BUCKS -at- LAKERS - 12/21 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Trap... Your mind swims in a river of free flowing consciousness. You no longer hear the heart monitor, but it's still there in the background as you drift along in an altered state.

A bright light hovers in the distance. You and the Horsemen are drawn to it. While they gaze at the bright star in the distance, a fog bank floats in and chokes the air. Quickly, the Horsemen are jumped. It's a trap.

Confused, the Horsemen charge in all directions without purpose or focused intensity.
They are soundly routed. As you beat your retreat, Death howls in disgust, and somewhere in the fog you hear DancingBarry:

"The Horsemen were here. Without a sense of urgency, they fell into a trap. Their opponent was wounded and desperate, yet it was their opponent's oldest and smallest of warriors who caused most of the bleeding. The Horsemen now retreat to contemplate their effort.

I will continue to track them."

Little Earl Boykins scored a season-high 22 points. He hasn't tallied that many points in the last month combined.

Coming home after a long roadtrip, with a marquee Christmas Day game on the horizon, the Lakers got pounded in a classic trap game. In front of a Staples crowd growing angrier by the minute, the Lakers scored just 13 points in the 98-78 blowout to the visiting Bucks.

"Kobe said don't spoil Christmas by losing to Milwaukee tonight," Phil said before the game. So much for that.

The Lakers starting unit came out soft defensively. Both Pau and Lamar struggled to contain their men. Mistakes by DFish and others in offense also led to easy points in transition (31 points on 18 Laker turnovers).

Meanwhile, Phil struggled with his rotations and whatever momentum the team had, he seemed to chill. Nothing went right.

"I told them I don't think they can play any worse than that," Phil said afterward.

It's a fine time for one of your worst outings as a team. Then again, that kind of thing can work in your favor, too.

"This was a wake-up game of sorts for our team," Phil said.

Staples is poised for an angry response on Christmas. If not by the Lakers, then by the fans.


Kobe -- -- His frustrations with the Lakers effort, the outcome and the continual contact without a whistle boiled over late in the game. He attacked the rim with aggression to force calls and was whistled for a charge. His outburst got him tossed. "Referees are human. They see the other team outwork you, they are going to give them the benefit of the calls," Phil said. Kobe seemed to struggle with the flow in his game. There were stretches when you didn't notice him out there, and others, where he was trying to get something done, but the offense just stopped moving. Earlier in the day, Kobe got into a car accident. Frustrating day all around. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 9-16 shooting (0-2 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a -22. The Action: He turned quickly and then hit a face-up jumper from the right wing. He tapped in a backdoor lob from Lamar that hit the glass first. He swished another wing jumper. He was called for a carry on iso. He missed a wing jumper after losing his man with a fake. He missed a bank across the lane after a wrestle match with his defender. He jumped the passing lane on a kickout to swipe the pass and pushed out the break. He had 6 points on 3-5 shooting in the first. He methodically pounded the dribble as he worked his man into the paint and hit the jumphook. Nice double of the post to totally disrupt the Bucks out of a timeout and force a shotclock violation. He attacked down the lane out of another timeout to draw FTs, he made both and picked up Bogut's third foul. He airballed a half-court attempt from three. He had 10 points on 4-7 shooting. Second Half: He saw a wide open lane to his right and took it for a layup. He missed a midrange jumper. He kicked out to Fish for a jumper. He worked the post and hit the short baseline jumper over Salmons. His kickout pass was swiped. He sank an elbow turnaround. He airballed a baseline turnaround. He had 6 points on 3-5 shooting in the third. He missed a three and then lost it on a drive when he got it back. He sank a tough pumping jumper from the right wing as the shotclock buzzer went off. He attacked the paint and missed a layup, screaming at the refs for the no call. Angry, he charged into Bogut for an And-1 in the paint on the next trip down, he made the FT. Next time down, same thing, this time he was called for a charge and was ejected with 2 minutes left for his response.

Gasol -- -- "We look weak out there physically," Phil said. Pau certainly had no presence against Bogut on either end. Phil seemed confused on how to use Pau and Bynum in this game. Pau was giving up easy scores to Bogut and played just 15 minutes in the first half with no run at PF and just 3 minutes in the second quarter. After picking up his second and third fouls (one on each end of the court) to start the second half, Phil quickly sat him for Bynum. He brought him back a few minutes later to run that Pau/Bynum combo and Pau picked up his fourth foul. Bynum was just a -2 in this game, while Pau was a -21. This was a classic example of a game where Bynum would have been very effective as a starter. Bogut got the Bucks going and had his way with Pau. Bynum wasn't so easy. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-12 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 11 boards (7 offensive) The Action: He gave up a jumphook and dunk to Bogut on the first two possessions. He attacked across the lane, took all kinds of contact and banked in the shot without a call. He missed a face-up wing jumper (another layup for Bogut on the other end). He cleaned up a missed drive by Fish. He tipped in a missed layup behind Bogut. He missed an easy lefty bank in the post. He missed a tricky jumper in the lane after gathering a deflected pass. He missed a short one-hander. Second Half: He picked up two quick fouls to start the third quarter. He gave up a dunk to Bogut on the other end after that third foul. He attacked down the lane and drew FTs, he made one. He hit an open Bynum for a layup. He sank a high-arching 10-footer, flashing to the ball. No clock recognition as he iso'd, shotclock violation on a pass. He picked up his fourth foul with a minute left in the third and sat again. He tipped in a missed drive from Shannon. He didn't gather himself after an offensive board and missed a rushed hook. He missed a jumper in the paint. He reversed around a second-string defender.

Lamar -- -- He missed the shoot-around with an illness today. For every easy bucket he seemed to get in the first half, he gave up an equally easy one at the other end. Lamar was attacking for easy layup past Ersan Ilyasova, but he provided little resistance on the other end. The Lakers missed the off-ball movement and scoring from Lamar. Everything he got was on iso. They team game wasn't there. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-12 shooting (0-2 from three, 0-3 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 6 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a -18. The Action: He scored a layup off the pinch post for the Lakers first hoop. A couple possessions later, he attacked to his right and banked in the And-1, he missed the FT. Again, another drive to his left and he scored the layup. He was late again on a backdoor lob to Kobe, but Kobe still managed to guide it in. He got stuffed by the rim on a lob pass. He missed a short bank in the post (should have had that). He posted up, drop stepped and powered in a layup. He had 8 points on 4-6 shooting after the first (Ilyasova had 8 points, as well). He tipped in a missed drive by Ron. Another drive off the high screen and he drew FTs, he missed both. He missed a flat three from the wing. He had 10 points on 5-8 shooting at the half. Second Half: He was blocked on a layup after Kobe found him cutting. He grabbed an offensive board and went behind his back to a cutting Artest for the And-1 layup. He took the outlet from Fish and scored a layup. He was called for a carry on iso. He couldn't power up a layup in the post. He fumbled away a dribble.

Artest -- -- He and Lamar combined for an impressive 0-5 from the freethrow line. The Lakers didn't make an attempt to get Ron going early in this game in his first stint. It seemed he was much more aggressive in his second stint later in the first half and created some things. He also was the focus of the first possession out of the second half. But his offensive game was mostly off target. He airballed a couple of long jumpers tonight, not being a threat when the D sagged off him. With Maggette out, there wasn't someone in need of lockdown at Ron's position. He'll be put to the test in the next one. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-7 shooting (0-1 from three, 0-2 from the line to go itih 1 board, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He missed a step-back jumper about two feet too long. Out of a timeout, he attacked down the lane and missed a layup. He swiped a pass thrown practically right to him, he pushed it up and scored an And-1 layup, he missed the FT. Second Half: He missed a long wing jumper to start the half. He stripped the ball off Salmons on the sideline to create a turnover. He missed a sideline three, then cut to the hoop and Lamar hit him for the And-1 with a behind-the-back pass, Ron missed the FT. He airballed a wide open corner three.

Fisher -- -- Horrible first half by Fisher. His decision making compared to Blake in that half was hard to watch. Fish was a train wreck, turning the ball over, forcing the action and coming up empty. He was a one-man momentum killer. He should have been benched in the first half, but Phil doesn't have the quick hook with him like he does with just about every other Laker not named Kobe. In the second half, Fish played better, coming up with a few steals and hitting his only shot of the game. Still nothing in comparison to the beatdown Boykins gave. The Lakers had just 2 points from their PG spot tonight. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He lost the handle probing from the left side. He lost a hand off from Pau, turnover. He took contact with no call and missed the layup. Same thing a few seconds later, same results. He threw a pass away out of a timeout. He attacked baseline into a crowd and was blocked on a bad idea going for a jumphook (compounding mistakes). Horrible pass off Pau's shin and it led to a jumpball which he somehow won. He was only given 2 turnovers in all that. Second Half: He doubled Bogut and somehow forced him into a travel. He sank a long corner jumper on a Kobe kickout. Good positioning on help D and the pass came right to him for a steal. He swiped a pass in the lane. He missed a corner jumper. He missed a three straight away.

Bynum -- -- Not many bright spots in this game, but Bynum's presence was one of them. Had he started, the Bucks key weapon to open the game would have probably been neutralized. He held down the post, which wasn't the case with Pau. Drew also challenged a number of shots, blocking a couple. After those challenges, his teammates did a poor job scrambling to get the stop and Bynum looked a little frustrated. Phil got in some Pau/Bynum bigman lineup in the second half, but the two looked a little out of sync at times. That could have just been the way things were going in this game as they've looked better in the few instances Phil has run this since Bynum's return. Some of the bad usually resulted when Pau or Bynum found themselves out beyond the three line on either end. On D Pau had a possession where the others battled for boards and he watched. On offense, there was a possession where Bynum was at the wing spot in the triangle. Not exactly a threat from there and it caused problems. Still, great to see Drew as lively as he was anchoring the D. A very good sign. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting to go with 3 boards (2 offensive), 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He found Barnes under the hoop for an And-1 after pulling down an offensive board. Superb challenge on Salmons drive to deny him. Low position and he sank the short lefty jumphook. Early low position and Lamar fed him for the easy score over Ilyasova. Second Half: He scored a layup on the quick feed from Kobe to Pau to him in the paint. He blocked a jumper, then came from behind to block another shot on one defensive stand. He kicked out to Barnes for a three.

Blake -- -- "It was his night tonight," Blake said afterward of Boykins. He got the waterbug assignment first and Boykins caused all kinds of trouble. Phil was not happy with the screen-roll defense with Blake and the Laker bigmen. Just too much space for Boykins to cause damage. Offensively, Blake wasn't too aggressive. He did a good job moving the ball and finding teammates, but missed his only two attempts from behind the arc. He should have closed out the first half with as bad as Fish played in that half and the momentum that second unit had developed. In the second half, they were flat. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting from three to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He attacked the paint and bounced to a baseline cutting Barnes for the dunk. Nice close out, not leaving his feet and Boykins traveled. He had 3 assists at the half. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He was called for a charge trying to pass off a drive. He missed a wing three.

Barnes -- -- Again, it's not a good game for Barnes anytime he has multiple turnovers. He's not a ball-dominant player, so when he had 3 turnovers its a much bigger deal than a Kobe or Pau who are the engines of the offense. The Bucks feasted off Laker turnovers. There was one sequence where he threw the ball away in transition on a sure hoop for Kobe and the Bucks hit a three on the other end -- 5-point switch. Those are killers sometimes. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-7 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He blew a layup on an interior feed from Lamar, Pau tipped it in. He couldn't finish in a crowd. After missing a three, he scored an And-1 layup cutting off the Bynum offensive board and taking the pass, he made the FT. He cut baseline as Blake penetrated, he took the bounce pass from him and slammed. Second Half: He telegraphed a pass on the break (it led to a three the other way, 5-point switch). He was blocked on a reverse on the break. His post entry was deflected for points the other way. He rattled in a three off the Bynum kickout. He swiped a post entry pass. He was called for a clear-out foul on a score in the post. He swiped the ball back at midcourt.

Brown -- -- This was one of those games where you hoped Shannon would be a game changer. Where he'd come in and spark the team to victory. There was a brief point in the fourth where Shannon got to the rim to create a few Laker scores, but the team was never able to put together a good run. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-8 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He missed a jumper to start the second. He curled into the lane, took the pass and spun in the layup. He drained a long three off a kickout from Luke. Second Half: Bad post entry, stolen for points the other way. He choked a reverse, but was lucky it got goaltended. He reversed off the handoff from Pau. He hit rim on a buzzer beater and we got it back. He slowly backed out his dribble and was blocked on a three. He blew past Bogut on a mismatch, but missed the layup (Pau tapped it in).

Walton -- -- Luke once again managed a good +/- in this game. He led the team with the +3 during a stretch where the Lakers had some of there better ball. Phil did a good job of staggering his rotations to bring in this second unit, but then he did a wholesale change of all five players in the middle of the second quarter. The starters came back in after all five had been sitting for half a quarter. They are all looking to warm up for a couple of plays and when you are trying to build up some momentum, that's a nice break for your opponent. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 1 foul in 6 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He missed an open corner three. He kicked out to Shannon for a three. His man flopped on a drive, Luke pulled up and sank the elbow jumper. The offense stalled and he bricked a sideline jumper. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Phil -- -- "It's intuitive," Phil said during his pregame discussion of the decisions behind his rotations. He seemed to struggle with that a bit in this game... The Lakers weren't getting any stops to start the game and trailed by 5 midway through the quarter. Pau/Lamar getting torched... The Lakers trailed 23-16 when the first subs came at 2:44. He brought in the Killer B's to go with Pau and Lamar. They seemed to pick up the energy a little... The Lakers trailed 25-22 after the first... Phil went with Bynum, Luke, Barnes, Brown and Blake to start the second. All bench... They won the first 5 minutes to lead 36-33... Phil made a wholesale change a few seconds later bringing in all 5 starters. (Not a big fan of these break-rhythm, wholesale substitutions.)... The Lakers trailed again right after that on just a couple possessions... After another easy score for Bogut, Phil subbed Pau out for Bynum after just a minute. Lakers regained the lead shortly later... Three straight turnovers (two by Fish) and the Lakers trailed by 6. Phil called a timeout. He subbed back in Pau for Bynum... The Lakers trailed 50-46 at the half. The Lakers shot 48 percent (20-42, 1-5 from three, 5-9 from the line). The Bucks shot 54 percent (21-39, 2-6 from three, 6-6 from the line). They had 11 points on 5 Laker turnovers... Phil sat Pau after 3 minutes. He was playing soft defensively against Bogut and picked up his second and third fouls... Phil went back to Pau 3 minutes later for Lamar. He also brought in Barnes for Artest after Ron airballed an open three.... Down by 2, Phil brought in Blake for Fish... He sat Kobe for Shannon... Pau picked up his fourth foul and sat with a minute left in the fourth, down by 5... The Lakers trailed 72-66 heading into the fourth... "They're playing with more urgency than we are," Hamblen said during the break before the fourth... Phil started a Pau, Lamar, Barnes, Brown, Blake unit. They needed to get it done and couldn't find any traction... Down 8, Phil brought in Kobe and Fish midway through the quarter... They trailed by 10 with 5 minutes left... Down 13, he brought in Artest for Barnes. Didn't matter... Phil said the team didn't seem to have a good routine today. Lamar missed shoot-around with sickness. Kobe got into a car accident and was late. Phil seemed out of sync, too... Phil said the ball stopped too much as the team went into iso mode from far too many positions... The Bucks scored 31 points off 18 Laker turnovers. The Heat will try to make the Lakers pay in transition, as well...

[Showtime2009]

last

[City_Dawg]

This one sucked. Another one of those games where the team couldn't get over the hump. Thanks DB.
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*sighs*

!...

[IPK]

Your intro picked me up a bit. Thanks DB!



My question: is there anything Pau can do to return to the player-of-the-month/ week Pau that we saw earlier this season?
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Our tribute to Phil, the man behind LG

[fsc401]

DB what do you think about Kobe's minutes? He played 27 minutes vs Toronto which was ridiculous considering it wasn't a third quater blowout.
Today he played 31 minutes. Granted Shannon is playing well, but playing 27 minutes I feel like he can't get his rhytm consistantly. Shannon can take other's minutes, maybe play Kobe at the three more.

I feel like it's time to move Kobe's minutes up to around 36.

[Loki24]

[ABynum17]

Phil's loyalty to Fisher is perplexing. He has no problems pulling Pau, yet Fisher can make mistakes after mistakes, and he still ends the quarter.

[DancingBarry]

[mhan00]

awful game to watch.

pau was terrible, on both ends. looked like he and lamar just had absolutely no interest in playing defense. at least phil had the quick hook for him.

kobe was okay.

blake was great in the first half, so so in the second.

fisher was GOD AWFUL. one man momentum killer. phil made a huge, huge mistake not pulling him in the first half. he single handedly destroyed any chance of us getting a lead to give us a cushion in the second half, which was extraordinarily impressive considering how terribly every other starter was playing.

great to see 'drew continue to play well. only effective big man we had tonight, but i'm still glad he didn't get too many minutes tonight. need to nurse that knee along and having him go all out too soon just to give us a chance to win a regular season game is not worth it.

refs: worse than derek fisher. kobe got hammered time after time with no call. my favorite sequence was in the first half when they showed a replay of salmons just constantly grabbing kobe IN FULL VIEW of the referee (ref was literally looking right at the play) with no call. terrible. they weren't the reason we lost, but (bleep) like this is unacceptable.

[mhan00]

just wanted to add that you know you're in trouble when luke walton is one of your best players on the floor. whew, just ugly.

[Klone_dd]

Ugggh. Nuff said.

[thurloly]

Only Bynum played well in limited minute. The rest of other guys played horribly tonight.

[heatseeker08]

Hope this would motivate the team for Christmas day.
_________________
Ron Artest: "SAY QUEENSBRIDGE"

[TooCool]

[angrypuppy]

Thanks DB.

Hard to say who was the catalyst for failure: Pau, Fish or Artest. Add Blake to the list; it isn't what he did but rather what he's not doing.

Pau set the tone early in the game as he wouldn't move his feet and wouldn't bang, leading to easy Buck scores. That pretty much set the Laker defensive energy in the first quarter and that attitude followed them for the rest of the game.

Fish was an absolute disaster, but then Blake still seems to lack the assertiveness to take ownership. Maybe his contribution will be more strongly felt once Bynum plays 35 minutes, but he's frustratingly passive on both offense and defense. That might explain why Phil isn't giving Blake more floor time despite Fish stinking it. He just isn't ready to seize the opportunity.

Last season when the offense fell apart Artest tended to shine, with game 7 of the Finals being the best example. He wasn't constained by the offense simply because he didn't understand it. This season he seems to have regressed, perhaps because he's thinking too much out there, constrained by what he thinks rather than simply reacting as a basketball player.

[hoopschick29]

Pau is not a mule. He can be the best player on the planet...but only for stretches. He gets tired. And we gotta wait it out until he catches his next wind.
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So glad we gave you your flowers while you were here, Kobe.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB.

Pleasant surprise to see the Horsemen back on this T&R.

Awful surprise to see how the Lakers canceled their 6 game win streak due to a lack of interest.

I got to the point in the first half, about the time the Lakers were giving up the lead, where I just couldn't bear to watch Fisher play. Most often Fish wouldn't dish when he should have, but on the rare occasions he did it was the kind of dish that would bounce off knees, ankles or groins so maybe he saved some injuries by punishing the area outside of the rim with the baskeball like he did. I know Fish is awfully good in the playoffs; can we just sit him for the next 16 weeks?

[mhan00]

[RVCdesigns]

DB, you messed up Kobe's summary. He actually wanted to send a message to the team by taking the form of a 5 ft 2 in, 90 lb midget named Earl " The Laker Destroyer" Boykins.

[rwongega]

I want a refund for that game.

[BigE32]

Embarrassing and pathetic is all I can say about last night's pitiful performance. Thanks as always, DB.

[thejellosjiggling]

Fisher hits the big shots at the end of the game and plays reasonable defense when the game slows down at the end. Otherwise, he is the single most frustrating Laker. I really think that he would be better coming off the bench. Let Blake run with the big boys and let Fisher come in and provide some stability to the bench group. Shannon Brown could benefit from Fisher's presence. Shannon is like watching a wild stallion out there. He needs to settle down and play within the system. Fisher might help him with that.

But, Fisher offers almost no offensive presence during the games - and it's been that way a long while. I see his value and am glad he's a Laker, but it's time to start Blake and let's see what Blake can do running the offense.

By the way, BOTH Blake and Fisher played HORRIBLE defense last night.

[slaker]

Thanks DB! I'm surprised you didn't raise the white flag and put up a DIY sign!

That was ugly... terrible game from the guys.

It seemed to me like it carried over to the refs so they had a horrible game too --- for both teams. It's like the Lakers were stinking up Staples so badly the refs couldn't wait to get the game over with.

Pau, Lamar, and Fish all got punked... completely. Seemed like everyone else was invisible save for Drew & Luke.

Boykins killed us... kudos to the Bucks for a good game though. They played really well...

[babyskyhook]

[babyskyhook]