LAKERS -at- KINGS - 3/14 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:39 am    Post subject: LAKERS -at- KINGS - 3/14 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings

Kings for a Day... Transition D continued to hurt the Lakers as they gave up another high scoring game. They have given up 45 points on the break in the past two games and an average of 117 points. They allowed the Kings to shoot 54.2 percent, down a hair from the 59.5 percent that they gave the Sonics.

Certainly the Lakers miss one of their energy guys in Devean George. He was key in the fourth quarter last time we played the Kings and led the bench with 15 points, 9 boards and 3 steals. And having your starting center's minutes essentially being replaced by rookies Bynum and Turiaf isn't going to help you hold the line too often.

Again, like the last game, there were bad moments of execution in the offense that led to easy scores the other way. Lamar, Smush and Kobe combined for 17 assists, but had 13 of the team's 18 turnovers. In the last Kings game, the trio combined for 26 assists with 3 turnovers. Can't play like that on the road and expect to win.


Kobe -- 8) -- Kobe continued his multi-game slump in the first couple of quarters before picking it up a bit in the second half. His second half seemed to be one of his better stretches of ball of late, but still not up to the tour de force he usually provides. Still, he scored 30 points on 12-28 shooting, had 7 assists and 7 boards. Solid enough numbers to get a win. He had to heave more than a few shots running up against the shotclock tonight. He missed an open jumper, got blocked trying to take a three then had to hurry a shot against the clock and got a piece of the rim. He set up Lamar for a three. He found Smush for a three from the side. Great outlet pass after board to a streaking Lamar for a dunk. Kobe stole the ball out of a timeout and drew a foul on Artest. He knocked a ball off Martin to force another turnover. He found Kwame in the lane for FTs. He dunked off a bustout when the Kings lost the ball in the lane. He missed a couple jumpers trying to create with the shotclock low. He set up Kwame for FTs at the end of the quarter. He missed a tech FT and Kings fans rose to their feet to cheer (Okay...). He was swarmed by four defenders and lost the ball. He dribbled the ball off his foot for a turnover. He hit a baseline three. He scored a layup in transition. He attacked the lane on the last play of the half, got contact, hung and scored with no call. He had 9 points on 4-12 shooting and 5 assists at the half. He hit a pull-up in the lane. He hit a jumper from the wing off a handoff. He hit a jumper straightaway on iso over Artest. He attacked the baseline and drew FTs, making both. He missed another long three with the shotclock low. He hit a stepback jumper over Artest. He found Lamar on the break for a dunk. He spun between defenders and scored at the end of the third, but the refs called off the basket which was close even on replay. He found Smush open for a three in the corner. He hit an elbow jumper. He got pushed out on the pick and roll and threw a bad angled pass to Jackson, it was stolen and Kobe gave up the And-1 at the other end. He got the soft bounce on a three. He airballed a three. He knocked down a couple of late threes. "I think he'll be fine," Phil said of Kobe's recent off play. "His legs looked dead on Sunday. We gave him a day off [Monday]. We know it's the time of year that guys come up a little bit short on effort because of the fatigue."

Odom -- -- Lamar, of course, had the poor mental game that lost us a game we had in hand last time in Arco. Tonight, he came out of the gates in a flurry, scoring 14 points on 6-6 shooting in the first quarter. He finished the game with solid numbers of 24 points on 9-12 shooting, 6 boards and 7 assists. However, he led the team in turnovers with 6. On the first play of the game, Phil made it a point to get him the ball in the post, Lamar faced up, spun and scored. He knocked down a three off a pinch post. He hit a three off the two-man game with Kobe. He found Cook in transition for a jumper. He scored a reverse around Miller. Lamar dunked on the break after contesting an Artest shot and busting out for an outlet from Kobe. He hit a stepback jumper from 18 feet away. Great first quarter from Lamar. He was quiet in the second quarter. In the second half, Lamar bricked off the side of the backboard in transition and it led to a three-pointer on the break for the Kings (a play typical of our problems). Kobe and Kwame worked the two-man game, Kobe kicked it to Lamar who whipped it to Kwame for the dunk. He attacked across the lane and scooped in an And-1 layup on continuation. He dunked down the lane when Kobe fed him on the break. He attacked Rahim from the top of the key and scored an And-1 going to his left.

Smush -- -- An average game from Smush. He had a few defensive breakdowns, giving up penetration or not contesting a shot on occasion. He scored 15 points on 6-11 shooting (3-4 from three), had 5 boards, 3 assists and 4 turnovers. He attacked across the lane, took a little contact and scored on a runner. He hit a three from the side on a kickout from Kobe. He knocked down a wing three. He attacked Bibby off the dribble and scored a layup. He posted up, missed, got it back and hit a jumphook. He swished a three from the corner off a Kobe kickout.

Kwame -- -- Kwame got his first start in a while in place of the injured Mihm. We certainly missed dropping the ball into a bigman for some post scoring. Kwame managed to score on some hustle plays or being set up by others, but nothing by creating in the post. All said, not a bad game from Kwame. He scored 10 points, grabbed 8 boards and dished a couple of assists in 38 minutes. He dunked off the high-low pass from Cook. He was fouled when Kobe set him up and he made one FT. He found Luke from the post for a short jumper. Kobe set him up in transition and Kwame made one FT. He tried to finish strong with both hands and drew FTs, making both (good job attacking the rim on that play). He sat with 4 minutes left in the first half. He had 6 points and 7 rebounds at the half. He posted up, spun and was whistled for the charge. He missed a short jumphook off the glass. He worked free off the two-man game and Lamar whipped a pass to him for a dunk. Nice job running the floor and Smush found him in transition for a layup. He drew a charge on Rahim. He posted up, turned and hit all glass, no rim on the shot.

Cook -- -- A poor shooting game from Cook, who went 4-12 for 9 points. He pulled down 5 boards and did a reasonable job in that area. Still, his help D at times is lacking, especially if we need someone to contest a shot. He got called for a couple over the back calls on Martin on the offensive glass, who was trying to D him up for stretches. He posted up Martin and then drew a goal tending call. He hit a 12-footer on the baseline in transition. He took the ball in the lane, drew the D and hit Kwame for a dunk. He posted up Martin and scored easily off the glass. He hit an open three straightaway.

Walton -- -- After a stretch of great games from Luke, he couldn't fill DG's shoes tonight. He had 5 fouls in 12 minutes and scored just 2 points. We definitely missed George's game tonight and took some hit with Luke's minutes. He hit a short jumper on the baseline off a Kwame feed on his first shot. He was called for a travel in the post. He found Jackson for an open three. Weak reach, getting caught giving up an And-1 jumper from the elbow to Miller at the end of the third quarter.

Vujacic -- -- Pretty much a weak game from Sasha. He has a couple of good defensive plays to force turnovers...but he also gave up penetration that caused problems. He finished with 2 points on 1-4 shooting and didn't have an assist in 9:30 of action. He bricked a layup on a pass from Lamar. He made up for it by stealing an inbounds, missing a layup, getting it back and scoring. He caused a turnover on Martin with some tight D on the sideline. He telegraphed a pass for a turnover and it led to a Bibby three on the other end. That was one of those key fourth quarter plays that cost us.

Jackson -- -- Some extended run for JJ in this one. He played 10 minutes and hit a three for his only points on four attempts. He came in to start the second quarter for Kobe, but later ran at SF. He missed a three. He was hit cutting on the baseline with the ball, pretty obvious foul with no call, he lost the ball and they gave him a turnover. He knocked down an open three from the baseline to slow a Kings run. He missed a couple of jumper from the corner in the fourth. He played pretty decent D on Artest while he was out there.

Bynum -- -- He got in the head with the ball in transition when Smush fed him in the lane. Keep your eyes on the ball. With Mihm out, the NBA's youngest player is going to get a little PT. He played 10 minutes tonight and scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting, grabbed one board and had 3 fouls. He came in with 4 minutes left in the first half. He flashed from weak to strong and hit a 10-footer. He got blocked again from behind not able to finish at the rim. He posted up and drew a foul on Miller, making one FT.

Turiaf -- -- Serviceable minutes. He didn't shoot or score and had 1 foul in 6:54 of action. He drew a whistle hand checking Artest on a drive. He grabbed a couple of boards.

Phil -- -- His hands are getting a little tied with no Mihm and Devean available, both key to the Lakers success. "I had to play my starters way too many minutes tonight," Phil said in the Times. "When you're playing short-handed, that's what happens. You end up not having enough equipment to go through the game and make the challenge at the end."... The Lakers took big hits when we had to go to our bench at the start of the second and fourth quarters... If he could hammer on anything, it's the transition D of the past two games. Teams have been able to run on us at will. The Kings had 21 points on the break tonight. That has been the essential difference in the high scores we have given up in the past two games... Phil called Lamar's number in the post on the first play and we scored. Lamar got off to an aggressive start, but faded a bit. "Sometimes we just go one way and start to play one way and then we just switch," Lamar said. "I don't understand it. Maybe it's just youth or chemistry"... After a King timeout in the first, Phil went to the zone and Kobe stole the ball. He brought out the zone for a couple of other defensive stands, but didn't ride it like he had a few games ago... McKie got moved off the inactive with Chris taking his spot. "He's legitimately cleared to play but … timing and NBA game-style, he's not ready," Phil said. "This is the time for Aaron to see if he is ready and if he can play and then we'll make assessments from there about him helping us in the playoffs."...
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DaggerInTheHeart
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:43 am    Post subject:

Defense once again is the problem with this team to many lay-ups to many wide-open looks.

Same game as the Seattle one.
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teej
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:50 am    Post subject:

Kobe is looking like a tired man out there.
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kups
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:07 am    Post subject:

. "This is the time for Aaron to see if he is ready and if he can play and then we'll make assessments from there about him helping us in the playoffs."...




Hope we could break out of this slump asap.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:13 am    Post subject:

Kwame got worked in the post by Thomas and SAR for few scores.

Smaller quicker crafty combo Fowards are a more difficult cover for Kwame. Does his best against traditional power post players rather than these finesse guys.

All the Lakers played poorly on D but Kwame should really be judged on D.

Don't really care about his 10 pts.

He had a below average game though not horrible.
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Philostrator
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:18 am    Post subject:

Kobe continues to struggle, but Defense was the main problem though.
Lakers got killed with the Queen Screens and they couldn't stick to their man.
I think it's bad footwork from the Lakers. It kills their Defense.
What's with Brad Miller hitting open shots? He did so many of those in critical situation and it killed the Lakers.
And Kobe needs to stop shooting stupid long 3s, it's really bad percentage shots.
I must say he did try attacking the basket inside but always lose his handling. Something is just wrong with Kobe's game.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:21 am    Post subject:

NestT wrote:
Kwame got worked in the post by Thomas and SAR for few scores.

Smaller quicker crafty combo Fowards are a more difficult cover for Kwame. Does his best against traditional power post players rather than these finesse guys.

All the Lakers played poorly on D but Kwame should really be judged on D.

Don't really care about his 10 pts.

He had a below average game though not horrible.

I think there is something to be said about what losing Mihm means. We didn't get post production from our starting center on the offensive end, that's a dynamic that effects the team's execution. So, when Kwame steps into that role of starting center, I think you do need to look at what occurs on the offensive end, too.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:35 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
NestT wrote:
Kwame got worked in the post by Thomas and SAR for few scores.

Smaller quicker crafty combo Fowards are a more difficult cover for Kwame. Does his best against traditional power post players rather than these finesse guys.

All the Lakers played poorly on D but Kwame should really be judged on D.

Don't really care about his 10 pts.

He had a below average game though not horrible.

I think there is something to be said about what losing Mihm means. We didn't get post production from our starting center on the offensive end, that's a dynamic that effects the team's execution. So, when Kwame steps into that role of starting center, I think you do need to look at what occurs on the offensive end, too.


i think losing mihm will hurt more defensively, he is our only bigman shotblocker, unless we want to count bynum as one. that coupled with george's absence forces us to use luke walton in a power position on the court, against abdur raheem and kenny thomas. talk about disaster. ugh, why did these injuries happen now. small lineups didnt help with switches and screens like phil probably thought would happen. small lineup hurt because thomas and abdur raheem killed luke and they actually would exploit that. we absolutely need a win tomorrow.
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:42 am    Post subject:

No doubt we lose our defensive anchor with him. People can drive easily into the middle of a Kwame/Cook lineup and not worry about getting swatted. (Wasn't really a problem though in the last two games despite getting trampled).
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:06 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
NestT wrote:
Kwame got worked in the post by Thomas and SAR for few scores.

Smaller quicker crafty combo Fowards are a more difficult cover for Kwame. Does his best against traditional power post players rather than these finesse guys.

All the Lakers played poorly on D but Kwame should really be judged on D.

Don't really care about his 10 pts.

He had a below average game though not horrible.

I think there is something to be said about what losing Mihm means. We didn't get post production from our starting center on the offensive end, that's a dynamic that effects the team's execution. So, when Kwame steps into that role of starting center, I think you do need to look at what occurs on the offensive end, too.


If Mihm is out for the rest of the regular season, I can't see this team making the play-offs. This team can't afford to lose its most consistent FC player for that length of time. To expect that the other FC players will take up the slack is asking too much.

SGH
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KobeButler
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:07 am    Post subject:

just some random thoughts.........

i think its time to kick Cook out of the starting lineup. We dont even run any plays for him to take advantage of his shooting..and his defense and rebounidng is starting to become a real pain. Maybe start Odom at power forward and insert JJ or Luke in the starting lineup.

I liked what I seen from Jim Jackson despite his presence blowing our second quarter lead. He has a solid stroke from outside. I think he just needs more playing time. He needs to be on the floor more when Kobe is out their so he can get some good open looks.

Why did Turiaf get so little playing time? I didnt see what happened..I thought he looked very active.

Bynum needs alot of work. He use to block everyone shots...now hes getting blocked everytime. I think his confidnce is shot.

Any word when Devean George is coming back?

I dunno whats up with Kobe lately. He just doesnt look himself these past few games. Hes not in a good rthymn at all.

I thought Odom played great. I know his defense on Ron Artest kind of lacked but we threw almost everything at Ron and it still didnt work. Only thing we didnt try was Kobe....maybe next time?

Lack of Mihm's presence was definitely felt. I knew it was gonna hit hard. He was out for a couple of games already this season and all i remember was how we struggled make runs cause we kept settling for outside shots. Looks like thats how our gameplan is gonna look again.

Ive noticed Phil is really logging Odom with a whole lot of minutes lately. Even more so than Kobe's minutes.

Playoff hopes are still within reach. In fact if we can win against Minny and New Jersey, we could potetionally regain that 7th spot again. Plus the teams behind us are helping us mightly by struggling as well................

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:40 am    Post subject:

Guys, yes, this is a very disappointing slump, but look at the next 4-5 games we have. Also, this could b a key development from Bynum and Kwame. Let's just see, as Mihm and George rehab their ailments. Let's just hope and pray it's a small and short rehab.

From what I'd like to see is...

DG... Please oh please we need u!

Kwame... do just a bit better and look at how Turaif is doin energetically from the bench.

Turaif - Keep that energy flowing and do u'r stuff. U are a key difference from the bench.

Kobe - Oh man, bro... uhh... do whatever u've said in u'r commercial and just do it HARDER and BETTER... and just do the "in-between things", such as feeding u'r mates when u'r triple-teamed or the like. And when that happens... just work ever HARDER cause u have that ability inside u, Kobe. UNLEASH IT, NOW!

Sash - Keep up u'r aggitational "persona", but do it effectively.

Bynum - Be tough and strong out there... do well on low posts and don't forget that totally remembered fake spin on Shaq, k? Just "read" u'r teammates and find open looks/alley-oops.

Well, I guess I said, "would I could have said", but I just did it in a way that I thought I could have.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but well... that's what I'd tell the team and a few other choise things that could be redundant.

-Buzz
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 4:38 am    Post subject:

DB - Great job

Question: Bynum doesn't seem to do well with non-traditional centers (i.e. post-up types) such as Miller who run "pick and pop" plays that results in open jump shots at the pinch post. With a little more experience, he should be mobile enough to defend these type of players.

Question: Kobe seems to be wearing down and "playing through all the non-fouls" garbage that the refs are not calling. Could this be a side-result of the Lakers not being aggressive and refs letting the aggressive teams get away with the questionable calls?

Question: Why didn't the Lakers use more screens to "rub" Artest off to give Kobe a little room to get into rhythm, like what they did in L.A.?

Question: Luke did his best at playing at PF, but he doesn't have the "bulk" that somebody like Artest has. Would Jim Jackson be better than Luke with certain PFs?

Question: Would having LO play "5" against centers such as Miller, Dirk (when he plays center), KG (when he plays center), etc. be an advantageous situation?

Question: If Cookie is not hitting his shots - he is useless. Did anybody notice if PJ had the Lakers play a 2 - 3 zone defense when he is playing to compensate with his deficiencies?
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 5:49 am    Post subject:

yeah kobe looks weak tonight.. especially when he made and error then had a blocking foul against wells..
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:28 am    Post subject:

Another defensive adventure, and it was a torture to watch. Most of the wins the past couple of months have been attributable to Kobe's brilliance. When Kobe is merely very good like last night, the team loses by double digits. Disheartening to say the least.

Though a front court of Kwame and Cook is vulnerable to penetration, a special mention has to be given to Sasha and Luke. If it wasn't for their inability to stay in front of their man, we wouldn't be treated to watching the Lakers surrender 50%+ scoring. We missed Mihm, as he's a much better center when it comes to dribble penetration. It's not just the ability to swat... Kwame is way behind in terms of reading and reacting to dribble penetration or pick and rolls. Given the late stage of the season, it's a stretch to assume he'll make enough improvement to salvage that 8th playoff spot.

What irks me is how labored the Lakers look on offense. Sac took high percentage shots and made easy baskets in transition. Without a low post threat and minimum talent on the floor, the Laker offense looked further behind than the score indicated throughout much of the game.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 9:36 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Disappointment, I thought they settled for the outside shot too much, especially Kobe, and they didn't really take advantage of the Odom mismatch the rest of the game.
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jwbrown77
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 9:48 am    Post subject:

Our perimeter defense is nauseating.

And they still treat the pick and roll like they've never seen it before in their lives.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:30 am    Post subject:

Everybody: "De-fense... De-fense... De-fense..."

The Lakers stayed close enough to make it interesting for 3 quarters. The the defense and turnovers took their toll.

LO played well, but he only took 6 shots after the 1st Q. 6 TO's? Yikes.
Kwame ok, can't really expect much more than what he did.
JJ rusty, Luke foul-prone, Smushie lax on the screens.
Kobe not stellar.

There were some key moments when the Lakers couldn't capitalize on a break situation. LO tried a righty layin that bricked and Bibby hits a 3. Bynum getting blocked by Miller and Bibby gets a cherrypicker. Real momentum swings there.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:54 am    Post subject:

I guess with Mihm out of the game the refs decided to call weak calls on Lamar instead. I was proud of Lamar though for not arguing or letting it be a distraction, he would just give the refs a glare and kept playing(something Kobe did not do on Sunday) I still have no idea though, how Lamar missed so badly on that right handed 3 on 1 layup that led to a Bibby's three pointer at the other end.

I like the fact that Smush has been posting up the smaller guards(parker,bibby) lately. we must take advantage of all mismatches if we plan on making the playoffs.

I think the refs should have let Kobe layup stand at the end of the 3rd for the simple fact that they didnt give him the and1 and the end of the half.

I wasnt too mad at the loss. that was a very hostile enviornment last night(playoff like) and we were competitive. besides, if the 7 slot means PHX in the first round, the Kings can have it!
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:57 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB.

Oddly coached game by Phil last night.

1) What happened to the Ray Allen/Rip Hamilton strategy he employed last time against the Kings, running Kobe off curl screens to get him easy looks? They killed Artest with that last time.

2) Why does Phil take so long to realize whether Cook is going to be a net gain or loss for the team on any given night? The formula is pretty simple: If Cook doesn't knock down three of his first four jumpers he will likely have his team in the 'red' already, as he'll probably have contributed to 8-10 points the other way with his lack of 'D' and rebounding. And on a night like last night when he's getting stuffed repeatedly under the basket, it's even harder to stomach. Adjunctive to that: Why has Luke become the de facto first PF off the bench when Mihm is out? He's not a PF. It can't be a matchup thing, because Phil appears equally comfortable with either Walton or Kwame as the first 4 subbed in, depending upon Mihm's health. Turiaf needs to see those minutes.

3) For all the talk of needing a second scorer, it has to be put more precisely: Odom has to score 4-5 points per quarter. It's not enough to just get 16-20 a night with 12 and 6 point barrage here and there. True second options are legitimate threats to score every time down the floor, meaning they touch the ball, in scoring position, no less than every 2-3 possessions. If Lamar won't put himself in that position, Phil has to. PJ was particularly slow to react to the Kings' switching Artest to Odom at the top of the second quarter when Kobe went out of the game, which effectively took Lamar out of the game for the next two quarters.

4) What does Sasha have to do to lose his role as first guard off the bench?

And I know that Stu says it all the time, but Kobe really does lose points off of his shooting % by having to bail out the team at the end of shot shot clocks. The people who try to knock him for his 12/28 last night simply do not watch the game. I counted at least 4 possessions last night wherein Kobe got the ball outside the arc with less than 6 seconds on the clock, and nothing to do but jack up the shot. Remove those four shots from the ledger and Kobe is 50% on the night and those possessions turn into 24 second violations. The Lakers still lose, they forego any chance that one of those Kobe flings will go in, but hey, at least we can say Kobe was "efficient".
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re4ee
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:09 am    Post subject:

^^ No D George, no Mihm ^^
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:56 am    Post subject:

buzzman wrote:
Guys, yes, this is a very disappointing slump, but look at the next 4-5 games we have.


Bro, we just lost to Seattle. The schedule may look decent on paper, but it really doesn't mean anything. This team has proven that.
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koolruningz
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:27 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. I listened to the game on KVTA and i have a couple of questions for those that watched the game. 1) What happened to Odom? Did he take himself out of the game or did they just forget about him? 2) Why did Phil take Smush out with about 6mins left in the 4th? It seemed that the lead ballooned after that mainly thanks to Bibby who was now being guarded by Sasha.
We obviously miss DG and Mihm, its a shame they have to be injured for us to realise that they are pretty important to our teams success. How did JJ look runing the offence? The sooner he is ready the better as our outside shooting is terrible. Transition defense, how do we fix this? They must talk about it at practice, so why cant they get back?
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:48 pm    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:

Question: Why didn't the Lakers use more screens to "rub" Artest off to give Kobe a little room to get into rhythm, like what they did in L.A.?

I'm glad you brought this up. I think we missed an opportunity. If Kobe ran those plays with a shooter like JJ or something, the Kings have a choice of switching on Kobe (giving him a better defender to attack) or doubling and leaving open the shooter. We did it once with Kobe/Lamar...they needed to do it more with other players.

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Question: Luke did his best at playing at PF, but he doesn't have the "bulk" that somebody like Artest has. Would Jim Jackson be better than Luke with certain PFs?

Not on with PFs...

Quote:

Question: Would having LO play "5" against centers such as Miller, Dirk (when he plays center), KG (when he plays center), etc. be an advantageous situation?


All depends. Without DG or some quality at the SF or PF to fill Lamar's minutes you can get hurt elsewhere.
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:29 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:

I'm glad you brought this up. I think we missed an opportunity. If Kobe ran those plays with a shooter like JJ or something, the Kings have a choice of switching on Kobe (giving him a better defender to attack) or doubling and leaving open the shooter. We did it once with Kobe/Lamar...they needed to do it more with other players.

All depends. Without DG or some quality at the SF or PF to fill Lamar's minutes you can get hurt elsewhere.
Interesting and valid points - DB. With the Kings (and probably other future teams) will "stretch" Kobe out on the high screens to prevent him from penetrating the paint - what is the counter to this move? Maybe LO should be the screener and "slip" the screen to the paint?

With LO at "5" - it probably would mean a line-up of Sasha/Smush, Luke, Jackson and Turiaff at this time with DGeorge and Mihm on the IR. Kobe is not in this lineup because he has to get rest at some time of the game since it appears that he is wearing out when he is doing airballs - even if he is getting hit?!?!?

Regarding JJ at PJ - it would only work in a "speed game" (ala Shawn Marion) when the Lakers want to quicken the game. In the above-listed line-up with LO in a Point "5" position pushing the ball, JJ seemingly would be successful.
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