LAKERS -at- CLIPPERS - 4/14 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Real Season Begins... The Association waits for no one to get healthy. The real season begins now.

With the top seed in the West wrapped up, the only thing the Lakers could hope from this game was that no one got injured. Unfortunately, the injury bug struck again -- Sasha Vujacic came down on a foot and rolled his ankle badly.

After Sasha went down with the severe ankle injury, it seemed pretty evident that the Lakers didn't want to play out the remainder of this game. They played cautious the rest of the night and quickly fell behind by double digits before finally losing 107-91 to the Clippers.

Phil sat Ron (who also had a minor ankle tweak) in the second half for Morrison. D.J. Mbenga ran 20 minutes, Josh Powell a season-high 27 minutes.

Two meaningless games in two nights and both Farmar and Sasha are added to the team's injury problems. All season long, the one caveat to all Laker predictions was "if they are healthy."

The walking wounded as it stands:

Kobe Bryant - Index finger on shooting hand, right knee.
Andrew Bynum - Strained Achilles
Ron Artest - Left thumb, twisted ankle
Lamar Odom - Shoulder
Shannon Brown - Right thumb
Luke Walton - Back
Jordan Farmar - Hamstring
Sashan Vujacic - Left ankle sprain

Someone cue Vic the Brick... “As the bamboo bends with the wind, so does man bend with the circumstances.” The defending champions know nothing comes easy on a title run. It's even more difficult for a title defense.

Time to suit up the Golden Armor and go to war...


Gasol -- -- Some great mid-range shooting for Pau to start the game. Even better were the passes and some of the screens his teammates worked to help set that up. This is the high post game that will be there when Bynum returns. Pau shut it down in the second half, playing conservative and letting others get some touches. His rebounding stats have shown impressive growth the past three seasons. Tonight he pulled down another 17 boards in his limited minutes. He averaged 11.3 boards this season. His previous career high was 9.8. Pau is ready to go. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-14 shooting (4-6 from the line) to go with 17 boards (7 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 27:40. He was a -7. The Action: He swiped a pass, pushed up the dribble, saw a lane, attacked it and drew FTs on the throwdown attempt, he made both. He hit a short jumper off the Lamar drive. He missed a lefty jumphook. He back-rimmed a turnaround, followed it and scored the layup. He sank a 12-footer on the post kickout from Ron. He popped out behind a screen by Ron and hit the 10-footer in the lane. He had 10 points on 4-7 shooting. He flashed to the ball off the Luke screen and hit the FT jumper. He took a board from behind Blake and drew FTs on the putback, he missed both. He backed down Kaman and hit the short jumphook. He had 14 points on 6-9 shooting and 8 boards. Second Half: Bad outlet and it turned into a Clipper dunk. He missed a turnaround jumper. He hit Fish cross court for a three. He missed an elbow jumper. He missed a tip, got it back and dunked it in. He attacked baseline and drew FTs on a reverse, he made both.

Artest -- -- "Because I've known him since we were like 12 years old. I told him he deserves the opportunity to play for a championship," Lamar said of Ron. "Here we go -- right here." It's that time, all right. Do or Die. The perimeter shooting has been a problem for several weeks for Ron. From beyond the arc the past few months, Ron has shot .431 in January, .409 in February, .268 in March and .269 now in April. He needs to get on track and fast. His lack of legs seem to be catching him off guard -- a missed dunk tonight, a missed breakaway layup a couple games ago where he couldn't get up. He tweaked his ankle slightly, but said he'll be fine. He'll have several days off and not have to worry about back-to-back games anymore. Hopefully, the rest will do him some good. Despite the poor shooting, Ron again manage to lead the team with a +5. Some nice passes and screens. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-7 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 15:33. He was a +5. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. He bricked a long wing jumper. He regained a possession by drawing a foul on the offensive glass. He hit Lamar for an open jumper. He choked a dunk, no legs. He posted up and kicked to Pau for the short jumper. Great screen on Kaman in the paint to free up Pau for the short jumper. He didn't score on 0-3 shooting in the first. He was called for an offensive foul trying to post up. He posted up, spun and hit the short hook with his right. He choked a layup trying flip it in over his head, that was a gimmie, then he missed the tip attempt (he really needs to practice those reverse type flip-ins while someone is leaning on him). He was 1-7 for 2 points. Second Half: He did not play.

Lamar -- -- Phil ran Lamar in the two guard front to start the fourth quarter. Second night in a row we've seen the big lineups. Perhaps, it's just the injuries to Sasha, Kobe, and Farmar. Or, maybe Phil is experimenting with running Lamar in some bigger lineups in the playoffs. His game seems to become much more active when he switches to that mode. He ended up as the Lakers leading scorer and most of his points came while running with the big lineups in the fourth. Lamar should be able to step it up on both ends in the playoffs. Facing one opponent, studying one game plan and not having to switch gears every night helps him. Hopefully, LO will be ready to go full throttle. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 7-12 shooting (0-1 from three, 7-9 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 31:26. He was a -12. The Action: He was blocked on a jumper to start the game. He attacked and dumped it off to Pau for the easy jumper. He drained a 15-footer from the left side. He sank a pull-up elbow jumper in transition. He posted up and hit Pau popping out behind a screen for the jumper. He had 4 points on 2-3 shooting and 3 fouls. Second Half: He dribbled the ball on the baseline, turnover. He posted up and drew FTs on the jumphook, he made one. He missed a pull-up wing jumper. He cleaned up a blocked shot with an easy putback. Lazy pass, easily picked off, dunk the other way. A loose ball went right to him for a dunk. He crossed over between his legs, attacked past his man and dunked to start the fourth. He missed a pull-up three. He posted up, spun and hit the right handed hook. He posted up Smith and hit the And-1 jumphook in the paint, he made the FT. He was blocked in the post, got it back and drew FTs, he made one. He attacked and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a 17-footer. He drew a couple more FTs.

Fisher -- -- While Blake dropped a triple-double on the Lakers, the entire team's defensive intensity wasn't very strong. DFish has covered Blake well in the past when he was with Portland (Kobe was the guy who usually sagged off and got burned). The Lakers just didn't seem to have much focus. Fisher had the team worst -17 tonight. Although, he didn't shoot well, he went 2-3 from three. He finished April by going 5-11 from three. The team needs that three shooting to carry through the playoffs. Last year, he shot a career worst .284 from three in the post season. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-7 shooting (2-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He biffed a layup in early offense. He swished an open sideline three. He missed a wing three. He missed an open elbow jumper. He was stripped trying to push up the break, then he took the hard foul on Blake. He missed a 15-footer. He was 1-5 or 3 points. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper. He swished a wing three off the Pau skip pass. He attacked in transition and was sent to the floor for FTs, he made both.

Brown -- -- Shannon finished the season with a 15 points per game average (shooting .416) when starting in 7 games. Pretty good numbers and likely something his agent may point if they look to renegotiate his contract or get another one elsewhere. He was aggressive from the perimeter and on the dribble tonight. Against the Thunder, he will need to be very careful with the long shot attempts and the tempo. Misses will put the Thunder in transition and the Lakers on their heels. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-16 shooting (1-4 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 38:34. He was a -10. The Action: He missed a flip up in the paint. He missed a wing three, not squared up (just repost that). He missed a wing three. He tracked a loose ball under the hoop, grabbed it and reversed. He was fouled on the perimeter and made both FTs. He drained a long wing jumper just before the first-quarter buzzer. He had 6 points on 2-5 shooting in the first. He sank a wing jumper off the pinch post with Luke. He threw a pass away, layup the other way. He had 8 points on 3-6 shooting. Second Half: He attacked in early offense and threw in a teardrop over a help defender. He missed a wing jumper, got it back and missed a drive. He missed a three on a kickout. He drained a three straight away on a kickout from Luke. He swished a pull-up 16-footer in early offense. He missed an open elbow jumper. He drew FTs and made one. He sank a pull-up wing jumper.

Farmar -- -- He came in with 1.3 seconds left in the half to play in his 82nd game of the season. That'll throw of his per game averages a hair. Prior to this game, he averaged 7.3 points per game in 18 minutes. He shot .671 from the line, something he needs to improve upon as a PG. He sank .376 from three and .435 from the floor. He had 1.6 assists to 0.9 turnovers per game. The Stats: No stats. The Action: He came in for a second. Second Half: He did not play.

Luke -- -- He led the team with 6 assists in his 18 minutes. Glad to see him get some quality run the past two games and look more like himself. Teams may throw some gimmicks and zones against the Lakers come playoff time to see how we respond. Luke's passing game Triangle savvy may be a key to helping the Lakers slice that up. Luke also finished with 7-17 shooting from three this season in his 29 games. That's .412 from beyond the arc. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 6 assists and 1 turnover in 18 minutes. He was a -16. The Action: His bounce pass on the two-man game was picked off. He went between his legs to Sasha, who couldn't knock down the open jumper. He missed a runner. He attacked from the elbow and found Sasha for the open jumper. He posted up and hit his fade in the lane. He had 4 assists in the half. Second Half: He airballed a turnaround in the post. He missed a corner three. He attacked and kicked to Shannon for three.

Vujacic -- -- What was important in this game? "Defense and execution," Sasha said beforehand. Health should have been the first reply. Sasha came down on a foot as he shot a three, spraining his left ankle. Looked like a complete roll and was called "severe," the x-rays were negative and an MRI will take place tomorrow. Just when Sasha was stringing together his best games of the season, he goes down in a meaningless Clipper game. That's why you don't play Kobe in these, no matter what his health is. The Stats: He had 8 points on 3-7 shooting, 1 board and 1 steal in 15:06. He was a -2. The Action: He missed a baseline catch and shoot. He was hit a throwdown attempt on the break, he made both FTs. He missed a wing jumper. He hit a catch-and-shoot jumper from the top of the key after working off the screens. He missed an open wing jumper off the between-the-legs pass from Luke. He knocked a post feed away. He drained a baseline jumper off the kickout from Luke. He sank a 21-footer set up out of a timeout. He sprained his left ankle landing on a foot and was done for the night.

Powell -- -- In early tonight for Lamar, Powell got some extended run. His 27 minutes were a season high, so were his 9 boards and 4 assists. He sank a three in this game, but ended giving it back by missing all three freethrow attempts. That three was his 7th in 16 attempts (.438 shooting from beyond the arc). He had never sank a three before this season and ended up as one of the team's best shooters from there. As long as he sticks to shooting them from the sidelines and corners, it's not a bad shot...so the stats say. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-7 shooting (1-1 from three, 0-3 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He drained a sideline three. He couldn't finish a layup off the Sasha feed. He traveled on a pass off. He missed an easy And-1, then missed both FTs. He tracked a miss by Fish and scored the layup. He had 5 points on 2-3 shooting and 7 boards. Second Half: He missed a jumper. He missed a jumphook, got it back and threw it away. He missed a baseline jumper. He scored an And-1 putback, he missed the FT.

Mbenga -- -- To show you how serious the Lakers were in this game, there was a stretch in the fourth quarter where it seemed Mbenga was the first option on four straight possessions. He didn't score on any of them, and that's something we will not likely see again. Mbenga played about 120 more minutes this season than his previous best of 237. He set career highs in total points, shots, boards and blocks. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-8 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 20:34. He was a -9. The Action: He served up a layup for Kaman to easily swat. Nice hustle to challenge a shot, jump back into the fight for the board, save it to a teammate and draw a foul. He back-rimmed an elbow jumper. He was called for a travel on a pivot in the lane. He sank a turnaround jumper from 15 feet. He made a freethrow off the Sasha foul when Sasha had to go into the locker room. Second Half: He airballed a jumphook out of a timeout. He then clanked a short jumper next time down. He missed a wing jumper, third straight possession. He missed a jumphook, fourth straight possession. He swished a 19-footer.

Morrison -- -- He got the start in the second half for Ron. Officially, these should be Adam's last minutes as a Laker. With the injuries the way they are? Well, who knows? Wouldn't mind getting him another ring before he leaves. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting to go with 2 turnovers in 16 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He bricked a jumper off the split play. He was swatted on a layup. He missed a fade in the lane. He sank a 17-footer. Bad pass, not waiting for a cutter to clear out before making the post entry, layup the other way.

Phil -- -- First sub came early, Sasha for Shannon midway through the quarter... He brought back in Shannon for Fish, and Powell for Lamar... The Lakers led 28-23 after the first... Phil started a Mbenga, Powell, Luke, Sasha, Shannon unit... They were outscored by 8 before Phil called a timeout midway through the quarter. (That lineup worked better with Artest in and Powell out last night.)... Phil brought back in Pau, Lamar and DFish to run with Sasha and Luke... Down 3, Ron came in for Luke... Lamar picked up his third foul and Phil went back to Powell... The Lakers were outscored 29-21 in the second quarter... They trailed 52-49 at the half. The Lakers shot 44.4 percent (20-45, 7-12 from the line). The Clippers shot 48.6 percent (18-37, 12-14 from the line). Ron and DFish combined for 2-12 shooting... Phil started Ammo for Artest in the second half... The Lakers trailed by 9 after 4 minutes. It didn't look like any of them wanted to put out much effort after Sasha's injury... They were outscored 26-16 in the third quarter... Phil started a Mbenga, Powell, Luke, Shannon, Lamar lineup. With Lamar in the two-guard front, they cut the lead to 8 and forced a Clipper timeout... After another timeout, the Lakers went to Mbenga on four straight possessions for four straight misses... Garbage time most of the quarter... Phil thought 60 games was the minimum the team should have won this season. They finish 3 games shy of that mark...

[Texas_Pete]

1st on the last game of the season. Thanks DB!

[Texas_Pete]

Artest just needs to let it fly. No hesitation. No wondering if he should have passed it. Just shoot it. I think if he does that he will be fine.

Let the real games begin....

Go Lakers!

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB

The only reason im upset about this loss is the injury to Sasha. Sucks to see another guy go down.

Ronnie needs to pick it up. But his greatest asset to this team may be those screens. Kamen couldn't even budge on some of them.
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*sighs*

!...

[thurloly]

Another injury ruin my day.

Let's hope Artest find his shooting touch.

Let's hope Gasol continuing to peak, and so does Kobe.

Let's hope our bench not running around like chicken with no head.

And last, let's hope everyone will be fine and recover healthy.

[night89]

So we could be playing Denver in the 2nd round...that doesn't give much time for Drew to bulk up at all. This is worrisome because Nene looks even bigger than the last time Drew faced him(and essentially shut down whoever he guarded in the last game we played against them, without Drew and Kobe.)

If Bynum cannot impose his will on Nene, then it could get ugly because Kobe can't impose his will on Aaron Affalo, with that finger injury(and it's doubtful he could have done that, even if he was healthy. Unfortunately, no Anthony Carter, who was Fisher's equivalence, to offset Phil's stupidity with Fisher this time). And I doubt that Pau can score on K-Mart like the way he's been.

Meanwhile, no Sasha to put on JR Smith, and we still have Fisher at PG. If the refs are hostile, then I see a real possibility of losing this series. The bottom line is that the Nuggets got better with the addition of Affalo, Ty Lawson, and Carmelo's improvements. On the other hand, due to Kobe's injury, we've lost our clear goto guy...

[MedRomLaker]

Thanks DB been a LONG season,thanks for all the recaps, now the real trial begins, hopefully we can reclaim what is rightfully ours.
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11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

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

[adtz]

bad way to end the season final game. but thanks for the recap

[Jacks3]

[Fleur-de-Lis]

[Vishnu]

Thanks DB.

[RVCdesigns]

Thank you DB.

[limchrc]

Thanks. Hope we have a better post season.

[Lakersneuron]

fantastic write-up DB! Thanks!

I can tell your writing improved tremendously since the beginning of the year. I really appreciated the stats in this one!

[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

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks again DB.

Now let's see if this Laker team perceives the Thunder to represent enough of a threat to shift into second gear, or at least stop coasting.