LAKERS -vs- GRIZZLIES - 7/19 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings

[DancingBarry]

Another SPL Season Concludes... With the reduced number of NBA teams in the Summer Pro League this year, the Lakers and Memphis got to match up with each other for the fourth time. With the Logo and Mike Fratello in the crowd and a suprise appearance by Rick Fox, the Grizzlies hung on to a 111-108 win, hanging on despite a late rally by the Lakers.

Andrew Bynum was in street clothes, limping around with a bruised knee. Reports are he will be ready for the bigman camp in a few weeks, but he did look to be favoring one leg as he walked around.

If I had to guess as to who would get training camp invites, I'd say Green, Pinnock, Wafer and Slaughter all get invites. We don't have any rights on Slaughter, so he could end up somewhere else, but he put in enough hustle and promise that maybe they give him a few training camp games. Green did a lot to improve his stock in the SPL and finished with another strong game tonight.


Bynum -- -- It was unfortunate the Lakers didn't have him on the floor tonight as it would have forced the team to once again try to run their counters within the triangle offense to get him the ball against the Memphis defense. Failing at that, it would have likely caused Bynum to work out of the high post a little more, which is fun to watch. Bynum said after the game that he bruised his right knee. Despite limping from the locker room to the bench and back, he should be fine in a few weeks...and can possibly work on things like freethrow shooting in the meantime.

Last year, Bynum mentioned how much bigger the players were and how he had to adjust to their size. This year, he said his added strength helped him a lot. He certainly looked stronger and finished stronger at times, but he still needs to keep adding strength. Rambis said afterward that if you compare the last SPL to this SPL, Bynum has made "dramatic improvement". Rambis went on to list all the areas of Bynum's game, including conditioning, hustle, bodyshape, etc....but he also added that, "He is still a project, but he understands he has a ways to go and will have to work really hard."

Almost all aspects of Bynum's game improved. However, he's not where he needs to be yet. More reps in the weight room and more reps on his post moves...all summer long and we'll see a little more improvement by training camp. Hopefully, (and Bynum mentioned this after the game) this time he can stay healthy during training camp and get into the rotation early. He should prove to be much more serviceable than last season. (But remember, he's still a couple more years away from where we want him to be.)

So, with Bynum out in this game and the Grizzlies not playing Alexander Johnson or Lawrence Roberts, we saw a lot more action from the guards and smaller fowards.

Farmar -- -- Rambis described Farmar as "a nasty competitor"...a compliment to how hard he works and plays. Jordan shot 7-15 (2-4 from three) for 23 points, struggling at the line making 7-11 FTs. He had all 23 points in the first three quarters. "I was just trying to run the offense and take what was given to me. Try to be aggressive," he said. When he's aggressive, Farmar shows an excellent ability to change gears and attack with speed and explosion in the lane. He couldn't finish a layup on one such drive early in the game. He got hit on a jumper, getting some nice elevation over Lowry on the shot and drawing FTs. He penetrated the D and pulled up for a 12-footer from near the elbow, showing his solid midrange game. He then squared up and hit a wing three. He followed that up by popping out a little right of the top of the key and draining another three. He busted out for a layup on the break and scored an And-1 when his shot was goaltended. He got swatted trying to shoot around a bigman in the lane. He caught his man off guard with some hesitation in the offense before attacking and drawing FTs. He tucked the ball under his arm to protect against a strip then scooped it in for a score. In the second half, he sped through the D again, but couldn't finish. He started to work out of the weakside high post for a few sequences. On one, he spun and attacked with speed for a layup. Farmar got caught in with the trees, was blocked and Lowry came away with it, packing Farmar from behind.

Farmar had 3 assists with 4 turnovers on the night. Teammates missed jumpers on a few of his kickouts. Of his turnovers, he telegraphed one perimeter pass that was picked off the other direction for a score. He threw an outlet pass too far down the court and Perkins couldn't catch up to it. He also fumbled another outlet pass out of bounds as he tried to turn it up court. He makes some standard Triangle mistakes every now and then, forcing a post entry pass, or making that weak perimeter pass, but it's not too often. He seemed to make a chunk of his turnovers in the SPL in transition. Still, he took to the Triangle offense very, very well.

Defensively, he fought over the top a little more in this game and it forced the Lakers held defenders to sag at times. Still, he showed some great lateral speed, despite drawing a couple of fouls while fighting to stay in front of his man. He was more ticked at the refs than I had seen him this summer, and after the game he mentioned how he has to get used to not being able to play physical on the perimeter. He had one very nice sequence where he was backpedalling at high speed and cut off dribble penetration. He had one steal on the night, poking a ball lose from behind Lowry to force a turnover. Overall, great SPL from Farmar. Easily the best guard play we've had in the SPL in the past several years.

Green -- -- Devin scored 22 points in 29 minutes on 10-17 shooting (2-3 from three). His shot is certainly improved. In warmups, he made a number of baseline jumpers in row. He had that same shooting form during the game and continued to hit from the outside. If he can get his shot to where defenders have to honor it, his game will open up a lot more. He's shown he can drive at high speed with either hand, including in this game. If a defender has to respect Green's shot that will open up his driving game. He guarded Rudy Gay off and on during this game. Gay picked up two quick fouls, unable (more like not ready) to handle Green's quick first step. Green could have easily been the high scorer in the game had he not blown several layups, having his finger rolls rim out a few times. He came off a weakside flash out of the offense to sink a 14-footer. He shook Cisse badly with a stutter step crossover for a score down the lane. He cut, spun and then scored a layup while keeping it away from the help D. He attacked strong off the dribble with his left and scored a layup. He hit a 20-footer. He nailed a sideline catch-and-shoot three. He made another strong, high-speed attack off the dribble with his left and scored a layup. He hit a hanging bank in the lane. He attacked, spun and hit a jumphook in the final clutch seconds (imposed his will on the game in that sequence). He pulled up off the dribble like a TMac might and sank a wing three with 2.1 seconds left to bring the Lakers within two points. Good job in the closing action to get the Lakers several scores.

Defensively, he was fairly solid. A couple missed box outs that allowed scores, but he hustled most of the night. He led the Lakers with two steals, one he should have scored a layup on. He jumped in front of Lowry to draw a charge on a nice bit of help D. He made what looked like a clean step around on a pass to Gay to knock it loose, but was whistled for a foul. He deflected a couple other passes to Gay with some similar hustle. He was gave up two unfortunate And-1s in the final sequences of the game that made it difficult for us to mount the comeback.

Wafer -- -- Really not much to talk about. He played 18 minutes and scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting. He's trying to do what the coaches want him to do, play within the offense, set up the Tri and set up teammates, but he's not showing a strong ability to be that kind of player. He sank a 21-foot jumper from the top of the key. He showed poor clock management, pulling up for a jumper with 10 seconds left in the quarter. He hit it, but his score was erased when Memphis drew two FTs on the other end with plenty of time to work. I'm sure if Von played his game, where he tries to impose his athleticism on the other team, he would have scored plenty in the SPL. He didn't and he looked very much like a square peg trying to fit in a triangle-shaped hole.

Pinnock -- -- Not a real strong finish to his SPL. He scored 6 points on 2-4 shooting and had 3 turnovers and 2 assists in 22 minutes. He was picked by Lowry for a layup the other way. He lost the ball trying to split a double team. He got picked at midcourt, hustled back and then dropped Harrington to the floor on a foul trying to block the shot. He found Fey in the lane for a dunk with some good court vision for one of his assists. He attacked from the top of the key, switched hands in air and scored a layup. Defensively, it was a bit of a mixed bag, as he gave up some penetration. He did have a nice swat out of bounds on Roberson, then looked him in the eyes afterward.

Slaughter -- -- He plays that hustle game that can put up some nice numbers against SPL-level competition. I think the Lakers will probably want to see how he does against the higher training-camp level competition...but who really knows? He scored 17 points on 6-10 shooting and grabbed 9 boards in 24 minutes of action. He also shot 5-9 FTs, showing activity that was giving Memphis problems. He also got absolutely crammed on trying to block Carlos Powell's dunk attempt on the break. Powell also scored over him and around him on a couple of other late-game sequences. But that poster job was nasty.

For Slaughter's scores, he attacked off the dribble with his left and hit a running And-1 bank over Gay. He dunked off a breakaway set up by Pinnock. He dunked off an interior feed from Green. He rebounded and airball and put it in. He ran a pick and roll with Farmar then hit an And-1 runner in the lane. He fought for an offensive board off a missed freethrow and it led to a score by Green. He scored a left-handed And-1 tip in around Gay with 30 seconds left.

Others -- -- Douthit had a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards. He also had 3 turnovers, again showing off some of that sloppy passing at times. He packed Gay at the rim on one excellent defensive play... Ed Fobbs got the start and was a foul machine with 7 fouls in 13 minutes. And to the one fan who kept yelling for Rambis to put Fobbs back in the game, that wasn't going to happen when every extra foul leads to three freethrows and the ball back. The Lakers were in the game until Fobbs picked up his 7th foul, allowing just that. Then Memphis went on a scoring run to pull away from the Lakers midway through the third. The Lakers were still in the game and Rambis wasn't about to reward Fobbs with more foul-prone minutes...

[A Mad Chinaman]

Thanks for the breakdown

Re: Von Wafer
Appears that he is not a good fit within the Triangle, seemingly a better fit with a more "run & gun" offense with a lower-profiled team than the elite teams (i.e. Lakers, Spurs, Mavs, Heat, etc.). Do you think that he even has a chance to make the team during the preseason?

Re: Green & Pinnock
It appears, from your analysis, that the schedule finally caught with these guys and their production went down. Did either of these players show enough to have a "decent" chance of making a strong showing during the preseason?

[DancingBarry]

I don't think Green's production went down. No, he seemed to get better. Pinnock did seem to fade a little. I think Green has a very good chance to make the team (we need to create some space for any of these guys). I think the Lakers will encourage Pinnock to go overseas or help him get a deal overseas somewhere. Maybe Vlade will hook him up.

Wafer? Who knows. I know they wish they could have thrown him on their NBDL team all year last season.

We'll have to see how the roster ultimately shakes down and if they make some move that frees up more space.

[A Mad Chinaman]

Wafer seems to be thinking too much. Odd since he's had an entire year to know the triangle. Considering his problems, was it the result of the other players not knowing how to run the offense or his lack of knowledge (or not making his shots).

Since he wasn't playing any major PT, are the coaches losing confidence in him?

Re: Farmar
Do you think that he will able to stop (or deter some of the times) and/or have the speed the funnel guards such as Parker, Nash, Paul, etc. for certain periods of time (i.e. 10 to 15 minutes)? I know that Farmar will have to bulk up and probably won't be the starter at the beginning of the season, however, with Smush consistently having defensive lapses and lost of confidence on the offensive end - Farmar could ease the pressure on Smush (or be the "threat" that will "motivate" him that his "attention span" needs to be greater).

[gildedgirth]

Excellent write-up DancingBarry. I was sad to see Bynum not playing but it was nice to see we had almost make a successful comeback near the end there. And it was finally nice to see Rudy Gay play on the Memphis team.

I agree that room should be made for Devin Green. He had a lot of poise there and showed me his all around game, that the coaches have remarked one before. Doesn't seem to panic and was able to both penetrate and hit the long three. I was liking Pinnock during the SPL games, but I think clearly Green is definitely got the edge, both in experience and comfort in the triangle.

My dilemma would be between Green and Profit for the last roster spot (if available). I'd assume Profit would have the edge over Green, but who knows how healthy he'll be after coming back from the Achilles heal injury.

[limchrc]

Green will be a nice insurance in case George leaves/traded.

[pokoy]

Here's how I read DB's post today...

[LakerLanny]

DB, nice to see the props for my man Marcus Slaughter.

Pretty tough to make a NBA roster as a UDFA, but it sounds like he showed enough during the SPL to at least end up in a NBA camp in the fall.

He may be wise to peruse the rosters with his agent and figure out which team has the most non-guaranteed spots.

Do you think Slaughter has any chance to be chosen by the Lakers ahead of Green, Pinnock, Wafer?
_________________
Love, Laker Lanny

[RCS926]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[- Sean -]

Bynum had some sort of knee injury when he was 11...and then had ligament damage in one of his knees his senior year in high school... missed 10 games because of it. Hopefully he just doesn't have bad knees.

[LakerLanny]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[DancingBarry]

He's certainly going to be exposed like most small guards in those situations. His best bet would be to front the post and try to surprise the entry passers by using his hops to see if he can deflect the pass. He might surprise an occasional post player contesting a shot. I don't recall him ever switching on a PnR in the SPL. Not once. He may have, but I don't have a memory of it. He usually tried to fight through a screen, go under a screen, or help and recover. I don't recall him ever staying with a bigman, but the SPL players are slower to make you pay than the pro's...

He was never posted up on in the SPL, either, by a guard. But I think he needs to develop his strength more for the fact that he doesn't want to take a beating when he's flying high down the lane and has to come down awkwardly. He can pick up a lot of injuries that way.

[A Mad Chinaman]

For some reason, I don't remember many teams posting up Tony Parker. Why is that (if I'm correct) and what can Farmar learn from the Spurs/Tony Parker?

Why didn't the Heat post up Harris with GP? (acknowledge that DWade was in a "zone" while GP was arguing that he missed a pass thrown at him that led to a TO where Zo saved his A..!