PISTONS -at- LAKERS - 11/10 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 12:42 am    Post subject: PISTONS -at- LAKERS - 11/10 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings

24/7 Ugly... At times, we saw both a passive Kobe and a passive Lamar. The offense went stagnant and the Pistons rolled. Both tried to step up in the fourth quarter, but by that time we were buried, losing 97-83.

Lamar and Kobe had a combined 8 points with about 1 minutes left in the third. They scored a combined 27 points in the last 13 minutes. Tayshuan Prince scored a career-high 31 points. The zone D, again, caused the Lakers problems (which were made worse with Kobe and Lamar playing passive). They need to get in the gym and run through the various counters for the zone until they know how to switch gears when confronted with that. Right now, they are easily stumped when a team changes up on us.

"That was as bad a performance as I think we ve had here for some time," Phil said afterwards.

I keep mentioning "surviving". They've got to keep doing that until they can get Kobe back to full speed and Kwame on the floor. Not sure whether Vlad will get healthy or not. That is a setback. The team had another setback with Chris Mihm's health and potential tradeability. He will go under the knife again on Monday and appears to be done for the season.


Kobe -- -- For three quarters, Kobe was essentially a third-string player out there. He was passive, played weak D and was largely ineffective. I have to assume he was trying to let others get going, but we can't afford for him to play like that. In the fourth quarter, you saw him as his aggressive self and we looked more like a team that could compete. He scored 17 of his 19 points in that quarter. We will have to continue to weather the storm until he gets back into his game. Kobe scored his 19 points on 5-11 shooting, grabbed 3 boards, dished 2 assists with 3 turnovers and had 4 steals. Bad turnover early, he got caught in the air and tried to throw it to a trailing cutter, who was Bynum trying to get into the post and the ball went out of bounds. He stole a couple of balls and pushed out the break. He blew a pass, trying to go around the back on the breakaway (Phil was noticeably upset on that one). He scored a layup, trailing the break. He had 2 points on 1-3 shooting in the first half. He got tapped on a three to start the second half. He fell to the floor when Prince put a move on him. Back in midway through the fourth and he swished a short baseline jumper. He split the double team at the wing and hit an And-1 runner. He drained a wing three over his man. He attacked the lane, got mugged and drew FTs, making both. He stole a pass and drew a clear path foul, he made both FTs, but missed a three on the possession. He attacked the offensive zone with speed again and drew FTs. He attacked, spun to the corner and swished a tough turnaround over two defenders. He attacked, drew more FTs. "I'm OK coast-to-coast, just can't go into that sixth gear," Kobe said. "Just not strong enough yet. It's extremely frustrating. The most challenging thing for me now is to change directions."

Odom -- -- Lamar got tossed late in this game, both techs would have been ignored last season. Lamar scored 16 points on 6-14 shooting, pulled down a team-high 8 boards and dished a team-high 7 assists with 4 turnovers. He attacked to his left, spun on Sheed and banked in a layup. He took a loose ball, pushed it out and drew Sheed's second foul only a minute and a half into the game, Lamar made both FTs. He took a pass from Smush and quickly whipped it to Luke under the hoop for a layup. Poor D on Sheed and he gave up a layup in the post. Poor play in the zone, he had Walton in the middle of the lane for a pass and opted to continue the swing passes. He backed down Prince easily and hit a jumphook over him. He hit back to back threes to end the third quarter (the second one was an odd 30-footer with about 8 seconds left on the clock). Lamar started attacking in the fourth, he drove, got hit on the wrist and picked up a tech when he got no call. He attacked from the top of the key, blew by his man and scored a layup. He attacked again and kicked to Vlad for a three. He attacked off a nice set up from Farmar in the middle of the lane and Lamar scored a layup. Lamar fouled twice on the perimeter, then drew his second tech and was ejected with a couple minutes left.

Smush -- -- Other than a couple of charges he was able to draw on the defensive end, Smush played some poor ball. He led the Lakers with a -22. You could see a noticeable difference in the off the ball movement and offensive execution when Farmar entered the game. So, Phil allowed the rookie to close out the game when we were making a run in the fourth. Smush finished with 5 points on 2-7 shooting (1-4 from three), with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and three turnovers in 26 minutes. Nice reach to help on Kobe's man and cause a turnover. He airballed a corner three. He took a charge on a breakaway to get a stop. He swished a wing three on a kickout. He missed two more threes and a layup attempt on the break. Horrible outlet pass that went out of bounds (Phil quickly called for Farmar after that). Bad decision trying to dribble the ball against a back court triple team, it resulted in a turnover and layup. He banked in a 15-footer from the wing. Nice D in transition, stepping in front of Prince and taking a charge on the pass off. He attacked the lane and turned it over.

Bynum -- -- He had a few stretches where he looked to be lagging behind the offense when getting up and down the floor. But Phil said after the game that he mostly limited Bynum and Turiaf's game to get some midrange shooting in there (Cook). Andrew played 19 minutes and scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting, he pulled down 2 boards, dished 2 assists and had 1 block. He had some sloppy moments in the post handling the ball when the D collapsed, but he also had a couple of nice passes. Really, the offense seemed to do a poor job moving off of Bynum when he had the ball on a few sequences. He lost his first post touch on a strip. The next entry was poked away. The third time, he worked across the lane and hit a pretty bank from about 8 feet away. He posted up, banged Nazr off the dribble and banked in a jumphook off the right block (that was one of Shaq's pet moves). Good challenge on a jumper by Nazr, forcing a brick. Nice contest under the hoop to force a miss. He swatted a shot in the lane, then tipped out the rebound. He took a pass in the middle of the lane, turned and hit the 8-foot jumper. Good D on Nazr, forcing a miss in the post, then getting an over the back call on him. We will certainly pay the price short term for the injuries to our bigmen. But longterm, these are very valuable minutes for Drew and the growth of this team. Prior to this game, Bynum ranked No. 8 in the NBA in Free Throw Attempts Per 48 Minutes (12.09); No. 4 in Efficiency Ranking Per 48 Minutes; No. 7 in the NBA in Defensive Rebounds Per 48 Minutes (12.5).

Walton -- -- Okay game from Luke. I'm not sure whether anyone would have been able to challenge Prince tonight with the way he got it going. Luke and just about anyone else (Vlad, Kobe, etc.) was getting toasted. Luke scored 11 points on 5-12 shooting, had 5 boards, 4 assists and 1 steal. He should have had a few more points, but missed some easy ones. He attacked Sheed off the dribble and drew a foul, unfortunately he back-rimmed both FTs (he was 1-4 from the line in the game). He scored on back-to-back breakaways. He scored a third hoop on the break when Lamar hit him with a quick pass and Luke finished the layup while still in air. He sank a 12-foot fade from the wing. He had to force up a long three against the shotclock and missed. He got fouled on a baseline dunk attempt for FTs, he made one. He bricked a baseline jumper. He choked a layup off a great feed by Bynum in the lane. He missed another open jumper. Good anticipation in transition D to steal a pass and stop a breakaway. He got into the middle of the lane, turned and banked easily over the help defender.

Radmanovic -- -- He tipped an offensive board to Evans, who was then fouled under the hoop. He swished a wing three on a kickout from Lamar. He let McDyess throwdown a putback jam, not boxing out. He scored just 3 points on a poor 1-5 shooting, grabbed 4 boards and had 3 fouls in 16 minutes. Between trying to pick up the offense and fighting his injury (which has forced him to alter his shot), he's struggling to get his game in gear.

Turiaf -- -- Our other two young guys -- Farmar and Bynum -- got quality clock tonight, but Turiaf did not. He played just 6 minutes and scored 2 points. He faced up at the FT line, attacked to his right and scored off the glass for his only points.

Evans -- -- He got to go up against his old team, but didn't quite get the results he was hoping for, despite playing 21 minutes. He shot just 1-4 for 2 points, grabbed 2 boards and had 1 assist in that time. Evans has had to guard a number of PGs for us so far this season, he had more of the same tonight. He attacked the lane and scored an And-1 finger roll, he missed the FT. He was fouled under the hoop and bricked both FTs. He was 0-3 from the line.

Cook -- -- Back in at the C spot, we fell behind again (Cook had the only negative +/- for the bench tonight with a -17). Most of Cook's minutes have been as a center this season. I was hoping that the addition of Kwame back in the lineup would limit that. We'll have to wait. Cook scored 10 points on 5-11 shooting in 19 minutes. He grabbed 5 boards, unfortunately only 1 of those was on the defensive end. He hit a wing jumper and tipped in a miss at the front of the rim. Phil went to Cook in the middle of the third when our offense went completely stagnant. Cook quickly hit a baseline jumper off an inbounds. He tipped in another miss by Lamar. He banked in another short jumper.

Farmar -- -- Good game from Farmar. He and Evans led the Lakers with a +8 and +9, respectively. He still looks like he is throttling things back a bit, trying to play it safe on the offensive end at times. He got some good run, going 21 minutes during which he scored 9 points on 4-8 shooting and dished 5 assists without a turnover. Nice attack in transition, he got into the lane, spun and hit a short 8-foot jumper. He swished a wing three quickly in an offensive set. He hit Cook for an open wing jumper. He passed up on a three, stepped in and swished the 17-footer as soon as he came in off the bench. He attacked the zone and kicked it out to Lamar for a three. He got into the middle of the lane, then kicked it behind him to a cutting Lamar for a layup. He attacked, kicked it out, got it back, missed a three, got the ball back under the hoop and scored a layup. He did a much better job getting into the zone than Smush tonight.

Phil -- -- Poor Phil nearly fell out of his chair when Smush threw a horrible outlet pass. The assistant coaches definitely got an assist in helping him steady himself back in his chair. And, Phil quickly gave Smush the hook... Phil called a quick timeout right at the start of the second quarter when the offensive execution broke down on the first possession... When the Pistons went to the zone, we showed our lack of skills once more and fell behind. No one attacked. We settled for running down the clock by swinging the ball around the perimeter. Usually, he can get some offensive boards against the zone, too. But, we would go one and out... Meanwhile, we gave up 15 offensive boards to the Pistons... Phil went to more of Cook in this game trying to get a shooter on the floor. That took away from both Ronny and Bynum's minutes. If you are looking for an offensive switch, I thought Shammond might have been a useful addition in this game as the Pistons really looked more like a Euro team with how they were defending and playing. But Farmar stepped up to the challenge and played solid and put Smush on the bench in the fourth... Phil went with a Lamar, Luke, Kobe, Evans, Farmar lineup for a chunk of the fourth and they chipped away at the lead a bit... Phil on Kobe: "Day to day, it'll be different," he said in the Times. "We're not going to panic about something like this right now."... The Lakers have just one game between now and next Friday. Hopefully, that time off will help...
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Hydro21
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 1:16 am    Post subject:

phil needs to let bynum play and cut his crap... when ever he takes out bynum and turiaf teams kill us in the paint on the boards.19 minutes isnt getting it dne for bynum he should be up 30 minutes a game easily by now.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 1:18 am    Post subject:

DB, do you think we should be a little concerned now about kobe's health? I know he looked unstoppable in the 4th. But it's a myth that he refused to assert himself before it became too late. It is not something kobe does very often. Was he trying to let his teammates to figure it out themselves?Or was he not feeling physically comfortable enough to attack at all? Then when it became desperate, He forced himself to do his magic? It reminds me what Tex Winter said last week. Tex said he's concerned that kobe would be forced to assert himself when his teammates fail to carry the load. He's afraid if kobe forces it when he's not 100%, he might get re-injured.

The other concern is our bench production. Vlad is not very effective with the second unit right now. Should we consider start him and move Luke to the bench? This way Vlad can spread the floor for kobe and Lamar and Luke can help stablize the second unit?
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angrypuppy
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 1:22 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

It was disheartening to see the Pistons collapse on Bynum, while his teammates stood around flat-footed. The overall apathy was reminiscent of some of the performances after Rudy T quit.

Quick question: Cook at center is the equivalent of throwing in the towel. Is Phil limiting Bynum's minutes to keep him sharp and confident? Though we needed shooting (or any kind of scoring), I doubt Cook could ever really get going against the Piston defense.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 1:37 am    Post subject:

kobester - I'm concerned about his health only in that it's going to cost us some games until he gets back to himself. I do think he can play much better than he did in the first three quarters. That was the worse stretch he's had since he's returned. At least before, he was attacking and setting people up. This was more akin to Swing Pass Kobe, who is very ineffective.

I'd like to see Vlad in there working off of Bynum/Kobe a bit more. Doesn't mean he has to start, but I think that might help him a little. Still, the injury is going to be an issue for Vlad.

The second unit had been suffering lately. Hopefully, Kwame will have a ripple effect. Allowing us some better combinations (no Cook at C!). Even a little Bynum/Kwame or Bynum/Turiaf minutes. Certainly, Luke and Farmar have had some nice second unit moments. It might also be better to let LO be uber aggressive in more second-unit minutes when Kobe is resting and Kobe to be a little more aggressive when LO isn't out there.
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kups
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 1:42 am    Post subject:

DB, I admire your diligence in putting out a well thought out recap for such an ugly game. 2 things stuck out to me in the offense: stagnant & predictable. I'm sure this young team will bounce back & learn from this.

Thanks for the recap DB!
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 1:52 am    Post subject:

angrypuppy wrote:

Quick question: Cook at center is the equivalent of throwing in the towel. Is Phil limiting Bynum's minutes to keep him sharp and confident? Though we needed shooting (or any kind of scoring), I doubt Cook could ever really get going against the Piston defense.


If he's going to limit Bynum's minutes, why not a little more Turiaf? I think a Cook/Turiaf combo would have been much better tonight. He needed Cook's shooting to help jumpstart the offense...but Turiaf's aggressive board crashing against a zone D probably would have been effective, as well. That combo might have done a little damage tonight...and Turiaf could have anchored the D much better than Cook can on a dream day.

You do have to watch Bynum's stints. Anything longer than 8 or 9 minutes and he starts to drag a little. But you can always bring him back in after a blow. And, yes, we really do have some piss poor minutes with guys playing with Bynum...either they don't feed the post, just trot on their cuts or stand around when he's doubled sometimes. Uggh. Hopefully, that will all improve. (And Bynum will improve, too, in multiple areas).
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 3:49 am    Post subject:

Great read!

Some points for discussion and questions

** The Pistons are still a very good team (though recently having problems) that plays very good defense that is just a notch below last season. As a result, they are able to exert high-level pressure that the team has not seen. Question is, is this a legimate excuse that the Lakers didn't appear to give 100% effort

** The Lakers are a very young team - age-wise, along with being together. Hopefully this was an opportunity to observe which players can perform during crunch time. Obviously this doesn't include Mr. Smush Parker. What did the Lakers need to have learn to continue their process of growing into a playoff-bound team?

** How would one deal with this being pre-season for Kobe without losing the progress the other players were having w/o Kobe? With seeing his knee buckle and numerous times showing definitive signs that he still having problems with his knee - what does the team need to do to survive?

** Would having Kwame providing strong resistence to Rasheed effectiveness in the paint changed the course of this game?
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 3:55 am    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:
What did the Lakers need to have learn to continue their process of growing into a playoff-bound team?


Dude are you serious? we're already a playoff team...
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:45 am    Post subject:

I'm very serious when I say that we need Kwame.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 6:47 am    Post subject:

First of all, thanks for the update. Great as always.

Second, I was embaressed by this game. Everyone, to include Kobe, was just standing around on offense and defense. Sloppy passes and little energy / effort on the boards. I didn't see Kobe or Odom light into anyone for their poor performance. Kobe is obviously saving himself for the 4th quarter due to his injury and lack of conditioning. Someone else needs to step up early in the game (Hello......Lamar?).

Third, as many have stated, AB did well for the first couple of game because no one was ready for him. Well Detriot was ready. They doubled AB quickly and since no one was moving without the ball, he didn't have anyone to pass to. Also, it exposed the weakness we have all seen since he came in to the league of bringing the ball down low once he gets it in the post. Allows strips. IMO AB does OK when he goes one on one but is not ready (mentally or skills wise) to handle double teams. Cap and team need to work on this.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 7:02 am    Post subject:

What an ugly game by the Lakers!
I was able to witness this horrific performance per TVU player (4:30 a.m. - 7:10 local time :roll: ).

A couple of points that stood out to me:

1) The team wasn't prepared to play against a zone defense - even though Portland did the same with quite some success. Timeouts and the halftime break didn't seem to render any upgrade of the execution. What about in-game adjustments? Probably too much to ask for, since Phil seems to have made the "let them figure it out" approach a trademark of his.

2) This game was another example of how bad offensive rhythm and finishing leads to bad defense with this team. They seem to be expending all energy - physical and mental - on tri execution. As a result, the Lakers ignore defensive principles like boxing out, help defense and rotation.

3) When does this team finally stop running? And who came up with the idea of fastbreaking anyway? They average around 20 turnovers, many of them in transition. Ballhandling really isn't a strenght of this team, IMHO. So stop it already.

4) Despite this horrendous play, the game got semi-close in the 4th quarter. Popcorn's GameFlow shows a 14-2 run in the 4th, after which the Pistons were up by "just" 11. The Lakers had an opportunity to cut the lead to single digits on one possession with quite some time left - I think Kobe missed a forced three. Maybe this was one lesson this young team learned: There are always opportunities to come back in the Game. Don't let yourselves down.

5) Despite the great development of Farmar, Turiaf and Bynum; the Lakers are lacking some individual quality due to injury. That leaves them with a significant downgrade in penetration (Kobe's knee), outside shooting (Vladimir) and inside defense (Kwame).
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 7:05 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

I hope Kwame comes back soon.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 8:21 am    Post subject:

angel wrote:
Thanks DB!

I hope Kwame comes back soon.


I agree! I think people have forgotten how much Kwame's D helped this team. It's just really a shame that he got injured, he was looking really good in pre-season.

I want the two headed monster on the court to anchor our hideous D.

Kobe's going to be okay, give him a month or two to regain the strength in his knee.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 8:38 am    Post subject:

Could Kobe have scored 30-40 last night and been aggressive the entire game? Probably. Did Phil want this? Not a chance.


As Phil stated after the Blazers game, he is cautious about Kobe trying to do too much too soon.


The game plan last night was for Kobe to take it easy and let the other players get going.


They were not prepared for the zone, the game blew open, and then Kobe tried to get them back in it late.


Anyone who thinks for a second that Kobe was trying to make a point is confused.
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And 1
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 8:48 am    Post subject:

CorkyTomjanovich wrote:


<snipped>

Could Kobe have scored 30-40 last night and been aggressive the entire game? Probably. Did Phil want this? Not a chance.


As Phil stated after the Blazers game, he is cautious about Kobe trying to do too much too soon.


The game plan last night was for Kobe to take it easy and let the other players get going.


Did the "game plan" also include Kobe making like a statue on defense all night?

A very poor performance.


Last edited by And 1 on Sat Nov 11, 2006 9:10 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 9:10 am    Post subject: Re: PISTONS -at- LAKERS - 11/10 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings

DancingBarry wrote:


<snipped>

Odom -- -- Lamar got tossed late in this game, both techs would have been ignored last season. Lamar scored 16 points on 6-14 shooting, pulled down a team-high 8 boards and dished a team-high 7 assists with 4 turnovers. He attacked to his left, spun on Sheed and banked in a layup. He took a loose ball, pushed it out and drew Sheed's second foul only a minute and a half into the game, Lamar made both FTs. He took a pass from Smush and quickly whipped it to Luke under the hoop for a layup. Poor D on Sheed and he gave up a layup in the post. Poor play in the zone, he had Walton in the middle of the lane for a pass and opted to continue the swing passes. He backed down Prince easily and hit a jumphook over him. He hit back to back threes to end the third quarter (the second one was an odd 30-footer with about 8 seconds left on the clock). Lamar started attacking in the fourth, he drove, got hit on the wrist and picked up a tech when he got no call. He attacked from the top of the key, blew by his man and scored a layup. He attacked again and kicked to Vlad for a three. He attacked off a nice set up from Farmar in the middle of the lane and Lamar scored a layup. Lamar fouled twice on the perimeter, then drew his second tech and was ejected with a couple minutes left.


Despite the apparent solid stat line, last night's game was classic Lamar Odom. With only six points heading into the fouth quarter, Odom was basically invisible for long stretches of the game where the Piston took charge. This is despite the fact that Sheed went to the bench less than three minutes into the game.

I thought Lamar said that he was done whining about the officiating?

Finally, I think the most annoying part of LO's game last night was the half-hearted "show" of hustle and leadership late in the 4th quarter (e.g. clapping his hands and rushing to inbound the ball from the referee) when the game was clearly decided. Laker fans in attendence were clearly pissed at the team's performance and it was like Lamar was trying to leave them with a lasting impression that he had been "puttin' in work." Where was that action in quarters 1-3?

Quote:
Turiaf -- -- Our other two young guys -- Farmar and Bynum -- got quality clock tonight, but Turiaf did not. He played just 6 minutes and scored 2 points. He faced up at the FT line, attacked to his right and scored off the glass for his only points.


Not that I think that he would have had that much success against the likes of Sheed Wallace and McDyess, but I still don't think that Phil Jackson has a clue of what Turiaf can do for this team with consistent (20-25 mpg) PT.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 10:05 am    Post subject:

And 1 wrote:
CorkyTomjanovich wrote:


<snipped>

Could Kobe have scored 30-40 last night and been aggressive the entire game? Probably. Did Phil want this? Not a chance.


As Phil stated after the Blazers game, he is cautious about Kobe trying to do too much too soon.


The game plan last night was for Kobe to take it easy and let the other players get going.


Did the "game plan" also include Kobe making like a statue on defense all night?

A very poor performance.


That would be the knee.

The offense was pathetic last night but the biggest concern for me is the defense. Eventually the offense will get going but I'm not sure that we have the pieces defensively. The ones that we do have are being asked to play out of position.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 10:18 am    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Great read!

Some points for discussion and questions

** The Pistons are still a very good team (though recently having problems) that plays very good defense that is just a notch below last season. As a result, they are able to exert high-level pressure that the team has not seen. Question is, is this a legimate excuse that the Lakers didn't appear to give 100% effort

** The Lakers are a very young team - age-wise, along with being together. Hopefully this was an opportunity to observe which players can perform during crunch time. Obviously this doesn't include Mr. Smush Parker. What did the Lakers need to have learn to continue their process of growing into a playoff-bound team?

** How would one deal with this being pre-season for Kobe without losing the progress the other players were having w/o Kobe? With seeing his knee buckle and numerous times showing definitive signs that he still having problems with his knee - what does the team need to do to survive?

** Would having Kwame providing strong resistence to Rasheed effectiveness in the paint changed the course of this game?


Good discussion points.

Kwame is a must (with Luke coming off the bench) for games featuring good post up opposition. Otherwise it creates a ripple-down effect with Lamar not being able to throw his weight against Rasheed, KG, Zack, TD, etc. while Bynum can't be a prime defender against these guys. This lineup can and should work against "smaller" teams though like Phoenix, Seattle, etc. Don't even try it against the Clippers.

As much as I like Farmar, against Billups Evans should have started in place of Smush. I appreciate Kobe taking this assignment but he is not ready on defense but he is not ready to do so. Besides, offensively Mo is a slasher that would have definitely helped against the zone. With Mo on him, it would be impossible for Billups to back him down in the post. In this case he usually is playing pick and pop with Rasheed and/or Prince. Switch would cure that.
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Klone_dd
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 11:32 am    Post subject:

I picked a bad game to get tickets for.

Horrible all-around performance. I've never seen Kobe that passive before. More than likely, it was the knee that was bothering him because all he did for 3 quarters was be a spot up decoy. When Prince crossed him over and Kobe buckled, I knew something was not right with the knee. I've never seen that before either.

Lamar continues to be a puzzle. Luke came back down to earith after a string of stellar games. JoFar gave some quality minutes. Smush - I could just strangle. That guy gets crossed over and picked off so badly plus he never gets back into the play.

I hope Phil is working on the entry pass. A number of times a Laker would cut through the key and either no pass was made or it was made too late. Against a zone, you have to collapse it by making the entry pass. All we did was pass it around the perimeter, which played right into the Pistons' plans, then jack up a 20-ftr. Entry pass, exploit the seams, crash the boards, carve up the zone.
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wolfpaclaker
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 12:30 pm    Post subject:

With all the negative points of the game obvious, me thinks we need to look at the positive.

The 19 year old kid (minus the 1-2 TO's) looks like a legit NBA low post threat against a very good defense. If this kid had gotten the ball more, I think the Lakers may have made a game of it well before the last few minutes.

Anyone else just suprised at how well Bynum finds the open man and creates his own shot in the post?

If I'm Phil, I tell this team that they need to stop using Bynum as a Chicago Center and start pounding the ball inside to him as if he were a Laker Center.

There is no excuse for Bynum not being a third option on this team. They need him taking 8-10 shots out there in about 25 minutes. That is what will elevate the team to the next level. Now they may feel he's not ready to do that, but when he actually has to create his own shot - his FG% is stil pretty damn good and while they are TO's it's not like other players on the team (Cough Kobe Cough Lamar) aren't dominating in that area either.

Get the (bleep) ball inside !
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TLT
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 4:56 pm    Post subject:

Hydro21 wrote:
phil needs to let bynum play and cut his crap... when ever he takes out bynum and turiaf teams kill us in the paint on the boards.19 minutes isnt getting it dne for bynum he should be up 30 minutes a game easily by now.


I think the problem with Bynum is conditioning and strength needed for a lot of minutes in the NBA. (Think about Wilt playing every minute of every game one season, plus overtimes, and then you will realise what a phenom he was.)
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TLT
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:00 pm    Post subject:

I have given a lot of support and rope to Smush, but how long can one support a losing cause? For example....George Bush
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TLT
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:02 pm    Post subject:

Thank you DB for your comprehensive work.
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 6:30 pm    Post subject:

Mr. LakeShow wrote:
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
What did the Lakers need to have learn to continue their process of growing into a playoff-bound team?
Dude are you serious? we're already a playoff team...
Recognizing that the Lakers consist of rookies (i.e. Farmar, Turiaff and Bynum) with young players unfamiliar with the Triangle (i.e. Vlad, Evans, Williams) - they could (and have) been an exciting team brimming with confidence OR they could (and have) be a fumbling "out-of-sync" with no energy team that played like the team that faced the Pistons and miss the playoffs - who knows what this team will eventually be at the end of the season.

My hope is that Phil embed the team with "Zen" and they will understand what it takes to win games, not just the ability to outscore teams during the first quarter.

IMO - a decision on how much time Phil allows Smush to play, along with how to incorporate Kobe within the Triangle - a system that Kobe knows well - will be a large factor.
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