LAKERS -at- WARRIORS - 2/18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Fast and Furious... The Warriors may have the name on the jersey and play some scrappy ball, but the real warriors on the court -- the warriors that epic tales can be written about -- are these Los Angeles Lakers.

They continued their road dominance taking a 129-121 shootout against the Warriors. Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant may be the team's one-two punch, but down the stretch in crunch time, it was Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom who were delivering the staggering blows.

The two players combined for 19 points in the fourth quarter, most of that came in the final 4 minutes of the game.

It was an uptempo pace in the first half. The Lakers gave up 68 points to the Warriors, the most all season. In addition to getting a ton of second-chance points, the Warriors were living by the three in the first half. As the cliche goes, however, they died by it in the second half (making just 1-10). No longer bleeding by that in the second half, the Lakers eventually were able to take control.

Prior to the game, the Lakers traded center Chris Mihm to Memphis. The move will save them a couple million in cash. After suffering that horrific ankle injury that required two surgeries, Chris worked non-stop to return to the court. The injury was like the end of the beginning of what looked to be a growing career.

He was never the same player, but he was certainly a well-liked, hard-working member of this team. Maybe with consistent time on the court in Memphis, he can continue his recovery.

"All the guys liked him, the coaching staff liked him. He was doing the right thing," Phil said in the Times. "He was working hard. He cared about this game. He cared about this team."

It's sometimes sad to see the good guys go. On the other end of the court tonight, the Lakers faced Ronny Turiaf, another beloved Laker bigman. The Lakers had to say goodbye to him, as well. All of these moves, financial.

With the door closing on them, it opens for others. The Lakers didn't use their full mid-level exception this offseason to better the team. Again, a financial consideration. Instead, we turn to the affordable bigman. Josh Powell came off the bench tonight to score 16 points and grab 7 boards. Dollar for dollar, those are great numbers. His signing may prove to be one of the keys to the Lakers surviving without Mihm and Turiaf in the mix.

From Turiaf, the MLE, Vlad and now Mihm, the Lakers have trimmed their financial fat heading into final hours of the trade deadline. Hopefully, all of that will only be a mere speed bump on the championship road.


Kobe -- -- Get that (bleep) outta here! Kobe had some sensational blocks in this game. "That got us going and we took over from there," Ariza said afterward. I don't know if it's true, but when the MVP is flying around the court and swatting people at the rim, it's a sight to see. He didn't get credit for one block because the shot hit the rim, but if he did he would have led the Lakers in blocks along with points, assists and steals. Offensively, that was a quiet 30 points. He didn't seem able to get on track with any consistency (the numerous handchecks and shoves that weren't called may have had something to do with that). It's amazing that Kobe can look like he's had an off game...yet still dominate like that. You just can't take for granted how brilliant a player he is...even if the MVP award, gold medal, All Star MVP, etc. are all continual reminders. Games like this slip through the cracks with a lot of people. He just continually brings it. The Stats: He scored 30 points on 9-22 shooting (2-3 from three, 10-12 from the line) to go with with 3 boards, 9 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 36 minutes. The Action: He cheated over to Ronny, then fouled Crawford for three FTs on a recovery attempt. He cut off Pau with speed and scored the layup. He swished a sideline jumper. He missed a rushed jumper in early offense on the next trip. He poked the ball loose, took the outlet and 360 jammed. He threw down a huge lob dunk off the backdoor cut. He swished a baseline turnaround. He missed a short baseline jumper. He drew a defensive three tech posting up, he made the FT. He was blocked trying to power up in the post. He missed a pull-up jumper. He had 11 points on 5-10 shooting. Crawford had 16 points on perfect shooting. Second Half: He swatted Randolph's dunk attempt from behind a Laker defender (so nice). He missed a pull-up jumper. He lost the ball for a dunk the other way and screamed at the ref for the no call. He stole the ball and hit a 10-footer in the lane. He attacked and jump passed to LO for the layup. He missed a difficult turnaround with the shotclock low. He sank a three on a kickout from Luke next time down. He missed a three on his next attempt. He missed a tech FT. He missed a turnaround. He blew past SJax with a cross-over and drew FTs at the rim, he made both. He blocked Crawford's three, missed a hanging jumper in transition, got back and swatted Maggette at the rim (it led to a Powell dunk). Kobe had to sit for a few minutes, bleeding on his left hand after that play. Back in, he shed his man and hit a top-of-the-key three. He was fouled several times by Maggette on a drive and finally got the call on the reverse, he made both FTs. He missed a leaning bank from the left side. He missed another fading bank. He missed a reverse and wondered where the foul was (shoved from Ronny with no call). Next time down, he swished the turnaround over Ronny to ice the game for sure. He drew FTs on a drive next time down, he made one FT. Fouled on the in-bounds, he made both FTs. Same thing again, he made both again.

Gasol -- -- Blowouts like last night help a ton with Pau's minutes. The All Star break came at the right time, too. Now, with Mihm traded, the Lakers options got even slimmer. So, when Lamar got into early foul trouble tonight, that meant some extended run for Pau as Powell played the PF spot quite a bit. I think you will see more Powell at the C spot (and, no doubt, some Mbenga), but the Lakers will need to see if they can slip in some rest here and there over the next few weeks for Pau. Strong game from The Spaniard tonight. The Warriors are fairly good at swarming and helping in the paint, but Pau imposed his game on them. He didn't have the triple-double, but he still played that same well-rounded game that makes him so much trouble in the Triangle. His passing is thing of beauty. His post game, crafty and deadly. His perimeter shot, a consistent threat that opens the floor up. Nice set of games from Pau. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 10-15 shooting (4-4 from the line) to go with 13 boards (4 offensive), 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 43 minutes. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. Horrible, high-speed pass to Luke a few feet away (it went right out of bounds and Phil chuckled from the bench). He hit Kobe cutting for the layup. He swished a floater on the pass from Luke. He missed off the glass. He missed a turnaround. He set up Powell for a score while working the two-man with Kobe. He dunked off the interior feed from Powell. He one-handed a tricky pass from Farmar on the break and dunked. After a 3-second call the previous trip down, he went up quickly next time and scored off a quick hook. He hit a jumphook over a double team on the right block. He missed a running hook. He had 10 points on 5-9 shooting, 3 boards and 3 assists. Second Half: He was blocked from behind in the post. He was fouled on a putback attempt and made both FTs. He hit a running hook. He picked up a phantom foul on Crawford that erased a block by LO. He hit Lamar cutting for a layup. He dunked off the Luke drive and miss. He scored a layup off the Luke feed (should have been an And-1). He dunked off the feed from Sasha in transition. No help D challenge by Pau to save Lamar, who got beat. He scored an easy layup with his left in the post. He stretched the floor out, took the return pass from Kobe on the two-man game, then hit a cutting LO for the And-1. He was fouled on a tip in attempt, he made both FTs with 2:16 left.

Lamar -- -- The streak of massive rebounding games has been put on hold. Lamar got tagged with a couple of early fouls and that reduced his minutes in the first half. He also picked up a tech. Maybe it's growth, maybe it's just random, but he pulled it together and didn't let the refs take his focus away. He had a stretch of missing some chippies, but late in the game, he came to play. Lamar scored 9 points in the final 3:15 of action, including a key steal that resulted in a clear-path foul. Once again, he led the Lakers with a +18. Well done, LO. "It's concentration, living in the moment," Odom said in the Times. "I didn't have a great first half, so I knew I had to make some contributions near the end." The Stats: He scored 22 points on 8-15 shooting (0-2 from three, 6-8 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He drew FTs on a runner in the lane, he made one. He was blocked on a high-speed drive after a rebound push out, the ball then went to Luke who fed Lamar for the dunk. He was called for a charge on a drive to his left. He was called for another offensive foul a few seconds later trying to post up and he had to sit midway through the first quarter. He then picked up a tech from the bench. He missed two attempts under the hoop. He drained a 17-footer from the right side. He scored an And-1 dunk off an extra pass from Powell, he made the FT. He had 8 points on 3-5 shooting, 2 boards and 2 blocks in 9:34 of action. He was a +4. Second Half: He missed a three. He missed an easy layup. He choked another layup. He attacked with speed and lost the handle. Wow, Randolph all over Lamar's back for his fourth foul (he was riding LO and got dumped to the floor). He scored a layup cutting off Pau in the post. He scored a layup on the jump pass from Kobe. He missed a three, then crashed the glass on a Kobe miss to draw FTs, he made one. He lost his man trying to zone at the end of the third quarter and gave up a dunk. He attacked around Maggette and scooped in the layup. He scored an And-1 off the feed from Pau, he made the FT. He deflected a pass and drew a clear-path foul, he made both FTs with 2:05 left to lead by 8. Great challenge on Ellis on the other end to get the stop. He scored a late layup.

Luke -- -- The Lakers went right at the Luke/Crawford match-up and exposed it in the post. This was certainly one of Vlad's weaknesses, but Luke came out of the gates with a strong start in the paint. Being able to expose a mismatch like that makes it easier for others, especially Kobe who is usually dealing with the opponent's best defender. The other way it helps the team, however, is that Luke is no longer a liability on the perimeter that teams can sag off of. He's actually collapsing the D and creating for others who can stretch the floor well. Very nice to see Luke (and Phil) taking it to the Warriors. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards (3 offensive), 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He posted up, drew a double and hit Fish for three to start the game. He turned it over, getting the chair pulled in the post, but hustled back and stole the ball. He hit Lamar under the hoop for a dunk. Back to Luke in the post, he spun to lose Crawford badly and made the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He posted Crawford again, drew the help and hit Pau in the lane for the floater. He missed a FT jumper. He hit a turnaround in the lane. He had 5 points on 2-3 shooting and 4 assists. He led the team with a +7 in the half. Second Half: He missed a 4-footer. He missed a post up. He spun in the post and kicked out to Kobe for a three. He missed in the paint, but Pau dunked it back. He wrapped a pass around a defender to Pau for a score.

Fisher -- -- Good thing Fish got some decent rest last night, because their wasn't a lot of it for him in this one. With the quick pace and Farmar being less than effective, DFish had to run 31 minutes. His legs were there for him as he made four three-pointers. He kept to his strengths offensively. Defensively, he did a reasonable job...aside from a bonehead And-1 foul in the final minute. Thankfully, our lead was too big for that to hurt, but he's been prone to some of that this season. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-7 shooting (all from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +11. The Action: He drained a sideline three on a kickout from Luke. He missed a wing three. He swished a wide open three from the top of the arc. He forced Ellis into a brick with a good challenge. He missed a three at the half. Second Half: He swished an open three from the top of the arc. He missed his next three. He sank a corner three when Kobe spotted him in the corner. He fouled Maggette with a second left on the shotclock. Great box out on Maggette to get a defensive board. He gave a touch foul And-1 up by 9 with 47 seconds.

Ariza -- -- The Cobra flipped the game on its head in the fourth quarter with some strikes from beyond the arc. "Last year, I probably would have tried to get to the basket," Ariza said of the shots. On back to back possessions, he drained threes and took us from down by 4 points to up by 2. Trevor had 10 points in that fourth. Powell and Ariza combined for 33 points off the bench. Impact play from both of them. It's been a while since Ariza has given the team that kind of game-changing play. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-12 shooting (3-5 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He was blocked on a throwdown, but Pau cleaned it up. He missed a 19-footer with the clock low. He attacked down the lane, spun and went glass around Turiaf. He fell for a head fake and gave up a layup to SJax. He missed a three at the end of the first quarter. He scored a layup around Ronny. He drained a wing three on a kickout from Pau. He was a -15 in the first half. Second Half: He missed a layup on the drive. He busted out off the steal and scored a layup. He crashed the boards on a Powell missed dunk and tipped it in. He got tapped on an early offense three. The Cobra Strikes: He swished a three with the shotclock low with 4 minutes left. Next time down, he drained another one off the Kobe kickout. Big plays. He was a +10 in the second half.

Farmar -- -- He was involved in a couple turnovers midway through the fourth quarter. Others had some fault in those, too, but they are the types of things that Phil will hammer Farmar for on the road (especially one that came out of a timeout). He started the game well with a couple of spark-like plays, but he faded a bit after that. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 steal and no fouls in 17 minutes. The Action: He hit Kobe on the backdoor lob. He stole a ball, pushed out the break and fed Pau for the dunk. He missed a three, got it back and drew a foul on a drive, he made just one FT. He scooped up a loose ball and hit the wing jumper. He missed a jumper, then went for the steal and it led to a breakaway. Second Half: He missed an open sideline three. He had his post entry pass deflected for a dunk. He had the ball in his hands when the shotclock went off.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha did his best Luke Walton impersonation with some nice passes and perimeter bricks. He got yanked after taking a three in transition, which he missed and it led to a three on the other end. On the road against and up-tempo team like the Warriors, you have to be very selective with your shot attempts...especially, if you aren't hitting. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-4 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 12 minutes. The Action: He set up Powell on the pick and pop. He missed a three on the break. He clanked a leaner from the elbow. He had his bounce pass picked off, then was called for a foul trying to tie up a man on the floor. He got it back on the other end, drawing an offensive foul on Maggette. He sagged off Belinelli for no reason, giving up a three. He missed a fade from the wing. Second Half: Nice extra pass in transition to Pau for the dunk. He missed a three in transition, it led to a three the other way (Phil called a timeout after that one).

Powell -- -- With Mihm traded, Josh Powell should now start to get some more consistent run. He was on the court tonight with the man he essentially replaced, Ronny Turiaf. Powell played mostly at the PF tonight, coming in midway through the first quarter for Lamar. He put in some impressive minutes in the first half in which he led the Lakers in scoring and rebounding...that's not easy to do on this team. He and Ariza stepped up big when the Lakers needed them. Tough match-up defensively for Powell with Maggette for a stretch. He seemed to weather it okay, but that was a better match-up for Lamar. We did a decent job surviving that small ball attack with Powell out there. No major turnover issues from Powell tonight. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-6 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 7 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 25 minutes. The Action: He scored an easy putback off a Gasol miss. He scored a layup on the interior feed from Pau. He tracked down an Ariza miss to reset the offense. Great hustle, diving for a defensive rebound to tip it to Kobe. He was called for a charge on a pass off from Pau. He reset the offense again with an offensive board, it led to Farmar FTs. He hit the baseline jumper off the pick and pop with Sasha. He scored a layup on a quick strick in transition. Again, a quick attack in the post and he drew FTs, he made both. Great job recognizing Lamar under the hoop for an And-1 dunk. He drew FTs fighting for a Kobe missed shot, he made both. He led all Lakers with 12 points on 4-4 shooting to go with 7 boards (5 offensive). Second Half: He dunked off a cherry-picking play. He was tripped under the hoop for FTs, he made both. He missed a dunk off the Pau handoff.

Phil -- -- The Lakers exploited the Crawford/Luke match-up to start the game. Luke eventually had to sit with fouls. Lamar followed him shortly later. The Lakers soon fell apart after that and trailed 25-17... The Lakers trailed 34-30 after the first... The Warriors were 5-6 from three and led 55-47. Phil rested Pau and brought in the other starters to go with Powell. That unit pulled back even 59-59... Phil then sat Lamar for Pau to save him from his third foul. They were then out-scored 9-3 to trail 68-62 at the half... Quick tempo throughout the first half. The Warriors shot 7-9 from three and 54 percent. The Lakers shot 3-8 from three and 52 percent. The Lakers gave up 11 offensive boards and 19 second-chance points... The coaches didn't like the easy hoops and second-chance points we gave up. They felt the Warriors would cool from three later in the game... The Warriors pulled out to a double-digit lead, but the Laker D tightened up and cut it 2 by the time the second unit came in... The Lakers trailed 94-92 winning the third... The Lakers missed a couple of early offense threes and the pace picked back up. Phil called a timeout down 99-98 after a transition three by the Warriors. We gave up a dunk off a turnover out of the timeout... Starting with 4 minutes left, big makes by Ariza from three and LO getting an And-1 and clear-path foul allowed the Lakers to turn the game around and take control in crunch time... The Warriors were 1-10 from three in the second half. The Lakers gave up just 4 offensive boards in the second half...

Game Flow -- LINK -- There were a few runs in the second half, but the 16-3 crunch-time run is how the game was won.

[mike_dee23]

I hate it when the Lakers play teams like the Warriors because they always have the tendency to play at the other teams' paces. You have guys like Jordan and Sasha who just can't control themselves... hence a 1-9 performance combined.

... first, btw.
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MTFBWYA

[1hu2ren3dui4]

finally. i can go to sleep. tks, DB!
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-Most people learn by saying mother, numb, horse, angry... I learned mine by saying Lakers, add gas. - HRD.

[Downunder]

Thanks DB.

I think Lamar is finally at peace with himself after all his family sadness.

As he said he is "Living in the moment".

Hopefully this new-found focus will continue

[Arizona]

This one was a nail biter. I was glad to see LO stay in the game and play through his frustration. He's been spouting a lot of Philspeak lately...what book do Phil give him to read on that road trip???
Much appreciated as always, DB.
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“I’m just a basketball player, you know? Just put me where you need me.” -Lamar Odom

“You’ve got to play with pride and guts.” -LO

[Doja]

Thanks. This team is so much different in all of the best ways than recent years passed.


refs messed with us a bit, kobe still doesnt get the sort of respect and pampering that the best player on the planet deserves. *grumble*

[Dr. Laker]

[Vadorojo]

Thanks, DB.

Love the new emoticons, btw. Props to whoever makes them!
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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

[JerryMagicKobe]

[DancingBarry]

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB! Fun game to watch.

Josh Powell: 3yrs/7.5M please.

LO is still beasting

Pau is dunking more along with his complete offensive arsenal

[JerryMagicKobe]

DB - thanks for writing up these games. I argue with everyone - my friends, my wife, my kids, my dog, my boss, my parents, my co-workers, my enemies, my in-laws, Celtic fans, hookers, transvestites, Mitch bashers, Ron Paul supporters, environmentalists, PETA, my attorney, moderators, strippers, cops, preachers, the KGB and the NRA. But you...Dancing Barry...you I agree with. Thanks.

[BLP711]

Big Thanks DB.

[Mation]

Thanks DB!

[JJ81]

Anyone else notice how Morrison and Shannon are the first two up off the bench when there's an alley-oop or a highlight play? I like that

[SladeRider]

Do you think if Lamar doesn't get in early foul trouble, that Pau wouldn't of played 43 minutes in the game?
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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

[limchrc]

Nice win.

[20,000]

So....what happened to Little Larry O'Brien???


_________________
Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[Sage_10]

I was very impressed by the Lakers play yesterday. Good stuff DB!
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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]

props to ariza and powell
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[City_Dawg]

[BigE32]

Thanks as always, DB. I was a little concerned heading into the game because I don't like playing uptempo teams like GS on the second night of a B2B. Golden State had won three in a row and are always tough up at Oracle Arena. I thought Powell played extremely well and the Cobra's strikes from beyond the arc shifted the momentum in our favor. We outexecuted them in the final four minutes and did just enough on the defensive end to get the W. LO had a rough start last night b/c of foul trouble, but he kept his focus and was a factor in the second half and down the stretch. Very nice win.

[Rick12322]

[ecksor]

[jeremysnowIII]

Hiya Mr. Dancing Barry!

I love readding your newstorries!

I watchd the game with Gramps and he said he felt bad for Ronny in the second half becuase Ronny was very tirred. When Ronny was with the Lakers we did not need to play him manny minutes. Gramps loves Ronny as a person, but feels that Josh Powoll is a better player.I reminded Gramps of the game in the finals where Ray Allan outrebounded Ronny, Luke and Sasha with eight rebounds and our three had only six.Gramps shoutted back that this time it will be diffrent becuase we are a much tougfer team. He said Lamor could get six rebbounds in a quarter.Gramps said he talked with Mr.Kupchack really likes JOsh Powoll and Shannon Brown and so does Magic.Shannon is a spartan like Magic.Mr.Kapchack says Sahnnon is like Derek becuase both ar tough.Gramps told Mr. Kupchack aggreed and said Derek shoots better while Shannon is very athletic.Gramps says that his Boston friend says the three Celtics talked to Joe smith at the allstar game.They are trying to get anoother big man becuase Kenrick Perkins should hurts plenty.Gramps says Boston is phyicially beaten up but they seem ready for the stretch run.Gramps says Utah might lose but should wear them out tonite.Thanks Alpha!