LAKERS -at- WARRIORS - 1/12 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Mamba and The Candy Man... Even if the Lakers can't stop an opponent, they still pose a problem -- opponents have to stop them. A night after holding the Cavs to just 57 points, the Lakers would exchange fire in a furious fourth quarter with the Golden State Warriors to claim a come-from-behind 115-110 victory.

Amid a feisty crowd with split interests, the Lakers outscored the Warriors 46-35 in the final 12 minutes to claim their sixth straight win.

Fans saw a classic performance from their superstar. Kobe dropped 30 points in the second half, including 20 in the final 6 minutes. He and Lamar combined for 36 in the fourth.

The Lakers made things harder than they had to be. They ignored the post for stretches, settling for jumpers or turnovers trying to create off the dribble. Whenever they went to Pau, Bynum or Kobe inside, good things usually happened. When they tried to settle for threes or drive and pass, it usually led to fastbreak opportunities.

In the second half, Kobe locked in from the post and began to exploit his mismatch with Monta Ellis.

"I know I could shoot over him. It was just a matter of when I was going to do it," he said.

After giving up a dunk to Vlad early in the fourth, Lamar came to life. He rattled off 10 straight to dig the Lakers out of a hole. Kobe took over from there with a range of shots, including a dagger three in the final minute.

Nice one-two punch from LO and No. 24 in the fourth. Afterward, Phil said Lamar ought to make the All Star team this year. Lamar wants it badly.

"I figure if I make that a goal to attain, even if I don't hit it, then I help the team." Odom said. "At this point in my career, I'm being a little selfish, or the most selfish that I've ever been, but I'm doing it to help my team."

Yes, he is.


Kobe -- -- The Black Mamba strikes! He scored 20 points in the final 6 minutes of a shootout with the Warriors. Glad this gunslinger is on our side. All game long the dominant scorer was Monta Ellis. When the dust settled, Kobe had the game high and the victory. In the first half, Kobe struggled to get on track. He tried to drive into crowds, got caught in the air and was sloppy with passes. He closed the first and second quarters with a series of turnovers for Warrior hoops the other way. It wasn't pretty. In the second half, he settled in and started to use his size advantage on Ellis. Instead of the Lakers trying to drive into crowds, he worked the post for scores. Once on track from there, it snowballed and the Warriors had no answers. Kobe hit all 11 of his FTs in this game and has made his last 18 in a row. Nice to see. An efficient 39 points to night with those FTs. The Stats: He scored 39 points on 13-21 shooting (2-5 from three, 11-11 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, 6 turnover and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He bricked an early offense three. He threw a pass away, caught in the air. He spun to lose his man and scored a layup from the right block. He attacked, drew the D and shoveled to Drew for a dunk. He hit an elbow pull-up jumper with the shotclock low. He missed a twisting reverse layup. He attacked, took contact, hung and scored the layup. He swiped a kickout pass, pushed it up and hit the 10-foot And-1, he made the FT. Bad pass (had Pau open), picked off for a three the other way. He threw another one away at the end of the quarter. Horrible pass over Drew's head on the perimeter, dunk the other way. He was stripped on the next play and it resulted in another layup. He had 9 points on 4-7 shooting and 5 of the 7 Laker turnovers. Second Half: He saved a ball inbounds while going into the stands. He missed a short floater. He scored an And-1 layup in transition, he made the FT. He swished an elbow turnaround. He spun away from a double team and powered in a short one over Ellis in the lane. Third post up in a row and he got tapped on an And-1 turnaround, he made both FTs. He was blocked on help D on an easy one. He ball watched and gave up an offensive board. He sank a pull-up jumper from the FT line. Another turnover trying to pass off the dribble. He let his man fly by, moved in and sank another FT jumper. After Ellis hit a three on him, he nailed it back on a sideline three to regain the lead. He drew FTs on a swing through move, he made both. Next time down, he blew past Ellis, took contact and scored the And-1 layup off the glass, he made the FT. He attacked right, spun back left and sank the tough elbow fallaway. Next time down he kicked out to Artest for a big three. He didn't go quick enough, was blocked and the buzzer rang on Lamar's putback (poor clock management with over a minute left...just attacked a couple seconds too late). Next time down, he didn't take any chances with the D collapsing and swished a three with 43 seconds left to put the Lakers up by 6. Dagger. He was fouled intentionally and made both. He was fouled with 9 seconds left and made both.

Gasol -- -- Double-doubles from Pau and Drew tonight and LO was a rebound away from a third big with a double-double. Seems like they are all blending into things just fine right now. Against the Warriors, the bigmen have to dominate. When the Lakers worked the ball to them, they did. When they ignored the post, the Warriors were off and running. He and Lamar seemed to get their points in flurries. Just showed some of the inconsistent nature of how the Lakers ran their offense. When you go to the post, your misses don't lead to easy fastbreak opportunities. Your success is more frequent. And, your size advantage turns into fouls, which slow the game down. We don't do that, then our bigmen can't protect the paint on the other end when we get out run in transition D. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 8-14 shooting (8-9 from the line) to go with 11 boards (7 offensive), 3 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 37 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He missed a hook from the left block. He missed a turnaround jumper. He hit a quick jumphook in the middle of the lane. He missed a tip. He scored an And-1 layup off the inbounds pass, he missed the FT. He was fouled on a putback attempt, he made both. He attacked across the lane, was blocked, got it back and scored. He grabbed a brick at the front of the rim and scored. He worked Lee over in the post for a short hook. He sank an FT jumper flashing to the ball. He had 14 points on 6-10 shooting, 7 boards (4 offensive) and 3 assists. Second Half: His perimeter pass was picked off for an uncontested score. He hit a face-up jumper. His pass was deflected, he tracked it down, attacked and reversed. He was hit on a pass out, he made both FTs. He missed an FT jumper. He was fouled intentionally and made both. He was fouled with 3 seconds left, he made both.

Bynum -- -- The trio of Bynum, Pau and Lamar had 17 of the Lakers 18 offensive boards. When you are shooting 51 percent and you get that many second chances, you're going to score a lot of points on most nights. The Lakers bigs did a good job imposing their size whether they got the ball or did not. Defensively, the speedy Warriors guards were a difficult cover on help D, especially since they are also good from the perimeter. That made life tough on the Lakers throughout the game. Not an efficient game from Drew, but he still got the team some easy ones. Bynum is averaging 14.6 points in his last six games. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-11 shooting (3-5 from the line) to go with 14 boards (5 offensive), 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He swatted Lee's drive on help D. He missed a jumphook. He slammed off the interior feed from Kobe. He was stripped in the post. He grabbed a missed three and scored the easy And-1 layup, he made the FT. He pulled down another offensive board, but missed a hook instead of going up strong. Great up and under to reverse easily in the post. He had 7 points on 3-5 shooting. Second Half: He couldn't finish a backdoor lob, looked like a sure thing. He swatted a shot at the rim on the other end. He traveled before dribbling off a bounce pass. He missed a short one, got it back and was hit on a point-blank layup and missed the potential And-1, he then missed both FTs. He was hit a jumphook to start the fourth, he made both. He was blocked by Vlad on help D, but LO cleaned it up. He saved Lamar's early offense brick jumper with a putback by tipping it from behind a defender to himself, then scoring. He attacked the rim, missed, but Lamar tipped it in.

Artest -- -- The Lakers hit a couple of big threes in the final 2 minutes. One was from Ron in the corner when the D collapsed on Kobe. He didn't hesitate and drilled it. He's looked a lot better lately, squaring up and hitting without hesitation from the perimeter. Big minutes for Ron, going 40. Phil limited Luke's action. He staggered Kobe's sub pattern a little by brining in Shannon for Ron and moving Kobe to the SF, like we were hoping would happen with the Barnes out. Quietly, Ron played the entire fourth. Other than a couple of plays where Ron got caught trying to create for others, he did a good job. In the fourth, he consistently fed that post. He led the team in assists. Ron has scored 10.8 points a game in his last five. He's made 12-22 (.545) from three in January. That's up from a December in which he shot .308 from three and scored just 6.5 a game. He's upped his three shooting to a more respectable .385 for the season. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 2 boards, 7 assists, 3 turnovers and no fouls in 40 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He drained a wing jumper behind the screens to start the game. He missed an off-balance sideline jumper with the shotclock low. He sealed his man under the hoop, took the pass and scored with his left. He swished a three in transition. He hounded Ellis on the sideline and knocked a ball off him. He missed a three straight away. He had 7 points on 3-5 shooting. Second Half: He missed a wing three. out of a timeout, his pass was picked off trying to create when the play busted. He got caught in the air and traveled. He drained a corner three with 2 minutes left on a kickout.

Fisher -- -- A lot of minutes for Fish. Our PG spot had a tricky cover tonight and didn't punch back much. Blake and Fish combined for just 4 points. They had to handle Curry, while Kobe and Ron tag teamed on Ellis. Kobe got the Ellis assignment late in the game. Curry finished with 15 points and 10 assists. The defense had issues all night and there was quite a bit of confusion (on one play both Fish and Artest found themselves on the same man on a rotation and were trying to figure out who should have been where.) At least we held Acie Law scoreless. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 2 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He worked the two-man game and hit the jumper in the lane. He was blocked on a three. Next time down, he missed a three in transition. He missed in the middle of the lane. Second Half: He missed a three. He deflected the ball to get a stop. He missed a pull up FT jumper. He didn't get a good box out on Curry and gave up a putback.

Lamar -- -- "A couple big baskets by Radmanovic seemed to activate him," Kobe said. When Lamar's on switch was flipped early in the fourth quarter, he took over the game. He and Kobe were the one-two punch in the fourth. He would work the body, while Kobe would get the KO in the final minutes. In the first half, Lamar should have abused Vlad Rad when the two matched up. Instead, he wasn't engaged or active. Throughout the first three quarters of action, he was slow to move his feet on both ends. He cruised through the game and started the fourth holding his shoulder in pain. After Vlad blew past him for a dunk, Lamar responded with 10-straight points. That burst got the Lakers the lead and Kobe took it from there. Glad he found his way through a muddy game for him early on, and he hit his freethrows in the fourth. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-13 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 1 block and 3 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He got tapped on a wing three with the shotclock expiring. He took contact and bricked a jumper expecting a whistle that didn't come. He swished a wing jumper. He missed a drive to his left. He had 2 points on 1-4 shooting in 8 minutes. Second Half: Not moving his feet on either end very well. He put back in a miss by Shannon. He scooped up a blocked shot under the hoop and scored. He missed a jumper over Vlad. He tried to create around Vlad and missed a short one in the paint. He took the post feed and his layup was goaltended. After Vlad blew past him for a dunk, Lamar went at him in the post and hit the turnaround. He hit a toe-on-the-three line jumper next time down to force a timeout. He tipped in a Bynum miss out of that timeout. He worked the two-man game with Shannon, took contact on his shoulder and drew FTs, he made both. He got popped on his left side off an interior feed from Pau and drew FTs (he stayed on the floor for a while), he made both. He scored an uncontested layup.

Blake -- -- He's scored just 4 points in the last 4 games combined. After shooting .478 from three in November, Blake has shot .327 since. His slump really started in the middle of last month, so if you look at the last 30 days, he's shot a poor .231 from three. He's looked much more passive within the offense, which is kind of opposite of what he's needed to do. Perhaps, his failing shot has made him less confident in playmaking and doing some of the other things we saw earlier in the season...that we needed to see more of. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 assists and no foul in 13 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed an open wing three on a kickout. He sank a pinch post jumper standing on the three line a couple possessions later. He missed a long wing jumper out of a timeout. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Brown -- -- While Blake isn't back to the early season form that had all the Killer B's clicking, Shannon's stroke has resurfaced. He's sank 6-10 from three in the last four games. He would have had another three tonight (besides the one he hit), but he had a toe on the line on one of them. Shannon had a bad miscue in the second half trying to create off the dribble and the D collapsed around him to swipe the ball. When that happens to him this season, look out on the counterstrike. He tracked down the drive and rejected it at the rim. He's done that a number of times in those situations. Kind of a Kobeque response that you like to see. Just imposes himself on the other end to get it back. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 turnover in 15 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He missed a FT pull-up jumper. Bad angle defensively, straight line And-1 layup for Ellis. He sank a long jumper off the pinch post. He hit rim on a three, just beating the buzzer (Pau scored off the board). He missed a three next time down (another transition opportunity for the Warriors). Second Half: He sank a wing three on the pinch post with Kobe. He forced a dribble into two defenders and had it stolen. He stayed with it to block a shot in transition, though. He then missed a three in transition (LO cleaned it up). He sank a toe-on-the-three-line jumper.

Walton -- -- When the game got tight and the Lakers fell behind, Phil leaned more on Ron in this one. He managed to steal a few minutes in the first half with Luke out there in which the Lakers played even with the Warriors. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 5 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He hit Pau on an inbounds under the hoop for an And-1 layup. He missed an open wing jumper. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Phil -- -- The two teams were tied 12-12 after 7 minutes... A minute later, he sat Pau for Lamar. The Lakers were having issues with the Warriors speed... Phil brought in Blake for Fisher a minute later... The Lakers trailed 26-21 after the first. The Warriors had 11 points on the break... Phil started a Pau, Lamar, Luke, Shannon, Blake unit... Down 34-23 after just 2 minutes of the quarter and Phil called a timeout... Out of that timeout, they shot a long jumper instead of feeding the post. Not what you want against the Warriors... Finally a couple of scores at the rim with Pau and the Warriors called a timeout, Lakers trailing by 6 at the 7:22 mark... Phil brought back Bynum for Lamar, Artest for Luke and Fish for Blake at that timeout... More Pau and the Lakers took a 1-point lead... The Lakers ignored the post, turnovers by Kobe to close the half and the Lakers fell back again... The Lakers trailed 53-45 at the half. The Lakers shot 46.5 percent (20-43, 1-8 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 13 assists. Their 7 turnovers were turned into 13 points. The Warriors shot 49 percent (20-41, 6-16 from three, 7-9 from the line). The Warriors had 20 points on the break... Coaches stated the obvious: Feed the post, don't turn it over... The Lakers were in the bonus quickly to start the half... Fish and Artest were confused on a rotation, the D broke down and gave up an open jumper. Phil quickly got off the bench and called a timeout... Phil sat Ron for Shannon, sliding Kobe to SF with 3 minutes left. This is how you reduce Luke's time on the floor... The Lakers had 13 turnovers through three quarters. Those were converted into 20 points... The Lakers trailed 75-69 heading into the fourth. They would need to play to their strengths consistently in the final quarter to make up ground... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Artest, Shannon, DFish unit (no Blake)... They started going to the post more consistently and chipped away on the lead. Behind Lamar's activity, they cut the lead to 84-83 to force a Warrior timeout... He sat Fish for Blake at that timeout... Phil sat Shannon for Kobe up by 1... He subbed out Bynum for Pau and Blake for Fish with the lead the same... Phil drew up a play for Lamar to slip in baseline while Kobe and Pau worked the two-man game strong side and it led to FTs for LO... Kobe took over down the stretch... Much better staggered sub pattern from Phil throughout this one. He would slowly bring in and bring out players instead of wholesale changes... After 13 turnovers through three quarters, the Lakers didn't cough one up in the fourth...

[Sister Golden Hair]

Need I say it?

[babyskyhook]

Thanks DB. Nice recap.

[Mel Rose]

Thanks, DB, only got to see parts of the game.
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Insert something smart here.

[Kobe_Bryant]

Thanks, always fun to read!

[Shaber]

[revgen]

[Vicky T]

thx DB
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Macho Men:
http://tinyurl.com/2ajhhov

[vida24]

[thurloly]

[IPK]

Hey!

What else can I say..... but 24/7, all haterz better get to steppin'. Thank you DB for reppin'. Ha.
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Our tribute to Phil, the man behind LG

[Bynum4MVP]

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB

the mamba and the candy man

It's good seeing Lamar be 'selfish,' because the team definitely benefits
_________________
"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."

[dmlakerfan01]

[Shaber]

[Rick12322]

Thanks, DB. Vintage Kobe.

[limchrc]

thanks

[mhan00]

[RVCdesigns]

DB

[Shaber]

[GoldenThroat]

I don't understand why they didn't have Dorrell Wright on Kobe. Mamba always tears up smaller defenders.

[Klone_dd]

Fun game to watch. Monta was Kobe-lite. Kobe was his usual self in the 2nd half after a sloppy 1st half.

LO has been beasting all season. If Phil is crediting LO's marriage, then we should welcome Khloe into the Lakers family because he's so aggressive and studly this season.

It's great when Pau can take over the 2ndQ, LO the start of the 4th, and Kobe to close.

[RCS926]

[lakerjoshua]

I'm interested to hear more about this one toe punch?

[GoldenThroat]