ROCKETS -at- LAKERS - 4/2 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:22 pm    Post subject: ROCKETS -at- LAKERS - 4/2 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

"We Want Tacos"... Kobe said he was trying to bring some energy out of the locker room to start the third quarter. He ended up dominating the quarter and busting the game open. Staples was in a good mood after the Lakers held the Rockets to under 90 points on their way to the 104-88 victory. They closed the game with chants of "We Want Tacos" and the Lakers came through.

The Lakers have made a concerted effort to win the third quarters in the past couple of games. And, they are doing it on both ends. They locked down on Seattle in the prior game after getting run on in the first half and they clamped down on the Rockets, holding them to back-to-back 18-point quarters in the second half of today's game.

Props to sean2023 stepping in for me in the last game. I'm going a little lite on this Thoughts and Ratings:

Kobe -- -- He had his perimeter game going like mad in the third. For the first half of the quarter he either scored or assisted on every made basket. He was basically turning and shooting over the smaller defender from the wing spots. He exploded off the ground while standing under the basket to throwdown a lob by Smush on one highlight sequence. He also stroked a three right over his man during that stretch. He finished the quarter with 22 points and tied Elgin's Laker record for most games in a season with 40 or more points. Kobe finished the game with 43 points on 19-32 shooting (3-5 from three and just 2-2 from the line). He played 36 minutes and finished with 6 assists, 3 boards and 1 steal.

Odom -- -- Filling that second-scorer role, Lamar had 21 points on 7-13 shooting, 6 boards and 3 assists in 43:30 minutes. Lamar seemed to step up his game when Kobe went to the bench to rest. He had a couple of nice highlights, including a great behind the back pass from the mid post to Luke who cut along the baseline. Lamar also had the Showtime throwdown on the break when Smush threaded the bouncepass to him in the lane at full speed. Defensively, he was okay (he did have one stretch in the third where Frahm knocked down three shots from beyond the arc). After a couple of months averaging 13 points a game, Lamar turned it up in March averaging 17.2 for the month as well as his best assist month of the year with 5.8 per game. He shot .562 from the floor and .528 from three in March. Both the assists and scoring point to him being more aggressive and also understanding how to get what he wants a little more out of the offense. Of course, knocking down threes like he has been also helps quite a bit.

Kwame -- -- Kwame had his hands full with Yao who was turning and shooting over him consistently. Yao ended up with 33 points on 16-25 shooting. Kwame also didn't have much of a luxury of being able to defend Yao very aggressively since we are down a couple of bigmen who are our only other real defensive options on Yao. Among Kwame's highlights were a couple of alley-oop dunks, including a nice one during the third when the D was trying to cheat on Kobe and Cook found him. He also his a jumphook in the post early on. Kwame finished with 10 points (4-7 shooting and 2-2 from the line), only 3 boards and 1 blocked shot.

Smush -- -- Smush had a career-high 10 assists in the game. Every month this season, Smush has gradually increased his assists per game. From 2.8 in Nov., 3.0 in Dec., 3.5 in Jan., 4.2 in Feb., and 4.5 in March. He's off to a good start in April to keep increasing that number. During that time, his scoring has held steady. Today, 8 of his assists came off scores by Kobe and the other two were to Lamar. Smush had 15 points on an efficient 5-8 shooting, including 3-5 from beyond the arc. I believe that was his second career double-double. The other one came in the 24-point, 12 rebound game he had against the Warriors in January.

Cook -- -- Kobe played just 18 minutes and scored his only points on a kickout from Kobe in the third when Cook knocked down a three. He hit Kwame with a nice alley-oop pass when Yao was sucked into following Kobe across the lane. Cook had 5 boards in the game.

George -- -- Devean played one stint in the first half for six minute and had a reverse dunk. He didn't get in the game during the second half and he and Kobe were discussing something the moment Kobe returned to the bench in the second half.

Walton -- -- Luke has continued to bring some spark off the bench. Today, he had another 10 points on 5-8 shooting. He scored on a layup and fade in the first half. In the second half, he pulled down an offensive board, faked one way and turned on the speed the other way to score a reverse. He also hit a turnaround fade from the post, leaving a couple of defenders in the dust. In March, Luke averaged 6.9 points on 22.6 minutes per game. He shot .489 from the floor and .526 from three, and also had 1.9 assists and 4.1 boards per game during the month.

Vujacic -- -- I didn't have a lot of notes on Sasha. He missed all three of the shots he took, including an aggressive drive to the hoop in the second half. He didn't have an assist or board, he had the ball stolen from him and had a couple of fouls. You want to see some kind of spark coming off the bench, but that was a pretty uneventful 15:46 of action.

McKie -- -- Phil put him in the game with 3:51 left in garbage time. He brought the ball up as the lead guard in the Tri for a few offensive sequences. He looked to work the ball around on the offensive end and wasn't challenged on the other end. If you remember when he was last out there, McKie tended to overpass a bit and shy away from his shot. Hopefully, he can find some kind of rhythm prior to the playoffs.

Jackson -- -- He also got some late game action with McKie in that same 3:51 of garbage time. He seemed to play some decent D and even pointed to McKie where to go in the Tri.

Turiaf -- 8) -- Some serviceable minutes from Ronny with 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals in 12:26 of action. He looks pretty comfortable for a second-rounder coming in during the middle of the season. Phil said after the last game, "He's got an upside to his game, because he's got an intelligence to play the game, the knowledge of what he should be doing. He has got a feel for it."

Phil -- -- I've got to give Phil some props for the last couple of second halves that the team has played. Phil wanted to stay on top of the third quarters and did so. "Houston had some injuries to veterans and we were able to overwhelm them in the second half," Phil said... Not too much to analyze about this game. The Lakers shot .553 for the game including hitting 9-19 from beyond the arc. The team had a solid 25 assists to just 11 turnovers... Nice to see minutes for both McKie and JJ. Hopefully, Phil can work in some more game time for them as we close out the season...
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DaggerInTheHeart
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:28 pm    Post subject:

Good write-up

Lakers had a excellent 3rd quarter, what made us win this game was stopping the other guards from the Rockets that was our goal in this game, we were gonna let Yao beat us but not the other ones.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:37 pm    Post subject:

Welcome back, DB.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:39 pm    Post subject:

Thanks. the game was won by the end of 3rd. thats always nice
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:45 pm    Post subject:

Another solid third quarter, just like Friday night in Seattle. Our defense in the second halves of the last two games has been real nice to see. Thanks for the recap, DB.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:47 pm    Post subject:

On Turiaf: Phil said after the last game, "He's got an upside to his game, because he's got an intelligence to play the game, the knowledge of what he should be doing. He has got a feel for it." 8)

Good to know Phils trusts his rookie.

Thanks for the recap Db.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:54 pm    Post subject:

Thanks as always DB
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:57 pm    Post subject:

nice recap! thanks
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:01 pm    Post subject:

thanks DB, Welcome Back
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:04 pm    Post subject:

Yao was unconscious in the first half. I thought Kwame played good D, but Yao played unstoppable O. It happens from time to time. Still, I see steady improvement in Kwame's game. I like how he has become more sure-handed (on the alley-oops, for example) and how he has learned to read the D to find gaps for easy baskets. He plays a fairly mature barnd of one-on-one D, and his team-D concepts are improving. Compared to the player he was at the start of the season to now, it's almost startling (check that: it IS startling) to see the transformation. I was always in favor of the Caron-Kwame trade simply because the lakers needed a big athletic body. Even when Kwame was underachieving, I still felt it was the right thing to do (but cursed Mitch anyway because it seemed like everything he touched curdled). But the Kweame trade may turn out to be the most significant move Mitch will have made in his effort to rebuild this team.

SGH
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:05 pm    Post subject:

i am a bit unhappy about the lazy D that Smush has been playing. 2 straight games he has had a guy come over to set a pick on him, both times he tried to go "over" the pick and left his man wide open and his man knocked down the 3. this can't happen in the playoffs, especially with Nash and the suns. he is guessing that the pick will come and completely taking himself out of the play, the man he is guarding doesnt even use the screen he just fires away since he is so wide open
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:23 pm    Post subject:

Some things I've noticed:

Turiaf is playing so well (especially for a guy coming off heart surgery). He hustles and is a smart player. Hopefully his body will catch up with his head for next season.

I LOVE how Kwame did not give up on a rebound and volleyballed it several times till it ended up in a Laker's hands.

Smush does need to put more effort on D, but he's being more aggressive on the offensive end, driving, dishing, creating.

Luke has developed an effective baseline spin move. Slow, but he gets to the rim. Anybody know when he started doing that? He did it against the sonics, and now also Houston.

Kobe couldn't miss tonight, and he even played team ball (mostly).
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:42 pm    Post subject:

Welcome back DB. Great read. I can't believe it 5 games over .500!
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:01 pm    Post subject:

Kobe was awesome once again. We'll make the playoffs for sure, count on it.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:43 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

Prior to Yao Ming re-signing there were those who expressed doubt about Yao Ming's value. It must be very clear to everyone at this point. He is worth it.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:46 pm    Post subject:

DB - glad that you're back.

With Cookie getting just 18 minutes of PT - along with 3 points, 1/2 shots, 5 boards and 2PF - it confirms that unless is hitting his shots, his PT is limited with Luke quickly taking over him minutes. What do you think Cookie needs to be and/or taught to be a more complete player.

It appears that LO was playing the "4" with Cook playing "3" many times. Whether it is Howard or Bogans - if he can't match with these players, never mind the forwards that we'll be seeing in the playoffs.

btw: With Thomas out till the WC Finals or later, the Lakers now have a much better chance against the Suns

Considering DGeorge's upcoming unrestricted free agency, should we resign him - if so, for what amount?
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:51 pm    Post subject:

angel wrote:
Thanks DB!

Prior to Yao Ming re-signing there were those who expressed doubt about Yao Ming's value. It must be very clear to everyone at this point. He is worth it.

Yea. I have always wanted him. he would be IDEAL for kobe.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:56 pm    Post subject:

Sister Golden Hair wrote:
Yao was unconscious in the first half. I thought Kwame played good D, but Yao played unstoppable O. It happens from time to time. Still, I see steady improvement in Kwame's game. I like how he has become more sure-handed (on the alley-oops, for example) and how he has learned to read the D to find gaps for easy baskets. He plays a fairly mature barnd of one-on-one D, and his team-D concepts are improving. Compared to the player he was at the start of the season to now, it's almost startling (check that: it IS startling) to see the transformation. I was always in favor of the Caron-Kwame trade simply because the lakers needed a big athletic body. Even when Kwame was underachieving, I still felt it was the right thing to do (but cursed Mitch anyway because it seemed like everything he touched curdled). But the Kweame trade may turn out to be the most significant move Mitch will have made in his effort to rebuild this team.

SGH


Excellent post SGH. I agree that Kwame is getter better but only time iwll tell if getting Kwame or drafting Bynum was his best move.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:59 pm    Post subject:

Hope from now on the 3rd qtrs become the friends of the Lakers.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:00 pm    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:

With Cookie getting just 18 minutes of PT - along with 3 points, 1/2 shots, 5 boards and 2PF - it confirms that unless is hitting his shots, his PT is limited with Luke quickly taking over him minutes. What do you think Cookie needs to be and/or taught to be a more complete player.


I think he needs to get more crafty on D. Work on his hands and stripping the ball like Malone. He needs to make sure he is always boxing out and moving his feet.

Quote:


Considering DGeorge's upcoming unrestricted free agency, should we resign him - if so, for what amount?


Kind of depends on what we do in the offseason. If we do re-sign him, they need to keep him in line with the 08 cap flexibility. I don't really care about the $$ so much, but we can't lose flexibility because of him. If we bust the cap space and somehow trade out Lamar, our starting SF, then it may be more important to sign him. Hopefully, you can keep it in the $3-$4 mil range per year.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:25 pm    Post subject:

Laker7 wrote:
Sister Golden Hair wrote:
Yao was unconscious in the first half. I thought Kwame played good D, but Yao played unstoppable O. It happens from time to time. Still, I see steady improvement in Kwame's game. I like how he has become more sure-handed (on the alley-oops, for example) and how he has learned to read the D to find gaps for easy baskets. He plays a fairly mature barnd of one-on-one D, and his team-D concepts are improving. Compared to the player he was at the start of the season to now, it's almost startling (check that: it IS startling) to see the transformation. I was always in favor of the Caron-Kwame trade simply because the lakers needed a big athletic body. Even when Kwame was underachieving, I still felt it was the right thing to do (but cursed Mitch anyway because it seemed like everything he touched curdled). But the Kweame trade may turn out to be the most significant move Mitch will have made in his effort to rebuild this team.

SGH


Excellent post SGH. I agree that Kwame is getter better but only time iwll tell if getting Kwame or drafting Bynum was his best move.


You may be right. Bynum plays so little that I actually forgot about him. But I still see Bynum being about two years away before he becomes a real player in the L.

SGH
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:42 pm    Post subject:

thanks DB
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:50 pm    Post subject:

Things started out shakey, again... We were not in sync...

Kwame seemed to be reverting, to that player, that can't hang on to the ball. On the positive side, Kwame was really putting his body into Yao, and it may have finally had its effects. Yao was just dishing the ball into the basket, over Kwame... I thought Kwame was keeping his hands down too much, perhaps, Phil told him to avoid fouls??

Smush still plays "Streetball", and no defense, but we just love it, when he drives the length of the court, after a steal, and, usually dunks it.

One of the most significant things is the increased contribution, from Luke Walton... Daddy is watching... Luke is sputtering into the type of player we expected him to be.

The biggeset, overall factor, is that this team seems to have learned to "weather the storm". We are withstanding the pressure, and staying together, until we can get ourselves back into some kind of rhythm. This will be one of the main keys, down the stretch. To get past Phoenix, we have to withstand their pressure.

I was watching the Phoenix v.s. Detroit game, and I could see that Phoenix does not have a very strong bench... Nash is the main man, that keeps Phoenix together. Of course, Phoenix has learned to play together, to some degree, without Nash... When the pressure is increased, however, I saw how they tend to also fall apart. I saw Diaw start to make alot of mistakes, and they did not replace him. Without Amare, Phoenix has a "soft underbelly", that we can attack.

I had a good idea, that Houston's rhythm, and style of play, were going to work to our favor. We can't get overconfident, however, because teams like Sacto, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Detroit, can come to life, with the type of pressure that could make us fall apart.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 10:15 pm    Post subject:

That was a pretty remarkable shooting performance Kobe had going through the first 3 quarters. 19 made field goals is no joke. That's more than he has made when he's scored 50+ at times....

Out of curiosity I looked at game logs from from some of the best scorers off the top of my head - And out of all of them, aside from Kobe, only Lebron had also buried as many as 19 field goals in a game this season (LBJ had 19 twice, on worse %'s than Kobe). Not Iverson..not Pierce..not Carter..not Wade..not Anthony...not Dirk..not Arenas...not McGrady..not Redd.

I found it really enjoyable to watch..more so than many of his performances where he has ended up w/ bigger point totals.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 10:24 pm    Post subject:

Good point, Sean. He had 9 of those FGs in the first half, then 9 makes in the third. Just on fire. Only 2 FTs all game.

Interesting quote from Kobe in the game preview yesterday: "What we'll try to do now is come out and throw the first blow ourselves and put them on their heels and they can try to elevate their energy as opposed to the other way around." He was throwing blows...lefts and rights before the TKO.
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