LAKERS -at- SUNS - 4/26 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 11:36 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- SUNS - 4/26 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

Home Court Advantage... The Lakers stuck to their game plan, kept the tempo in their favor and integrated Kobe a little more into the offense. By slowing the game and pounding the ball down low, the Lakers were able to bog down the Suns game and come away with the 99-93 road win.

Kobe and Lamar teamed up for the statement play of the night. Lamar dove to the sideline for a loose ball, came up with it and from the floor hit Kobe cutting to the hoop. Kobe nearly leaped over Nash for a nasty posterizing throwdown. Steve Nash...you've just been Kobe-tized.

The Lakers pounded out a 17-point lead, completing stalling the Suns offense for the first half of the second quarter to build part of that lead. In a key moment with 3 minutes left in half, Kobe had to sit with fouls. The Lakers hung tough and pushed an 11-point lead to a 15-point lead at the half. Controlling the pace, they played some great individual and team D on nearly everyone not named Steve Nash. The Suns bench scored just 4 points and Barbosa was held to 0-5 shooting.

"When you play together as a cohesive unit," Kobe said in the Daily News, "you can do a lot of good things." Now it's time to defend the home court.


Kobe -- -- Kobe kept himself integrated in the game and still stuck to feeding the post and attacking the Suns interior. One of the ways he did this was to put himself in the post a bit more than the last game. He wasn't passive, but he didn't dominate the ball. When things bogged down, he stepped it up with a few scores. Kobe finished with 29 points, 10 boards and 5 assists. He shot 12-24 from the floor, 1-1 from three and 4-6 from the line. He was hampered a bit with foul trouble which forced him to be cautious at times on both ends. In the end, we struck a balance and got the win. On to the play by play: Kobe missed a wing jumper to start. He pushed the break, surveyed the floor and hit a cutting Luke for a layup. He ran a quick two-man game with Kwame and fed him for a huge two-hand dunk. He swished a baseline jumper. He posted up, got his man in the air with some sweet up-and-under footwork and scored off the glass. He knocked down a three with the shotclock low. Bad cross-court pass that was easily picked off by Nash. He drained a mid post turnaround. He posted up and kicked out to Cook for a three. He hit Odom on a cut for a layup. He picked up his third foul trying to attack Bell with 3 minutes left in the second. Kobe had 10 points and 8 boards at the half. To start the second half, he faced up and hit a long wing jumper with the shotclock low. Out of a timeout in the third, the Lakers set up a play to get Kobe an open wing jumper which he knocked down. He attacked off the dribble, found an opening and scored a layup. With the shotclock at 2, Kobe drained a long wing jumper with his toe on the three line. He iso'd and hit a 19-footer from the wing over Bell. He got tapped on a wing jumper and a short bank. At the end of the third, he attacked and scored a layup with a second left. Kobe picked up his fourth foul with a quarter left to play. He just beat the shotclock, sinking a jumper as the buzzer went off. Then came the posterization of Nash. Kobe cut to the hoop as Lamar hit him with a pass from the floor and Kobe destroyed Nash with a massive And-1 throwdown, practically jumping over him. Wow. Hee missed the FT. He missed a long jumper. Great rebound going up high with just over a minute left to secure it. He hit three of four FTs down the stretch. Great game from Kobe. He hit a lot of shots with the clock low. Look for him to possibly attack the paint a little more at home and with the home court whistles in the next one. "I felt much more comfortable," Kobe said. "Tonight I feel like we did a much better job. Everybody contributed."

Odom -- -- Lamar is imposing his will on the game on both ends. When he's knocking down 3-5 from beyond the arc and then getting to the rim and scoring over players in the paint, he's Trouble with a capital T. He scored 21 points on a superb 9-12 shooting, grabbed 7 boards, dished 5 assists and had 2 steals in 44 minutes. Great effort on both ends and even came up with the hustle play of the night on that dive and pass to Kobe for the dunk. Nice post entry to Kwame under the rim and it led to a dunk. He got a post kickout from Kwame at the FT line, attacked and scored a layup. He posted up the next time down and drew an illegal D call (I think that is there a lot for us if we can start pointing it out to the refs). He hit a pull-up jumper from the elbow. He threw a kickout pass out of bounds. He spun in the lane on Marion and flipped in a layup. He curled off the weakside and scored an easy layup out of the Tri. He posted up and kicked it to Sasha for a three. He drained a wing three. Great rejection off the backboard at the end of the second quarter. He scored 11 points at the half. He saw a little daylight, attacked off the dribble and powered in a layup. He called his own number, but missed on the post up. He swished a three off a kickout from Smush. Sasha attacked and kicked out to Lamar and LO knocked down the three. He attacked to his right off the dribble and scored a layup. He dove to the floor to chase down a loose ball, found Kobe who then threw down a monser dunk over Nash. "If it's a loose ball," Odom said in the Daily News, "I'm going to go get it." He nearly overpassed to Smush, but Smush just beat the shotclock by a hair for a huge layup with under a minute left.

Kwame -- -- Kwame was the Lakers third scorer tonight and caused the Suns a little trouble early in the game offensively. He didn't dominate on the boards like we need him to. Defensively, however, Kwame anchored the team and then some at times. His switches, rotations and contesting of shots made life tough on the Suns. Kwame had 2 blocks and scored 12 points on 4-8 shooting. He pulled down just 2 boards in 36 minutes and had some trouble handling the ball, ending up with 3 turnovers. He posted up Thomas and drew a foul on his first attempt, and made one FT. He missed his next attempt over Diaw. He shed a defender, got the entry from Lamar and dunked. Monster dunk off a slip screen with Kobe. He missed an easy one off an up-an-under move. He fumbled a couple passes in the first quarter for turnovers. He drew a foul away from the ball (Thomas's third) and made one FT. He was called for a travel in the post, it looked like he got pushed. At the end of the half, he drew an offensive foul on Diaw with some good footwork. He swatted Barbosa on a drive. He faced up against Grant, took a hard dribble and threw in an And-1 over him and he made the FT. He slipped a screen, got the pass from Kobe and banked in a shot over Diaw. He got screwed on a poor three-second call by Crawford as the ball had only gotten over the halfcourt line two seconds earlier. He got a piece of a jumper closing out in the corner.

Smush -- -- Ugggghhhh! Well, Smush has got some good game tap he can learn off of. A lot of defensive mental errors in this one. Even though Nash is a tough cover, you still need to react properly and hustle. And when you have the lead late in the game and the clock is on your side, don't foul in the backcourt to give up FTs. When Kobe is out of the game, run the offense, keep the tempo in our favor, don't try to attack off the dribble for turnovers. Smush ended up with 8 points on 3-6 shooting, 4 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 turnovers in 30 minutes. He picked up an offensive foul in the post early. He then got called for a push foul on the D end and had to sit after just two and half minutes. Back in to start the second, he drew a foul off the dribble on House (who can't defend). He posted up House and drew another foul. Cook had the ball in the post, no one was moving, then Smush cut down the middle of the lane, got the bounce pass and dunked. He posted up Nash, slipped, recovered then banked over him. He tried to attack, fell down and lost the ball for a turnover. He stole a Nash pass, pushed it up and drew a flagrant on Grant and made the FTs. At the end of the half, he tried to create, lost the ball and it resulted in a score at the buzzer on the other end. In the second half, Smush went under a pick and didn't recover and gave up a three to Nash. He didn't stick with Nash on another sequence and gave up a wide open jumper. He gave up a layup to Nash. He posted up Nash, drew Odom's man, then kicked it to Lamar for a three. Stupid, stupid foul in the backcourt giving up FTs to Bell and taking no time off the clock late in the game. Horrible transition D on the next play, Kobe pointing out the man Smush needs to get on, yet he hangs back and gave up an open jumper. He just beat the shotclock on a huge layup with a minute left in the game. Hopefully, he can bounce back in the next one.

Walton -- -- It was painful when Luke got into foul trouble. That should say a lot. He means a lot to this team right now and we need him in the game. He didn't have the amazing stats of the less game, but he was still very effective on both ends of the floor. Some of his team D plays tonight were absolutely huge. He also drew some offensive fouls with some great footwork. In the end, he finished with 8 points on 3-8 shooting, 4 boards, 4 fouls, 1 assist and 1 steal in 25 minutes. He didn't get into the post like he had in the last game. He tapped out a missed FT to give the Lakers another possession. He ran the floor, took a Kobe bounce pass and scored a layup behind the defense. He forced a pass in the lane and it resulted in a transition jumper the other way. He had to sit after picking up his second foul in the first quarter. He drew a charge on a dribble drive by Diaw. Next possession, he contested a Thomas post up and we got the miss. He hit a 20-footer off a midpost kickout from Cook. Iso'd defensively against Nash and Luke drew a charge, very nice (that play doesn't even seem possible). He picked up his third foul 5 minutes into the second quarter and had to sit. Great defensive rotation to swat a lob pass away. He picked up his fourth foul just a couple minutes into the second half, trying to get post position. He missed a lob attempt and it resulted in a transition score the other way. He curled in the lane, took the pass and two-handed in a hanging reverse before hitting the floor. Brilliantly timed rotation on Diaw who was posting up Smush and by the time Diaw turned to shoot Luke was in his face to force a miss at the rim. Big defensive board with 34 seconds left and he was fouled, he hit both FTs.

Cook -- -- He had a good first stint and then a weaker second stint in this game. He finished with 5 points on 2-4 shooting in 11 minutes, 2 boards and 2 assists...but 4 fouls. The Suns took away the pick and pop from Kobe and Cook by sending an extra defender. Look for Phil to set up some plays away from the ball to take advantage of that in the next game. Cook ball faked, took a dribble in and hit a 15-footer. He hit a three off a Kobe kickout from the post. He found Luke for an open jumper off a post kickout. He posted up and hit Smush for a two-hand dunk down the middle of the lane. Poorly timed defensive rotation and Nash scored an easy layup. Weak loose ball foul to give up FTs at the end of the third. He picked up a bad foul on the perimeter and Phil benched him.

George -- -- He's alive. Devean showed more of a pulse in this game, getting to the boards and hitting a big three. He still needs to step it up. He finished with 3 points on 1-4 shooting and grabbed 6 boards in 22 minutes. He bricked an open three on his first attempt. Great non-shooting foul on Marion under the hoop in the second quarter to save a basket. He overplayed Diaw at the three line and gave up an And-1 off the dribble. He got it back on the other end when he knocked down a three from the corner.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha didn't let the pressure affect him and stepped up with one of his best games of the season. Defensively, he had some issues early with Nash, but offensively he hit some huge shots for the Lakers, scoring 11 points off the bench on 3-6 shooting (3-4 from behind the arc) in 20:33. We needed him to step up as Smush was in foul trouble very early and was having a generally weak game. Sasha answered the call with a great job off the bench tonight. He missed a corner three on a kickout (probably the most dangerous shot against the Suns), but Sasha deflected a pass in transition D to force a dead ball. He was getting lit by Nash on jumpers and for FTs early. Sasha hit a transition three to end a Laker dry spell. Nice attempt at getting a shot off at the end of the first when it didn't look possible. Nash had 15 of the Suns 22 points in the first quarter (he did not have an assist). A huge test for Sasha, coming in with 3 minutes left in the half and an 11-point lead when Kobe picked up his third. Lamar posted up and kicked it out to him and Sasha swished a three from the top of the key on their first possession. Good D staying in front of Barbosa and making it easy for Kwame to block his shot. Solid stint. Later, he attacked along the baseline and kicked it out to Lamar for a three. He called out Kwame to set a pick, attacked off the dribble and drew a foul on House, making both FTs. Sasha hit a huge three from the corner midway through the fourth. Sasha even got under Nash's skin a little in this one, drawing a double tech.

Jackson -- 8) -- He came in for Luke midway through the second quarter. He popped out behind a pick and swished a 21-footer from the wing. He took a quick perimeter shot and missed, it turned into a transition score the otherway and Phil called a timeout. He fouled Bell who beat him off the dribble. He stripped his man clean to take the ball away. He played 5 minutes, scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting and had 2 boards, 1 assist and 1 steal.

Phil -- -- The Lakers kept their focus on exposing the Suns weaknesses. They fed the post, attacked the paint, and Kobe kept himself involved throughout... Their execution was a little rough to start. Amazingly, despite 8 first quarter turnovers, the Lakers led by two points... The Lakers pushed their lead by holding the Suns scoreless for the first half of the second quarter. They had an 11-point lead when Kobe had to sit with his third foul and 3 minutes left in the half. The Lakers pushed the lead to 15 to end the half. Critical stretch... The Suns got in the bonus with less than 3 minutes into the fourth quarter. They didn't take advantage of it, only getting a couple FTs in the next 6 or 7 minutes of ball... "We've had a lot of stretches where we play well," Phil said, "but closing games has been one of the problems with the inexperience and some of the mistakes that we've made down the stretch." They still made a few mistakes down the stretch, but they held onto the lead and they scratched out some scores and stops... The Lakers shot 50.7 percent for the game to the Suns 42.3 percent. Critical was the 9-16 the Lakers shot from behind the line. The Suns made 9 on 27 attempts... The Lakers also cut down the Suns FTs to 18-18 in this game, a big improvement over the last game... "I thought defensively it was our night," Phil said in the Times. "I thought that was the best thing."
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:09 am    Post subject:

w00t! Great game, great recap, thanks DB 8)

Go Lakers
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:11 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB,

I’ve been really sad the past days because of personal issues (job and family) but when I woke up this morning (Belgian time, 7 am), to go to school the game was still being played ( a couple of seconds to go) and I saw that the Lakers was winning I felt such a well-being sensation. I never thought that an NBA game played across the ocean would help me that much. Besides, Barcelona won yesterday and advances to the final of the European Champions league soccer tournament.

Now Kobe & Co have to protect home court … now we’re in the playoffs.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:16 am    Post subject:

Tanlentueux wrote:

I’ve been really sad the past days because of personal issues (job and family) but when I woke up this morning (Belgian time, 7 am), to go to school the game was still being played ( a couple of seconds to go) and I saw that the Lakers was winning I felt such a well-being sensation.


Sorry to hear. Hope things get better for you.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:23 am    Post subject:

DB, what did the Lakers do differently then in Game 1? the only thing that comes to my mind is they were hitting there shots.

The gameplan seems to be effective so far!
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:31 am    Post subject:

Got in from the game a little while ago...wow, great atmosphere and intensity. (it was my first playoff game! woo hoo!) I wore my Magic Johnson jersey, my daughter wore her Kobe jersey. We were surrounded by Suns fans up in the nose bleeds, but there was a good number of Laker fans there, most wearing the colors. There was a big group of Laker fans who all sat together about 10 rows below us. I wish I had tickets next to them, the game would have been alot more fun! We tried chanting "let's go lakers" and KOBE, KOBE but got soundly booed. It was a lot of fun, though...after the game bumping fists with other laker fans, everyone with big smiles on their faces, it was great! I'll probably write more tomorrow...gotta get to bed...up at 5:30 am for work tomorrow and it's 1:15! Don't know if I'll be able to sleep, though...I'm still on a high! I've been smiling ever since the game, can't seem to stop. I'm so proud of those guys. That arena was hostile, and LOUD, and they stuck together, stayed poised and focused and gutted it out.

btw that kobe dunk made everyone erupt. Laker fans cuz of the dunk and the and 1, Suns fans cuz they thought it was an offensive foul...most amazing dunk I've seen in person. It was awesome, even from the nosebleed section!

Quick notes: watched the young fellas shoot around...Bynum is big but not as big as I imagined...he was hitting jumper after jumper from the pinch post, though. I was impressed. He also stepped out and hit some threes. saw smush, luke, devean. They shooed us all up to our seats before most of the starters came out, though... Also saw Jack Haley and David Aldridge.

Mihm didn't dress out, but he was active during timeouts, especially talking to and encouraging Kwame. Kobe was very vocal with the players, talking to them and encouraging them if they made a mistake. It was great to see.

Great plays by Lamar down the stretch. Bombing threes and those hustle plays...he was awesome tonight...Also, don't know if it showed on the tv, but Phil called lamar over towards the end of the game, after the play with 4 seconds left on the shot clock when Kwame was going to shoot free throws...he was talking to him kind of strongly, maybe it was at this point he told odom to take over the game, i don't know...but after he was done he gave him a couple of pats on the butt as encouragement. I don't think I've ever seen phil do that to a player...

anyway, best night i've had in a long time...glad I went.

maybe more later...i'm tired!
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:37 am    Post subject:

2.0 - You saw a little more Kobe in the post and a little less Luke. Kobe didn't have the long stretches where he hung out on the perimeter making post entry passes or swinging the ball. He stayed engaged. The pace was largely in our favor, but the Suns certainly took advantage of any daylight we gave them in transition. You saw the Suns number of FTs get cut down quite a bit. And, we actually won the battle of the bench in this game. Barbosa got shut out and Sasha hit some big shots. We were also efficient on our threes.

A couple things went in the Suns favor...Kobe, Luke and Smush were all in foul trouble and had to sit at some point because of that. Our execution was sloppy and we had way too many turnovers. And, though the Suns didn't have Thomas going off like the last game, Raja Bell stepped up with a playoff career high.

The key is to limit our perimeter shots and get in the paint. When we do miss or commit a turnover, everyone needs to get back and match up quick. The Suns thrive when you give them a little bit of space in transition. Once we have them in the half court game, we do a lot of switching and rotating. One impressive thing is that we have completely taken away their lob game in the half court with some nice rotations.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:42 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
2.0 - You saw a little more Kobe in the post and a little less Luke. Kobe didn't have the long stretches where he hung out on the perimeter making post entry passes or swinging the ball. He stayed engaged. The pace was largely in our favor, but the Suns certainly took advantage of any daylight we gave them in transition. You saw the Suns number of FTs get cut down quite a bit. And, we actually won the battle of the bench in this game. Barbosa got shut out and Sasha hit some big shots. We were also efficient on our threes.

A couple things went in the Suns favor...Kobe, Luke and Smush were all in foul trouble and had to sit at some point because of that. Our execution was sloppy and we had way too many turnovers. And, though the Suns didn't have Thomas going off like the last game, Raja Bell stepped up with a playoff career high.

The key is to limit our perimeter shots and get in the paint. When we do miss or commit a turnover, everyone needs to get back and match up quick. The Suns thrive when you give them a little bit of space in transition. Once we have them in the half court game, we do a lot of switching and rotating. One impressive thing is that we have completely taken away their lob game in the half court with some nice rotations.


Good take!

i was pretty shocked when Raja's playoff high was 23 i thought he had more also it was good to see the Lakers take Tim Thoma's game out of rhythm soon by giving him foul trouble.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:44 am    Post subject:

karlmalonefan wrote:
Quick notes: watched the young fellas shoot around...Bynum is big but not as big as I imagined...he was hitting jumper after jumper from the pinch post, though. I was impressed. He also stepped out and hit some threes.


He couldn't really do that in the SPL when we saw him shooting around before games then. He had a flat shot and it usually rimmed out quite a bit. His shot has definitely improved since then, a bit more arch and I think he's put the ball on his fingertips now.

Quote:

Also, don't know if it showed on the tv, but Phil called lamar over towards the end of the game, after the play with 4 seconds left on the shot clock when Kwame was going to shoot free throws...he was talking to him kind of strongly, maybe it was at this point he told odom to take over the game, i don't know...but after he was done he gave him a couple of pats on the butt as encouragement. I don't think I've ever seen phil do that to a player...


They definitely made a point about Phil giving Lamar a rare type of pep talk. I don't recall at what point, maybe I will go back and check.

Thanks for the on-site report.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:45 am    Post subject:

KOBE 2.0 wrote:
DancingBarry wrote:
2.0 - You saw a little more Kobe in the post and a little less Luke. Kobe didn't have the long stretches where he hung out on the perimeter making post entry passes or swinging the ball. He stayed engaged. The pace was largely in our favor, but the Suns certainly took advantage of any daylight we gave them in transition. You saw the Suns number of FTs get cut down quite a bit. And, we actually won the battle of the bench in this game. Barbosa got shut out and Sasha hit some big shots. We were also efficient on our threes.

A couple things went in the Suns favor...Kobe, Luke and Smush were all in foul trouble and had to sit at some point because of that. Our execution was sloppy and we had way too many turnovers. And, though the Suns didn't have Thomas going off like the last game, Raja Bell stepped up with a playoff career high.

The key is to limit our perimeter shots and get in the paint. When we do miss or commit a turnover, everyone needs to get back and match up quick. The Suns thrive when you give them a little bit of space in transition. Once we have them in the half court game, we do a lot of switching and rotating. One impressive thing is that we have completely taken away their lob game in the half court with some nice rotations.


Good take!

i was pretty shocked when Raja's playoff high was 23 i thought he had more also it was good to see the Lakers take Tim Thoma's game out of rhythm soon by giving him foul trouble.


One more thing... we didn't get jumped on out of the gates like the last game giving up 39 points and a 10-point lead. The guys were focussed early.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:51 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
One more thing... we didn't get jumped on out of the gates like the last game giving up 39 points and a 10-point lead. The guys were focussed early.


Defensively we hold there ground from the start, i think the Lakers and the Spurs are the only team who seem to adjust to the Suns pace then any other team in the NBA.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:53 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
KOBE 2.0 wrote:
DancingBarry wrote:
2.0 - You saw a little more Kobe in the post and a little less Luke. Kobe didn't have the long stretches where he hung out on the perimeter making post entry passes or swinging the ball. He stayed engaged. The pace was largely in our favor, but the Suns certainly took advantage of any daylight we gave them in transition. You saw the Suns number of FTs get cut down quite a bit. And, we actually won the battle of the bench in this game. Barbosa got shut out and Sasha hit some big shots. We were also efficient on our threes.

A couple things went in the Suns favor...Kobe, Luke and Smush were all in foul trouble and had to sit at some point because of that. Our execution was sloppy and we had way too many turnovers. And, though the Suns didn't have Thomas going off like the last game, Raja Bell stepped up with a playoff career high.

The key is to limit our perimeter shots and get in the paint. When we do miss or commit a turnover, everyone needs to get back and match up quick. The Suns thrive when you give them a little bit of space in transition. Once we have them in the half court game, we do a lot of switching and rotating. One impressive thing is that we have completely taken away their lob game in the half court with some nice rotations.


Good take!

i was pretty shocked when Raja's playoff high was 23 i thought he had more also it was good to see the Lakers take Tim Thoma's game out of rhythm soon by giving him foul trouble.


One more thing... we didn't get jumped on out of the gates like the last game giving up 39 points and a 10-point lead. The guys were focussed early.


Nash can be bated into TOs as he has fallen in love with the cute pass. The lakers can probably get a few more TOs(by him) by feigning a collapse on him when he drives but in fact hanging back a bit to play the passing lanes on his kickouts.

Luke, in particular, seems to have studied Nash's favorite lob pass to Marion. Seems like he got his handson a couple tonite.

SGH
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:56 am    Post subject:

wonder where all the people who doubted the gameplan are. All the difference was a couple of made shots.

smush made me yell at the tv a couple of times. Too many mistakes. Needs to clean it up.

I alway had a feeling that if we could get a comfortable lead, itll pretty much be our game to lose. The combination of us slowing it down and sun's lack of interior defense makes it very easy to us as long as we kept trading baskets.

Anyone else feel the suns still arent giving us any respect? Nash is coming off like an as-s to me for some reason.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:04 am    Post subject:

Kobe Bryant = The Real MVP..... I can't wait til Friday!
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:31 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
karlmalonefan wrote:


Also, don't know if it showed on the tv, but Phil called lamar over towards the end of the game, after the play with 4 seconds left on the shot clock when Kwame was going to shoot free throws...he was talking to him kind of strongly, maybe it was at this point he told odom to take over the game, i don't know...but after he was done he gave him a couple of pats on the butt as encouragement. I don't think I've ever seen phil do that to a player...


They definitely made a point about Phil giving Lamar a rare type of pep talk. I don't recall at what point, maybe I will go back and check.



Okay, I went back and checked the KCAL broadcast. What I was remembering came with 3:10 left in the third. Ireland reported that as they walked to the bench for the timeout, Phil got hold of Lamar and told him twice "Take over... Take over."

Phil was definitely trying to get Lamar to impose his will on the game at that point. Very interesting to hear him try to get into Lamar's head like that.
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corona
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:32 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
One more thing... we didn't get jumped on out of the gates like the last game giving up 39 points and a 10-point lead. The guys were focussed early.


gave up 39 points in the first quarter of game 1
gave up 38 points in the first half of game 2

outstanding.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:34 am    Post subject:

Sister Golden Hair wrote:

Nash can be bated into TOs as he has fallen in love with the cute pass. The lakers can probably get a few more TOs(by him) by feigning a collapse on him when he drives but in fact hanging back a bit to play the passing lanes on his kickouts.

Luke, in particular, seems to have studied Nash's favorite lob pass to Marion. Seems like he got his handson a couple tonite.

SGH


There was a key sequence in the last minute where Nash got past Smush and the Laker did just that, it looked like. They feigned like they were collapsing, Nash then went to pass, but we didn't collapse all the way. If he wanted to, he could have taken what looked like an uncontested shot in front of the rim, but he kicked it out to a three shooter and we were already recovering and got a miss.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:46 am    Post subject:

thanks, DB...
i had many doubts about the new plan... i was wrong... watching the way odom, kwame, luke play now, we can see how phil jackson did a very good work... they have much more confidence, and i have to look over many of the bad things i thought about lamar... now he's much more aggressive, much more able to exploit the mismatches he creates... i still think that we need some kobe special effort, one of these games... like every strategy, even this new strategy needs to create his own exceptions... but with a real pg, this team is not so far from excellence...
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 2:05 am    Post subject:

8750 - I'm guessing, but I think we might see Kobe attacking off the dribble a bit more once he gets to Staples...to see if he can get in the paint and get some of those home court whistles. Maybe in the second half of the games as we establish the post and get other guys going early in the first half. I picture it happening once the game tightens up and we need him to give us some spark. I think there will be a few stretches where he just takes over...but again, sticking with the plan of attacking the paint or working from the post.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 2:07 am    Post subject:

That was a wonderful team performance.

IMO Kobe Bryant had one of his finest perfomances of his career. The numbers do not say it all. This is a guy that has grown used to playing a certain way...which by and large resulted in a lot of wins...and a spot in the playoffs. Forget about this season, Bryant has played w/ a certain freedom over the past 3-4 years that I've pretty much grown to expect. Towards the end of PJ's last tenure, there was a sort of push/pull factor one could sense between what Phil wanted...and how Kobe wanted to play...I didn't think they were of like mind.

This season has been different, but considering Phil has encouraged Kobe to shoulder the offense to such a capacity that he's leading the league in scoring - I don't think anyone is shocked that Kobe has cooperated. The last couple games however, Jackson has asked Kobe to play completely different. There is a tremendous amount of discipline involved for a player of Kobe's talent to tone down his scoring in support of a gameplan that has largely been untested - And that was just the first step. It's one thing for a player to sacrifice their comfort zone for some form of a more immediate gratification - It's another for that player to sacrifice his comfort zone for a defeat...but retain the perspective to find victory within that defeat.

The Lakers lost on Sunday. In another time, Kobe wouldn't look beyond the fact that they lost - And proceed to say the hell w/ the discipline, and go full bore at the Suns defense so at the very least he could walk away from the arena knowing that his offensive stockpile was emptied on his opponent. Not this time. The loss did not obscure Bryant's perception regarding what the Lakers did right. He was able to buy into the fact that they weren't all that far from taking Phoenix down. Kobe could see that the alterations he needed to make were not of the dramatic variety. It would have been very easy to hear all the talk about being passive...and show up Wednesday w/ a typical performance heavy on the FGA's. That did not happen. Sometimes it's a lot easier to completely change an approach...rather than to accept your weakness within an established framework and fine tune it.

Fine tuning can be a frustrating process. Kobe Bryant did it seamlessly earlier tonight.

The framework remained....his work within the framework strengthened. The shots went down. More attempts were made inside the arch. He grabbed 10 rebounds...the first time he had boarded that well since January 9th...This included a superstar rebound late in the game...that board was all determination....all will to win...and it was vital in fending the Suns off....it was a special play...a refusal to lose....now theres a steal by Bird....MJ strips Malone...along those lines..but obviously on a different scale.

I'm not trying to say that Kobe has never played w/ discipline...he has...the 3 championship banners are proof of that....but IMO, doing it w/ guys like Kwame Brown, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic, etc etc....well, that takes it to another level. It's one thing to bring your game down while a primetime Shaquille O'Neal is going dropping 40-20's....it's another to do it when there is a question mark on the receiving end of each pass you make.

I particularly appreciate a performance like tonight - Because I see a ripple effect w/ this sort of play. Meaning, when Kobe goes otherworldly...81....62 in 3....swishing fadeaway 3's....yes it's unbelievable....and equally amazing if not more so on certain levels...but, a lot of times those kind of performances entail a hint of recklessness that though he can afford to have because he is an all world talent....his teammates cannot. It's like another language to them. What he is doing out there is so foreign to his teammates that all they can do is shake their heads and walk away in awe.

All that has it's place...but what I saw tonight was a realized version of what he started Sunday....and it was the kind of play guys could look at....understand...and consequently stand behind him in line and follow....the leader was playing a brand of basketball that needed no translation....it was heard by all his teammates....it was disciplined...it was smart....and for the most part, it trickled down to them. When the leader is playing smart, it generates direction and boundaries for all others to follow and abide by. It made me proud to see Kobe play in that manner....and equally proud to see his teammates expend effort trying to mirror that as best as they could.

If they can maintain the discipline...the series is theirs. What I saw tonight was a boa constrictor squeezing the life out of it's victim...there was an occasional pause...allowing for some breathing...but more constriction would follow....I hope what got the Lakers this win tonight does not get lost on the team as this series progresses.

Phil Jackson has provided the blueprint...and I'm incredibly impressed by his coaching thus far in the series. Whether LA ultimately wins or loses the series, the guy has guts...he's innovative...and he can get his players to buy into how he thinks the game should be played..and when. It's not easy taking players out of their comfort zones and succeeding w/ it....especially on the fly....and Jackson has done it.

A few side notes...LO is establishing himself as a big time playoff performer. He has brought his "A" game for the 2nd consecutive outing...both on the road....against not only a higher seeded team...but against an all-star opponent in Shawn Marion.

Props to Sasha for nailing the 3's in a hostile environment...now please start hitting them in the place where the fans cheer for you as well.

Walton is not getting embarrassed by the leagues most improved player...in fact, many would say Luke has outplayed him. Me included.

Kwame isn't letting the weight of the playoffs crush him. He is perservering, and that's a big deal IMO...many players...much more "reliable" players have been known to choke in the postseason...and if anyone has demons...it's him...but they aren't keeping him from being a positive force out there. Loved the blocks tonight.

I like Nash the scorer...the Suns are 8-8 when he scores over 25 a game. They are .730 in the rest of the games they have played w/ him in the lineup this season. It's generally a reflection of the rest of the team not stepping up. .500 vs. .730 .....I'll take my chances w/ the former.

The Suns are also 4-5 when Nash plays over 40 minutes a game. I liked seeing D'Antoni keep him out there...I like seeing Nash have to shoulder the load for his team....I prefer it over facing a 5 Sun attack....which can be extremely dangerous...and suoffocating.

Phoenix is 6-8 when Raja Bell fires up at least 15 attempts a game. I was watching them when he was putting points on the board...and though it was a boost for them at the time.... they just looked a little out of character as a team....it shows in their record w/ him playing like that.

Ok, that was more than a few side notes.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 2:10 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB, i still cant get the grin off my face after this one.
Im so proud of our guys they have had to deal with alot of doubters this year but one by one they are silencing them. Kobe especially was impressive with his restraint, i expected him to break the offence when the Suns were pulling close but he trusted his teammates and i think that gives them all a real boost. I can only remember Kobe forcing one shot and he seemed pretty angry at himself.
I'd like to see Kwame attack the boards more, especially on the offensive end. There is no reason he cant bully those tiny centers around and grab some O.R.'s.
I've been critical of Sasha on occasion this season but he grew some playoff stones tonight, i love how he got under Nash's skin to. Does anyone know what Kobe said to Nash in their confrontation? I dont think Nash likes Kobe much, he seemed to have alot of respect for him in the All Star Game but some of the comments he has made recently concerning #8 sound a bit spitefull. Kobe showed him whats what though with that huge throwdown, i havent seen Kobe sky like that for too long.
Great game and the best thing is that they are showing game 3 here on Saturday afternoon, so i'll finaly get to see the Lakers back in the playoffs instead of just listening.
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"The advice I get from Magic, Michael and those guys, that's always sacred," Bryant said. "That's going to the mountain top and talking to Buddha, know what I mean? That's privileged information."
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 2:19 am    Post subject:

Great post sean2023, i feel the same way about Kobe's performance but could never put it so eloquently.
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"The advice I get from Magic, Michael and those guys, that's always sacred," Bryant said. "That's going to the mountain top and talking to Buddha, know what I mean? That's privileged information."
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 2:26 am    Post subject:

Great post, Sean. The coaches are definitely doing a great job, keeping the players' focus. They called a timeout after JJ's quick, long perimeter jumper that led to a score the other way. They highlighted another shot like that at halftime and how the Suns turned it into points on the other end. They are keeping them on task.

You could see hints of it in that final regular season game against the Suns. Kobe passing up on a few shots he would normally let go...knowing if he misses, it could cost them the other way. It was tough for Kobe to make the total adjustment in the first playoff game, as we worked the post more than we ever have. He definitely integrated himself in the plan much better in this game. I think he's going to improve on his surgery in the next games.

He's already preaching the right thing to his teammates...that Phoenix is going to comeback even stronger in the next game. So, our young guys can't rest on their success, which has been a criticism of theirs...and young ballers in general.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 3:06 am    Post subject:

I'm happy we split the games in Phoenix - didn't expect better than that really. We eliminated the home-court advantage, and now that we play 3 of the last 5 at home with the series tied, I'd say we have a decent shot at stealing this series. But I don't expect Phoenix to go away without a fight - not by a damn's sight. They're gonna come out storming in Game 3, and we're gonna have to play even better basketball to win
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 3:14 am    Post subject:

LOL ... has ESPN taken down that ridiculous 8 question crap from their "experts"? The one where most of them said the Lakers could not possibly change their style of play and Kobe couldn't possibly get everyone involved again.

One of the best things about a Laker victory is the huge serving of crow the ESPN "experts" have to eat.

A little ketchup on the side BSPN?
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