. He missed a long three he had to take with the shotclock low.

Lamar -- -- No Kobe. No Bynum...No Lamar? He seemed to sleepwalk through a lot of this game. It's surprising the Lakers were in it despite Lamar's lack of impact at times. The reason they were still in it was because Ron picked up the slack. When things are going well for Lamar, he's making plays, scoring on drives, in the post, hitting jumpers. The Lakers saw none of that. That passing game with him and Pau providing the engine for a lot of offense just was there with Lamar tonight. Defensively, the game really turned late when Ron was resting and the Nuggets went small with Melo at PF. Lamar couldn't get stops and the team never looked to exploit the post on the other end. That's where they lost control of the game. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 13 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 34:17. He was a +3. The Action: He airballed a 21-footer trying to beat the shotclock. He missed a jumphook after a nice offensive board over Nene. He missed a wing jumper. He quickly turned a defensive board into breakaway FTs for Shannon. He was hammered in the head on a breakaway (Phil wondered why no flagrant), he made one FT. Careless inbounds and he gave up a layup. He then missed a pull-up jumper in early offense. He had 1 point on 0-4 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: Bad angle post entry, stolen. Nice help D with a fronting Pau and Lamar stole the entry pass. He attacked and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a three. He fought for an offensive board and scored his first hoop of the game. He was stripped in the paint and was looking for the foul. He fouled Melo on iso with 44 seconds left.

Fisher -- -- Horrible possession to end the game. Down by 2 with 14 seconds left, he brought the ball up court, tried to iso and was blocked by Melo on a long jumper. He never ran any offense. The Lakers looked confused despite having the chance to set something up during the freethrows taken on the other end. Fish is the worst player to try to create off the dribble for the team. That wasn't exactly the play call, but the play before that Fish actually drew FTs on a drive out of a timeout. Phil was trusting him to execute again. Fish is the guy you want the ball pitched to for a jumper, not the guy you want handling to create his own shot...or create for others. You have Pau, Lamar, Artest -- all of them able to create. The ball never left Fish's hands until it was rejected. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 2-11 shooting (0-2 from three, 6-8 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 foul in 35:34. He was a -2. The Action: He missed a pull-up, sideline three. He swished a pull-up at the FT line in transition. He swiped the ball to ignite a break. He missed a three. He bricked a three trying to beat the shotclock. Extra pass to Ron for the three. The Nuggets purposely took a foul on Fish, he made one FT. Second Half: He missed a toe-on-the-three line jumper. He attacked, missed, got it back and drew FTs, good effort, he made one. He attacked off the three line and scored a layup. Poor shot selection, pulling up for a toe-on-the-line jumper on the break (nearly the worst shot selection you can come up with). He missed a floater. He bricked a pull-up 15-footer in the lane. He was hit on a 20-footer with the shotclock low, he made both. He drew FTs on a two-for-one drive with 32 seconds left, he made both to cut the lead to 1. Blocked by Melo trying to hit a three on iso.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha got the start in the first half, but promptly went 1-6. Phil started Shannon in the second half, but later went to Sasha to close the game on offense. He had hit a couple of threes and Phil had to settle him down from some quick chucks at one point. Sasha had the team-worse -13. Despite all that, these are valuable minutes for him. Phil was able to get in his head and try to preach what he wanted from him. Defensively, he's usually decent at sticking with shooters especially when they are working off screens. With Smith, Sasha seemed to make some ill-advised rotations or sags, leaving him free. Can't do that. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-12 shooting (2-7 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and 2 fouls in 25:39. The Action: Easy penetration to Afflalo for an And-1. He hit Pau spinning backdoor for the lob dunk. He missed a jumper out of a timeout, got it back and missed a three. He missed a wing jumper. He drained a corner jumper in early offense. He bricked a wing jumper, again set up for him out of a timeout. He missed a wing three. He had 2 points on 1-6 shooting. Second Half: He missed a long, quick-fire wing jumper. He left Smith for Lawson, three for Smith. He finally sank a wing three on a Pau kickout. He missed a wing three after a quick-fire three again. Phil sat him for Shannon briefly. He pulled down an offensive board, reset the offense, got it back and hit the wide open sideline three. He missed a long three next time down with a man rushing at him. He missed another quick-fire three. He was tied up by Carter for a jumpball, he won it.

Brown -- -- The hand injury was noticeably hurting him off and on throughout the game. You can never tell how much it affects his shot because he can be pretty streaky. Shannon had one of the pivotal plays of the game. He blocked his man on a drive and controlled it, but threw the ball away forcing the Lakers into a foul situation. The refs reviewed the play, which looked like it could have been the Lakers possession, instead went the Nuggets way and it put the Lakers into a foul situation. Almost a great play by Shannon when the Lakers needed a defensive stop. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 3-12 shooting (2-6 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 block, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 26:47. He was a +11. The Action: He missed a wing jumper badly. He was hit on the break on a bustout with Lamar, he made both. He hit rim on a 75-footer at the buzzer. He took a kickout from Mbenga, attacked with speed and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a long three, just beating the shotclock (Lakers got it back). He was blocked on a layup. He missed a wing jumper next time down. (His man scored immediately on both of those misses.) He was blocked from behind at the buzzer. He scored 4 points on 0-6 shooting, 4-4 from the line. Second Half: He attacked to his left and bricked a layup badly. He got a nice bounce on a three when Pau kicked out. He missed an open 4-footer. He missed a three with the shotclock low. He tied the game on a breakaway slam. He swished an early offense catch-and-shoot three. He had 8 points on 3-6 shooting in the third. He blocked his man from behind, but then threw the ball away instead of hitting who looked closer.

Farmar -- -- In a game that you lose by a hoop, those missed layups by Farmar just became that much more costly. You expect the misses from the usual suspects, but Farmar needs to finish those. Aside from some soft D on his man, Farmar helped the team rally in the second half. One of his best plays was actually on the defensive end during the Lakers run. He saved DFish from getting burned with shot challenge and the Lakers recovered the miss. Those are the hustle plays that make a rally happen. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-8 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 block and 1 assist in 15:32. He was a -4. The Action: He drained a wing jumper off the Artest post. Quick, chest pass outlet to Lamar to draw FTs in transition. He missed a turnaround in the post. He airballed a FT jumper, yikes. Second Half: He drained a pull-up wing jumper in early offense. He missed a drive. He choked a wide open layup under the hoop. He choked an open reverse, uggh. He stepped back off the Pau screen and swished a three. Great challenge to help DFish's man who blew past him and Farmar saved a layup.

Luke -- -- I would think his minutes would be cautiously handed out if the Lakers are trying to watch the walking wounded. He had a brief stint out there, moved the ball decently, but the team lost ground.I wish he was out there with a healthy Bynum. The second unit could use the post passing. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting and had 1 foul in 3:42. He was a -4. The Action: Corner entry to Pau for FTs. He missed a step-back baseline jumper. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Powell -- -- Even though he had the -7, Powell played some decent minutes. He didn't force up quick shots, he hustled, got some garbage points and never stood out as a negative force. He even made his fouls count. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting to go with 5 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist and 2 fouls in 12 minutes. The Action: He grabbed a loose ball and scored a layup. He slammed back in a Sasha miss. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Mbenga -- -- His minutes looked better on both ends. The offense didn't have that same hitch in its game like it usually does. He had a nose for the ball and went after it. Couldn't ask for much better minutes from your third-third string center. He'll be getting good run with Bynum not coming back until the playoffs hit. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 to go with 1 foul in 4:29. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: Great effort to crash the glass and take an offensive board away from the Birdman and it led to FTs for Shannon. He banked off the saved offensive board from Artest. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Phil -- -- Get ready for a couple more losses. Phil left it up to Kobe to choose whether to sit, but seemed to be urging him to take some time off after the last two poor games. Lamar seemed to have followed suit despite being suited up... Without Kobe, the Lakers would go into dry spells and struggle down the stretch. And somehow DFish became the goto guy... After an early timeout, the Lakers mucked up an offensive possession, so Phil called another timeout... Phil brought in Shannon for Sasha to cover J.R. Smith... Phl brought in Mbnega for Pau at the end of the first... The Lakers shot just 7-21, the Nuggets 8-20 in the first. The Lakers trailed 22-20... Phil started a Mbenga, Lamar, Ron, Shannon, Farmar unit... They pulled out a short lead with some good effort on both ends... Phil went with a Pau, Powell, Luke, Shannon, Farmar lineup tied up... Smith started getting hot, so Phil sat Shannon after a long stint and brought Sasha back in... The Lakers were outscored 35-27 in the second quarter. Too much J.R. Smith getting open or loose... The Lakers trailed 57-47 at the half. They shot 15-45 (33 percent), but made 15-18 from the line. The Nuggets made 19-38 (50 percent). The SGs replacing Kobe (Sasha, Shannon) were a combined 1-12 shooting. The Lakers had a 12-6 advantage on the offensive glass... Phil started Shannon instead of Sasha... They cut the lead to just 4, forcing a Nugget timeout... Phil urged the team to keep closing off the lanes... They tied it up 67-67... The Lakers pulled ahead by as many as 3 during the 27-16 third quarter... They led 74-73 heading into the fourth... Phil started a Pau, Powell, Ron, Sasha, Farmar lineup. Phil giving Ron/Pau long runs trying to milk the momentum... Up by 6, he sat Ron... Up by 4, Phil went with Pau, Lamar, Sasha, Fisher, Farmar. Strange lineup to match up with Melo at the PF... Melo had 5 points against Lamar after just 3 points the first 20 minutes of the half. He tied it up 92-92... Phil went with his first-half starters... Lakers got a shotclock violation with the score tied 94-94 and 1:32 left to play. They followed that up with a Pau turnover... After DFish manufactured some FTs out of a timeout. The Lakers nearly got a stop, but had to foul. Down 2, they took the ball inbounds with 14 seconds left. Fish brought it up and chucked a bad three trying to create for himself and was blocked... "Really a poor shooting night for us as a team," Phil said... The Lakers shot 36.6 percent...

[sia_kb8]

first
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[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB.

All you ever want is a chance at the end and we couldn't even get that. Im also not happy about Pau coughing up the ball yet again in crunchtime. Pretty good game from him till that point.
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*sighs*

!...

[IPK]

[heatseeker08]

Thanks DB.

Pretty disappointed that Phil didn't call a timeout.

[night89]

I've gotta disagree about Shannon. He was shooting 47% before the hand injury, it's now dropped to 43% and I believe he's been shooting under 35% since the hand injury. That's too drastic a difference to say that he's merely been on a bad streak.

Fortunately, we STILL have enough time to get him healthy, before the series where we'll really need him. The question is whether Phil realizes that he's not going to get healthy, if he keeps playing him. I mean, every time he takes one of those dunks, it's probably back to square one.

[limchrc]

Thanks, let's win the next game.

[usa]

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB
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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."

[Rodman28]

Thanx.
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*On Thin Ice*

I guess I am kind of injury prone.- Andrew Bynum

These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess.- Kobe Bryant

[thurloly]

[Rick12322]

Thanks, DB. Are you all better now?

[ChefLinda]

When the TNT announcers were predicting Phil would forgo a time out with 14 seconds left, I yelled out loud at the TV, "Yeah, but that's when Kobe is playing!" I was stunned to see Fish playing the Kobe-role in that circumstance. Unfreakingbelievable. I know there was a broken play, but seriously, did any fan watching at that point really believe it would end well? Honestly, if we were just going to end up with one of our guards dribbling out the clock before chucking up a 3, I'd rather it be Farmar.

[Rick12322]

That last possession by Fisher was like a bad joke or something. As Derek dribbled the ball down court I kept thinking he'd give the ball to Shannon, I have lot more faith in Shannon getting off a jumper than Fisher. Then, the unthinkable happened..., he tried to shoot over Melo. Wow, just wow!

[Klone_dd]

Glad to see DB is not tanking the rest of the season.

It was actually pretty amazing that the Lakers had a chance to steal the game. No Kobe, no Bynum, no LO, 36% FG shooting and the guards particularly horrible.

Pau was terrific except for the late TO. He can dominate his matchup with Birdman, but Nene's able to push him off his sweet spots. I don't think the Lakers do a good job of cross-screening for Pau to get him position. It used to be a trademark with Kareem or even Shaq to have a guard set a screen so that the center can go from weakside to strong side. Phil seems to want Pau to establish his own base and muscle in for position.

Too bad RonRon and JoFar doinked their layups.

Finally, Fish shouldn't be in the playmaker role w/o Kobe. Spot ups, ok, but not decision maker.

[RVCdesigns]

Thanks DB, as always. Stupid move to bring the ball down in the post, lol. And Fisher, thank you for all of your game winning shots, but please dont ever try to create your own shot in a game again.

[Addicus]

Thanks DB. If the Lakers didn't have Kohe would they still have all these terrible shooting guards? No. They would surround these bigs with shooters. They should do the same for Kobe because these guys are embarrassing.
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Stop crying and start doing.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/addicusbrown

[Nobody]

Seeing the last 14 seconds of the game almost made me cry. I can't understand it.

[Freakout]

They had JR Smith guarding Ron for about the last 5 minutes of the game and not once did we go to him in the post.

[_#1_]

Ours guards couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat.

[mhan00]

i'm so (bleep) sick of watching derek fisher run down with the ball in transition during a key moment in the game and just launch up a toe on the line 2pt shot with no one in rebounding position and 20 seconds left on the clock. he does that, it seems, at least once a (bleep) game and i would be astounded if he shot better than 10% when he does it. figure it the (bleep) out, please, you "smart" "experienced" and "savvy" vet; it's NOT A GOOD SHOT, EVER. and it always leads directly to the other team getting an opportunity to score on the other end.

crap, all night and i'm still pissed at fisher for being a moron who sucks. if he was at least just a moron who had talent, or if he just sucked but was smart, then it wouldn't be so bad. too bad that he's a complete moron who sucks complete ass.

seriously, if any of us ever sees dfish on the street, that person needs to ask him why he continually takes such awful shots, and why he keeps trying things that have continually failed him in the past.

[Lakersneuron]

Thanks DB, appreciate your thoughts as always.

The way I see it:

1. Simply awful shooting from our guard core.
2. On the road at Mile High Stadium
3. No Kobe and Drew (Number 1 and Number 3 options) which subsequently throw off our rotations. Thus, the eclectic lineups tonight.
4. It was essential for Denver to win to get to the #2 seed (and home court), while the Lakers are just trying to stave of Orlando and get some momentum in the playoffs.
5. The Lakers played some gritty ball in second half, coming back from a deficit, and had a chance for the game winning shot. The last game the Lakers played without KB, it came down to a final possession as well and they couldn't execute. That is what happens when you don't have a closer (in my opinion, the best one in the game).

Summary: I see this as a good loss, and I don't consider myself a glass half full kind of guy. This being said, there is definitely room for improvement. When we are healthy...um,...-ier, this is what I am hopeful to see in the playoffs.

1. Swing the ball more. No more iso basketball with our "embarrassment of riches" in offensive talent. This includes Fish and Jordan's idiotic plays.
2. Feed the post frequently. At least once a possession. Pau and Drew should not be afraid to kick it out and re-post.
3. An active Odom. Transition basketball, cuts, boards, and face-up drives. He is a huge mismatch most of the time. (and yes, I am familiar with LO's history, in fact, my favorite saying is DOOM ALARM)
4. Spacing created by the long-ball (if we are lucky enough to connect these days).
5. Finally, and arguably most importantly, intensity and defense (Artest anyone?).
6. Everything else, i.e. Kobe and Pau performances, will take care of themselves.

This ring isn't going to come easy, but I am hopeful we can make a decent run.