LAKERS -at- BUCKS - 11/16 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Upgrade... For a moment there, the Lakers probably thought they were having flashbacks.

The Bucks, the league's lowest scoring team, dropped 59 points on them in the first half. With easy layups and seemingly just as effective perimeter shooting as the Suns, the Bucks were ahead at the half.

"We were really poor in the first half, just giving layup after layup," Kobe said in the Register, "and we wanted to shore up our defense in the second half."

If only it were as simple as turning on a switch and being able to do just that. Sometimes, it seems as if it is with this team.

The D tightened up. The Lakers bench brought energy and Shannon Brown. Soon, they took control of the game.

Shannon has been flat-out automatic at times. He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter on 6-6 shooting as the Lakers went on to win 118-107. If Sasha Vujacic is The Machine, Shannon Brown is The Upgrade. So far this season, he's giving the Lakers backup SG position what it has been lacking for years. He's put in the time to upgrade his game and the results have been huge.

"Everyone told him he had to shoot a jump shot, and he's taken that seriously and worked hard on it," Phil said. "Now he's a legitimate 3-point shooter."


Kobe -- -- The two Laker shooting guards scored 52 points in 54 minutes. In the past, that meant Kobe had about 50. With Shannon behind him playing well, Kobe was able to keep his minutes down, which is vital in back-to-back games. The Mbah a Moute/Salmons combo didn't pose much of a threat tonight. Kobe was able to sag off Mbah a Moute and dare him to shoot, which will work well with him unlike shooters on the Suns. Defensively, this team does seem to swing right now with how intense Kobe is playing on that end of the floor. Offensively, Kobe's shooting percentage was down from some tough shotclock situations and a few bad decisions. Still, he also made a couple of tough shots that no one else makes look as easy as he does. The Stats: He scored 31 points on 10-23 shooting (0-4 from three, 11-11 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He scored an easy And-1 breakaway layup when Salmons gave him a touch foul, he made the FT. He missed a long three against the shotclock. Salmons went for a steal, missed, and Kobe scored the layup. He swished a wing jumper from the left side next time down. He made a tech FT. He pushed up the break and scored a layup right down the middle of the lane. Forced pull-up jumper in early offense and he missed from the wing. He missed a reverse off a spin move. He missed a runner, expecting a whistle it looked like. He threw a bounce pass away, points on the other end. He pumped and hit the fallaway from the baseline. He had a basket erased when he moved his pivot foot on a step-through. He attacked baseline and swished a one-hander on the pull-up. He forced an off-balance one-hander spinning away from the D. He split a group of defenders and missed a three off one foot at the buzzer. He had 14 points and 3 turnovers at the half. Second Half: He missed an elbow pull-up. He missed a 15-foot runner off the screen, poor shot selection. He attacked a seam and drew FTs in transition, he made both. He swished a leaning elbow jumper off a rub screen. He missed a long step-back three with the shotclock low. He spun and was called for a tech as he was hit on a reverse attempt (throwing his arm out in an "unnatural basketball" move apparently), he made both FTs. He pounced on Salmons when Barnes turned him, he knocked the ball loose and scored an And-1 layup on the breakway, he made the FT. He drew a moving screen call on the D end for another stop. He was held by Salmons for FTs away from the ball, he made both. He missed a pull-up three. He attacked across the lane and hit a tough fallaway with the shotclock low. He had 27 points on 9-19 shooting after three quarters. He drew FTs on an elbow jumper, he made both. He missed a 21-footer. He missed a wing fallaway. He spun backdoor, one-handed the lob while avoiding getting sandwiched by colliding Bucks and he hit Pau for the dunk (just a pile of bodies on the floor around him). He drained a fallaway attacking across the lane.

Gasol -- -- With Ratliff out, Pau will have to push through some heavy minutes until the end of the month or until the Lakers sign a free agent bigman, whichever comes sooner. A blowout or two would be nice. Pau did most of his offensive work in the first half. He didn't see the ball much in the second half. Still, just his presence on the floor was key. He led the team with a +15. Bogut had his way with anyone smaller, so Phil was forced to go with his only 7-footer for extended minutes to match Bogut's 43 minutes. Bogut only had 12 points on 13 shots, but went a ridiculous 2-10 from the line. Some nice chemistry between Pau and Blake on a few sequences in this game. The two of them need to be the focal point more often. They're very effective. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-13 shooting (4-7 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 4 assists, 3 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 44 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He swished a wing jumper on a kickout from Ron. He blocked Bogut while flat-footed. He made a short jumphook off the interior feed from Lamar. He missed an open elbow jumper. He was blocked in traffic. He posted up Gooden and scored an And-1 on the reverse, he made the FT. He missed a tip and drew FTs on the follow, he made both. Shannon set him up for FTs on the drive and dish, he made one. He swished the elbow turnaround off the rub screen from Lamar (let's see that some more). He blocked Bogut on iso D. He was fouled away from the ball in early offense for FTs, he missed both. He kicked out to Fish for three. He attacked, swung through a double and banked. He had 14 points on 5-7 shooting in the half. Second Half: He airballed a 17-footer, his only shot in the third quarter. He dunked off the drive and dish from Blake. He faced up and got tapped on a wing jumper. He was blocked trying to power up in traffic. He dunked off the one-handed touch pass from Kobe.

Lamar -- -- Just a bone bruise for Lamar on the MRI. He looked like himself out there, driving, battling on the glass and playing both the PF and C spots again tonight. He was the recipient of one of the weakest flagrant foul calls in league history for his efforts. In the fourth quarter with the Lakers seemingly in control, Lamar couldn't score on a post up and gave a small love tap/push and was given the flagrant-1 call. Call a foul. Call a tech if you want to get your T off. But a flagrant? That defiles the word flagrant. Can refs get a flagrant? That was flagrant abuse of the whistle. It took an 11-point lead to a 7-point lead at a critical juncture of the game. Thankfully, Shannon Brown wasn't having any of that. Kobe also got a weak tech from the ref's tonight, as well. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-11 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), 6 assists, 1 steal and 5 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He airballed a wing jumper. Speed cut off the high pinch post and he scored a layup. He kicked out to Ron for a jumper. He set up Pau on an interior pass over the D for a score. He scored a layup in the post after the Lakers ball reversed to find him weakside. He drained a wing jumper. He posted up as the center and drew FTs, he made one. He swiped the ball in backcourt and fed Ebanks for the dunk. He iso'd on Bogut and was blocked on the drive. Second Half: He tipped in a Fish miss on the break (A.F.F. - Always Follow Fish). He drained a step-back 20-footer from the wing. He kicked out to Barnes for a three. He missed a face-up wing jumper. He sealed and missed a layup, he was then called for a flagrant-1, completely bogus call...wow. He missed a tough chuck from the perimeter to just beat the shotclock. He stretched out from under the backboard to tip in a Kobe miss.

Artest -- -- Phil was really moving Ron in and out of the lineup tonight before finally keeping him out when the second unit got on a run. He said Ron wasn't "feeling right and perfect tonight." Decent numbers in that short run for Ron. He played both SF and PF tonight. He got into the post a couple of times and was effective. It seems like Phil is trying to make a point to get Ron on the low blocks while he can with Bynum out. Defensively, I liked seeing Barnes out there against Maggette. Ron has done a decent job on him in the past, but Barnes can D him up, too. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and no fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He swished a baseline jumper standing on the three line. Back in, he immediately posted up and hit an And-1 jumphook, he made the FT. He swiped a pass in transition. He missed a layup, but Pau grabbed it. Second Half: He posted up and scored a layup with his left.

Fisher -- -- He was getting torched by Jennings, and Phil purposely tried to matched up the two in some early sub patterns. A lot of the problem was that Fisher was a step slow to close, a step slow to recover and a step slow to rotate. You could see a tangible difference in the activity when Blake was on the floor. The trio of Fish, Kobe and Artest can be very slow-footed at times so far this season. Phil has some athletic alternatives on the bench to mix and match the lineups and seems to be trusting them more by the game. Blake ended up closing at the point tonight. Offensively, Fish was turnover prone and aggressive. He drained both his three's to get back a few of Jennings 31 points, but this was a bad matchup and Jennings got it going early. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-7 shooting (2-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and no fouls in 25 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a wing jumper on the first attempt of the game. Poor pass at Pau's shins, turnover. He attacked and couldn't connect with Pau, another turnover. He missed a good look at a short bank on the drive. He drained a three on the Pau kickout. He attacked off the three line from the corner and drew FTs, he made both. He fumbled a drive away. Caught zoning without recovering and Jennings hit another three. He biffed a layup in transition going one-on-one. Second Half: He drained a long three to counter a Jennings three on the other end after Fish doubled the post to give up the open shot. He spun away from the D, attacked baseline and scored a layup. He missed a layup on the break. He stole a pass, pushed it up and booted it out of bounds.

Blake -- -- Energy, effort and speed on D. Perimeter shooting, creating for others and hitting the post. His stats might not reflect it (unless you look at the +10), but his two-way game helped right the Laker ship tonight. Good to have him back. I will probably say this too many times this season, but how nice is it to see the repost passes from Blake? We went from a back-up PG who did that about once a month to one who does it multiple times a game. There was one sequence tonight, where he reposted to Pau and Pau kicked it out once again and Blake hit the three. Unselfish play usually results in good things. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-4 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He got blocked on a drive. He reposted to Lamar, got it back in the corner and hit the three. He drew a moving screen on Sanders. Second Half: He stripped Jennings from behind. He missed a wing three. He drained a wing three on the kickout from Barnes. He attacked with speed off the behind-the-back dribble, drew the D and hit Pau for a dunk. He attacked baseline and found the hot hand in Shannon for a three. He missed a corner three.

Barnes -- -- Phil went to him earlier than usual in the rotations. I kind of like breaking up the Fish/Kobe/Artest trio a little sooner like that to give the team a little more athleticism. Phil ended up limiting Ron's minutes when the Three B's began to dominate in the second half. The change of pace from Ron's power game to Barnes's athleticism gives the team a lot more defensively flexibility and way more speed offensively. Offensively, he drained both of his attempts from beyond the arc. He made some nice passes to create for others. Barnes ended up with the fourth most minutes tonight. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-4 shooting (2-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls. He was a +1. The Action: He went up high to pull down a board, backed it out and swished a long jumper at the end of the quarter (he was knocked down with no call). He pumpfaked Maggette and drew the contact, he made one FT. Great weakside rotation to slap a pass away from Bogut. He missed a running jumphook. Second Half: He swished a sideline three off the kickout from Lamar. Great double team to help Kobe, it turned Salmons right back into Kobe for a steal and breakaway score. He was called for a travel trying to attack off the three line. Great battle for the defensive board, ripping it from the Bucks, he then pushed it out and hit Brown with a perfect bounce pass for an And-1 layup. He knocked a ball loose to ignite another break. He attacked and kicked to Blake for a three. He dunked off the Luke drive and dish.

Brown -- -- He's just punching teams in the mouth right now. There's been all kinds of talk about who starts, but it's who finishes that matters. Shannon has been getting it done, and Phil has been mostly letting him close lately. You need a guy like this off the bench -- the wildcard who has license to kill. Shannon is shooting jumpers like freethrows and mixing in the attacks and breakaways. He's killing it. A point a minute tonight (quick flash back to Mike McGee, who Chick used to call the Point-a-Minute Man"). Check out the 33 minutes Kobe played tonight. That was even with Kobe playing some SF down the stretch. Finally some quality backup SG play this season to get Kobe some rest. Shannon was throwing haymakers out there in the second half and staggered the Bucks before the final KO came late in the game. Any time they thought they saw an opening, he closed the door. Shannon put on a show for the many family members who made the 90-minute drive from the Chicago area to watch him. Well done. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 7-9 shooting (4-5 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He attacked baseline and bounced to Pau for FTs. He missed a wing three. He was called for an off-the-ball foul on offense. He crossed over and drew FTs on the perimeter (this play doesn't happen last year), he made both. Second Half: He took the bounce pass from Barnes as he filled the lane, took contact, but finished the And-1 layup anyway, he made the FT. He was called for a charge on a pass off on the break. He swished a wing three on the Luke kickout. He probed off the high screen, hesitated, the attacked for a quick reverse. He swished a pull-up 15-footer from the left side. He drained a corner three next time down when Blake found him. He drained a wing three in early offense to kill a potential Buck run. Great D to step in front of a big under the hoop to swipe the pass. He swished a corner three, looked flat-out automatic...scratch that, he was flat-out automatic.

Walton -- -- A second after he entered the game at PF, he had Laker fans groaning from a bad pass/foul/FTs sequence. After that, he warmed up to the game and made some nice plays for others. Again Phil went with Ebanks in the first half and the vet Luke in the second half. Not a bad compromise to get both minutes. With Ratliff out for a while, Phil has his hands full with our bigman rotations until Bynum comes back. The Stats: He had 3 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 8 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He entered the game, immediately threw the ball away and fouled to give up two FTs (they're not saying "Luuuuuuke" on that one back home). He kicked out to Shannon for a three. Poor D on the two-man game and he gave up a layup. He curled around a screen, ball-faked and saw Barnes break free under the hoop, so Luke whipped it to him for the dunk.

Ebanks -- -- In the past two games, Phil has snuck some minutes in for Ebanks in the first half as we try to deal with our bigman issues. He's 3-14 in 35 minutes this season for 11 points, 3 boards, 1 block and 2 fouls. About a complete game of action there for him. Hard to be real consistent with the shot in short runs like he gets. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board and no fouls in 5 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He was blocked in transition, got it back when Lamar stole it and was undercut as he threw down the And-1 dunk, he made the FT. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Phil -- -- Phil leaned on his bench a little more in this one. He went to Barnes for Artest with 6:40 into the quarter when Ron asked to come out... The Lakers trailed 19-18 at the first stoppage midway through the quarter... He went back to Artest out of the timeout and he scored an And-1 in the post... Phil then went to a Pau, Ebanks, Artest, Brown, Blake unit at the end of the quarter. Then back to Barnes for Artest again... The Lakers led 32-29 after the first quarter... Phil ran a Lamar, Ebanks, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit... They were tied when Phil brought back in Pau for Ebanks after 3 minutes... Phil brought in Fisher for Blake to match up with Jennings who just came in (Jennings had already lit up Fish in the first quarter)... Phil went back to the rest of the starters with 6 minutes left down by 1... He sat Lamar for Barnes a minute and a half later, but he'd bring in Lamar for Artest to close... The Lakers trailed 59-57. Once again, poor defense by the Lakers. The Lakers made 51 percent (20-39), the Bucks made 55 percent (26-47)... Hamblen wanted more help on Jennings for Fish. He also hoped the Bucks would cool down from the perimeter... A 5-0 run for the Bucks to start the half... Phil called a timeout midway through the quarter to discuss the D on the high screen-rolls. He brought in Barnes for Artest again to cover Maggette... The Lakers pulled out to a 7-point lead with 3 minutes left, despite ignoring the post quite a bit... Phil brought in Luke for Lamar with 2:24 left up by 5. Then Shannon for Kobe shortly later. They stretched the lead... The Lakers led 90-81 heading into the fourth... Phil started a Lamar, Luke, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit. Lamar against Bogut didn't look good on the first defensive stand, so Phil sat Lamar for Pau... They extended the lead to 11 after 4 minutes into the third and forced a Bucks timeout. The Bucks changed things up in their lineup, Phil kept his the same... Up 14, Phil sat Barnes for Kobe and Luke for Lamar... Up 11, Lamar was called for a totally bogus flagrant foul and the Bucks cut the lead to 7 on one possession... Phil left Shannon and Blake in to close. Shannon and Kobe kept the door shut... No three-game slide for the Lakers...

[lounger]

Thanks DB!

Edit: nice one on Shannon "The Upgrade" Brown over Sasha "The Machine" Vujajcic.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

I'll second that!

Thanks DB!

[SoCaLjAy]

Thanks! Huge quarter by Shannon; he leads a strong bench that has the ability to carry the team. I actually look forward to the second unit coming in this year.

[Mel Rose]

Thanks, DB.

1st half was deja vu indeed when the Bucks shot 70%. Glad the Lakers adjusted and Kobe and Shannon provided fire power.
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Insert something smart here.

[mhan00]

it's kinda shocking how terrible fisher plays in the regular season compared to his playoff run last year. he's just getting burned left and right during the regular season (same as he was last year), but in the last season's playoffs his defense somehow went up a notch as he managed to slow his man down multiple times against multiple teams. amazing.

blake continues to provide exactly what all of us who wanted him thought he would: defense, timely shooting, a willingness to pass, and the ability to make post entry passes. he's not a great defender, but he's a willing one who won't give up on a play once he's beat.

shannon's been a revelation this season. i hope he keeps it up and plays at this level (or better!) during the playoffs. he keeps it up, and he'll play himself right out of our price range and into some big money.

barnes is just great. incredible activity off the ball, a nose for rebounding, and a decent shot. perfect pickup, and great to give different defensive looks to our opponents. he's a lot like ariza in that he's great at helping off his man and recovering back to him, which is one of the few areas defensively that ron ron has trouble with. great to see.

[axs]

Didn't get to catch the game, so thanks.

[GoldenThroat]

Best defense of the season from Kobe tonight. That was nice to see.

If we can just get a damn defensive rebound...

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB. There were a few things that caught my eye in this game:

1. Pau on the high post with Kobe on the block. This will be lethal all year against any team. I can't think of 1 PG/SG/SF that can handle Kobe on the block without a double team. Anyway, I saw early on in the game, Kobe had John Salmons on him on the block. Bogut is a nice swatter, but because he has to respect Pau's jumper, he had to come out on the perimeter with him. Pau found him: easy deuce.

2. Steve's penetration is an option that I foresee us going to as the season progresses and Steve gets even more comfortable within the offense. On one sequence Steve left Boykins (?) in the dust and dished to Pau for an easy slam. More of that please.

3. Our perimeter defense can get after it when they want to. In the second half, there was a sequence where Maggette went in for an easy layup. I think Barnes swatted him twice before getting called for a foul on the third one. No easy layups! Kind of reminds me of the Bulls when Smith was trying to get a layup and couldn't back in the day. And, just wait until Big Drew is part of that.

4. Shannon Brown is a stud. The triangle is tailor made for him. I hope that MK can retain this guy. He still has some minor tweaks he needs to make with his game but he is playing lights out.

Solid solid win for the champs. The Bucks has a nice collection of impact talent in Bogut (hope his elbow is ok BTW), Jennings, Maggette, and Salmons. To see us go into their gym and have the Killer B's spark us was great to see.

[Bynum4MVP]

[All Net]

Nice as always

really do hope Shannon keeps this up.

[heatseeker08]

Thanks DB. I hope ShanWow continues his big play off the bench.
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Ron Artest: "SAY QUEENSBRIDGE"

[limchrc]

thanks

[prisma8slg]

[Rick12322]

Thanks, DB. Last night looked like it was going to be deja vu, thankfully it wasn't.

[J~b0ogie]

thanks DB..
Bench especially Shannon just continues to be such a joy to watch.

i feel like Defensively we still have lots of room to improve on...
the Bucks were scoring too easily in the first 1/2 as DB pointed out...
the Suns shoot the lights out, ok.... but the Bucks?

we really have a good squad.. cant wait to see how we look once
the team is all healthy & in the groove.

[lar9149]

Shannon had a message for everyone "The Buck stops here."

[Lake Show 2.0]

great report DB... Shannon is turning into my favorite Laker, which is hard to do seeing as we have so much talent on this quad.


Also, I see that you gave Odom credit for that steal after Ebanks was blocked, but i noticed, and Stu commented, that Ebanks knocked the ball away and ran under the hoop, allowing LO to go after the loose ball and find him instantly for the assist/bucket/and-1. Great recovery and defense by Ebanks. The kid needs more minutes at the 3 or 4. Also, Blake needs to start, and so does Barnes.



great game last night

[Lakersneuron]

[Klone_dd]

ShanWow as 6th man of the year and MIP? Could it happen? He had a Kobe-esque 4th, offensively and defensively. His shooting has been impressive, but I like how much his ballhandling has improved.

With Pau playing 44 minutes, this team has no Caracter. :groan:

It's a tough stretch for Pau and LO even though the next 2 games are against lesser teams. A B2B followed by Minny's improved front line. Usually, I'd criticize the team for neglecting Pau so much in the 2nd half, but, aside from Kobe and Shan being deadly, I think they were trying to pace Pau and not overtax him. He was of greater importance on the defensive end.

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB.

[RVCdesigns]

Thanks DB, nice game.

[SoCal88]

You can copy and paste the DFish comments and just replace the opposition's point guard.
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