LAKERS -at- MAVS - 11/11 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Rise of Ariza... The ball ended up in Trevor Ariza's hands as he dribbled out the game clock for a 106-99 road victory over the Mavs. He deserved the game ball.

The Lakers didn't show up until Ariza stepped off the bench tonight. That's the truth. He sparked the team to life in both halves.

There's Ariza in a crowd fighting for an offensive board off a missed freethrow... There's Ariza again exploding from a group of white jerseys in the corner to throw down a huge baseline dunk... There's Ariza in the final minute recovering to Stackhouse in the corner to block his weakside three attempt and eventually force a shotclock violation...

"Phenomenal block," Kobe said.

All summer, Laker fans have been hyping up Ariza's health as a key factor for the team's success this season. Hard to believe he's surpassed the hype. Trevor is flat out balling.

For the second game in a row, Ariza led the team in +/- and his impact couldn't have been more palpable tonight.

The Mavs players took a verbal beating from Dirk Nowitzki after their loss to the Clippers on Sunday. The result was a spirited, energy-infused effort from the Mavs and one of their best games of the season, despite missing Josh Howard. Dirk's teammates stepped up. Meanwhile, the Lakers locked down Dirk. He scored just 14 points on 17 shots before fouling out.

The team improved to 6-0, but it didn't come easy. With Vlad Rad going into Space Cadet mode and Fisher MIA, Phil struggled with his rotations. He continues to avoid putting Lamar at SF at all costs and he also subbed in Luke over Sasha or Ariza at one point. He went to his bench slightly earlier than usual in the second half, but he doesn't look comfortable yet with the nuances of his rotations.

The battle on the boards was intense. Not a lot of defensive glass cleaning in this game. There were 40 offensive boards between the two teams, split evenly at 20 each. The biggest came when Pau Gasol scored an And-1 off an airball by Derek Fisher with 24 seconds left in the game. That was the ball game.


Kobe -- -- The Mamba was on the loose in the fourth quarter. When the hearts were beating fast and the pressure was building, Kobe struck for a series of key scores. The Mavs started to key in on him and our execution began to sputter in the final couple of minutes. We didn't have a lot of purpose in those offensive sets. Defensively, he looked a little slow footed at times. Even though it was a close one, he still got 12 minutes of rest. Asked about tomorrow's game against New Orleans, Kobe gave his typical reply, "I can't wait." The Stats: He scored 27 points on 10-20 shooting (0-2 from three, 7-8 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 36 minutes. The Action: He forced up a long step-through and missed badly. He sank a wing jumper off a screen. He scored an And-1 layup off the break with Fish, he made the FT. He missed a fading 19-footer. He attacked in transition, took contact and went to the line, he made both FTs. He caught a lob pass from Pau, hung in the air and still somehow made it. He was held down with no call and we turned it over trying to pass it to him. He missed a layup on a drive from the right side. He jab-stepped and hit a 21-footer. He drew the D and jump-passed to Bynum for the dunk. He hit a pull-up jumper from the left wing, working off the Bynum screen. He was short on the elbow jumper. He missed a fade on a mismatch. He attacked the offensive zone with speed and missed a runner but was fouled, he made one FT. He slipped on a long fading jumper at the half and airballed. He had 14 points on 5-11 shooting. Second Half: He missed a tough runner. He spotted a lane in transition, attacked it and scored the layup. He missed a wing three. He attacked to his left, getting hit by Dirk and drawing FTs, he made both. He threw down a one-handed putback jam, back in the game and imposing his will. He swished a wing jumper from 20 feet. Sick turnaround jumper with a Kidd on him from 17 feet out, barely caused the net to move. Next possession, he exploded to his right around Kidd and hung past Dirk for the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He missed a baseline jumper. He settled for a long jumper instead of attacking to Dirk's side of the lane (Dirk had 5 fouls). He was stripped on a jumper with 2 minutes left, up by 2.

Gasol -- -- Pau came up with the biggest crunch time score -- the And-1 layup off an airball that DFish shot and Dirk fouled out on. That was the nail in the coffin for the Mavs with 23 seconds left in the game. Some pretty good D, again, by Pau. He and Lamar made Dirk shoot some tough shots out there. At the end of the night, Dirk scored 14 points on 5-17 shooting. Got to give our PFs some props for that. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 8-15 shooting (6-8 from the line) to go with 11 boards (5 offensive), 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 36 minutes. The Action: Great effort to pull down an offensive board, he missed the layup, but Drew cleaned it up. Tough shot, sinking it with a high arch over Dirk in the paint. He busted out off the steal and dunked when Vlad found him. He threw a pass away trying to hit Bynum. He was hit from behind with no call on a layup and missed. He missed a short hook. He dunked when Fish pushed out the break and hit him. He lobbed to Kobe for a score. He was hacked under the hoop for FTs, he made one. He dunked an airballed jumphook by Lamar. He scored and And-1 on a Tim Duncan-esque swing through to the middle to draw contact on a turnaround jumper, he made the FT. He had 13 points on 5-9 shooting and 4 boards. Second Half: He crashed the offensive glass and threw down a missed LO jumper. He missed a face-up jumper. He sank a wing jumper. He missed a long hook with the shotclock low. He attacked Dirk out of a timeout trying to pick up Dirk's 6th foul, the refs somehow gave it to Dampier, Pau made both FTs. He scored a huge And-1 layup with 23 seconds when Fish airballed, he made the FT...huge play and Dirk fouled out.

Bynum -- -- He still hasn't figured out that Dampier will push off as soon as a shot goes into the air. Three years straight that Bynum has gotten rooted out from position on the glass. Dampier ended up with 12 offensive boards. That's ridiculous. Bynum, at least, was giving a little of that medicine on the other end. But he's got to do a better job getting his base planted and not relying on his reach. There did seem to be a little bit of an edge to Bynum's energy at times. Still, all this talk about Shaq and Yao as the big guys to deal with and Dampier continues to know how to take advantage of Bynum. Offensively, Bynum had more opportunities to create for himself in this game, but wasn't real clean in his execution. Guys need to continue to look to set him up more for easy ones. Bynum was called for illegal D a couple times (the coaches talked with the refs about how they were calling that). I'm sure this will be a recurring theme, considering how critical he is to anchoring the Laker D. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-12 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 10 boards (7 offensive), 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He swatted Terry's shot to start the game. He tipped in a Gasol missed layup. He missed a layup with contact and no call and yelled at the refs. He missed a short jumphook in early offense. He was called for a phantom foul on a Terry drive (excellent challenge by Bynum and he was robbed). Great hands pulling in a bullet pass with one hand and scoring at the rim. He bricked a turnaround in the middle of the lane. He dunked off the jump pass from Kobe. He grabbed the rejected shot and quickly scored from a few feet away. He swatted a shot in semi-transition D. He had 8 points on 4-8 shooting, 2 blocks and 6 boards (4 offensive). Second Half: He was hit on a turnaround jumper on our first possession of the half, he made one FT. He fumbled a lob, but tipped it in. He pulled down an offensive board and hit LO for a score. He missed a tip-in. He swatted a jumper.

Radmanovic -- -- Space Cadet or Vlad the Impaler? Space Cadet had the jersey on and he led all Lakers with a -7. Even though he had to defend some smaller, quicker players like Kidd at times, he still seemed to be in Space Cadet mode on the offensive end. Sloppy passes, poor shot selection, lazy execution. Uggh. He was eventually yanked and did not return. Hopefully, the Impaler shows up in the next one. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-6 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 16 minutes. The Action: He sank an easy turnaround in the post against Kidd for the Lakers first score. He swiped the ball, lost the dribble, got it back and fed Gasol for the dunk. He missed a 17-footer fading. Back in, he gave up a layup and an And-1 to Kidd. He missed a quick three. Second Half: He gave up an alley-oop to Green to start the second half. He didn't seal his man and the entry pass to Vlad was easily picked off. He threw a perimeter pass to no one with no pressure on, turnover. He attacked slowly off the pinch post, took contact with no call and banked it in. He airballed a three from the sideline. He missed a corner three after getting the offensive board.

Fisher -- -- Thankfully for DFish, Pau cleaned up his airball in the final minute after Fisher couldn't get the ball to Kobe and tried to create. Horrible offensive sequence, but Pau saved the day. This came after Fish also missed a big three 30 seconds earlier. Fisher did ice the game a few seconds later with some clutch freethrows, but he had a rough go of it. His shot was off and the Mav guards were putting up points on the other end. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 1-8 shooting (0-4 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He swished a wing jumper in early offense. He missed a bank. He stripped Dampier to save a hoop under the basket. He missed a couple open threes. He got knocked over by Green in transition, should have been a charge. He scooped up a loose ball, pushed it out and fed Kobe for the And-1. He stripped Green, pushed it out and dished to Pau for the dunk. He had 2 points on 1-5 shooting. Second Half: He missed a wing three. Back in after a long break, good hustle to track down a loose ball on the defensive end. He missed an open wing three with 1:06 left. He couldn't get the ball to Kobe and airballed a jumper with 23 seconds left, Pau saved him and the team with the And-1 score off that miss. Fish was fouled with 12.2 seconds left up by 2, he made both clutch ones. He was fouled again and made both with 6 seconds left.

Lamar -- -- He made Dirk hit some very difficult shots and was in on some of the better basketball we played tonight. The game changed in our favor when the Ariza, Lamar, Farmar trio entered late in the third. Lamar was in on several key sequences in that turnaround. I would have gladly traded Lamar at the SF tonight instead of Vlad, but Phil steadfastly refuses to put that on the table. Not even for a couple minutes, opting for Luke even for a 3:27 stretch in the third. Lamar played just 30 minutes despite the close nature of the game. He was very aggressive from the PF spot in his time out there and attacked the rim. Good two-way effort from LO. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-12 shooting (1-1 from three, 1-3 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He worked the two-man game with Bynum and hit him for the score. He faced up and drained a wing jumper over Dirk. He was fouled on the break, trying to throw down, he made one FT. He overpowered Dirk on a spin, missed and scored the layup. He missed a layup driving to his left. He missed a jumphook badly after an offensive board but Pau dunked it in. He had 5 points on 2-5 shooting and 4 boards. Second Half: He forced and missed a baseline jumper. He missed a layup to his left. He attacked to his left and scored the layup. He swished a corner three on the kickout from Lamar. Aggressive attack against Diop to his right and he scored the And-1 with his left, he missed the FT. He missed a jumper. Great challenge on help D to stop a layup. He missed an 18-footer.

Ariza -- -- Ariza was a warrior tonight. He was the spark and emotional leader of the team. He was a badass. That chase down of Lamar's missed freethrow and then dunk was incredible. The hustle to block what could have been an And-1 was huge. The air he got to recover and swat Stackhouse's three and avoid a foul...amazing. Another brilliant game from young Ariza. There were two different games being played tonight: the one when Ariza was on the floor and the one he was off the floor. His all-around game has improved. Maybe he's gotten more comfortable than his first stint on the team last year. Maybe the defensive scheme fits his game perfectly. It's probably a bit of all that. In any event, brilliant game from Trevor tonight. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-10 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 29 minutes. The Action: He attacked with speed from the corner and reversed. He pulled down a board, but missed his attempt in the lane. Pressure D from Ariza in the backcourt against Kidd, poking the ball loose and taking it in for an uncontested layup. He missed a wing jumper badly. He posted up, drop-stepped and hit the jumphook with his right. He beat Green to the spot in transition and erased a hoop by drawing a charge. He tipped in a Sasha miss. He was swatted on a drive. He had 8 points on 4-7 shooting and 4 boards in the first half. Second Half: Aggressive D on Green, knocking the ball away from him then hitting the floor to call timeout at midcourt. Good Lord, he battled several big men for a rebound off a missed FT, chased it to the corner, came exploding out of white jerseys along the baseline and dunked...wow. Explosive first step from the wing and he score an And-1 layup, he made the FT. Excellent hustle back to swat what could have been an And-1 layup against Fish in transition. He missed a corner three. Sweet recovery on the weakside to swat a three by Stackhouse with 1 second on the shotclock, it ended up forcing a shotclock violation. He stole an in-bounds pass with 10 seconds left but stepped on the sideline.

Farmar -- -- His first stint was awful. I expect this second unit to dig the Lakers out of holes, but he kept the team from doing that in the first half as the Mavs guards badly outplayed us. The next time out, Farmar was back to doing his thing -- causing steals for breakaways, bringing energy and hitting from the perimeter. That helped change the game and get some mo' going into the fourth quarter. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting, grabbed 2 boards, dished 3 assists, had 2 steals, 1 turnover and no fouls in 20 minutes. The Action: He was swatted badly on a drive. He had the ball stolen by Kidd and it led to a foul on Bynum in transition. Second Half: He pulled up in transition and hit the wing jumper. He swiped the ball from Kidd when he turned his head to look at the coach and Jordan scored the breakaway layup. He missed a layup on the break after causing a turnover. He missed a runner off the glass.

Vujacic -- -- Machine pull-up on one-man break. Stu yell bad shot to Machine. Machine hit big three. Machine say any open shot is good shot... This was one of those games where Sasha should have had more minutes. With the Mavs small/quick lineup out there that was causing Vlad problems, Phil could have easily slid Kobe to the 3 and brought in Sasha at the 2. You'd keep a shooter on the floor and have better D. Much better option than Vlad or Luke...and you could still keep the L.A. Law Ariza/Farmar duo together. Good job on the boards from Sasha, too. The Stats: Sasha scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 5 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 12 minutes. The Action: He took his eyes off the ball and dropped a pass for a turnover. He swiped a skip pass to the weakside. He grabbed the rejected shot, moved to his left and hit the midrange wing jumper. He missed a baseline jumper. Second Half: He hit the wing jumper off the Bynum screen. He missed a three from the left wing. He pulled up in transition from the top of the key and hit the three. He missed a baseline jumper on an in-bounds pass.

Luke -- -- He came in for Vlad midway through the third. The voices of tens of thousands of Laker fans simultaneously cried out, "Why?" Let's examine that. First off, Vlad had to be pulled. No question there. He was in full Space Cadet mode and should have been yanked earlier. From here, Phil has four options: Sasha to SG/Kobe to SF; Lamar to SF; Ariza to SF; and Luke at SF. If you are worried about offensive spacing, go with Sasha. Lamar, Luke and Trevor may all give you questionable shooting. Why not Ariza? Phil may have wanted to buy some time. Ariza played the final 15 minutes. Phil may have wanted to make sure he keeps Ariza and Farmar together. Who knows? In any event, we were getting beat by smaller players defensively. This should have been Sasha's minutes or Ariza's, who was a stud in the first half. For what it was worth, Luke ended up a -2. The moment he and Vlad were finally done, we turned the game around. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting in 3:27 of action. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He gave up a layup after entering the game. He bricked a baseline jumper badly.

Phil -- -- The Lakers started off slowly once again. They trailed 18-10 when Phil called a timeout. Multiple calls were not going in there favor... The Lakers gave up 15 points in transition in the first quarter and 35 points overall to trail by 9... Again off the bench, Ariza helped spark the team. However, his partner, Farmar, struggled. Ariza was rewarded with some run with the first unit at the end of the second quarter. Phil then brought Vlad back in and he quickly gave up 5 points on two layups, while missing a three... The Lakers won the quarter by 3 points and trailed 60-54 at halftime. The Mavs shots 52.5 percent in the first half, making 4-8 from three. The Lakers shot 45 percent, going 0-4 from three... Vlad was in full Space Cadet mode to start the second half. He got benched after 5 minutes for Luke. Luke immediately gave up a layup. Poor, poor decision. Phil is still not comfortable playing his cards yet in this early part of the season... Phil then sat Bynum for Lamar, leaving Luke in. First defensive stand we gave up several offensive boards until the Mavs finally scored... Finally, the unit of Bynum, Lamar, Ariza, Sasha and Farmar sparked the team and cut the lead to 79-76 going to the fourth quarter... After Ariza dunked and forced a timeout, the Lakers got a shotclock violation on the Mavs on the the defensive stand. Well done... The Lakers had an 11-0 run early in the fourth... Phil wanted the Lakers to sag off Kidd with 6 minutes left and defend others... Up by 4 with Terry to shoot a FT, Phil called a timeout and brought Bynum back in for Lamar. Pau went at Dirk out of the timeout (Dirk had 5 fouls). He then sat Bynum seconds later... Offensive execution down the stretch had no rhyme or reason to it. We never attacked Dirk or attacked to his side of the floor. We ended up settling for threes. Very sloppy close to the game, but some big plays by Pau and Ariza helped push through... After giving up 60 points in the first half, the Lakers were back to their new selves and held the Mavs to just 39 points in the second half... The Mavs went from shooting 52.5 percent in the first half to shooting 41.9 percent for the game. They were 2-14 from three in the second half. The Lakers shot 2-13 from three for the game...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Check out the impact as soon as the second unit came in during the third quarter. Also note Bynum was in with that group and ended up as the only starter in the positive on the +/-.

[ChefLinda]

Thanks, DB!

The Dallas announcers on the NBA-TV feed were slobbering all over Ariza all night long. They have a man-crush on him too.

[10scott10]

I really like how lamar has been looking the past few games. he has been very decisive and his jumper has been money.

also, ariza is somehowe managing to be the superman that people said he had. when was the last time a guy exceeded his predictions (positive predictions) by so much?

[1hu2ren3dui4]

the apple rock apple. a rare appearance.
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-Most people learn by saying mother, numb, horse, angry... I learned mine by saying Lakers, add gas. - HRD.

[Chewrockan]

I still can't believe the magic gave us Ariza for Cook and Mo Evans. What a steal.

[Tony Almeida]

Great read. Thanks, DB.

I was wondering what emoticon(s) you were going to go with for Ariza. Tomato, rock, tomato, that MUST be an excellent game.

His impact goes beyond the numbers, no question about it.

One criticism I have is a trend that I've been noticing the past few games, the slow start. I know the first unit is more half-court oriented, but, they seem to come out sluggish. I want to say it has to do with figuring out how to best execute and optimize their offense (still working out the kinks, Bynum getting back in the groove, Kobe throttling back a bit, etc.). I think there is room for improvement there.

Of course, so far it hasn't been an issue when you have the Minute Men come in to spark a comeback, and then the starters close the deal (iirc, Lakers are holding opponents to an average of ~39 points in the second half)

[SladeRider]

Ariza was the key to the game, I was finally able to see a Laker game this season and see what all the fuss was about Ariza. And all that fuss is justified after seeing tonights game.

Defense stepped it up in the first half, was another thing I wanted to see because everyone has been raving on about the Lakers defense and didn't really see it in the first half with the Mavs dropping 60 points and shooting over 50% from the floor. But it improved in the second half and I could see the difference between the halves.

I knew Bynum and Ariza would be huge for the defence and did think if they were avaliable for the finals then the result of the finals would of been different. But after seeing Bynum and Ariza in action, I'm more convinced that would of been the case.

Weather we would of had the Ariza we have at the moment or not is questionable as DB said, this new defensive scheme seems to suit Ariza perfectly.
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"This is a comptitive city. We're used to winning titles, not just winning games and being in the first round. We want to win championships. Now's the time.", "do something, and do it now."
- Kobe Bryant

[SHAQ34forLIFE]

[slippy]

This was a good game for the Lakers, because the Mavs went with a strategy that other teams have tried on the Spurs, Celts, and other teams with lockdown HC defenses, which is to push the ball and prevent them from setting their defense. In the other games, the Lakers were able to push the pace in order to break teams. Here, Lakers pushing pace further fed the bonfire and Gasol and Bynum played sloppy through the first half. The less the Lakers ran the triangle or at least a controlled HC offense, the less able they were able to recover on transition and get 2nd chance points. The 2nd half score itself is kinda misleading in that the clampdown doesn't come until well into the 3rd quarter. That's when they were able to slow down the game, and then toward the end of the 3rd, both the 1st and 2nd unit were running the triangle properly, thus drying up the transition opportunities for the Mavs.

[Critical Beatdown]

Ariza was awesome tonight, no question. Still loved what LO is giving us too. When Razor and LO are on the floor, we're killing people, like ninjas. Drew is showing signs too, aside from the missed shots and Dampier schooling him. I predict young Bynum will be dominating again inside 10 games from now.

Pau was steady as usual, and Kobe's J looks money right now.
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!
Per 100 possessions, we're winning 118-102 with LO on the floor, and losing 109-111 without him. (updated: 4/1/09; source: 82games.com)

[DancingBarry]

[DocK36]

I almost fell out of the chair when Phil brought in Luke. The team was getting killed by dribble penetration and he bring in Luke who's slower and a worst defender than Vlad. Luke's man basically blew by him like he was nailed to the floor. Thank God for Ariza, otherwise a tantem of Luke and Vlad at the SF is a nightmare.
_________________
Ringo "You retired too?"
Doc "Not me, I'm in my prime."

[The Predator]

Ariza is a damn ninja. Like most people, I was surprised when he left UCLA after just one year but it worked out for him.
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"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

John Wooden

[1hu2ren3dui4]

[10scott10]

who would have ever thought that a phil jackson team would ever have a defense so good that they had to focus on improving their offensive skills.

[PakaLOLO]

Thxs.
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I speak Emoji

[Mation]

Thanks DB!

The Mavericks really competed and laid all their effort out on the court tonight. These wins come in handy for further growth and experience as a team. Ariza misses the baseline three late in the fourth. That's okay, he comes in with the huge Stackhouse block. You can't create those in-game situations in practice. Always down for more development of our second unit in crunch time moments.

Pau does a great job using his length defensively. I remember last season when he arched his hand and blocked the three attempt by Dirk in OT or double OT. Wouldn't want to see a two-man defensive switch like Odom and Gasol if I were Dirk.

Looks like our transition defense is one of our weaknesses right now. Only with the first unit though. I'm sure we'll shape that up as the season progresses.

Loved the back-2-back emotional plays by Odom and Ariza. First Odom gets the and-1 layup. Then Ariza comes down with the theft and slam! Whooo!

[mhan00]

[KobePauDynasty]

[Vadorojo]

Thanks, DB!
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"I like looking at a guy's face when he realizes that even his best moves aren't going to work on me all night. They look depressed." - Ron Artest

[pask]

Disagree about Bynum rebounding. Most of Dampier´s offensive rebounds came with Andrew out. It was with Gasol and Odom in the game that we most failed to secure our own board.

[Tanlentueux]

[limchrc]

Thanks. Nice to see the team fighting for the win.

[Addicus]

Great write up DB.

Bynum is tentative about leaping in a crowd and it is nullifying a large part of his advantage vs Dampier/Diop type centers. Only time will tell if that part of his game will return.

Ariza is everything I said he would be when we traded for him.

Vlad is making me look bad with his lack of defensive energy. The coaches have him staying at home instead of playing free safety and this is clearly not his strong suit. He needs to refocus because if he can bring it we can blow teams out even when they bring great effort like tonight.

Lamar looks like the guy we saw in Miami. That is what we all have wanted. It's great to see!

Pau, Duncan and Amar'e are clearly heads and shoulders better all around PF's than any one else in the West. Which one doesn't make the All-Star game?

Someone mentioned Kobe's jumper is on right now and that is a great observation. The man is on target. That double fake fallaway over Kidd tonight was amazing. He is staying away from the 3pt line and it shows in his percentages as he shot 50% tonight.

Sasha gets props for hitting the boards tonight. I didn't even notice until I read your stats. Our guards did terrible on the boards vs Kidd and Greene. It's nice to see the Machine step up. He needs a haircut though. It's starting to look modelish.

Luke doesn't fit this squad. He just physically isn't a NBA player.

Farmar was way too amped to play Kidd/Terry. I'm glad he settled down in the second half.

Overall I saw a Dallas team that could be in the Conference Finals if they play with the effort and intensity they did tonight. The Lakers are better but it is clear the Dirk/Dampier/Diop matchups are better than anyone else in the West at matching up with us. Throw in Josh Howard at the 3 and we will have some battles. It's nice to see Gerald Greene stay focused, mature and find a home. He has the skills and should break out Danny Granger style in a few years in this enviroment.

Go Lakers!
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[Addicus]