SUNS -at- LAKERS -- 10/31 -- Thoughts and :-)) ratings
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:04 am    Post subject: SUNS -at- LAKERS -- 10/31 -- Thoughts and :-)) ratings

Lights Out... Roll the film. The Lakers opened the season on the ropes, down by 19 points early and with Kobe watching from behind the bench. They played big, they played small, and they killed the Suns in the paint. Led by Lamar Odom, dropping a huge career-high 34-point, 13-board game, and Andrew Bynum owning the post with 18 points and 9 boards, they pounded the Suns in a 114-106 victory.

Both LO and Drew collapsed the D time and time again. After a soft defensive first quarter, giving up 41 points, they buckled down. Maurice Evans and Jordan Farmar played some nice hustle minutes off the bench. The Lakers scored 66 points in the paint to the Suns 34. They also outscored the Suns on the break 25-20.

The Lakers will have to keep their energy high for tomorrow's game against the Warriors. Both Kobe and Phil will not be available. Bynum is listed day to day now with a sprained right foot. Great... He looked decent enough after the incident.

"I was kind of nervous a little bit out there in the beginning," Bynum said in the Press Enterprise, "but I kind settled in, realized that we played this team before and that I could be a beast down on the blocks because I've got a big size advantage against this team."


Odom -- -- LO tasted blood and attacked. He was ultra aggresssive at times and imposed his will on the game. Bottle that. Hell of a way to start the season. He scored a career-high-tying 34 points on 12-24 shooting to go with 13 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals in 43:38 of action. HE shot 3-4 from behind the arc and made all 7 FTs he attempted. He had his only missed three on his first attempt. Nice face up iso attack and he scored a left-handed runner. He forced a pull-up jumper and a hook and missed. He was whistled for an offensive foul trying to post up. He attacked the offensive zone with speed, got to his left and scored a layup. Soft rotation on D, he got caught for his second foul with 3 minutes left in the first quarter. He started to ramp up his aggressiveness in the second quarter. He attacked the lane, spun and drew FTs, he made both. Great iso on the right block against Thomas, taking him off the dribble to his left and scoring the And-1, he made the FT. He posted up on the left block, faked to the center, then spun to his left and hit a short jumphook. Poor transition D, not getting Marion who leaked out behind him for a layup. He rebounded a Smush miss, missed himself, then tapped it back in. He saw a little daylight coming off the pinch post and scored a layup easily around Marion. He was called for a charge mowing down a man along the baseline. He somehow missed an easy layup, point blank. He picked off a Nash pass in the lane, took it up court, drew contact and hit the And-1, he made the FT. Sensational pass, he attacked from the wing, pulled up and looked like he was about to swing back up to the top, instead he went behind his back to a cutting Evans for a short turnaround. LO then called his own number next time down, pulling up behind a Bynum pick and dropping the three ball. He got blocked twice in a row by Marion on attacks. Good help D playing as the C late in the third, he swatted a Barbosa And-1 attempt to save an easy score. Sweet And-1 finger roll over a help defender when Lamar aggressively attacked from the wing, he made the FT. With the offense stalled, he took the swing pass and knocked down a sideline three. Good hustle to contest a Marion breakout and we got the miss. Huge, huge three off a Bynum kickout with a couple minutes left and the Suns chipping away. He attacked to his right, drew the foul and nailed both FTs. A lot of action from LO, clearly the play of the game. You got to love his versatility, holding down a good chunk of minutes as the big man in small lineups.

Bynum -- -- He is an absolute handful for the Suns. Even with a healthy Amare, he'll still play too big for them. With Drew on the floor tonight, we made the Suns adjust to us instead of us adjusting to them. We couldn't do that with Kwame's post skills last season. Great first start from Bynum. He also played with a little emotion at times, and looks ahead of schedule with his development. A bigger test for him will be how well he can get his energy up tomorrow. He scored 18 points in just 24 minutes on 7-11 shooting, pulling down 9 boards and dishing 5 assists -- all career-high stats. He shot 4-5 from the line. He sealed his man well, ran the corner Tri sequence, took the entry and drew a foul on the first possession, he made both FTs. Great baseline bounce pass to Smush on his second touch for a layup. On his third touch, he took a post feed and quickly hit a jumphook from about 7 feet away, just beating the shotclock with some great recognition. He missed a FT jumper. He took the high entry pass, kept it high and drew FTs in a crowd, he made one. He picked up a touch foul under the hoop for his second foul of the half (lucky he didn't get T'd up for his reaction after the whistle). He trampled over Nash in transition who tried to draw the flop on him, he got the feed and scored an And-1 at the front of the rim, he made the FT. Another absolutely sensational bounce pass out of the mid post to a cutting Evans on the baseline for the layup (get used to seeing a lot of that). Nice job digging out a loose ball in the lane, but he missed the short jumper at the end of the first half. Good contest on Nash who pulled up in the lane to attempt a jumper. With the offense stalled, LO dumped the ball into Bynum and he hit an 8-foot hook on the baseline. He muscled up a shot peaking at the shotclock before the buzzer, he hit the rim, kept after it and banked in his rebound. Good look from up top, spotting Luke coming from the weakside to get post position and it resulted in a layup off a non-typical Tri sequence. He man-handled Amare in the low post on the next possession, bodying him up, sealing him and powering up a layup while attacking to his left. He outfought the Suns under the rim for a missed shot by LO, rose up and hit a short hook. He contested a Nash drive well, sending him to the floor on a miss. He was collapsing the Suns D badly late in the fourth, getting them to double and scramble, he found LO on a kickout for a big three. Clutch jumper with a minute left and the offense stalled, he took the entry pass, turned and knocked down the 10 footer. Great, great game. Did I mention, that was in just 24 minutes? Let's see how he fights through the second game tomorrow.

Smush -- -- He settled in defensively and had some decent moments out there. Smush led all Lakers with 7 assists with just 2 turnovers. He scored 9 points on 2-4 shooting (a poor 4-8 from the line). And, he pulled down 6 boards and had 3 steals in 36 minutes. Good numbers from Smush. He scored a layup off a strong baseline Tri cut and bounce pass from Bynum. He stepped in to take a charge on Thomas. Nice box out on Diaw helping out underneath when Nash kicked it out and he drew Diaw's third foul of the first half. Great spin to lose his man and then he drew a hard foul from Bell, he missed both FTs, though. He drew FTs, bricked the first badly hitting some glass first, he made the second. Aggressive attack on Nash and he drew the FTs, he made both. He attacked off the dribble, drawing a foul on a layup attempt, he made one FT. Horrible possession, not running the offense, getting caught in the air early in the shotclock and forcing up a brick that resulted in a layup at the other end late in the game. Big three off a kickout from Bynum after the series of Laker miscues.

Sasha -- -- Sasha got the start but was the weak link in the game tonight. He even got benched late in the game for Farmar. He didn't score on 4 attempts (all threes). He had 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 turnovers in 25 minutes. Soft minutes on both ends. He missed along three on his first attempt. He lost the dribble trying to create. He missed a quick three in transition, that nearly resulted in a layup the other way (no need for those shots against the Suns). He hit Vlad on the break with a bounce pass for a layup. He missed a wing three. He got torched by Barbosa on a spin move for a layup. He dropped a Radmanovic post feed out of bounds, would have been a layup off a nice cut. Sasha seemed to be an anti-spark when he came in the game in the second half, so Phil sent him back to the pine for Farmar who had just sat a minute earlier.

Walton -- -- Decent effort from Luke. He scored 11 points on 5-8 shooting (1-1 from three), grabbed just 2 boards and dished 3 assists with 3 turnovers in 29 minutes. He swished a three from the sideline on his first attempt. He scored a layup off a Tri cut. Raja flopped and drew an offensive foul on Luke posting up. Wild pass in the lane for a turnover. Bad entry pass that was taken the other way for a layup. He missed a jumper in the lane. Then, he turned it up a bit. He spun on Diaw in transition and hit a short hook with his left. He posted up Marion his next time down, turned into the lane and scored easily. He scored another layup, posting up his man and hitting in some traffic. Later, he blew a reverse layup, but hustled back on D and tipped a ball that Barbosa fumbled out of bounds.

Radmanovic -- -- Man, he is so far removed from his game it's actually a bit interesting. Gone is the spot up shooter who can drain threes with ease. He has to scrap for everything. He's passing up shots, looking to see if he can get in close for scores and he's looking for the extra pass. He scored 8 points on 4-7 shooting (no three attempts, which probably illustrates the change in his game more than anything). He had 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 block and 4 fouls in 20 minutes. He came in late in the first quarter and airballed an open jumper at the first quarter buzzer. He passed up the jumper in the lane, and traveled trying to get the layup. He busted out on the break and rode in a layup. He flashed to the post, took the entry and somehow muscled in a hook with his off hand. He fought for an offensive board, drew FTs, he missed both (another sign of his injury issues). Sweet little touch pass in transition to Evans for a layup. He posted up and bricked, struggling badly with his shot. He squared up shortly later off the pinch post and drained the 18-footer. He was called for a backcourt foul trying too hard to trap Banks. He flashed from the weakside into the low post, got the feed, turned and banked in a right hander. Decent minutes, trying not to be a liability as a shooter with the hand sprain.

Evans -- -- His hustle off the bench caused the Suns a lot of problems. He had some moments where he's not in the flow of the offense or not making some reads, but that will improve. Last year, we absolutely could not survive with Kobe on the bench. We will struggle without Kobe, of course, but having a guy like Evans who can give you a little something more than Sasha, George, McKie and Profit could helps a lot. He scored 17 points on 8-13 shooting, had 4 boards and 3 steals in an active, energy-filled 29 minutes. He busted out on the break and rode in a layup with Amare on his heels. He knocked down a wing jumper, off the pinch post. Nice weakside cut to take a pass and draw a foul on Amare, he made one FT. He scored a layup in transition off a quick interior feed from Vlad. He scored a layup off a strong baseline cut as Bynum found him threading the needle with the bounce pass. He was ticked he didn't get a whistle at the end of the first half after grabbing a board and trying to score a putback. He started the second half in place of Sasha. He swished a pull-up 14-footer in transition. He missed a pull-up J when the offense stalled. Great strip on help D, reaching into the post man and swiping the ball. Solid movement without the ball, cutting from the weakside and Lamar spotted him for the short turnaround in semi-transition. Bad Tri recognition by Evans, with Luke being fronted in the post strongside, Evans needs to flash from the weakside to set up a high-low pass, Farmar then tried to hit him and Evans fumbled it away (head not in the game on that sequence). Great crash on the next sequence, gobbling up a Vlad miss and powering in a layup. Horrible soft entry pass for a turnover, but good hustle back to get a missed shot. Big baseline jumper standing on the three line with under 4 minutes left. Bad sequence, missing back to back jumpers (one when we had a mismatch elsewhere). He missed a big three. Good job by Mo. You clearly wanted him on the floor in this game and could notice when he wasn't out there.

Cook -- -- Our microwave chipped in with 9 points on 4-7 shooting in 15 minutes. Some pretty solid moments at times from Cook on both ends. He faced up and swished a 15-footer off the high post. He knocked down a quick wing three off a feed from Farmar. Cruddy entry pass, not high enough over the fronting defender for a turnover. He stole a ball back from Banks after he had picked a Farmar pass. He attacked in transition, spun and banked a short turnaround over a couple defenders. He rocketed a brick off the glass in the lane. He picked up a weak moving pick call trying to set a back screen. He took the mid post feed, made an inside pivot and then hit the 12-footer. He switched out on Nash and managed to keep Nash to a jumper, contesting it well and we got the miss.

Farmar -- -- Earning trust and minutes from Phil. It will be interesting to see what happens to the active roster when Kwame and Mihm get healthy. Farmar has to continue to give that spark off the bench while he's got the opportunity. He did decent enough in his first NBA game, providing some solid two-way play at times, but also had an occasional miscue. He finished with 6 points on 3-3 shooting, 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 foul and 2 turnovers in 14 minutes. He started the second quarter. He quickly found Cook on the wing for a three. (They needed to work their two-man action more in this game, but didn't). He came in late in third quarter and quickly hit a running hook layup over the bigger Diaw on a cut down the lane (his first official NBA basket). On the next possession, he passed up the jumper, attacked a seam from the wing and scored a floater layup. He sagged off Banks, playing under screens trying to test Banks shot and Banks hit a couple of jumpers. He scored an easy layup to start the fourth, off our high back screen sequence (usually a lob play but the pass was low and Jordan was wide open). Great, great double team when the Suns tried to run a sideline screen-roll, LO switched on Farmar's man and Farmar trapped Banks on the baseline to force a turnover and a foul by Banks. He drew an offensive foul in the backcourt on Banks, denying him the ball and getting the push off call. Phil sent Sasha back to the bench after giving Jordan a very short rest. Nice contest on a Nash jumper in the lane, getting a miss. Bad sequence, he had to call a timeout when he picked up his dribble and the offense had stalled early in the set, out of the timeout he got called for a shotclock violation not getting the shot off in time while trying to work the two-man game. LO led the Lakers with a +14, but Farmar was right behind with a +13.

Turiaf -- 8) -- The Lakers went either big with Bynum or small with Odom or Cook at the C for long stretches. Ronny's action was limited to just 3:24, during which he managed to score 2 points and dish an assist. Great interior feed to LO for a layup. He got swatted under the hoop by Amare. He posted up Thomas and hit a turnaround, asking for the foul.

Phil -- -- Back on the bench, he orchestrated a great game after the team got shelled early... Phil started Bynum, Lamar, Walton, Sasha and Smush. The Suns started off 9-9, getting some good looks, and the Lakers trailed big, 41-26 after the first quarter... The Lakers were down by as much as 19 points, then cut the lead to 4 midway through the second quarter, when they only gave up 5 points to the Suns in that half of the quarter. The Lakers bricked 5 straight FTs that could have brought them even... The Lakers went into halftime trailing 58-53, after tightening things up a little on the D end in the second quarter... The Lakers shot 9-16 from the freethrow line in the first half. Phoenix shot 58 percent to the Lakers 51 percent. The Lakers beat the Suns on the break 16-14 in the first half... The Lakers took the lead, 59-58, a minute into the half. The stretched it to six, 79-73, on an LO three that made the Suns call timeout... Gradually, they pulled out to a double digit lead and held it steady. The Suns started to chip away a little late in the game, but the Lakers got big plays on both ends... The Lakers ended up outshooting the Suns 55.4 percent to 51.9 percent. Barbosa got off for 30 points with our only answer to that in street clothes right now... The team held the threes to just 12, making 6. Good job there not allowing for long misses and quick strikes the other way... Our transition D at times was a bit sloppy as the Suns caught us sleeping, but they tightened it up... Great comeback effort. Phil from the Times: "Certainly I'm surprised. You don't know what to expect. These [younger] players don't have any history as far as NBA games. Lamar, who does have a penchant for scoring, took the load on for himself and played outside the normal role he normally plays and became a scorer."... Phil won't travel for the game tomorrow...
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:09 am    Post subject:


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Siguy
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:18 am    Post subject:

God I love that stupid smiley face.

Nothing quite like a laker game recap with that ) on top. Here's hoping we see many more of them (sort of LG's very own victory cigar).
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koolruningz
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:18 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. What a way to start the season.
I missed the 2nd and 3rd quarters on the radio (i had to take my eldest son to hoop practice) but i caught the end of the 4th and couldnt believe what i was hearing.
Lamar, what can you say about that performance? He just seems so much more confident and focused these days. Bynum is really making strides after an average SPL, now he is getting game time to learn what works and what doesnt and you can just see the confidence flowing through him.
I cant fully express how happy it made me to beat the Suns, especially being so riddled with injuries. They seem to have an arrogance that they reserve especially for the Lakers and it feels great to have sent them packing.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:29 am    Post subject: Re: SUNS -at- LAKERS -- 10/31 -- Thoughts and :-)) ratings

DancingBarry wrote:
Bynum -- Drew on the floor tonight, we made the Suns adjust to us instead of us adjusting to them. We couldn't do that with Kwame's post skills last season.
I think that having the ability and talent to have teams adjust to us, instead of vice-versa, is very exciting. Bynum's talent and skills is the key factor in this ability. The question will be on teaching Bynum to be consistent under the tutulege of the great Kareem (good job!!)

This team has a chance to do some serious damage because of Phil's ability to mesh this team. Others (i.e. Clippers, etc.) might have more talent, but P&G has the coaching/leadership (Phil, Cleamons, Rambis, BShaw, Kareem, etc.) to have an excellent basketball team.

btw: Great Analysis (as always) - DB!
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:36 am    Post subject:

great work DB!!!

in the first quarter, I kept watching Nash slide by smush and eating our D alive.

however, as the game went on, especially following nash's first break, the game changed.

farmar kept banks from driving in; and marcus settle for outside Js (which he'd made...... a new wrinkle to his game).

I was excited to see amare; his first substitution in, he played VERY well.

however, I had a strong feeling that Amare would peter out on his second rotation in........ and unfortunately, my impressions were indeed correct.

wow, it's painful to watch amare.

also, farmar put the "phil" misconception to rest (at least temporarily), i.e.

jeremysnow wrote:

GameFlow - October 31 - Game 1
.........misconception: "......Phil Jackson rarely plays rookies..."
reality: phil does play rookies who earn minutes......(long commentary)
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Siguy
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:46 am    Post subject:

I loved seeing Nash lying on the sidelines, staring all unhappy as his team blew their lead.

Every time he came into the game he drove us crazy, but I think this demonstrates an important weakness for their team. The guy just can't play 40 minutes a game every night, so if you can kick ass like we did tonight, they only get a little bit of Nash at the end of the night to mount a comeback.

As soon as he came in in the fourth we started to slip, but we'd built up such a nice lead and so demoralized the rest of their team that he had to try to start jacking up his own shots out of rhythm and out of offense.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:14 am    Post subject:

Our frontcourt played well today. As for our backcourt, hope they can continue to improve during the season.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:29 am    Post subject:

Yeaaaaaaaaaah Lakers!

The season started off on a great note. I didn't care much for Pre-Season and couldn't get into the games, but tonight really revived things and I'm so damn excited for this team.

Bynum is the man. If he keeps this up, I see Mihm as the backup center rather than Andrew.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:54 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Good job as usual.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:55 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB and GOOO LAKERSSSS
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:08 am    Post subject:

I REALLY liked what I saw out of Bynum in the first quarter. Reminded me of the Shaq days where the first 3-5 possesions went to Shaq to establish the low post game and colapse the defense. He was agressive in fighting for position and going to the rim. Just what I wanted to see. Still gets out of position at time on defense but you have to take the bad with the good so we will have to deal with it.

The Lakers schedule for the first month is very "home game" loaded so I think this will also help Drew get more comfortable playing in regular games. Also, I think (let the screams start now) that it is good that Kobe sits for Drew's first couple of games so Drew does not get into the "stand around and watch Kobe play" habit some players get in to. I want Drew to establish himself and he is more likely to do that without Kobe on the floor. [/b]
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:22 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. A perfect recap to a perfect day. The thing that impressed me, aside from LO's aggressive game & Bynum's composure on both ends, was how the bench managed to produce 42 pts. against a relatively deep bench as the Suns, w/c I think helped us keep ourselves in the game. It gives me a comfortable feeling whenever the bench proves capable of producing when called upon. I hope Mo & the rest of the bench mob could keep this up. Radman's obviously playing w/ discomfort but he's trying to help the team in other ways aside from his usual strength. Hope they'll find the consistency & health this season.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:27 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Awesome game.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:16 am    Post subject:

Thanks for the recap DB.

I can't say enough about this game! The Lakers KICKED THEIR BUTTS! There was no submitting to their style of play. The Lakers outplayed the Suns. Plain and simple. I think we exposed a lot of their weaknesses and now - oh, what a rivalry this could be! Drew rocked. L.O. rocked. Great hustle and play from Mo Evans. Good contributions from Farmar and even Smush settled in and played a good game. He typically looks bad against the Suns. This team can only get better with time and of course, when Kobe comes back they will be better than everyone thinks.

Somebody above said they loved seeing Nash on the sidelines while his team was losing. I'm right there with ya buddy.

This was a great start to hopefully just a great season!!!
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:22 am    Post subject:

Great job as always, DB. Our role players stepped up and played well. I was impressed with Bynum's passing from the post. It was nice to see LO so aggressive. I hope he keeps that up when Kobe returns.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:39 am    Post subject:

thanks DB. Lamar was agressive and Bynum played strong!! here's hoping they keep that up
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:51 am    Post subject:

Thanks as always
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:58 am    Post subject:

How long will it take for all the analysts writing our team off to admit that these guys are going to be a top tier team this season?

How sweet is it to see our young guys (without our superstar and another one of our starters) take the team that is projected to win it all this year to school?

How sweet was it to see Snaq's team get walloped?

Enquiring minds want to know.


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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 6:13 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB. Fantastic job as usual

A couple of things that stuck out to me:

1. Too many people were worried about Lamar during the preseason, but today he showed that he was just sorta running through the motions during the preseason. WHEN HE WANTS TO, he is clearly a great, great versatile player, with a wide range of moves that are very difficult to stop. You can get a sense that he all of a sudden became incredibly aggressive and ready to play.

2. Bynum had 18 pts, 9 boards, 5 assists in ONLY 24 minutes??? What is he going to be like when he gets stronger and his conditioning gets better to the point where he can play a full game? Scary.

3. Radman had a strange game, but I loved his effort. I enjoyed the way he fought hard and scrapped for points. You almost feel sorry for the guy, that he has to resort to shooting left-handed shots. Hopefully, he can get healthy and become the legitimate outside threat that we've needed for years..
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:08 am    Post subject:

I would sit Bynum out today as a precaution. We have Turiaf who can keep the energy going and Bynum didn't play too good in the summer league on back to back anyway
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:15 am    Post subject:

My only concern after this game is: consistent energy. Our players cannot bring it like this every game, so they must learn to store it and portion it out. Or have someone different be a sparkplug every game.

But the level of athleticism and talent has me stoked, as this may mean Kobe will be able to rest more, keeping him fresh for the playoff run and playoffs.

I am also curious to see how Bynum does in the next few games. How is his conditioning, and will he be able to dominate the Warriors and Sonics who have their own center issues?
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:17 am    Post subject:

By the way, I loved seeing Radman do other things besides spot up and shoot. I am sure the Lakers knew he could do more, but it seems the media (and even some here at LG) thought that was all he could do. Perhaps the hand injury is a blessing in disguise, as it lets him work on other aspects of his game more. When his hand heals, he will have both the outside shot and other facets available to him.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:49 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

Bynum might have played more than 24 minutes had it not been for an ankle sprain. It was clear he was causing trouble for the Suns defenders.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:52 am    Post subject: Re: SUNS -at- LAKERS -- 10/31 -- Thoughts and :-)) ratings

DancingBarry wrote:
Both LO and Drew collapsed the D time and time again.


That was the key, and the most impressive part of the game to me.

I knew the Suns wouldn't continue their 77% shooting from the 1st quarter, but the Lakers remained composed and put the clamps on them.

And I think Brian Cook should be included in part of that post defensive effort. The combined defensive effort was beyond all expectation, and very gratifying.

Andrew is progressing by leaps and bounds, on both ends of the court. I know people will overreact when he has rough spots, and there will be rough spots, but this game gave glimpses of what he is capable of.

I would like to give Lamar some extra respect. After a very, very, very hard offseason, he stepped up big to lead this team. I will never forget that.

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