KINGS -at- LAKERS - 12/12 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Know The Enemy... After 20 minutes of scribbling, you've turned a stained cocktail napkin into your last will and testament. You stare at it, wondering if you've left anything off. Not bad, you think. Taking another swig of your drink, you tuck the napkin into your pocket. Maybe it's paranoia, maybe it's taking a couple lumps lately ... maybe it's your mind working overtime thinking about little Larry O'Brien. Whatever the case, you felt the need to try to get your house in order.

An '80s synthpop ballad starts up. It's "Who's that Girl?" by the Eurythmics. You look around. What crap bar did you wind up in? You polish off the last of your drink and bolt. As you merge with the crowds on the street, the song got you thinking about her again -- who is that girl? Would you ever meet her? Over the past few days, you've come to the realization that you've got to help her get back little Larry.

In the distance you see flashing lights. An Ambulance. Police cars. You start walking faster and soon break into a trot. You push past onlookers and nod at a beat cop you recognize. He lets you through.

You see skid marks, an upside down sport car -- white and blue with tinted windows and a "KINGS" plate. Its trunk is open and cowbells are scattered everywhere. A piece of purple and gold paper has been stuffed in the tailpipe. That's the same damn car that ran you off the road the other night.

Maybe all these "victims" aren't really victims afterall. She was trying to tell you that. As you grab the purple and gold paper from the tailpipe, your phone rings. It's her.

"So...Are you in?" she asks. You hesitate for a moment, then answer. "Yeah...Yeah, I'm in. But why do I get the feeling I'm in for a little pain, too?"

"Love hurts," she says in way that somehow makes you ache. "I had Larry in my grasp this past June. You don't think that stings to lose him like that? You don't think it hurts to start all over again? It does. But you start over. You work harder, and you do it for love."

You can almost hear her eyes tearing up on the other side of the phone. You decide to change the subject. "So, what's the story here?" you ask, picking up a cowbell.

"Meh," she says. "Bunch of jokers. They don't know Larry. That's their story. DB will give you the scoop."

You unfold the purple and gold paper and read:

The Four Horsemen were here. They learned from last time. As Sun Tzu wrote, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles." The Four Horsemen have learned a little about both themselves and their enemy. The adjustments were subtle, but they battled more effectively. They will improve.

I will continue to track them...

Two major differences in this game from previous ones: First, the transition D was much better. The Kings didn't have as many early offense looks as in previous games. Second, the Lakers cut down on their overplaying and gambling, which reduced the easy points. They still had breakdowns. "For the most part we did a pretty good job tonight, but they busted open a little bit in the fourth," Kobe said.

The high screen again caused the Lakers some problems in that fourth quarter. Farmar and Bynum had a number of weak defensive sequences. Kobe also had his weakest defensive work in that quarter, too.

"We found ways to keep this ball club in the game," Phil said "We did it in a variety of ways from missing foul shots to giving up fouls at the end of quarters." Farmar did both of those, and the Lakers team left 14 points at the line in the 112-103 win.

"I know these guys want it," Rick Fox said. "I just want them to remember that wanting it isn't enough. You have to go out and actually make it happen."


Kobe -- -- Much better work defensively in this game. You didn't see all that perimeter overplaying that he got burned on. In the fourth, however, he started to funnel his men again, or ball watch on help D and it caused some problems. He took care of business down the stretch. Offensively, Swing Pass Kobe was left in the Suns game. He was much more aggressive. His biggest highlight of the game, a soaring two-handed And-1 throwdown with 1:36 left. "I got the step, got to the basket and was able to throw it home," he said of the slam. The Stats: He scored 32 points on 11-21 shooting (2-4 from three, 8-10 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, no steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 39 minutes. The Action: He sank a wing jumper off the pinch post to start the game. He missed a pull-up jumper looking for a foul. He got a reach on Garcia in the corner and smartly shot the ball to draw FTs after the whistle, he made two of three. He threw a pass away. He missed a three. Horrible, slow entry pass to Bynum, picked off easily. He drilled a 21-footer. He cut down the lane, twisted in the air after taking the bounce pass and slammed a reverse. He sank the 20-footer off the give and go with Pau on the left side. He missed a face-up 19-footer. He sank a three on the extra pass from Luke. He choked a point-blank layup in early offense. He missed a short baseline jumper. He attacked into the heart of the D and drew FTs, he made one. He had 14 points on 5-11 shooting. Second Half: He ball-faked Miller in transition and took it in for a layup. He worked off the screen and swished the wing jumper. He blocked a man on his way down to save a hoop, then thought he was drawing a foul on Salmons on a head fake on the other end and bricked with no call. He was stripped, wanted a call and picked up a tech instead. Insanely difficult three on a kickout to him with 1 second left on the shotclock, he drained it. He missed a forced three after the offense stalled. He posted up Salmons under the hoop and drew a foul on the entry pass, he made both FTs. He danced with the ball in early offense and swished the wing jumper. He spotted Drew free under the hoop and jump passed to him for the oop. He missed off the glass but Bynum cleaned it up. He missed a fading wing jumper. He worked off the screen, hung over Moore and banked from the right side. He worked off the screen from Pau again, this time exploded down the lane and threw down a two-handed And-1 dunk, he made the FT. He was fouled on the in-bounds, he made both FTs.

Gasol -- -- Defensively, he did a much better job on the two-man sequences. There weren't as many breakdowns when it was Pau and a PG on the high screens. He was leveling off the guards more and not getting stuck flatfooted in no-man's land as they sped past him. Steady, all-around game from Pau. He did go a little flat offensively in the fourth. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-16 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 4 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 fouls in 37 minutes. The Action: He missed a jumper in the lane. He set up Bynum for FTs. His pass to Bynum bounced off a player and came right back to him for a layup. Udrih went around him with ease for a layup. Quick spin to the baseline and he scored a layup. He threw down an And-1 dunk off the slip screen with Luke, he made the FT. He was given a turnover on what should have been either a strip by a King or a foul when the ball was stripped out of bound. Great bounce pass to Kobe cutting down the lane for the dunk. He missed a layup on the drive. He sank a face-up 13-footer. He missed an easy two-footer. He missed a three at the halftime buzzer. He had 9 points, 7 boards and 3 assists in the half. Second Half: He faced up and swished a baseline jumper. He ball-faked and splashed another baseline jumper. He backed Miller under the hoop for an And-1 layup, he made the FT. He curled around his man and missed a layup, getting slapped in the head and wondering where the call was (Phil was screaming at the refs). He missed a short one with his left. He missed the 16-footer. He missed a baseline jumper short. Fish set him up in the lane for FTs, Pau made both. Nice challenge on a Salmons' drive to deny a layup.

Bynum -- -- He did a poor job imposing himself on either end to start the game. After a flurry of fouls to start the second quarter he had to sit with four. He has usually done a good job avoiding the fouls, but he got himself in trouble tonight. On the high screen D, Drew said the coaches want them to square up the guards more (that should go for both the bigmen and our PGs). There was no controversy as to why Bynum wasn't in late. He fouled out (got his money's worth, too, on a take down of a King bigman). Not a pretty game for Bynum on either end. Phil beforehand on why Bynum has not been finishing games: "Andrew can watch himself on tape and see why he's not in," Phil said. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-9 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 3 turnovers and 6 fouls in 24 minutes. The Action: He was hacked (bleeding from above the eye) off a pass from Pau, he missed both FTs. He missed under the hoop, got it back and traveled. He missed a jumphook with his left. He was stripped on a layup attempt and bricked. He charged after taking a pass from Sasha. He missed a long jumphook, not backing his man down. He picked up another foul on the D end off dribble penetration. He missed another jumphook in the middle of the lane. He bounced a jumphook over the front of the rim. He picked up his fourth foul with 9:39 in the second quarter. He had 2 points on 1-6 shooting. Second Half: Kobe fed him in transition and Bynum was fouled, he made both FTs. He was stripped from behind ready to go up and dunk. He missed a jumphook in the middle of the lane. He dunked on the lob from Kobe. He cleaned the glass with a putback dunk off the Kobe miss. Lost in rotation, someone went to his man, he didn't cover their man, open three. He fouled out with 4:24 left, on a flagrant foul trying to wrap up Hawes.

Luke -- -- Luke led the team in assists, doing what the coaches want on the offensive end. He keeps the ball moving and hits teammates quickly for scores. Defensively, Luke did a better job than Vlad against the Kings. Hard not to with as loose as Vlad and his teammates played the Kings with their scheme in the first two games. Very good game from Luke. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-7 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 8 assists, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 25 minutes. The Action: He sank a baseline jumper in early offense. He missed an open corner three. He airballed a 9-footer. He hit Lamar cutting for a layup. He whipped a pass to Gasol on the slip screen for the And-1 dunk. He missed a 20-footer. Extra pass to Kobe for the three. Quick spin in the lane after taking the pass and he scored the layup. He had 4 points on 2-5 shooting and 5 assists. Second Half: He missed a bank that look goaltended. He drew a charge on Salmons to erase a hoop. He got blocked in traffic. He picked up his fourth foul on a reach and had to sit.

Fisher -- -- The two-man D was better. Fisher wasn't ushering guys down the lane or to an anchor that wasn't there. We usually had someone there. We leveled off the guards slightly better (hard not to), but there was a still plenty of issues. We even saw Fish running our zone help for Kobe and the team getting burned. Just not smart late in the game, especially against this team. Still, with as bad as Farmar was playing, you needed DFish in there to hold the line. Offensively, he never forced anything and had a couple big plays in crunch time. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-6 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 4 fouls in 25 minutes. The Action: He sank a corner three off good Laker ball movement. He picked up two early fouls and had to sit. He was hit on a pull-up jumper for FTs, he made both. He missed an early offense three. He drew a charge away from the ball on Hawes. He hit a wing jumper that should have been an And-1. Second Half: He lost his man watching Pau defend the post, layup Udrih. He sank an early offense wing jumper. Nice reach on help D to slap a ball loose. He sank an elbow jumper behind the Pau screen. Nice change of directions with the spin, then he threaded a no-looker to Pau for FTs. He missed a wing jumper.

Lamar -- -- He had a couple breakdowns defensively (usually on help and recover), but the team looked stronger when he was in the game than when he wasn't. He was efficient from the floor, not real aggressive, but he sank a pretty big three in crunch time. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-5 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He curled into the lane and Luke hit him for a layup. He stripped the ball off Hawes on the perimeter. He traveled after facing up to attack. He scored a layup off the bounce pass from Ariza. He tied up Moore and won the jumpball. Second Half: He swished an elbow jumper. He was called for a tech complaining on a call. He missed a step-back jumper. He sank an open wing three with 4 minutes left.

Ariza -- -- He played some PF in this game. He can do that against some teams, but I would have rather seen some more minutes for Powell in that situation. Smoother game from Ariza on both ends. He wasn't jacking up as many perimeter shots as last time. He wasn't overplaying on his own man, either. No steals, but no super easy breakdowns defensively. Again, know your opponent. He's a streaky FT shooter and had a number of misses tonight from the line. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-6 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, no steals, no turnovers, and one foul in 20 minutes. The Action: He was hammered in transition and sent to the floor, he made one FT. He changed directions in transition and made the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He hit LO with the bounce pass for a layup. Second Half: He swished a 16-footer flashing to the ball at the FT line. Tenacious effort on the offensive glass to tip in an And-1 while taking contact from Miller and a foul from a guard, he missed the FT. He drew FTs, bricked the first way short, compensated and bricked the next one long. He dunked off the Sasha steal and pass. He in-bounded to Bynum, took the handoff, attacked the lane and kicked out to Sasha for the three. He sank a sideline three next time down. He missed a 20-footer.

Farmar -- -- What a miserable second stint, giving up dumb fouls with 0.5 seconds left, missing his FTs and playing horrible D. I can't believe how much dribble penetration he gave up without a screen. It was ridiculous. The D would get collapsed time and time again early in the fourth with Farmar's weak efforts. For a guy with his speed, there is no excuse for having guards get past him with as much ease as they do. If he wants to be a starter for a great team, he needs more work on his D, more work on his FTs and a better mental game. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-7 shooting (1-3 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. The Action: He hit a midrange jumper in early offense. He missed a wing three. He swished a wide open corner three. Second Half: He iso'd on BJax, got him in the air on the up-faked and drew FTs, he missed both...ugggh! He and Sasha trapped at midcourt to get a steal and Farmar swiped it to throwdown down. Moronic defensive play, pressuring BJax at halfcourt with 0.5 left in the quarter and he gave up FTs...dumb...let him try to make the 45-footer, Farmar. He didn't draw iron on a 7-footer in the lane, nearly breaking the glass. He was blocked on an ill-advised early offense three, score the other way (exactly the kind of shots you don't want with a decent sized lead). Udrih beat him with no screen and it led to a corner three for a King.

Vujacic -- -- Another quality effort from Sasha. He had a couple of steals and drew a couple offensive fouls on Kings in his second-half minutes. Some feisty D in that final quarter when we were struggling. I thought BJax gave him a little trouble in the first half, but Sasha took care of his men in the second half on D. Well done. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-5 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block and 1 foul in 14 minutes. The Action: He missed an open 17-footer. Second Half: In for Kobe, he and Farmar trapped at midcourt to force a steal. He swiped another one on a reach and was fouled with 3 seconds left, he made the FTs. He missed a three. He reached around on BJax, knocked the ball loose, took the outlet in transition, drew the defender and fed Ariza for the score under the rim. He was blocked on a jumper on a curl. He drained a wing three on the in-bounds play when Ariza attacked and kicked it to him. Great read, stepping in from the weakside to draw a charge on help D. Nice challenge on Moore to make him miss what should have been a dunk. He swished a wing jumper with his toe on the three line. Back in, BJax shoved him and Sasha went flying, drawing the offensive foul with over a minute left.

Powell -- -- He came in with 3:49 in the first half when Lamar and Bynum had foul issues. He took it to the Kings on the offensive glass. (Should have been in when we played them last time.) They can't handle his strength and effort on the offensive glass. Glad to see him get some minutes. Wish we could sneak in some more for him. Unfortunately, he was doing some fine house building with his freethrow shooting. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting (1-5 from the line) to go with 3 boards (2 offensive) and 1 foul in 4 minutes. The Action: He kept a possession alive on the offensive glass fighting among three Kings. Same possession, he pulled down an offensive board and drew FTs on a dunk attempt, he made one FT. He yanked down a Pau miss, powered it up and scored the And-1 layup (Miller's second and third fouls off those two plays), he missed the FT. He posted up, took a shove and drew FTs on the turnaround, he missed both, however. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Phil -- -- "Really, it's not about Vlade," Phil said on the change. He added, "There were about four other guys playing the same way that night" in Sacramento. Vlad was one. So, once again no minutes for Vlad in this one. Phil said he should have used him in the last one... Better hustle and much less overplaying defensively (until the ends of quarters when Sacramento got some easy scores). The Lakers led 33 to 27 after the first... Bynum picked up three quick fouls to start the second quarter (that third was his fourth of the game with 9:30 left in the half. Phil gambled and lost... Both teams struggled offensively. The Lakers went back to their starters (with LO) and started to get some points. They pulled out to a 7-point lead again... A series of layups (early offense and screen roll) and the Kings pulled even... Horrible FT shooting by the Lakers in the half, shooting just 9-18 from the line. That was the difference. The Kings went 11-13. They were tied 52-52... "We missed freethrows. We missed layups," Hamblen said. "We didn't do a good job defending the basket. We're still a work in progress as far as doing things defensively."... The Lakers hit a series of jumpers and pulled out to a 6-point lead after the first 4 minutes and forced a King timeout... The Lakers extended to an 11-point lead, getting stops... They were up 80-68 when Kobe sat for Sasha with 42 seconds left in the third... The Lakers led 84-72 going into the fourth... With a 13-point lead, Phil went to a Bynum, Ariza, Kobe, Sasha, Farmar lineup... Here comes the guard penetration from the Kings and the lead was cut to 7. Phil went back to his starting lineup in the middle of that run... The Kings cut it down a little further, but the starters held it together... "There was that sense that we've got to get after this team," Phil said of his players focus against the Kings. He added, "the things that bother us is the 30-point fourth quarters."... The Lakers shot 50 percent to the Kings 47 percent. They out-rebounded the Kings 46-39... The Lakers scored 24 points off 17 King turnovers... Defensive improvement in one stat: The Kings scored 42 points in the paint tonight. In the previous game, they scored 52. The game before that, 58. Finally some better adjustments, but still lots of work to be done...

Game Flow -- LINK -- A couple lengthy runs from both teams in the second half. The Lakers slammed the door with a 9-0 run late. Farmar led the team with a -10.

[japanesebeef1]

Thanks DB. Missed the game, but you always catch me up.

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB. Always appreciate the effort.
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*sighs*

!...

[mike_dee23]

If Farmar isn't cutting it at the 1, maybe it's time to put Odom at that position... with Sasha or Ariza guarding the opponent's 1, Kobe the 2 and Odom the 3.
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MTFBWYA

[Marty]

Thanks DB, I missed the game. I wanted to watch but fell asleep. Sucks to be in the east coast.

btw, lovin the intro.

[Tony Almeida]

Thanks, DB. Love the intros.

(I filled in the stats for Ariza, hope you don't mind.)

[Dr. Laker]

Good job, DB

[Tony Almeida]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[fsc401]

Nice job. Probs to you!

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!!! I had to miss parts of the game, good to see the recaps.

Also; the saga of the mystery woman and her quest for her beloved, kidnapped Little Larry is beyond entertaining. Every Laker win turns a new page. Brilliant!! As a side note; just seeing that nasty lil white and blue Viper on it's roof with a purple and gold note stuffed up its tailpipe totally rocks.

Here's hoping Bynum picks up some pointers from the game tapes and from Cap, it would be nice to see a counter to how other teams have tried to neutralize him recently.

It would also be nice to see the follow-on defensive scheme to this modified zone that everyone's figured out by now. If the Lakers coaching staff could just put as much creativity into their x's and o's as you do into these recaps, the Lakers would be unstoppable.

[Sage_10]

Thanks DB! Good stuff.
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"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

STILL TOO MANY OPEN 3'S IN THE CORNER






*START L.O. if we arent going to utilize vlad's shooting.
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[prisma8slg]

[targetman]

Ambulence = ambulance

I enjoy every word of your recaps, but I think you are too forgiving.
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Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

[VujacicFan]

One of your best intros yet DB. I think Sasha is evolving right before our eyes. His passing and PG skills in general are much improved and he's been getting some blocks recently too.

[mike_dee23]

[Klone_dd]

The D wasn't as good as DB made it sound. Sac, with no inside game, still beat the Lakers in points in the paint 42-38. They had good sequences in the 3rd when they got some separation and late in the 4th, although Beno missing 2 FTs really helped.

Aggressive, efficient Kobe to the rescue. Pau was once again steady. Ariza, minus the FTs, was pure energy. Bynum out of sorts. LO and Fish were very decisive with their offense, enabling them to shoot a high %. Sasha and Powell had good minutes.

JoFar is becoming a real puzzle. He has no idea on the D. He gambles too much and isn't very aware of game situations. He compromises the interior D by allowing his man to blow by him. He's not even a speed bump, more like the diamond lane.

[mhan00]

[DrHouse]

Sasha played the best game out of anyone besides Kobe tonight.

He took charges, made great passes, and knocked down some 3's for us. He's and Kobe share a similar mentality and I love that.

[DancingBarry]

[Klone_dd]