WARRIORS -at- LAKERS - 2/16 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Same Old Story... They come from all over the country to test the city's defenses -- from the furthest corners to just a few miles up north. They want one thing ... Little Larry O'Brien.

Some are game. Some get little respect. It was the latter tonight.

The Horsemen watched and waited. Then pounced.

You barely take notice as your mind is already moving onto the next opponent. In the distance you see smoke rising like a wall of hell-bent twisters heading your way. They're coming. Are you ready?

Before you can answer, an old man taps you with his crooked cane. He tosses an old newspaper at you. It's old news, indeed. DancingBarry:

The Horsemen were here. Once again, they owned this opponent. While they didn't fight with quite the same sense of urgency as in previous battles, they did when it mattered most. Death's replacement killed with efficiency.

I will continue to track them...

The Lakers get 27 points from the SG position on a nightly basis. It's something quite different, however, when it comes from backup guard Shannon Brown. Shannon delivered a career best scoring night to go along with a career-high 10 rebounds in the Lakers 104-94 win over the Warriors.

It's the team's fourth straight win without Kobe. It was also their least impressive. Sometimes you have to win ugly.

"We managed to play the best of the two teams in the last three and half minutes or so," Phil said afterward.

With the game tied 89-89, the Lakers went on a 15-5 run to close out the Warriors. Shannon scored 8 points in the final 1:13, filling in down the stretch for his still healing teammate in stellar fashion. An excellent effort on both ends.

"Shannon gives us that little extra hustle all the time that I think helps our defense out and helps our total game," Phil said.

Not to be overshadowed, Andrew Bynum returned to the lineup to give the Lakers 21 points. He looked strong early, but faded later as his injury seemed to wear on him.

Lamar Odom continued to bring something extra, as well, with 18 boards. His effort held the Warriors to just 4 second chance points.

Up next, the Celtics.


Gasol -- -- The Warriors did a good job of sitting in his lap with help defenders or sending doubles from the perimeter. "They played him well," Phil said. The result was a very inefficient, turnover-prone offensive game from Pau. To top it off Tolliver had a bunch of points on him early as we didn't attack him defensively. Luckily, Shannon had a huge game and Bynum provided a post presence. Phil limited to the twin towers as much as he could with the fast-paced Warriors. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-14 shooting (4-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He missed a FT jumper. He grabbed an offensive board and missed a bank. He was blocked in traffic. He bricked a lefty jumphook. Easy lay in after a quick fake in the lane to freeze his man. Psuhing out the break, he immediately told Shannon he was sorry after hitting Fish filling the lane on the break instead of Shannon (Fish still drew FTs). He had 2 points on 1-5 shooting in the first quarter. He missed an awkward turnaround trying to draw contact. He was blocked on a reverse, then charged. He watched Turiaf throw down a missed a layup, not boxing out or defending. He drew a double and hit Shannon for the three. He sank a lefty jumphook working off the left block. He missed a turnaround from the elbow. He had 4 points on 2-9 shooting and 5 boards. Second Half: He set up Bynum on the high-low for FTs. He blocked Curry's drive off of him. He didn't go after a post entry aggressively, got it swiped off his hands and then he fouled. Biedrins swiped the ball right out of his hands on another touch and it led to a three the other way. He sank a 19-footer off the handoff from Ron. He went behind his back to Ron who sealed Maggette under the hoop for a layup. He blocked another drive to ignite a break. His jumphook was goaltended. He won back-to-back jumpballs. He missed a turnaround. He was 2-3 in the third for 4 points. Had handoff was swiped to start the fourth. He missed an awkward shot in the lane, expecting the And-1 that didn't come. He set up Ronny like he was going to the middle, went back to the baseline and scored the easy layup. He was shoved while crashing the glass off the two-man with Lamar, he bounced in both FTs. Shannon attacked and hit Pau with a pass for FTs, he made both again.

Bynum -- -- After some time off, Bynum was back in the starting lineup and the team went right to him. He had 11 points in the first quarter going right at the smaller Warrior bigmen. "He played a great first half," Phil said. He said Bynum struggled with his injury and slowed down in the second half. (Drew scored 6 of his 21 in the second half.) Bynum said he'll just have to play with the pain, but his hip should be improving. "It's just pain there," Bynum said, mentioning he will have to monitor it. "Whenever it reaches its threshold, I'll just have to sit out." Golden State averages 107.5 points per game. The Lakers held them to 13 points under their average with Bynum playing a good chunk of minutes. They did it despite the 19 team turnovers, as well. The Stats: He had 21 points on 8-11 shooting (5-7 from the line) to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), 3 steals, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He scored a jumphook with low position to start the game. After stealing a ball and igniting a break, he threw down an And-1 dunk after Pau missed a putback, he made the FT. He drew more FTs working the post, he made one. He hit a short jumphook with good position again. He threw down a reverse jam off the lob on the next trip down. He had 10 points in his first stint on 4-4 shooting. He traveled in the post. He drew FTs after pulling down a missed three by Brown and attacking, he made one. He dunked a lob from Morrison. He dunked off the drive and dish from LO. He had 15 points on 5-5 shooting. Second Half: He was fouled on a dunk after Pau when high-low to him, he made both FTs. He overpowered Biedrins and hit a jumphook. He missed on a drive to his right and wanted the foul. He was stripped in the paint. He posted up, drop-stepped and hit the jumphook on the baseline. He had 6 points on 3-4 shooting in the third. He bricked a pull-up in the lane.

Artest -- -- A tale of two halves for Ron. Phil told him he wasn't earning his keep in the first half. He was very perimeter oriented in that half. In the second half, he looked to get more aggressive in the paint. He was also more effective defensively in the second half, swiping the ball from Maggette on a couple defensive stands. He led the team in assists and steals. Ron said he lost 7 pounds over the All Star break doing a lot of running. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-13 shooting (2-6 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He missed a wing three trying to beat the shotclock. He missed a wing three in transition. He lobbed to Bynum for a dunk off the backdoor spin. He missed a wing three. He clanked a step-back jumper in the paint. He was 0-4 in the first quarter. He bricked a corner three. He attacked and missed a layup next time down. He finally sank a top-of-the-key jumper. He had 2 points on 1-7 shooting (0-4 from three). Second Half: He attacked off the three line and drew FTs, he made both. He hit a fading three from the sideline. He sealed his man, took the pass from Pau and scored the layup. Excellent challenge on Maggette on one end, then he drew a foul on him on the other. He wheeled around Maggette in the post and had his layup goaltended. He stripped Maggette from behind to force a turnover. He pulled "The Sasha" fouling Ronny at midcourt on a reach, he then sat with 4 fouls with 3 minutes left in the third. He rattled in a wing three. He had 9 points on 3-3 shooting in the third. He missed an elbow fallaway. He missed a layup. He swiped the ball from Maggette on iso D. He drew FTs battling on the glass for a Lamar miss, he made one. Bogus offensive foul call as he was trying to cut weak to strong with 2:34 left.

Fisher -- -- Stephen Curry wanted to shoot over the Laker D like he was still in the three-point contest. Unfortunately for him, the Lakers were muscling him and sitting on his shot quite a bit. He ended up going 5-21 (1-10 from three) for 11 points. DFish kept him in foul trouble working that vet game. "I think Fisher got in his head a little bit. He'll do that to young players," Don Nelson said. Outside of Maggette, the Warriors struggled to get penetration in the D (whether via the dribble or post feed). This was one of those games where the +/- at the guard spot was huge. This time, it was in DFish's favor: he was a +20 while Farmar was a -10. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 3-7 shooting (1-2 from three, 4-4 from the line), 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He missed a runner off the glass. He drew FTs attacking off the pinch post and getting into Curry's body, he made both. He swished a 17-foot jumper behind a Pau screen. He sank a long wing jumper on the inside-out sequence. He filled the lane with Pau leading the break, took the pass and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a three, it led to a three the other way. He picked up Curry's fourth foul of the half on a drive. Second Half: He crossed over nicely, but bricked the layup. He swished an open sideline three when Ron found him off a loose ball. He hit LO on the Tri corner sequence for FTs. He drew an elbow from Curry with a little acting out of a timeout to get an offensive foul. He missed a wing jumper.

Brown -- -- Good thing this cat showed up. He started the first quarter looking like Kobe, draining jumpers from all distances, as well as a bust-out dunk off a steal. He ended the game looking like Kobe, too, scoring the Lakers last 8 points in the final 1:13. A very nice mix of perimeter shooting and driving into the lane. Shannon had his first career double-double. His career-high 10 boards helped the Lakers win the battle of the boards. Not too many Lakers played with that sense of urgency that the team had been giving, but Shannon was one of the few. He may have fizzled in the dunk contest, but 27 and 10 is a hell of an answer to that. Although Ron was Ariza's replacement, Shannon is the guy who gives the Lakers that bench spark and athleticism. He's filled that role well. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 11-19 shooting (1-6 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 38 minutes. He was a +17. The Action: He swished a wing jumper. He missed a wing three at the shotclock buzzer. He swiped a ball from his man, pushed out and threw down. He drained a quick-fire wing three on the next trip down. He sank a corner three (changed to a two) shortly later to force a Warrior timeout. He swatted Turiaf from behind. Strong attack across the lane to his left and he flipped in a layup, just overpowered his man. He missed a corner three. He had 10 points on 5-7 shooting in the first quarter. His pass on the break was swiped for FTs the other way. He missed a wing jumper. He sank a three off the inside-out sequence. He had 13 points on 6-9 shooting. Second Half: He missed a baseline jumper off the two-man game with Bynum. He missed a corner three in transition. He crossed over and scored a layup. He attacked in transition, missed, but stole it back and it led to a Fish three. He missed a three when the offense stalled (Kobe-like situation for him). He probed with the shotclock low and hit the short jumper (again a Kobe situation). He pushed up the break, surveyed the floor, attacked and scored the layup. He missed a three when the offense busted. He whipped a pass to Pau on a drive and dish for FTs. He went in Kobe mode again, calling for the screen, iso'ing and swishing the long wing jumper over Maggette with 1:13 left. He swished a floater in the lane with 40 seconds left. On the other end, he was fouled on a defensive board, he made both FTs. He was fouled intentionally and made both.

Lamar -- -- Even though this was a very poor shooting game from Lamar, he still gave the Lakers some good impact. He was killing it on the boards, keeping the Warriors to one-and-out possessions. His defensive speed is always a plus. There were a few rotations where he wasn't in sync and that cost the team, but still a good effort all things considered. Offensively, he had a couple bad sequences out of timeouts that you don't like to see. Lamar was just as bad from the line as he was from the floor, going 2-6 from the stripe. "Things like that can't happen," Lamar said afterward. He played SF in a triple-tower lineup just briefly early on with both Luke and Kobe out. That's really how I'd like to see him used. Give him just a brief stint there with the tall lineup so you can sneak in some more impact minutes on the floor. And, so Lamar will me more engaged in the game. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-12 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-6 from the line) to go with 18 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He drilled a frozen-rope three when left alone. He grabbed a lob to Pau when Pau got shoved from behind and dunked it. He backed his man down and powered in a layup. He missed a long three trying to beat the shotclock. He attacked the paint, spun to lose his man and draw Bynum's, he then fed him for the dunk. He had 7 points on 3-4 shooting and 7 boards. Second Half: Horrible post entry pass on one end for a turnover, great challenge on Maggette on the other to get a miss. He sealed Ronny on the corner sequence and drew FTs, he made one. He somehow lost the ball trying to go up for a finish. He threw a ball right out of bounds out of a timeout. He couldn't convert on a putback. He battled for a Pau miss and drew FTs, he made one. He drew FTs, but again struggled to knock them down, missing both this time. Not close on a baseline jumper. He missed a wing three out of a timeout (no way that was the play). He missed a drive, but Pau drew FTs on the rebound.

Farmar -- -- He was a turnover machine. Just not a clean game like he has been playing. Careless possessions led to turnovers and stops for the Warriors. When you are playing with a sense of urgency, you are careful with every possession. The Lakers as a team really missed that edge in their game, Farmar especially. Farmar had 5 turnovers, several that looked almost unforced -- a little D and he got mixed up. He was efficient offensively and even had the shot of the game, a rainbow fallaway from the corner to beat the shotclock. Nothing but net. In fact, all his makes were swishes. He clanked both of his FTs, however. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-4 shooting (1-2 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 5 turnovers, no assists and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He didn't chuck a three in transition, tried to organize the offense, then attacked and drew FTs, unfortunately he missed both. He crossed over and swished a baseline jumper. He fumbled the ball away on the break. He swished a corner three off the LO kickout. Second Half: He was stripped on a drive, then sagged off his man in transition and gave up a three. He missed a pull-up three. Soft D and he gave up an And-1 under the hoop. He traveled on a drive. He swished a high arching baseline jumper over Ronny at the shotclock buzzer. He turned the ball over again, stepping on the baseline on a handoff.

Vujacic -- -- With his name out there in trade rumors, Sasha showed why he's on the block and also a difficult contract to trade: too much salary left on his deal for too little impact. He was also a team-worst -16 while he was out there. To be fair, that Sasha-Morrison duo that is costing the Lakers $20 million with taxes isn't for prime time. So that didn't help Sasha's +/-, but the team was only a -3 when Morrison was on the floor. I'll take a game like this from him, if he can give more like the previous outings. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. The Action: Horrible drive and kickout, uncontested breakaway layup the other way. He attacked, hung and missed a layup. He clanked a wing jumper, then drew a charge on Curry in transition. He gave up an And-1 to Morrow who iso'd on him. Second Half: He missed a wing three.

Morrison -- -- With Luke in back injury limbo again and Kobe out, the Lakers are probably going to need minutes from Morrison at the SF. Phil ran him a long, uneventful stint in the first half. They got little impact from Ammo. Right now, with his large ending contract, Ammo is a huge commodity. The Lakers, however, seem doubtful to take on any more contracts unless they can send someone else out with Morrison. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 assist in 7 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a turnaround in the post. He either airballed a jumphook or passed it right to Bynum for the dunk (they gave him the assist). He missed a wing three, then got lost on D giving up a three to George. Second Half: He did not play.

Phil -- -- Phil put Lamar back on the bench for Bynum at the starting C spot... The team went to Bynum early. The Lakers had a 10-0 run midway through the quarter... Phil brought in LO for Bynum, then brought back in Bynum for Artest to run Lamar at SF... The Lakers led 36-24 after the first quarter. The Lakers shot 56 percent (despite Ron and Pau combining for 1-9 shooting), the Warriors 34 percent... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Morrison, Sasha, Farmar unit... The Sasha/Ammo combo played longer minutes than you might expect. Some speculated he was showcasing them for a trade. Not having Kobe and now Luke had a lot to do with this, too... He finally sat Ammo for Artest after about 7 and a half minutes... The Lakers were outscored 27-18 in the second quarter. Pau and Ron combined for 3-16 shooting in the half. Sasha and Ammo chipped in with an 0-4... The Lakers led 54-51 at the half. The Lakers shot 49 percent (22-45), the Grizzlies 19-43 (44 percent)... The Lakers had 4 turnovers to start the second half... Phil sat Pau early for Lamar, then brought him back late in the third for Bynum... The Lakers led 79-73 heading into the fourth. Their focus seemed off on both ends of the court... Phil called a timeout after a minute into the fourth, not pleased with the execution. Must have done it to set up the Lamar-throw-out-of-bounds play... He sat Sasha for Shannon after a couple of minutes... He sat Pau for Bynum with 8 minutes left... The score was tied at 87 with 6 minutes left... He went back to Lamar instead of Bynum with the starters in crunch time... The Lakers finished strong with Pau getting to the line and Shannon hitting a couple key shots... The Lakers shot 22-31 from the line, 6-22 from three and 45 percent overall. The Warriors shot 42 percent, going 10-27 from three...

[GoldenThroat]

My first first!!

[OregonLakerGuy]

thx again

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB, first game after the break tends to be pretty ugly
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*sighs*

!...

[limchrc]

Thanks, glad we got the win.

[lounger]

An ugly win, but still a win. Thanks DB!

Looks like we have lesser chances on trading Sasha.

[night89]

Bynum's physique seems to have changed quite a bit over the break. This would explain the slow healing of the hip, he keeps lifting on it. I think it's pretty commendable that he has adopted Kobe's win-at-all-costs attitude.

I think he's about 25 lbs from being able to handle Shaq full-time(at this point, it's probably a draw) and being the clear cut best center in the league. Will he add that much? I don't think we really have a choice. What we can't afford is him going back to the "yoyo-training," where he gains a little bit of muscles, then slim down, presumably losing a bit of body fat in he process. We simply don't have that kind of time left(besides, there's no reason he can't do that, AFTER adding the muscles.)

[Shaber]

Not a nice game...

Then again, one of those which shows how good D helps to overcome sloppy O.


Thanks, DB!
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Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB

an ugly win still counts as a win.
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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."

[20,000]

Maybe it is not the player but the system? Jordan is no one without the triangle. Kobe is a bum without the triangle. Now we have Shannon Brown playing the superstar.

Trade Kobe!

In a year or two will Shaq come out and say Shannon Brown is the greatest player he has ever played with?
_________________
Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[Guru's]

Hi I'm a new member of this website and a huge Lakers fan from France so please sorry for spelling mistakes

Concerning the last night game against warriors I was really impress by Lamar at rebound the MVP of the game for me

Let's Go LAkers !!! let's Bet Celtic's now

[RVCdesigns]

Thank you as always DB.

[20,000]

[Klone_dd]

ShanWow to the rescue! Makes you forget that AS Game egg he laid. #12 with a double/double = #24 in this game.

TO's killed our momentum during the game and gave GS a breath of life. The only positive (if there is one) about Pau and Bynum having 4 TO's each is that at least there was a conscious effort to drop the ball in the post. JoFar seemed to get caught up in trying to uptempo GS, which plays against the Lakers strengths. 1st poor game from him in a while, though.

Sasha played like a man fearful of being traded.

[Guru's]

We love him when he play for the national team

personally I hate the Spurs so ...